<div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">There and Back Again...</span></span></div><br/><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/hxfWrNI.jpg)</div><hr/><strong>Name:</strong>Delixia DeMornay (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=332525.msg15853395#msg15853395)<br/><strong>Tier:</strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">Green</span><br/><strong>Level:</strong>1<br/><strong>Job Class:</strong>Dancer<br/><strong>Date/Time:</strong>Day 1, Late Morning<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Wandering the streets. tripping over people<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Alanis<strong>Mentioning:</strong>Various<strong>NPC's</strong>, Geb, Shiloh<br/><hr/><br/><em>The morning had swept her into Caerduja like the colorful flotsam she'd become-- all whirls, curls, and twirls as her soft contralto chattered to anyone who happened to glance at her for longer than a moment or two. This had been her way since she'd left Oskar behind. Fall in with a group, collect and start gossip, entertain, earn coin, possibly break a heart or two, leave and find a new group. In this way, she'd traveled to Naravan, Cochavan, and Ramduna, lingering in each place for a season or two before returning home to recoup, to rest, to find out if Millie had figured out how to make decent sweet rolls. <br/><br/>Of course, she hadn't.<br/><br/>Ixi's journey to the north had primed her for travel east, and that was how she wound up wandering through the darkened byways of Odobori. It was a sad place, filled with the ghosts of the lost and broken, smashed beneath the wheels of war. It tore at her heart, just a little bit, but also hastened her on her journey. Eventually, she'd come to the peerless city filled with wonder and magic...and a royal family that certainly didn't look very royal to <strong>HER</strong>. In fact, most of them scared her spineless, not that she'd ever admit to such out loud. She hadn't stayed long during her first visit, not even a full season.<br/><br/>The wonders...well, they weren't that wonderful, were they?<br/><br/>The young Dancer had retreated from that wretched place and returned to the woods that surrounded her homeland. She'd camped with friends, hunted, danced, partied, and laughed for a full six months, all the while being made very aware of the fact that she'd have to go back out into the world to seek her fortune. She would not find fame or glory while hiding in Oskar. When travelers brought news of the tournament, she'd immediately plotted out her return to that overwhelmingly large land.<br/><br/>And now, she was here...again.</em><br/><br/>The streets surrounding<strong>Kraven's Arena</strong>were filled with jocularity, but it all sounded forced to her sensitive ears, an edge of manic glee held back by sheer dint of will. This did not stop her from smiling at all and sundry nor from flashing her orange badge at anyone who queried her presence, covering her uneasiness with a deluge of syllables and laughter. Eventually, she'd meandered along enough side streets to note that most people were heading to the large arena and the stalls located there.<br/><br/>So, she allowed the crowd to control her journey and eventually stumbled across a cloak-enwrapped body at a wine stall. The person struck her as odd....mostly because she could not see his or her face, but the voice had a masculine sort of sound...as if someone had taught a machina to stand up...and walk. Still, she wasn't about to slow down to catch a glimpse. Instead, she pushed on until she came to a gaggle of people surrounding a dessert stall. However, it wasn't the food that drew her toward the group. No, it was the wings.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">"You have such pretty wings. Did you grow them yourself, or are they part of an elaborate ploy to make people come up to you and try to touch them?"</span><br/><br/>The tall woman with the glorious wingspan was quite beautiful, and for a moment, just one, the smaller Dancer forgot what she was saying even as her dark gray cheeks took on a pearlescent hue. With a shake of long white curls and the rapid blinking of large purple orbs, she returned to her topic of conversation, namely those wings and the tourney. After all, knowledge was power.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">"Are you here for the tournament?"</span>She noted the others, and her cheeks burned with a blush even as she glanced at the others and noted the many badges adorning most of them, including a woman with a bow.<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">"Maybe I should rethink this. I am not built for mayhem, not like you or even the pretty one over there."</span>Her slim fingers swept out to encompass the group before her hands retreated to her side.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">"Excuse me, would you like something sweet to eat?"</span>The seller behind the small counter looked at her with a smile, and Ixi found herself hard-pressed not to return the expression.<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: comic sans ms;">"If you do not, please don't block others from finding me..."</span><br/><br/>The Dancer nodded and stepped to the side, her purple gaze now sweeping the crowd that surged forward and backward, a wave of bodies and colors. Somehow, she found herself wary and allowed that gaze to sweep upward toward the high seats. There was something very wrong here, but she couldn't say what it was and where the wrongness came from.  Without further ado, the young one turned away from the small gathering and made to join the crowd. Maybe, she should leave.<br/><br/>Glory was not worth dying for, and something told her she'd die if she tried to compete.