I really hope I don’t actually have to mention this, but to be safe… This is a private roleplay with myself and Insane Cricket. Please do not post if you are not one of the two. Thanks. <3

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A light drizzle fell on the town of Bythatya as Nolani entered. It had started raining moments ago, and already it seemed people were rushing for their homes. Nolani repressed a sigh—blast. She’d been hoping someone could tell her where the local inn or tavern was, but it seemed everyone was either inside, or hurriedly trying to get there. Well, no matter. This was a small town. How hard could finding the tavern possibly be?

The woman, perhaps in her early twenties, quickened her step as she pulled the hood of her violet cloak over her head. Her fallow-colored hair, neatly piled on the back of her head in a mass of curls and twists, held in place with a few expertly placed ornaments and sparkling clips. The way she dressed her hair, along with the jade greens and warm yellows of her traveling clothes, drew attention to her, but that was what she dressed for. How was a jongleur to get anywhere in their career if they didn’t make people stop and look? Not that there was anyone to look in this weather… Not until she got to that flaming tavern! Good gods, where was it?

Pale pink lips parted slightly as she swiveled her head around. She still couldn’t see the building she was looking for. The black feathers of her wings trembled as she shook droplets of water from them. Sparing a quick glance upwards, she offered a quick prayer that the rain would not become more aggressive. At least not until she was safely indoors.

Standing at five foot six (but only if you counted her six inches of antlers), the girl in her mid-teens walked through the rainy streets without a cloak. She didn't seem to mind that she was soaking wet, or that the rain continued to pour heavily upon her.

She didn't seem to have a purpose, or anywhere to go. She was just walking, a bow on her back, a quiver of arrows on her thigh, and a knife on either hip. She held a burlap bag in her left hand, letting it hang only inches above the wet earth as she walked.

Whoever she was, she didn't seem to actually live here, though she knew the streets by heart.

Pausing, Nolani looked over at the girl curiously. Despite her lack of apparent purpose as she walked, she seemed knowledgeable. Perhaps…

“Excuse me,” Nolani called out to her across the uneven cobblestones, lowering her hood slightly so her face was more visible, “Would you happen to know where the tavern is? Or the inn, if there isn’t a tavern? I can’t seem to find it…” Her lavender eyes, fringed with long lashes, gazed at the young woman hopefully. She looked rather desperate to be out of the rain.

This was largely because her pack, slung over on of her shoulders, was not waterproof. She didn’t quite like the notion of all of her clothes and supplies becoming soaked, resulting in their either needed to be dried out or replaced. On her other shoulder hung her mandolin in its case. This, she was less fretful about; her mandolin was very well protected from the elements in its sturdy container.

She turned her head to look at the woman dressed in strange colors. "The inn is small, it's easy to miss," she replied, though her voice strongly hinted at boredom. She turned her body a bit and raised her arm to point off in the direction of the inn.

"It's that way. It just looks like a house that's a bit bigger, that's all. Nothing like you'd expect." She looked in the direction she was pointing, then lowered her arm and continued walking.

Hovering where she stood, about to turn and walk for the inn, Nolani stopped herself just in time to call out a thank you to the girl as she continued on her way. After a second's thought and hesitation, she added onto her simple thanks. "Wait- what's your name?"

It wasn't so odd of her to be asking. Nolani loved being around people, and made a point to remember as many faces as she could, should she run across them in the future. Even with that aside, the simplest of questions could draw up a lengthy conversation from someone. It was for that purpose that she asked many a passing stranger for their name, from the most flamboyant to the most inconspicuous.

"My name doesn't mean anything on a traveler's lips," she called, waving dismissively off to the side. "If we meet again, I'll tell you."

Nolani tilted her head to the side. What a strange girl! Almost like she was right out of a story. It seemed that, in real life, you never met people who would give a cryptic response instead of just stating their name. The woman was tempted to go after her and inquire more, but oh, the rain... And she really would hate for her things to be ruined.

Reluctantly, she turned and began a brisk walk in the direction the girl had pointed. She did hope she saw her again. Her curiousity had been whetted. She at least wanted to know her name.

The next day, the rain had stopped, and people were about their daily business as usual. The strange elk-like teen from the night before was in the village again, bent over with her arms resting on a wooden fence while watching the blacksmiths work.

Her bag laid on the ground between the fence and her legs, and she had a bored expression on her face, mixed with an odd look of fascination. On her right hand she held an object, bronze, by the look of it, and a hexagon in shape, with a hing on it, along with a chain. The chain, though wrapped around her wrist for security, also hung a bit off of her small features while she watched the large men work.

Her cotton puff of a tail twitched slightly every now and then.

Nolani was out and about, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face with her beloved mandolin hung over her shoulder. The rain had been brief, but nevertheless, she was glad for the sunlight. A light blue dress, trimmed with ark brown, billowed around her feet as she walked—because she wasn’t going to be traveling for the next several days, it gave her the opportunity to wear said dresses. For all she loved them, she couldn’t deny that they were a hassle to wear while on the road. Pants and a tunic served her much more efficiently.

Her ears, dog-like and half folded, twitched at the sound of the working blacksmiths. She glanced in their direction, a smile spreading across her face as she noticed the girl—what luck! Her feet, clad in soft boots, made soft pattering sounds across the ground as she approached the teen.

She continued watching the blacksmiths work, almost as though waiting for something. One of them turned to glance at her, throwing an odd grin and a half-wave in her direction, then quickly getting back to work.

She smirked a bit, her tail twitching again as she tapped the tip of her boot against the ground out of boredom.

((Sorry I took so long, I was trying to catch up on other roleplays where people had been waiting for me for quite a while. ^^;; ))

"Hello," Nolani's voice was cheerful as she drew up beside the girl. Her long and silky tail, colored the same as her ears, swished once in a friendly gesture. She rested one long-fingered hand on the fence, flashing the teen what she hoped was a winning smile. "I believe we had a breif brush of a meeting last night."

((Oh, that's fine! I take a while to reply too sometimes, we all have those days. ^^))

She looked over at the woman, then turned her attention back to the blacksmiths. "Mm," was the sound she made. "I see you're not soaking wet today."

"So I'm not," Nolani agreed, somewhat mystified by the girl's state of indifference. For a moment, she wondered if she should be silent and let the teen speak when and if she was ready, but her curiosity won out. “If I’m not mistaken,” she began slowly, her tone quickening to a normal rate as she spoke, “I seem to recall that you said you’d tell me your name if we happened to meet again.”

"Mm." Her tail twitched again. "Name's Mira," she said, her human ears twitching like that of an animal as one of the blacksmiths walked towards the fence with a piece of iron.

"Mira," he said, his voice a little gruff. "Is this the size you were looking for?" He offered her the heavy piece of metal, which she took easily into her hands, looking it over in careful inspection.

"It looks about the right size, yeah," she said with a nod, handing it back to the smith. "You gonna let me do it this time, or ya gonna be selfish again and hog it for yourself?" Her tail twitched again, seeming to almost vibrate. Her expression was mostly indifferent, but her voice held a hint at teasing, and the movements of her tail gave her away for being playful.

The blacksmith burst out laughing, clapping a mighty hand on Mira's small shoulder. "Tell ya what, when it slows down here a bit I'll let ya hop that fence and make it yerself."

Mira's tail stopped suddenly and she watched him for a moment. "Sounds good. Just don't let that forge cool down too much. I'll have to beat you over the head with your hammer if you don't keep it hot enough."

The smith chuckled and went back to his work after setting aside the piece of metal for Mira to use later.

Nolani flicked her tail once, tilting her head to the side as she looked the metal over from where she stood. “What’s that for?” she inquired, glancing at Mira briefly. “Looks awfully heavy.”

She turned her gaze to the smiths as she awaited an answer from Mira, watching their hammers fall against metal, her ears involuntarily trembling at each noisy clang.

"It's for me," she replied with a slight smirk, her eyes slightly narrowed while she watched the smiths work. "Isn't it obvious?" Ah, the joys of indirectly answering a question.

“Obvious enough,” Nolani agreed, increasingly perplexed by Mira’s behavior. It didn’t frustrate her, not yet. Nevertheless, it baffled her. What was there to gain from it? “What I mean to ask, I suppose, is what is it going to be made into?”

"I don't think that really matters," she replied with a shrug, never taking her eyes off the work the smiths were doing, and her tail twitching a bit.

“Maybe not,” she replied, “But whether or not it is important, I’m curious. Terrible habit of mine, being nosey.” Well, it was the truth, at any rate.

She didn’t take her eyes off the smiths as she continued to speak to Mira, watching their arms rise and fall as they swung their tools. She was obviously impressed by the skill with which they worked.

"I don't feel like satisfying your curiosity," she replied, still watching them work. Her eagerness to use the forge was apparent.

She sighed in defeat. “I don’t suppose you’ll change your mind?” she asked, resting her elbows on the fence and cradling her chin in her palms. It was a question devoid of hope, but for some reason, she still felt to necessity of asking it.
“Well, no matter.” Turning her head slightly, she reached down and picked a hair off of the skirt of her dress, casting it aside before she returned to her previous position. “I suppose I have the time to stay and watch what it becomes. If I’m really that interested, that is. I suppose we’ll have to see.”

Lifting her eyes upwards to the blue sky, then looking at Mira from the corner of them, she asked, “Is the weather always this sporadic here? Or do you not feel like offering me an answer to that question, either?”

A light breeze tousled her bangs and she absently lifted a hand to pat her twisting bun, as if to check that it was still in place.

"It's calm about four out of seven days. The ocean is only about a hundred or so miles off to the south. Causes a lot of strange weather," she said with a shrug. She tapped the toe of her boot against the ground in a bored manner.

"So what are you doing here? Most people who come this way are prepared for the weather, but you seemed completely caught off-guard by it."

“I earn my means by traveling to sing and tell stories,” Nolani replied with a shrug, “My ears listen for the local gossip and history so I know what songs and stories will delight, and which will enrage. I care little for the weather so long as I’m not on the road.”

“My companion is more the one who has to pay attention to the weather,” she continued, shifting her weight from one foot to another, “But we’ve parted ways temporarily.”

"Mm," was all she replied. Two smiths finished their work and went about adding fuel to the forges. The smith Mira had spoken with before waved her over, as things were slow at the moment.

Mira grabbed her bag from next to her feet and jumped the fence, putting her bag behind the wooden wall so prying eyes and grabby hands wouldn't be able to get to it. She put on one of the heavy aprons and thick gloves, then pulled her goggles down over her eyes and went about heating the piece of metal.

Nolani’s eyes briefly flickered to the bag, then went back to watching Mira. More of watching the metal, really. She was intrigued by what it could possible for. There seemed like there would be plenty of prospects for such a piece of metal. Who knew what it would become?