A Different Perspective }{ [Absolutely Open]

[Summerchika]

Being still quite new to town, Ainutsa was continually awed by what she saw. People everywhere! And colorful things that these people made themselves! Not something she made with what she could find in the forest, but things made from these people in the village. There were incredible sights to see, for her anyway. She looked around the store windows and stalls in the streets.

Filled with joy at everything she saw, Ainutsa was having quite the fun time. She couldn't stay at one place for too long as something else caught her eye after a few seconds of admiring some other handiwork.

From place to place, she scoured the streets back and forth in wonder and amazement. It was so noisy here! And so alive! Alive in a different way than from the forest in which she lived. Alive in a bustling, unique, and noisy sort of way. Purely amazing.

However, she could not bring herself to interact with the people too much. Ainutsa was too shy. She would nod and smile and then walk away quickly so she wouldn't have to speak. She wouldn't know what to say. She couldn't buy anything because what did she have to give in return? Leaves? Her own wood handiwork? Home forest cooking? She had only useless things to these people. So she traveled seemingly aimlessly, admiring everything with a broad smile on her face.

There was one thing that eventually caught her eye. It was something she could not even dream about. Something that someone like her would not even fathom of keeping. The only thing she had like it was her necklace that was quickly becoming her personal enemy.

This thing was gorgeous to Ainutsa's eyes. It was small, barely visible between the large, bulky jewelry pieces hanging around it. A small, sliver chain with the tiniest, most beautiful silver thing hanging from it. She couldn't even see what the hanging charm was. Ainutsa just knew that it was beautiful.

Her hand, half way outstretched to touch the tiny beauty, fell limp at her side. There was no way she could take ownership of that. It was beautiful, though. She continued to admire it for what seemed like minutes, the longest she ever stayed at one of these stall-like things. With a tiny smile on her face, she took a step backward to move on down the street.

[vain]

"It's a silver four-leaf clover with a white diamond in the middle." Vain said to the girl looking at the tiniest necklace in the display. Vain stood behind her, wearing her black clothes. Even her finger nails were painted black. "Your new around here. Me too. I see you like it here."

[Summerchika]

Jumping at the sound of a voice right behind her, Ainutsa took a step forward and turned around. "O-oh." She managed out of surprise. Nodding and smiling like she had before with everyone else, Ainutsa began to move away when what the stranger had said registered in her mind.

"What?" Ainutsa looked back at the tiny silver wonder on the rack. "A white diamond? I haven't seen anything like that before..." Putting up her hand again to touch it softly, she thought better of it and turned around to look at the stranger with the black clothes and fingers instead. She was dressed differently then everyone around her. Then again, Ainutsa didn't really know what was different and what wasn't. Everything was different to her. Besides, she like the color black. A black sky made it possible to see the stars at night.

"You are new, too?" she asked, timidly smiling at the stranger in black. "This place is nothing like what I have seen before. It is so alive!" she explained, smiling. "Do you like it here, too?" she asked, wondering if she was the only one who thought this foreign place was simply amazing.

[vain]

Vain titled her head to the side, her black hair covering part of her face. "Um...Yeah." She said, not bothering to hide the bordum in her voice. Although the bordum wasn't from the city, even though that was certainly part of it. "It's not really such a bad city..." Vain wrinkled her nose as a human walked by her; their blood strong in Vain's nose. "I guess. Not that I'm one for humans." Vain looked at the girl in front of her, Vain's expression bored and irritated, the other girl surprised and amazed; even curious. "And yes, I'm new around here." Vain didn't need to breathe, and right now she wished she could just stop breathing so she didn't have to smell the humans. "So you've never seen a white diamond before?" Vain asked.

[Summerchika]

The girl in black tilted her head to the side, making her hair fall partially into her face. Ainutsa watched as the girl reacted strangely to the people around her. She wasn't acting that way with her. Was it because she wasn't from here? Because she was different from the people here?

"You don't like humans? Why?" Ainutsa asked, honestly curious. Was the girl not like the people here, either? She looked different, but Ainutsa was not sure what that meant. Everything here looked different. It wasn't like Ainutsa met very many people or even knew much about the world outside her forest.

"No, I have never seen one before. They are beautiful. Are they common around here? Do people see them often?" Ainutsa asked, excited that she was speaking with someone who was willing to share her knowledge about this place.

[vain]

Vain looked at the girl in front of her. She seemed inosently curious enough. Vain was silent for a while, debating whether or not to answer the girl's questions. Vain sighed and then said finally, "You're right. I'm not human. But, as I can see, you aren't exactly human either. Are you? And as for humans, real humans, they're everywhere. Kind of annoying actually. This isn't like, their only city. They have millions of cities. Actually some of the things humans build, it's actually quite...amazing. Have you ever been to Rome? Or even Paris?" Vain chuckled as the girl made a face, obviously not having been to either of those places. "You need to get out more." Vain said, jokingly.

[Felix]

"Ahem," Felix clears his throat to get the two's attention.

"Excuse me, erm, ladies..." The complete contrast of dress and personality of the two threw Felix off. True, it had been a long time since he had ever been in a large town, but he wasn't expecting to see... well, this. His blue eyes studied the two, trying to judge them and figure them out from just their appearance. He didn't know what to make of the two, he'd never seen anyone like them. This didn't sit well with him. However, his business wasn't with them but with the owner of the stand that they were standing in front of.

"You're standing in my way. I have some personal business with the owner of this stand," he said as he pulled out a small item wrapped in some old, dirty cloth.

[vain]

Vain's eyes flashed. Just who was he to think he could just simply shove her out of his way?? She could sense that this item was important and he was trying to get rid of it. A cursed item maybe? Or something that he stole? Vain wondered. Not that she would interfer unless it affected her directly. She took a step forward and was going to say something to him, but then took a step back and thought better of it. He could be dangerous, and right now Vain really didn't feel like fighting. At least not physically. She also didn't really feel like chatting anymore either. She took a glance at the girl standing next to her and took off without saying a word. She would have run, but she didn't want to look like a coward or draw any more attention to herself then she already had. So she walked instead, deeply lost in her thoughts.

[Felix]

Felix tilted his head down and narrowed his gaze as the girl took a step forward, sensing a challenge. Her eyes seemed hostile, but he wasn't going to let that change his demeanor in the slightest. Instead, the girl stepped back, glanced towards the other girl, and walked off.

"Strange girl you were conversing with," Felix said as he shrugged. He began to unwrap the item, exposing an eloquent looking arrowhead. The likes he had never seen before. He was told that this shopkeeper may provide some answers, as he had a keen eye for detail and discovering the origins of such detailed items. Felix caught sight of the perfectly crafted four-leaf clover, definitely proving the rumors he heard.

"He is good..." Felix unintentionally let out softly. He took another glance at the girl still standing there, this time holding his gaze and looking straight into her eyes before moving slowly to her ears.

"Who... are you? I've only heard stories, but..."

[vain]

As Vain walked away, she heard the man as he said, "strange girl you were conversing with" and immedatly whirled around on her heels. Instead of directly confronting him though, she would try and learn more about him the old fanshioned way and evesdrop. She looked around at the humans to make sure that no one was watching her, and jumped up onto the nearest roof top with ease, landing on the roof without a sound. She could see the man perfectly from her pearch on the roof and hear what they were saying perfectly. The sun was beginning to set, and soon Vain would turn into her true form. Vain smiled at the thought.

[Summerchika]

The girl dressed in black wasn't human either. Somehow, that made Ainutsa feel a bit connected to this person. Ainutsa listened with rapture as the girl in black spoke. Not the human's only city? Ainutsa should have guessed that, but the girl in black made it sound as if they were everywhere. Everywhere where Ainutsa hadn't been, which was admittedly almost everywhere. The girl spoke of certain cities: Rome and Paris. Making a face of confusion and wonder, Ainutsa shook her head as the girl asked if she had ever been to those places. The only place she had been with this many people was this town.

As the girl in black told her that she needed to “get out” more, Ainutsa laughed, beginning to like this girl. Ainutsa began to reply; she had many questions to ask. However, a man came between the two, interrupting the conversation.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Ainutsa stuttered, stepping back to get out of the man's way. However, the girl in black didn't. As the series of events unfolded, Ainutsa watched quietly as the two interacted without saying anything. Then after a glance at Ainutsa, the girl in black turned and left. “Ah, wait...” Ainutsa called out, her arm outstretched as if to stop the girl in black from leaving. But who was Ainutsa to stop her? They had only chatted a bit. She did not really know the girl in black. So, Ainutsa dropped her arm.

The man who held the dirty cloth spoke to her, shrugging as he began to unwrap the dirty cloth in his hand. “I do not think so.” Ainutsa said quietly, in response to the man's remarks about the girl in black. “Does strange mean the same as different?” she asked as the man looked over the merchandise on the stand. She didn't mean the question literally.

Piercing blue eyes stared into Ainutsa's green eyes. Holding his gaze, Ainutsa debated on what to do. This was the most she talked all day to anyone in the town. Perhaps it was time to go home. Still, a large part of Ainutsa wanted to stay. It was fun. Talking to people in town and not the animals or travelers in the forest was great fun. Talking to a girl in black who made her laugh and who taught her things was one thing. However, talking to a man who was a great deal taller than her was more unnerving. In the forest, she would have been much more comfortable. However in a foreign place like this, she was completely and literally out of her element.

Her curiosity won out, however. As the dirty man's gaze moved to Ainutsa's ears, she tilted her head in curiosity and touched her ear, feeling its pointed tip. She looked as his round ears. Some of the travelers she had met in the forest had round ears too. She hadn't really made much meaning of it, however.

His next question confused her. Not knowing how to respond, she replied with the first thing that came to her mind. “I am Ainutsa. Who are you?” she asked, complete confusion and curiosity clear on her face.

[vain]

Vain leaned forward, listening to the two of them talk. The girl calling out to her to wait. Vain could see in the girl's soul that she was missing her homeland, her forest, the others like her. But at the same time, curiosity was winning over. The sun was beginning to set, and Vain's eyes weren't their usual green color when it was daylight. Now they were a bloodred. Vain smiled as she knelt down on her perch at the edge of the roof. The human's were beginning to go inside to their homes.

Spying was thrilling enough, but it was much to easy for Vain. Especially now that the sun was setting, and her senses would be at their highest. Vain needed to do what she was born to do. What she was sometimes paid to do. Vain was growing restless. Vain swung down from her perch on the roof top and walked back over to where the man was nearly finished unwrapping the cloth, the girl watching him steadily.

[Felix]

"Oh, sorry," Felix mumbled while rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I was thrown for a loop when I saw your, uh... your ears." Felix was having a slightly difficult time trying to find his words. He wasn't well versed in other people's culture, what is fine to do and what is offensive, and was some what caution not to come off offensive or aggressive. This girl seemed innocent enough, but he had heard some crazy stories of an elf's strength and might, and he didn't want to accidently set her against him for something he did or said.

"Oh, sorry..." Felix muttered, fumbling for his words. This time realizing how he was failing at making a proper first impression. Usually, he could care less what people thought of him. But this, this was an elf! A living breathing elf, just like in the stories he heard while growing up.

"It's nice to meet you, Ainutsa. My name is Felix. Please, forgive me for my intrusion and odd behavior. I, uh, I haven't had a normal conversation with someone in a long while."

He glanced over to the stand noticing that the owner had closed and left. Felix rewrapped the arrow head and stuck it back in one of his pouches. He then looked up to the sky to see the magnificent blends of light and dark colors as the night slowly began to creep in, forcing the sun to paint the sky with one final breath-taking view before turning in and starting over in the morning. The view was simply amazing, but he started to feel a very familiar, yet unpleasant tingling down the back of his neck and his ears.

"Should probably find some place to stay for the night." He thought out loud, moving his right hand behind his back. Felix looked back down at Ainutsa. "What do elves do at night? Do you sleep as well?"

[vain]

Vain watched the two of them talk from a different perch right above them. Her red eyes missed nothing. Vain always felt a thrill at night. She felt more alive. She could be what and who she really was without caring. She leaned closer, farther from the edge...And fell. She landed on her back with a thud, looking up at Felix and the elf-girl. That was always the problem when Vain was listening from the edge. She got to wrapped up in listening to what people were saying, and was unconciuly leaning closer and closer to the edge until she fell. Falling from that far down would have normally have broken a bone on a human, but Vain didn't even get a scratch. She stood up, and saw that she had been wrong. A long cut ran down her right arm from her fall, but she wasn't worried about it. It would start healing any minuet now. She stood up, mumbling, knowing the others were looking at her like she was crazy...

[Summerchika]

Watching as the man apologized for something, Ainutsa began to smile. The man seemed quite flustered. Did her ears really throw people off that badly? She had never noticed before. Then again she hadn't really meet that many people, and those she did meet were either traveling in the forest or different like she and the girl in black were different.

Waiting for the man to find words to say, Ainutsa noticed the stand close up and the streets begin to empty. Things closed up at night in the town. That was an interesting observation. Her eyes lingered on the four leaf clover pendant with the white diamond before it disappeared. Then the man spoke again and Ainutsa attention was back on him.

“It is good to meet you, too, Felix. You are not alone in that regard. I am not accustomed to normal conversations with people either.” Ainutsa smiled, glad that she was not the only one to be a bit flustered. However, why this man was so flustered at seeing her ears, she could not fathom. “Uhm... Are my ears that different?” she asked, curiosity eating at her.

As Felix put the thing in the dirty cloth away, Ainutsa wondered what he was going to do with that. She had seen people sell thing at other stands before. Was that what he had hoped to do? “I'm sorry you did not get around to your business.” she said, but Felix's eyes were on the sky above. Ainutsa looked up as well to the magnificent sunset. She had seen most every sunset since she could remember. Each end of the day had its own beautiful sky. This one was a particularly gorgeous one. Smiling, Ainutsa welcomed the end of the day and the beginning of the night.

“I cannot account for what every elf does at night. I do not know many elves.” Ainutsa replied, still looking up at the sunset. “Personally, I like sleep. But I only sleep when I need to.”

Returning her gaze to Felix, her confusion sparked again. “Is everything alright?” he had moved his hand behind his back. She had seen other travelers do this before. Many people kept their weapons behind their back.

At that moment, however, a person dropped from above them. Ainutsa jumped backwards, alarmed. Her experience in the forest took over and she assumed a defensive position automatically. In the next second however, she relaxed. The girl in black was back with a cut on her arm that dripped blood. “Are you alright? What were you doing...?” Ainutsa asked, moving to help her. She looked into the girl's eyes for an answer, and stopped, confused again. The girl's eyes were red. “Your eyes are different...?”