Qion'li was a strange one. During their journey to the Golden Bazaar, and then to Highbridge, K'airos couldn’t make her mind up about the man. One hand, he was friendly enough. He was constantly speaking of his business, which was actually only an excuse to jump into speaking about his travels. He had apparently been everywhere in Eorzea and had taken pride on having friends everywhere. Including kobolds, somehow. K'airos found that one suspicious enough to put in doubt everything else he had said.Â
But lying during idle talk wasn't something that bothered her.
What bothered her was a feeling of being watched by the merchant. She could only recall to moment in which the man was glaring at her, but they could be easily dismissed as nothing. Coincidences. The man certainly had a right to direct his eyes to wherever, or whomever, he pleased.
Then the thoughts that Qion'li could, perhaps, fancy her in some way made her blush and forget what she was doing.
She recalled what she was doing after she slammed her forehead against the door. It was certainly a novel way to knock.
The house was a small building against the northern cliffs of Thanalan, with only two rooms, with a really small bathroom to the side. So small there was no tub. Just a shower with a curtain and a toilet. Their kitchen was the fireplace, and their dining room was a thin and long table near it with just enough chairs for her and her mother.
The house was close enough to Highbridge to be able to see most of the buildings, and certainly the famously high bridge. It was also a very recent construction. Perhaps Qion'li was behind that.
She found her hands full of things, so she knocked again. This time, she used her foot. "Mom! I'm back!"
Antimony straightened immediately from where she'd crouched in front of the fireplace, carefully nursing a nearly used up fire core back to life so that they might cook a meal later. Her back protested the sudden action, and she slowed her movement with a wince, one hand shifting to rub at her spine. It couldn't weight down the smile that came with greeting her daughter again for long, however.
She hadn't been certain about accepting Qion'li's hospitality regarding this small house at first, but now she was simply glad to have a place K'airos could return to for security and love.
Tucking a few stray strands of grey hair back into one of her braids, Antimony stepped towards the door and opened it wide, her smile softening at the sight of her thing-burdened daughter. "So you are, Airos. Come, put those things down. You didn't run into any trouble out there, did you? You should let me check you over for injury."
"Wha- no, I just brought food!" K'airos announced, stepping in and finally paying attention to the baskets she had brought. The topmost was filled with comestibles. Nothing particularly expensive. Or tasty. Or abundant. But it was edible and she figured that was the important part.
She walked towards the fireplace and let her burden down next to it, getting one off the top of the other, revealing its contents.
"And blankets, because those beds must be covered with mites."
Antimony pursed her lips, watching her daughter carefully for a few seconds longer. "Depending on how long we stay here, we may wish to take the time to air them out." She smiled at the baskets, considering them a demonstration of K'airos's learned responsibility. Then she startled and turned back towards the fireplace, where the fire core had begun to sputter. She turned it carefully with a stick. "Has Qion'li told you how long he expects you to remain here?"
K'airos went to the bedroom, where two beds were placed against either side of the door, with a wooden dresser on the opposite side. The house was small enough that a conversation could be had comfortably from one end to the other.Â
"Well... he's going to meet with someone tomorrow. The day after that he'll go to the Shroud. I don't have to actually follow him there, just up to the frontier." she explained, starting to take off the sheets from the beds. "But he's coming back in a week so...I'm guessing we should stay here until then. It's still paid work!"
Setting one hand against her back, Antimony lifted her eyes to the main room of the structure. She didn't bother asking if she could attend K'airos on that trip, not wanting to overly pester the young woman, though the thought of even that day without her daughter made her heart clench. "It is. I'm very proud of you." Her expression softened. "While we await his return, perhaps we can find the ingredients to make some of your old favorite meals here."
"I don't think we are close enough to the Sagolii. There's a huge chasm dividing Highbridge from everything to the south." K'airos pondered out loud, face neutral. "The tribe might be close, though! K'ile said they'd be moving-" she paused herself. Leaning back to look at her mother through the doorframe, she added: "Maybe that's not a good idea, though."
Antimony swallowed at that, dropping her face back towards the fireplace. "Perhaps not." Closing her eyes briefly, she took care to keep her ears up, keep her posture straight. "... We will make do, regardless. I'll provide for you in every way I can."
K'airos moved back into the main room carrying the bed sheets. They couldn't be older than the house, but they still had signs of having been there without use for a long time. "What happened with that Agency you were working with?"
"Oh, how did--" Antimony shook her head slightly and stood carefully from the fireplace, rubbing at her back a moment. "There was a... circumstances forced me to quit. But it was likely for the best." She turned to watch K'airos with a small smile. "I would not have wanted to be assigned away from you."
K'airos smiled and then stopped, because found out she hadn't emptied the other basket. Thus, she chose to drop the sheets she was carrying on the ground before peeking the new blankets up and heading back to the bedroom.
Antimony stepped over to the blankets K'airos had dropped, draping them over one arm and stepping towards the front door. "Have you kept up with your studies over the... years?" Her voice faltered for half a moment, but she quickly recovered.
"Studies?" K'airos sounded a bit stumped.
"Well... yes." Antimony fidgeted her fingers in the dusty blankets, suddenly unsure if she'd stepped too far into the past. "I know it was never your favorite thing, and I suppose as a bodyguard you don't need... but I think it's important to be able to write and know your numbers."
"I know those things already." The girl didn't seem to understand what her mother was trying to get to. She kept placing the blankets on the beds and flattening their surface. They were a bit too big. "There are infinite numbers, because you can always add more to either side." she stated, trying to prove how she knew -all- mathematics.
"Ah... of course." Taking in a deep breath, Antimony opened the door. "One moment, Airos. I'm just going to lay these out. I'll be right outside should you need me."
"Alright!" the young Miqo'te nodded, rearranging the sheets so they wouldn't bulge everywhere. They certainly were bigger than she expected.
Once outside, two voices reached Antimony, coming from somewhere on the other side of the house. Apparently, the walls of the building were very sturdy and made to suffocate the outside noises. Perhaps that was where all the invested money had gone: instead of size, it had very well made walls.
"Who could have said the Shroud would be so warm, hot, and dry?" said one, having the distinct feminine squeak that most lalafell women had.
"This isn't the Shroud, it's Thanalan," the second voice said. Also a female one but much more grave and somber, carrying a Lominsan accent across every word.
"How would YOU know? You've never been here in the Shroud!"
"Actually, I ha-"
"Shut up! Let's see if anyone in this house can show you how WRONG you are."
Antimony blinked, pausing a short distance outside the house to tilt her ears towards the voices. As she listened in confusion, her eyes sought out nearby stones upon which to lay the blankets. Rather than to stones, however, Antimony's feet carried her around the front of the house.
"Who is there?" She called out, adjusting the blankets over one arm with a frown. "You are in Thanalan, for what it's worth..."
The origin of the voices were a lalafell woman wearing a straw hat and an incredibly yellow tunic with a purple sash on her waist. The other woman was a pale midlander with short and messy chocolate hair covering her head. She was much more sensibly dressed for the area: just white and light brown clothes that made her almost look like a refugee.
"See, I told y-" started the midlander, and never finished.
"Shut up!"
The lalafell turned to look at Antimony with her green eyes, placing both hands over them even though they were safely under the hat's shadow. "Hi! I'm Nuronon Nuron, and this is Nurona."
"Actually, my name is-"
"Shut up!" she interrupted her again. She turned to face Antimony and walked towards her. The Midlander followed with shy steps behind. "My companion is under the DELUSION that we are in Thanalan. But we are in the Shroud. Correct?"
Lifting one brow, Antimony flicked her own green eyes between the pair for a moment before flicking her tail. "No. This is Thanalan. Ah, the eastern region, to be exact." Pressing her lips together, she glanced over her shoulder, silently hoping K'airos was alright alone inside that house, and then looked back to the hyur and the lalafell. "Though if you were looking for the Shroud, you are not far off."
The lalafell's lips curved downwards, dissaproving, while she stabbed Antimony with her sight. "Oh, is that so?" she finally said, adjusting her hat around. "Where is this Shroud that I have so little idea of where it is, and how come I haven't reached it yet?"
"It's in that dire-"
"Shut up!"
The Midlander sighed.
Antimony's mouth quirked, and her boots scuffed against dusty ground as she shifted her weight. "It is just north a ways, past the bridge. Perhaps half a day's walk, less if you hurry." She smiled slightly. "Have you been lost long?"
"No, we are not lost. Do we look lost to you?"
"If you followed the directions you were given-"
"Well, we are not!" the lalafell continued, ignoring her companion. "We are just having some travelling difficulties. Everything in the Shroud-"
"Thanalan." the other corrected, raising one finger.
"-in Thanalan looks the same to us. How do you do to find your way around here?"
"They probably-"
"Shut up!"
Antimony's ears pressed back for half a moment before she shook her head and lifted one hand. "Alright, a moment, please." She paused, as though waiting for them to quiet down, but then just pressed on, "You're not far from the Shroud, so don't worry overmuch. Though should you get lost again, the sun is as true a guide as you will find. It rises to the east, falls to the west."
"Duh." the lalafell mocked. "We know that. We are Lominsans. We just...don't have a boat!"
"We could have wagon. That's like a ground-ship. I don't think your sense of direction would be any better, though." the taller woman said, rubbing her chin.
The lalafell threw daggers with her eyes to the Midlander for at least ten seconds. "Who asked you?" she barked.
"Calm yourselves, the both of you," Antimony chided with a frown. "It's no wonder you got lost if you spend as much time arguing as it appears." The older woman shook the blankets hung over her arm, and a gust of hot, dry wind billowed them out. She had to struggle a moment to keep them in place before continuing, "Are you hungry? Food and water may help you keep on your direction."
"Thank you, but we have supplies arranged for the travel." the midlander replied, nodding her head.
The lalafell, instead, pouted. She grabbed the wings of her straw hat with both hands to not let the wind take it off. "Just point this awful ignorant where the Shroud is located so she can be proved wrong." she said.
The other sighed, shook her head, and offered an apologetic look to Antimony.
Pursing her lips, Antimony sighed as well and then gestured with the arm carrying the blankets. "Highbridge is less than a malm away. Simply head north - there is a quite clear road that you should likely want to remain on."
"There's no adventure on the roads." The lalafell continued to pout, turning her head in the direction Antimony was pointing them to.
"Maybe we'll be ambushed by the Amalj'aa." the other one commented. This, somehow, cheered the lalafel up, who essentially hopped twice in the town's direction.
"I guess that's the best adventure we can hope for in this stupid Black Shroud!"Â
The midlander sighed long at that. She bowed in Antimony's direction before following the suddenly happy, but still grumpy, and moving lalafell.
"Ah, you shouldn't hope... for... that," Antimony finished in a mutter, lifting her free hand vaguely in farewell. She stood for a moment, watching the pair, before letting out a heavy sigh and starting for a few flat, nearby rocks.
But lying during idle talk wasn't something that bothered her.
What bothered her was a feeling of being watched by the merchant. She could only recall to moment in which the man was glaring at her, but they could be easily dismissed as nothing. Coincidences. The man certainly had a right to direct his eyes to wherever, or whomever, he pleased.
Then the thoughts that Qion'li could, perhaps, fancy her in some way made her blush and forget what she was doing.
She recalled what she was doing after she slammed her forehead against the door. It was certainly a novel way to knock.
The house was a small building against the northern cliffs of Thanalan, with only two rooms, with a really small bathroom to the side. So small there was no tub. Just a shower with a curtain and a toilet. Their kitchen was the fireplace, and their dining room was a thin and long table near it with just enough chairs for her and her mother.
The house was close enough to Highbridge to be able to see most of the buildings, and certainly the famously high bridge. It was also a very recent construction. Perhaps Qion'li was behind that.
She found her hands full of things, so she knocked again. This time, she used her foot. "Mom! I'm back!"
Antimony straightened immediately from where she'd crouched in front of the fireplace, carefully nursing a nearly used up fire core back to life so that they might cook a meal later. Her back protested the sudden action, and she slowed her movement with a wince, one hand shifting to rub at her spine. It couldn't weight down the smile that came with greeting her daughter again for long, however.
She hadn't been certain about accepting Qion'li's hospitality regarding this small house at first, but now she was simply glad to have a place K'airos could return to for security and love.
Tucking a few stray strands of grey hair back into one of her braids, Antimony stepped towards the door and opened it wide, her smile softening at the sight of her thing-burdened daughter. "So you are, Airos. Come, put those things down. You didn't run into any trouble out there, did you? You should let me check you over for injury."
"Wha- no, I just brought food!" K'airos announced, stepping in and finally paying attention to the baskets she had brought. The topmost was filled with comestibles. Nothing particularly expensive. Or tasty. Or abundant. But it was edible and she figured that was the important part.
She walked towards the fireplace and let her burden down next to it, getting one off the top of the other, revealing its contents.
"And blankets, because those beds must be covered with mites."
Antimony pursed her lips, watching her daughter carefully for a few seconds longer. "Depending on how long we stay here, we may wish to take the time to air them out." She smiled at the baskets, considering them a demonstration of K'airos's learned responsibility. Then she startled and turned back towards the fireplace, where the fire core had begun to sputter. She turned it carefully with a stick. "Has Qion'li told you how long he expects you to remain here?"
K'airos went to the bedroom, where two beds were placed against either side of the door, with a wooden dresser on the opposite side. The house was small enough that a conversation could be had comfortably from one end to the other.Â
"Well... he's going to meet with someone tomorrow. The day after that he'll go to the Shroud. I don't have to actually follow him there, just up to the frontier." she explained, starting to take off the sheets from the beds. "But he's coming back in a week so...I'm guessing we should stay here until then. It's still paid work!"
Setting one hand against her back, Antimony lifted her eyes to the main room of the structure. She didn't bother asking if she could attend K'airos on that trip, not wanting to overly pester the young woman, though the thought of even that day without her daughter made her heart clench. "It is. I'm very proud of you." Her expression softened. "While we await his return, perhaps we can find the ingredients to make some of your old favorite meals here."
"I don't think we are close enough to the Sagolii. There's a huge chasm dividing Highbridge from everything to the south." K'airos pondered out loud, face neutral. "The tribe might be close, though! K'ile said they'd be moving-" she paused herself. Leaning back to look at her mother through the doorframe, she added: "Maybe that's not a good idea, though."
Antimony swallowed at that, dropping her face back towards the fireplace. "Perhaps not." Closing her eyes briefly, she took care to keep her ears up, keep her posture straight. "... We will make do, regardless. I'll provide for you in every way I can."
K'airos moved back into the main room carrying the bed sheets. They couldn't be older than the house, but they still had signs of having been there without use for a long time. "What happened with that Agency you were working with?"
"Oh, how did--" Antimony shook her head slightly and stood carefully from the fireplace, rubbing at her back a moment. "There was a... circumstances forced me to quit. But it was likely for the best." She turned to watch K'airos with a small smile. "I would not have wanted to be assigned away from you."
K'airos smiled and then stopped, because found out she hadn't emptied the other basket. Thus, she chose to drop the sheets she was carrying on the ground before peeking the new blankets up and heading back to the bedroom.
Antimony stepped over to the blankets K'airos had dropped, draping them over one arm and stepping towards the front door. "Have you kept up with your studies over the... years?" Her voice faltered for half a moment, but she quickly recovered.
"Studies?" K'airos sounded a bit stumped.
"Well... yes." Antimony fidgeted her fingers in the dusty blankets, suddenly unsure if she'd stepped too far into the past. "I know it was never your favorite thing, and I suppose as a bodyguard you don't need... but I think it's important to be able to write and know your numbers."
"I know those things already." The girl didn't seem to understand what her mother was trying to get to. She kept placing the blankets on the beds and flattening their surface. They were a bit too big. "There are infinite numbers, because you can always add more to either side." she stated, trying to prove how she knew -all- mathematics.
"Ah... of course." Taking in a deep breath, Antimony opened the door. "One moment, Airos. I'm just going to lay these out. I'll be right outside should you need me."
"Alright!" the young Miqo'te nodded, rearranging the sheets so they wouldn't bulge everywhere. They certainly were bigger than she expected.
Once outside, two voices reached Antimony, coming from somewhere on the other side of the house. Apparently, the walls of the building were very sturdy and made to suffocate the outside noises. Perhaps that was where all the invested money had gone: instead of size, it had very well made walls.
"Who could have said the Shroud would be so warm, hot, and dry?" said one, having the distinct feminine squeak that most lalafell women had.
"This isn't the Shroud, it's Thanalan," the second voice said. Also a female one but much more grave and somber, carrying a Lominsan accent across every word.
"How would YOU know? You've never been here in the Shroud!"
"Actually, I ha-"
"Shut up! Let's see if anyone in this house can show you how WRONG you are."
Antimony blinked, pausing a short distance outside the house to tilt her ears towards the voices. As she listened in confusion, her eyes sought out nearby stones upon which to lay the blankets. Rather than to stones, however, Antimony's feet carried her around the front of the house.
"Who is there?" She called out, adjusting the blankets over one arm with a frown. "You are in Thanalan, for what it's worth..."
The origin of the voices were a lalafell woman wearing a straw hat and an incredibly yellow tunic with a purple sash on her waist. The other woman was a pale midlander with short and messy chocolate hair covering her head. She was much more sensibly dressed for the area: just white and light brown clothes that made her almost look like a refugee.
"See, I told y-" started the midlander, and never finished.
"Shut up!"
The lalafell turned to look at Antimony with her green eyes, placing both hands over them even though they were safely under the hat's shadow. "Hi! I'm Nuronon Nuron, and this is Nurona."
"Actually, my name is-"
"Shut up!" she interrupted her again. She turned to face Antimony and walked towards her. The Midlander followed with shy steps behind. "My companion is under the DELUSION that we are in Thanalan. But we are in the Shroud. Correct?"
Lifting one brow, Antimony flicked her own green eyes between the pair for a moment before flicking her tail. "No. This is Thanalan. Ah, the eastern region, to be exact." Pressing her lips together, she glanced over her shoulder, silently hoping K'airos was alright alone inside that house, and then looked back to the hyur and the lalafell. "Though if you were looking for the Shroud, you are not far off."
The lalafell's lips curved downwards, dissaproving, while she stabbed Antimony with her sight. "Oh, is that so?" she finally said, adjusting her hat around. "Where is this Shroud that I have so little idea of where it is, and how come I haven't reached it yet?"
"It's in that dire-"
"Shut up!"
The Midlander sighed.
Antimony's mouth quirked, and her boots scuffed against dusty ground as she shifted her weight. "It is just north a ways, past the bridge. Perhaps half a day's walk, less if you hurry." She smiled slightly. "Have you been lost long?"
"No, we are not lost. Do we look lost to you?"
"If you followed the directions you were given-"
"Well, we are not!" the lalafell continued, ignoring her companion. "We are just having some travelling difficulties. Everything in the Shroud-"
"Thanalan." the other corrected, raising one finger.
"-in Thanalan looks the same to us. How do you do to find your way around here?"
"They probably-"
"Shut up!"
Antimony's ears pressed back for half a moment before she shook her head and lifted one hand. "Alright, a moment, please." She paused, as though waiting for them to quiet down, but then just pressed on, "You're not far from the Shroud, so don't worry overmuch. Though should you get lost again, the sun is as true a guide as you will find. It rises to the east, falls to the west."
"Duh." the lalafell mocked. "We know that. We are Lominsans. We just...don't have a boat!"
"We could have wagon. That's like a ground-ship. I don't think your sense of direction would be any better, though." the taller woman said, rubbing her chin.
The lalafell threw daggers with her eyes to the Midlander for at least ten seconds. "Who asked you?" she barked.
"Calm yourselves, the both of you," Antimony chided with a frown. "It's no wonder you got lost if you spend as much time arguing as it appears." The older woman shook the blankets hung over her arm, and a gust of hot, dry wind billowed them out. She had to struggle a moment to keep them in place before continuing, "Are you hungry? Food and water may help you keep on your direction."
"Thank you, but we have supplies arranged for the travel." the midlander replied, nodding her head.
The lalafell, instead, pouted. She grabbed the wings of her straw hat with both hands to not let the wind take it off. "Just point this awful ignorant where the Shroud is located so she can be proved wrong." she said.
The other sighed, shook her head, and offered an apologetic look to Antimony.
Pursing her lips, Antimony sighed as well and then gestured with the arm carrying the blankets. "Highbridge is less than a malm away. Simply head north - there is a quite clear road that you should likely want to remain on."
"There's no adventure on the roads." The lalafell continued to pout, turning her head in the direction Antimony was pointing them to.
"Maybe we'll be ambushed by the Amalj'aa." the other one commented. This, somehow, cheered the lalafel up, who essentially hopped twice in the town's direction.
"I guess that's the best adventure we can hope for in this stupid Black Shroud!"Â
The midlander sighed long at that. She bowed in Antimony's direction before following the suddenly happy, but still grumpy, and moving lalafell.
"Ah, you shouldn't hope... for... that," Antimony finished in a mutter, lifting her free hand vaguely in farewell. She stood for a moment, watching the pair, before letting out a heavy sigh and starting for a few flat, nearby rocks.
![[Image: AntiThalSig.png]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/179079766/AntiThalSig.png)
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki
