Thought

[Torrin]

Alone in the park, walking slowly, was a Mithya by the name of Torrin, although very few people knew him as he didn't really live in any one place as of yet. His almost black wings ruffled with the slight breeze and his robe billowed a little. Picking his way through the park's worn down attractions he went about looking for one of his favorite spots. Passing by a rotting vendor cart he knew he was getting close.

'It should be right up here. Just past the cart, on the other side of the roller coaster and by the benches.' He thought as he had memorized and pored over many times before. Following the path he soon came upon the worn carousel that he always went to for time to himself. He stepped up lightly onto it and walked around looking for the fake horse that isn't broken. Finding it he sighed for a moment with one head on the old rid and then walked over to a nearby recycling bin filled with hundred year old soda cans form they day the park opened. Picking out as many as he could carry of the rusty cans he brought them over to a bench and layed them out side by side. Leaving them there he walked over to the horse and straddled it facing the bench. Leaning against the pole attacked to it he relaxed and held out his left arm and braced it with his right hand. Focusing for a moment as shadows gathered and drew back, he aimed at one of the cans. In a flash a can spun off the bench and shattered due to being so rusted. It make a soft *ping* before braking up. He paused again to charge another shot.

Talking to himself he said, "What am I going to do with myself. I have nothing. All I can hope for is that I will be accepted into the Wintered Wood tomorrow. How else will I be able to get my shop up and running? I can't do this without some backing. Without protection." *Ping* "This is all too complicated. At least I have the destroyed shop my parents had. Yes... I suppose. It'll take a while to rebuild it." *Ping* "AARRG! I hate any real work..."

Still grumbling quiet to himself the last of the cans fell to the ground with their soft *ping*s. He stood up and sighed. Streaching his wings for a moment he took flight and headed for his destroyed shop. "I might as well start now. At least a little. I should clear out all the debree first and see what is salvagable. Then... hmm... maybe I should check to see.... what I need to fix it. Thats good. Umm... Oh I'll just figure it out when I get there!"

He continued along in his silent flight for his old shop residing in the Checkered Village. The air ran smoothly through his hair and his robe to flap around. Taking in a deep breath of the clean air he was glad he was a Mithya rather than a human as his parents were once. He couldn't imagine how it must feel to be without wings. Without flight.

[Taralin]

Chkah-chkah-chkah-chkah-chkah-chkah.... The cranking noise of a rusted chain rang out, a lone roller coaster car inching up the steepest hill on the track. With a sigh, the flimsy cord that held it up snapped, and the car shot backwards down the hill. "Not again - stay still, you blasted piece of scrap!" Cawing with evident amusement, a murder of blackbirds turned their beaks to watch their mistress's troubles. A figure swooped down from her perch on top of the hill, resigned to the boring task, and caught the flailing rope before it picked up too much speed. Ebony wings beating the air heavily, she groaned with the effort, managing to tie the end hastily to the side of the track. A thankless job, trying to fix the roller coaster, and not going all that well anyway. The Mithyas Lady didn't have a mind for mechanics, and had her hands full just keeping the carts on the path.

About to plant one of the biggest butterflies she could weave right underneath the idiotic thing's wheels, a shrill ping caught her attention. Balancing on her heels on the slippery mahogany, Taralin turned to see a figure below in the carousel. Ping. An innocent tin can, sitting on a bench, exploded. "Wha... ah, target practice," she muttered appreciatively as the man spread black wings and took flight. "A Mithyas, must be one of the new guys.... I haven't seen him before."

Spreading her own wings and shaking them to rid the glossy feathers of dust, rust and sawdust, she drifted over the park. "Wait, kid, what's your name? I don't recognize you," she called as he flew towards the Checkered Village. It wasn't often that she talked to the hopefuls before their Initiations.

[Torrin]

Torrin flinched in shock when he heard someone call out to him from behind. He was expecting to be alone as he usually is there. He peeked around and looked back. Seeing it was another Mithya he felt he might as well talk a little. He wheeled around, his dark grey feathers moving as the wind passed between the occasional gaps. His wings were a little on the larger side making him seem taller than he really was. They did give him a little more control during flight however.

He slowed his decent as he approached the Mahogany tree from above. Finding a good branch he pulled his wings in. He became like a lead weight and dropped. Grasping the branch he swung underneath it and back up, ending out standing on the branch. He was on the same height about as Taralin on the tree. Once he got his balance he smoothed his hair saying, "Hello Milady Taralin. I'm Torrin Despal. I am one of the new Mithyas who will be initiated, hopefully, soon. I was just here thinking about what I'm going to do and oh well... a lot of stuff. I probably over think things. And how may I ask are you doing? Or if I am not intruding what are you doing out here?"

He leaned against the trunk of the tree and smiled slightly enjoying the conversation, which he rarly gets. 'Hmm she looks pretty good. Of course I still would rather not get into a fight with her. From the stories I have heard she'd tear me apart.'

[Taralin]

Folding her wings, Taralin dropped onto the maghogany limb, inwardly ecstatic that Torrin was her height. Tall people made her feel short and irritated. And that Kirsereg, Sakrae - she had her own reasons to hate him, but the fact that he was four and a half feet taller than she was was an insult.

"Hello, Torrin. Yes, I thought that's who you were - I can usually recognize those in the kingdom, and the ones who aren't tend to stand out. That's good, we do need more warriors, we've had precious few join the castle of late," she said sadly. "Me? Fine, I was simply trying to fix that cursed wooden contraption," she replied with a smile, nodding at the roller coaster. The rope that held the cart chose that moment to give out, snapping back like a bullwhip as the cart ran backwards over the track. "It worked very well, once. It's amusing to see what our ancestors thought to be fun, and it's something to race with, but it broke down. I'm surprised it lasted this long anyway, someone must have been its caretaker."

Snickering as the gaudily painted car flew past them, sparks hissing as the steel ground together, she asked, "Et tu, covrus? Where were you off to?" She looked over the park in the direction he was heading, the Checkered Village. "Do you have a store? If you don't belong to the kingdom, you must not have many cards to buy things with."

[Torrin]

Torrin laughed a little and put his hand behind his head and said, "Glad I could help as much as I can assuming the best with the initiation. I mostly need somthing to do and I feel my talents are going to waste." He paused for a moment and looked slightly don a little disheartened. "Yea...I don't have many cards. Don't really need them often though. As for a shop, I don't actually have one, but I do have the broken down one that was run by my parents before it was wrecked. I was actually going over to begin fixing it up now. I'm really hoping that it turns out well. I am going to do it for my enjoyment more than cards. I just like the feeling."

Looking back at the roller coaster cart he said, "It would be kinda interesting to see that thing working. It might even be fun. I wonder how fast it could go?... Anyway I wonder what a lot of these things were. How they worked. I mean there are a myriad of possibilities. One can only wonder."

Torrin took a deep breath and thought to himself, 'She's actually pretty nice. She isn't this demonic war machine in a mithya body. She is actually quite smart and is actually interested in hobbies instead of the usual make money, live, and kill things I see in a lot of people. I'm surprised I don't see more people here investigating the things here.'

[Taralin]

"Never assume anything," Taralin said airily. "It can get you into trouble... like assuming a dragon's asleep, or assuming that just because you know someone they won't stick a knife in your back. Good advice is hard to come by, and those little gems come from experience. The dragon wasn't really dragon, but that's actually quite a funny story... now's not the time, though," she added, coughing slightly. Advice is sometimes hard to differentiate from warnings, and often it applies as both.

"Ah, so your parents owned it before you. What are you planning on selling?" she asked, interested. Hopefully not another bar... Lord Mithos might kill him if Torrin started to take some of his buisness. One bar was quite enough, thank you, and no one makes better Purplecloud than someone who is very well.... ah, aquainted with the trade. "If you need help setting it up, I'm not doing much, and I can probably find a few Mithyas who are bored with sentry duty."

"When it was in use, it didn't go that fast," the Mithyas Lady said ruefully. "Down the steepest hill, there - " she gestured at a hill, about one hundred feet high " - it went very fast, but it wasn't a challenge to catch up to. Amusing, but not hard." Looking down upon the empty park, she smiled, remembering all the chains and gears and wheels and cords and machines that were hidden under peeling wood and fading paint. "One can only wonder."

He's nice enough, she thought critically. Not malicious, not that I can see, anyway. That might be a problem, but looks can be deceiving, can't they?

[Torrin]

Torrin became more light-mooded as the conversation went on and he felt more comfortable. "What I'm selling?... well I never really thought about it. I just wanted to run a shop. My parents had tons of random things packed away. I guess I can probably open a pawn shop and try to get rid of all of it. You own a weapons shop right? I might be interested in getting a little somthing from there if you have it once I get enough cards. It should be quite expensive, but useful. Don't ask what it is, it would be better not to be known until then." Looking off at the Checkered Village, he smiled with a short laugh.

Thinking for a moment he continued, "You know once you get enough business you might want to sell armour too. I mean, I wouldn't mind having a plate of light metal over vital organs. It's just a thought and I wouldn't want to push you into a bad decision. Also thanks for the offer to help with setting up the shop, but I would rather do it myself. I just feel I always need somthing to do. Even if it is long arduous work."

A cool breeze blew by and Torrin shivered a little. He pulled his cloak around him. The air smelled of rain, but it seemed really distant, about a day off.