|
Post by Ruko on Oct 22, 2009 7:04:36 GMT -5
[On the edge of a forest, a few hours walk from Octopus]
Anya sat on the ground, eating her lunch. It was past lunchtime, she knew, but she hadn't been hungry before, so she had waited and was eating it now. She shivered slighty, a cool wind coming through, but thankfully the tall trees blocked her from any wind coming through on the other side.
Looking up, Anya noticed a figure coming her way. She couldn't tell if it was an adult or a child, or a girl or boy, not from here. Smiling to herself, she thought she'd give them a bit of a scare. She quickly packed up her food, dropping it into her small pack.
If the person had seen her, it would look like she'd just vanished into a tree, or into the woods. She wasn't sure which. Pulling her pack on, Anya shimmied up the tree, using her small hands and feet to find crevices in the old and rotted bark, before she was able to pull herself up onto a branch. Laying down on top of it, trying to stay perfectly still so she wouldn't fall off, Anya waited for the person to come down the road.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 24, 2009 23:31:51 GMT -5
Nieke hurried down the wooded path, hauling bags full of wood and food, specifically fish, along with her.
There was a big smile on her face. She always liked it when she got jobs like this. Normally she never got to leave her village, with the exception of the errands her mother occasionally sent her on. Her mother had always been a bit frail, and unable to travel well, so anything that required leaving the village had fallen onto her ever since she'd become old enough to travel alone. This time she'd been sent to Octopus for a greater selection of supplies and fish at the market. She liked her lips. Fish. That wasn't something she got very often.
Continuing, something caught her eye. She thought she caught a glimpse of a small silhouette, but only for a moment, before it vanished in the direction of the trees.
She paused, briefly staring in the direction it'd disappeared in, before giving a shrug and continuing down her path. It was probably nothing, she decided dismissively.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 25, 2009 8:21:29 GMT -5
Anya watched the figure, seeing it grow into a girl. She was carrying a whole bunch of stuff, too! What was she doing, way out here? She couldn't have possibly carried all that from that one town, could she? Maybe she was just really really strong...
But... She looked happy carrying that stuff. Why would someone be happy that they were carrying stuff? It just didn't make sense. Anya adjusted her position on the branch, the multicolored leaves shaking slightly. Well, she was heading in this general direction. Anya probably couldn't jump right down in front of her, but she could still give the girl a scare. That would be fun! Actually, back home, they would be having a holiday where all you did was scare people. So this was her celebration!
Leaning forward, Anya studied the figure, trying to time when to come out. As she edged forward, on the branch, her sleeve got caught in the bark. Roughly, she yanked it out, only to be knocked off balance. She tried to hang on with her legs, but ended up completely upsetting her remaining balance. Down she went, out of the tree, and landing on her back. "Ow..." Anya began to cry. That hurt!
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 25, 2009 18:01:14 GMT -5
"Ow..."
Nieke jumped as a crash abruptly sounded to her left, the girl jolted out of her daydreams. She quickly spun her gaze, setting down her bags and instinctively drawing out the dagger she carried with her at her belt in over anticipation. It was only a moment later that the sound of crying started piping up, though, the girl's adrenaline fading as she realized what she was looking at.
A much younger girl was lying on her back beneath a tree, tears in her eyes. Nieke frowned, putting the dagger away. Was it her who she'd caught of a glimpse of before? Had she climbed into the tree and fallen down? Odd. She started walking up to her. The girl did indeed look very young - no older than six. What was a little kid like her doing out here all alone? "Hey, little girl! You okay?" She asked as she approached, reaching down a hand.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 25, 2009 20:15:48 GMT -5
Anya blinked in surprise as a figure leaned over her. She was frightened for a moment, before realizing it was the girl she had tried to scare. Gratefully, she took the girl's hand, nodding as she was pulled to her feet.
Wiping away her tears, she explained. "I-I fell out of the tree. And I think I dropped on a rock." Gingerly, Anya felt her back. No blood. Maybe a bruise, but she'd survive with that. "I'm okay!" She announced, smiling. She knew she must look funny. Smiling, while she had tear-tracks through the faint sheen of dirt that covered her face.
It was... Irony? Was that the word? Irony... It was irony that Anya had just been helped by the girl she was trying to scare. Trick or Treat? She had gotten the Treat, when she meant to give Trick. That was Irony! Irony, right?
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 26, 2009 3:35:53 GMT -5
"Good." Nieke smiled satisfactorily, glancing her over briefly again. No blood. No broken bones. No problems. She wasn't sure what she would've done if the girl had turned out to be seriously hurt. Since no one else was around, she probably would've had to have been the one to help, but that could've turned in to quite a hassel...
Still...it was a bit odd for a little girl to be so far away from any particular village. She wasn't from hers...was she from Octopus? Not that it was her problem, but she was a bit bewildered. "What's your name, little girl? Are you from Octopus?" She asked aloud, wondering if it was really okay to just leave her there.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 26, 2009 20:53:09 GMT -5
Little girl... Anya didn't like being called little. Still, the girl didn't know that, but she wouldn't say anything unless she found herself staying by the girl. Otherwise, it was kind of pointless.
"Nope, I'm nots from Octopus!" announced Anya, grinning, as she answered the second question first. "Wherevers that is. I'm from wherevers I wannas be from!" Her smile, if possible, grew slightly wider, and her eyes brightened. "Wherevers I wanna go, I gos. Wherevers I wanna be, I bes. It's nice..."
Anya trailed off, before realizing she hadn't answered the first question. "Oh! Name's Anya! What's yours?" She asked, tilting her head to the side and looking endearingly up at the older girl.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 27, 2009 2:04:23 GMT -5
"Umm..." Nieke paused for a moment, trying to make sense of what the little girl, Anya, had just said. "Oh, I'm Nieke! Nieke Vamile!" She answered with a grin, the question finally registering in her head.
So...she wasn't from Octopus? Was she saying that she just traveled around...? For someone over ten, that was one thing, but for someone as young as her? "So...you're a runaway?" She attempted to summarize with a slight smile on her face in spite of herself, figuring that that would be the only reason a girl her age would be running around alone. "But aren't your parent's worried?"
She had never really had much of a liking for young children - they tended to be too whiny, unpredictable, and demanding from her experience - but she had to admit that Anya actually seemed rather cute. She remembered what it was like to be an antsy, adventurous little girl, but surely it would be better for her to go back home?
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 27, 2009 21:10:37 GMT -5
Nieke Vamile? Why did she have two names? Well... Now that she thought about it, some people back where she had left had had two names, so... It kinda made sense. Not that Anya wanted another name.
At Nieke's questions, Anya shook her head. "Nope! I told my daddy that I was gonna leave, and I dids. He's gone, anyways. He won't be worried abouts me. Nevers has been, nevers will!" She grinned brightly up at the older girl, not dismayed at all by her answers. "I likes it without Daddy. He mean!" She stuck out her tongue, though it wasn't directed at Nieke. "I don't likes him, and he don't likes me. Sos, I leaves." Anya brought her tongue back into her mouth.
"I've been traveling sinces... sinces... It was nice and hot! When there's lots of flowers, but the sun gets REALLY high," Anya demonstrated by lifting her hand up in the air and standing on her tippy-toes, "and you get really hot and sticky. Sinces then."
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 27, 2009 22:58:48 GMT -5
Nieke was quiet for a moment, biting her lip. So that was it, she didn't like her father. She wondered what he'd done. Had he actually done something worth running away for?
"I don't like my father, either." She agreed, her nose wrinkled in distaste. "He abandoned me and my mom! But...what about your mother?"
She didn't know what her father had done, but she knew that little kids could sometimes be over dramatic. At the same time, though, it seemed like she was saying that'd she'd left her home last summer. If that was case, maybe he really would've had to have done something terrible to keep her away for that long. And traveling alone for that long...that was pretty impressive for a little girl, she had to admit.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Oct 30, 2009 16:04:43 GMT -5
So she didn't like her Daddy either! So she wasn't alone in that fact... Well, that was always good. But all her Daddy had done was left her and her mom... He wasn't that bad. At least, compared to her Daddy, her daddy looked nice.
"A Mommy?" A small frown appeared on Anya's face. She was thinking. "That's likes... a girl Daddy, right?" She nodded, answering her own question. "Yeahs. A girl Daddy. I don'ts got one! Daddy says that's she's ups in the place with clouds! Wherever that is..." Anya wasn't exactly sure, but it was what Daddy said.
"I nevers met my Mommy, buts that's okay! I gots myself!" Anya grinned up at the older girl. Herself was just fine. "And I is my bestest friend!" She giggled, thinking the statement was funny.
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Oct 31, 2009 0:23:52 GMT -5
Nieke tensed up as Anya answered her question. The place with clouds? ...Her mother...was dead?
She wished she hadn't brought up the question now, she didn't like talking about sad stuff like that. Even though she'd grown up without her dad, she'd always had her mother - she couldn't imagine it any other way, and didn't especially want to.
"I nevers met my Mommy, buts that's okay! I gots myself! And I is my bestest friend!"
Nieke stared down at the girl as she finished with a giggle. She seemed like a strong kid, indeed, she had to give her that - she couldn't imagine any of the kids that she knew still being able to smile in a lonely situation like that.
"Then...I'll be your friend too!" She offered brightly, though she wasn't quite sure how the girl would react. Hearing sad stories made her a bit uncomfortable. True, Anya didn't seem too upset talking about it, but it still made her feel like she should do something to try to make her happier instead of just walking away.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 1, 2009 20:02:03 GMT -5
Be her friend? Anya's giggling suddenly stopped, and she froze, smile falling slowly off her face. Be her friend? This girl... she was happy, but yet she said those words. Be her friend? "Be my friend?" Anya's voice was incredulous and scared at the same time. She downturned her face, staring at the ground. "Be my friend?"
The little girl slowly shook her head, and, as she did so, tears splattered on the ground. Just a few, but... "No... No... You can'ts be my friend. No..." Her face was still hidden from view, and Anya hastily wiped off her face, before looking up, smiling again, though it was sad. "Nos... No one cans be my friend. Daddy... Ifs I gets a friend, Daddy... Daddy wills hurts them, likes he hurts me... And Is don'ts wants anyone to gets hurts likes me. Okays?"
|
|
|
Post by TearsOfNightfall on Nov 1, 2009 22:52:10 GMT -5
"H...hey, don't cry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Nieke stuttered, taken aback by Anya's reaction. Even if she refused, she certainly hadn't expected her offer to bring the girl to tears! She knelled down closer to the girl, trying to met her at eye level. "I thought you said that your dad wasn't here now, so it's okay! Besides, I'm not scared of anybody!" She proclaimed over-confidently, pushing the most assuring smile she could muster across her face. "So I'll be your friend."
She offered again, hoping for a different reaction this time. The little girl was strong, but it was obvious now how lonely she was, too. She really did need a friend.
|
|
|
Post by Ruko on Nov 2, 2009 17:11:28 GMT -5
Anya sniffed slightly, looking at the girl. "Nots scared of anyones? Nots. Nots. Nots even Daddy?" She sniffed again, before throwing her arms around the older girl, giving her a big hug, and crying into her. "No ones! No ones! Everyone always scared of Daddy! Always! No ones. Ever wanteds to be friends before..."
Never. Ever Ever. No one had ever wanted to talk to Daddy, either, about him hurting Anya. They were always too scared. Always. But... This girl wasn't scared of Daddy... But! She didn't know what Daddy could do! "If Daddy finds outs... He bes mean. He hits you with belts. Gets scars on arms." Anya sniffed slightly, her voice muffled by her pressing her face into Nieke's shoulder. "You stills wanna be friends?"
|
|