Greetings to you, Crimson! You've definitely caught my eye with this! I'm also looking for something relaxed and low pressure. I have my moments, its true. There have been maybe a few times in my roleplay career where I have paused after finishing a scene, looked back over what I've written, and thought, "Damn, I'm good."<br/><br/>Trust me, however... those moments have been few. Largely, I am an unremarkable girl, in an unremarkable life, with unremarkable skill in both writing and roleplay. All that is remarkable about me is my soul-deep addiction for roleplay. I have a couple characters I have played a lot over the past years. Both of them I have not had a chance to truly enjoy for some time now. Perhaps one of them could be a fit for you? I'll provide a brief introduction.<br/><br/>First: Saphiraah, my namesake. With my dear Saphi, I prefer to introduce you to her through the eyes of someone else. What follows will have to suffice.<br/><br/>===========================================================<br/><br/><br/>It had already been a long day, and the sun was still hovering high over the western horizon. The ache of several days' travel seemed to have grown worse exponentially over the past several hours. Since breakfast, the lone traveler, marching on foot, had firmly trudged toward the trail's end. He knew the village was not far. If he paused for lunch, the delay would likely force him to sleep in the woods for another night before reaching it. So he'd pressed on, ignoring his fatigue. His eyes were dry, red, blasted by sand, sun, and wind. His skin was stiff, caked a hardened mixture of dust and sweat. The pack strapped over his shoulders was bulky and, if the stoop of his back and shoulders were anything to judge by, remarkably heavy.<br/><br/>And so it was, that weary and travel worn, a lone and exhausted man trudged into the village tavern well past sun down. There were still several patrons occupying the few tables, but he managed to find a place to rest his feet in a relatively peaceful corner of the room. The village was small, clean and friendly, as was the tavern. Inside, wild flowers adorned each table though they had been jostled by the day's business. The place was clean, if roughly furnished. Everything in the room was nice, though worn by use.<br/><br/>The customers were clustered around the room in two's and three's though they all seemed engaged in a group discussion. There was laughter as much as argument, but the atmosphere was friendly. Just when the traveler had begun to wonder about finding someone to order a drink from, a lone woman backed out of a swinging door at the back of a room. From behind, she was visibly thin, almost dangerously so. Her simple black dress hung off her body, doing little to hide the fact that her bones protruded slightly. When she turned around after backing through the door, he saw the reason for such a strange maneuver. She bore a large tray over one arm, balancing it with practiced ease. The tray was heavily laden with mugs of ale, baskets of bread, and other items.<br/><br/>He looked up from the tray to examine her face. She had a thin, pale face that was not without its beauty. Her eyes shone a deep sapphire blue from shadowed sockets. Thick, amber colored hair was tied back in a bun, refusing to remain controlled. Thin whisps of hair, having escaped the bun, hung over her cheeks and down her neck, giving her a slightly touseled look. One cheek was brushed with flour. As she bustled through the room, delivering drinks here, bread or pie there, she spoke and laughed with each customer she passed. He saw no one else working in the room, and knew she had her hands full keeping up with so many at once.<br/><br/>Patiently, he leaned back in his chair to wait. Somehow, he could tell that she was good at her job, and she would notice him soon if she hadn't already. He knew she'd be with him when she could. He was just starting drift into a thoughtless stupor, his thoughts wandering away from him, when her approach startled him to awareness. He jolted up from the slouched position he'd adapted as she came near. When he looked up to meet her gaze, her smile was distracting. It was bright, caring, and genuine.<br/><br/>"Evening, Stranger..." she spoke in a soft, gentle tone that had no trouble rising over the din in the room, "What can I get for you? I'm sorry it took me so long. Been a bit of a busy night."<br/><br/>He blinked away the distraction of her smile and looked around the room, regaining his composure. "Perfectly alright, Miss. I can see you had your hands full.. though you do seem to have it under control nonetheless."<br/><br/>With that, he looked up, smiling politely, to meet her gaze. It was rude to avoid eye contact for long, and he was nothing if not polite. When he did meet her gaze directly, however, he felt the impact of it like a kick to the gut. All thought left him in an instant. Those eyes... there was something about them. He struggled to figure out what it was that so completely distracted him. There was almost an odd glint to them... almost like the candle light was reflecting off them... He blinked a few times, leaning forward to look closer, then realized how rude he was behaving. He tried to look away, to lean back, to do anything other than stare at her, but his efforts were only a dim voice in the back of his mind, and even that was fading. His expression went slack, his shoulders drooped, and he simply stared. A faint, dreamy smile was all that was left of his expression. He could watch those eyes for ever and do so happily. He never wanted to look away. They were so beautiful.<br/><br/>For her part, the bar maid was shocked at what had happened. She set her now empty tray down and leaned over him, "Oh, no... blast you, Saphi... you've got to keep better control than that. Look at the poor guy!" she patted his cheek, "Sir... Sir! You with me?"<br/><br/>She looked around, worried someone would notice. Luckily no one had. She took his hand in hers. There was an odd glow to her skin for a moment, but it was gone quickly enough that it might have been just a trick of the flickering lamp light. He jolted slightly, blinking in confusion, and she quickly stood up, resuming her former posture.<br/><br/>He felt strange... distracted. Blinking, he looked up to see the bar maid smiling down at him with a concerned expression. He was incredibly ashamed that he had dozed off before her.<br/><br/>"Apologies miss... how rude of me. I suppose my travels caught up with me. Would it be possible to rent a room for the night? Perhaps a meal before I turn in?"<br/><br/>She seemed to sigh, which he found odd, then she answered with a smile, "Of course, sir. I've still got a bit of the stew I served for dinner. I can bring it out right away. Would you like a bit of ale to go with it?"<br/><br/>"That would be lovely. Thank you."<br/><br/>She hurried away, returning minutes later with a hefty bowl of stew that proved incredible, a plate of rolls, and a mug of ale. When at last he climbed the stairs to retire to his rented room, he was exhausted, sated, slightly tipsy from the ale, and quite happy about it.<br/><br/>He passed by a notice board at the bottom of the stairs and paused to read over the posts. There was a call for help with a farm that needed to be plowed, notices from the kingdom, and other humdrum that failed to interest him. He noticed that the owner of the tavern was advertising for a bar tender, never noticing that the name signed at the bottom was the same name the bar maid had given, which meant she was the owner.