• Mature • Above & Beyond (Part 1)

[Llyr Llywelyn]

Somewhere in Dreams
85 Zi'da, Arc 716

Zarik Clarissa sat on the edge of the fountain, her toes tapped together beneath the glimmer of water. Elbows against her knees, she held her chin between both palms and chewed at the long stalk of grass that she'd plucked while walking past some of the bushes along the way to the town square. Zarik’s non-lucid mind didn’t even consider for a single trill that he wasn't the woman he embodied within the dream: Clarissa.

The trading town wasn't too crowded, given that everyone had gone away for the Day of the Sun. Clarissa didn't care much for the local festival, though.

A breeze lifted through her ginger-red hair, the long waves caressing over her bare shoulders. She wore a simple dress, with the skirt drawn up around her hips so that the ruffled hem wouldn't get wet. Clarissa glanced at her large messenger bag that leaned against the dry side of the fountain. A black cat had started to rub up against it, but she didn't mind. The cat seemed to follow her everywhere, after all.

She kicked some of the water up, then moved around to kneel in the shallow fountain water instead. Skirt still drawn up around her hips, she bent over the wide ledge of the fountainside and grabbed at her satchel bag. She unlooped the fastenings, then pulled out a few vials of varying shapes with different colors that brewed within.

The redhead human set the potions in a line along the ledge, then tilted her head and surveyed the potions within. Her green eyes glittered with the reflection of the bright sunlight that hovered in the apex of the cerulean sky above.

"Meow, meow," she spoke to the cat, as one does - by meowing at them. With her elbows against the ledge, careful to not knock over her potions, she peered down at the black cat who seemed very disinterested in whatever it was she attempted to communicate. "meow, meow... meowly meow."

[Woe]

Woe Kodi had wandered away from the festivities at the Day of the Sun, and decided to take a detour through the botanical gardens of Breezemont. He'd been working the perfumery for several months now, and had his fill of the crusty old master he was apprenticed to. When he decided to become a perfumer, he'd envisioned a steady stream of beautiful ladies entering his shop looking for the latest scent to entice their lovers. What he got instead, were a crowd of milksop rabble, dirty leatherworkers and tanners, smelling of shit, tannin, and sulphur.

Part of the trade... Said his master, too many times to count. These men need to trade our wares to make their finished product smell good.

More than once, he'd gotten a smack or boxed in the ears for his wisecracks about the tanners, "Maybe they ought to use it on themselves."

"Yer not clever boy. Now go start the distiller." These thoughts he carried with him as he left the festival grounds, sneaking away from his master.

Kodi walked through the botanical gardens, ignorant of his waking life in Rynmere and the cares of the fast approaching season of Cylus. Here in the dream, he enjoyed the blossoms of spring. They were particularly bountiful at this time of year. Breezes carried the floral scents far and wide, chasing the memory of the dirty workmen who traded with his master. And for a moment, he lived the dream of a perfumer that he wanted to be, working high-class districts in the city.

He heard a meow in the distance. A cat or some such. Curious, he walked through the hedges, winding his way around the botanical maze until he came to a fountain. There, he saw the cat, and more than that, he saw the potion master's daughter. Smirking to himself, she didn't seem to notice him but was busy playing with the cat, trying to communicate.

His hand lifted to his mouth, stifling his breath so that he wouldn't be detected. On tip toes, he sneaked up on her. He grinned as the wind swept through, blowing her hair into the air. At the last moment, he tapped her on the shoulder with both hands, "Boo!" He shouted, scaring the cat into the bushes, as it hissed at him.

[Llyr Llywelyn]

Clarissa didn't notice the sneaking man. Not until he tapped her on the shoulder and shouted. She turned around and immediately started to slap at the arm near her in a flurry of defensive strikes... until she saw who it was. She stood in the fountain water, and her skirt fell back down with a hemline just above her reddened knees. Her cheeks blushed a similar red.

"Kodi!" she huffed at him, the grass she'd been chewing on had fallen into the water. She knew the perfumer's apprentice by name, having remembered it from here and there... or... where had she heard it? She didn't think too far about it because she knew she had the name right regardless. She crossed her arms tight at her ribs. "You nearly scared me to death!"

The redhead turned away with a flip of her skirt and hair, then looked to... a plume of colorful smoke. In all her flailing of martial defense (that'd been little more than slapping with her eyes shut), she had somehow knocked over the potions that had been lined up. They lay on the ground, a mess of rainbow colors that sparked and sizzled into fumes.

"Don't breathe!" she warned the young man with a wave of her hand. She reached over and placed her hand over his mouth and nose, while she climbed out of the fountain and started to lead them away from the fountain. "Who knows what those will do when mixed together!"

Clarissa kept going, whether Kodi followed her guidance or not, until she reached the opening of the garden maze. She went behind the hedge, to peek out at the colorful mist that had started to spread over the fountain and through the garden. She whined, "Oh no... the amplifier is causing it to spread. Oh no, my father is going to kill me! He doesn't know I took those from the cupboard. Oh, what should I do?"

[Woe]

The look on her face was worth the price of admission alone. But before Kodi could gloat at her, she took charge, clasping her hand over his airways and leading him away from the fountain. His eyes narrowed in curiosity at why she was leading him away. Only too late did he notice that she'd destroyed a set of potions she'd been lining up. They rose into the air in colorful plumes of multi-colored smoke. Thus warned that something was not as it should be, Kodi allowed her to lead him away, and through the entrance to the garden maze.

She complained loudly, worrying about the amplifier or some such technical jargon. Spread? Was that a bad thing? Kodi didn't know her father that well, but he'd admired the girl from afar. They were about the same age, but courtship was usually reserved for the year of Becoming at eighteen years of age, both of them were seventeen. So he'd had to keep a lid on his interest for the girl, lest he raises a few eyebrows.

He took a deep breath while they made the distance between themselves and the garden maze. Kodi thought for a few moments and then smirked, getting a bad idea. "I don't know... I could hide you in the Master's basement for a while... Maybe if your father thinks you're missing, he'll be too worried to even punish you for ruining his potions..."

As he said it, the blossoms in the garden maze began growing exponentially. Oddly enough, the growing size didn't make them heavier. In fact, they began floating far above the hedge maze, like a flight of kites or balloons. Kodi grimaced but led Clarissa away from them, so she wouldn't see what effect the potions had had.

"Besides, a little downtime might do you good. And you can check out the stock of fragrances in my master's basement." It must be said, that Kodi wasn't the brightest boy, to recommend that Clarissa play with the priceless collection of fragrances in his master's basement.

He wasn't going to take no for an answer, however, "Hey, c'mon! I'll show you where he hides the orange blossom and vanilla..."

So saying, he led the way down away from the botanical maze. Toward the cobbled streets of Breezemont. The streets were winding in the city and curled upward as the city was built upon hills. It was quite a way to his master's shop, but before long they found it. A large amphora stood where the blossoms were distilled for the process of hot enfleurage. The smell of the shop was pleasant enough to anyone entering, but to Kodi it was fairly ordinary. The real treasures were in the basement, below the barn.

He flipped open a trap door, and gallantly swept his arm, offering to carry her into the basement. "The steps are very steep... Here, let me take you down. That is if you're not afraid."

[Llyr Llywelyn]

Clarissa fretted, her bag and shoes left behind. She hoped the cat would be alright. She lowered her hand once they were a safe distance away, for breath, and then looked over to see Kodi... smirking? She frowned, confused, and asked, "What are you smiling for?"

When he shared his idea, she crossed her arms again. She twirled a wave of her red hair around her fingers while she still heard him out. It was the least she could do. There were so few townsfolk of their ages. Most were either old or still children. Clarissa didn't consider herself a child, even if she was still an entire year away from her Becoming.

"I don't know..." she returned, uncertain of the plan. She wasn't sure why though and so she pulled at her own hair some with a concerned look on her freckled features. It wasn't long before Kodi's arm was around her, and leading her away, but she felt too concerned with the idea of her punishment than to worry about whether or not they needed to stay at the hedge maze.

"Downtime?" she repeated with slight confusion. She hummed quietly, but didn't resist while they walked away. Her hand went up, fingers through the ginger locks and she scratched at the side of her head. Then a smile showed and she said, "Orange blossom and vanilla? Really? Okay, I guess... maybe it could work. But he won't be back until after the festival... I don't think. It's why I was away."

She smiled though while she followed through the streets of Breezemont. While they walked, she tied her hair up into two ponytails with some ribbon that'd been in a pocket of her dress. When they approached the perfume shop, the bridge of her nose wrinkled and she quietly laughed, "It smells better than the potions workshop."

When they reached the trap door, she hesitated. Clarissa glanced over her shoulder, as if to see if anyone saw them, then she looked back and whispered, "I shouldn't... da will be especially mad at me if he finds out... and he might blame you."

She pulled at the skirt of her dress some, in nervousness, then shook her head. Her brow knitted though and she looked at him with a determined expression, when she said, "I'm not afraid.." It sounded as if she were convincing herself. She accepted Kodi's arm, and moved closer.

"It's so dark down there," she murmured while she waited for him to lead down the steps.

[Woe]

The challenge was accepted, it seemed, and Kodi grinned as she confessed she wasn't afraid. "To hell with consequences! Am I right?" Yes, of course he was right! Besides, there'd be time to mend fences with the potion maker later, even if he did find him out. As for Kodi's master, he'd finally earned enough trust for him to leave him alone with the shop, for no less than two weeks! He was set to go on a trade expedition to the next town over after the Festival wound down.

"I'm not afraid either. Of your father, or what he'd do to me. We're practically adults! Who do we have to answer to?"

So saying, he extended a hand, taking hers and then sweeping an arm under her skirt, picking her up as he approached the open cellar. "Shhh, I'll light a lantern once we get down there... the steps are tricky, can't have you tripping and breaking a thousand nel bottle of rose essence."

He stepped gingerly, carefully balancing her in his arms as he descended the steep stepladder. Before long, he touched down on the floor beneath, and set her down gently, brushing off some lint that had fallen on her shoulders. As his hand withdrew, it grazed her cheek lightly, and he blushed. He turned away though, before she could see his embarrassment.

He went over to where the lantern was, and began sparking the flint to light it. Within moments, after adjusting the valve, the light burned hot enough to illluminate the entire room.

All around them, bottles of various sizes were arranged. Their contents for the most part didn't look all that special. There were no multicolored potions like one would find in the potion-maker's hut. Essence tended to have no color unless it was added by the perfumer, in order to better tell what was inside. Even then, certain scents were fragile, and could be disrupted by even the slightest chemical tampering.

"Go on, relax. Let me show you something..."

Having said this, he bent down, and lugged a large jar of alcohol, placing it with a thud on the central table. This, tipped over, pouring it somewhat haphazardly into a beaker. It might've given Clarissa a fright, to see him handle the alcohol so blithely, yet he managed not to let a single drop go astray.

Then, he began gathering several bottles from the shelves. He mixed and matched the various fragrances like a man possessed, like a mad alchemist. A tiny glass rod was used at certain points to draw little bits of fluid at times, and at others he generously poured entire splashes of essence into the beaker. Finally, after the thirteenth bottle he'd added, he put a lid on the beaker and began shaking it vigorously.

A minute or so, and he left it on the table. With a sly smile and shine in his eye, he glanced up at Clarissa, then dipped the glass rod in, and with the contents of the beaker, spread it over a handkerchief. This, he brought to Clarissa, holding it in both hands, and reverently presenting the perfumed cloth to her. "Try it!" He insisted, smiling from ear to ear.

[Doran]

Llyr:

Knowledge:
Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: -
Points: 15

Woe:

Knowledge:
Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: -
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: This was indeed wholesome – and peaceful. I liked the beginning of the thread, with Clarissa sitting at the edge of the fountain and talking to the cat. That was cute. When Kodi snuck up on her and tried to scare her, I couldn’t help but laugh. The scene in the basement was likewise well-written. I can’t help but wonder if there is a place called Breezemont anywhere in Idalos now, or if it was all a product of Zarik’s and Woe’s imagination …

Enjoy your rewards!