Raphael was taken aback by these new pieces of information that were coming his way. First the fox tails, then she comes from another world, and her
master is dead? Now she wants someone to create a mana link with? He had experience with apparitions and ghosts of all kinds, but never this sort of magic before. Still, he was no less interested despite the fact.
"Mana link," he echoes. Once she mentioned "power," he felt like he tasted iron in his mouth. It was a sour word for him, and he wasn't comfortable with it. Still, this was a chance to help someone in need.
And, besides, he might enjoy having someone to talk to who isn't creeper out by his appearance or demeanor.
"But I need to know if I can trust you first. Could... Could we find someplace to eat and talk this out?"
Raphael snaps out of his muse and looks around once again. He seems to tighten up a bit, a bit on-edge now.
"Uh, sure. I have a small, boxed-off room in an abandoned building that I'd like to call my home, but I don't spend enough time there to really call it that. Still, it's quiet enough to serve the purpose." He hops off of the crates and motions for Ahrian to follow him.
The two acquaintances move through empty corridors and deserted walkways within the lower parts of the town. It's an odd pathway, but Ahrian seems to trust Raphael for this short journey. After a minute or two of more walking, Raphael stops at a two-story, degrading wooden building. It looks like it hasn't been lived in for at least four years. Raphael looks over to Ahrian and says,
"Yeah, I know it doesn't look like much, but that's why I like it. It's been boarded up from the bottom floors for a long while, so we're going to have to take an unorthodox entrance." He steps a few meters away from you and climbs on top of a wooden bench, testing it to make sure that it is stable enough for his purpose. He then backs up to the edge of the bench and uses it to run and jump, catching the edge of the second-story windowsill and using it to haul himself inside. He leans out of the window a few moments later and calls out to Ahrian:
"I should be able to pull you up from here." Ahrian nods and grabs his hands, noting that his hands are rather rough - possibly a product of too much time spent on the streets. He hauls her up without trouble and she lands inside, observing the humble abode.
It goes without saying that the room, only slightly larger than a caravan wagon, shows its age without shame. The only door to the room is boarded up with decaying pieces of wood, and the entire place is dusty. The only furniture that exists is a single, wooden table that holds several bags of various items inside. Besides a pile of folded cloth in one of the corners, the room is otherwise empty. There is a window that is only somewhat barricaded to the left side, allowing Ahrian and Raphael to observe the quiet avenues below. Rays of light squeeze their way in between the wood and the small windows, with no other light source to warm up the area. Ahrian, after making sure the place is safe, pulls her hood down and sits down near the window overlooking the avenue, looking outside every once in a while.
"Um, could you please tell me about yourself?"Raphael pauses before he moves to the table, finding it odd that someone would ask about him. He shrugs and turns to the table, preparing a quick midday meal for the two of them to enjoy as they talk.
"Well, I honestly don't know much about my own life, to be honest. My childhood was a blur, something that I can't quite remember correctly. What I do know is that I was orphaned early on in life and lived on the streets for a decent amount of time. I was eventually fostered by a somewhat wealthy couple and tutored, where I learned how to read, write, and do some basic math at an elementary level. I guess they hoped that I would be able to inherit their business when they grew old. Unfortunately, I think that something about me freaked them out. Maybe it was the apparitions that I would see, or the aura that I might've projected. Either way, they left the town quietly and abandoned me, just like my original parents. I was still very interested in reading though, and I picked up books wherever I could and just read. I'm still not the most educated, but I like to think that I made it pretty far on my own.
"At any rate, no one would take me in because of my weird appearance and nature. Eventually, I just grew too old to be taken in and gave up on it, learning to be sort of... nomadic, I guess? For a short amount of time, I trained under a rogue and learned a thing or two about swords. I couldn't stay with that man for long though, because he started moving into grey territory with his schemes. I didn't want to be a part of that. I don't have my own sword yet, unfortunately, but it'd be pretty cool if I could attain one soon..
Eh, whatever. My life's not too interesting, I would like to think. At least, compared to your situation."Raphael turns to Ahrian and walks over, handing her a lettuce sandwich with tomatoes and cheese, a similar one within Raphael's hands. he also retrieves a cup of water from a jug on the table and also hands it to her.
"I know it's not much, but it's what I have left over from this morning." He lets Ahrian take a few tentative bites and begin eating in silence before continuing the conversation. He swallows a bit of his sandwich and says, "What about you, how did you turn up here?"
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Topic: old AOS main (Read 18625 times)