Lazel made a gentle shushing noise as he placed down the items she'd handed to him, he already knew of this kind of thing, he'd seen it before when he was in Talziel, he knelt forward, placing his arms around her in a friendly fashion, one hand reaching up to the back of her head and pressing gently, inviting her to lean against him,
"Come on now, kiddo, if you cry too much you'll make me feel sad." He commented, looking over to Alethina, she was such a closed case to deal with, but he supposed it presented an interesting challenge, and even though she looked at him with such anger he only smiled, nodding his head in respect to her as she got ready to move out,
"Now now, Adra." He looked down on her, "Just calm down as much as you can and give me a moment." He reached into his coat, a small canteen of water he kept with him, though then reached once more for a small satchel, opening the canteen and pouring the contents of the satchel in, it looked like sand, but white, most likely just sugar.
"Mother used to give this to me when I was little; needless to say if I ever felt shook up it always made me feel better." He closed the canteen, shaking it roughly before removing the cap again and offering it to her, "Drink, its just sugar water." He hoped she'd take it, "I realize this kind of thing is pretty difficult to deal with, but I often feel that friends are the greatest family you could ever have. And I need my little sister to be strong, okay?" With that he placed his hand on her head again, smiling down on her again, "You can be strong for me, right?"

[Woot! Pageclaim! Awww yeah xD]

Noah seemed unmoved by the kick for a few moments before he finally let out an irritated grunt. He already knew who was addressing him by the way they did so. Who other than Ale would have the nerve to kick a sleeping person? He groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes,
"Already? Everyone's done eating?" He asked with a yawn, stretching his good arm. He scrambled around for his book and unconsciously stuffed the love letters written into them, figuring that they were just some random book marks that he had placed there previously. He shoved the battered book into his bulging, pull string bag and forced himself into his feet. Noah pulled his hood over his head and looked up at the sunny sky,
"Well, at least it isn't too hot today right?" he said with another yawn, slinging the bag over his shoulder and gazing at Alethina.
"You feeling okay? You seem a little flustered."

{ahahahahah -short- yay for halfassed posts >_>;}

A loud wail caused Audra to open her eyes and looking around she saw Adraline sobbing as a stranger, probably a judge walked away. What the? She sat up and stretched as Lazel walked over to her. Lazel should be able to take care of this. Audra was confidant in Lazel's ability to cheer just about anyone up, but a mix of her own curiosity and a deep empathy for the poor girls situation caused Audra to stand up and walk over to the scene. It was strange; she had walked into much more dangerous situations, seen things that would make a more sensitive person turn away, but the sight of Adraline crying made Audra break a little on the inside. So...what do I do? She was hesitant to speak to the crying girl as her previous attempts had only lead to disaster. Instead she waited for Lazel to finish speaking with Adraline before gently tapping his shoulder and whispering softly. "Is she ok?"

Adraline pulled a hanky from her sleeve so she could repair the damage intense crying had done to her mousey features. It was a futile battle as soon as she wiped away her tears new ones poured out to follow in the wake of their brethren. "I-I'm s-sorry" She whimpered ashamed of her own meekness. "I-I cant-t get them to *hic* stop." She wanted to be strong, she truely did, but there was no stopping this torrent on her own.

Adraline's curiousity was piqued when Lazel brought out the strange sand. She liked sand it was familiar, her home was covered in it. But, that wasnt her home anymore, she realized sadly. When Lazel offered her the canteen she didnt hesitate to accept it. She sniffed at the contents out of longstanding habit. So many mean-spirited pranks had been played on her that she had taken to smelling and investigating her food before eating it.

Not a single scent could squeeze past the barrier in her stuffy in nose. She would have to trust that Lazel, almost a stranger, would not hurt her. She hesitated a moment, before drinking deeply. The sweet taste suprised her she couldnt place the flavor at all. "T-thank you... Big brother." She whispered softly her tears finally drying up.

Noticing Lazel's smile and nod, Alethina nearly yelled out in frustration at him. Why was he so gentle and kind with that other female? She just didn't understand... was it because she was more feminine and willing to show weakness? Clenching her fists, the angered fighter took a deep breath and looked back down to her friend whom was finally getting up.

"Yeah," she merely said as a response to both the eating and weather question. Alethina, sighed quietly and grabbed Noah's wrist, pulling him off. It was decided, she was just going to avoid Lazel at all cost. She didn't like these feelings of jealousy she was getting, and now that she felt lesser than that other stupid female, she really was just sick to her stomach. "I'm fine," she lied to Noah quietly, keeping her eyes on the ground. She wasn't going to admit how she really felt to her best friend, though it was quite easy to tell that she was lying.

((Yay for a horrible post. >>; ))

Noah allowed himself to be pulled along as he stumbled to keep up with Alethina's pace. He looked toward her in uncertainty, his mild empathy proving that some repressed hostility seethed from her, along with something else, envy? The thought surprised him and he couldn't help but look around, who would Alethina be envious of? She wouldn't be jealous of someone who was prettier than her, would she? That's when he spotted Lazel comforting a crying girl,
'Him, maybe?' he thought in curiosity, looking the man over, a sudden glint catching his eye. Noah found that the source was a golden ring on Lazel's finger.
'Oh, he's married,' he thought before looking back toward Alethina and down at her hand that gripped him, spotting her silver, diamond ring.

The poor teen's feet became entangled and he fell face forward into the dirt in shock. Cursing for on of the few times in his life as shock overtook him.


{{lol i fail}

Was Sers taken a back? Oh, yeah. But not for the reason you'd think. Sers had tried to go on the pilgrimage before. Twice. They shot the young priestess down both times because she was "not ready yet" they felt she had grown enough as a woman and as a priestess to go this time. She was more mature. And yet, who else was on this holy voyage with her? A man who practically tried to seduce another (in his sleep) and a woman so caught up in her own anger she could hardly so much as speak to another human! And then there was a girl who seemed to frail, she should be at home with her Mother. This was a long and hard journey. She had worked long and hard to be on it, and yes, it did bother her that such people, who clearly did not work very hard, were on this journey with her.

Were any of these people trying? Were any trying to learn? She looked around. There was the white haired young man who seemed kind enough, the Noah boy she met earlier she was sceptical of, and, another woman... She had tried to connect to the crying girl before, poor dear seemed so uncomfortable. She caught the woman's eye and smiled almost sympathetically. It's hard to just be around crying people when there's nothing you can do.

Audra locked eyes with the woman she had seen at the beginning of the trip, the woman she had assumed was a priestess. The sympathetic look she was giving was comforting, but at the same time somewhat unnerving; Audra was not used to sympathy. The woman's runes then caught Audra's attention; she had seen them before at the village but she was shocked to see the sheer amount of them. She must either be very pious, a masochist, or insane she thought. Audra had seen with her own eyes the pain a rune could inflict on a person and her skin crawled at the thought. Nodding to the woman she stepped back and waited for either Adraline to reveal the source of the fit or for Lazel to fill her in.

((blerghtiredsorryforcrappyshortpost))

Keenah sighed to herself from her spot in the shade close by the rest of her party. Her dark, red-brown eyes took in the scenery, and she hummed quietly to herself as she tuned her instrument.

She had finished tuning and was brushing crumbs from her lunch off of herself when the white-haired man began to laugh so suddenly that her head snapped in his direction. With this sudden movement, her earrings jangled and her vision blurred momentarily, resulting in her needing to lean against a tree. Lady Sers spoke to him, and was subsequently yelled at by his seemingly ever-irate wife. Out of the corner of her eye, the small girl who had attached herself to him like a puppy stood and started to leave, before being approached by a messenger-- most likely a judge or an apprentice to one. They conversed for a moment, she was given a letter, and he left her to herself. The girl opened the letter, dropped something, read a note, and fell to her knees wailing. This triggered Keenah snapping her head again, this time in the direction of the cries of anguish. Everyone seemed to be making loud noises, each associated with an entirely different emotion.

A loud 'slap!' rang out from the direction of the wounded albino teen from earlier, and a different young man, the one who had made passes at the man with white hair and had been cut down to size by his wife as well, slunk away with a bruised cheek. The white-haired man moved from his rock perch, comforting the small, crying girl not far away, triggering more chaos than Keenah could follow. Another woman walked over to the man comforting the crying girl, the man's wife got all pissy again and kicked the poor, wounded teen awake, and dragged him away.

Standing, Keenah sighed slightly and walked towards Lady Sers. "This all resembles a chaotic disaster too much for it to actually be a holy Pilgrimage. Don't you agree, Lady Sers?" the musician's voice was cheerful, if not musical-- haha, coincidence?-- as she spoke to the priestess, and the words flowed from between lips arched in a soft smile. "And they're so different," she added, motioning to the polar-opposite couple, "It almost makes you wonder how under the Flow they got together. Really! They never display any affection for eachother...

"But don't mind me, I'm just a bit of a gossip at heart. I'm a minstrel, I travel and live for these sorts of things." Her smile widened and was just cheerful enough to be friendly but not idiotic or childish. Simply honest, because that's how she appeared to be.

Glancing around at these people, her companions on this journey, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not she could reveal her truths to any of them. Or, as she focused on the unwed males, if she could find love here, like she truly hoped. 'Oh, Kerrender, if you could bestow upon me my life's love here on this Pilgrimage, I swear that I shall devote the rest of my existence to the Flow.' With this prayer still ringing in her head, she turned her attention back onto the priestess next to her.

There she goes again… Lazel let out a rather disappointed sigh, he’d get used to it he supposed, he shifted his hand to the girls cranium, rubbing her hair softly and standing up,
“Now then, stand up. We’ve got a journey to complete.” He commanded thought it was more an encouragement, “If you want to get strong, you’ll come with me and finish this journey, no giving up, no quitting and no surrender no matter how grim things look okay?” The Ariasan looked to Audra, nodding his head politely; “Sorry to keep you waiting, we best get moving,” Lazel looked down at Adraline, offering her his hand,
“Come on kiddo, big brother will be with you all the way, I promise.”

Lazel looked over to Audra,
"I need everyone gathered so I can talk to them about a pressing concern." He paused, thinking, then added,
“Oh and just so I don’t forget, I’m officially adopting Adraline into my family, her own discarded her like nothing when she showed so much bravery just to be here.” Lazel pulled out the orbs from his jacket, holding it in the direction of the letter and the torn tapestry, the orb split into four pieces and one sat in the centre of his palm, being orbited by the remaining three,
“Unless you plan to keep those Adraline, I’m going to destroy them; it’s an insult to think some-ones own family can be so vile and I don’t stand for keeping a reminder of such despicable behaviour…”

Audra saw the seriousness in Lazel's eyes when he spoke of his pressing concern. What ever is he talking about? worry starting to build inside her. In her experience when Lazel worried about something it was something major. "Alright."
“Oh and just so I don’t forget, I’m officially adopting Adraline into my family, her own discarded her like nothing when she showed so much bravery just to be here.”
Audra was surprised to hear not only the news of Lazel's latest compassionate decision, but of Adraline's abandonment as well. "People actually do that? How...draconian." Looking over to the younger girl she let out a sigh of relief. If I were you Lazel I would track down her parents and have them eating their teeth... she internally muttered. "At least now she'll be in better hands." Was the least violent thing she could utter.
Turning away she began walking towards the first small group, consisting of Lady Sers and a woman Audra had yet to meet. "You'll have your little group shortly Lazel, no worries."

Adraline's eyes were wide, when Lazel told Audra that he was adopting her. He had called her little sister it was true, but Adraline did not think that he would actually go through with it. This unexpected and unrequested kindness baffled her. Why would anyone go out of their way for her. She suddenly wondered if there was an ulterior motive behind his actions. No one asks nothing in return for something right? Well... Adraline didnt... Could she have found more people like herself? This was something she would have to mull over on her journey. Adraline took Lazel's hand when it was offered to her, she even managed to smile a bit at him. The smile vanished again when Lazel asked to destroy the letter and the tapestry.

Adraline bent to pick up the slightly dingy fabric with the ornate tortoise stiched upon it. Her finger traced its embelished shell lovingly, this was who she was. "The letter is yours to do with what you wish. This... I cannot let you destroy. When I was born this animal decieded to watch over and guard me. It is here now, which is proof enough that, though my family has abandoned me, my gaurdian is still watching over me."

She tucked the tortoise into her pant pocket. The tortoise was slow and it was cumbersome, but it represented resiliance and tenacity. An animal that goes at its own pace, it represented Adraline very well and she wouldnt abandon her gaurdian.

"I wont give up again big brother, I'll show you I can be strong too." This time her smile was wide and it was genuine. She felt that things were going to get better from here.

As they walked in silence, Alethina continued to focus on the ground. She definitely felt like shit right now, if anything. Letting out a silent sigh, she too glanced at that wedding ring of hers for a moment. Those stupid village elders, this was all their fault. Did they honestly believe she was going to fall in love with someone THEY chose? How ridiculous. Old they may be, but they sure in the hell weren't wise ones. They would've been better off picking a weaker, more emotional female, right? Like that stupid Adraline girl. Bet he'd love a girl like that.. she thought in anger, scowling some more. The elders were probably doing this all for a laugh, torturing Alethina on purpose.

Before she could think on the matter any longer, she was suddenly pulled down by Noah, who fell. Reflexively, she landed on her hands and knees.

"What the hell, Noah? You idiot! Why'd you trip?" she barked at him, glaring at him slightly. Either he was just distracted or saw something shocking. Or maybe he's still weak from those injuries... she mentally added, immediately feeling bad. She didn't want to push him..

"Gah.. well... are you okay?" Alethina asked right after snapping at him. This time she sounded a bit apologetic at least.

Audra walked over to Lady Sers and the other woman and after giving an informal head nod she hoped conveyed respect she cleared her throat. "Ahem, hello my name is Audra of the Ebony tribe of Hirren. Lazel, the white haired young man there," She nodded her head in Lazel's direction. "Has something of great importance he would like to discuss with the group so if you would head over that way and maybe herd some of the other travelers over that way that'd be great. Now if you'll excuse me I've got to gather the others." Giving a curt nod and a half smile she walked down the path towards Alethina and what would probably be a large headache on Audra's part.

Alethina and her friend were easy enough for Audra to catch up to, though she knew if the woman had been alone it would have probably been a greater challenge. Seeing the young man on the ground as well as Alethina Audra fought the urge to laugh at the scene and instead carefully made her way upon them. By the flow if I get out of this in one piece I will never pick a street fight again. she silently prayed before speaking. Clearing her throat once more she spoke quickly, hoping she could get the message out and get out of there before becoming victim to Alethina's short temper. "Lazel has something important he wants everyone to hear so...you should probably get back to the group and listen. Though," she said looking down at the young man. with the condition your partner is in lady I think he'd be willing to wait until you two were well enough to travel back."

Noah looked rather shocked as Alethina snapped at him and was silent for a moment and just sat on the ground, blinking before he carefully pushed himself up, a small smile on his face,
"Psh, I'm fine, just lost my footing for a moment," he lied, offering a hand to the woman, "a thought through me off balance, that's what I get for dazing," Noah said with an awkward smile before looking toward Audra as she approached them.
"I think I know the reason that Lazel wants us together, tell him that we're already informed, alright?" Inwardly, he twitched, he wasn't in that bad of a condition was he? He had been injured far worse than this many times before. He hated being so thin and pale, it made him look sickly and the wound wasn't making anything better for his appearance.
"Thank you for telling us though, also, I don't think I know your name? I'm Noah," he said pleasantly.

{{muse=shot}

Sers glanced at Keenah as she came up beside her and couldn't help but smile a little, "No, you're right. Everyone is all wound up in their bickering, and those two don't seem to share anything other than a title..." Sers felt a pang of sympathy for the couple. She could not marry, which was something she had always felt a little remorse for, but, it seemed that they were stuck being married to someone that not only did they not love, they didn't even like. She'd much rather be stuck single till she died then married to a man who she didn't even like...

She nodded back politely as Audra approached, and frowned after wards. He seemed like a nice enough young man, but seemed too intent on ruling things for her comfort. She had never liked politics, or an organised hierarchy of power, but, she understood they were needed. "I wonder what's so important we all need to be gathered like cattle?" she asked Keenah lightly. "Well, shall we?" she had taken a liking to this girl if only because she seemed so easy going.

Taking Noah's hand, Alethina quickly stood and dusted herself off. "Well you best start paying attention more or else you might get killed on this journey," she stated in a matter-of-factly tone. She wasn't making a threat, surprisingly, just being rather blunt with the consequences that would come if he continued dazing off and whatnot. Before she could say anything else, footsteps stopped near them and a girl spoke of Lazel wishing to speak with them.

"You can tell Lazel to screw off!" she half-yelled, about ready to grab the girl by the collar and pummel her. What? Now Lazel needed little messengers? First he nods like it's fine for her to leave and all of a sudden they're being called back? As Audra continued to speak and called her 'lady', Alethina snapped, attempting to grab the girl.

"The name's Alethina, got it? Noah is just fine and we don't care for Lazel's useless words," she growled.

((OOC: Yay for crappiness!! x_x Bippy, I'm sorry about Ale's cruel behavior XD;; ))

Before she was able to respond to Noah's question Audra found herself the latest target of Alethina's rage. Audra was not a fan of being yelled at, especially when she wasn't even the real target of the attack. She's a bigger bitch than I thought. Audra mused as she hurried to finish her little speech. It was surprising, though not unexpected when Alethina lurched forward in an attempt to grab her.
Audra quickly stepped out of the way and readied herself in a defensive stance. She may have promised her tribe she wouldn't harm Lazel's bride but she sure as hell wasn't going to let the woman think she could use Audra as a punching bag.
"It's quite foolish to initiate combat against an unknown opponent." Audra glared at Alethina. "A simple, 'not interested' would have been more than satisfactory...I'll be sure to give Lazel your loving message." Audra smirked and eased her stance. "It was nice meeting you Noah." She nodded towards the thin young man. "In response to your question my name is Audra, now if you'll excuse me I need to be getting back."

((OOC: Don't worry about it Poi ^_^))

Noah gripped Alethina's sleeve and lightly tugged,
"Please, Ale," he said quietly, he was afraid of saying anything more than that, considering how on edge the woman was. He didn't want to lecture her about yelling because he was cautious of how she would react. Noah wasn't fond of shouting or fighting to get things done, if he had chosen the right path he probably would be more fit to work in a library or some other calm job.
"Let's just keep walking," Noah's voice made him sound as if he was pleading. He thought that maybe furthering themselves from the group that Alethina would become less angry. His empathy proved to him that she wasn't in the best of moods, but it couldn't tell him why. He would ask what was bothering her, but unfortunately he still cared about his wellbeing.

"Arranged marriage, I'd assume," Keenah sighed. Marriage was something sacred to her, something to be treasured and looked forward to, not dreaded as it was in the case of Alethina and Lazel. Such unions were disgraceful and depressing, and it made her re-think whether or not she still wanted to wed, herself. But it wasn't long before she was sure again. Yes, she still wanted to marry. But she knew now that she wanted to make sure that it was love on both sides of the street beforehand. Nothing rash-- impatience and rushing led to mistakes, which were as unacceptable in work as they were in love.

As Audra approached, Keenah straightened a little and nodded her head back respectfully, earrings jangling with the movement, but the small smile that she had held when conversing with Sers dropped. The woman introduced herself, and the musician listened intently as she explained that Lazel wished to speak with the group as a whole. She nodded as the Hirren woman finished and left to catch up to the eternally grumpy woman and her more hesitant, male companion. The difference in their personalities made Keenah wonder about their friendship, and how it had come to be. Shaking herself of such irrelevant thoughts, she turned back to Lady Sers as she spoke. "We shall, as giving in to the herding seems to be the only way to find out what's so important. Ah well, at least this will be a way for our group to become closer. We'll be in this together for quite some time, and I can't see it being terribly fun or interesting at all if we're all strangers throughout it, making no attempts to get to know each other. New friends can't be a bad thing, can it?" At the end of this small speech, Keenah smiled to Sers and slowly started in the direction of the white-haired man, Lazel.

Lazel seemed nice enough, though quiet and withdrawn. Because he was so solitary in his actions, it made Keenah question his trustworthiness. She realized that she couldn't very well assume something like that-- to assume is to make an ass out of you and me, after all-- but it was something she decided to keep in her thoughts until proven otherwise. With each step she took towards him, her sandals made a hollow-sounding thump on the hard-packed dirt of the path. Her jewelry and chains jingled and jangled, and the cloth of her dress swished and brushed up against her legs. Gently, she tugged her gloves up a little higher on her arms, then adjusted the palms to make certain that her runes were well-hidden. They were something she liked to keep secret, simply because of how much of an advantage that gave her. When she finally reached Lazel, she bowed her head a little deeper than she had to Audra, then looked him in the eye. "You called a meeting?" she asked calmly, with a small and obviously only polite smile.

Lawrence sighed a little as his hand held over his cheek where the hand print began to bruise a little. Good thing he had slightly darker skin It wasn't too apparent, but definitely noticeable. Lawrence hurried to catch up with some of the others. Having not truly been paying attention to many of them for most of the trip. He sighed looking up towards the sky rather thoughtfully as his arms folded across his chest. His eyes scanning the area above their heads as he walked. Almost as if he was expecting some sort of critter to be along the path yet he saw nothing. No matter.

Lawrence looked to the others then back to the path ahead. It was going to be a long journey.

Audra met up with the last of the group as she was walking back from her encounter with Alethina. Oh if we were home...I'd rip her apart! she fumed internally, her jaw set tightly. As she rounded a curve in the path she came across the strange young man. He was holding his cheek as if he'd been hit, though after his last comment about Lazel she wasn't surprised. "Ahem." She said clearing her throat and hoping that this encounter would go much smoother than her previous one. "I'm Audra and I'm here to ask you to please return to where the others are. Lazel has something of importance he would like to speak with everyone about...so if you don't mind." Irritation was obvious in her voice, as was a hint of sarcasm. "I'd also ask you not take your time in getting back...now excuse me." Audra nodded towards the young man and passing him, made her way back to the group.

Lawrence looked to the girl raising a brow "And who is Lazel?" he asked watching her walk off. He hadn't really gotten a chance to get to know anyone really. He folded his arms across his chest a bit before calling out to her "Well where am I supposed to go and what's with the attitude?" he called out.

Audra heard the young man behind her and she stopped. She paused to count to ten before turning around, apparently once again she had made a poor impression. Don't let the past affect the present Audra...be nice...er "Look, just follow me alright? I'm going in the direction you should be heading" She then waited for him to either catch up to her or make another snide comment. "And Lazel is the gentleman whose hair and ass you were oggling earlier."

"Oh. So that's his name." he stated before following the girl as he raised a brow. "Pardon me for upsetting you." He stated as he quickened his pace. His multi colored hair swaying as he kept up the best he could. His bangs hiding his eyes for the most part. Lawrence didn't seem to be as rude to her as he would have been had it been a guy to act like they had a stick up their rear. As he was taught to respect women despite how some of them could be.