Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Quirky Beauty (1x1)

Fial smiled. "Yes, I am. I haven't seen him in a while. I'm sure you'll love him, and his sister. They are amazing people. And my closest friends. I'm very excited for you to meet them." He sat down and ate with her, smiling. It was a kind of forced smile but one couldn't quite tell.

"Once we eat, we're going to get ready and go okay?"

Riiko nodded, too distracted by her excitement to even notice any hint of uneasiness if he ever did manage to let it slip. She took her plate, after having finished eating, and then went back to her room to dress into some good clothes.

She was out quickly, eager to go. This would be so much fun, or so she thought. Jinx yawned and looked from her to Fial, and then yawned again, though the second one didn't seem quite as real.

Fial was a master of deception. His heart was breaking, but he smiled on. "Let's go, then! C'mon Jinx, you too." He took Riiko's hand and started walking along. "I've prepared a special transportation for this. It's only because we're going to my home that we can do this." He went to one of the large trees at the park and placed his hands on it. With a few shudders, a gaping hold opened in it. Large enough for them both to walk through.

"Come on." He took her hand and walked into the whole with her. When they came out, they would be in a beautiful, enchanting forest. Two absolutely stunning elves were standing there, waiting. A man and a woman, both looking very similar. "Tato, Katri, hello!" Fial greeted. He hugged the man, Tato, and the woman, Katri. "Is this precious Riiko?" Katri asked, smiling. If Riiko looked hard enough, she'd be able to see that the woman in Fial's painting was her!

Riiko was still surprised by the secret passage that they had come through, and hadn't noticed the two elves until the woman spoke. Her ears twitched when she heard her name. "Ah, yes, I'm Riiko! It's a pleasure to meet you! Is that painting of you?" she said, indeed noticing that the woman looked familiar.

Jinx jumped from Riiko's shoulder and began to crawl through the grass on his belly. It seemed he liked it quite a bit. So much, even, that he let out a playful meow as he pounced at a bug.

Fial's friend smiled. "Yes, it is. I'm afraid Fial's imagination got away with him on it, but yes the woman is me. Do you like it? If you want, I can show you where the scene is that is in the painting." Katri giggled as she saw Jinx. "Oh, what an adorable cat! What is his name?"

Meanwhile, Fial gave Tato the painting and discussed some things quietly. It seemed to be normal things. With great celebration by Tato and Katri, the four of them (five including Jinx) went on a tour of Fial's home village. It was all beautiful, wonderful. Almost like a fairytale. There were other elves, all very friendly and kind and from all ages.

"Jinx," Riiko replied, when asked what her cat's name was. "Kind of cliche, but it suits him well." Jinx huffed a bit, but went back to chasing a bug until they left to take the tour of the village.

Riiko did indeed feel like she was in a fairytale. She had never been to an elven village before, and it seemed very much that they would use magic to keep things looking the way they did. Because she felt there was no way anything could be so naturally beautiful. "Did you say you lived here, Fial?" she asked, not sure if he had, or if he just knew someone from this village.

Fial walked along, watching her. When he was asked a question, he forced a smile and nodded. "Yes. I used to live here." They walked a little ways off the path that seemed to wind throughout the village, and through a small grove of trees. There was a clearing. A clearing where nothing was there, just a bit of browned grass. And a tombstone. A large, ornate tombstone with a statue of a woman on top of it. A woman who looked very much like Fial.

"This is where I lived." he said calmly, walking over and touching the tombstone. "My sister was loved by everyone. They all got together and made this tombstone themselves."

The other two elves nodded. "Fial's sister was the most precious woman to us. She embodied happiness and purity." After a respectful moment of silence, the entire group, Fial included, continued the tour. Once they reached Tato and Katri's house, the tour ended and they all went inside. "So what do you think of the village, Riiko?" Katri asked.

Riiko looked up to the tombstone she was led to, admiring it. She felt it a bit odd that a whole village would commemorate one of their people. But it was only odd to her, because her people would never do something like that. She joined the silence, bowing her head just a little, to show her respect. And then they continued.

"It is very pretty. And everyone seems so nice," she replied, when asked by Katri.

Katri nodded. "They are. I'm sure everyone would love to meet you, Riiko." She looked at Fial for a few moments, and finally he spoke. It was time. "Riiko...you're going to be staying with Tato and Katri from now on." He did his best to be kind, but firm. He couldn't let his emotions influence him at a time like this. "It's been decided that this is a lot better for your future. Katri excels in the magic arts and she'll be able to teach you much better than I could. And it's a simple walk through a tree portal to get to work, so you can still go there. But you need to focus on your studies, and the reason why you are in this area in the first place. Tato's going to go fetch your things and put them in the spare room they have."

Katri smiled. "It will be really nice having another girl in the house."

Riiko, who had not been expecting anything at all, looked between all of them, with a smile. She didn't quite comprehend at first, what Fial was talking about. But as he continued to explain, her smile faded. And by the time Katri spoke, she was frowning deeply.

"W-what are you talking about, Fial?" she said, looking at him in a curious, but serious manner. If this was a joke, she thought, it wasn't funny at all. "I thought you liked living with me? Why does it matter where I learn?"

Fial smiled gently at her. "I do. But you see...I am going to be moving. I'm going away to where I'll find a better job. I need to get a stronger income." He sighed softly, "It is better this way. I promise." He looked right in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Riiko. But it's for your best interest."

Tato stepped in now, because even though Fial seemed okay, the man knew how much he was hurting. "Just give it a try, okay Riiko? I'm sure you'll love it. Besides, you can still write Fial letters and stuff."

Riiko did not look away from Fial when Tato voiced his opinion. Instead, she said, rather angrily and hurt, "You didn't think to talk this over with me? You just thought I would go along with this, no questions asked? You think you know what is best for me? You hardly know me! How can you even say that!"

Deep down, she felt betrayed, like all of what had happened the last few days had been a blatant lie. "Why can't I go with you!?"

Fial looked down. "I didn't talk to you about it because I knew you wouldn't want to. You wouldn't even hear of it. I knew you wouldn't understand that this is for the best of your wellbeing." He took in a deep breath, then looked her in the eyes. "If you stay with me, Riiko, I'm only going to drag you down with me. I can't do that."

He suddenly pulled her into a hug, holding her close. "I'm not fit to take care of you. I'm not fit to take care of anyone. I won't have you suffer for my mistakes, for my bad traits." He closed his eyes tightly. "Thank you...for everything, Riiko.." He let go of her and turned, leaving the house right away.

Katri sighed. "He'll never get over that.." she murmured to herself. "He thinks everyone who gets close is going to end up like his sister.."

"I thought... we were happy," she said, watching him leave. She listened to Katri;s comment, but didn't say anything else. She just watched the spot where she had lost sight of Fial. She felt like crying, but no tears would come. It still was a bit unbelievable to her, how all this was happening.

Slowly, her gaze would turn to Jinx, almost asking him what he thought of all of this. But the cat averted his own gaze, not daring to look at her.

Katri put her hand on Riiko's shoulder. "Just give it some time, okay? I promise you'll be happy here too. It's amazing here. And there's a nice lake, and if you don't mind a nice walk then we can show you the waterfall sometime too. It's all very beautiful here. And we'll make you an expert in magic in no time!"

Tato smiled gently at Riiko. "Fial's never selfish, Riiko. When he makes a decision, it's always to help someone else. Trust him, okay? And like we said; you can write him letters. It's not like you'll never see him again. You're just not living with him."

Riiko looked back to the elf, and gave a little nod, having decided to just accept the fact for the moment. "Then, can I have a little bit of time to think?" she said. Without waiting for an answer, she left the house, walking around behind it for a bit. That was when she started sobbing, out of sight from the others. Jinx had followed her, and sat down beside her as she did.

After several minutes, Riiko wiped her eyes and stood up straight, looking around. Her ears twitched a bit, listening intently to hear if anyone was around. She looked to Jinx, before suddenly dashing toward the entrance she had come through, reaching the trees and trying to find the correct one by feeling over them. Once the magic like door opened she ran out. She didn't want to stay here. She had done just fine on her own before. She didn't want to become attached to anyone again, not when things might end up just like this. That abandoned feeling hurt greatly.

Riiko ended up running RIGHT into Fial. He oofed and fell, wrapping his arms around the person who had slammed into him. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know anyone was--" He froze. It was impossible to mistake Riiko anymore. He put his hand on her head, hiding her face in his shoulder. He had his head turned away. She couldn't see his face. He was an utter mess.

"What are you doing here?" he said quietly. "You should be back at the house, where you're safe."

Riiko was surprised, thinking that Fial would have been long gone by then. But she thought quickly, trying to think up an excuse as to why she was there. "Um... Jinx-- ran this way, and I didn't want him to get lost in this new area." Jinx let out a 'huff', twitching his tail in agitation.

"Fial, why do you want to leave me? I thought you were happy living with me. Katri and Tato said it was because you think anyone you are close to will end up like your sister. I know it was a terrible thing to have happen to you, but you can't let it control you like this. Your sister wouldn't want you to dwell on her memory like that! Because I know I wouldn't want that!"

Fial sighed. "Is that so?..." He doubted that. "I don't want to leave you, Riiko. But it's best for you. You...need to focus on your magic. You need to remember why you're here in the first place. I'm just a distraction. And people who get close to me...things never turn out well. I'm not dwelling on memories I'm stating facts. Things happen to people I get close to! That's why I moved away from the village. Why I live alone. Why I don't have friends over, why people don't call me. Because bad things happen. And if something bad were to happen to you, Riiko, I would die." His words got more firm and frustrated as he spoke. An unusual trait of Fial's.

"I don't want to learn magic anymore!" Riiko shouted at him, finally admitting what she had been trying to deny to herself. "I only wanted to learn it because I wanted to go back home. But I don't want to go back home now. I want to be with you. You are the kindest, most generous person I have ever met; completely opposite of the world I came from. And I never want to go back to how things used to be for me."

She stood there, taking deep breaths now, looking at him.