god-gifts
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#1
Arialla ought to have found the aroma of fresh-baked bread calming, but it wasn't quite right, not the same as at home -- different types of bread, she supposed. That set her on edge when she was already a bit nervous. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down. She was starting to get a bit more used to life in Caido -- she still wasn't happy to be here, but she no longer cried every time she saw Torchline's ocean, or wandered through Hollowed Grounds with a bruised expression on her face. She'd managed to go for hours without thinking that she ought to be home right now -- and then she'd remember and feel worse, as if she'd forgotten her grieving family.

So it was about time she got to work on her whole getting-home project.

She'd managed to make an offering for Safrin: a lucky beachcombing find, a dark and iridescent shell with silver specks -- like the night sky, or at least Arialla hoped Safrin would see it that way -- formed the centerpiece of a silver necklace. On either side of the shell hung matched pairs of small stars in silver and mother of pearl. The silver chain and stars Arialla had traded for here in the Hollowed Grounds, where shells did have some value as decoration. Nothing on the necklace was expensive, really -- Arialla doubted the chain or stars were real silver -- but it was pretty, and it had taken a good week of work for her to find and trade for all the pieces. She had new muscles in her legs and new sunburn on her back from walking Torchline's beach; she could only hope that Safrin would be pleased.

But a nagging voice in the back of her mind wouldn't accept that hope, so she'd come to the bakery seeking a second opinion. As Samuel had suggested, it wasn't hard to find, and in asking for directions she'd learned of Amalia's title: Shield of Safrin. Back home, a title like that might rule a city -- so no wonder Arialla felt a little intimidated at the prospect of meeting Amalia. But she was a consecrated priestess herself -- if only of a small town temple, she had been blessed directly by her god -- so she squared her shoulders and walked into the bakery.

She then immediately unsquared her shoulders, because that was a curiously aggressive posture to adopt in a bakery. Instead she approached the counter and said, "Excuse me: I'm looking for Amalia, Shield of Safrin. I ... was hoping for some advice about Safrin."

( Amalia )
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#2
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
Amalia is in a rare moment between tasks, one batch of bread in the oven, another set to rise. So Arialla will find her rather relaxed, her elbows on the counter and a cup of tea between her hands as she scribbles in a book. Jyoti hovers over her shoulder, sometimes cooing unhelpfully and generally demanding skritches.

She looks up briefly when the girl walks in, anxious to complete her thought before getting derailed. "Ah... just a moment, please!" Finishing her writing swiftly, Amalia straightens up at last to regard the woman with large dark eyes, trying to remember the question. Advice about Safrin?

Brightening considerably, the Shield half-smiles awkwardly. Her status as defacto Safrin expert never fails to bemuse the girl, as much of an ego boost as it is. "Of, of course. What kind of advice?"
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#3
Arialla smiled in return, her nerves a bit settled by the friendly reception, though the starwhale does strike her as -- well, beautiful, but strange. That was all right, though. Arialla liked "beautiful, but strange."

"I intend to pray to Safrin for help getting home," Arialla said, deciding that it was best to lay out the entire question as plainly as she could. "I'm an Outlander, and I ... very much want to return to where I came from. I know it's unlikely, but I was hoping she might give me some guidance. That's -- that's not really what I wanted to ask you about, though, just background."

She hurried on, afraid that Amalia would tell her how improbable it was that Safrin -- or anyone -- could actually help her get home. "Rather, I was hoping you could give me some advice on approaching her, and tell me whether you believe she would accept my offering."

At this, Arialla held up the necklace, turning it slightly to show off the main shell's iridescence.
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
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#4
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
The girl's admission is, well... It's a difficult feeling to describe. Amalia's lips twist in a display of sympathy, her dark gaze softening a little as she rubs her thumb over the countertop. "I see," she murmurs, trying to determine the best way to break the news.

But the stranger does not give her time to explain that her request is impossible, so Amalia swallows the warning down. Instead she simple extends her hand to the dangling necklace, not really sure when she became the expert on appraising gifts for Safrin.

"Lovely." It is, truly: the colors dance and flicker on the shells, not too unlike the cosmos in Safrin's eyes. "Safrin will love it."
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#5
Arialla beamed at the compliment, grateful for Amalia's approval. She'd worked hard enough to create the necklace, after all -- harder than she really needed to, probably, due to her nerves about approaching a strange god.

"Thank you." Arialla hesitated. "Is there anything else I should know as I pray to her? Forms of address, things to avoid?"
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
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#6
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
The stranger's eagerness to please will satisfy Safrin to no end, Amalia thinks with a wistful smile as the girl asks for more advice. She rums a finger thoughtfully over the spine of her book, humming. "Mmm... your interest in her will make her happy. And you gift." She glances again at the necklace. "Safrin... only asks for your love. Be humble, and respectful. And don't... don't grovel, I suppose, if that makes sense."
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#7
"I see." Arialla tapped her hand on her leg, thinking. Humble and respectful but not groveling -- yes, she thought she could manage that. She had been a priestess, after all; she had some practice at maintaining her own dignity while also glorifying a god. "That does make sense; thank you."

But "love," that felt a little more difficult. Arialla loved her own god, Apollo. She could love Safrin, in time, she suspected -- but considering that her entire goal was to leave Safrin's domain forever, it seemed a fool's errand for either of them to get attached to each other.

"Someone called her 'jealous' once," Arialla said, choosing not to name Jigano as the source of that less-than-flattering evaluation. "I used to serve another god, back home. Will she mind?"
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
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#8
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
Someone called her jealous once. A crooked smile plays at Amalia's lips, and she can't help but wonder: "Was that Jigano?" The ire her friend holds for her goddess is not unknown to the Shield, source of irritation that it is. "She can be, I suppose. The same way anyone is jealous of the things they love."

Placing her elbows on the counter and her head on her chin, Amalia tilts her head. She's biting her cheek thoughtfully, dark eyes trained on Arialla. "I don't... think so. But.. you have to understand. Your home, your gods... they're not here. And there... you can't go back. I'm sorry."
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#9
Arialla let out an embarrassed laugh. She hadn't expected Amalia to figure that out so easily. While she still didn't want to incriminate Jigano -- light as the crime might be -- she wasn't exactly a good liar. "It ... might have been."

The things they love ... Not the people they love, but Arialla understood. Gods weren't people; they couldn't be expected to see mortals as equals or have mutual relationships with them, the way one mortal might with another. Arialla was used to that idea.

"I ..." Arialla had told herself that she wouldn't accept any discouragement, even if it once again came from one of the people who ought to know best -- first Jigano, who had at least left open the possibility that they might one day discover such a way, even if Arialla had sensed that he did so more out of pity than true belief; and now Amalia. Taking a deep breath, Arialla tried to find a balance between hope and realism. "So I've been told. But ... I have to try. I have to at least ask. I don't know what else I'd do with myself."
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
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#10
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
The desperation, the tragedy of losing your home, the things you knew and believed in... as much as she may resent outlanders for forcing their ways on Caido, Amalia cannot help but ache for the things they must have lost.

And yet she cannot bring herself to lie to Arialla, to tell her there is hope- because time and experience has shown again and again that they cannot go backwards, only move on. She will never find the life she left behind, only build a new one here.

"I... can't blame you for that." Dark eyes taking in the red-haired woman, Amalia bows her head in a nod. "After, if you decide you want to... if you need help finding a place here, I can do that. Help you. If you want."
Arialla Calimeris


Age: 27 | Height: 5'5" | Race: Attuned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Stormbreak
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#11

Arialla

"Thank you," Arialla replied. "I appreciate that, and I'll probably take you up on it."

She was realistic enough to know that she'd still be here in Caido even after talking to Safrin. After all, she didn't expect Safrin to simply wave her hand and send her home -- if leaving Caido was that simple, how many Outlanders would stick around? No, Arialla simply hoped that Safrin could point her in the right direction to find a way home. And if not ... If not, she didn't know what she'd do. But maybe Safrin would have advice for that too.

Arialla made herself smile. "I appreciate the guidance you've offered, too, but I should probably let you get back to work."

please don't take my sunshine away


coding base by Skylark
Amalia Chandrakant
the Archangel
Baker

Age: 29 | Height: 5'6 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Natural | Citizenship: Stormbreak
Level: 5 - Strg: 49 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 52 - Luck: 49 - Int:
JYOTI - Mythical - Starwhale (Humpback)
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Posts: 3,098 | Total: 4,577
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#12
the darkest nights produce the brightest stars
She's sorry to watch the hope wash away, to see the lines around Arialla's smile. But truth is more valuable than false hope, Amalia thinks. She would be the first to admit her mistake, should a way to send them home be found.

But she'll also be the last to say it's possible, when time and evidence and the gods themselves have told her it is not.

"Of course. Here- for the road." Pressing a loaf of honey wheat bread across the counter to the girl, Amalia smiles weakly. "I hope to see you soon, Arialla. May Visit keep you."

{Fin}


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