Hang Me From A Flowering Tree [Closed]

[Dark]

Iskra's mouth quirked when she saw Zuberi's expression at the mention of twins; she refrained from enlightening the squirrel to the part about Iskra actually being one of a pair; though she and her brother weren't identical, it was still considered bad luck--she didn't want to cause any sort of upstart. Again. Some more.

"Ya ain't botherin' me, though I can tell yer uncomfortable. Don try so hard, yeah?"

She shifted on the rock so she was on a hot spot again, lids flicking shut in contentment as the heat radiated up into her skin. She really did love the sun; was nice. Too bad it was supposed to be cloudy for the rest of the week--she had the unfortunate habit of becoming increasingly morose and waspish when the weather was bad. It wasn't pleasant for anyone.

"So yer from Midori, ya?"

[Nako]

"Oh, yes, that I be.. Born and raised dere, actually." Despite herself, her face lit up with a certain.. fondness when she spoke of her homeland. She was deeply rooted there.. sometimes more than she liked.

Taking her advice, Zuberi sat back on her haunches and got comfortable, looking up at the sky idly. It would never be as beautiful in her eyes as Midori's skies, but still, it was quite a nice day. In fact, she had half a mind to mention so, but decided against it. If the conversation had in fact degraded to the point that they were talking about the weather, she would prefer silence. "And you? Were you born in your homeland? I've been finding that many people in the Capital were in fact raised here instead of where their coat would imply. It's... fascinating what sort of personalities the busy life of the city can give birth to."

[Dark]

Iskra's laugh contained just a dash of bitterness, but not enough to really clue in anyone but the most unobserved listener. She wasn't angry about her childhood, really--maybe from time to time in one of her darker moods--there just wasn't anything she could have done about it that she hadn't done already; it was better to forgive and forget. You lived longer that way. Or so the proverb advised; Iskra had a ways to go before she could be sure.

"Lowlander, born and raised. Left soon as I could; Pap and I didn't get along at the best of times." Not an exact lie; her father and she had never been on any sort of good terms, and he'd explained quite clearly just what he thought of her before she was driven from the village. Those bridges were well and burned.

"Ya have any sibling's back home?"

[Nako]

Zuberi wasn't sure how to take that laugh.. It sounded.. rather normal, but then again it was hard to see much genuine joy come from such a creature. When asked about her family though. She gave a bit of a smile.. almost an embarrassed one. "Oh, no, just me. Me Madda wasn't given the gift of bringing forth a slew of kiddies like me aunts and uncles were. She was lucky she was able to carry me to term."

"A slew of cousins though. I think a common Midori past time is breeding." She snort-laughed at that one, looking up at the sky with a grin... but it fell as she considered things. "Why didn't you two get along? You seem a good enough person. I don' see why anyone would have any particular quarrel with ya."

[Dark]

Iskra's grin was sharp, "Sometimes folks ain't what they seem, turns out." But it probably wasn't a good idea to go into that--not now--not ever. What had occurred between Nereus and she was their business, though the village and her father hadn't seemed to think so, and now that she was away from the entire mess it was best that it all remained in the past, where it belonged.

Remembering herself, she softened her smile, "'s a long story, and boring, besides. We were born to disagree, I guess."

The memories were there now, though, boiling under the surface of transparent skin. She still missed him, the pathetic little bastard. Even after his betrayal at the very end--wouldn't meet her eyes; sullen slant of his mouth; didn't stop the hurtful words being hurled at her by the villagers--she still keened for his company. It was a phantom itch between her shoulders that she just couldn't shake.

Stupid.

[Nako]

Now, Zuberi was no mindreader, but there was a certain.. noncommittal attitude to how Iskra spoke about her past that aroused a certain.. suspicion. Sometimes it was those that wouldn't gush about their problems that had the darkest pasts... After dealing with tourists most of her life and meeting quite the plethora of people, one could usually tell when there was a person who had a genuine reason to be hurt, and when they were just whining about issues that weren't as bad as they made them out to be.

She also knew that in those situations, it wasn't best to pry.. But curiosity.. it was the damnedest thing. She wouldn't necessarily ask much about Iskra's father right here and now though. That wouldn't be polite at all.

Absently, she picked a blade of grass up and casually rolled it between her palms, enjoying the earthy smell that came up from it. "Ye have no other family that you are in better standing with?"

[Dark]

Well, then. Curious little thing. Iskra didn't really fault her--curiosity could be considered a virtue in different circumstances--but the gecko would have been a whole lot more comfortable if Zuberi was asking about the Lowlands in general instead of Iskra's immediate family.

"My mum, I'spose, but she died a long time ago. Was a good woman; deserved somethin' better than us. Guess that's why she died." She didn't remember much about her mother. Mostly she remembered her smile, sad and beautiful, and the flowers she had so carefully tended.

"I have a brother, too, but we haven't talked in a long while." Not since she'd been ran out of the village; part of her had hoped he would come looking for her, but he hadn't. It was probably better that way. Falling back into hold habits wouldn't help anyone.

[Nako]

"I don't think that was the case..." Zuberi interjected with rather unveiled shock in both tone and features. "A mother... should always love their child.." In fact, the squirrel couldn't imagine not having family that loved her. The very thought of it was nothing short of terrifying.

Zuberi decided to remain silent instead of say anything about her brother. It seemed any attempt she was making to have her recall a friendly face was very well thrown back up in her face as a means to bring up what couldn't be very happy memories at all.

"What do you do for a living?" She very much felt a desperate need to change the conversation from family. Maybe she felt some sense of worth from a sort of trade or skill? One could only hope that there was -some- sort of happiness in her life!

[Kiki]

Dark and Nako receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!

[Dark]

Iskra licked her eye. Discussing her family wasn't something she did voluntarily, it brought up bad memories. What she did for a livelihood on the other hand while not exactly illegal wasn't probably something that should be wildly shared. Certain parties would take unkindly to indiscretion.

She almost felt sorry for the poor squirrel; Zuberi was trying so desperately to make up for their earlier encounter, and Iskra really didn't have anything to talk about. Maybe she should practice her conversational skills; people weren't exactly her strong suit, after all. Of course, to have a successful conversation a person had to have something to actually discuss. And while her livelihood wasn't exactly illegal, it wasn't something that should be so carelessly discussed. Certain parties would not take kindly to indiscretion.

"An associate an' myself run a small trading operation; we do what needs doing, and get paid for our troubles. Not a bad little set-up, really."