The Nexus

The tavern was a large place. The name on the front of the sign had been worn down, almost non existent from wear and tear from the weather, though one could still make out the word 'Flagon' and part of the picture of an overflowing mug. The front of the building was in far better shape than the sign and was more welcoming.

Inside it was warm, with a fire always going along the far wall and many long tables in the center of the tavern, and smaller nook area's where small single or double seated tables would be. The bar was opposite of the fireplace, and was close enough to the door for one to be greeted as they entered. A Small hall traveled to the left just after the entrance, leading to a staircase, that would surely bring folk upstairs to the rooms.

It had been a month since she left. She still felt sour about the entire thing, despite trying to get over it. She had been convinced, since she was a child, that her parents had sold her into the life she was living, and that her only purpose was to do what she was told.. She always seemed to.. She never knew it was wrong, but the moment she found out the truth. It changed everything.

She wanted to go back home, and she had no clue where to start. All she remembered of her people was stories that she had been told of their legends and things of that nature. It was hard to even put a face to her parents, or remember their names.

Ki'anju had found a small area in the corner of the tavern. A small table that she could sit by herself. It took much for her to do just this, sit here in silence and try to get this disgusting drink down. She had often heard that drowning one's sorrows was the best way to cure one from being sad.. She never knew if it was true or not, but it was worth a shot.

Her grey eyes looked over ever detail of the dark liquid inside, before she pulled the flagon back and took a small sip. Her movements were slow and the way she carried herself in doing this small task was very, very careful.. She even gave a small tremble just before setting it back down. It was so hard to control..

If anything she could be thankful of.. It was that she was being left alone. No one bothered to speak to her, and mostly everyone avoided looking to her.. Perhaps they knew something that she did not.. Either way she was thankful for them not speaking to her.

"Yes! A town!" Doncha nearly shouted, picking her pace up again, once she could see the top of the buildings in the fading light. Praise to the Gods they wouldn't be sleeping on ground again. With town, came nice beds at an inn... and things to steal, but Didja didn't have to know that.

Anytime her sister found out that she was stealing, she was told to put it back -- but it wasn't like she ever listened.

"Come on! I'm so hungry, I could eat five bowls of broth and ten loaves of bread!" She ushered her sister to follow quickly, nearly running into the main street of the town before she stopped and glanced around.

"Inn... tavern... inn... Tavern!" Her eyes had found the old sign, not caring what the name of the place was called. It was a place to stay, and she would take it! She quickly made her way over to it, opening the door for her sister to go in first.

Didja would have been content to sleep outside again. She loved the night time. It made her feel more alive to be under the light of the moon, seeing all the creatures who came out then and witnessing the world asleep. But, her sister hated sleeping on the ground, so Didja would follow her lead into town, all smiles.

The short elf's clothing was dusty from travel. She wore a tan linen shirt beneath a leather jerkin with tight breeches and thigh-high leather boots. Across her thin waist laid a sword belt with no sword upon it and she had a meager pack slung over her chest. Didja adjusted the leather skull cap on her head to hide her ears. She liked to meet people without them knowing who she was.... Like the rest of her didn't give it away.

Didja strolled into the tavern as if everyone inside was waiting for her, and she smiled brightly around the room to see who was inside. The place was partially filled with an assortment of peoples; all more involved in what they were doing instead of greeting the cheery elf. That didn't deter Didja, though.

She strolled up to the first table and stuck her hand out, as free peoples were wont to do. "Hello there! I'm Didjafanthalasus!"

Ki'Anju had taken to looking at the locket she had around her neck. It was gold and silver, and opened, but inside was empty, except for a small rock that had been tied down by a string. With the sudden noise from the elven sisters, she snapped the locket closed and dropped it to the table, gasping lowly as she looked behind her.

She felt so very paranoid.. It was horrible. A deep breath was taken and she returned to her drink, leaving the locket onto the table. It was an important relic of her life.. Given to her by someone who, as she saw it, saved her. He helped her escape, and also was incredibly kind to her throughout her time with Alessy and his 'group' of 'mixed' individuals. She wondered if he survived it all. She really hoped so.

As the bubbly one made her rounds in attempt to be greeted and to greet others, Anju would attempt to watch them carefully, but found herself also trying to distract herself from them.

Other patrons stared, a few gave a laugh and would shake Didja's hand, waving her off afterward.

As Didja made her way around the room, Doncha just sighed heavily, wanting to rub her temples at the headache she knew she was bound to get. If ever she wanted to keep a low profile, her sister would always find a way to make sure that didn't happen.

She made her way up to the counter, flipping over one of the pouches on her side as she threw a few coins onto the counter. "A room and some broth and bread, if you have it..." She frowned a bit, hating to spend money, but hopefully she could make profit off this place. She glanced back to the people, watching them as her sister greeted them, and frowned at the jokes they made at her after she passed.

Her fist clenched, but she eased a bit when the innkeep came back with bowls, bread, and a key.

She pocketed the key, and started to make her way over to her sister, who still seemed intent on greeting everyone.

"Hey Don, people here are nice. You picked a good place to stay." She was bouncing her way back to her sister, her face split in a pleased smile. "Oh, let's sit over there. By the pretty girl with the red hair. I wish my hair was that color, it's amazing."

Didja flopped into a seat and pulled the skullcap from her head. She was a slight thing whit short cropped brown hair and big bright purple eyes. Her ears looked rather human right up until the curved point at the end of them. She couldn't stop herself from glancing over to Ki'Anju every few seconds to see what the woman was doing.

She did everything she could to ignore them. Not to be rude! But they were making the most noise and drawing the most attention. She did not want to have any part in that, or really be noticed. It didn't help that she wore a bright orange outfit and had red hair, so.. she totally didn't need anything more against her.

She distracted herself from them by fiddling with a loose bit of cloth on her outfit. It at one point was her 'work' uniform, but now she wore it as a sleeping attire.. as well as daily clothes. She had hardly any money at all and what she did have went to trying to find food. She needed work and new clothing. A glance to her boots were given with a frown. They were rubbing her leg and feet raw.. She was sure of it. A soft sigh was given and she collected her drink again, frowning into it. She didn't want anymore.. She wanted something sweeter, but instead she got this.

After a moment or two, she looked to the Elven sister, then away from them to the fire. She was tempted to move closer so she could be warmer.. Use that as an excuse to get away from others, but what if someone went to the fireplace as well?

"If your hair was that color, then we wouldn't have any money..." Doncha mumbled to herself as she followed her sister. Mainly because it would draw attention to them and she wouldn't be able to pickpocket as well. She plopped down next to her sister, setting the bowl and bread in front of each of them.

She glanced to Didja and sighed. "Stop staring, it's rude." She tapped her finger by the food, telling her to eat. But she did give a glance to the girl near them, as well as the locket that had been placed on the table.

Oh, well that caught her interest now. Doncha cleared her throat. "Good day," she said, trying to make up for the fact that her sister was still probably staring at the girl.

Didja wiggled as she tried to be good and not look at this woman, but she could not. "You know, staring can also be a compliment..." Or at least, that's how she saw it. It was ruder to Didja to see her sister tap at her food and she stuck out her tongue.

Once Doncha opened the window to talk to this woman, Didja forgot her food and leaned in to talk over Doncha. "I love your hair! Is that natural or do you use a wash!? Oh, I'm Didja!" She held out her hand.

She continued to stare at the fireplace until they spoke.. Instantly she tensed up and glanced over her shoulder at them, before slowly turning back around. There was no getting past it.. Didja's hand was looked to as her sister spoke.. Then her own questions came. "Uhm.. Hello." She didn't know what to do and couldn't escape from this like she would like to.

No.. Because she was sure there would be a very large hole left somewhere and perhaps a few injured people.. It would just cause more troubles than it would fix for her. They seemed nice enough anyway. "I.. It's Natural." She gave a small nod to that and examined the girl's hand hesitantly. "I'm." The name she would give was given much thought. She actually didn't have any other name than her own.. And making one up on the spot was far too much pressure. A low sigh came from her before she spoke again.

"I'm Ki'Anju." She returned with the name with a softer voice, attempting to smile while she continued to look at Didja's hand with caution, before she slowly reached over to grasp it. Upon realizing that she was doing really well and had not crushed Didja's hand in the first three seconds, She gave a little shake of it and quickly withdrew her hand, but kept her attention on them. "Thank you.. Uh.. For the compliment." She did not get them often, then again she has only been 'free' for a month.

Doncha frowned. She should have known better than be polite, but maybe her sister would create a good distraction... at least long enough to swipe that pretty little locket. She just went back to eating her food, letting her sister either continue to distract, or make the girl so uncomfortable that she got up quickly, forgetting her locket there.

Didja's whole body lit up with excitement when Ki spoke to her. "I love it! I wish my hair was that pretty color! You must have a whole lot of men interested in you. I don't but I think that's because they're intimidated by my cheerfulness." And who wouldn't be? It was like being slammed with a wall of kindness and smiles. Didja had started to lean toward Ki as she spoke, still holding her hand out.

"Ki'Anju? That's a pretty name too. Sounds elfish. Are you an elf? I'm an elf. My full name is Didjafanthalasus Thulea. It can be kind of a mouthful to common folk."

A small wave was given to both girls. Her hello had been for both of them as well.. She really couldn't comment on how good of a day it was.. Her goal was to wash away her misery with the drink here, but it wasn't working..

Her face reddened and she stared at Didja in slight horror, slowly shaking her head. "N.. No. Nothing like that." She intimidated them with her strength.. While the kindness was appreciated she was feeling more and more uncomfortable as the girl leaned in for her, with her hand still out. She wanted to hide her face into her arms, but she just continued to stare at the girl, suddenly speaking again.

"Um.. No, I'm not an Elf.. Thanks though." She nodded a bit, listening to the girl speak. "Didja.. danth.. alasus?" She repeated, giving it a go over a few times in her head.. It really was a mouthful. "How do you get people to remember all of that?" She questioned quietly.

"You can't get people to remember that, because they usually don't care enough to do so. So we shorten our names. Didja... and I'm Doncha..." She pointed between the two of them. "Where are you from?" she asked, curious. Not about the girl, but where the metal from the locket might have come from. If it was some place exotic, the price on it would be even higher.

She smiled a bit at the thought, before she took another mouthful of broth.

Didja fell back into a fit of convulsive giggles as Ki tried her name. She was genuinely trying to say only to call her Didja, but her sister got it out first. She sobered up from laughing pretty quickly and knuckled the tears from her eyes. "I like you." She beamed.

"O.. Oh." She said quietly. "It's nice to meet the both of you th-." When Didja fell back laughing, Ki stared at her for a moment with a small frown. She supposed it was funny that she couldn't say such a long name, but..

She cleared her throat a bit and looked back to Doncha. "I.. I don't actually remember much of anything like that.." She turned back to the table, looking down. When Didja said that she liked her, Ki turned to her staring for a moment before she gave a soft smile. That was nice..

Doncha frowned a bit. So she didn't remember where she was from. Well, that wouldn't be a problem really, it would just take a little longer to appraise the item. She would make profit on it nonetheless.

She leaned back, taking a look at the other patrons in the tavern. She couldn't just settle on one item, after all.

"You don't know where you're from? That's so sad." She frowned pathetically, taking on all the empathy for Ki. She almost teared up putting herself in the red head's position. "Do you need help finding your family? Are you alone? You shouldn't be alone and sad, come with us! I'll be your friend!"

She reached out to hold on to her shoulder and her face lit up again.

Ki was so confused.. "N.. No I don't recall much of that or my family.." She did want help finding them, but this was so sudden.. She didn't know them and already one of them was offering more than Ki could imagine.. It scared her, what if there was dual intentions.. What if they sought to trap her, as Alessy had.

She pulled away from Didja's grasp and shook her head. "N-no, I don't need help.. I.. I am fine." It was a nice offer, but this was too strange to trust normally. She turned around in her seat and attempted to stand, finding that she felt like she was going to black out.. So upsetting!

Her locket was out of sight, but she didn't even register that.

Doncha frowned. 'Stop offering people help! she silently yelled at Didja, and looked to the red head as she stood. Her back was turned to her locket, and she brightened up a bit, ready to use her sister's happy-go-lucky personality to her advantage.

"Hey, look what you did..." she said, nudging Didja. "Now, you go over there and apologize to her..."

Of course Didja would run her big mouth if she saw the locket being taken, so she had to wait til they were both distracted.