a begining (omio)

[Silvarn]

A crowd had gathered around the senate building. A swath of about ten yards separated two equally-sized groups. Both were shouting at the Senate and at each other. The group on the left from the Senate doors was shouting about freedom, those on the right preached tradition. A nearby belltower tolled ten long notes, announcing the entrance of the magistrates. They filed out, Gossrir following them, smiling broadly.

The head magistrate stepped before his peers and addressed the congregation, "As of the tenth hour after the noon of this day and forever henceforth, slavery will be outlawed in this city." Half the crowd erupted into cheers, the other half booed and complained in shouts.

"A very good night, my friends, for two evils die tonight." Gossrir waddled forth to stand before the head magistrate. "First, the slaves shall walk among us as our brothers. Second, I shall end my services as your governor." No objections from the mob. "In a day's time, a young man named Raven will assume my position. He is my mother's brother's nephew and is most trustworthy." At that, Gossrir attempted to bow, and departed with awkward grace.

The upset half of the mob was unsure of how to react. They were outraged by the abolition, but overjoyed by Gossrir's departure. In time, the halves joined, shaking hands and laughing about Gossrir's horrid past and appearance.

In the darkness of the streets, away from the torch-bearing congregation, Gossrir vanished from the earth forever. Raven took Gossrir's ivory face and wiped it clean with the sleeve of his kimono. He and Francis smiled at the featureless white mask.

"Thank goodness that is over." Francis sighed with relief.

"We will spend this one night in the forest, then return in the morning. This will deserve a momentous celebration for an equally momentous achievement. But first, let us away to the forest savage and brave the darkness within the green palaces." Raven's smile faded and his eyebrow twitched slightly, "But first, we must find he who hides in the shadows. Who goes there?" he called to the darkness.

[jada]

Lyndi looked up when she herd a man call to her and Omio in the shadows. She looked closely at him and realised it was Raven.

"SHHHHH!" she said running up to him. "Stay quiet and don't give us away. Long story short, I'm being stalked by the man who was trying to heal me, and we have to hide. I can't do to much phisically so we have been hiding in the shadows, and I would deeply appreciate it if you didn't blow our cover." She wisperd. She added a nice smile.

"So where have you disapeeared to for the last two days? you didn't even come say hello to us. just left us there with that creepy young man."

[Silvarn]

"I thought it might have been you two, but sneaking from the wrong oppressor. As for myself, I have been hiding as well. My apologies for leaving you with that, as you call him, 'creepy young man,' but I was drowned by work and ignorance. I should have checked his backgrounds. Francis, am I getting soft?" Raven asked his friend with a cheeky smile.

"Soft as silk, my lord." Francis gave his friend a gentle shove.

"If you so desire it, lady, I will have that man removed from the city and anywhere near it. That is, assuming you and Omio plan to stay around this city. I certainly do. Ah, to walk the streets of a fair city free of a constricting mask again. But, for now, will you and Omio kindly accompany me in the forest? I regretfull must spend one night there and company would be most accpreciated. Speaking of whom, where is our mutual friend, the slippery one?"

[jada]

"We will accompany you, Right Omio?" Lyndi called back into the shadows.
"As for the healer, we will leave him be, just as long as he leaves me be."

She smiled up at Raven,"I haven't been home to the forest in some time. I'm getting home ."

It was true since Lyndi had lived so long in the forest by herself it was home to her, this was her first time leaving since she had gone to live there. She was content, home was not far, and she had friends. Her life felt complete.

[Omio]

!!.. Dear me, he did notice Lyndi. Whatever, he is one whom is marked as safe.
"Raven, I am here." He then shifted himself to a stand, and showed himself, instead of moving around consistently to blur out his location. "I merely have hidden here until the night rose so that we may see to eliminating that healer, though a different agenda will work too. A day of rest would be of use. But... to regret the forest? You know not what wonders it is. And apparently, 'tis a home, too. But, enough of mincing words." He condensed what he said to 10 words or less.
"If we're going to the forest, let us go, then."

[Silvarn]

The four of them stole out of the city without obstacles, the townsfolk too busy celebrating the end of Gossrir's reign. They had deliberated and came to the conclusion no governor could be as bad as Gossrir. They were looking forward to this Raven's arrival.

Within the boundaries of the forest, Raven busied himself with constructing four silk tents with silk bedding and Francis proved his cooking mettle by brewing up a magnificent vegetable stew.

"Meat is the working man's poison." Raven observed. "It clouds the mind and he craves more. Everything once ate only plants, and so I follow suite."

The moon high in the sky reflected Raven's spirits and he felt no desire for sleep.

"Come, friends," he addressed the three people before him, "let us have a friendly conversation." He dug around in his left sleeve, extracting the ever-brewing teacup, smelling curiously of spiced rum. "Perhaps we could begin by discussing our pasts. Or are we not comfortable with one another to speak of such matters?"

[jada]

Lyndi joined Raven. she sat down near him, and watched Francis make the Vegitable stew. She could smell all of the flavor, and her mouth began to water. "Well Raven I'd liket o hear more about your past, it obviously has made you a very dedicated man in the future." She smiled. Then turned to Omio,"I'm really curious about your past Omio, I don't think I've herd anything about it."

[Omio]

((Whoa, DRAAAAAG.))
He had followed, and stepped, and helped, and everything. Now it was his turn to end up questionned. "It's... not quite one that would make too many hearty conversations in the future. I would rather keep it for a later time, when all is grim, and other grim news would only lighten the mood. I will say one detail; I was orphaned at the age of 11." He sighed after that. He didn't want to get too much of of his chest. Not yet. But then a pang of realization hit him. The reports of that healer would be too grim, and so that wouldn't be a good thing to do.

"Uh, Sorry, needed a second to think everything over again. The news I have after this would be grimmer, so listen up. I was orphaned at the age of 11, as you know. My mother dying when I was 8, or so I was told, and then Dad... he died of illness when I was eleven. And so, I ended up as an orphan, stuck into slavery. Raven, whom stands here, freed me, and had recommended me to hide. I did that, and a battle ensued. I heard many die there whilst I hid, but Raven still stood. Then I learned, by myself, for myself, how to hide better. For years, I have been perfecting my hiding skills, eventually getting to the point where none could spot me. And then came... the present. All these series of events, though they have taken me by surprise, are showing me that what I have done was a rather wise choice. And now that I have that figured, I will continue my path. I have little experience in society, but that isn't essential - hence why I rely so little on the towns. Which now brings me to the more grim news. During the forest escape, Lyndi was hit by an arrow, or so I take it, and I was hit, in the back, by a tree limb. Then the healer that we went to was corrupted by someone, whom of which I don't know, but have a good hunch on, and nearly kidnapped Lyndi. That leads to the moment where we hid in the shadows, and you noticed her, and... Yeah, It all comes to this point."

He sighed rather heavily. He let a LOT off of his shoulders. That and now he could finally rest eased - he couldn't forget the past because others would be there to help him. Though he had turned his eyes on the future, he kept the past in mind too often - and now he didn't have to worry about that. The smelll of the vegetable soup then took him by surprise. "Dear me, and I have to compliment, the vegetables are quite the thing to cook - for whomever is cooking is doing excellent at that." He was trying to wash the grim-ness away - he didn't want to get too negative.Heads, kinda long. -

[Silvarn]

Francis perked his head up from the steam of the soup, flashing in a smile his white teeth that contrasted sharply against his dark skin, then returned to his cooking.

Raven took a sip of his rum-flavored tea, giving a polite nod of thanks at Omio. "I must thank you for thanking him. Often, I am the only source of appreciation he gets."

He set his teacup within the perpetual folds of his kimono and folded his hands delicately on his lap. "And since I am already the one talking, perhaps I should go next.

"Unlike our mutual friend Omio, I was born with the lack of mother and father. I was born a slave, my comforting mother sleep, my harsh father the whip. When I was old enough to carry a tune without faltering, the head of the house took interest and taught me how to sing. I was apparently born with a magnificent singing voice. Good enough, at least, to merit me a name. I became Cacuus Ray'vin. Cacuus was a title of a slave who had gained favor in the eyes of the master. I was one of three Cacuus's, though I was commonly referred to as, 'The Bird,' in reference to my voice. Around the yuletide or during the summer solstice celebrations, I would be given as a gift among the nobility to entertain. I grew quite fluent in several languages. In fact, I could probably run out of bad things to say about your mothers before I ran out of languages to say them in.

"When I started to become a man, my voice was lost. I lost my beautiful voice, and could not sound a decent note to save my life. On several occasions, it came near that. I rebelled quite frequently, as those of the teen years do. Eventually, I put in the general slave market, to burden whomever would pay the highest price. But it was there I met my lifelong friend, the closest thing I had to a brother. He had thrown off his slave name, just as he threw his chains and mine away. I know not what his former name was, but he called himself Reluctant Bull Charging. In suite and in admiration, I followed suite. No longer was I Cacuus Ray'vin, I was to be known as The Cunning Mind of the Raven's Glittering Eye. Perhaps it is evident, but I could not quite shake my former name's hold.

"Reluctant and I formed an abolition movement dedicated to freeing all the slaves of Valear. He handled the physical freeing of the slaves, as he was apt to -- the young man, I boast not, could have easily lifted all four of us while we sat on a dead log -- back to my tale, he handled the physical affairs while I handled the diplomatic and legislative end of things. You see, though I was deprived of my singing voice, I was gifted with a powerful silver tongue, and magic to abuse it with.

"My good, dear friend Reluctant was assassinated suddenly, and I, knowing not what else to do, took our finances and fled. I established an aviary of exotic birds, using the funds to buy the freedom of slaves and letting them earn enough to get settled in the aviary. Since then, I have been touring Valear, trying to unite cities and governments to my cause. Unfortunately, this city of Gossrir's is my first triumph. But more will follow, I can feel it.

"Forgive me my overly long drone on the past. Please, do entertain us with your past, my lovely Lyndi."

[jada]

"My history is not an entertaining one. " Lyndi began.

"I grew up fatherless, I don't even think my mother knew who the man was, but I know that he was a shapeshifter because my mother is not. Not even my family knew my secret of my abliities. Anyway I lived with my mother and siblings. We were a happy family. One day I went off into the woods to shift for a while. It was something I had to do, I wanted to know more about my ability so I would learn to control it. But when I came home..." She had to stop and wipe away her tears and regain her voice. She had never told anyone about herself before. She had kept it all a secret, she had held it in for so long. All the sadness of her loss. Her tears grew thicker and greater in number, until she was sobbing. She managed to whisper,"I'm sorry," and she stood and walked away from their little emcampment. She didn't go far. Just to a little stream of water to dip her hands in and wash her face. She needed to calm down so she could finish her story.

After a few minutes she had stopped crying and she returned to her seat next to Silvarn and Omio. "I'm sorry, I have just left my story hidden in my heart for so long. I never really wanted to believe the truth of what happened, but I lost my family in a fire. The only person who may still be alive is my father, but I have no disire to meet a man who didn't want me as a child. After my family had passed on, I stayed in the forest as an animal. I was too afriad to go live in town somewhere, because I was only eighteen. I had no money, and no real experience with people. I already knew how to survive in the woods, so that's where I have lived, and then I met Omio." She finished.

[Omio]

Almost as if I'm a god of some sort. But that... isn't boring, but quite condensed. However, with the tears that are coming out, asking questions would show me too insensitive. Leave the questions for now, and get to a better topic. We have to leave our scars and tears behind. Build the future. He was in one fast myriad of thought, Omio. He needed to ease the mood somehow, but... No, he can't be too abrupt about it, or else it'd show that he didn't care - which he did, mind you - and he didn't want to show that. "I..." He paused to set more truth to the words. "...understand." His eyes closed, reflecting on what all was said. He wanted to talk more about the pasts, but they, again, were grim subjects. "Sorry, but too many things were just falling together for me here." He rised his hands to his head, his index and middle fingers going to the temple of his head, and he started rubbing - as if he just ended up with a head-ache - but he was actually easing himself. He sighed once again. "The air just so... depressing, bar the smell of the stew, but we seem to be disregarding it. Why don't we get rid of the air of depression, and just enjoy the moment?"

[Silvarn]

"Indeed," Raven mused. The three of them all had depressing histories. A regular band of misfits. All of them slaves, all of them free. Lyndi may or may not have been a slave, but her kind was certainly a prime target fro slavetraders.

"If we shall change the subject to happier terms, perhaps we shall discuss memorable acquaintances?" Raven offered, "I once met a throughly grumpy young man with the most...ancient, I believe is the word, yes, he had the most ancient grey eyes I have ever seen. Our conversation lasted the duration of the direction of a certain landmark, but no more. I wish to meet that strange, grey-eyed fellow again. He seemed quite intelligent and knowledgeable. Have either of you met such a man?"

[Omio]

He hit the familiar nerve. "I've met with such a man, though he told me to keep him in secrecy. I've met the man before. He is strange - that I do agree with." He couldn't say much more. Silvarn was referring to Ipsen. However, he could only mention the fact that he saw him, if someone mentionned his name, but that was all.

[jada]

"I've never met anyone. As I said before, I have just lived alone in the forest, afriad of people and having to lose people close to me." Lyndi replied.

"I am curious about this strange man though, with grey eyes. That sounds very peculiar. Also why would he want to live in secrecy? Although, there are many reasons to live in secrecy as we all know..."

Lyndi was and ready to eat. She tried to look any where but at Francis cooking, that would just make her even more hungary. She felt like a fidgety squirl, except she remained perfectly still. She didn't want to seem imptient and rude.

[Silvarn]

Francis bustled out from his seclusion, handing an ivory bowl filled with warm broth to each party member, ending with himself. Raven ate in silence, contemplating Lyndi's question. When he finished, he dabbed at the corners of his mouth with the ends of his kimono sleeves and set the bowl aside.

"It is entirely possible and plausible that Omio and I have met two different grey-eyed men, both of which are quite surly and unsociable. The odds are unlikely, but is a possibility. Thank you, Francis, for a lovely meal. You know me, I hardly eat enough to keep a songbird alive. If either of you desire more, help yourselves."

Several tangents of thought later, Raven asked, "We are here in this forest, where we met once before, not long ago. Francis and I were enjoying a stroll. What, pray tell, were you two doing here?"