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Post by Linyü on Jul 25, 2021 18:17:10 GMT -6
It had been well and good to decide that she was going to look for her family, and Rei had even had a little success -- though given how her encounter with her half-brother had gone, maybe 'success' wasn't quite the right word. But even having met one of her relations didn't make her feel as though anything had been resolved, and she was still as much at a loss as to what to do with herself as she had been before. There was an old adage that said, 'you can't go home again'; more and more, Rei thought she was beginning to understand what it meant. But it wasn't the city that had changed so much as it was Rei herself. She had left the apartment more out of habit than anything else. There was no longer any sense of urgency, and she realized now that it had been a little foolish to think that meeting one of her relations would spark some sort of epiphany, but now she really did have no idea what to do next. In the meantime though, she had made her way over to the shopping district. She wouldn't be able to make any purchases herself, even if she did have some money hidden away, but... soon it would be that time of year, the anniversary of San's induction into the Watchful Ones. They weren't Watchful anymore, and San hadn't spoken about it in a long time, but Rei suspected it would be even harder for him this year than it usually was. She didn't know if a gift would cheer him up, but trying to find one would give her something to do... and maybe she would be luckier in this endeavor. Hugging shadows and crevices, she flitted from storefront to storefront, perusing their wares to see if anything seemed like a good gift idea.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 27, 2021 9:05:06 GMT -6
'Haru, come out with Xentus', the leopard had said, 'You could use some fresh air, yes?'. Sure, whatever. He went along with it since it would be a change of scenery from the stuffy cottage. And the mammalian would pester him a few more times about it at the first 'no'. So did he really have much a choice? Haru held on to whatever thought he could do convince himself it would be better than lounging around at home and went along for the ride.
Now here they were, gallivanting about the shopping center. It already felt like they'd been here for hours.. And the only thing to show for it so far were a couple of books. Xentus stopped into a dusty smelling store to gawk at the recent arrivals of antique bits and bobs. He watched, silently judging the things his guardian grabbed. Nothing was of much interest, not even from up here on the man's shoulder. And his heavy sigh didn't go unnoticed.
"Ah, we'll be done soon, Haru..", the words tried their best to be reassuring, but the man's eyes betrayed them, staring at an elaborate gramophone. Mmhm. "Say, want to play about the garden while this one finishes up?" The question was hardly an actual offer and more of a statement. Already they were moving, before the harachiu had time to contemplate and answer. Away from sore sights and toward more of them.
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Post by Linyü on Aug 1, 2021 20:55:13 GMT -6
It was loud here, in a way that felt unfamiliar from the markets in Ningjing. The sounds of animals replaced the raucous entreaties of hawkers each clamoring to be louder than the rest. Most of the shops here were buildings rather than stalls, well established businesses rather than a patchwork of small time merchants eking out some small patch upon which to stake their claim. She could still browse and stay hidden, but she had to be more careful, and put more thought into where she was going. She didn't know the rhythm of this market, and several times she nearly stepped out of a hiding place only to second guess herself at the last second, shrinking back once more until she found a better, more certain opening.
It was more tiring than she anticipated. Eventually she stopped, and resigned herself to watching the crowd simply for the sake of watching. It was still loud, but now she felt as if she was on the shore of some strange sea, watching the ebb and flow of people as they passed her by.
She hadn't realized that she was running until after she had begun.
She blinked, awareness coming back to her all at once as she narrowly missed being trampled beneath the wheel of a cart. It thundered past her, its driver none the wiser. Her heart beat like a trapped moth in her chest. A part of her, the part that remembered how to stay hidden and stay safe, knew that she ought to find cover. But another part of her was still frantic, urgently scanning the crowd for -- what had she seen?
There.
A familiar silhouette in the company of a big Mammalian. Memories, no more than the merest flash of sensations, vied for her attention. Dusty dark rooms in an empty house; honey, sticky between her fingers; an insistent voice whose words she no longer recalled.
They were walking away. Panic rose in her throat, and with effort she fought it down, wings fluttering as she threw herself aloft. The part of her that belonged in the shadows screamed at her to stop, but she knew that if she lost them here she wouldn't be able to find them again. "Wait," she said, but her voice came out a whisper. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Wait!"
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