Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Quirky Beauty (1x1)

Fial was severely disppointed when she woke up to find that Riiko was already gone. With a somber mood he made his own breakfast and ate it alone, then sat at the window and painted. Alone. He could only stand being alone for so long, and after rearranging the furniture for the third time, he went out into town in search of Riiko to see if she had had any luck with finding a job.

He didn't want to think about how things would be when she actually left.

Riiko had just been making her out of a small cafe, when she noticed Fial walking down the sidewalk. Her ears perked up as she smiled at him, and raced to meet him. "I found one!" she said, pointing to the cafe she had just left. It actually wasn't very far from where they had first met.

"Someone just left there, and they asked me to start tomorrow! That way I can start helping you even sooner!" It was obvious that she was excited. "They even gave me my uniform." She held out a bag, which obviously held the uniform she was talking about.

Fial smiled as well when he saw her. "Hello, Riiko!" He clapped excitedly. "That's wonderful! I'm so glad for you! Great job, I'm so proud!" He hugged her then, and after a few moments let her go. "That's so exciting. Why don't we go celebrate by eating out? What kind of food do you want? It will be my treat to celebrate!"

She hadn't been expecting him to offer going out to eat. She didn't like the idea of him paying for anything else, but she knew him well enough now that he would just keep insisting. "Anywhere is fine..." she said, placing her finger to her chin in thought. "I've kind of been in the mood for seafood." Salmon was her favorite food, though it was a bit cliche. She hardly ever noticed the catty things she did or liked, it was all natural to her.

Fial felt like he should have expected it. He giggled and nodded. "I know a great seafood restaraunt nearby!" Once that was decided he hooked arms with her and started walking. It was as if the Fial from last night didn't even exist. This one was happy and cheerful like he always was.

Once they reached the restaraunt and got a seat, he searched the menu and ordered his food, letting her order what she wanted. "It's so great you've got a job, Riiko!"

She knew exactly what she wanted it and didn't take anytime at all to order it. She watched the waiter, as if trying to study what he was doing. She, of course, had never done anything like it before.

"I'm really nervous, though. I haven't had a job before, so I'm not quite sure on what to do. But this girl there, said that she would help me out. She seemed really nice." She smiled at Fial, glad to see him back to his normal self. "Sorry I left this morning without you. I didn't want to wake you." She remembered the last time she had woken him, seeing the scars on his back.

Fial smiled reassuringly at her. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. You just have to learn. You're an excellent learner and you catch on fast, so I know you'll do well." He had confidence in her. "Just listen and watch what the others are doing and you'll be getting the hang of it in no time."

When she apologized, he just smiled. "It's okay. That was thoughtful of you. But next time, it's okay to wake me up, I promise! The house was dull without you and Jinx."

She smiled at him, not able to help but think that he was so nice. "I wish I could meet someone like you, Fial. You're so nice and always know what to say." She said this, of course, assuming still that he was not interested in girls. But she truly did mean it. He was everything that her tribe hadn't been. She had left because of all the stern and negativity they held. She had left, not only to train her magic, but in hopes to find whether there was more to people than just anger and the need to fight.

Fial blinked in confusion. He, of course, did not understand. "What do you mean? You already know me, so why would you need to know someone like me?" Head tilted slightly, curiously, but then he kept on eating his food. Many people made the same mistake she did. After all, he was so effeminate, why wouldn't he be into men? But Fial was perfectly straight. It just didn't seem that way to everybody.

"Ah, you know... Meeting the right guy... Not just as friends, you know?" She blushed a bit, giving a little sigh. She quickly turned her attention toward her food, finding that the previous topic was no longer important. The way the salmon had been cooked was amazing. Just the right amount of herbs. It really was the most delicious thing she had had in a long time. Of course, she thought that about everything she ate.

Fial blushed too. "O-oh..right.." He stayed quiet and poked at his food for a few moments. "It's not that easy, I suppose." he sighed. "I haven't found the right girl yet, either. Everyone always has trouble finding the 'right' person, I think. At least, that's how I've heard it." He was quiet for a few more moments and just ate, then smiled at her. "But don't worry. I know you'll find someone amazing for you."

"I hope so," she said, taking another bite. But mid chew, she realized what he had said. "Wait, what? You want to find the right girl? But I thought..." Soon, her face grew bright red, and she realized her mistake. If she had known, she wouldn't have said anything about finding someone like him. Now she was far too embarrassed, about saying such things, and for not realizing sooner.

Fial listened to her, and this time he wasn't confused. No, he'd gotten enough of that to recognize it by now. He blushed and chuckled sheepishly. "You thought I was homosexual." he stated calmly. "Yes...I get that a lot." He looked down shyly and finished his food. "It's because I act so girly."

"Well," she started, but didn't know what exactly to say. "I mean... yes but no. You are who you are. I shouldn't have assumed like that. I'm sorry." She bowed her head to him, still embarrassed. She had no idea how that would make him feel. "You are just so nice, and you like a lot of the same things I do, and things. I'm sorry."

Fial smiled gently at her. "It's okay, Riiko. Don't worry about it." He was quiet again, but finally he spoke. "I'm like this...because I had a sister." he said softly. He looked around for a moment. He didn't really want to talk about it in public. "Let's head home." Maybe it was time she knew about him. Why he was the way he was.

He'd pay their bill and walk home with her, quiet most of the way.

She nodded her head at him, when he suggested that they head home. Though her curiousity was overwhelming now, because of him starting to explain, she knew she would have to wait. She was silent as well, the entire time they walked home. She held her work uniform close, still feeling bad for assuming so many things about Fial. She usually didn't judge people.

When they finally were at his apartment, she sat on the couch quietly, waiting for him to talk when he was ready.

Fial would start pacing. This was such an internal problem for him that he had difficulty getting it into words at last. He had never told anyone before. "I had a sister. She was just a little older than me. She was..she was beautiful, and sweet, and kind. You never met anyone like her who had such a pure heart." He was quiet for a time, pacing some more. "She got married young. It was the custom in my home, to be married around fourteen or fifteen."

Another pause. "He was nice...at first. They seemed like an alright match, but in my eyes, nobody could be good enough for my sister. But she, with her heart of gold, came to love him like a real wife would. We talked often, and she would praise all his admirable qualities, while keeping it real and often quietly discussing to me how she seemed to be the only one to quell his temper."

Fial stopped pacing. "I loved my sister so much and went to visit her often. By the time they had a son, I should have been married off and starting a family of my own. But I was constantly putting up some excuse or another. A wife and a family would mean I wouldn't be able to see my sister as much."

He resumed pacing. "I went to her house one day. I knew something smelled odd. Something was burning. I ran to the house to see if the small fire they had in the front yard had caught something. What I found was much worse." A shiver ran through him, easily noticable. "The house was burning down. I didn't think, I didn't call for help, I just ran inside. My sister was in there. I had to help her."

His pacing started to slow as his story went on. "I couldn't find her. Things were falling apart, the place was burning to the ground and it was unbearably hot. I hoped maybe she had gotten out. But that was when I saw her on the floor. She was unconscious, and as I rushed to her a beam from the roof fell between us. Another rafter collapsed and hit me in the back, sending me to the ground. I was near the edge of the first beam, and I could see her hand."

He stopped suddenly, both in his pacing and his speech. Slowly, he sat down on the couch. "I reached for her. I heard her whisper my name, and my hopes soared that we could get out of this alive. But..." He was silent for a long few moments, hiding his face in his hands. "The roof collapsed. Right on top of her." His voice was shaky. This was the hardest part to remember. "I wanted to pull it all off of her and drag her away, but by the time I had freed myself even walls were collapsing in on us."

"Still, I tried to save her. But something pushed me. I knew it was my sister's magic, pushing me out of the house. I thought that maybe she wasn't dead, maybe she could use her magic to save herself. But the strength of the push faded quickly." He didn't lift his head from his hands. "I was able to heal my injuries. The only scars that remain are the ones on my back, and the one in my heart."

"What was found after the fire was put out wasn't my sister. It was some half-burned corpse. She wasn't pretty anymore. Her face was gone and I couldn't see her eyes or her smile." His voice cracked a little. "I had to see her smile again. My sister and I...we look alike. We're not twins but we look alike. So I became a girl. I acted like her, I dressed like her. Even now I'm not too far off from how she normally was clothed. She wore dresses when she wanted, but often times she was in something practical."

He rubbed at his eyes, which had shed a few tears underneath the cover of his hands. "Now every time I look in the mirror, I can see her. Everytime I laugh, I can hear her laughter. If I just become her...then I haven't lost her."

Riiko listened quietly as he talked, watching him pace back and forth. She knew that it was hard for him to talk about this, just by the way he sounded and they way he seemed anxious about it all. And as he continued, she felt a heavy weight on her chest. She felt sorry for him. She had lost her brother, when she was young, but she hadn't been there when he died. She didn't have to live with that memory her whole life. And she didn't know what to say. She was never good in these types of situations.

She watched his for a moment, her ears flattened against her hair in a sorrow for him. She moved toward him, sitting up on her knees as she did. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head into her chest and resting her head on top of his. "I'm sorry..." was all that she could manage to say, not knowing how to comfort someone in this type of situation. Hopefully, if he needed anything said or done, he would let her know.

Fial hadn't really been expecting much, so her reaction, or lack thereof, was fine to him. He just stayed quiet and somber. It hurt to think about all this, it hurt to remember and it hurt to say it. Like he was acknowledging that it all had happened. That it hadn't just been his imagination.

Now, however, she could probably guess who the small family in that picture was. His sister and her family.

She hated seeing Fial like this. This was far from his normal self. The him that she loved to see. She wished she could do something for him, to bring back his smile. She pulled away from him for a moment, looking at him. For a moment, she almost seemed like she wanted to lean in toward him, but instead, she stood up suddenly.

She disappeared into her room, returning quickly with a sort of charm in her hand. It was braided black leather with silver beads lining it and an odd symbol resting at the bottom. She held it out to Fial, saying, "I want you to have this. It's more or less a friendship charm. I know I won't ever be able to replace your sister... But I want you to know that I'll always be here for you when you need me."