Within the Sands

[Anonymous]

Adalade was silent as she stared down at her hands, she wondered...wondered if the story could be true. He himself was a merchant and said his father was one as well, yet he didn't talk much about his father...as though he didn't know him too well. She didn't want to snap right out and accusing him of being a thief, he hadn't tried to label her as a entertainer so she shouldn't do the same.

"Wasn't the boy ever lonely?"

[Anonymous]

"Was he ever lonely? Of course, some nights he wondered why he kept fighting, why he kept going. It would have been so easy, a lost little boy, with no one to care for him, no one to even wonder where he went? He could have just disappeared. He didn't though. Life had given him a bad deal, it wanted him miserable and beaten, to accept his place in life as a nobody...but he wasn't going to let that happen. That's the thing...never give up hope, always hold onto something, always believe in just one thing...just one thing to keep you going. That's all anyone ever needs." He was smiling warmly after he had spoken, he seemed to be one of those people who just...kept smiling, and kept feeling good.

[Anonymous]

"But what if that something disappears? Or, if it's a goal, what if he completed it? What would he do then?" She had no idea what she could do if she lost her voice or the ability to dance, that would be the end for her. She would wander out into the middle of the desert and let death find her himself. After all, her own father was buried in the sand so why couldn't she?

[Anonymous]

"Then you set another goal and complete it...or...you find that one thing in life that when you've done it...or you've found it...life is complete and perfect and you won't need to set another goal. Because you'll be in that place where every day is something you want to wake up to greet." Narak knew what that was like. He wasn't there completely...when his little guild of merchants and thieves was officially set up...then he'd be happy. Still, he woke up and greeted each day when it came to him...because he had come so far. From the cold streets of Serendipity in winter, to the rugged forests of Adela...he was grateful for what he had become.

[Anonymous]

"Some people just can't do that," she said coldly, "I am sorry for what the boy went through but people are different. I knew a little girl that lost the two things that were dearest to her. She only has her talents to rely on, she can hardly trust people. She doesn't really have many goals, nothing to look forward to. If she lost her talents it would be the end for her, she'd have nothing left."

[Anonymous]

"You had those two things. The little boy never had anyone for the longest time, and he had nothing to go on but his own hands and the shirt on his back, no matter how dirty it got." He looked to her, with an eyebrow raised. "You need to set your goals Adalade. You need to be able to have that one dream...that one true thing that will make you jump up in the morning." Narak spoke with a very serious tone, there was no smile on his face, he was being absolutely serious. She had to find something made her fight. Something not impossible to achieve, but would be an absolute challenge.

[Anonymous]

She turned to glare at him, it frustrated her that he seemed to have the answer to everything, "I don't have anyone, I've told you, I only have my skills. How many people truly appreciate dance anymore? Even here it isn't as important. So explain to me how I'm supposed to pass on my skill then? What if a pupil becomes better then me? How am I supposed to make a living then? Am I supposed to live in the streets and become a thief like you?"

[Anonymous]

He gave a laugh, his expression not changing as she called him a thief. "My prices might seem high but they're fair." He shook his head at that. She was good wasn't she? "You already live on the streets? You go from place to place to dance for the people. And what if a pupil becomes better than you? Wouldn't that make you an excellent teacher? Personally I would be happy with the success of both myself, and my student, knowing I was able to pass on my gift so well." He shrugged his shoulders however, looking back out over the sand. "But that is just me. Like I said Adalade...find that thing."

[Anonymous]

"I don't need your advice," she snapped, "If this lifestyle has kept me alive so far then I have no reason to go changing it. So maybe I wander the desert, but I don't steal from people. Besides, I would have no patience as a teacher and possibly have no plans to become one."

Narak confused, and irritated, her. One moment he had her smiling and conversing as though she had never once been alone in her life. The next... he had her fuming. This is why you normally avoid men, they find ways into your mind and mess with your emotions. Best to just seperate when you get to the village, go on like this encounter had never occurred.

[Anonymous]

"But you aren't happy."

There it was wasn't it? She loved her dancing...but she was selfish with it. She could probably be a great teacher really, but she was still...young it seemed. And she was still hurting from her parents death it seemed. "If you can't accept what life has done to you, then you can't grow. It's like...a seed growing. It has to push past all the dirt to get to the sun above...and when it does, it becomes something beautiful." Narak smiled softly as he thought about that. It was a pretty good simile in his opinion! He hoped it helped her of course...he hoped that it helped her in some way. It may not work now but...she'd think about it.

[Anonymous]

She turned away from him, away from that stupid smile that affected her so. Adalade tried to make her voice firm but it just couldn't hold up. It even cracked some as she said, "Who cares? I go to towns, dance, play with some of the village children, and leave. In the end it's just me again and always will be."

"The god's don't care what scars they leave, they don't compensate for the pain they cause. Our lives are just things for them to toy around with, and when they break it apart and leave you with nothing they move on. No one in the plains, those who dared to call themselves loyal friends of my parents, turned up their noses when a young half-breed girl called upon them for help when she was alone."

[Anonymous]

"You care Adalade, and for someone who claims to be alone...that should be more than enough." She was forcing the life of solitude upon herself, just as Narak was enforcing one upon himself. However, he was happy...because despite being 'alone' in some sense, he was still able to meet so many people, and he got to make friends as well. He may not see them all right away, but he would eventually.

"No, because it's not the Gods that who do these things to you Adalade. People do these things to you. However...you survived didn't you? You lived. You lived, and you took the spirits of your parents and it survives through you. Not all is lost, and nothing ever will be as long as you remember and keep it all close to your heart." He kicked his feet up onto the front of the wagon and shook his head. "You're too young to have become so bitter. It is really a shame to see."

[Anonymous]

She sighed, "It isn't enough, wolves are naturally family bent animals. A wolf without a pack isn't much of a wolf, and, though I am part human, it is the same for shifters. My father even traveled with a human before he met my mother. It would mean a world of difference just to know I wasn't alone."

Sure he might have had a harder life than her, but somehow he just a peace about his situation that Adalade couldn't begin to grasp. "Gods or men, it makes no difference to me. Pain is pain, and the one to inflict the wound is the one to blame. Weren't you ever bitter? I have a hard time believing that you've been this calm your whole life."

[Anonymous]

She did make a good point. Wolves were pack animals. However, she wanted to be alone, that had been obvious. She had snapped at him when he had first met her after all. If she had really wanted a pack, really wanted some company...she would have acted otherwise. So maybe she just wasn't sure what she wanted...she truly was at odds with herself it seemed.

"Oh now, I was a very angry child, very mean, very bitter with my situation. I watched families in their houses, all together, so happy, so unaware that others were suffering around them. I started to realize something though...it wasn't their fault. They had done nothing to me. And I could fix it. I could have gone back to the orphanage, which I realized actually was there to care for me...I could have done a host of things...but I felt the only thing to do was to just blame other people, because it was so easy." He turned his head to look at her, no smile upon his face this time. It was a time to be serious.

"You can have a family Adalade. You can have friends and family, people to love and adore you, people to care about you, to worry for you. You can have that. But you don't want that. Because...I'm not sure. Maybe you're afraid you'll be hurt, or maybe you're afraid you'll lose them again like your parents."

[Anonymous]

He'd hit the nail on the head. She was completely terrified of losing someone close to her, to leave her alone again, so it had to be better to just stay solitary...right? It wasn't like she hadn't tried before to gain friends...the outcome was part of the reason she was this way.

Instead of showing how correct he was, she smirked, "Even if I were to try, no man in Essyrn would take me. I've had plenty of scraps with the sleezes that traips around villages and call themselves honorable hard working men, and I've beat it into them that I'm not one to be tamed into pleasing their desires. Many of the men who have seen me often fear the fact that I'm not afraid to get in their faces and yell back, or hit back."

[Anonymous]

For a moment, Narak almost felt like she might have been challenging him. As if she were daring him to say something about it, like he could be that one. He wasn't honestly sure...because what sort of life was one that involved being married to a thief and a merchant. They'd make a pair though, A Merchant Thief and a Singing Dancer. He almost laughed. Almost.

"Sounds like you're looking for the wrong men then. You should be looking for a man who loves you as you are, not for what they think you should be. I'm not saying you should find a man either...I don't think the genders are really always a compliment for each other in that way. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. But you do need a friend. You just have to find one that works with you." Narak spoke softly before looking at her. "This is the part where I would say that person would be  me...and that could honestly work. We could travel together, if you don't mind going all across this land. Who knows, you might end up like your father and find someone along the way." He grinned, almost teasingly at her. He was being serious of course, but he had to throw that in.

"More would see your art, would see you dance, hear your songs, the creative expression of your soul...and you'd never be alone." Maybe he'd be able to help her see, help her not feel so bitter anymore.

[Anonymous]

Adalade lost control of her bitter mask and looked upon him in shock, "Do you really mean that? I mean...are you sure you'd want to travel with someone like me? I don't think you've really seen how bad my rage gets, I could cause more trouble for you than you realize."

He truly wanted to take her with him? She couldn't help but wonder if it was out of pity. She was sure that even he could tell that a man who could love everything about her was a man of myth. Maybe he just wanted to keep her with him because he could gain a profit off her dances, improve his business in someway... She could worry about it when it happened, she was used to disappointment and sadness enough. Were he to betray her in anyway she would make him regret it and just come back to her life here, she wouldn't lose much...

[Anonymous]

He nodded, chuckling at her reaction. "I don't see the harm in it Adalade. If you can put up with me, I'm sure I can put up with you." Narak smiled a she looked to her. At least she didn't misconstrue his action, but he was sure there was some sort of doubt with her. Besides, he really didn't think she'd be an honest amount of trouble. No more than the usual trouble he got in.

"But you do have to dance still, and you have to sing. That's all I ask. Maybe you'll find your place up there, maybe you'll find people truly interested in the song and dance. Maybe you'll inspire people." She was an artist after all, and she could be a muse. Serendipity was filled with people who had a lot of talent, and a lot of creativity. She had just been stifled by the world down here, by the life down here. That would be fixed in the north. "So if you're up for it, you can come along with me to new things, new experiences, new worlds to explore."

[Anonymous]

She really was trying hard not to tackle him with a hug, they had just met after all. The sides of her mouth would certainly hurt later with the huge smile she couldn't hold back. "That wouldn't be a problem, there is no way I would ever willingly quit. And if you can put up with me then I see no problems ahead."

[Anonymous]

Well, this trip had turned out to be rather interesting now didn't it? He wouldn't admit that it wasn't hasty, but...sometimes you just had to jump head first into things. If she was willing to go with an almost total stranger, then who was he to argue? "I once travelled with a sailor for an entire month who cursed in every sentence he spoke, who was sour every day, and a violent drunk. You however, should be a mouse compared to him." Narak gave a laugh as he reached back into the wagon and began to dig out some dried meat, placing it on the bench. He took up a piece and tore off a small piece before chewing on it. This day was going a lot better than expected.