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 Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 5:24 am
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Morning was a taxing time. If it were up to him, Xelannis wouldn't be an early riser. He didn't think there was any need to wake before the sun, when there would be time during daylight hours to perform any tasks the gods had set before him. Unfortunately, the Sanctum didn't agree. Morning prayer happened at the very cusp of dawn, when the sun was hardly more than a sliver of light in the sky, and when Xel would've liked to be in bed.
He rose at the expected hour, anyway and tended to each of his morning duties and classes. That was the expectation, and one he'd been living with long enough to understand by now.
But once the sun reached the time of high noon and most of his peers settled in the mess hall for lunch, Xelannis opted to stay outside and enjoy the fresh air and greenery provided by one of the Inner Sanctum's several courtyards. It was peaceful, particularly when so few others were mulling about. The outdoors were relaxing and freeing, and whenever he could spend a moment with nothing but the sky at his back, he did just that.
Xel often intended to devote the time to further study, but more often than not, he found himself lying with his stomach to the grass, nose quite literally pressed to the pages of a book, and eyes closed. The dull thrum of after-lunch activity was usually enough to rouse him, but today was different.
It was the sound of a single pair of boots stepping from the cobblestone to the grass that caught his attention, and in the back of his mind, he drowsily anticipated that they were for him before they reached him.
"Xelannis."
He briefly considered the merits of keeping his eyes closed and waiting to see if the woman before him wold just leave with no additional prompting. But the sound of retreating steps was not forthcoming, and when a boot nudged lightly to his shoulder, Xel knew it was useless. He groaned softly and raised his head to look, or rather squint, up at the woman. Once he became properly aware that she was too far a distance above him to look up at comfortably, he propped an arm beneath himself and pushed to a sit. "Yes, ma'am?"
There was something like visible disdain etched into the young priestess' features as she gazed down at him. "You were sleeping," she informed him in a clipped tone, just in case he hadn't been aware of it himself.
"No, I..." The words came out of him too immediately, and he skimmed his fingers over the pages of the open tome on the ground as if to indicate what he had meant to be doing, but... Well, he hadn't actually been doing it, had he? The priestess raised a brow expectantly at him. "Yes," he amended after a moment. "I was."
The disdain didn't dissipate. "If you've time to doze in the middle of the day, perhaps you have more time to devote to your comrades." Xelannis tipped his head. "I believe Acolyte Fallon is preparing to head to the market in search of supplies for the greenhouses. Why don't you accompany her and assist her if she requires it." It wasn't a question, and even for the single heartbeat that he didn't agree, her expression became one of annoyance. "Get up. Go with her."
Xelannis acted hastily, and clumsily after that and scrambled to his feet. "Yes, ma'am. Of course." He started to walk in the direction of the main entrance, but after an added prompt that he would be in trouble if she left without him, he set off at a brisk jog. |
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 4:40 am
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Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 7:30 am
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"Watch where you're going!"
"No need to run, boy."
"You'll hurt someone!"
"Sorry," Xelannis called out behind him each time one of the passerby thought to be put off by his brisk pace. Admittedly, the Sanctum wasn't often a place for running, and Xel wasn't especially familiar with the practice, himself. Running was for those whose bodies had been trained to do more than sit and read and meditate, unlike him. By the time Xelannis made it to the front entrance, he was panting and almost inclined to ignore orders and not go out to market.
The distance between where he'd come from and where he'd ended up wasn't even a long one, but it was enough to leave him heated, sweaty, out of breath, and strangely alert, as though running inspired some deep buried sense of a need to fear for his life.
Maybe it was just the fear of whatever 'trouble' the priestess had warned him of, though.
Righting himself fully, Xel drew in a shaky breath and cast a quick eye around the room. The woman he was looking for, Fallon, wasn't anyone he knew especially well. He knew her name and face, and they'd met in passing a few times, but he wasn't familiar with her beyond that. They'd never done anything together before, not this task or any other.
Disappointingly, she didn't seem to be in the immediate vicinity. With a quiet, deject exhale, Xelannis headed out. He had the benefit of knowing where she was going, so even if they hadn't left together, as long as they returned together, that would surely be what was most important. Besides, after striding a handful of paces down the road, he spotted the familiar style of the Sanctum's robes and the long, long wisps of the older woman's hair. Xel's expression brightened immensely.
"Acolyte Fallon," he called as he trotted to catch up with her. Sure enough, she hadn't made it far. He beamed at her and dipped his head as he approached. "If it isn't bothersome, I'd like to accompany you to the market today." |
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Posted: Sun May 28, 2017 5:10 pm
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Oh, good. At least Fallon didn't seem opposed to his presence. He likely would've been offended if she was. Instead, Xelannis took up a pace at her side, grateful that the young woman hadn't gotten too far ahead of him and made him run and search and be incredibly miserable. This was easier, even if she didn't know it, herself. Xel spared a quick glance to her. She seemed so at ease, different than his more fidgety and anxious or brooding friends, and he decided he liked that. It was something worth noting down, when available.
She went out alone, as well. Another peculiarity. Though Xelannis had no qualms with short bouts of solitude and cherished certain moments alone, he found that he did prefer to share his company with others, particularly when doing something of otherwise little interest, like a trip to the market.
"No, nothing," he admitted with a slight shrug. "There's not really much I need to buy for myself, and I find that I don't have much in interest in the wares these merchants are peddling... Oh, but there is this one stall with a strange scent about it, where this woman sells sheets of leather in various colors and patterns. I don't need it often, but I do like to look, just in case there's anything of particular interest. Sometimes I have to re-bind my notebooks, and it does give them a little extra... something that I find appealing." It was always extra nice to have his older, more aged pages looking new and pristine again. Newer was better.
The basket hanging on her arm caught his attention, and for a moment, he was reminded that since he hadn't spent much time with Fallon, he knew very little about her. This was an opportunity in disguise. "Do you go out very often? What kinds of things do your purchase? What do they do?" |
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Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:09 pm
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At least once a week. How did she find the time, and was there really such a great need for it? She was older than him, and likely out of the phase where she needed to devote so much of her day to study, unlike Xel himself, but it sounded like such a frequent trip for something like plants, that he'd never considered to need much care. "What about them interests you?" He asked. "I suppose some are beautiful, but they never are for very long. They aren't intelligent and don't do anything besides grow." Plants were boring, as far as he was concerned.
Xelannis frowned and cocked his head as his gaze held on the basket Fallon carried. She seemed to speak fondly of her activities, though. Having a full schedule with enjoyable things to do on it was surely something worth striving for, but going to the market hardly felt like an 'enjoyable' task, and the opportunity had to be there to be able to buy whatever supplies she might need enough for more than a week. "Is it truly something you like to do?" He queried uncertainly.
"I suppose I don't mind coming out here, but I certainly don't want to as often as you do." As they took to the street and the people alongside them became more plentiful and less from within the Sanctum's walls, Xelannis stood a bit taller and edged himself a bit closer at Fallon's heels. "I don't dislike people," he admitted, in case she'd noticed the shift. "And perhaps if they were in very small crowds or a steady stream of singles, it wouldn't be so bad..." A group of girls passed by them on the side, rather loudly, with skirts a flutter and voices ringing in that high, excited way that girls' voices did when they were delighted. Xel glanced away sharply. "I think the bustle is a little too much for me. I don't really like crowds, and the market is always very full of them."
'Crowds' had been an unfortunate occurrence when he was much younger, and though it hadn't been a problem for quite some time, the thought of them left an anxious itch in the back of his mind.
Large sums of people were much more difficult to account for. Their actions couldn't be predicted as well as those of one man, and often there was enough emotion somewhere for something rash to happen. |
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