A New Home

Putting the fruit down, he busied himself with starting to look presentable again. Clipping the rings on, he turned back to her, trying not to look her directly in he eyes. Instead, he decided to bend down and pick up the pendant he'd made. Handing it to her with a little bit of a shove, he continued to try and look away from her by staring at  a spot on the wall of the tent. "You came up with the idea, you can have it. I.." He didn't really know what to say. Was he supposed to tell her that what had happened that day was alright? Was it better to ignore it all? It was certainly easier to do the latter, mainly because he wouldn't have to feel as bad when she left. "Don't be sorry." He hoped that she'd understand that he wasn't mad at her, he just wanted her to be alright. But he also didn't really want to have to deal with opening up to her only to have her leave.

Deciding to be brave, he looked at her directly, the caution showing blatantly in his expression. "Are you going to be okay?" His voice sounded earnest, and it lacked the coldness that it had possessed only moments ago. He wanted to make sure that she would be alright in her journey back to her hive, and that she wouldn't have to deal with sleeping outside due to slowness.

"It'll get light out again before you know it. You should go." He looked back at his feet, speaking quickly. It had come to his attention that doing things like this as quickly as possible usually hurt less. Like ripping off a bandaid, which always seemed to hurt less when done instantaneously.

"Oh, um, thank you. Its quite stunning." She turned it over a few times in her fingers, admiring it before quickly putting her jacket on. Her head was swimming, confused. Last night he had been friendly in the market, even holding her hand, and when she woke up he had been comforting and understanding. Now, he had addressed her rather coldly, then given her a beautiful pendant and asking if she'd be alright, then changed tone again and basically told her to scram. She buttoned her jacket quickly and pulled the hood up. Keep it to yourself, don't say anything. But it wasn't that easy. She had promised herself she would never be toyed with again. She looked up at him, expressionless.

"Its really hard to get a read on you. One second you're acting friendly and the next your cold and pretty much pushing me out of your tent. Thank you for your hospitality, but I can tell when I'm not wanted and when I'm being played with." She easily got past the metal trap, used to dodging urchin spines when she swam near the ocean floor. She was outside, surrounded by tall buildings. Panic gripped her heart, and she felt horribly claustrophobic, like someone had wrapped their hands around her throat. She stuck her hands in her pockets, still holding the pendant, and started walking. She had no idea where she was going, but tears were in her eyes and she didn't want to ask for directions.

Theiyw didn't know what was happening until he realized she'd left the tent. His mouth opened in an expression of shock as he quickly jumped over the trap and tried to run after her - admittedly without wearing anything on his feet. He realized the signals he'd been giving had been anything but clear, and he cursed himself for it. She'd opened up to him last day and then he'd completely disregarded her. It went without saying that she probably didn't have the same sentiment about separation as he did, and so she probably didn't understand his  incentives. "Wait.." He called out, unsure if she could hear him.

He tried to find her, looking around pillars and hivestems until he could barely tell where he was anymore. At last, he found a figure that looked like it could be Eis. "I'm not playing with you...please...Eisire!" He called out, hoping that he wasn't just yelling to some random troll. His feet hurt from running without boots, and his bloodpusher was pounding. He didn't know how to even describe  his own motives should the figure be Eis, but he knew that he would try if only to let her know that he hadn't intended to hurt her, but only to soften the blow that parting would be. Theiyw realized now that it was selfish to be cruel to her to spare his own emotions, and he wondered how he would ever let her know that.

Eisire had paused for a moment to grab a pastry from a vendor, remembering how hungry she was and had dried her eyes sufficiently to talk like a normal troll. She had paid and had just torn off a chunk of the large chocolate filled croissant when she swore she heard her name being called. She looked around, confused. Her eyes widened when she saw Theiyw running towards her. She was frozen, unsure if she was seeing things. He was barefoot, which seemed rather odd. She rubbed her eyes with her free hand, managing to chew and swallow the lump of food in her mouth. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her coat, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. Her stomach was doing back flips, what could he possibly want? At this point she just wanted to go back to her hive and eat caramel pudding. Maybe she'd message Aryane later and get everything that had happened off of her chest, see what she thought of the whole ordeal.

Keeping her appearance calm and collected, she wrapped her half eaten pastry in its wrapper and tucked it into her pocket. She folded her arms, holding her chin up a little. Trying to act like she wasn't freaking out. "What are you doing here?" She shouted back at him. She sounded more surprised than anything.

Theiyw skidded to a stop in front of her once he'd solidified the notion that the troll in front of him was in fact Eisire. Slightly out of breath, he held his hands out in front of him in a motion reminiscent of a surrender. "I'm sorry." He managed to say once he'd caught his breath, looking as apologetic as possible. Most of it wasn't dramatics; he wasn't very good at acting whatsoever. "I owe you an explanation, and what's more I owe you an apology." He said, looking down at his feet with a grimace - one made from both the fact he was barefoot and the fact that explaining things was going to be more difficult than he could have imagined.

"You're leaving. I didn't find it to be fair, to either of us, to be kind. Not because I didn't want to. Trust me, I'm not unfriendly or rude or manipulative around those I don't have reason to be. I simply..." Admitting that he was afraid to part with her would be humiliating. Of course, he was afraid to part with most trolls that he'd met. The fact that he'd been able to successfully comfort her was simply more of a reason for him to want her to stay around. "I know you're probably not used to leaving. But I am, plenty of times. It certainly hasn't gotten any easier, and it's never become any less difficult. My behavior was admittedly selfish, but it was mostly just a way of preserving my own emotions." He seemed to relax a bit after his statement, feeling as if most of the stress he'd been dealing with back in the tent was slowly seeping out of his body. "I am sorry for it." He confessed, turning to look away from her in the direction of the forest - which just happened to be in a different direction from the one she was heading. "If you live in the ocean I'm thinking of, it's that way." He added, hoping that it would at least divert the subject from his own cowardice.

Eisire tugged her hood down a little, trying to piece together her thoughts before looking him in the eye. She rubbed at a loose stone with the toe of her shoe. "No, I'm not used to leaving. But I am used to being left behind. Only a small handful of trolls who I have met bother to continue messaging me. I get sailors and pirates swearing and promising they'll write to me and return, but they never do. No one wants to be associated with... with someone like me. To be frank, most of the sailors and pirates I've met were interested in my money and the power they imagine that I have." She scoffed, when it came to power in the empire she had squat. She couldn't even decide what she wanted to do for the rest of her life; the Empress would order her back to making monsters for her army.

She looked up, feeling a little brave. "Don't you even want to try being friends? I mean, we can keep in touch through trollian, and when you find yourself camping near the ocean I can come visit. And there is the matter of the creature I'm going to make for you, and you said I could travel with you sometimes." She managed a tiny smile. She was hurt by his deception, but she wanted to be friends with him. Part of her was still trying to process how well and easily he had calmed her down the day before; if she had been alone in her hive when she had the daymare, she would have been up panicking for hours. But Theiyw was able to calm her down to the point where she fell asleep relatively quickly.

He was more than a little bewildered by her offer to be friends again. It certainly wasn't something that he'd expected from her, or anyone for that matter. Most trolls he performed the 'cold' act to typically ended up just going on their way, but he realized that she might have valued him presence a little bit more than that. Of course, that was something he wasn't exactly used to, but he was relatively happy about it nevertheless. He also felt bad, knowing that she'd probably been mistreated by those she'd met before, and he'd done nothing to prevent himself from being added to the end of the list that included sailors and pirates. Still, he was unsure, but he pushed those worries away once she smiled at him. "If you're sure that won't be a problem." After all, he didn't want to become a hassle. It seemed as if she was busy a great deal of the time.

The thought of having a traveling partner both excited and worried him. After all, she hadn't been too great sleeping out of her coon, but he could see how the lure of adventure could make someone want to go and see the rest of the planet. It really was beautiful, as long as it wasn't trying to kill you. "I wouldn't mind that, not at all. If you still want to put up with me after that display, of course." He felt a little ashamed now about how foolish and selfish he'd been in his attempt to push her away. "Now I'm not doing this because I don't want you around, but I really think you ought to get going. It'll be light before you know it, and the longer you're in a place like this, the easier someone might be able to realize you're not exactly a landweller." He turned in the direction of the forest once again. "Do you want me to walk you to the city's edge?" He asked hopefully, looking back at her.

Eisire grinned at Theiyw, relieved. "It won't be a problem! I mean, sure I'll miss you but if I get to see you once every few months that would be fantastic! Oh maybe you can explore the little island where my cottage is with me, its quite lovely and the views are stunning and-" She blushed. "Dear Glob I'm rambling... sorry. Its a habit I get when I'm excited." She smiled sheepishly. Her lusus would growl at her whenever she talked too fast, but she found that many trolls simply smiled and nodded until she paused for air.

" You're right, I think if I went missing for another day by Lusus would burn down half the forest while searching for me. And I'd rather not have another gang of lowbloods on my tail!" Eisire peered up at him from under her hood. Company would be nice, especially someone who knew how to get out of the city. "Yes, that would be wonderful. Perhaps we should stop by your tent on the way, I don't think bare feet and cities go well!" Litter was typical in hivestem clusters of this size, Eisire was surprised Theiyw hadn't cut his feet already.

She pulled the half eaten treat from her pocket and took a few more bites, contemplating buying another. She did have quite a walk ahead of her, and walking typically tired her out since she was used to swimming everywhere.

Theiyw was a little surprised when she seemed so surprised, especially given how mad she'd been at him earlier that night. However, he was glad that she seemed to have forgiven him, and he couldn't help but be interested in the idea of a cottage. "Well, I haven't exactly been able to cross any oceans yet, I'll have to work on my swimming skills." One of the things he wasn't able to do too well was swim - he'd never been presented with the opportunity to be near the ocean and feel safe enough to actually learn how to swim.

He met her comment with a grimace, looking down at his feet. There were already a few blue scratches showing, and they were covered in the usual dirt and grime of the city. "Yeah, that might be a good idea, all things considered." He smiled, a little glad that she was somewhat concerned about him.  Most trolls wouldn't have noticed. "I'd be up for that, yeah. At least I just got here, so I won't need to do too much walking until I have to leave again. Give my feet time to recover from frantically trying to run after you." He sighed, shoulders drooping as he realized just how badly he'd treated her. "I am sorry about how I was talking. Again." It had been quite a while since he'd been close to someone, and not only had he not wanted to deal with the implications of her leaving, but he also was just a little unsteady while dealing with trolls he might find nice to be around.

Deciding not to hold her hand like he had done the night before, he turned towards his tent, walking there while turning to look back at her every once in a while, just to check and make sure that she was following and hadn't got lost on the way. Once he reached his tent, he skirted around the entrance, pulling on his socks and boots before emerging again with an adventure-ready stance. "Ready?"

Eisire laughed, "Don't worry you won't have to swim at all! I have a little jetski, I can pick you up on the shore and bring you over. There's a little cove on the island where the water is really calm, I can teach you how to swim there without waves interfering." She blushed, realizing she was getting over excited again.

She was surprised his feet weren't cut up more, then again her skin was baby soft from spending so much time in salt water, and her feet had no hardness to them. "It's ok, I'm sorry for storming out like that... it was rather impulsive of me. I think its something I need to work on." She smiled sheepishly again, wringing her hands as she did. She felt guilty for jumping the gun and immediately assuming the worst. It was rather unusual for her, for her mind to go to thinking the worst. But it had hurt so much when she thought Theiyw felt nothing towards her at all, and was so relieved to find out it was an act she had forgiven him instantly.

She followed a little behind him, often getting distracted and then running to catch up. Eisire giggled at his stance. "I'm ready! Lead the way!"

Relieved once he heard about the jetski, Theiyw shrugged. "What if I sink? You do know I don't have gills, right?" He hoped  that she wouldn't force him underwater for long periods of time. Not only did that sound uncomfortable, but it also sounded just a little bit fatal for someone who wasn't actually a seadweller.

Shaking his head when she apologized, he looked down at his feet. "Don't be sorry, it was purely my fault. I was being immature and selfish, although thinking about it, I probably still would have suffered the same amount given the bad conscience I'd have letting you leave without being kind as I was last day." Sighing, he started to walk through the hivestems, checking his surroundings every once in a while just to be sure that he was in fact going the right way. It wouldn't do to get lost in front of Eisire. Not only would it be humiliating, given that he'd promised to get her out of the cluster safely, but it might also be dangerous for her to be out during the day. He wasn't sure what kind of wildlife lived around here, but he was sure that, like most places on Alternia, it wasn't hospitable.

"Next time your lusus gets injured, perhaps you might want to contact me. That way you won't end up getting chased down by a pack of angry lowbloods, and I'd probably be able to find the stuff now that I know what it looks like." Although he wasn't always close to the ocean, he was usually close to civilization of some kind. "I mean, just in case I'm close by. It would save you the trip, and we'd still be able to meet. On the beach, maybe?" He wasn't even sure if her lusus was prone to getting hurt or if this was a rare happenstance, but whatever the truth may have been, he was sure that he wanted to see her again.

Eisire laughed, "Yes I know you don't have gills. I have a life jacket somewhere in my hive, I will find it for you. And even if you do sink, I know a way to give you air underwater." She'd done that a few times before with sailors who had been tossed overboard by a storm. It was in all honestly a long and slightly awkward open mouthed kiss, where she forced oxygen into the other's lungs. She snickered, "I might have arm floaties somewhere if you want those as well."

She followed Theiyw, trying to keep up, and trying not to get distracted. There was still so much in the hivestems left to see. They would be on the edge of the city soon, the hivestems were slowly thinning out. She was getting hot under the hood, her thick hair sticking to her neck and making her rather uncomfortable. Once she was far enough from the city, she could take off the troublesome thing. That grumpy miserable feeling was returning; her feet were blistered, she hadn't changed clothes in 24 hours, her teeth hadn't been brushed and her hair just felt disgusting. She would be glad once she was back in the water... but she didn't want to part from her new friend just yet. Glob knows when she would see him next.

Eisire grinned at him, "oh that would be fantastic, its such a long walk to the city and I would much rather not be chased and killed." She blushed slightly. "And I would like to see you again." Eisire stuck her hands in her pockets, her hand gently wrapping around the pendant he had made her.

He didn't exactly want her treating him like a wriggler, but not drowning was probably better than not being treated like a grub anyways. "Whatever keeps me alive." He said, shrugging. "Although if I die of embarrassment, I'm going to  blame you." Picturing the arm floaties in front of her, he shuddered. When he'd met her, he thought he'd given her a good first impression. One that passed him off as a little bit daring and somewhat strong. It wasn't as if he thought that was incredibly important, but he certainly didn't want to humiliate himself in front of her any more than he'd done already. "Give me air? Do I even want to know?" He chuckled at that, a little amused by how that might work underwater.

The hivestems around them were thinning even more now, to the point where it was obvious they were in the outskirts. There were hiveless trolls slumped up against walls - he couldn't quite tell if they were even alive. The hivestems around them looked as if they might only house one or two trolls at the most, and eventually it seemed as if they were no longer stems at all, but simply hives modeled to look like they belonged in the area. As the buildings were decreasing in density, the trees and other plants were increasing in it. He brushed aside a low-hanging branch that went across the pathway, holding it up for Eisire as she walked under it.

Eventually he passed the last significant building, and they stood at the outskirts of the forest. He'd been relatively quiet, focusing on their surroundings and getting into his normal traveling mindset. Stopping, he turned to her. "I would enjoy seeing you again as well, Eisire." He said sincerely before turning to the forest. "This is where I leave you. I know it's a little bit lusus-like, but if you could just send me a quick message on trollian when you get back to your hive, my conscience will be at rest. Otherwise I won't get a bit of sleep today, I'd be too nervous." It was a seemingly ridiculous request. Eisire seemed capable of defending herself, and she would hopefully know her way back home. Nevertheless, he didn't want it to be on his conscience that he'd led her to her doom in a quest to return to her hive.

Eisire laughed, imagining Theiyw in a pair of floaties. "Don't worry, I promise I will only take a few pictures. As for stopping you from drowning, I'm not sure if you would want to know." Of course, that would be a last resort thing. Typically when she found drowning sailors she often would get them to the surface before they ran out of air. She did hope that perhaps some day he could go swimming with her. The water was a huge part of her life, and sharing that would be fantastic.

At the sight of the hiveless trolls, she walked a little closer to Theiyw. It wasn't revulsion that did it, it was nerves. She had heard stories of muggers, and as much as she felt bad for the hiveless she didn't want to risk anything, especially after nearly getting killed last night. She liked the smaller hives, reminding her of her cottage. She really ought to spend more time in it.

Eisire stopped as well, turning to look up at Theiyw, smiling. "I would enjoy that as well." Her smile grew at his fussing. "I promise I will. I should be underwater by the time the sun begins to rise, so perhaps I should message you then as well. Once I'm in the sea I will be perfectly fine, and you can rest at ease." She glanced at the path ahead of her, her feet already aching at the thought of the trek before her.

A little nervously, Eisire took one of his hands in both of hers. "I cannot begin to tell you how thankful I am, I would be very much dead without your help. I'm glad I met you." She smiled one last time at him. "I'll see you soon, Theiyw. I'm sure of it!" Without warning, the seadweller hopped onto her tip toes and planted a quick kiss on the blueblood's cheek. She released his hand and began to briskly walk down the path. Partially because she needed to be at the water before sun rise, partially because her face was burning. One thought kept looping through her thoughts.

Eisire had a red crush on Theiyw. She just couldn't tell if it was a flushed or pale one.

It was only due to the fact that Theiyw didn't really know too many trolls he could be embarrassed in front of that he didn't protest strongly to Eisire's offer to photograph him attempting to swim. Plus, she seemed enthusiastic enough about going swimming that he didn't exactly just want to douse the entire idea of the activity. "Alright, alright. I'll give it a try if I ever get the chance."

He looked a little bit more at ease as she reassured him that she would tell him when she got home, and shrugged, not truly knowing how the sea - with all its creatures and seadwellers - would be any safer. Nevertheless, it was obvious that she would be more comfortable once underwater, and he wondered if there were wonders below the sea just as grand as some of the things he'd seen on his travels.

"As long as you're safe. I don't want to be responsible for accidentally sending you straight into a pack of bandits or something. Actually, I'd prefer you stayed alive completely." He admitted, shrugging guiltily. He did want to spend more time with her, even if it meant he would have to humiliate himself by trying to swim.

He was a little taken aback as she took his hands, and even more surprised when she kissed his cheek. He felt his cheeks growing a light shade of blue, and looked away from her, glad that she had turned away before seeing the bright color that his face was growing. "Yeah I'm glad too. Have a good journey!" He attempted to call after her, watching her disappear into the distance before reaching up to his cheek to check where she'd kissed him, his mind working quickly as he returned to his tent.