"Work love and play are the great balance wheels of man's being"
A win in the arena didn't lift her mood. Erinalle Dunbridge was feeling-- guilty. She had lied to Jordan about where she was going. The note seared at her the second she wrote it. But it was necessary. She couldn't go admitting to traipsing all over the realm looking for the man that had attacked her sister.
It was insane.
Erin was never really very sane.
The jean shorts and tank top were out of character for her, but the weather had been attrotious. She wasn't much in the mood for her usual stylings, and it was in that simple outfit that she left the house. Of course her hair was pulled up and affixed with a simple yellow daisy. Of course, the newly acquired ribbon was tied around her neck. These were the things that had become a part of her.
Kicking pebbles as she walked, Erin shuffled towards the inn. She spotted the crowd out front and on the porch, but wasn't paying them too much mind. A wave here, a smile there. Gentle greetings from the preoccupied Englishwoman. It was that guilt that ate her.
Slipping past Jack and Sid on the porch and with a nod to Eless and Sjira, Erin spilled into the common room, squinting her eyes at the bright light. It was odd that light was so hard on her, but after the soft lighting of the Outback and the dark partially moonlit walk, her pupils had dilated in the night.
Guido held the door for her as she took a moment to examine the room. It seemed to her that the commons was like Wonderland. The door opened and depending on the mood, depending on the crowd there was always a different scene beyond.
Today it was...a simpler inn. One of an older time. With Panther behind the bar, and the gaslight twinkling just so. Erin took in the flowing skirts and subtle tones. If she listened carefully, very carefully, she made here a languge or two that wasn't common. Maybe.
Almost green eyes stopped their search and landed on a woman. Her hair was dark, like Erin's, almost black and it fell in a cascade of waves and sometimes curls over her shoulders. She was in green, the tunic long and covering her modestly while still being somewhat alluring. Her eyes were like Erin's, brown but green and the way the gaslight fell on her soft features caught Erin's attention.
The woman was shuffling cards. Erin had heard of this. A fortune told through the reading of simple symbols and perhaps luck, perhaps not. The way her hands moved over the cards, shuffling and dealing-- it drew Erin to the table. She was never one for interruptions. She would rarely butt in where she was not wanted, and with this woman alone at a table, backlit in gaslight, she was unsure of her position.
So she hovered.
So she watched.
" Good evening. Do you wish a reading? " The voice was barely heard over the din of the commons, commotion now breaking out by the bar. But the woman's eyes had raised to look at Erin, and she graced her with the most lovely smile. It caused Erin to slide into a chair at the table without a word. The shorts rode up her legs just a bit, fabric crinkling under the stress of her movement. The tank top wrinkled as it clung to her hardening stomach(she'd been working out, you see). Erin leaned forward on the table, and spoke in an equally soft tone.
" Would it be too much trouble? "
What was she looking for? It was hard to tell, really. Answers, sure. Reassurance. Just someone or something to tell her what to do. Where to go. Erin hadn't meant to hold on to Jordan and long and as hard as she had. Erin hasn't meant to take this observation of Fahl as far as she had. Erin hadn't meant to end up afloat in a sea of her own uncertainty.
Erin never meant what she did. It just happened.
A win in the arena didn't lift her mood. Erinalle Dunbridge was feeling-- guilty. She had lied to Jordan about where she was going. The note seared at her the second she wrote it. But it was necessary. She couldn't go admitting to traipsing all over the realm looking for the man that had attacked her sister.
It was insane.
Erin was never really very sane.
The jean shorts and tank top were out of character for her, but the weather had been attrotious. She wasn't much in the mood for her usual stylings, and it was in that simple outfit that she left the house. Of course her hair was pulled up and affixed with a simple yellow daisy. Of course, the newly acquired ribbon was tied around her neck. These were the things that had become a part of her.
Kicking pebbles as she walked, Erin shuffled towards the inn. She spotted the crowd out front and on the porch, but wasn't paying them too much mind. A wave here, a smile there. Gentle greetings from the preoccupied Englishwoman. It was that guilt that ate her.
Slipping past Jack and Sid on the porch and with a nod to Eless and Sjira, Erin spilled into the common room, squinting her eyes at the bright light. It was odd that light was so hard on her, but after the soft lighting of the Outback and the dark partially moonlit walk, her pupils had dilated in the night.
Guido held the door for her as she took a moment to examine the room. It seemed to her that the commons was like Wonderland. The door opened and depending on the mood, depending on the crowd there was always a different scene beyond.
Today it was...a simpler inn. One of an older time. With Panther behind the bar, and the gaslight twinkling just so. Erin took in the flowing skirts and subtle tones. If she listened carefully, very carefully, she made here a languge or two that wasn't common. Maybe.
Almost green eyes stopped their search and landed on a woman. Her hair was dark, like Erin's, almost black and it fell in a cascade of waves and sometimes curls over her shoulders. She was in green, the tunic long and covering her modestly while still being somewhat alluring. Her eyes were like Erin's, brown but green and the way the gaslight fell on her soft features caught Erin's attention.
The woman was shuffling cards. Erin had heard of this. A fortune told through the reading of simple symbols and perhaps luck, perhaps not. The way her hands moved over the cards, shuffling and dealing-- it drew Erin to the table. She was never one for interruptions. She would rarely butt in where she was not wanted, and with this woman alone at a table, backlit in gaslight, she was unsure of her position.
So she hovered.
So she watched.
" Good evening. Do you wish a reading? " The voice was barely heard over the din of the commons, commotion now breaking out by the bar. But the woman's eyes had raised to look at Erin, and she graced her with the most lovely smile. It caused Erin to slide into a chair at the table without a word. The shorts rode up her legs just a bit, fabric crinkling under the stress of her movement. The tank top wrinkled as it clung to her hardening stomach(she'd been working out, you see). Erin leaned forward on the table, and spoke in an equally soft tone.
" Would it be too much trouble? "
What was she looking for? It was hard to tell, really. Answers, sure. Reassurance. Just someone or something to tell her what to do. Where to go. Erin hadn't meant to hold on to Jordan and long and as hard as she had. Erin hasn't meant to take this observation of Fahl as far as she had. Erin hadn't meant to end up afloat in a sea of her own uncertainty.
Erin never meant what she did. It just happened.