saffron wind

[golden_anvil]

Not everyone walks calmly into the streets of the Nexus. Not everyone is so distracted as to not see when the stones shift and the shops and buildings aren’t quite the same. She’s staring down into a sketchbook in her hands and muttering to herself for a fair distance before it even occurs to her to look up. Light brown eyes peer out from a mess of dark curls pinned up around her shoulders. She purses her lips in some amount of confusion and looks to her left, her right, and finally turns about in a small circle.

This stocky stranger traces her gaze over the various buildings as she slowly closes the sketchbook and returns it to a satchel strung across her shoulder by a long strap. After a moment of taking in her surroundings, she nods quietly and sighs. She shifts two things strapped across her back and shoulders: a satchel bag and a large pole with one end wrapped up in cloth. In less than a minute, she has the bag slung around her shoulders and over her back in the style of a backpack. The pole finds it’s way into her hands, the covered end pointing upward as she turns in a slow circle.

“This is…different.” Her voice is soft and deep, but quickly taking on a worried tone. The pole rests in the crook of one arm as she gathers up her skirt to tie off around her waist. Her leather sandals gently hug her all the way up to her knees. “All right, I’ll bite. Who did I offend this time?”

Comments

[hellsadvisor]

Belial was on an errand, long black coat swirling and Nyctha watching intently from his shoulder. The large black hawk serves as the angel's eyes, his own white and blind.

He stops so abruptly at her words that the coat swishes forward before settling around his legs, wings shifting and rustling to maintain balance; both his oversized oily black ones and those of Nychta sitting on his shoulder. Blind he still turns to face her out of habit. He wasn't always blind.

"Do you have a habit of offending beings?" His voice is even, calm but commanding of attention.

[golden_anvil]

Lysandra catches herself staring for only a few seconds before averting her gaze to the ground. She doesn't always know what she's looking at, but she knows when she's standing before an elder. Even if it is one outside her family, one doesn't simply talk casually to an ancient. The real question is what exact kind of elder she's in the presence of.

"It is my kin. They are fussy and often pick fights over great and small matters. I'm used to being caught in the many cross-hairs."

[hellsadvisor]

Belial is attentive and diplomatic, while he appreciates etiquette he is unlikely to get offended by the women before him. Nychta is cocking his head listening and watching her closely. Anyone who knows raptor behavior might see that he is calm and curious as he sits in his master's shoulder.

"Then we have something in common. My siblings have been squabbling most of our existence, especially my two eldest siblings."

[higginbottom]

Esther eyes the stranger carefully from where she's sitting with her notebook. She had been writing a little, but the arrival of the newcomer has distracted her from her endless novel.

"...I have no idea?" She shifts her weight on the bench, crossing and uncrossing her legs nervously, her blonde hair neatly tucked behind her ear.

"If I can ask, why do you think you offended someone?"

[golden_anvil]

Lysandra's shoulders soften a little. She smirks and shakes her head. She hefts the pole in her hands and begins walking over to the other woman.

"My family is very large and I have over ten aunts and uncles to keep a mind of before I even consider the extended kin and my grand-parentage. After a while, they will pick petty squabbles over things that had been settled years and years ago." She flashes a quick smile. "I'm Lysandra. I'm not really sure how I ended up in this place."

[higginbottom]

"Oh," Esther replies, putting her writing aside. "No one's really sure about how they end up here, honestly. I just stay here because it's better than the alternative."

She smiles a little.

"I'm Esther."

[itmeanstruth]

The Uchiwa twins stepped out of the coffeeshop, drinks in hand, close to where the newcomer had appeared. The confused expression, worried tone and hesitant movement were evident. Isamu and Minoru glanced at each other, and walked over.

“Excuse me,” Isamu interjected politely. “If you are referring to the unexpected manner by which you may have arrived here, there is a high probability that you have offended no one.”

“Yeah, that kind of thing can just happen sometimes.” Minoru nodded. “I’m Minoru. This is Isamu. Pleased to meet you!”

[golden_anvil]

She clocks the two for brothers almost straight away. There's much to say of family resemblance, but it's also the manner that they walk and how they approach as a pair. Her body language relaxes, but she doesn't quite let go of her pole just yet.

"That's a blessing. I've got very tempermental family members, so it's hard to know when someone's suddenly become angry again." She bows her head in greeting. "Lysandra. It's a pleasure to meet a pair of...siblings? You have the look of kin about you."

[itmeanscourage]

They bow their heads in return, a very natural reaction.

“Yup. We’re twins.” Minoru helpfully supplied.

“Fraternal twins only, however.” Isamu specified. “Genetically, we are no more alike than any other set of siblings. So, yes, that observation is accurate. May I inquire as to the nature of the temperamental family members you feared might have sent you here?”

Not that, for a moment, he thought they actually did. It was merely a topic of friendly conversation.

[orko_of_trolla]

Being new to the Nexus himself, it didn't take much for Orko to notice the other newcomer. The woman with the sketchbook seemed pretty preoccupied, and the curious Trollan drifted a distance behind. The long scarf around his head and his wide brimmed hat obscured his face, save for very large almond shaped gold eyes. Not much of his tiny frame was visible; hidden beneath sleeveless robes that were tattered along the hem that had seen better days. With the dark blue skin, long tapered ears, thin bony arms and long fingered claw tipped hands this creature was very odd indeed.

The woman's question got Orko's attention and he drifted closer. "Offend? Probably no one." He spread his hands with a chuckle. "Not used to interdimensional travel huh?"

[golden_anvil]

He looks so much like old creatures who lived beneath the hills, her mind immediately went to old ideas of the Fair Folk. Certainly, he had the eyes for one who spent their life under the ground. Lysandra began to kneel down to try and match his stature, using her pole as a balance. Whatever manner of being he was, those garments had seen far better days...

"In truth, no. Only one person in my family can kind of manage that sort of thing, and it's all illusions. Whatever door I walked through to get here, I'm sure I'll find another that will lead back out."

[orko_of_trolla]

Seeing that the woman was going to hunker down to his level, Orko quickly waved his hands and drifted higher. "No no it's okay! I can float!" He hovered at her eye level so it was easier to converse. The tattered edges of his robes and scarf draped down low enough that not even his feet was apparent. "I was just lower to the ground to conserve energy..." He said sheepishly.

Oh, he was definitely curious now. He looked at the newcomer with wide eyes. "Oh, you have a mage in your family?" He asked curiously. He grinned unseen behind his scarf, but his tones definitely betrayed the smile. "Yeah! I'm a magic user too. This place is pretty wild. Interdimensional travel isn't as complicated as it seems. At least...this place seems to be pretty straight forward. Er...from what little I know. Most folks just show up randomly. Like I did! I did hear though that people can travel to their home realms pretty easily."

His long fingered hands tugged down the wide brim of his hat in an almost self conscious or shy gesture as he uttered another sheepish chuckle. "I'm Orko by the way. Nice to meet you!"

[teh_girl_wonder]

Rayan watches the woman a few moments from a perch on a roof. That staff, weapon of some sort. The female Robin is reminded of the Amazons with how the woman is dressed. Only Donna and Diana can pull off those shoes without looking odd.

Though the question, has the small Robin stretching a little. "Probably fell through a crack. It's reasonably safe here, an anti-violence barrier in town." She jumped from her perch, since she was on a one story building, her landing is three point, can't take the circus out of the acrobat after all.

"Welcome to the Nexus?"

[golden_anvil]

A spear, to be precise, but not one she's intending to use. Lysandra's head turns quickly when Rayan speaks, her spear shifting quickly in her hands as she begins a defensive posture. It's only when the woman continues to speak that Lysandra begins to relax.

"A fine welcome. Those who have found me have been quite genial thus far. Is there really an anti-violence barrier?" She glances at the spear. "I suppose old habits die hard. Forgive me, I'm very much trained to be alert at all times."

[teh_girl_wonder]

Rayan holds up her hands when the weapon is moved, to show she's not a threat, at this point in time anyway.

"Yeah there's a field, makes for great practice, but sometimes ya just wanna knock heads together, but I go home for that." She grinned brightly, two older brothers and two younger to fight with if I need to."

She stretches a little, and I get it, back home I'm not in a safe town, so I'm almost always alert too."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Offended?"

Ben's a little startled - not by the woman, more by her assumption. He notices the spear, and is inclined to believe she can use it. She's not the only one who carries weapons on the regular. He does, too, though more out of old paranoia than anything else.

"Who are you, that you would have offended someone to get here?"

[golden_anvil]

“I am forge master to my family. They are a lot prone to paranoia when a new item is being created. I do not offend directly, but rather, by being a kind of messenger.”

A lousy fate at the best of times, but she’s learned to live with it.

“I know from others I walked through a door of some kind. I can only hope for patience while I try to find one that leads back to home.”

[chiaro_oscuro]

"'Don't shoot the messenger' is a well-worn cliché for a reason," Ben says, a little wryly. "Not exactly a position people envy or want to be in. Especially if the news you carry is bad."

Speaking as someone who shot the messenger before, and isn't proud of that.

"You're a forge master?" Ben's tone becomes noticeably more excited and curious. "I don't know who your family are, but if you accept commissions...I'm getting ahead of myself. My name's Ben."

[pirateangelbaby]

Indeed, not everyone walks in the Nexus at all. A pair of ravens sit on the edge of a rooftop gutter, one preening underneath its wing, the other watching her with beady little eyes. Though their bodies are young, the souls housed beneath those fluffy feathers are ancient, perhaps even divine.

"Who?" the watching raven mimics her, a pointed question aimed back at its speaker. "Who? Bite?"

[golden_anvil]

Crows. Talking crows, or at least, mimicking crows. A list of names run through her head quickly and none of them could be very good if any of them are correct assumptions. She takes a deep breath and approaches the birds, bowing her head in a greeting.

"Biting no one, my lords. I'm merely lost. If you were Huginn and Muninn, I would ask you to beseech your King Wotan for safe passage in his dominion."

[pirateangelbaby]

The preening raven continues, paying little attention to her, but the one who spoke shuffles in place a little, fluttering his wings as he peers down at her. Instead of answering in words, the raven just laughs, as if she's said something pretty funny.

"There you are!"

The voice comes from behind her, a tall bearded man clad in a thick wool sweater, whose one-eyed gaze is on the birds. His left hand glints an onyx black, the rest of the prosthetic hidden beneath his sleeve, and his long hair is tied back to keep it out of his face.

[rockandroll_swede]

The first thing Erik noticed was that she was carrying what looked like a sketchbook. As an artist himself the guitarist couldn't help but be drawn to other creative people within this Nexus. What a vast and colourful place it was! Full of strange creatures and different locations to visit. But he loved it. He was glad he followed his brother in through the portal into this magical world.

"You could say that, yes. Offend? No one? I can't help but notice your sketchpad there. Are you an artist too, vän?"

The young man's boyish smile now covering his face as he pushed some of his unruly black hair away from his face. His Swedish accent coming through in his speech.

[golden_anvil]

Artist, musician, occasional mad scientist... There are many things she inherits from her family, including their gift for getting a bit lost in the sauce when it comes to creativity. She raises a brow at his accent, racking her brain quickly to try and place it.

"Oh! Uh...ja? Och yag- Yag..." Her voice trails off and she purses her lips. "Tecknar? Ritar? I draw all kinds of things."

She laughs in spite of her nervousness. "Sorry, it's been ages since I spoke something like Swedish."

[coldsong]

"No one yet," Loki is late to the party, but can't resist the opportunity to be the peanut gallery. "But I'm sure we can arrange otherwise! Who would you like to offend?"

He's a bit of a visual contrast to this woman, tall and pale except for the raven hair, and dressed in dark clothing. There's a little bundle of bright autumn leaves pinned to his shoulder, though, a nod to the turning season. It pays to give homage to that sort of thing around here.

[golden_anvil]

"Oh, my great-grandfather can kiss my whole ass for all I-" She slaps a hand over her mouth before she can finish that sentence. Her cheeks start to go a little red and she stares at the man before her. He's beautiful, in a modern and gothic kind of way. Her hand slips away from her mouth just slightly.

"You look like you could have been one of my great-uncles in another life. I presume it's autumn here as well?"