Dock hopping

[Lilith Reeves]

Lilith loves her brother, so much but sometimes a girl needs to slip away. Like today. She would quickly slip on a crisp clean dress and then pulled on a pale violet cloak to clasp around her throat and then a basket with some coin she had earned.

Dashing off, she went shopping, picking up a few bits of cheap jewelry and then a small knife for her brother. A peace offering to him for when she returned and he learned she left without telling him, she only hoped he wouldn't be made at her but she just needed to see the town a bit.

After her little shopping trip, she would find herself back at the docks. They would leave soon, where, she had no idea but with them not so busy she would look around for a moment before sliding a barrel close to one of the poles that lined the dock. Climbing up easily, she would then stand on the flat pole, her dainty little feet fitting easily as she balanced there for a moment before taking a long leap onto the next before wobbling a little. It was a lot father than she expected.


Undoing her cloak and  putting it into her basket in her hand, she would feel a bit more balanced. She would then take another leap onto the next pole before just standing there and staring out at the ocean. She felt like she could rule the world like this! Lilith was nothing but smiles at herself and as she was thinking of getting down, her head was turning before her gaze caught that of another persons. A small flush rose to her cheeks as she looked at him now.

Kaiden Dellario

[Kaiden Dellario]

The foreign duke walked the docks often. It felt almost like home away from home sometimes. People bustling here and there, from all over the world, different languages and dialects and all manner of goods moving about the place. Not to mention in a past life, Kaiden imagined himself to be a sailor. The spirit of adventure, the smell of the ocean, the wind, the ports, the women... He sighed softly. He had had his fun he supposed. Besides, he could have fun other ways now.

He bought some seared fish on a stick for breakfast, finding simple pleasure in brushing shoulders with sailors and merchants. He paused to watch some wealthy noble disembark one of the ships, the man teetering on the walkway, even wide as it was to accommodate guests. Clearly no sea legs on that one. And then he watched the man turn and retch and he hid a laugh with another bit. No stomach either.

Moving along the dock, he caught sight of a woman...hoping the posts on one of the empty docks of the pier. She had the look of a commoner, and the movements and grace (well, okay, she wobbled a little, but hell if he could do that without falling on his face!) of an acrobatic dancer. He wondered if she was one. She certainly wasn't Tresterian either, he noticed, having nudged his way through the moving crowd to watch.

He grinned as he watched her pride billowing in the breeze and then offered a congratulatory whistle when she looked over at him. He would have clapped, but his hands were still a bit full of his breakfast. "Quite the performance, young lady! I suspect that wasn't for anyone here, though, eh?" She didn't need him to tell her she was impressive.

[Lilith Reeves]

The whistle and sound had her blushing as she would balance on one foot and dip into a curtsy on the pole while bowing. She was confident enough in herself to not worry about falling like this and she often did things while on just one leg. Slowly, she eased herself down so that she was sitting on the pole with her legs crossed and her head shaking.

"Heh, no I was just having some fun, I saw the docks were rather empty so I figured why not," she told him with a little shrug of her shoulders. Her cheeks were still rather pink, having not expected it but she was calming since she was used to the crowd seeing her and cheering her on in the circus tents.

"Are you boarding a ship today?" she inquired curiously. The basket hanging down against her legs as she looked at the curious gentleman who had a fish stick in his hand. She wondered what her brother would think, would he be ok with her talking to a stranger or upset? Maybe he just didn't need to know right now.

[Kaiden Dellario]

It was more than a little impossible not to get a bit of a glimpse up the girls skirts from this angle.

He glanced around at the portion of dock they were on. This stretch was empty, considering there were no ships awaiting loading or unloading. But the main thoroughfare he had come from was quite crowded. Islands tended to be that way. Kaiden grinned. Why not, indeed. "Sure wish I could do that," he noted. "You perform somewhere though, no?" She had a familiar look about her. "Traveling entertainer?" He guessed.

"No, unfortunately," he said with a wishful chuckle. If only he had that sort of freedom. Well...he certainly could...only he didn't want to. Not entirely. He had a few reasons to stay here. He glanced back at her from the field of sails and masts and caught her eyeing his food. He offered her the uneaten one. "Hungry?"

"Where are you from?" He asked, taking another bite of his own.

[Lilith Reeves]

If he caught a look, he would see there was a pair of skin tight leggings on under but she would pay it no mind or care as she sat on the pole and kept her balance there.

Lilith smile at that, "Well, can you balance well?" she inquired curiously of him before giving a nod, "I'm with the traveling group of performers, I believe we have something coming up rather soon- I'd have to ask my brother, he has the schedule," she told him while trying to think. Did they have a show? They must, they needed to make money somehow to fund themselves.

At his offer, she would push off of the pole to land lightly on her feet, her hands smoothing out her skirt a little bit, "Yes please, thank you," she told him as she would reach and take it. It smelt good! She would take a small bite and swallow as she gave a shake of her head.

"I don't remember...when my parents passed my brother took on raising me and traveling, so I guess a ship then would be my answer for where I'm from since I'm always on one," she told him with a little smile and chuckle, "Are you from here?" she inquired curiously as she took a little bite, her grey gold flecked eyes looking up at him curiously.

[Kaiden Dellario]

"Well enough. Not so sure about sticking the landing though," he chuckled. "I thought so. I have a feeling I have seen you before. Or your group, perhaps." He had traveled quite a lot and from the sound of it, she had too. "You let me know when, I'd love to see it." Elyscia might enjoy it too, actually.

Kaiden smiled. "Ah, seaborn then," he said thoughtfully. It didn't really matter where she was born, on land or not. "I'll admit, I am a little jealous. I think I was a sailor in a past life myself. Not so much in this one, unfortunately," he said with a sigh. He steered clear of the subject of family, especially dead family. Losing his brother was still a bit too fresh for it to be a topic he wanted to cover with anyone, let alone a stranger. He was happy to talk and be social, just...not that social.

"No," he said, shaking his head. She was cute, but not enough to distract his attention from the ships around them. "Ithias. You want to know a secret?" he asked, teasingly, making a goofy show of looking around them for someone eavesdropping. He was still getting that itch about eyes on him sometimes, but he kept putting it down to his constant need to be doing something or going somewhere. He didn't feel stuck here, exactly, but he was still accepting his new life.

[Lilith Reeves]

"Well when sticking the landing, just put the image of where you want your feet to be and you won't miss...also judge distance better than I did after that second hop- they aren't as evenly spaced as I thought they were," she told him with a little chuckle before nodding, "I will, yes. We did perform a short time ago and right now everyone is working on something for the next round," she told her excitedly. Lilith loved what she did, even if she didn't have a forever home, she loved being able to see places and sometimes meet people.

That would earn a little nod, making her hair bounce some as she took another bite of the fish before smiling some, "You could have been! We have someone at the circus who reads fortunes, maybe she could tell you," Lilith suggested to him. She had told her that her life would always have a red vail to it and she didn't need to be smart to know what that meant.

Oh! So he was not from here just like herself! "Ithias..." she whispered, mulling over the name. She didn't keep good enough track of the places she's been to know if she's been there or not but when he offered a secret her eyes went wide as she stepped over to him. "What? I'm great at keeping secrets," she promised him, lifting up on the balls of her feet as she wanted to hear.

[Kaiden Dellario]

Kaiden was more than sure that wasn't how landing worked. He could imagine his feet anywhere and that didn't make it so. But he understood her point and the encouragement and always like the positivity. "Use magic. Got it," he teased, pretending he didn't hear her with his words but he gave a warm, understanding smile. He chuckled. "No, I don't think the builders where considering citizens might use them for acrobatics. Practice like that keeps you on your toes though, eh?" Oh, he very definitely meant the pun.

"Oh, I don't think I need to pay to know that sort of thing. It's a feeling, you know? Like the wind. You can't see it, but you never doubt it's there." He was a little dismissive of soothsayers. Not that he didn't believe there wasn't some truth there, or that it wasn't an entertaining experience, but a lot of it was observation and side stepping. Fun as it was to have a reading done, this was something the man didn't need some stranger to tell him about himself. He was sure, somewhere deep down.

She very well could have been. It was a welcoming enough place. But it was also small and people there were not very rich. Spending money on a circus wold be considered frivolous and silly by most. Still, he imagined that the young woman and the cohort she was part of traveled wherever the winds took them. Well, and the money.

It wasn't really a secret. Not a true one. "I'm sure you are, strange girl whose name I still don't know," he joked. Why would he tell a real secret to some girl? But that didn't stop him from being friendly and playful about it. "I'm actually a Duke," he said, leaning closer to her a bit. He leaned back and took another bite of his fish, finishing it off. "Also, I really thought about pushing you into the water just then, but we aren't that well acquainted. Just kidding!" he added quickly.

[Lilith Reeves]

That made her laugh and she nodded, "Mmhmm magic landing location sensing...thing," she told him with a chuckled. She so far liked this fellow, he was funny and funny meant nice most of the time right? Though he did have a point at what the builders were probably not thinking, "True...and it does, helps me make sure I don't fall or I'll end up on the ground..well this case the water," she said with a little frown.

Lilith would listen to his reasoning on that, her head tilting to the side a bit as she bit her lip while thinking and then nodding, "I can understand and respect that," she told him with a nod.

Lillith was all but bouncing on the balls of her feet as she listened to him, holding onto the fish still before her hand shot up to her mouth; she was talking to a duke! A duke! Were these his lands then? And then he spoke of wanting to push her off but resisted because they didn't know each other! She let out a gasping laugh at this information! She did not expect it in the slightest!

"Well pushing friends off poles isn't very nice and really? Are you really a duke?" she would ask him, wholly curious now to see if what he said was true and what was kidding before she gave her name since that wasn't top priority in her brain. 

[Kaiden Dellario]

Kaiden chuckled. "Not a saleswoman, I see," he observed. Someone else might have pushed him to change his mind or told him how 'different' this one was, or how he couldn't be all that certain. Or even brought up some other aspect of the circus. But not this one. Even her bouncing and laughter, while a bit much, was sweet. And honest. And refreshing. A little annoying, but refreshing.

"Good thing we aren't friends then, eh?" He teased. Not that it would be considered nice for a stranger to push another stranger off a pole either, but he enjoyed the joke. "I am," he confirmed, not losing that playful smile. "Not here though." He paused and looked up and then pointed east. "Home is that way," he noted. Ithias wasn't a large island, but it was home. Of course, being a duke over there didn't mean very much over here. He got introduced in a fancy manner, but that was about it.

It sure as hell didn't earn him any points in the military.

"Friends do share secrets with friends though. Have one for me?"

[Lilith Reeves]

Lilith giggled at that as she shook her head, “No not really I’m afraid, that’s not my specialty,’ she told him with a bit of a bright smile at that, ”Perhaps if you like to see death-defying tricks and to see how someone can balance on one arm while folding into a near circle?“ she then tried but no she was no saleswoman for the circus.

She would take another bite and then tilt her head to the side at that, he had a good point, they weren’t, they just met but he did give her some fish which was kind of him! “Oh!” she told him in awe as she would look to where he was pointing out, “Do you miss home?” she asked curiously. She wished she could remember her home but a lot of it was blocked out from her memory.

His question would have her moving a little think, did she have a secret for him? She must have at least one that she could divulge to him.

“Hmm well, I have one and that is my brother and I are runaway nobles just trying to live the best lives that we can,” she told him with a sweet smile at that. She was rather sure on that one, it felt right and true to her so it had to be but she couldn’t remember where home was anymore though; oh well!

[Kaiden Dellario]

"Hmm," he mused. "Now, see, that sounds like a sales pitch," he teased. He appreciated her effort. He didn't really understand what 'folding into a near circle' meant, but he could only assume it was something lost in translation? Clearly she was flexible. Did she mean acrobats or contortionists? Of course, how to say either in Tresterian...he wasn't certain. "How long is your troupe in town?" he asked.

Kaiden shrugged. "Sometimes. But I live here too." He wasn't all that interested in discussing much further with the stranger, at least not an that meaningful of a level. Clearly his home and friends and family meant a lot more than his rank. Not something to be throwing around perhaps in a place like this.

"Ah, nobility that wished to do something more enjoyable with their lives or is there some darker secret there?" he teased, clearly not expecting or pushing for an answer. He had never actually heard of anyone doing such a thing. It was a bit cliche sounding, running off to join a circus but he didn't have any reason to disbelieve her. He was a bit concerned that some family might be missing their children, but clearly it had been ages and she wasn't from around here.

[Lilith Reeves]

Lilith just smiled at that one, a little grin at that as she would take another bite of her fish, “Then I will perfect that next time I’m actually trying to pitch the sale of going to the circus,” she told him with a grin at that. “Uhm…a month I think before we move on,” she told him. So long as the seas were good, they were going and then stopping wherever the ship stopped.

A nod left her from that as she sucked some of the fish off of her fingers, “I understand that; I miss being on the ship, it’s always fun to be out on the waters,” she told him with a smile at that. It was where she and her brother were totally free and those in the group.

The question was innocent but she would give a small tilt of her head, “It’s both actually; don’t worry it’s all fine I’ve had time to get over my family for that, and with it just being me and my brother, it’s much better,” she told him. Lillith left it vague yes, but it was laced with a fair amount of truth. “Would you ever think of joining the circus?” she asked, her tone playful as she smiled and took another little bite.

[Kaiden Dellario]

Kaiden smiled and nodded. He hadn't exactly meant to be part of a learning moment, but he was quite glad he had been able to help. It had certainly sold him, next time he had the time to visit. And maybe if he could find some company. It certainly seemed like a sight more enjoyable with friends.

Watching he consume every bit of the fish made him smile again. Had she been that hungry? Perhaps not and she was simply used to eating when there was food. "I do too," he agreed, echoing his earlier sentiments about the ocean. "Plenty more chances for the both of us, I should think," he added.

He shouldn't have been surprised it was both. The woman seemed full of oddities and cliches. Her assurance that it was fine only made it seem much less fine, but her question distracted him. Kaiden laughed. "No, never. Plenty more things I would rather do first if I were to shirk my duty to my family." Family was very important to him. Blood family and otherwise. But he couldn't abandoned the one he had grown up with, even if it wasn't a shining pillar of love and affection, it was his. "A sailor, for one. Or maybe a chef." Quite the ends of the spectrum in some ways, but also very fitting.

[Lilith Reeves]

Lilith normally didn’t eat a lot, she had to stay slim and flexible otherwise she’d have issues with her performance but fish was something she loved. It was a food that could be turned into so many things and she loved that about this versatile food.

“Oh! I wonder then if one of these times when you’re on a ship we’ll be on the same one! It’s a lot of fun to swing and jump around on a ship from the crows nest to the mast; sure it scares my brother but really it’s a lot of fun for me since it helps with balance,” she told him with a bit of a chuckle.

Oh so someone who hadn’t ever thought of running off to the circus, it wasn’t the first time she heard it but sometimes she could be surprised by what people were thinking or feeling towards just leaving their responsibilities. What he chose first though made her smile some, “A sailor or a chef…well what about a chef on a ship,” she suggested to him with a little bit of a grin at that. He could have the best of both worlds if that was something he wanted to actually do.