What Makes Them Tick?

[Aqihlih]

Saun 34th, 717

The sun light was honestly starting to get real annoying at this point. It was painful and annoying and made all of Fox Glove's "jobs" so much harder. So, instead of risking the idea of being caught, captured, and taken to jail, Laurel would just practice her skills instead. And how did she intend to do that? People watching of course! The Central Square was a pretty good place to watch people. Her eyes darted over the various fleshlings talking and laughing and stabbing each other in the back, metaphorically. To a certain degree it infuriated her. None of them seemed to care about how much evil they were doing without even doing it. They shunned the kind of being she was, just for what she could do. For how the power her species held could be used for evil instead of good. Her family never did anything wrong! They lived peaceful lives and never bothered anyone! And what did her family get for it? They were killed and her home burned and she had to live with The Doctor. All because of those stupid little creatures made out of flesh. She'd do anything to make them suffer, no matter how long it took for her to learn how to do it perfectly. That was why she watched, watched closely.

Her eyes specifically landed on a bard who was playing in the square. He was pretty good, but the woman didn't care much for music. Her interests more so lied in those who would stop and watch. What made the bard interesting? What made his music interesting? How did it all work? She wanted to try and meet this bard and figure out why he was so interesting. The question then led to how.

The best way to meet the bard was to cause some kind of distraction, obviously. Her eyes darted around until she caught sight of the perfect target. It was a shady, hungry looking homeless man lingering around a woman holding some apples. Perfect. It didn't matter if he was actually doing anything wrong or not, Aqihlih just needed the distraction. "Thief!" The woman cried out, pointing towards the homeless man. As anyone accused of stealing something might have reacted, he started to panic, waving his hands and denying the accusation. After causing mayhem it was easy enough to weave her way through the crowd and towards the now forgotten bard. People usually paid more attention to the accused thief than the person who actually screamed thief. Carefully she picked her way through the crowd, 'accidentally' bumping into the bard.

"My apology," she said. Looking at him, the woman who appeared to be a Biqaj spoke in Rakahi out of habit. "I wasn't looking where I was going."

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Pash had heard the shout but not seen the source of the accusation, for he’d been caught up in his song, eyes closed and smiling as his fingers strummed some strong, legato notes that formed watery chords into a soothing melody that clearly defied the Saun heat. This spot in front of the bubbling fountain in the Square had become one of his favorite places to come and play, for the tall Biqaj was able to watch people come and go, living their lives and doing their business in the market for a few bits or breaks at a time.

He’d gotten to know a few of the vendors, especially the ones who sold decent food and delicious sweets. He was familiar with the faces of regular shoppers, families, and their children who often found their way to his feet to sit and listen while their parents bought or sold things. He enjoyed familiar smiles and a few waves from regular merchants who recognized him, who often left a tip for him that now always found its way into the Glass Temple for Zanik or U’Frek instead of his own pockets.

The shout of thief got his attention, calloused fingers slipping briefly on the frets as he looked up. The pair of children and their dog at his feet stood and bolted in interest toward the small crowd that had begun to gather around the accused man, an older homeless man that Pash had seen regularly in the Square over the past three seasons. Stopping his playing and standing as a few others walked over, the seafaring musician was frowning, not looking out for himself at all. He’d shared leftovers once or twice late at night on his way back to the docks from Cally’s with the man, given him a few coins himself, and didn’t at all find the person who was now being shouted at by not one but two vendors who’d already been stolen from that day to be the type of vagrant to steal. The man was gruff, quiet, perhaps a little touched in the head, but not a thief as far as he’d noticed.

Then someone bumped him and he blinked, tide pool gaze reluctantly washing from the man to the young female Biqaj who was already apologizing in Rakahi, Pash quite obviously one of her people and never one to make himself out to be anyone otherwise,

"Oh—no worries. It’s fine. It happens around here when it’s busy." He offered a chagrined smile and a shake of his head, a few strands of sun-bleached blond falling loose from the topknot that attempted to tame it all. Lingering concern still tugged at the edges of his sea-swept features as if what was happening over his tanned, tattooed shoulder was still not sitting well with him, "I’m sorry I wasn’t looking, either. It got a little distracting over there."

He couldn’t help it, really, looking back at the man one more time as one of the vendors began to riffle through his meager belongings—a bag and some clothing,

"Excuse me a moment," Pash placed a warm hand on the Biqaj woman’s shoulder, ignorant of personal space even more so than normal around those who in his mind wouldn’t take offense to such since it was normal among their kind, "I think I need to go help him a bit. He’s definitely not at thief."

He turned then and crossed the square, one hand holding the lute steady behind his back while the other began to part a few people at the edges of the crowd. He moved with a swift confidence, though it would have been easy for the other Biqaj to follow him, a few of the people even getting out of his way as he approached. The seafaring musician had the advantage of being tall, though he was hardly imposing so much as unusual—bordering on swarthy to those who didn’t know the tattooed, bearded Biqaj from another stranger. Still, he was smiling and gracious, saying excuse me and making his way between the two angry vendors who had thus far found nothing and the tearful, frightened vagrant.

The calm that radiated from his growing spark hidden within his very existence seemed to wash ahead of him, lulling some conversation and bringing more than just a few pairs of eyes to turn to him. It took a few bits for one of the vendors to realize he was standing there, waiting their attention,

"What d’ you want, bard?" Snickered one who seemed intent on taking the few coins he’d found in the vagrant’s belongings, counting them from one hand to the next, "We’ve got this under control."

"Aye, I’m just about to make sure he’s not hiding any of my fruit cakes on his person and then—"

"Y’ don’ need t’ do that, d’ you? No’ really. Y’ haven’t found your stuff yet, eh? So—" Pash’s voice was even, his sea-built shoulders actually falling a little as he saw the greed and lack of concern in the two merchants. They looked at him with no greater kindness—just another Biqaj washed ashore to freeload until he set sail again. He hooked his bearded chin in the vagrant’s direction, now standing close enough to the older, shorter man that he could place a hand on his shoulder, so he did,

"So, nothin’. He’s not takin’ tips from you, so what do you care?" The fruit cake merchant scowled, stepping forward only for Pash to put his free hand out in front of his chest. A few of the crowd began to mutter, expecting a fight or hoping for more action. The heat made people do crazy things, it was true, and this Saun felt so much hotter than any other on record.

"Look, we’ve all seen him around, aye, more this season in th’ heat than th’ last, an’ no’ once has he been seen takin’ from your stalls."

"Oi! But th’ storms have changed things up a bit. There’s plenty hungry and hotter than ever." The first vendor growled, pocketing the coins without even wanting permission. Someone in the crowd hissed at him and he ignored them, lips curling in anger at the seafaring minstrel standing up for a piece of street garbage,

"Even if he didn’t steal nothin’, someone did. He probably knows them an’ so he’ll just pay their debt today."

"S’right." The other vendor chuckled, reaching for the frightened man as if he fully intended to search his clothing in front of the gathered crowd of shoppers, clearly too caught up in himself to feel the immediate effects of Pash’s calm presence.

The crowd around Aqihlih all seemed to be slowly coming to their senses, though. A few began to speak up against the two vendors. A child told them to give the money back. A young woman told the vendor to step away. A few others began to voice how they agreed with the minstrel,

"How much has been stolen from y’ both this trial?" Pash asked, making the motion to reach for his own coins, attempting in the process to make eye contact with the vendor who hadn’t taken the coins, wanting to hold his gaze as he began to reach into his tangle, "I’ll pay for ’t all if you’ll keep your hands off th’ poor man who I’ll bet th’ rest o’ m’ coins be innocent."

Off Topic

This wasn't my original intended reply, but Pash made me do it. I figured you could roll with whatever. Teehee.

[Aqihlih]

Aqihlih watched Pash address her before quickly turning his attention on the man she'd used as the butt of her diversion. Well, the situation could have gone better. But it also could have gone worse. This was quickly becoming interesting, she had the chance to watch Pash try to deal with the confrontation. Not to mention if she worked her way into said confrontation in the defense of the men she'd have the opportunity to potentially earn some of his trust. It wasn't too far out of character for Laurel to try something like this. After all, she'd built up a persona as a sweet, cheery, and innocent girl who was in all manners bubbly and excitable. It wasn't an impossible action for her to jump into a confrontation in the defense of another. Not to mention standing up for this poor bastard could win her a little more credibility.

Now, the 5'6 'Biqaj' wasn't the most intimidating creature in the world. Especially not considering the roundness of her face and the softness of her features. She wasn't necessarily chubby as the difference wasn't much, but Fox Glove who was rather lithe had a couple noticeable inches on the form of Laurel. That lost height had to go somewhere and of course ended up going into weight. Laurel, as stated earlier, wasn't chubby, but there was a certain roundness to her features that gave her face a much softer look. Especially compared to the sharp, angular appearance of Fox Glove's face (the first part of her name being quite accurate to her appearance). In spite of that Laurel was loud, very loud. While it was in the nature and the character of Fox Glove to be quiet and ultimately sneaky, Laurel was supposed to be loud. Laughing, joking, and barking out orders to those around her if the situation required it. Which meant she wasn't completely helpless when she marched after Pash with the intent of 'helping' in whatever ways she could.

By helping, she meant antagonizing until one of them decided they were going to lash out at her. And then once they'd lashed out she could easily pull the self-defense card. She allowed a hand to rest against the pocket of her skirt for a moment. Yes, right where she'd left it was her scalpel and her dagger. Perfect.

She waited and simply watched until Pash has started trying to take out his coins, but before he got far into the tangle of the vendor Aqihlih started shouting. Laurel's normally warm and kind sounding voice was far truer to Aqihlih's nature as it came out in a sharp and angry tone. There was a dangerous point to her words as she cried out. "You two should be ashamed of yourself!" She snapped, easily slipping into common considering the years of practice she'd had with it. "Harassing a poor defenseless man, you two are no better than criminals yourself. Dirty, filthy liars. After this I'll be shocked and disgusted if anyone ever buys from the pair of you again," the girl snapped. She glared the pair down, her eyes glinting dangerously with a red tone. There were sparks of silver in them by her own invention. She'd come up with a color code to her own eyes long ago. It was part of the disguise that they were able to change, but many of her false race's eyes changed based on their emotions. Because of her actual race, she had to change them on her own, meaning she had to stay consistent. Of course, that made lying about her emotions far easier than it did for those who actually were apart of the race she was mimicking. As was often the story the color red was supposed to represent anger. The small dots of silver were only because she thought it looked cool.

While there were members of the crowd who were agreeing with Pash, Aqihlih took it a step farther, kicking up the theatricals. She managed to force her way around people until she was face to face with the vendor Pash wasn't making eye contact with. She shoved her finger square in his chest, meeting his eyes. For a moment they shifted to amber, the same dangerous and terrifying color that Aqihlih had come to rely upon while trying to build a horrifying facade for Fox Glove. Amber wasn't a natural color for most races, they were often called wolf eyes for a reason. Anything with amber eyes looked scarier, more wild, more animalistic. Feral in a way. She was expecting a different response for them considering they were placed in Laurel's face instead of Fox Glove's, but hopefully they would aid to her intent either way. Either she scared this man off or she was able to provoke him into attacking her.

"Does your mother know what kind of child she raised? If she did I bet she'd be ashamed! You're both horrible people, you should feel sympathy for a poor man like this. You don't know what he's been through you dirty-" the man she was berating slowly turned more and more red in the face. He was gritting his teeth, just trying desperately to stay calm against the onslaught of insults that Aqihlih was hurling. She didn't let up either. She continued to berate him, her tone of voice demanding that he give her attention and her proximity to him acting as a way to force him to pay that attention. She was doing everything in her power to purposefully antagonize him into aggressive action. Considering how close she was at the very least he would end up pushing her away. Eventually, her plan finally went into action as a sudden crack drowned out the noise that had erupted in the area.

When Aqihlih felt the hand collide with her face she allowed her body to move with the hit, making it far more dramatic than it actually was. Her head was forced to the side and she made a show out of falling to the ground. She quickly clutched her cheek with one hand as she used the other to force herself into a sitting position. She lowered her head to the ground, dropping her gaze far enough that people couldn't see her eyes behind her bangs. That way people could judge if she was crying or not, and they'd go with whatever one outraged them more. She would allow her shoulders to shake slightly, sitting on the ground in complete silence for a couple moments. If that didn't get people riled up, she didn't know what would!

['Ismat Azhar]

'Ismat as it turned out was one of those people in the crowd. Chances were she had simply stopped to watch the preference, her attention had been drawn by the gathering crowd. After all if there was a crowd of people there was at least something watching for a few moments. She didn't have anything pressing so she had allowed herself the small luxury of watching, it had her full attention for the time it was going on. Which was probably for the best, she had enough on her mind that a brief break for it would do her good. However as it came to an end something else caught her eye and for a moment she wasn't quiet sure what she should make of the whole thing.

The cracking sound had told her where the action was coming from now and she observed cooly for the moment She wasn't entirely sure of what was going on, nor did she relish the idea of rushing into a situation blind, but clearly something was a foot. She was staring quiet pointedly by now and any one standing around here would have a hard time not noticing where she was looking, if they bothered to look in her direction at all. Of course a lone woman surrounded by a crowd could blend in relatively well as long as she was not doing anything to draw attention to herself. And 'Ismat wasn't at least not yet, she might well if something happened more than it all ready had.

"I was not aware the beating of women was a custom here abouts." She was aware that what she had just seen wasn't a beating in the strictest sense of the word. Though she was being honest when she said she was curious as to how people would react. From where she was standing she was sure her voice might carry over the crowd, the one which had suddenly gotten her attention.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Pash was desperate to keep the situation calm, though the Saun heat was already setting the sweaty crowd on edge and had clearly melted any ounce of common sense the two vendors had, if they’d had any to begin with considering just how bent they were on taking advantage of a man who clearly had no advantages. He wanted to get the unfortunate beggar out of the Square and considered taking him to Cally’s now that everyone who frequented the area would know his face and think of him as someone accused of wrongdoing, as a thief, even when the tall Biqaj was certain that he wasn’t. Not everyone who found themselves in desperation resorted to such things.

The other Biqaj had followed him, the shorter woman who’d bumped into him while he was looking after the first kindlings of the confrontation he now found himself in the middle of. He winced when her voice broke through the murmurs to accuse the merchants, to berate them. A few members of the crowd echoed her words, their interest building, even as the man Pash had come to defend was clearly wide-eyed and afraid, not entirely capable of processing what was going on.

"I don’t want your coin, Biqaj." Hissed the merchant, though he did look the seafaring musician in the face as he said it, his own expression twisting in anger at Aqihlih’s words.

"Are y’ sure? It’s far too hot o’ day t’ be fightin’, so let me jus’ pay for what’s been stolen an’ we can all go ‘bout our day, eh?" Pash held his gaze for a moment, the Empath looking beyond his ugly exterior to weft through the threads of his irritated tangle, all garish colors of selfishness, self-righteousness, and untruth. There were no twinges of guilt in his threads, only greed and impatience, and as he moved to cut those away, to knot them and tie them back, the tall Biqaj reached into his own tangle and began to weave his feelings of generosity, of kindness and of consideration where only negative feelings had once been, forming new threads out of ether into the man’s tangle out of his own feelings like patching worn fabric with new thread. He groomed the vendor’s tangle in the span of a few breaths, and he watched the other man’s expression soften as if he began to question what he was even so upset about anyway. He offered the man far more than he knew he had to, three gold nels in his calloused palm, "Let’s call ’t even an’—"

The tall Biqaj had been desperately trying to ignore the escalating and heated conversation the other woman had been having with the angrier, even greedier merchant, though the calm baritone of his voice had just barely been enough to speak in a level volume with the vendor whose tangle he’d been wading through. She shouted again instead and Pash saw her step closer to the man out of the corner of his eye, entering his personal space in an antagonistic sort of way. Turning his head and holding out an arm, he moved to grab the woman and ask her to calm down, only the other vendor smacked her instead and she moved out of reach,

"Hasta! Enough!"

The Empath growled, dark grey disapproving gaze falling on the offending merchant who seemed content for a moment to gloat and make a show of shaking off his now sore hand while a few members of the crowed boo’d and hissed at him in disapproval. Pash also looked to the Biqaj woman whose tactics he also didn’t agree with but who he couldn’t exactly stop. He sighed, turning back to the vendor he’d worked so hard on convincing, the brush of his tangle just out of his reach now that his concentration had been broken. The man smirked at him, tilting his chin back at the coins that Pash still held in his hands,

"I’ll take ‘em. And get the hells outta here before the Elements arrive." He reached for what he’d been offered and the seafaring musician didn’t resist, letting go of his nel even though he knew that the vagrant by his side hadn’t taken anything from him. He wasn’t admitting any guilt so much as getting rid of a nuisance, at least in his opinion.

He just wanted one less mess out of the Square.

It wasn’t getting any better.

The gathered crowd, now quite invested in the scene, exploded in reaction. An old lady bent down and made a show of moving to check on Aqihlih, placing her hand on the Biqaj woman, asking if she was okay.

As she did so, another voice rang out from the crowd, commenting on the beating of women, though he couldn’t see the source of the voice. This only served to refuel the anger of the rest of those gathered, a tide of them turning to shout at the merchant who’d struck the woman who’d aggravated him with her berating words. It became quite the scene, a decent crowd of ten or twelve people, pointing and scrambling over each other to either see if the struck woman was alright or to accuse the offending merchant of being a fool—or worse, a monster, though no one went so far as to hit the vendor back, it was clear that fighting could break out in any moment.

Pash scowled, somewhat stuck in the middle of the surge of annoyed shoppers and passers-by who in Saun’s heat now felt as though they were out for unnecessary blood. The homeless man next to him felt forgotten in the new rush of excitement over the merchant’s slapping of Aqihlih, and Pash considered backing out of the whole situation with him in tow and leaving the rest of the people in the street to hash things out themselves.

But he was too afraid it would turn violent and that was horribly unnecessary in his opinion. He had to do what he could.

Instead he fixed the gloating vendor with a very weighty stare, catching his attention with his dark grey gaze, flecks of gold rising to the surface and rimming his ever-shifting irises in his concentration. Had it not been day time, had they all not been gathered under the oppressive glare of the two suns, had they all been under the shade, it would have been more obvious that Pash began to glow. It was subtle, wispy, steam-like but golden in color and it danced over his tanned, sweaty skin like fog on a Vhalar morning near the sea, and of all the things Pash could do in the moment, the seafaring musician slipped his lute from behind him and began to strum a few chords!

Yes, the tall Biqaj began to play a song, the melody soft but somehow able to fill the empty spaces between the angry voices of the crowd. It swelled underneath the shouting and felt cool against hot tempers and hotter skin. It washed through the handful of those gathered and the vendor particularly seemed Mesmerized by the notes as they floated pleasantly into the fight, caresses of peace and calm, water over a raging fire,

"I’m sorry!" the vendor blinked, his words loud and audible. His expression softened as Pash played him like a marionette, calloused fingers strumming his instrument as the Empath reached inward and strummed his tangle, digging through all the ugly emotions that were corded so thickly at the writhing surface to tug weak, ignored emotions of regret, of guilt, of repentance. It was harder work than the other vendor, this man so entrenched in his own ugliness that Pash struggled to find anything worth bringing to the surface at all, forced to cut his way through far too many negative emotions before even the glimmer of something nice met his magical vision. His music brought a hush to the crowd, not only because it was unexpected to bring a tune to an argument but also because the tall Biqaj’s blessing from Zanik allowed him a few precious bits of Enchanting them as if they were an audience, his own desire for calm and peace flowing through his notes and washing over everyone nearby, willing or not.

Some visibly struggled with the conflicting emotions of what was happening, while others acted as though they were waking up from a bad dream, clearly recognizing the foolishness of their anger.

Lastly, while Pash manipulated the threads of the angry vendor who’d struck the other Biqaj, he also sought to hold his attention and actually direct his actions through the deep, moving notes of his song, directing him to actually apologize and begin to calm the crowd through an admission of fault,

"I shouldn’t have hit you, ma’am." The once-angry vendor said loudly, almost too loudly. His expression looked surprised but his tone was sincere, as if he was just as confused as everyone else was, "An’ I didn’t get stolen from today, I just felt like I could take advantage of … of …"

READ ME! Explanation.

Welcome ‘Ismat! Thanks for hopping in!

Sorry for the longer post, you two.

A few things are happening all at the same time here and I apologize for it taking me SO MANY WORDS to write out. Anyway, you two both have an opportunity to react as you see fit because none of the abilities and magics in use are guaranteed, nor am I out to do any god-modding of you lovely peoples. So, stick to your guns with some discipline and have fun disrupting Pash's attempt to bring peace to the situation or go with the flow and relax, have a good time, man. It's up to you. Hahaha.

First of all, Pash is using his Elithem-granted ability, Musical Enchantment to control the emotions of the crowd through his music, yourselves included. For the next few minutes, while he plays his song, he’s projecting a feeling of calm and peace, wanting to relax the crowd so that there is no more anger or a risk for violence.

He’s also using Empathy to manipulate the vendor that slapped Aqi, building on his Enchantment to make him feel actually sorry.

Lastly, as if that’s not enough, his second Elithem-granted ability Mesmerize is activated toward the end in order to allow him a modicum of control over the vendor he’s using Empathy on, to actually make him apologize and admit he was lying.

React as you will! Hahaha.

[Aqihlih]

Aqihlih continued to sit on the ground while she played up the scene. It didn't matter if the man close up trying to defuse the situation didn't completely agree with her actions, he likely didn't think anything malicious of them as much as she was just trying to shout down the man. That was good. She allowed all her anger and frustration mask the true malice of what she was really doing. She had the crowd eating from the palm of her hand. Oh, what a brave girl. Oh, what a horrible man. It was enough for now. She could put the bright charming smile back on for Pash when the situation was over. She could apologize, forcing herself to feel ashamed and ducking her head. Her emotions ran rampant! That happens sometimes with women, she could make up a plethora of lies. For all he knew it was that time of the month and she'd gotten herself swept up in hormones. All would be good now that she had the crowd in their favor. Even if the man did somehow manage to calm down the crowd and nothing immediate became of it, at the very least she'd ruined the reputation of the vendor and bought back a little reputation of the beggar. She'd also stepped foot on the path of making herself a little wider liked.

"Oh, don't worry about me," I'm fine she said, putting on a warm smile as the old lady came to her aid. "It was after all kind of my fault. Perhaps I should have held my temper a little closer. I was being a little fierce..." She lowered her head putting on a show of a frown. The most important part was selling herself the act, making herself feel the emotions she was trying to get across.

The woman quietly watched as madness began to ensue. It would be amusing if it wasn't for the fact she was stuck in the middle of it. For a second she had to ask herself why she was doing this. Ah yes. Because it was fun messing with the humans, watching them squirm at the various stimulus she offered them. Such funny, stupid creatures. That was when Pash began to play. The crowd instantly started to relax slightly, waves of calm washing over them. Even Aqihlih could feel them bearing heavily. Perhaps she might have tried to fight it in any other situation and ultimately failed, but the calm would help her with her act so, in the end, it was better to just go with the flow. There was something strange about this man. The other vendor had changed his tune far too quickly. And now this? This left her feeling curious. Perhaps befriending him could be more useful than she originally took the idea for. She'd have to try a little harder to get near him and appease whatever annoyance he felt over her actions.

The vendor addressed her, apologizing for his actions. This was the final piece she needed to start puzzling together the situation. That tricky little man, he was doing something to manipulate the people, including herself. She couldn't find it in her nature to be upset at the present moment, so she allowed herself to simply be impressed. Whatever he was doing could potentially be helpful to her in the future, she'd have to probe. "It's not all your fault alone," she said with a sympathetic smile. "I could have approached the situation better than I did," she said with a small laugh, letting a blush rush to her face. Dear immortals, she hated having to say that it was partially her fault. It wasn't. The stupid fleshbags should just learn how to control themselves better. Maybe if the wishy-washy creatures weren't made up of so much liquid, they'd be a little more firm in their actions, like her beautiful crystalline self.

After the situation calmed down more she did her best to work her way towards Pash. When she eventually managed to get the man she had a couple things to say. "First of all I'd like to apologize for escalating the situation," she said hesitantly, looking down and chewing her lip slightly. She regretted coming here. She forced that shameful regret into her voice and actions. "Secondly I have to say that was amazing! What did you do to calm everyone down so quickly? Can you teach me?" She asked. The enthusiasm she showed was genuine. As stated earlier, she was rather impressed by the display. "Oh, that's a little rude to ask when I haven't even properly introduced myself. I'm Laurel!" She said, standing a little taller and prouder. "I know. Little strange, not the most Biqaj name ever," she said with a slight giggle.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Off Topic

Semi-abandoned thread which is somewhat my fault (sorry), so I'm going to try to wrap it up so we can just submit it and be done, considering the seasons have changed twice.

Slowly, the resolution to the conflicts came like a cool wave on the always warm beach of Scalvoris. Pash did his best to navigate his way through the conversation, his abilities an unexpected boon to it all, and eventually his fingers stilled on his lute and the crowd that had gathered in hopes of violence was left subdued, quiet in the wake of his tune. It was a strange, peaceful feeling left behind in everyone's hearts, something no one could entirely explain and yet everyone had clearly felt. The tall Biqaj made sure to send the accused man away with some coin, as well as dismiss the crowd with a few quiet, choice words.

Eventually left alone with the other Biqaj, he hadn't entirely been expecting her apologies but he smiled none the less, accepting them with a nod of his head and, "Saun does this to everyone, honestly." He chuckled and answered in the tongue of his people, a language they shared, "And there's no need to apologize to me, though I hope that perhaps you'd consider everyone's situation the next time you find yourself in one—"[/color]

A grin cracked his salty features then, the seafaring musician looking like a street musician unwilling to give away his secrets, ""How'd I do what? I'm a performer, so you could say I have a way with crowds." His baritone voice was sly and it was obvious he was holding back, one calloused hand reaching up to wipe sweat from his brow. The tips of his fingers were all marked with strange colors that looked almost like ink stains or strings. Still, he didn't give too much further detail, "I've been a bard, a musician, and a people-person for quite some time now. Can I teach you to be kind to others or learn to read their emotions from their expressions? Sure, I suppose, but at the same time, you've got to want to do that yourself."

Pash's smile was a strange mix of admonition and encouragement, but he refused to reveal that he was both marked by Zanik and an Empath, not to a stranger.

Still, he held out his hand at her introduction, "Well met, Laurel, I'm Pash Vy'ryn. I'm around the Square often and work at Cally's, and it's always nice to meet more of my people in Scalvoris." Rolling his sea-built shoulders in a shrug over her name, aware that Biqaj were quite open-minded about renaming themselves whenever they saw fit, Pash himself having considered such things over the arcs, he waved a hand in the direction of the street by means of hinting he needed to dismiss himself, "While I should either get back to playing or find my way back home, it was good to meet you. Find me again here in the Square sometime, would you?"

[Pegasus]

Pash

Overview

It's a shame this thread got abandoned, as it was shaping up to be really, really interesting. However that being said, thank you for completing it and giving it closure - that was good to see! It was still awesome and it was great to see Pash in this mode - he was the voice of reason and what I really enjoyed was how you constantly wove the heat into it. Great stuff. Loved it - if I've missed anything, drop me a pm.

Points

XP: 15 (these CAN be used for Domain Magic: Empathy.)

Fame: +2 (giving your tips), +6 (stepping in when you didn't need to!), +2 (crowd control) = +10

Loot

Knowledge

Elithem: Mesmerize: Audience of one despite the crowd
Empathy: The color of regret
Empathy: Enhancing Elithem's Mesmerize by strumming specific emotions
Empathy: Cutting negative threads to find the positive
Detection: Picking up on a false accusation
Detection: The subtle signs of untruth
Persuasion: Offering to pay for perceived damages
Socialization: Commanding a disorderly crowd's attention with music

Aqihlih - if you want your part of this reviewed please just post up your request and we'll get to it in turn! Thanks!