Re: Easing Through Eaulir - 119 4A

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:03 pm

"Only through adoption," Shiro nodded, stepping into the garden.

It was pleasantly warm in there, with minimal humidity. It was also the one where Mirania and Lamruil's tree was located, and it rose tall on the far side of the garden, where they could expect the most privacy.

"See, Mom was adopted by Lin's family, which makes Lin my aunt," he went on. "But Earendil is my cousin, blood-related to Mom, so when Lin and Earendil got married, Earendil became my uncle and Lin became my cousin."

He shrugged. "I don't think of them as aunt and uncle. Never really have. They're just Lin and Earendil to me."

by **Kara Winters** Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:05 pm

"To be fair, you all seem too close in generation," Holly commented.

She wasn't sure how old everyone else, but from the way they got along, it could only be the result of being born in or near the same generation as each other.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:11 pm

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Uh ... well, not really," he murmured. "It's all kind of skewed. We spend a few years here, a few years in Gaia - and while we're in Gaia, the people here age ten or twenty times faster ... which means that if we're here twenty years, we'll all be twenty years older while the family back home has only aged a year."

He racked his brain to think of a clear example to explain it to her and settled on the two people she already knew.

"When Lin and Earendil met, Lin was really young, maybe a matter of months, and Earendil was fourteen years old," he explained. "They knew when they were young that they wanted to travel when they grew up, and Earendil promised not to go without Lin. By the time she was old enough to travel, he was in his ... sixties, I think, while Lin was maybe five or six years old."

He shrugged. "Maybe not so much generational proximity as just ... a lot of time spent together."

by **Kara Winters** Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:25 pm

"Ah..." Holly nodded.

That would make sense, though that was quite a long time to wait. One had to be really passionate to wait that long, or very much in love.

"Stage grower?" she asked.

Realizing the chronological ages that Shiro gave didn't make any sense for Lin.

by **Nara-pyon** Sun Jul 05, 2015 11:28 pm

Shiro nodded. "Second. Almost all of us Gaians are stage-growers, at least in our family. Not Shoneah or Eron, but the rest of us. Even Kaito and I."

He tilted his head slightly, his ears flicking forward interestedly. "What about you? Here I've been yakking your ears off about me and my family, but what about you? What was life for you before Arda? I know you were in school to be a tailor or seamstress, but beyond that ..."

by **Kara Winters** Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:21 am

It had been a long time since Holly had thought about life before Arda. It was a bit hazy to remember what her hobbies were before she was thrown headfirst into this place.

"Pretty typical for a student. I'm the middle child of three, both my parents are nekos..."

In Gaia one never knew, inter-species marriage was not uncommon in quite a few parts of Gaia. In places like Barton or Gambino some humans looked human, but had ancestry that was quite unusual a bit far back.

"My start in tailoring was actually costume design," Holly admitted, "I made costumes and lolita wear to pay my way through school."

by **Nara-pyon** Mon Jul 06, 2015 12:26 am

Shiro chuckled. "Well, knowing how certain groups of people can be, that doesn't surprise me," he murmured. "And it feels like the market is growing for that."

It was odd. She had been here for ten years, he felt as though he had been in Gaia recently ... and yet, the last time he had been there, she had probably barely just come here.

He shook his head. "It feels so strange, that we can talk about Gaia in present tense terms, and know that it really is still the present there rather than the past. Time is such an odd concept."

Then he smiled sheepishly. "Forgive me, I've interrupted your story. Please, continue."

by **Kara Winters** Mon Jul 06, 2015 10:40 pm

"That's alright," Holly replied graciously, "It's not really an exciting story. I took a risk going into textiles, a specialist like that isn't only use in theatre or starting a small business that caters to groups who prefer everything handmade. Granted, that's not really hard if you're willing to move to other areas of Gaia..."

She was sure Shiro would understand that. Besides living here, she really had heard of his family (or suspected who his family was), and they preferred non-factory made objects, and could afford to buy them.

"What else... ah... the reason I got into costume making is because I like that area as well. I'm a fan of comics, or was... it's been a while, at least to me."

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 7:09 pm

"My brother, Ura, likes comics," Shiro mused. "At least, certain ones. He's told me about how ... um ... enthusiastic some people can get about their costumes."

He couldn't help but laugh to himself simply because some of these people made the term "fanatic" seem as strong as it had been when its definition had been set.

"But what are are you from?" he pressed. "I mean, our family is from Barton area, the Winters clan - don't know if you've heard of us, but we're pretty famous in our own right. What about you?"

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:27 pm

Holly smiled a bit, "I have heard of Helen, he works closely with another interesting designer... Wolf I believe his name is."

She couldn't remember which family Wolf was from though.

"I actually come from an island near Gambino, but I attended school in Europe. Which is why the heat isn't so bad to me, but honestly I prefer more moderate temperatures, because it's more interesting. Back at the islands, it's always sun and more sun. Seeing flowers bloom after a long winter, or even seeing winter is more.. inspirational."

It also explained why Holly didn't just melt when she first arrived in Gemina.

"Granted, it's not as humid back home, where I was born. Just hot sometimes."

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 9:40 pm

"I see," Shiro murmured. "And yet, from my understanding, a lot of those costumes are rather hot, are they not?"

Still, her comment about Europe made him thoughtful.

"Where in Europe did you study?" he asked curiously. "I only ask because that's where Shoneah is from, and she's been incredibly homesick since she fell into this world. None of the rest of us know anything about the area, so maybe you could talk to her sometime, if you wouldn't mind? She hasn't been here nearly as long as you have, and she's still finding it pretty hard to cope, I think."

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:04 pm

Holly chuckled at Shiro's comment because that was very true for guys, but not necessarily true for girls. It was an on-going joke in the cosplay community that guys often suffered in their costumes. She thought about it for a moment before replying.

"Where the country of France is located," Holly replied, "They are considered front runners of fashion, I could have done the country of Italy, but... my Italian isn't so good."

It would also explain how Holly got away with being where she was for so long. In a lot of ways, she was kind of lucky.

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:14 pm

"France!" Shiro beamed. "That's perfect, Shoneah was born and raised in the Alps, she's probably spent some time there. Granted, it won't be the same areas you were in but at least it would give you something to talk about."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Have to say though ... she does seem to be doing better since she's been working with Andarien. Not necessarily the best news ... someone is going to end up hurt that way, if not both of them."

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:31 pm

Holly blinked and then it dawned on her slowly what Shiro was talking about.

"Oh! So they're not....? Oh... I thought they made an adorable couple," Holly admitted in the blunt way only a neko could.

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:37 pm

"They do," Shiro chuckled. "But Shoneah wants very much to return to her family, and Andarien I don't think is even aware of his emotions. He's ... I don't want to say emotionally stunted, but sometimes it seems that way. He has difficulty in recognizing his emotions, he simply reacts in a way that he feels is logical. To him, Shoneah is a friend, and he tries to make her feel at home in a place that is not her home. That there may be more behind it simply doesn't occur to him."

He smiled again, but this time his smile was a bit sad. "You're right though, they are adorable together," he admitted. "And there are times when I do think she feels something for him ... but that she's trying to suppress it."

He winked at her. "Maybe something else you could talk about with her."

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 10:57 pm

Holly mused on this thought, it seemed like an odd request.

"I'm not sure if I'm a good person to talk to her about it. I mean... I know we're the closest in age and from the same world, but too just want to go home..."

Though now she thought about it, if she didn't have to worry about people finding out that she was a neko. If maybe, had someone other than Rose, a suitor perhaps found her pleasant as a neko, would she stay then?

"Though... I have to admit, I do wonder, if the town was more accepting and if I found someone, I wonder if I would have stayed," Holly murmured softly.

After all not all the men were bad, Peter was a sweetie (if a bit silly) and of course Tobias was a gentleman...

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:03 pm

Shiro shrugged. "Lin did," he murmured, "though to be fair, she has every opportunity to go back to Gaia whenever she wishes, and she does have family here, too. With her, I mean - me and Kaito ... and of course Miyuki and Andarien. Mom decided to stay in Gaia rather than return here when she had the chance."

He shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't mean to pressure you to have a heart-to-heart with her or anything. Even if you just brought up that you thought that she and Andarien are a cute couple, it might make her realize that she can't be on the fence about the situation if nothing else. I just ..."

He shook his head. "No, not just me. We all don't want to see Andarien hurt in the end. And she might not even realize the impression she's giving everyone. You know what I mean?"

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:16 pm

Holly nodded, "No... I understand, it just makes it messier that Andarien doesn't realize right?"

Sadly, this is probably more ideally how she would prefer her courtships to go, one born out of friendship, but it was always so tricky to know when the friendship became something more.

"Perhaps I will then if the chance comes up, after all she could also be missing out," Holly sighed, "I talk about going home, but I'm also realistic about this. It's not going to be easy to go back home, even after I go home."

by **Nara-pyon** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:48 pm

"Well, you know what they say," Shiro murmured with a smile. "You can't go back. It won't be like going back, it will be like moving to a new place and a new time. Your life has been completely different for ten years. It'll be a whole new life."

He shrugged. "One of the biggest hurdles for you I would think would be not the starting of your own business - which I'm sure would be highly successful - but the legal hurdles you'd have to go through to do it. Those legal steps to start a business simply don't exist in this world."

by **Kara Winters** Wed Jul 08, 2015 11:52 pm

"True, but assuming I can go on to graduate, the career counselor could help me with those legal hurdles. Small businesses, compared starting up an actual line of clothing is much easier," Holly explained.

It was clear her school had made sure to prepare their students for that reality. Being a student of textiles was a very specific line of work.

Holly added, "Granted, for what I can do now and what is most comfortable for me. Probably a small business that caters to old families, clans and people who prefer things to be made custom and by hand. Which... interestingly enough isn't as hard to find as people think it is. It just probably means I won't be moving back home any time soon."

by **Nara-pyon** Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:17 pm

"Do you have any idea where you might settle, then?" Shiro asked her. "I know it's a bit early to be talking about starting up shop, but if you're thinking about the Barton area, I'm sure we could at least give you a place to stay, even if only temporarily. Rose, too, if she's still with you then."

He knew it wouldn't be a problem with anyone in the family. There was a reason it was as big as it was. Holly had been right, things were going to be hard for her when she returned to Gaia: if he could make things easier for her, then he would.

by **Kara Winters** Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:22 pm

"Barton might be ideal if Rose comes all the way to Gaia," Holly admitted, "It's a modern city, but there are enough clans and old families settled there that you can find a bit of the old if you know where to look..."

She sort of hoped Rose would find a place (or person) before getting that far. While the time difference would make it painful, Rose might feel too much out of her depth in a full modern Gaian society depending on where they went.

"I haven't really thought that far..."

by **Nara-pyon** Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:28 pm

"Well, there's no rush, either," Shiro assured her. "It's going to be at least another few years before we get there. We've more than half a continent to see yet ... and then half a year's sailing to the Four Lands ... and that's if we don't have to wait for it to come first. We've no idea, really, when we'll get there."

He shrugged, then smiled. "So you've got time to think about it."

by **Kara Winters** Thu Jul 09, 2015 7:41 pm

"Yea...." Holly murmured thoughtfully.

She wasn't in a hurry, and she had to make sure she could graduate first. Then decide what she wanted to do with all those designs she had sketched out over the years.

"I'll probably end up making a list. I maybe only a year or so when I get back, but over a decade is a long time without Gaian technology."

by **Nara-pyon** Thu Jul 09, 2015 8:23 pm

"Well, I don't know what kind of list you're talking about," Shiro chuckled, "but I would be more than happy to help you re-acclimatize to Gaian tech. I'm pretty good with that kind of stuff."

"Pretty good?" Kaito interrupted them from behind, laughing. He pounced on Shiro's back before Shiro could brace himself, just about knocking his brother to the ground. "Freaking genius here. Designed his own tablet, writes programs, and makes himself a fortune programming for-"

"Kaito, shut up," Shiro interrupted, shoving Kaito off him. "What do you want, anyways?"

Kaito pouted and brushed off his pants. "To use your tablet. Why would you put a note like that on it, anyways?"

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