Welcome to Gaia! ::

When Satika's first adopted child, Taima, had come to her, she had spent days, weeks, then months, trying to find a setting, a sound, a motion, anything that would calm her. Eventually she had collected a handful of tricks that could be used to ease her daughter's anger. Then Cecilia had come into her life, and she was left to repeat the process.

Today's experiment was nature, though a daughter of clockwork and brass did not seem like the most likely to be calmed by birdsong and wind against sky stretched branches. It was worth a try. Anything was worth a try.

Cecilia was not a loud child, and as of yet, she had steadfastly avoided learning anything remotely resembling language. She did, however, seem to take some interest in birds. The jeweled clockwork bird that accompanied her at all times (and sometimes attacked Satika) was evidence of that.

At the sound of a bird screeching above, the little girl twisted in Satika's arms, staring upward, then imitating the sound with almost perfect accuracy, but for the echoing sense of sadness that the infant's attempt held.

It was as Cecilia made attempts to communicate with the winged creatures above that Satika noticed the young man and the child with him. She pursed her lips, shocked, as ever, by the irresponsibility of Gaian's. As if the boy knew the first thing about how to deal with children. She hesitated where she stood, tempted to go forward and look after the girl's welfare but not quite willing to approach a strange man, even a young one. Even a odd looking winged one, with a delightful looking little girl.

Cecilia screeched again, plaintively.

[imgleft]https://i.imgur.com/UGF5Jos.jpg[/imgleft][align=center][color=#CD6889][size=16][b]Anja Yazu[/b][/size][/color][/align] [align=center][color=#B784A7][size=11][b]Status: Alive & Bothered[/b][/color][/size][color=white]xx[/color][size=11][color=#B784A7][b]Location: Obara Village, Inn[/b][/color][/size][color=white]xx[/color][size=11][color=#B784A7][b]♫ BGM:[/b] [i][Ambience ♪][/i][/size][/color][/align] [color=#B784A7][align=center][size=3][b]▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆[/b][/size][/color][/align][color=#CD6889][size=12] The atmosphere felt rather warm when the other three greeted Anja. They each spoke amongst themselves with no issue, almost as if they were already a well acquainted group. [b]"My knives are fine, Archive."[/b] the young girl reassured the scribe. She remembered how well she could hold her own in the fight with the shapeshifters paired with previous battles with tougher foes. She was certain she'd endure. Beyond that, Dosha seemed eager to do something before they moved on. [i]He has a point. We should come up with some kind of plan to tackle those-[/i] The familiar sound of metal chains briefly jingled, startling Anja from her reverie. Her eyes instinctively drew themselves over to Suvia. It made the most sense to her in that moment, given the state she initially met the redhead in in the recent past. Remnants of those times weren't coming back to haunt them, thankfully. Or, at least that was what Anja had thought while under the impression that the sound was something imagined. The sound rang again... and it was much clearer that particular time. Anja briefly watched Archive and Dosha to find that even their placid expressions changed. Having already picked up on the new auras within the room, Anja redirected her attention to the person who had addressed her (apparently). It was a rather young looking fellow - a merchant of sorts, who for whatever reason looked just about ready to be done with his business there. Trailing behind him was another person, heavily bound in chains. The merchant didn't have to talk so long. It really didn't take much to realize that Raal Horacio wasn't the main 'attraction' at hand. Worst of all, the more Anja gazed at the enslaved lad behind him, the more she felt the trembling of someone else in her little group's aura. [i]Damn it.[/i] In a manner of seconds, Suvia was there and then gone. Anja didn't even hear her departing words underneath the merchant's talking. [i]Not a good sign.[/i] Around the same time, Raal Horacio was just about finished with his brief explanation of 'Mars', the slave boy. With that came a silence in the room. It almost seemed to drag on, with each of the occupants waiting for some kind of response to the messy situation presented to them. It was everything but pleasant. After about a minute, Anja decided that she would speak up. Straightening her posture, she did her best to mask a sigh, but it seemed impossible in that moment. [b]"This village has not struck me as the kind to permit slavery and human trafficking, instead relying on its small community to accomplish tasks. You would have much better luck in a larger city where morals fade and ethical principles are trampled upon by corrupt businesses. Juniper would fit the bill, maybe even Soluna."[/b] as she said this, she crossed her arms, clearly displeased. Her response suggested that she was waving the stranger and the 'Mars' boy off. However, Anja was not yet finished. [b]"But since you came this far, why is it that you thought you'd find a new 'master' for this child [i]here[/i]?"[/b] In theory, it did make sense to look for one there. Obara was frequented by travelers from all over Lena - its economy probably thrived thanks to tourism. Even more, different faces from different places with varying shades of appetites could lead to potential interest, then potential business. It was not a thoughtless tactic. [i]Still, to do this...[/i] Anja was unsure if there was some kind of screening process to determine whether the boy's next master was worthy of keeping him or not. Given the merchant's issue being time, it definitely didn't seem like it. [b]"...And what are we supposed to do if he falls into the wrong hands? I'm sure there are many potential masters who will want to take advantage of what this boy is capable of."[/b][/size][/color] [align=center][color=white]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/color][color=#B784A7][size=3][b]▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆▆[/b][/size] [color=white]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/color][size=11][color=#B784A7][b]OoC: Sorry if I didn't give much to react/respond to.[/b][/size][/color][/align] [align=right][spoiler][quote="Porcelain_Nitemare"][/quote][quote="dosha kenkan"][/quote][quote="ArchMageZer0"][/quote][quote="ULTIMATE_KODIAK"][/quote][/spoiler][/align]

What a lovely child. How soothing to see a young girl with the sort of sweetness that was appropriate for a future lady. Not, of course, that her daughters weren't... well... that was...

They were young yet, and Cecilia had the burden of the past upon her shoulders. It was best not to compare her against an innocent girl, especially when she was yet an infant in form and could not learn to express herself as was appropriate for he situation.

"You are very nice as well, Little One. And such a fine Lady, I am indeed honored to meet you." She allowed herself to, for the most part, ignore the man. There was an unattended child, and her duty was to that child. Perhaps the man would object, but she'd deal with that issue when it came.

She readjusted Cecilia, so that the brass infant was perched on one of her knees. "This, little Elly, is Cecilia. She is not yet speaking, but she likes the birds, and she sings with them sometimes."

Cecilia, not at all happy with the situation, gave an irritated little warble, followed by some high piping notes. The useless jeweled bird that had once been her Zives flew down to land in her hair, and began to sing aggressively at the thing that spoke to them. Cecilia, who did not think of herself by that name, did not yet realize that singing was not generally considered an aggressive action in this new world.