Author: Taryn, Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2020 3:27 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

Trafalgor chuckled, his voice refreshingly deep. To have only the connotation of their tone being the primary way to tell Kieran and Elwin apart had taken a heavier toll on her than she realized. With the monk's voice being so different, she did not have to fear… Did she? After introducing himself to her, he turned to Arziros and all but demanded that he apologized to Taryn and to make a promise to them. Taryn blinked in shock at Trafalgor, wondering who he was exactly.

Arziros's head bowed deeply, shyly looking up at Trafalgor from beneath long lashes to see that he truly was serious about the apology. He turned to Taryn. "I sowwy mommy. I pwomise." Once more he hugged Taryn's neck, which brought a smile to the woman. "Apology accepted." She stood and watched as he was praised and rewarded with the sweet bread, standing to offer Taryn one as well, making her stomach softly complain about not having eaten since the night before. First, however, Taryn gave Trafalgor a proper noble curtsey with a bow of the head. "I am Taryn Rothslin, this is Arziros son of… Elwin Rothslin." she stumbled over her husband's name as if merely saying it will summon him. Out of habit, she found herself going to play with her wedding band, only to remember for the second time that day it was no longer in her possession.

"I would enjoy one, thank you," her voice softer since her introduction as she half-tucked her chin down, accepting the offered bundle. Gingerly, she took one out, noting there were three. Had he bought one for Elwin as well, having assumed Ari was here with both parents? Taryn returned the last roll to Trafalgor. "Thank you," she said again, her gaze drifting to see Ari happily munching on his already-half-gone-sweetbread. What was she going to do with him, to make him understand? Did she even have what it takes to be a single mother?

A sense of being overwhelmed washed over her as her vision clouded with tears. Arziros looked up at Taryn, a big pleading gaze on his innocent features. "Mommy, mommy! Less go!" He pointed to a store window that displayed a variety of children's toys. Some were sewn, some whittled, some were made of glass. Each were just as beautiful as the next. She sniffled as she smiled at him. "Okay, love…" But the look she gave to Trafalgor was one of defeat.

Author: Trafalgor, Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 2:32 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

Trafalgor gave a nod at the woman when she told him that it was only her that would be reunited with Ari. 'I supposed I'll just eat the third one myself,' he mused internally. Then he had to hold back a chuckle when he offered up the sweetbread and caused the mother to scold her son. He felt slightly bad for the boy, but it was certainly a lesson the lad needed to learn early and quickly. He didn't want to make any assumptions about the pair, but his gut was telling him that neither of them were truly versed in the dangers most cities could have.

No matter.

He noted the flinch both of them had when 'Daddy' was mentioned, but simply filed that information away alongside his bottled anger for now. He'd follow up on it later.

When their conversation turned back towards himself, Trafalgor did chuckle this time. "You are more than welcome, my lady. And my apologies for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Trafalgor." He turned his head to the young man before him. "Or as I told young Ari, you may call me 'Traf' if that is simpler." He made sure to keep his smile in place, but the rest of his face shifted into stern lines. "As for you, young man, while one of these treats are intended for you, as a responsible adult I cannot simply reward bad behavior. So," he paused, making sure to make eye contact with the lad, "before I will give you the sweetbread, you must first apologize to your mother for scaring her as you did and promise us both that you will endeavor-," he then remembered that he was talking to a young boy and adjusted his words,"that you will do your best to not make the same mistake in the future."

He may not have his own children yet, but as one of his village's leaders, he knew better than to force a child to make a promise about absolutes. Better to make them promise about attaining a goal, or at least making their best attempt towards achieving said goal. Even if they failed, then if they actually put in their best efforts they could take solace in the fact that they had kept their word. 

He waited patiently for Ari to do as he was asked, then allowed the stern features to fall away and his smile to widen proudly. "Atta boy, Ari. Here you go," he said as he held forward the sweetbread and allowed him to take one. He then stood from his squat and offered his mother the bundle. "Would you like one as well?"

Author: Taryn, Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 8:27 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

"I here, Mommy," Arziros said in his childish way, but Taryn could not help but to continue weeping. She had nearly lost him, that which was the most precious in her dismal life. If anything were to happen to him, she was sure not to forgive herself. It was her decisions that brought him out this far from his noble family's estate. A male's voice spoke nearby, which would have been easily dismissed by being in the midst of a busy street if he hadn't been speaking about getting a scare from a mischievous young boy.

Taryn's gaze shot up to the olive-toned man in green. She took in his staff, his attire, his posture. The first thing that came to mind was the word "monk", something she had very little knowledge or experience with. If her memory was to be relied upon, she would guess he meant her no harm. The theory was proven when he rose up a placating hand and explained himself. Taryn untangled herself from the toddler's arms and held his hand as she stood. "I thank you, good sir. However, it is just I who will be reunited with my son."

Her virid gaze watched the stranger wearily as he stooped to Arziros's level, offering something wrapped in cloth. "Arziros!" Taryn turned her now stern gaze upon her son who's mixed orbs looked up at her with guilt. "Don't tell me you ran off for treats! Ari," she sighed his name as she returned to her knees, taking both of his hands in hers as she stared into his face. "Arziros, you can't just run off to anyone's venue like that anymore. We are not home with Daddy, and Grandma, and Grandpa. No one knows you here or anywhere else." Both mother and child flinched at the word Daddy, but Taryn needed him to understand. "If you aren't by my side, he can take you away from me. You don't want that, do you, Ari?" Tears welled up in his eyes as he shook his head vehemently. "No mommy!"

Arziros threw himself at her again, a hug for which Taryn was grateful to accept. She didn't like to scare him, but the dangers out here were too numerous. "Now, what do you tell this gentleman for being kind to you?" Taryn asked when the embrace had ended, forcing attention back to the stranger. "Tank due! I has sweetbread now?" He held his hands out expectantly. "Thank you, stranger… I'd be lost without him."

Author: Trafalgor, Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:02 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

Trafalgor had momentarily worried that the boy would continue to keep his silence, but was glad when he did actually respond. For a small lad, the boy certainly had a good bit of pride in his name and Trafalgor couldn't quite keep a smile off of his face. "That's a good name, Ari. I'll see what I can do about that sweetbread," he began, turning his head towards the vendor and raising three fingers and receiving a quick nod in return, "but more importantly," he went on returning his attention to the boy, "we should find your parents. They're probably worried sick about you by n-" 

Trafalgor cut off his sentence as the boy's attention turned away from both him and the cart. "Ari?" The boy's quite words barely made it to his ears before the lad was off like a shot down the street. Cursing quietly under his breath, he stood, reached into his robes, than slapped down a handful of silver on the vendor's cart before grabbing his goods with his free hand and taking off after Ari at a slow jog. For all that the boy wasn't even to his waist, his agility couldn't be called into question. Around, under, and in one case almost through, Ari made his way through the street traffic without hardly slowing down at all. As quick as he was, it was no wonder he'd managed to slip away from his parents.

Finally, just as Trafalgor thought he might lose the lad, he heard a woman cry out ahead of him and saw a head of very blond hair drop from view towards the ground. Assuming Ari had found one of his parents, Trafalgor slowed his pace and continued to approach at a more sedate pace, making sure to make plenty of noise with both his steps and staff against the road so as not to catch them completely unawares. He soon came upon a petite blond woman on her knees in the middle of the street with her arms wrapped tightly around Ari. His attention was quickly drawn towards the woman's matching black eye and was forced to once again push his anger back into its figurative bottle before he came to a halt a respectable distance away. Allowing the joy of seeing the boy and his mother reunited to put a smile on his face, Trafalgor spoke as he settled into a relaxed and unguarded stance. "Gave you quite the scare, didn't he?" Knowing his presence would likely be a surprise, he let his staff lean into the crook of his elbow as he raised his right hand up placatingly, "Peace, my lady," he said, noting her clothing and general bearing, "I only followed young Ari to ensure that he was able to reunite with his parents."

Saying so, he squatted down to their level in the hopes it would help reassure the woman. His staff slid up his arm to lean between his shoulder and neck and he raised the trio of sweetbreads wrapped in cloth in his left hand up slightly. "Sweetbread?"

Author: Taryn, Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2020 8:27 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

He was single-mindedly determined to get one of those pastries, to gorge himself on them. Arziros only cared for his wants. But when someone addressed him, asking him of his parents, fear rose within him. His father came first to mind, easy to anger. Before that day, Elwin had never risen anything but his voice at Arziros. Now, he feared his father might strike him again. This man mustn't take him back to Elwin! To prevent this from happening, Arziros kept his mouth shut, his voice silent.

'Always introduce yourself with pride, for you bear your father's name and his father's name," his mother and grandmother would say if anyone requested his name. Arziros puffed his chest and finally spoke. "I Ari Rof-in," but he did not tell Traf of the whole title, for he did not know it yet. "And I want sweetbread!" he demanded as he stomped his foot. Ari turned away from the cart of bread, his elvish hearing picking up his mother's worried voice as she called for him somewhere down the street. "Mommy?" Before Traf could do anything else, Ari was darting through legs and around people.

"Arziros! Arziros, where are you?" Taryn frantically called. She approached a vendor. "Excuse me, but have you seen a blond little boy come by here?" The woman shook her head apologetically before turning to her paying customers. Her heart raced in its cage, almost painfully so. How could she have been so careless? Alone, in a strange town, Sebastian unawares that she had slipped off… Now Arziros had done the same thing! Why was she not paying attention to him?

But she couldn't break down. Not with so many eyes upon her. Not until her baby boy was back safe in her arms. This was a mistake, she should not have abandoned Kieran. "Arziros!" Finally, she could hear his little voice calling out to her. Taryn's head snapped in that direction and immediately broke into a run. And there he was, his green and blue eyes shining with mischief, his blonde curls bouncing as he ran towards her. She fell to her knees, arms held wide, and caught him as Arziros leaped into her embrace. "Oh Arziros! I'm so sorry. I won't take my eyes off you again." she wept into his neck as she held him tight.

Author: Trafalgor, Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 10:45 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

Scratching out the last item on his list, Trafalgor closed his small notebook, slid the stick of charcoal into the spine, and slid it back into its habitual resting place within his robes. "Well, that's the last of it," he said to himself as he began making his way out of the apothecary and started walking towards the main gates of Endapano so he could Gate back to Gulu without being impolite. The port city had been the third city that he'd visited today to pick up difficult to find materials for the craftspeople in his village and, thankfully, the last since he was able to find everything on the list. A quick pat just below his chest resulted in a hefty jingle from his coin purse within his robes, causing him to give a small grin. It was always nice to haggle well enough to have leftover coin from his budget, but Trafalgor certainly didn't expect to have this much.

As he left the area that catered to more of the skilled trades and approached the mixed commercial and residential area, various smells began assaulting his nose. An idle thought cause him to pause in his steps for a moment before giving a nod. "Perhaps the children will enjoy a treat…" Having made his decision, Trafalgor turned his attention towards the vendors lining either side of the street in an attempt to find something appropriate… but what drew his eye wasn't any treat.

A young boy, surely no older than three winters, with curly blond hair and barely taller than his knees was standing on his tip-toes in front of a vendor's cart with his arm stretched as far as it could towards the sweet breads atop it. He could also see that the vendor in charge of the cart beginning to lose his patience with the boy that seemed to be all alone. Trafalgor turned his head to look up and down the street, but couldn't immediately identify anyone that might be the boy's parents. Focusing back on the tiny figure, he could also tell that the boy wasn't any sort of urchin. His clothing and behavior didn't fit.

A lost child? Did he wander off from his parents? With a sigh, Trafalgor began to walk over. "Guess it can't be helped. I'd better intervene before someone starts a ruckus. Excuse me!," he hailed the vendor as he approached. "Is this young one causing a problem, sir?"

The vendor looked up with a scowl as he smacked the boy's hand away from his goods. "You're damned right he is! Is this your brat?" Trafalgor gave a shake of his head in response as he looked down at the boy who was once more reaching up towards the treats displayed.

"Gimme…" he said as he stretched. "Gimme!"

"No, but I'll see about getting him out of your hair just the same," he told the man before turning his attention to the boy and squatting down next to him, using his staff to keep himself stable. "Excuse me, young one, but where are your parents?" Addressing the boy directly seemed to snap him out of his single-minded endeavor, as he quickly brought his hands back to his sides and faced Trafalgor directly. Seeing the black eye caused him to involuntarily inhale sharply, but he quickly controlled his knee-jerk anger and finished inspecting the lad. He saw no further injuries, but there also didn't seem to be a response forthcoming from the green and blue-eyed boy before him. "I am called Trafalgor. You may call me 'Traf' if you'd like. Can I know your name?"

Author: Taryn, Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2020 9:50 PM, Post Subject: A shift of the Wind [P]

Sebastian had coaxed Taryn off the ship, allowing her to stay by his side as he went to tend to his errands. It was touching that he was going to commission changes to his boat, his home, to accommodate the living situation of mother and child. The idea alone was enough to bring heat to her cheeks. Only one man had ever been so concerned about her comfort, and she left his protective reach. As they wandered into the port town, Taryn's virid gaze was entranced by a shop of tailored outfits.

If they were to survive, both Arziros and herself would need more clothing than she had brought with her. Their decision was abrupt, unplanned. It was such an impulsive act that she could not recognize herself as being the one to make it. Taryn began sifting through the clothing hung on display while her son began to wriggle impatiently. The noblewoman was not thinking twice as she absently set him down. "Stay close," she warned without taking her eyes off the modest dress she was admiring.

Arziros was merely two, almost three years old. Staying nearby was nowhere to be found on his mind as he spied a vendor selling sweetbreads and treats. His mouth watered and his stomach growled as he began to teeter away. Eventually, she looked down and quickly realized her son was missing from her side. Taryn glanced around in a panic. "Ari? Arziros? Where are you?" Taryn called out for him.