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Post by Rémy nó Orchis on Apr 6, 2011 19:17:01 GMT -5
For some odd reason or another, ever since the scourging at the temple of Kushiel I had spiraled downhill and into some sort of depression. I kept it very well hidden; I was an Orchis, after all. I couldn't let people know that an Orchis adept was depressed. Besides that, it was out of character for me and so I spent long hours in my room in silent introspection.
Today, though, I thought it was time to go out and stop acting like such a child. It looked beautiful outside, and glancing at the empty corner of my room where an old birdcage sat, I thought mayhap today I would get a bird.
I stepped out of Orchis House and my heart felt lighter just breathing in the warm spring air. A grin, my old mischievous grin, slid onto my face once more as I walked through the streets and to the market. Arriving at the bustling stands, I glanced around and perused the stalls a bit until I came to a dark-skinned man who had dozens of birdcages around him. There were many doves, for Initiates that were off to Naamah's temple for their ceremony, but there were also brightly-colored birds of many sizes. I grinned and bowed to the man and was content, for now, to simply coo at the birds until I found one that suited me.
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Post by Maeve nó Heliotrope on Apr 6, 2011 20:42:20 GMT -5
I'd been dispatched to the market to procure a pair of doves for a dedication ceremony on the morrow, and it was with a light heart that I went. The weather was lovely, and as I milled about the stalls, I caught sight of the bird seller and made my way over. "A pair of doves, please," I said, before smiling at the man, likely an adept, who was also browsing.
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Post by Rémy nó Orchis on Apr 6, 2011 20:48:48 GMT -5
A voice like silk interrupted my musings and I turned to see a young lady who could have been nothing less than a fellow adept, with possibly the most beautiful flame-red locks I had ever seen, ask for two doves. She smiled at me and I smiled back charmingly before executing a light bow and saying quietly, "Dedication ceremonies?"
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Post by Maeve nó Heliotrope on Apr 6, 2011 23:25:06 GMT -5
I smiled more widely, bobbing a small curtsy. "Yes," I said. "Two actually, for a boy and girl, on the morrow."
The dark skinned seller was stuffing the birds into a pair of cheaply woven cages. "Twenty silver ducats," he said gruffly.
"Twenty!" I exclaimed. I had the money, but it was clear he thought he could rip me off because I was pretty and softspoken. "Last month it was only fifteen for a pair."
"Times is hard, miss," he said, "and I've children to think of."
At the mention of children, I softened. "Twenty, then, for your children." Reaching into my purse, I handed over the coins.
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Post by Rémy nó Orchis on Apr 6, 2011 23:37:06 GMT -5
I smiled at the young woman but out of the corner of my eye I saw the handler was harshly shoving the doves into the cages. "Please, messire, I beg you to be careful!" I exclaimed to him. "You would do no good harming or killing the little creatures and they have done naught wrong to you. Actually," I continued, hoping to placate him, "I had wanted to buy this fellow here, if you would be willing to put him into a cage without breaking his wing." I gestured to a medium-sized, colorful bird with a small plume on his head, who gazed intelligently out of his cage at me. I smiled back at the young woman, my grin good-natured.
The man glared at me but was not willing to lose a customer, especially one who wanted a more exotic-looking bird. "'E's worth forty ducats, there, sir," He said with a bit of a hard tone to his voice. My grin faded as I looked at him, just a bit shorter than me, and my lips pursed as I regarded him.
"Children, you say?" I said as I took the birdcage from where the man had-- gently this time, Elua be thanked-- placed the bird inside of it. The man nodded at my question and I sighed and dropped seventy ducats into his hand. It wasn't all I had, but it cut into my funds quite a bit. It was worth it, to see the look on his face. "Ye over paid, sir," he said, trying to hand me thirty back. "No," I shook my head and pushed his hand back to him. "Keep it. But be a bit more kind to the fowl, would you?" I asked him with a friendly smile. "They're too beautiful to be treated roughly."
I turned to see the beautiful flame-haired woman still standing there and I bowed, my grin coming back full-force. "My lady, do you have to be back to your House any time soon, or may I have the honor of having lunch with you?"
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