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☆ An Unusual Arrival
[In the Miniature Garden, where nothing changes or dies or grows, the passing of time is somehow both interminable and meaningless. Immortal in that place devoid of anything to truly do besides try to find ways to pass the time without going mad with boredom, its passage simply loses any point of context aside from the waxing and waning of his own opinions and emotions. Even that stops losing any kind of consistency, though, after he's felt the same way for long enough, in those times between Apollo's abhorrent but also refreshing visits.☆ The (Goblin) Market
And so, when Ganymede looks glumly at his own reflection in his brother's sword, blinks, and suddenly finds himself sitting in a pool of shallow water in the orange light of sunset, he honestly has no idea how long it has been since something in his body felt different. For a moment he sits there, rigid, the sword and its golden sheath still in his hands, blue eyes wide, and then he tries to move. For a moment, he'd thought that maybe he was seeing things, that it was some kind of illusion, but the moment his feet and legs shift, he can feel the water moving, cool currents against his skin, and he can feel the prickle of hairs raising all over his body from the cold of it. He's cold.
Blinking, he looks down at the water he's sitting in, at the stone under him and on either side of his body, and realizes that he's sitting in a fountain. And the water is filthy.]
Uuuggghhhh!
[Immediately, he's resheathing his sword and clambering out of the fountain, a skinny boy in a light blue tunic, golden jewelry jingling around his wrists and neck and hips, his waist length blond hair wet at the tips from where it dragged in the water. Catching his balance quickly, he clutches the sheathed sword against his chest, head whipping back and forth as he tries to work out where he is and what's happening and why.]
Apollo? Show yourself! I know this is your doing!
[Somehow, the passage time is still strange to him. Since he woke up in that fountain he's slept twice and it's been nighttime once. Again, he's bathed in that orange glow of sunset, so unfamiliar after his time spent in a place that seems only to have stars, or when Zeus stops by, a bright blue sky. Lifting a hand, he watches the orange glow play over his fingers for a moment before turning his attention back to where he's standing.☆ Network
He'd thought, all those years pining after the idea of leaving that place, that when he finally found himself back in the world it would all come back to him so easily. That living a normal life in a normal world would be a human instinct impossible to crush out of a person. But he's finding that isn't the case. He hasn't eaten yet because he has no money, something he wasn't familiar with even before his abduction, and he has no skills with which to make it. Even the hunger had been unfamiliar at first, that gnawing ache in his middle, but apparently knowing what that feeling means and what he should do about it is a human instinct he hasn't lost.
But almost none of the food here is familiar and he can't buy it at any rate. He refuses to beg someone to give him something - he has not spent all this time protecting his pride just to lose it because of a little hunger - and he isn't sure how to go about finding something he can simply take. So eventually, he goes up to someone selling some kind of fried bread near one of those pop up goblin markets (whatever those are) and speaking to the person selling them.]
If you give me one now, I'll find a way to pay you back later. You have my word.
[The confidence in his voice would be a little more convincing if he wasn't swaying slightly and leaning on the edge of the table with one hand.]
un: ganymede☆ Wildcard
What sort of skills earns one the opportunity for a job in this place?
Write me a starter or shoot me a PM to plan something!
Edited 2020-08-23 23:22 (UTC)
[ Reynir is near enough to the food vendor that he overhears the guy with the long, golden hair asking for food, saying he'll find a way to pay him back later. And he hears, with a wince, the harsh, bored reply of the vendor, telling him to go away before he calls the authorities.
It's an empty threat; Reynir knows that, because he's sure the last thing all these people want is the presence of the law as they are selling their dodgy, illegal stuff. But this stranger... has that look that Reynir's seen before. The look of a new Mirrorbound, finding their footing in this place.
The decision isn't a hard one to make. Reynir waits until Ganymede has turned away and goes up to the vendor, paying for the first four things he spots on the menu and then hurrying after Ganymede, who has walked away a few paces. Reynir jogs up in front of him, holding out the paper bag of warm treats and saying, by way of introduction: ]
I'm on my way to buy paint, I'm painting my house today, and if you're looking for work in exchange for food, there's these and I'll make dinner for us when we're done.
[ He would've been more than happy to give them to Ganymede for nothing, but he'd heard how insistent he was to that vendor that he could pay him back, and he's learned that in this place, charity is often met with suspicion and anger. ]
It's an empty threat; Reynir knows that, because he's sure the last thing all these people want is the presence of the law as they are selling their dodgy, illegal stuff. But this stranger... has that look that Reynir's seen before. The look of a new Mirrorbound, finding their footing in this place.
The decision isn't a hard one to make. Reynir waits until Ganymede has turned away and goes up to the vendor, paying for the first four things he spots on the menu and then hurrying after Ganymede, who has walked away a few paces. Reynir jogs up in front of him, holding out the paper bag of warm treats and saying, by way of introduction: ]
I'm on my way to buy paint, I'm painting my house today, and if you're looking for work in exchange for food, there's these and I'll make dinner for us when we're done.
[ He would've been more than happy to give them to Ganymede for nothing, but he'd heard how insistent he was to that vendor that he could pay him back, and he's learned that in this place, charity is often met with suspicion and anger. ]
[Frankly, the response he'd gotten is about what he'd been expecting to get. The memories are a little fuzzy, now, but he thinks that in the markets in Troy a person in his position would have gotten pretty much the same response. Still, it doesn't help much with the hunger gnawing in his gut.
Holding his head high, Ganymede turns from the stall and walks a few steps away, fists clenched at his sides, still trembling slightly. It's a little pathetic, considering he'd only just arrived in this place, to be fighting this sort of situation already, but he'd honestly been prepared to die for a very long time, and though the hunger and immediacy of other newly awakened sensations of his body has somewhat restored his desire to continue grasping at life, he's not exactly afraid. He's used to pain, and if he's unable to get any food, then starvation is just as good a way to die as any other.
There's an inviting patch of grass near the edge of the market that Ganymede has in mind for a short nap, but before he can get very far there is suddenly a very tall boy with a very long bright red braid standing in front of him. Ganymede nearly bumps into his chest, only to take a step backward with a small indignant squawk. For a moment, he stares up at the person, who is far too tall and has far too many freckles, and whose red hair is annoying because it reminds him of a person who isn't here and whose presence he can't decide if he misses or not.
None of that stops him from being able to clearly smell the food in the paper bag that he's holding out in front of him. Ganymede is about to snap at him that he doesn't take any kind of stupid charity and tell him how annoyed he is that it's even being offered when the boy blurts out that he's painting his house and wants to offer him work in exchange for food. Closing his mouth for a moment, Ganymede holds his arms against his chest, and considers it. The food smells enticing, and it isn't shameful to take it in exchange for work, so he cautiously looks up at the boy and then nods.]
I've never painted a house before, but I'm willing to try.
[Mouth set in a little frown, he holds his hand out to accept the bag, eyes flicking back up to the tall boy's face.]
Who gave you permission to be so tall?
Holding his head high, Ganymede turns from the stall and walks a few steps away, fists clenched at his sides, still trembling slightly. It's a little pathetic, considering he'd only just arrived in this place, to be fighting this sort of situation already, but he'd honestly been prepared to die for a very long time, and though the hunger and immediacy of other newly awakened sensations of his body has somewhat restored his desire to continue grasping at life, he's not exactly afraid. He's used to pain, and if he's unable to get any food, then starvation is just as good a way to die as any other.
There's an inviting patch of grass near the edge of the market that Ganymede has in mind for a short nap, but before he can get very far there is suddenly a very tall boy with a very long bright red braid standing in front of him. Ganymede nearly bumps into his chest, only to take a step backward with a small indignant squawk. For a moment, he stares up at the person, who is far too tall and has far too many freckles, and whose red hair is annoying because it reminds him of a person who isn't here and whose presence he can't decide if he misses or not.
None of that stops him from being able to clearly smell the food in the paper bag that he's holding out in front of him. Ganymede is about to snap at him that he doesn't take any kind of stupid charity and tell him how annoyed he is that it's even being offered when the boy blurts out that he's painting his house and wants to offer him work in exchange for food. Closing his mouth for a moment, Ganymede holds his arms against his chest, and considers it. The food smells enticing, and it isn't shameful to take it in exchange for work, so he cautiously looks up at the boy and then nods.]
I've never painted a house before, but I'm willing to try.
[Mouth set in a little frown, he holds his hand out to accept the bag, eyes flicking back up to the tall boy's face.]
Who gave you permission to be so tall?
Oh, it's not hard or anything! It'll just take ages if I'm doing it all by myself, but it's not difficult at all.
[ Reynir hands over the bag of food with a quick little smile, and is just about to introduce himself and start asking some very bland questions to the stranger when he asks something, first. Something quite confusing. ]
People need permission to be tall, where you come from?
[ Sweetie... no.
Reynir had just gotten so used to accepting that people come from strange lands with strange customs and abilities and histories that he will take just about anything at face value, from another Mirrorbound. In many ways, it makes him great at rolling with the punches and not doubting other people when they talk about themselves and their experiences.
It also makes him a bit gullible. ]
I'm not sure how that would even be enforceable...
[ Reynir hands over the bag of food with a quick little smile, and is just about to introduce himself and start asking some very bland questions to the stranger when he asks something, first. Something quite confusing. ]
People need permission to be tall, where you come from?
[ Sweetie... no.
Reynir had just gotten so used to accepting that people come from strange lands with strange customs and abilities and histories that he will take just about anything at face value, from another Mirrorbound. In many ways, it makes him great at rolling with the punches and not doubting other people when they talk about themselves and their experiences.
It also makes him a bit gullible. ]
I'm not sure how that would even be enforceable...
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