Watching the snowfall

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Romilda

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Letting out a sigh of relief as she finish's the last page of her report, Gabriella goes and starts putting away the mountains of books she had collected at her little desk. Taking her time to put them back where she found them, she shook off the memory of the last time she misplaced one of the old tomes and the verbal lashing she had gotten for it. Though with the disarray the Lux's library was found in she is still amazed that anyone could find anything. Going back to pick up the last few smaller books at her desk her eyes pass over a small stack of papers. Three of those pages written in her own hand, the writing practiced over and over with the failed attempts still in a large pile thrown in the corner of the room. The other two written neatly in a flowing cursive across the pages. Curiously neat for an adventurers handwriting.

A smile quickly appears on her face as she re-reads the letter she had gone over and over so many times, the words almost memorized. Glancing at her own letter, it seeming like a mess of emotions slapped across some scrap paper. But a letter she would soon need to deliver, as the recipient had been waiting for some time.

Putting away the last few books she had in her hands she returns and picks up her own writing to read it again. She had never been in a situation like this. Normally she would have waited for her fathers approval, then gather in another room with her sisters to talk about the pros and the cons of the individual asking permission to court her. This however, was a decision she didn't feel like she even wanted another opinion on, she had made up her mind and it would take the end of the world to change her mind. With a private chuckle, she knew that it would be her stubbornness that would one day bring an end to her.

Taking the two letters, one she folded neatly and kept in her hand, the other she placed in her pouch where it was most commonly found next to a small drawing done by the same hand. Grabbing her cloak and a scarf she stepped out of the library and started making her way through the Lux. As she walked her heart was pounding at the thought of what may or may not happen. Rolling her shoulders back and keeping her head held high she walked on through the biting winter air.

Stopping suddenly in the middle of the street Gabriella realized she didn't know where the recipient of her letter was. They might have been at the tavern, maybe they were at home. For all she knew they could have been out of the city probably doing some task from the sanctum and endangering their life...again. She stood there looking up at the soft snow that had begun fall onto the city, lost in thought.
 
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Wandering away from his home into the falling snow. Calan’s mind is momentarily taken Off Jinn as he sees Gabriella a ways ahead. He found himself holding his breath as he stood watching the snow flakes fall around her. It was as though she was surrounded by countless tiny fae dancing in the wind and any movement or sound would disturb them. There were very few moments of his own life that calan could recall with any amount of certainty, he wanted to make sure that this moment would end up being one of them. He took the time to notice the way her hair was done, the blush of her cheeks in the chilled air, his eyes soaked up every detail in this surreal moment.
 
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Feeling the winter chill slowly seeping through her cloak, she shivers and collects her thoughts back into a more manageable space. Looking down at the path she walked on to watch for ice she decided she would check the tavern first, see if he was up to his usual card related shenanigans. Maybe this time she could beat him again at his own game, a smile appearing as she remembered an old trick she used to play on her younger sister.

Before she knew it in front of her was no longer a snowy path, but a pair of black boots. Looking up to their owner, she froze. Every greeting she had been taught, every word practiced over and over in her little room all flew from her head as she looked in to his eyes. A stunned look flashed across her face before the same quite polite demeanor she had been taught to keep fell into place. She quickly grasps at what ever fleeing bits of speech she still retained with a small smile greeted him.

"Good evening Calan... what uh.. what brings you here tonight?"

Her smile wavering at the hesitation in her voice.
 
The smile that had been on his face surly grew ten sizes too large as she seemingly became flustered. His cheek muscles began to hurt and he made a poor effort to smile a little smaller.

Noticing the chill pass through her body calan removed the black and silver cloak he had been wearing the last few months. I really ought to return it to its rightful owner one of these days he thought to himself. As the cloak came off it revealed his thicker blue tunic and customary purple sashes. The sash with the raven skull most prominent of them all, noticeably there is a strip of grey cloth along the bottom now.

“Good evening m’lady” Calan holds out his cloak towards her in an offering gesture. “Would you care for this it’s plenty warm?” Before waiting for a proper response he steps closer to her while answering her question. “What brings anyone out at this time of night? I enjoy the snow fall, i enjoy walking, why not go for a walk, seems like a reasonable thing to do. What brings you out here?”
 
Stopping the gasp that perched just at top of her throat, Gabriella instead takes a quick breath and attempts to clear her head.

"I greatly appreciate the offer, but I don't plan on being outside for much longer as..."

Her voice trails off as the goal she had set when she left the library comes rushing back. Discretely, she tries to slide her hand holding the letter to inside her own cloak.

"as I was headed down to umm... somewh... the Tavern ... to meet umm..a ...friend...yes."

With a solid nod of her head she quickly came to the conclusion that this was not going the way she planned. All her courage and bravado left in one fail swoop, replaced by a flush of red to her cheeks. Maybe she should have gone and just waited till early next morning and left it on his front porch, that would had been so much easier on her mind. Why did she have to act so quickly and thoughtless on this decision. Maybe she should just walk away now. No harm done. But the letter in her hand seemed to burn even in the winter chill. Once read, she knew that there was no turning back on this. Gripping the paper tighter she looked back at Calan, whose smile seemed to have grown since when they first exchanged pleasantries.
 
Calans hands lower causing the bulk of the cloak to rest on the snow covered ground. He was standing in one of the very large divots causing more fabric to be on the ground than typical.
“A friend you say?” His voice filled with amusement. “What’s This friends name?” He asked with an amount of smugness that couldn’t be contained.
 
Her mind racing, trying to think of a name. Someone, ANYONE. There was only one name glaring loudly in her mind, and she couldn't use that one as he was standing right in front of her.

Looking up all the panic melted away, as she saw the signature smirk he wore whenever he had just won a round of cards.

Oh no, she thought. Remembering the joy she had the last time she won against him, she was determined that she was not about to lose today. This was a game that was about to have an even playing field.

" yes, a very good friend... hes from out of town so I don't think you would know him"

She looked up at the sky thoughtfully once more, trying, and failing to hide her own smirk.
 
His eyes narrow as he examined her expression. His eyes dropped down to his feet where the snow was now collecting atop his cloak.
His smirk grows. “Well then it’s settled, I’d like to buy you and this friend a drink. If he’s as good a friend as you claim I’m sure he and I Will get along swimmingly.”

Calan flicks his cloak as though it was a matadors cape to remove the snow. In a flash he walked up to her draped it over her shoulders and began to head towards the tavern. After a few steps he turns to Gabriella.

“Well, are you coming? We wouldn’t want to keep him waiting would we? By the way did you receive my letter? He asked as he turned and began walking towards the tavern again.
 
She was so out of practice she thought as she began squinting at the Teri-nor as he called her bluff. But she had one more trick, quite literally up her sleeve. Turning to face him, and firmly planting her feet in the snow she haughtily responds.

"Well if we go now then there no point in you getting this then"

From inside her cloak, and partially having to fight through the second one that she had now begrudgingly accepted, she daintily held her own letter up, but not out. Keeping it close to her.

"but getting this comes with instructions that you must follow to the letter"

She may have been able to hold her air of bravado, but once he began to read her response, she would do everything in her power to not be there.

She stood there holding her ground.
 
Calan looked back at Gabriella and what appeared to be a letter of her own.

“You know, as much as I’d love to see what that says,” he pauses and puts on a look of concern, or at least as much concern as he could muster given the situation. “ I don’t know that anyone’s told you but, Jinns been missing almost a month and a half now, Rohnan is convinced he’s dead, I was just about to go looking for him to be honest. I could really use a drink.” He had to fight the smirk beginning to tug at his face. “ you would t want to deny me the momentary reprieve that I would gain by sharing a drink with you and your ‘good friend’ would you?” He fought the urge to use air quotations as he said good and friend but there was an amount of sarcasm to his tone as he said those two words that implied that he didn’t believe her.
“What was his name again? Or is he some sort of fae and his name is actually good? Besides, you wouldn’t have delivered that to me till after you met with your friend anyway. Wouldn’t want to mess with your precious schedule Would we now?”
 
The bubbling happiness she had felt not a second ago vanished.

"Jinn's... dead?"

Well he might have been dead. but how would she know. She had been so focused on Calans letter and her own studies, but to be so ignorant to not know someone she trusts was missing and possibly dead. How could she have been so ignorant of what was going on. Had it really been almost two months since she had last seen him. What was he doing last, she didn't even know. Rohnan, oh no, poor Rohnan must have panicked knowing how much she cared for her clan members. She had to check in on her. And what about Phal, how was he handling this.

So many thoughts of panic, and worry started racing through her mind. She looked down from Calan to the ground and tried taking a step forwards, then half turning, spinning the other way, looking up at the sky. What could she even do. She stopped her pointless spinning and looked at back at Calan, then down at the grey stripe on his sash.

Looking back up at him with a flurry of questions in her eyes, but she did not ask any as she waited for the answer to her first question, the letter forgotten in her hand.
 
Calan shook his head no. “I said missing, not dead, why does everyone always focus on the dead.” Calan shrugged.
“ I’d be happy to discuss this further, inside, with a warm drink.”
 
A sigh escaped, causing a cloud of of fog to form in front of her. The sigh released some of the tension, but not all. She would definitely have to check in with Rohnan. But for now she had something more pressing.

"Why would you mention hes even possibly dead if not sure if its a fact or not! And why would do that to anyone... why did you do that to me?"

With a huff, she turns around, crosses her arms and takes a deep breath. If she were to be caught having a yelling match with someone in public like this her mother would have a fit. After calming herself down in privacy, she spins quickly back around the way she came, but the letter stayed behind, slipping out of her numbed grasp and slowly began fluttering to the snowy wet ground.

"yes...inside, that sounds nice right about now." She clutched the warm cloak she had been given and starts marching her way to the tavern On slowly numbing feet. Gabriella was too lost in thought to check to see if Calan was following.
 
Calan took a step towards where Gabriella had just been standing. He took off his gloves, reaching forward with his left hand he picked up the letter that Gabriella had dropped. He stood back up and quickened his pace to catch up to her. He held out the letter to her with his palm facing the ground so as to display the forger me nots on the back of his hand.

“ you dropped this. As for why I would mention it, well, why wouldn’t I? Every time I mention that there is no reason to jump to that conclusion someone points out it’s possible; I myself maintain he has found a lovely distraction and chosen to stay in a warmer shard for the duration of the winter. If it wasn’t for lovely distractions I’d have ventured into the mists myself.”
 
"Well from everything I hear from around the fire in the evenings, and watching everyone return from their missions and tasks all battered, bruised. Some having even to be carried, some later I learn had to be left behind. I never know when one day it might ..."

She trails off leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

Looking over at Calans extended hand, she quickly pats her self down, as if that would somehow make the letter reappear in her own hands. Using the clarity left behind from the now dissipating panic before she steals one last bit of courage.

"and that you can keep, as it does technically have your name on it. However like I said before, it does come with one very important instruction. You cant open it in front of me"

Gabriella looks directly and purposefully forward down the path, but not before catching a glance at his hand that was now missing its usual tally marks, and now was marked by a familiar flower. One that look strikingly familiar to the drawing she carried in her pouch since the day she received it.
 
Calan retracted his hand and placed the letter into his left pouch.

“Sure that can be one of the favours I owe you.” He joyfully said with a wink.
 
With the letter handed off, a weight was lifted off her shoulders, but replaced with a quite feeling of rebellious giddiness at her actions. A smile spread across her face with a relaxed ease.

"So how many favours does that leave me now? I'm sure if I'm running low I could win a few more."

The thought of returning the wink crossed her mind, but was dismissed as too forward.
 
Calan scoffs, while pausing to make a snow ball. While he speaks he makes vague gestures as though he’s going to toss it at her but continues to hold onto it while speaking.

“Do I have cards one me? DO I Have cards? Pfft.”
Now shaking his head .
“Sir, do you even know me?”

Calan tosses the snow ball over his shoulder and continues to walk forward. He claps her on the shoulder.

“Come on let’s get inside, we are late for our first date. I may even let you win to mark the occasion.”
 
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