The Heart of Sol ~ Open

[hollyn]

There it was again, the beast stalking her dreams and Emma is just out of her reach when...Hollyn awoke with a start in the early pre-dawn light. She sat up to look about her tiny bed space, her gaze fearfully darting to the two small lumps at the end of her bed. Arend and Emma still slept peacefully and in one piece. She breathed a sigh of relief, brushing her palm across her damp forehead. Time to move, there was no more sleep to be had.

After carefully climbing from bed and quietly dressing, Hollyn prepared a bag for travel. Normally this early she would go hunting, but today she planned to go into town for some much needed supplies that she had been saving for. Hollyn moved to gently wake her aged mother," Mama.." She breathed, brushing back her mother's frayed gray hair from her forehead." I am leaving for town." Her mother's eyes shot open and she tried to wake herself,"Hrrmm? So soon? " Hollyn smiled and nodded her head,"Yes, Mama. Its time to wake up," Hollyn would wait long enough for her mother to manage to get herself up and seated in the crudely made rocking chair by the fire before departing.

The air was still crisp and the sky above was still painted a deep shade of blue. The sun was coming, it was only a matter of time, and it was that anticipation of its coming that Hollyn loved so much. She followed the empty dirt road for miles and miles and it would be nearly mid-day by the time Hollyn came upon the capital city Sol. She passed through the protective city walls, waving to the guard above before she went skipping toward the guard on the ground. "Good day Reginald!" She greeted him with a brilliant smile, to which the guard nodded and immediately tried to retreat from Hollyn's approach. She merrily followed in step behind him as he crossed to the other side of the gates," Have you any news?" A question he already knew was coming and waved back at her," I am busy Lyn, not today. " She huffed, putting on a frown as she stopped her chase," Now, now, Reginald, that is no way to greet someone. I know well enough how busy you are." She passed a casual glance back and forth at the empty road," Busy indeed." She sighed,"Good day," And with that she continued on toward the heart of town.

It was market day, so the city square was bustling with activity. Hollyn made her rounds of hello's and good day's, inspecting any new wares, but there really wasn't much to be had at such a sparsely populated market. She had stopped to try some trade for a bit of coarsely ground rye," Good day," She greeted, hefting her bag before her to dig through it,"Ah, Hollyn. Good day indeed. The sun is out, and I am thankful for it after such long days of rain. Not that I am complaining, we need the rain as much as I long to see the sun!" The thin farmer greeted as he came around to approach her. Hollyn offered a smile, passing a glance up to the clear blue skies above," Yes, it is a nice break in the weather," She agreed," A-ha! Got it." She yank her hand from the bag, clutching a tiny purse." I had hoped for my usual supply of rye today, I managed to save your new asking price." Leaving out her wants to complain about his increase in cost." Ah, very good." The man moved to fetch her supplies while she counted out her few coins.

" Have you heard, Lyn?" The farmer set her small bag of rye before her as she handed over the coin," Of what?" She cocked her head to the side, watching the man as she carefully knotted her bag of rye and stuffed into her larger bag." There was another attack last night." Now this news stopped Hollyn," The attacks are getting closer and closer, it as if IT intends to come to our very city." Disturbed, she gave a slight shake of her head," That is just terrible news," Her face scrunched up with a pout,"And let me guess, the King is gone away on business again." She huffed. The farmer looked out to the crowded streets then shrugged," I can not pretend to know anything of His Majesties whereabouts," To which Hollyn gave the man a very dissatisfied look," I am sure none of us can afford to. Good day," She nodded her head and turned to head out into the crowd only to come colliding with another person. Her bag of goods fell to the ground, spilling out at her feet," Oh now look!" She scoffed, too worried about her goods to look at the stranger she had ran into.

[ooc; Sorry its a bit long winded, but I wasn't sure where to start and it just sort of rolled from there lol. The Spell Check thingy is AWESOME btw! ]

[Vahn]

(Mind if I jump in? Heh, sorry that my intro is short compared to yours though.)

Vahn was currently seated at the front of a small wagon, squished between the driver and his teenage son, who were on their way to the capital to sell their surplus crops. Vahn himself was a traveler, having only recently arrived in Solraya.
The boy looked as bored as Vahn felt, for the farmer had not stopped talking since picking Vahn up from the side of the road. He just smiled politely and nodded, unwilling to complain about a free ride. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief when the city walls finally came into view.
It was not much longer before the wagon came to a stop in the town square, which was abuzz with activity. Collecting his things, Vahn thanked the farmer and climbed down from the wagon. Brushing the dust of the road off his well worn black cloak and swinging his bag over his shoulder, he wandered off into the crowd. Now that he had arrived in town, he was pondering his next move, which was likely finding something to eat. However, he was jolted out of his thoughts when a fair haired woman walked into him.
He took a small step back, surprised but not angry. Placing his own bag on the ground, he bent down to help the woman pick up her things. "Ah, my apologies. Let me help."

[hollyn]

Hollyn was all in a huff about the whole situation, sinking down almost as quickly as her mouth had uttered her complaints to collect her few important belongings. She nearly had them all and had opened her mouth to voice her opinion when he voiced his apologies. A voice she did not immediately recognize and sure enough, when her gaze shot up it landed upon a handsome face she did not recognize at all coming to her aid. After having such a terrible conversation with the farmer, visions of werewolves and slaughter danced before her eyes. A stranger? Of all the times...? It gave her a sort of wide-eyed, dazed expression as she stared at the man who was now level with her in the hopes of helping.

A glimmer of fear streaked across her lovely features before she managed to compose herself. A heavy breath escaped her, had she forgotten to breath? Then an awkward smile,"Oh, please don't." She replied softly, her bright hues darted from left to right to scan the busy city square. Good, she needed to remind herself was not alone. Hollyn pulled herself up to stand, yanking her dirty canvas bag over her shoulder," There is no need to apologize. No, it was my fault. I was just so..startled. I..." Was she really stammering? She couldn't help but laugh at herself." I do not believe I have any idea who you are. I think that is more startling than the bump." She relinquished the truth and laughed again under her breath, once again her eyes darting to remind herself that she was not alone." What an unfortunate time to be a stranger." Hollyn paused to inspect him further, curious to see his response.

[Vahn]

When she looked up at him, it was quickly apparent from her expression and tone that he had frightened the woman. Vahn slowly put up his hands and took a step back. He put on a smile in an effort to help put her at ease. "Don't be startled. I mean you no harm, madam. I am but a traveling scholar."
He was not unaccustomed to such looks, and had certainly received worse welcomes when his reputation as a magician preceded him. He couldn't really blame people for that though. A seeker of arcane and occult lore, he was often drawn to locales by rumors of strange occurrences. During such times it was a natural reaction to be wary of strangers.
"Yes..." Vahn began cautiously. Figuring now was as good a time as any to begin his inquiry on the so-called beast, he wished to hear her take on the recent killings. However, he thought it best to not ask directly at the moment. "From what I've heard there have been several incidents of late...."