[Naava]

Naava sat on the edge of the fountain's pool, her bare feet extended into the water itself, resting lightly with their smooth heels brushing the delicate mosaic basin's floor. With one hand on her bag, and the other on Flit's leash, Naava let her mind roam absently as she sat in what had become her safety zone. Carefully taking in everything, Naava diligently absorbed each sound, scent, and feeling. From the giggles of a pair of children playing tag across the square, to the clingy tears of a girl being dumped. From the sickly sweet aroma of a caramel apples stand, to the intricate aromas of the tea shop just a few yards from her resting place. From the gentle tugging of Flit trying to squirrel away random crumbs, to the soft rippling of the water as a young girl splashed her father.

Letting out a soft, satisfied sigh, Naava gently kicked her feet, adding to the ripples of the tumultuous fountain. She'd started coming here almost every day almost six months ago when she'd lost her memory. At first she'd hoped someone would recognize her, some how spark some semblance of memory inside her mind, but as time went on her memories had slowly begun to return of their own accord, and now she came here to center herself. Her past was returning, and if it was as horrible as she was beginning to think it was, then she no longer wanted any part of it.

Letting her memories drift away on the droplets of spraying water, Naava breathed out another sigh to calm herself. There was something... special, about the water. something the calmed her. The other Anyeli in her training classes teased her about it when she'd asked an instructor if they were ever going to do swimming lessons. That wonderful teacher had spared no shred of kindness for the girl as he explained that very few Anyeli ever actually learned to swim. That many, if not most, pointless Anyeli deaths were due to the water. He'd spared no detail in describing exactly how the water effected Anyeli wings. How they become like lead, causing the Anyeli to sink and, if the water was deep enough, either drown or crush the person under the immense aquatic pressure. He'd spared no expense in trying to terrify Naava of something she loved so much.

Opening her eyes in a scowl, Naava sat forward abruptly. “Stupid Beneus. Stupid wings,” she whined quietly. Suddenly Naava found herself remembering being wrapped in a big towel by a fireplace, as a man yelled in the background about her nearly drowning, while a woman calmly tried to explain she'd had everything under control. Back into the present, Naava sat froward, soaking the edge of her skirt in the churning water beneath her. Those two people were in her memories a lot... if only she could remember who they were.

Shaking her head abruptly, Naava wiped the memory out of her mind again. This wasn't time for contemplation, this was time for relaxation.

~~~Credit

Layout from Piper's Boutique.
Texture from Aethereality.
Angelina font from Dafont.
Brushes from and Ca-pris and Aethereality.
Image from Photobucket.

[Piper]

Feet aching from being on them all day, Piper was buzzing with a feeling of achievement. She always felt this way after a particularly busy day and it seemed that a lot of Elysians were stocking up ready for Xanth Day. She knew most of the bears purchased would be left for Xanth but somehow that made her feel good in and of itself. She supposed she ought to be upset they wouldn't be going to people who could enjoy them, but she couldn't be annoyed when she knew Xanth was not only real but also as generous as the stories made her out to be.

Still, she wasn't sure what Xanth would actually do with all the offerings, so she hoped they weren't simply being dumped and forgotten. Each one took a lot of hard work to make; she didn't want to think of that work being wasted.

Apparently catching an interesting scent, Comet took off sideways, jerking her out of her thoughts as well as physically as the leash tautened. Since she was only on her way home anyway, she followed meekly behind with Fawn at her side.

As they approached the fountain, Piper's steps faltered as she recognised the bottle-blonde Skotadi who, as far as she knew, had helped to rescue Vyon's friend. A wave of guilt swept her for abandoning them - as it turned out, it had been a false alarm - and she almost turned away, hoping the girl wouldn't see her. Comet had other ideas; it seemed the scent he'd caught was the girl's adorable pet and, in an effort to chase the chipmunk-like creature, he dragged Piper and Fawn both along for the ride.

“Comet, Comet, stop! Stop, heel!” Her tone little more than a squeak, she yanked on the leash and he obeyed immediately, stopping so suddenly she almost trod on his paw. And, forced to also stop suddenly with her knees resting against his furry belly, she felt the prod of Fawn's head against the back of her knees as the fox also was forced to stop.

They almost became a toppled tangle of fur. Fortunately, Piper was saved from the potential humiliation by Comet's reaction to the prod. He moved as far as the leash would take him, giving her a chance to regain her balance without his blocking her.

Catching her breath, her cheeks burning with embarrassment, Piper smoothed her skirt with shaking hands. Now she really did wish she'd just gone home, but she was too close to the Skotadi now to get away with that.

“Hi, um.” Hands still shaking, she unhooked Comet from the leash with a soft command to stay to heel. “It's, er, Naava, isn't it? I'm... I'm Piper. We met on the, the ”

[d=crimson]((OOC:[/d] Sorry. Had to guess on the hair colour 'cause there's no physical description in her journal. I can't remember if she went back to her original brunette after the amnesia or not.

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Naava]

((OOC: her hair's starting to return to brown, so it's still a bit blonde, just only the lower bits and it's beginning to fade out.))

Naava splashed her toes in and out of the water lazily, not caring about the fact that she was thoroughly drenching the lower half of her skirt. Walking home would be a pain, but it was still midday and she likely wouldn't return to the palace until dusk. She'd be a Popsicle for a few moments as she traversed between the portal and the towers, but it was worth it to be here right now.

Shaking her head a bit, Naava's two-tone hair fell against her back as she let her head hang back loosely. The sun felt so good on her skin with the water beneath her feet. She almost wished she could work up the courage to go swimming somewhere, but after her 'run-in' with Beneus, Naava wasn't sure she'd survive the trip. Sighing sadly, Naava rested her weight on hey hands as she kicked the water lackadaisically.

Suddenly Flit jumped and ran, jerking Naava's arm to the side a bit. The Anyeli at gotten used to the Cheefle's tugs, however, and after a quick recomposure of herself she had the rodent safely up into her hands. Turning quickly to see what had startled her pet so badly, Naava blinked as she saw a rather imposing wolf sitting obediently in front of a girl. "A wolf?! A WOLF?! I understand having pets, but a WOLF?!?" the girl thought frantically as she stood up in the water and started backing into the fountain.

She stopped as the owner of the beast spoke, however, and quickly smiled with relief. “Oh yea! That nymph guy.” she exclaimed, finishing off Piper's stuttering statement. She was about to move forward to greet the girl when she stopped, clutching flit tightly to her chest. “Um, I don't wanna be rude but, um...” the Anyeli stammered, “Is he safe?” she inquired, stroking Flit's wings as the rodent struggled to get free from her choking grasp.

~~~Credit

Layout from Piper's Boutique.
Texture from Aethereality.
Angelina font from Dafont.
Brushes from and Ca-pris and Aethereality.
Image from Photobucket.

[Piper]

Piper always somehow forgot that her pets were dangerous animals in the wild and that anyone not understanding both how soft they were and that Piper had taken precautions would be naturally nervous, if not downright terrified, of her pets.

It wasn't difficult for her to understand Naava's response because, frankly, she'd have reacted the same way (if not outright fleeing as fast as her legs would carry her) if someone walked up to her with two normally wild animals tagging behind her. It was difficult for her to associate that response with her own pets, though, and she couldn't help being upset that anyone could look at her adorable Comet and Fawn and not see beyond their teeth.

“Safe?” She blinked, infused with confusion, upset and an unhealthy dose of anger. She wanted to ask the girl if she honestly thought Piper would be wandering the streets with a wolf and a fox tied to her belt if they weren't "safe".

Instead, she bit her lip, breathed in, and answered tightly - but with a fake smile meant to be reassuring, “Yes, they're both safe.”

It was unusual for her temper to tweak so badly. Piper just wasn't the type of person to get angry, and tended to stumble around at the "upset" end of the spectrum. But where her pets were concerned... well. Fawn, at least, had outlasted both of her boyfriends and had been with her almost as long as she'd been in Elysia. They deserved her loyalty and her protection, and she wasn't about to let this girl give them a bad reputation.

“And, um, Vyon. His name - the Nymph, I mean - he, er, his name is Vyon. Is... Is he okay? Is his friend...? Did it go okay?”

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality

[Naava]

Naava's eyes darted rapidly between the vampire and the wolf. Something about such a usually feral beast sitting obediently a few feet away from her made Naava want to scream, cry, run and pet it all at the same time. Flit, however, most definitely wanted only to run, and run quickly at that. Watching the vampire's face twist with emotion in between hesitant, Naava was slightly puzzled as to why the girl seemed so upset. Was it something she said?

Offenses aside, though, there was something about the way Flit was freaking out that made Naava feel uncomfortable in the presence of an over-sized dog that could probably eat her up in one bite. “Uhh... Okay...” she mumbled, suddenly realizing that Piper had said 'they;re' safe instead of he's safe. As she waded out of the water, Naava spotted the Fox. It was cute, and incredibly less threatening than the wolf. Still, though, the wolf had quite the muzzle on him.

“Um, I think so? I dunno, it was a couple months ago now. I haven't seen him since,” Naava said as she climbed over the raised edge of the fountain, sitting down once her feet were out of the water. Letting Flit down now, though still keeping a wary eye on the wolf, the Anyeli balled up the base of her skirt to ring out the water. “I don't think he liked me very much; it's okay though, because the feeling was mutual,” she continued as water poured from her garment first in large amounts but slowly trickling down into a slow drip. “We saved his friend, too. She should be back up to spec by now,” the Anyeli said with a friendly smile as she leaned over and grabbed her sandals. Slipping them on quickly, Naava stood and faced Piper as the anyeli tried to guide Flit into climbing up her leg. “How about you? Was everything okay? You seemed really freaked out,” she asked as the rodent finally began to traverse her skirt vertically.

~~~Credit

Layout from Piper's Boutique.
Texture from Aethereality.
Angelina font from Dafont.
Brushes from and Ca-pris and Aethereality.
Image from Photobucket.

[Piper]

Piper blinked. How could this woman be so... so... blase about the whole thing? Piper had been racked with guilt these past months, wondering what had happened and waiting for word from Cal or someone that things had worked out okay. She'd envisioned all kinds of scenarios for why none of them would get in touch with her, from their hating her for dropping out at the last minute to the lot of them getting themselves killed, but Naava was talking as if it had been no big deal.

Attracted by the water dripping from Naava's skirt, Fawn inched forward to lap up the droplets, apparently thirsty. Comet also started to move, sniffing the air as the squirrelly chipmunk thing (Piper had forgotten what the adorable creature was called) moved, but Piper cilcked her fingers and pointed down, gesturing for the wolf to stay put right at heel. She was never more proud of herself or her pets than when he obeyed unquestioningly, and flopped down onto his belly to close his eyes, completely unconcerned with his surroundings.

“I don't think he liked me very much; it's okay though, because the feeling was mutual.”

Wow. Well... at least she was honest? Brutally so, actually, but Piper kind of admired that. She couldn't really understand why they wouldn't get along, but had to admit she didn't really know Vyon all that well. Like Cal, she'd stuck him up on a pedestal because he'd been there at a time when she was feeling incredibly vulnerable and desperately needed friends, but unlike Cal, she hadn't seen him enough after that to get to know the real him. Maybe he didn't deserve his spot on that pedestal after all? Or heck, maybe they'd just rubbed each other the wrong way.

“We saved his friend, too.”

“Oh, thank God.” Piper wilted in relief. She hadn't realised just how worried she'd been. It wasn't that she thought herself irreplaceable, far from it, but she'd agreed to help them and then abandoned them before they'd even left the city. She'd felt utterly horrid about that and the guilt had been eating away at her ever since, even though she'd known she couldn't have done anything differently.

“What? Oh, yeah...” Piper sighed. “The alarm at my store went off, but it turned out to be, eh, I don't know.” She shrugged helplessly. To this day, she wasn't sure what had set off the alarm, but there'd been nothing wrong when she got there. She'd assumed it was Comet or Fawn, but they'd both been napping under the cash desk when she arrived, so it wasn't like she'd caught them in the act.

Now that Naava's skirt was mostly wrung out, Fawn lost interest and sat at the woman's feet staring up at the cheefle with great interest.

“I... probably would have ignored it, but, um, well... there's been... kind of a lot of... ehm, drama there.” That was an understatement but she didn't want to go into the details, not any more. “I... I'm glad you managed to help Vyon's friend...”

Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Aethereality