On A New Path

[olive juice.]

So he wasn't going to force her to return? Celestine slowly let her arms unwrap from her knees as he spoke of the Mayor. Though every denizen knew of Serj, it seemed he was far from the straight laced hard heads of the militia, but rather a man of his own accord. Any other of the town's guard would have easily swooped their arm about hers and returned her promptly to the celebration, all the while scolding her. She had been returned so many times, each individual that had done so was a blur. Though she was inaccurate to think he would do the same; she was still all the reason suspicious. However, it fascinated her that someone else felt they needed release from this celebration. Every year it was the same exact event, though a few things added here or there, but nothing of huge significance. She had grown weary of it all, and at least she knew she was not alone in this thought; or something similar at least.

I could care less what this announcement is.
It's the same every. year.

She had little interest in what her father had to say this year, and probably would every year following this one.

I'm sure there's so much more out there, you know?

[Nayt]

As Baleron proceeded deeper and deeper into the forestry north of the town (requiring him to forgo upon taking the dirt road north, which in no way swung deep into the flora, but between it), he'd hear not a flurry of voices, but two--a man and a woman, becoming more and more audible the further north he progressed . . .

"Oh. Right. Your father . . ." Serj trailed off.

It felt like something in his head had just gone wrong, as if some stagnant memory decreed that he saw a different figure in the mayor's place. A smiling figure, one incapable of feeling much more than what that simple, content smile entailed. That one awkward memory lead to another and another, while they each chipped and eroded away until just Celestine's father remained . . .

This replaced a prior thought: a previous belief that Celestine had not been punished for any transgressions by the mayor himself, for the mayor could only be regarded as a man of pure serenity. It was wrong, that thought; it melted away, too. It wasn't the first time Serj had experienced this, though; and coincidentally he wasn't alone in the city with this type of experience. A newcomer had once felt the same sensation.

With this remembrance of recent events came realization. Some had been forgotten, some had been disregarded, and others didn't really feel like his own memories. The jargon swirling around Serj's mind for the minute in which he stood silently in deep thought was incomprehensible even to himself--and yet it made sense. It felt right, and that was the worst part. This troublesome series of thoughts was disregarded in the end. He was left now recalling why he was out here, to escape the noise of the crowds and potentially enjoy a cigarette--which he was almost to light before he thought Celestine had been tracking him down.

There was a stronger realization, though--one that had to do with that smiling man. This time, it wasn't a dream; he clearly remembered this having to do with himself, the mayor, and the city as a whole--by extension, this also had much to do with Celestine.

"This year's announcement is different," he stated lowly with a nod. His tone had changed--darker, deeper. It wasn't quite ominous, but he was serious enough to potentially merit adequate attention . . . "You might want to be there for it."

[olive juice.]

It was typical. Celestine did not falter while Serj rethought who the mayor was to her. How often they forgot exactly who her father was, or the fact that he was a father at all. They seemed so different, her father and she, and she supposed that was initially what caused such a slip of memory. Her father was so proud, so defined, and highly respectable of their town and their paradise, but Celestine was so far from the former that anyone would be aghast to believe the two were related. Though she were raised with the same morals, laws, and basic understanding as those in the town, for some reason her thoughts and own ambitions were far different from the mayor's. Perhaps it was her brother's will that seemed to inheritantly drive her devotion to explore outside that of which she's only known. It was every minute that ticked by that began to etch away at her. What did she know exactly?

Where are these questions coming from?
What makes me think this way?

Celestine laughed when Serj spoke of a difference. The young woman slowly began to stand from her homestead when that statement fell from his lips. She slowly walked towards him, though leaving much room between them as a division, and crossed her arms.

What makes this year any different than the last?
It'd be silly to believe that anything will be different save for his words.
The intent will always be the same.

Celestine could not help but be skeptical. If this year had been indeed different, then she had barely noticed.

[Baleron87]

He had expected to find himself alone in the forest, or perhaps in at least the company of a couple or two that had secretly escaped into the vast foliage to have a little time to themselves. Instead, however, he began to hear the voices of two people that sounded as if they had little interest in the party going on in the village, let alone one another. Not wishing to disrupt their little chat, he kept at a distance and circled around out of sight, being very careful to keep his presense unknown. Once he was no longer in between them and the village, just in case one of them decided to return, he carefully took a seat against a nearby tree and muched quietly on his snacks while he listened. Although fairly voyeuristic in nature, he believed hearing what was being said was more on par with gathering information, and if Baleron knew anything, information was as good a tender as gold at times.

Although there was no telling how far into the conversation the two had gotten, he listened carefully to the man's voice as he proclaimed a more drastic annoucement from the mayor of the village. It seemed fairly insignificant to Baleron, not exactly knowing what prior announcements had been, but from the inflection in the man's tone, it seemed that this annoucement would be one to cause some interest. The young woman's voice seemed skeptical of any discernable change from year to year, but the way she stated her words made Baleron immediately identify a bit of hostility toward the mayor. He couldn't help but wonder at the "intent" that she had mentioned, but he planned to be back in the square for the annoucement to hear it himself. He continued to listen intently, every so often taking hold of a new snack he had procured and taking a happy and contented bite.

[Nayt]

"I suppose he didn't tell you then, huh?"

That in itself was strange, at least to Serj. He looked to the ground, wondering how often it was really that Celestine's father didn't tell her things. He couldn't make any guesses about their home life, knowing nothing at all about it, not even the slightest hint. Every little idea he had came from hearsay, and while it was nothing terrible, Serj didn't trust hearsay. It changed too dramatically over too short of a time . . .

Unfortunately, this meant it wasn't Celestine's father giving her the news, but Serj. This made him feel a bit awkward. Perhaps her father had been counting on her to be there today to hear his speech? He gave one every year; perhaps he stopped talking to his daughter about it years ago? Heh. There I go again, thinking about their family life. He hated these kinds of situations, regardless. Serj withdrew a small brown box from his pocket, from which he procured a small self-rolled cigarette. During his long pause, he set it between his lips, and shielded it with both hands; the only sign of movement behind which was his thumb flicking across nothing, but when he withdrew his hands, the cigarette was, indeed, lit.

"Today's his last day," continued Serj as he took in a deep breath, "No one else knows but the militia--and I thought you'd have known, too. We're all on guard, though. He's just getting old, I guess. His replacement is shady, though. Or . . ."

Serj took a second to shake his head, grinning in spite of himself. It felt ironic, really--calling a guy like that shady. No matter . . .

"Heh. Not all that shady at all . . . and that's what freaks me out. Anyways, you should at least hear his resignation speech. He is your father, after all.d"

[olive juice.]

Today's his last day..

Celestine's facial expression was priceless. The words that fell from Serj's lips were far more than just shocking, but completely bewildering. Her father... was resigning? The thought was rather odd, for her father was not one to simply walk away from his 'throne' and into the dusk like a sheriff turning in his badge. Far from it, actually; her father was too proud to do such a thing. His entire life had been stocked into the future tranquility of the town he endured fondly. There had to be a reason for this, and it was far beyond that of 'growing old'. Had she finally pushed him to the edge? Had the mayor given up due to the lack of passion and support from his only daughter?

..last day?

She repeated it aloud and felt incredibly ill. Oh boy, did she feel guilty. When she returned back to what Serj was saying, her ears pricked on one word: replacement. How could anyone take her father's place? There indeed could be no greater mayor for this town than her father.

Did I just think that?
Replacement? Who would accept such a responsibility after... my father?

Though it was a rhetorical question, she wholeheartedly wanted an answer she knew no one, especially Serj, could give her. She did agree with him, however, she needed to hear this farewell speech.

Let's go.
I need to hear this.
I want to know what's going on.

Celestine wasted no time, and was already on her way out of the clearing, planning to take the same pathway that led her here back toward town. It seemed this year would indeed be different, and for whatever reason, she was going to stop this retirement plan. How? She wasn't sure yet, but she had time, it was a rather long path back towards town.

[Baleron87]

"Ahh... And so the plot has thickened, I see..." That thought would have crossed Baleron's mind, were he better with words and not only paid partial attention to the conversation at hand. The remaining consciousness he put forth toward reality was for the last scrumptious bite of food he had brought with him, and with that he had finished the remainder of his snacks. It was sad to see such good food disappear so quickly, and had he been a more emotional man, a tear would have probably escaped him. However, being neither a poet nor a pansy, he allowed the conversation nearby to end and listened carefully as the girl headed back toward town to see what the mayor would announce.

Knowing fairly well that conversations didn't go very far when only one person was available to speak, he figured it would be as good a time as any to make his escape back to the village as well. That the village would be entering under new management on the same day that he had arrived brought no exceptionally deep thoughts to the surface. To him, it seemed that most of his adventures had been based on pure coincidence and chance, and many of the resolutions that came from such travels were simply lucky breaks. He had done as much training as he had after losing his Blood Gift to keep that luck running as long as possible, and he could almost say with absolute certainty that his own skill might have gotten him through a rough scrape or two.

Deciding to start moving rather than chance inflating his ego any more than it already was, Baleron made his way toward the village, carefully stepping at first to avoid alarming the man that he had listened to. He didn't return to the original path at first, so as not to run into either of the people accidentally and show himself. Taking his precautions, he carefully worked his way back, eager to hear the speech, and to perhaps gather a few more delicious sweets.

[Nayt]

Offtopic: Sorry about the wait for my post. It's been hellishly busy over here.

Celestine not knowing about it . . . that still had Serj irked. Really, it didn't seem like her father--their mayor. Serj couldn't stop thinking about it, in fact, wondering over and over again if, in fact, this actually had something to do with the mayor's daughter, enough to merit his leaving her in the dark. Serj didn't know enough about their family life to tell, though--and he was still making an honest attempt to avoid thinking about that. No need to get involved more than he needed to--just take things in stride as much as possible, that was his motto. Unfortunately, Serj just couldn't live up to it. He always got involved, at least thoughtfully so.

"Yeah. He'll be ringing the bell and gathering everyone up for his speech in about a half an hour, I think," Serj glanced at his shadow, "Yeah, about a half an hour."

The militiaman withdrew the cigarette between his fingers and released a deep sigh. It was funny. This was a day to celebrate Paradise, and yet more people than any other day felt discontent--himself included. Perhaps it was just this day in particular--this year, when they're mayor was going to give his resignation speech.

At the very least, though, Celestine was going to listen to it. That was good--well, sort of. What if she resented her father for this, and was going to crash the whole thing? Damn, there I go again . . . She was probably going to go watch his speech for the same reason Serj was, though--that was a comfortable conclusion.

"Yeah, I'll follow," Serj declared with a shrug; he placed the cigarette back between his lips and started on behind Celestine, who was now walking with more purpose than Serj himself could muster on any other day.

[olive juice.]

Offtopic: sorry for the delay. I've been really bogged down irl with alot of stuff to do. I apologize.

Serj followed her, and she could hear the padding of his footsteps behind her. Her mind was still reeling at the thought of her father's retirement, though she was eager to know the reason behind it, whether justifiable or not. Her steps fell with speed, urging her figurine to the break in the path that lead into the sprinkling of the buildings that laid on the outskirts of town. She paused for a moment, however, knowing that if she just 'sprung' out into the speech, she'd be rather rude, and furthermore, bringing heavy attention to now only herself, but Serj as well. She cautiously approached the edge of the local Inn, and peered from its corner. As she had initially expected, the crowd was bustling as though nothing had disrupted its cause, but it did not take long for her to pinpoint the beginning of the 'announcement'. Her father, better known as the mayor, was coming upon the market spare, the ceremonial stage of celebration having built upon its center. He was well dressed, as he was every year, though from much ridicule of Celestine. It was then that Celestine felt her heart grow heavy.

Could she truly be responsible for this sudden act? She didn't allow herself to answer it, and emerged from the corner of her hiding place, drawing herself into the traffic of the populace once more. She found it difficult to reach the market square, but she got there, though with much frustration at first. She took steps to approach her father, lips parting with purpose, but she was far too late to speak with prior, or even stop this heinous(in her opinion of course) act.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

The bell had already rung.

"Gather round everyone. Gather round. "

Her father rang the bell a few more times before lowering it to the side of the stage. It had successfully gotten the attention of the enormous crowd. Celestine was frozen. Her eyes rose to her father in hopes of him at least noticing she was actually there - a very rare and nearly impossible occurrence, but he was far too engrossed in what he was about to do.

"I have an announcement to make. "

Though the intentions behind the announcement were unknown, everyone still looked to him with anticipation regardless, as though this was going to be another town related speech where he highlighted the wonderful prosperity of their home. Unfortunately, this was far from the case.

"It has come time, my friends. We have reached a pinnacle in our prosperity, and I in my years. We have become grown, and thrived, and its thus that it's time for me to retire."

The crowd was dead silent. Though the merriment of the occasion would normally have peaked at this moment, there was a heavy feeling of remorse. None knew what to say at this moment - including Celestine. Instead, she remained frozen, unsure of what to say or do at this moment. The bigger question, however, was who was to replace him? Who could possibly ever replace such a mayor? Celestine was not hopeful, and rather remorseful herself. Though her father continued to speak about becoming older, going on a tangent about his years in service with the community and how he had grown to the point where he was unable to hold his ground, she still felt solely responsible.

" Please, do not be sad, I'll always be here." The man took a moment to smile upon them before continuing, " I have found my replacement. Welcome him as you did me upon this day many, many years ago. "

[Baleron87]

Even though Baleron wouldn't have known, he had reached the village last out of the people that had been in the forest. Most of this was contributed to finding himself once again on the sloped road leading up to the town once he had made his way out of the brush. He swiftly moved up the hillside again, hoping that he would not miss the main event. He was hoping that he would still get a chance to buy a sweet or two more before it started, but with how long it was taking to return to the square, that probably wasn't going to happen.

He slowed his pace once he began to reach the edges of the large group of people ready to hear the mayor's resignation speech. He worked his way through the throngs, stopping only once to quickly buy a mug of ale to drink for when the announcement began. It would give him something to put his attention on should the man or woman from the forest see him. Of course, he had no idea what either of them looked like, having only heard their voices, so he figured he was pretty safe from being found out or caught.

He made his way up into the group until he was close enough to listen, having just missed the beginning of the announcement. It wasn't really neccessary to know what he had said exactly, as the almost eerie silence that swept over the crowd was all too understandable given the message he was giving. He continued to listen, casually sipping at his ale while he looked toward the stage to see the new mayor of this village. Of course, unknown to him, he was standing next to the one person who took the message more personally then any of the other villagers.

[Nayt]

Serj followed Celestine the entire route, until she stopped--and so did he. He stood next to her, arms folded over his chest, cigarette between his lips, and eyes on Celestine's father. It wasn't much longer before another young man stood by Celestine's other side, this one a stranger, but Serj paid the youth little attention. He just didn't have it in him right now to deal with foreigners. Not today. It was stressful enough to be in the militia on the anniversary of the town, let alone to know that their mayor--who may as well have been their king--was retiring. Indeed, a king without such a strong title: they answered to no one in this town, had their own personal militia, and the mayor himself dictated taxes and the ilk. It just so happened that he carried himself like a mayor, not a king, and even lived amongst the townsfolk, rather than off in a distant castle, something that, in actuality, he wouldn't have had trouble funding.

Difference--was difference preferred here? Did the denizens of Paradise even like change? Something unique? Change caused conflict--and some found joy in conflict, and there were those who did not. A sepulcher of paradise; was it possible? Was it in essence the act of splitting the Tigris and Euphrates?

Perhaps it was a matter to be discussed amongst the scholars of the community--the haphazard cadre of thinkers who could sit outside of themselves and the village and analyze every detail like gods. Perhaps only they could see the troubles that could brew from someone unique in every way taking over this strong responsibility.

And it was he, the youth Baleron had seen in the bottom of an inn prior, who soon stood in the mayor's place: a young man, perhaps no older than eighteen or nineteen--if that!--with an eternal smile and skin as pale as writing paper. A pure white complexion, the truest sign of albinism, perhaps the worst case imaginable, was however tainted by the absolute opposite: darkness, the deepest shade of black, scratched down one side of his face, barely missing his eye, in the form of splotches, yet the skin had scarred as if he had been struck by a bear. From afar, he was merely a white figure with dark scars upon one side of the face, scarlet eyes staring into the crowd, shaggy gray-silver hair barely swaying in the gentle breeze, with the most professional yet casual attire: a slate-gray button down shirt and black slacks.

"Hello," the Albino spoke with a pleasant tone, upbeat--in an alto range, perhaps!, feminine for a man, but not so much that gender or sexuality could be questioned; he lacked flamboyant aspects anyways-- "Some of you already know me, and some of you do not. To even those that do know me, I feel I must introduce myself: my name is Tabris Innocentii Arlraevous."

Was he a foreign traveler who just happened to set foot in town at the right time? Had he lived here his entire life? Few would have the right mind to doubt it. He was, after all, chosen specifically by the now former mayor, and it was numbingly difficult to feel ill will towards him, regardless . . .

"There he is," Serj remarked quietly, intending only Celestine to hear, "The creepiest man on earth."

[olive juice.]

Creepy was an understatement. Celestine merely stared at the stranger that had seemed to 'walk' into her father's profession, having obviously wooed him with his possible charisma. She had never seen this individual before and it honestly made her sick to her stomach to even look at the man with such a wry smile, all the while the obvious sadness blanketed her father's. Perhaps it was a happy sadness, but Celestine hated the notion of sadness being there at all. She felt honestly to blame, and it was beginning to weigh heavily upon her, but not as heavily as her anger.

Who the hell is this guy anyway?
And how could father have chosen... him ?

It was a harsh whisper, one louder than she expected but at this moment, she cared little. It had only meant to be for Serj, but it was obvious other onlookers had noticed her own disdain, though they seemed to ignore it. It was nothing unusual, she was used to her opinion meaning nearly next to nothing. Her father, however, having finally noticed her presence, stared at her heavily. She was completely on the spot, but did nothing but returned the obvious displeasure her father was demonstrating. The crowd was enamored by the new man, and held little attention to what she was doing, and about to do. Tabris, as Celestine had come to learn his name, was still speaking, though nothing of great importance, just an introduction. Celestine, however, was on the pathway to her father, holding little care to the persistent glare from him.

What is going on father?

Her voice was loud, but not loud enough to drown out the 'new' mayor. Her father's hands were raised in defense as he realized she was intending to keep coming.

"Celestine, this can wait until after Tabris speaks." His words were blunt, forceful, and almost intimidating. Celestine was unaffected.

But father I -

"No. " Her father insisted, and extended his hand to grasp her arm, pulling her off to the side and away from the few eyes that had begun to stare at them. "This, for once, is not about you. "

She was slightly shocked, but remained silent. She was not to blame for this? Then... why? She was confused, and had obviously been horribly selfish. The weight of her guilt doubled. She felt even more foreign to this place than ever before.

[Baleron87]

So, out of all of the people that could have been chosen, it was the man he had seen earlier that day. Baleron found that to be an odd coincidence, or at least would have, if he still believed in such things. The man who stood up at the stage and pronounced himself as the new mayor was one that he would never have to see again, but it seemed fate was not going to be kind to him on this day. To see that he was now in charge of the town made him question whether he wished to stay. However, he calmed his thoughts, not wishing to have ill will toward a man he knew nothing about. After all, just because he seemed different did not mean he was a bad person...

It was unfortunate for him, then, to overhear the discussion of the two bystanders nearby to him. He immediately recognized the voice of the male from the forest, but rather then turn his head suddenly, he casually took a large gulp of his ale and pivoted his neck to better see the two people he knew had been in the forest only minutes before. What stood to his side could only be detailed by him as a well-dressed man with a pretty sword and a beautiful young woman who seemed quite angry at the many changes that were happening all at once. It was an interesting sight to see, as his inside knowledge provided him with a small glimmer of understanding into the events unfolding in front of him.

He turned his head quickly back to the front as the girl charged forward into the group to get closer to the stage, presumably to talk to her father. He didn't want to draw any suspicion or attention to himself, so he instead stood resolute in his spot, sipping at his ale while he listened to the new mayor's speech. With the way the man acted, Baleron couldn't help but be reminded of a certain noble that existed only in his dreams. Given that feeling, he couldn't help but miss the fact that he wouldn't be able to suffocate the man where he stood in an orb of blood. Wishful thinking on his part, he supposed.

[Nayt]

Tabris was extraordinarily tactful and charismatic--and that most of all, too. He spoke with confidence and serene joy, professional yet casual enough to smile. Genuinely, perhaps? It seemed so. He wasn't elated or jumping for joy, nothing of the sort, just casually smiling as he spoke, and never once allowing his tone to depress into something sobering. It was all hopeful, yet never too hopeful to allow anyone to label an unrealistic optimist. No, he came off as a realistic optimist. He wasn't setting his hopes too high, but he had hopes to set--realistic, believable hopes, ideas that actually could become a reality, ideas that were for the best of the town.

No expansion was needed, not territorially. But people could be happier if they didn't have to work fifty hours a week to support themselves. The working class was happy as is, but they could be happier, and Tabris appealed to them. If there was foreign traffic that sought the goods their little Paradise had to offer, then shopkeepers and working class employees wouldn't have to stress themselves so much. An economic influx could allow people to make more without destroying the economy--and they weren't such a massive colony of people that they actually had to worry about inflation, and that, Tabris had insisted quite respectfully, was why they didn't really need to expand the borders of their town.

But his ideas were only part of his speech. It was a means of letting the town know that he was here to do good things. That, of course, was a means to emphasize the introduction: he was young, yes. He was very young, barely over twenty years old. He was young and he had good, feasible ideas. Tabris had admitted that he was filling big shoes, but he openly hoped to serve the town as well as the former mayor, and regardless of how obviously he seemed, even those that would've saw him as just a foreigner or a freak for how he appeared were convinced, or at least close to convinced, that Tabris could do well.

A foreigner, after all, already had foreign relations.

"Thank you for your time," Tabris concluded at the end of his speech, "I would like to hold a public forum within the next couple of days--to personally meet all of you, individually, I hope! But for now, I'd like not to occupy too much of your time during this day of festivities."

And with that, he bowed his head ever so slightly and stepped down, down to join the former mayor and his daughter, who may have quite possibly been amongst the few not convinced about Tabris--perhaps, perhaps. No one could tell everything about a person, after all.

Serj coughed awkwardly. He wasn't listening to Tabris's speech in the slightest. As a militiaman, he'd already heard it. They were long since informed about this change in mayors, had already met Tabris, and heard everything he had to say. The militia now had the purpose of keeping the peace. If something went down that required militia support, like Celestine making too much of a scene, or anyone in the crowd making a drunken scene at all, they were there to put it down. That was the drawback to being in the militia around this time of the year. They didn't participate in the festivities; they had to be watching at all times.

Earlier, Serj had just taken a smoke break. Oddly enough, the cigarette he was smoking was still perfectly fine. It hadn't suffered any nicotine loss; it hadn't even diminished in length or required any semblance of ash reduction, and truth be told, it had almost been ten minutes since he lit the thing.

"You know, I wasn't going to say it earlier," Serj remarked, presumably speaking to no one in particular--no one but himself? At least to those that weren't listening to him, that is . . . "But eavesdropping is pretty rude. And it's especially disconcerting to be followed."

Of course, the person he wanted to hear it would--because he knew well enough that only one other person was actually listening to him. Everyone else around him had disregarded it, treating his statement as just another murmur in a crowd full of people whispering amongst themselves.

[Baleron87]

[Since I'm unsure of when Olive will be returning to post in this thread, I'll continue the conversation between Baleron and Serj for now. Hope you come back soon, Olive!]

Somehow, it didn't surprise him as much as it should have when the man's whisper reached his ears, and he realized that he had been found out. Once he had laid his eyes on the man, he had begun to have the eerie suspicion that the man before him was capable of much more then he was letting on. Beyond that, Baleron had never been known for his exceptional sneaking abilities. Obviously the girl had not noticed him, but she seemed preoccupied with her father, so at least it was one less person to worry about.

However, the consequences of his actions still loomed over him. He hoped he would be able to keep good relations with such a skillful man, and as such he took another small sip from his beer, acting for everyone else around him as if Serj's comment had not even been directed at him. "Information is a wonderful thing to have, at whatever cost. However, it seems that I have overstepped boundaries that could have been whole avoided." He tilted his head slightly, only just so that from the corner of his eye he could watch the man who stood to his side.

As the crowd moved forward, so did he, and the mass of people moving to offer their congratulations and hopes to the new mayor allowed Baleron to step closer to the man. Before words, he offered his hand that held his mug of ale, his words becoming quieter now that the space between them had closed. "I believe I haven't been formal enough for the occasion. My name is Baleron, and I am on your side." A forward move at best, but one that he hoped would provide the intentions that would allow the man to trust him with information he desired. His gaze swept over the cigarette, and he smirked softly. "Perhaps you wouldn't mind for a short trade?"