Fen

"How much do most people pay? I'm afraid I have no frame of reference," Aartur says with a small smile. He was sure whatever price would be fair for such an impressive display. He had indeed gotten "good" cards, though their implications mildly terrified him. The Miqo'te nods to the large man, and finally, finally takes a seat of his own. After he settles in, he looks to Kie and the carbuncle, his carbuncle, curiously, "You, um, rather like him, don't you? Kyubey, I mean..."

Oh, okay. Would you like to be invited to the LS when the servers are back up? And/OR if you'd like to be invited ICly we have fighting event things near that bridge on Wednesdays and Saturdays after 10pm EST. Update: It let me in! Anyone else having any luck? I'm in, too! :3

Aye, sir. Well, poo.

Everyone else got the error, too?

Aartur's eyes widen in awe, "Wow... that's... wow... Quite impressive, really. How do you do that?" He seems too enamored by the card trick to take note of Kie or Baer or even his carbuncle. The carbuncle seems more than comfortable in Kie's lap, though it never shuts its eyes. The little creature nuzzles up into her hand while still observing the rest of its surroundings.

I'll admit, I've not gotten terribly far in the story, but I'd tend to agree with the people suggesting the dialects are akin to the British Isles. For example, in my quests (especially around Limsa and even elsewhere) I've heard "anyroad" used extensively. This isn't something they just made up, it's an actual term that's mostly insular to Northern Britain. The one Ala Mhigo accent I heard definitely sounded like it was from the North part of Britain, though the speaking part was somewhat short for that character and I'm not an expert on British accents. And of course "bloody" seems to be used by bloody everyone, and "bugger" makes appearances all about as well, which... again, suggests most of the dialects have some root in British. As for my own characters, the only one with a definite leaning toward a dialect is my Ala Mhigan, Fen, who I inject a lot of British slang into the vocabulary of. Especially if he gets upset. Once again! I am not a linguist! Nor am I actually British! But I am an Anglophile, and so this is my two gil, however the inexpert I may be.

Aartur shuffles the deck, handing it carefully back to the Elezen, "Like that?" he said before turning his head toward Kei, sensing something briefly amiss by way of his summon. By the time he looks over, nothing seems to be wrong, though, so his attention diverts back to the fortune teller and her cards as little Kyubey the carbuncle settles back down.

I've RPed with these folks, once at an event and once or twice outside of an event, and I can say now that this is really a great thing. Keep it up!

The carbuncle seems to relax at the petting, settling down, though it's eyes remain open the whole time. Aartur smiles kindly towards the creature, though it is only a short glance at it and could be mistaken for smiling at anything in that direction. He seems to have also relaxed, looking back to the Elezen, "In any case, it would be interesting... How much... do you normally charge?"

The carbuncle looks back at Aartur, as if asking approval. Aartur gives a little nod, and the creature hop into Kieaira's lap. It's somewhat on the small side compared to other carbuncle summons, and seems rather lightweight. Slowly, it curls up and settles down atop Kie's legs. Turning back to Elisan, Aart gave a timid smile, "That would be quite interesting, I think... What sort of things do you predict?"

The little carbuncle advances a few steps to nuzzle Kie's hand carefully, its luminescent fur soft to the touch. Its master, Aartur, seems to be at least a bit more at ease, now, "Erm... don't worry, he won't bite. He isn't even in combat most of the time... more of a lookout for me..." he said, letting a small smile cross his face.

Aartur took note of Kie's beckoning to the carbuncle. With a discreet motion with his hand, Aartur nodded to the creature, which hops off his shoulders, onto the table, and weaved its way carefully past dishes and mugs toward the other Miqo'te, stopping a few centimetres short of her hand. Yayaan, the little Lalafell, nodded up to the woman before getting out of his seat, "Good luck, then, with your studies. As for me, I must be off. I have some business to attend to, pleasure meeting you all." With little more than a nod to the table, the Dunesfolk left the tavern, leaving poor Aartur alone with these new people. Aartur, for his part, blinked at the leaving Lalafell and sighed as he disappeared from view, looking back to the Elezen woman, "That's... um... rather fascinating, perhaps sometime, you could... um... attempt my fortune?"

Magic. Finally something I'm good at. Aartur nodded to the woman, "It takes a lot of study... And even then, it takes some time to get used to having that extension of yourself running around..." he stated, notably less timid than with prior topics. The carbuncle tilted its head at Kie from atop Aartur's shoulders. Looking to the Elezen, he inquired, based on Yayaan's question, "Er... Yes, it must take some time to learn enough thaumaturgy to read fortunes... Or is that independent of your studies...?"

Thank Menphina, a subject change. Aartur let out a sigh of relief, nodding to the woman, "Ah... Arcanist... though that was probably obvious... because of Kyubey... So I read a lot... and think... and... do math..." he rambled. Now I sound boring... "I... um... I also sew..." Much better. Yayaan, finally speaking up, looked to the pale woman, "How long have you been involved in Thaumaturgy? Do you earn your income with it?"

Time for my two gil, I suppose... Drama is horrid. It really is. But I believe it has been said earlier that people are the cause of this, people with sensitive feelings, people with a lacking grasp on the IC/OOC line, people who are... frankly, little gits. It happens everywhere, and it is very immature, and I've had to leave guilds and even kill off a character because of it. It happens. And it's not fun. That said, it is not the norm. More often than not, you encounter the nice, level-headed sort, who may be sucked into the drama, as I've seen with some good friends in past games, but will rarely cause anything (I like to think of myself as part of that number). It's that little five or ten percent that ends up causing these blowouts. To more directly address the latter question... I would have to momentarily abandon my eloquence in favor of a big ol' "Fuck them." Hurrah for Blacklists! But seriously, if everything reasonable's been done and there's still a problem, just get away from them and move past it, they aren't worth the stress or effort. Take this with a grain of salt, of course, I'm not one of these people who have been at it for decades. >_>

Aartur's ears flattened as his suspicions were confirmed. Yup. I'm an idiot. His face grew red as he, too, looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone, "I'm... um... I'm not certain, actually... She wanders... I think, so... um... yeah..." Hoping for a tangent off of the current topic, he looked to the others present, "Do... you all have family, too?" he mumbled, immediately frowning to himself afterwards. Of course they have family, you idiot. Did they just appear from thin air?

This girl doesn't like me... What did I do? Did I do something? I must have... It's probably because I keep bumping into things... I need to be friendly... Aartur tilted his head, "You... um... You, too? I only go to public places because my sister will drag me to them otherwise..." No, that didn't look friendly, now you look like a creepy hermit... Maybe Yayaan will save me? The Lalafell was pretending to not notice Aartur's predicament, minding his tea. Sadistic little bugger.

Aartur gave a nervous chuckle, "Er... yes, those odd... people who talk to inanimate things..." he said, glancing to the carbuncle on his shoulders, "And... um... you would be surprised, sir... how much you can learn from books... if... if you read the right ones..." He glanced to Kie, "I... um... pardon the forwardness... but I'm rather impressed..." The Miqo'te gave a timid smile, an Yayaan, sitting in the seat in front of the lad, gave a short nod of agreement.

Aartur cocked his head to the side, towards the other Miqo, "Er... I... I've never seen you in Gridania before... but... I really don't see a lot if people, really... I usually have my nose in a book, so people don't bother me a lot..." His ears perk when she says she's learning, "Th-thaumaturgy? Alchemy?" Yayaan seemed content to listen, and Aartur turned his head toward the Highlander, "You... You fight? For a living? Wh-... Why?"

I have two mages, Aartur Nelhah and Yayaan Tutuan. Aartur is exceedingly shy, even for a Keeper, but is also very scholarly (he'd literally read all day if he didn't need food or money). Yayaan on the other hand also considers himself a man (Lalafell) of learning, but is out more often in the field as a mage-for-hire and occasional vigilante. Both of them can most often be found around the Ul'dah area, or Gridania for Aartur, as he lives there. Feel free to send a tell if you wanna RP! (I also have my main, Fenenoix Ekrent, who is quite friendly, but though he's involved in alchemy, he isn't exactly a scholar.)

Aartur flinched. Oh dear, he'd done it again. "E-er... no... my fault... sorry..." He looked to the others, remaining standing despite the invitation to sit. It's much easier to retreat if you're standing. Back onto his shoulders, the carbuncle jumped, to the relief of Yayaan. "Um... oh, right, and this is Kyubey," Aartur spoke as he motioned towards the carbuncle, "I... um... I live in... Gridania, but I visit here often... o-on account of my sister, who lives here..." Yayaan, on the other hand, scrambled up into a seat, light green eyes finally visible above the table, "I live here, in Ul'dah," he said simply, "so I come for the drink and food." Aartur decided that, presumably for protection, he would move behind the chair Yayaan sat in, across the table from the skittish girl. A glance to the tall Hyur is given by the Keeper, "Um... she dropped her drink... so I was... um... cleaning it up... that was... er... it was stupid of me, sorry..."

Aartur blinked down at the cream and grabbed a rag that had been left on a nearby table. Getting down on hands and knees, the odd fellow cleaned up the spill before the staff had a chance to... which unfortunately led him under the table and right up next to the only person whose timidity had ever rivaled his own. The carbuncle had hopped off his shoulders and perched atop Yayaan's head, much to the Lalafell's dismay. Picking up the pieces of the glass, Aartur looked up, ears flattening as he realized where the mess had led him to. Not waiting for a reaction, he jolted up a bit, bumping his head on the underside of the table before scurrying back to where he had been standing before. Yayaan looked up to his comrade, "...Masterfully done."

The Keeper blinked, "M-my what? I... I um..." The Dunesfolk must have kicked him again, as he jumped slightly, "E-er... I... I'm Aartur... Aartur N-Nelhah... Th-this is a... a peer, Yayaan Tutuan... Er... Um... Sorry... again..." The Lalafell, Yayaan, nodded politely to the others, "...A pleasure," he said curtly.

Aartur the Keeper continues to look back and forth between people, retaining his apologetic grimace. "Ouch... Wha-...?" he mumbles as the Lalafell kicks him in the ankle, hissing up to the Miqo'te, "Well, say something... Something understandable, preferably..." "Bu-but... she looks mad... What if she yells? I don't want to be yelled at... Ouch!" Aartur says, followed by another kick to the ankle and a stern look from his comrade. Of course, everything the Miqo'te said would be easily heard by everyone at the table. He turns toward the woman, opens his mouth... but no words come out as his voice seems to draw a blank.

((Oh, not at all! Nice job wiggling in! )) The Keeper seemed nearly in a tizzy, looking back and forth between the apparently angry woman and the tall, imposing man. Face bright red, he adopted an intensely apologetic, borderline fearful expression, "I-I... er... n-no, s-sir, you... It was... m-my fault... ah... M-ma'am!" he exclaimed with unintentional gusto, "I, ah... I didn't... I mean... I... you... we... um... Nrgh... words..." The frantic man finally gave up on babbling with a sigh, grimacing to himself and nodding thankfully to the Elezen woman. Nearby, the carbuncle made an impressive leap onto his shoulders once more. "...Aartur, what are you doing?" came a voice several heads below most. The Dunesfolk looked sternly to the male Keeper before looking up to the others, "...Apologies, he tends to be rather timid, even by Keeper standards. He means no harm, I assure you, nor any insult." The Lalafell's voice was about the average, high tone of most of his race, though notably serious to match his expression.