as seen through a child's mind ~ banez&kivari

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Kivani listened with the utmost interest. "Really? That's really interesting. I've never heard of that before!" It was an entirely new concept. What did that mean for her? Definitely not violet, but not red either. She liked to think that she bore all of the colors, but that was too idealistic, something she struggled with. And the fact that he read that. Kivani felt ashamed of her own ignorance to the hobby of the towns and the people. It made her more suspicious that she was an illiterate person. Instead of saying anything about that, she remained quiet. Let assumptions form she figured. No harm, no fowl.

Kivani grew very curious as Banez attempted to describe his power. Truthfully, she tried understanding, but a confused look appeared on her face. Summon objects? At first she identified that with the ability to move objects. But no, he said summon. "That would be easier to understand," she agreed. She watched carefully, not sure what to expect. Her instincts told her to back up, so she did, especially when he changed his stance. Her eyes squinted, wondering if she were missing something when there was nothing to see. Then she saw the light that bounced off of something that remained invisible. And then she understood. He had... armor on.

"It's armor," she stated aloud. Interesting. Kivani glanced behind him and then around. No, it had to be like he said, he summoned objects into existence. If he could do that, could he summon other things? "Can you conjure up something from the bakery like you did your armor?" she inquired. Wouldn't that be wonderful! While she wanted to go to the bakery terribly, the town didn't exactly excite her. Oh well, she pushed that aside. She couldn't be afraid. Kivani refused to be the victim. She could put the brave face on; she had been in worse situations, just never that close.

Kivani took his gauntlet and walked alongside of him. "What do you usually get at the bakery?" Kivani only tried a handful of things. She usually liked something extra rich. She liked what they called carmel a lot, mixed with chocolate and other rich flavors.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] The armor was fully formed now, red and white with a lacy, delicate design. For the first minute of wearing it, the weight took a little getting used to, but after that it would be like he was wearing a second skin. If only he had more excuses to wear it more! "It's an interesting thought, but not one of a lot of consequence. Reading is like that a lot," he said. Banez laughed when Kivani suggested summoning cake, "If only I could! Probably for the best; I'd never stop eating cake if it was always in my grasp. The only things I can call are this armor, a sword, and a shield." He looked a bit thoughtful, "But maybe if I get better at it, somehow, I'll be able to call more things. Or maybe objects just add themselves. I'm not exactly sure how it works." He felt that his power required some theory study, or study of magic in general, but magic was just one of those things that flew over his head, so hopefully the conjuration would just grow naturally. When they crossed the threshold of the forest into the park, he felt that he was able to breathe easier. "I usually get cake, of all kinds. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, with fruit filling, with pudding inside, with any sort of frosting." Or any sort of topping, no matter how unmanly! There could be flower petals and pixie dust on it and he'd still devour it! "I also love eclairs, especially when they're fresh out of the oven...." Now his sweet tooth was really craving. "What about you?"

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[FLY[leaf]]

Kivani thought that summoning things like armory would be very handy. But what would a church worker need with armor? She thought it rude to ask this and kept silent. As a Guardian it would work well. Did church people get under attack often? Kivani felt as if she were ignorant to most of Carvalo's problems and strengths as a town in general. Instead of showing this, she decided to appear wiser than she really was. "Yeah," she agreed, again going with the idea that she could seem smarter than she really was. Besides, how could she begin telling someone she couldn't read? If illiteracy was prominent in Carvalo, she would, but alas her ignorance kept extending. Oh well, she knew she only minded now, now that she was nearly caught with lack of information. Once she was back in the Peaks, nothing like this would matter. Another plus for running wild.

"It would be a very nice gift if you could," she replied. Think of all the sweets! She wouldn't have to visit towns to get them if she had such a nice power. "Oh, that's interesting. Do you have to use your power as much as you used to?" Common sense said no, but politeness said ask anyway. Kivani liked using her manners. "You should look into that. It'd be neat if you could! Think of all the things you could call up." Oddly, Kivani had trouble thinking, at least besides sweets. "What if one day you could call up anything you wanted or needed, at least?" Her mind went reeling now. What if he could even summon the change of a landscape? Now with that thought, her eyes went wide. That would be crazy, maybe too crazy.

Kivani took a nice look around the park. She racked her brain to see if she remembered this place; her travels took her everywhere because she had the time to visit places. She vaguely recalled this place, but things had changed. "That sounds good," she commented. Fruit. One of the things she definitely missed eating in the Peaks. Being a herbivore could be slightly boring--eating grass most of the time, occasionally stumbling across an apple tree. Strawberries, and berries in general that weren't poisonous, were rare, along with other types of fruit. It tempted her to come into town more often and actually gain access to such a wide variety of food not as bland as her usual diet.

"Ohhh. I like anything sweet, but I've really taken fancy to carmel and chocolate mixed together. Last time I visited a bakery, I had something like that, and they drizzled hot fudge over it too. I think I want that again." Whatever it was, that last treat she bought from a bakery not too long ago to forget made her want another one. She was starving by this point.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] "I actually use it less than when I did a few years ago. So I suppose things will come naturally," Banez nodded. Hah, that's what he got for overthinking it and running his mouth. "Hmm... what could I look up though? I'm not sure who else has a power like me, or who had." Maybe if he looked through the library and scanned the books for things like 'conjuration' or 'matter' something like that. "I think... I would be a little scared of my power if I could conjure anything that I desired," Banez said honestly. He shook his head, "I don't think anyone should have that great of a power. It just... does things to them." After a moment, he found his smile again, "But your power could never be abused. I can't think of how healing others could ever be evil. Has your ability strengthened as you grew up?" "Ohh, carmel is good too," Banez agreed as he was reminded of it. And hot fudge.... Now he wanted some kind of cookie cake. Badly. After a few minutes, Banez navigated them to a bakery. Thankfully, they would still be open for a couple hours more. Cakes and pastries were lined up in the display cases, and he could have sworn that they glittered when they walked in. Glancing over each dish, he saw apple-flavored cake with caramel-flavored icing, cream infused cake with crumbles of chocolate cookies on the outside, banana cupcakes with peanut butter icing... and far more past and inbetween. "Everything looks so good..." So much in fact, Banez was too overwhelmed to make a decision at the moment.

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

"Well, that would make sense," she replied. Guardian to cathedral worker definitely changed the perspectives. Most religions seemed to denounce violence, excluding that of some war and defense, but even defense could be questionable. Things like this fascinated Kivani and she found herself easily absorbed in thought. She shook it off though and listened to Banez as he talked about his power. It would be interesting if he could add things he could call up. He mentioned being scared if he could summon anything and Kivani pictured his power in a new light. Temptation was a strong force with many; picturing the ability to call anything up did seem intimidating. At least for the other person. "That would be a little scary," she replied. "You'd have to deal with a lot of temptation, especially with those that wrong you."

With the ability to heal came responsibility. "True, but there can easily be evil in my decision. I can not help someone that's dying," she said. Had she done that before? Maybe. It was hard because on one instance she found herself leaning more toward justice than mercy. How could she help a killer heal when they didn't deserve life? Theological questions such as this plagued her daily, which also inspired the unicorn to live a solitary life. "I guess with healing comes the responsibility to make judgement calls, even when I don't feel like they are mine to make. I can't heal everyone; sometimes you have to choose who to heal," she added. Kivani smiled brightly. "Oh well, that's a lot to think about."

Kivani followed Banez into the bakery, greeted by all the delightful sweet smells. The unicorn in her wanted apple now; how she wanted a ripe apple. Why would they destroy apples and cook them? Kivani nearly wrinkled her nose, but she remembered she was in a public place where people would read into her responses. She kept quiet and smiled pleasantly, also pretending that the cramped space of a building didn't bother her when she would much rather see an open field. "They all look so good," she murmured. How on earth could she choose? If Kivani lived in town, if she ever could, she decided she would have to own her own bakery.

"What are you going to get?" she inquired. Maybe that would help her decide. But then she saw a cake made of dark chocolate with carmel drizzles liberally crisscrossed over the top. "Oh, I know what I want!" she exclaimed in pure excitement. "That one, it looks delicious."

Kivani didn't think her overly zealous response to finding the perfect dessert was overreacting at all.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez nodded as Kivani agreed, but he just wanted to drop it. Hopefully he could just summon the means to defend himself, and cake, and that would be the end of it. It was odd; he never thought he'd have a reason to dislike his power. He didn't resent it now, but... he supposed he resented its potential. Yes, that was probably it. He looked over when Kivani told about the more philosophical side of her power. "Well... you can't blame yourself when it's out of your ability." But then he realized that she was talking about having the power to stave death and actually deciding whether people live or die. "I see.... I don't think that's necessarily evil, but it is tough..." He nodded, understanding the predicament that she was describing. "I suppose it's a matter of being able to identify when someone has really come to the end of their time and when someone just had a nasty accident." But how did you know? At least she didn't seem too upset by the thought. And with cake, who could be? And the smells... Banez never really thought of himself as a glutton, but it was difficult to restrain himself, or resist most favors, when sweets were involved. It was a good thing he did a meticulous job brushing and flossing his teeth every morning and night (when he wasn't led somewhere and then trapped against his will, anyway). "I think I'm going to get that one," he answered, gesturing to the cookies and cream cake he had been eyeing before. Mmm.... Kivani's selection pulled him out of his sudden delicious distraction, and he looked over to the chocolate and caramel cake. "Oh, good choice!" he said, even though any choice would have had Banez' approval, not that Kivani sounded like she needed it. "Are you super sure? Last chance," he grinned boyishly, flashing white teeth.

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

"True," she shrugged. Oh well. Kivani could shrug it off pretty well at least. She just didn't think about it because she didn't want to any more. The unicorn definitely didn't dwell on things she wanted to ignore for the moment. It was a good and bad trait of hers. She chose only to see the good in things. How else could she be optimistic?

Her thoughts and any trails of them immediately vanished when she stepped inside the bakery. It was heaven to her. Even during the summer months she could handle a hot melted fudge cake. There was never a season when it was too hot and too sweet. This was such a treat for her!

She looked at the dessert he pointed to and contemplated. Hmmm, should she go with her original choice? Then looking back, she saw the fudge and carmel. Yes, she couldn't change her mind, even when he asked her. "I'm definitely sure." She couldn't change her mind if she wanted to. It looked so delicious and she couldn't wait to devour it. Hopefully Banez wasn't a slow eater; it always made her feel bad when any dessert placed in front of her vanished within two minutes. Kivani was usually trying to follow all of the manners in this society, but sometimes a unicorn just had to eat like a horse.

"Thank you, Banez!" she added, remembering manners again. Kivani returned the smile and then looked back at the dessert smartly kept hostage by the glass. No wonder they had to block them off from customers, they were afraid they would get stolen. That was the conclusion Kivani came to at least; she never considered the glass to protect against unhealthiness.

"It's been awhile since I had a nice dessert," she added. Kivani was used to eating grass, bark on occasion, and other fruits and vegetables. No meat ever entered her diet; she could hardly stand the smell, and treats to her were apples and carrots and other hard to find fruits. Desserts were even more rare and even more of a treat. This explained her excitement and her inability to fully stand still.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez ordered the two cake slices, which were generously portioned. Good thing they were, because otherwise the slices would be gone in three bites. "It's no problem! It gives me a reason to eat cake too!" Banez grinned, handing the dish of caramel and chocolate cake to Kivani before he slid into a small booth in the side of the shop. "It feels better to eat with others, anyway. I bake a little at home, but they never have recipes for only one person," he said. Which would be good if he had the gall to invite others from The Faith into his home, but he figured that it was best to keep the gang location and his personal location as separate as possible. His first bite was probably bigger than it should have, but the crumbly, creamy texture of cake could be tasted from any part of his mouth now, and it was sooooo goooood. He almost spoke with his mouth full, only catching himself at the last moment and then forcing himself to wolf down his current bite. "Well, I'm glad to remedy that!" he said. After a couple of more bites, a thought occurred to him. "How is life in the Peaks? I imagine there's a sort of settlement up there for people...." But hadn't she said that it was the people that you needed to look out for? Maybe it was just some people. The same thing could be said about the city, after all.

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Kivani got her cake and for a moment, stood there and stared at it. That's when she realized Banez had gone to find a booth and she quickly caught up. She sat opposite of him and remembered to use a fork to eat with. She hoped Banez wouldn't notice her clumsiness at first with a fork but she got the hang of using the eating utensil. Kivani understood when he mentioned being alone, but not the cooking part. "Why don't you invite friends over?" she questioned. People here were very social, at least from her observations. Someone like Banez, she figured, had plenty of friends.

Before two minutes had passed, Kivani realized she had eaten the entire portion of a large piece of cake. It didn't surprise her too much; in a way she was sad that all the goodness was gone. But she did enjoy every bite. "Life in the Peaks is always adventurous!" she responded enthusiastically. "Oh, there are a few settlements..." It wasn't a lie. "Like small villages and stuff up there. They're very rare though," she added. "Not like the city life here at all, of course. Their culture is different too." People were superstitious and had the right to be, she supposed. Kivani enjoyed life alone. Ironically it was those same people she came to fear upon seeing when she was alone, at least in unicorn form. She wasn't exactly a master of hiding, just evading.

"Do you enjoy your life in this city?" she inquired. It wasn't her cup of tea, but everyone was made differently for a reason, she liked to think.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Really, Banez would have just thought that Kivani's clumsiness was just due to an uncontained excitement to eat cake. "I don't know very many people. Well, I do, but I don't know anyone well enough to ask them something like that. It's a strange thing to ask, even from a church worker," he explained. He certainly couldn't be going around asking the other gang leaders to lunch, even though the scenario played through his head about a thousand times, for whatever reason-- why couldn't they just get along? Oh right, because they thought his gang was a little screwy. Okay, so there were settlements. She must live there, he assumed. The adventurous description was interesting, though. "What sort of things happen up there?" Hopefully it was adventurous in a 'space rips open and a new place shows up' sort of way. But he was also interested in what sort of stories she had from her life. Actually... he had never checked the Peaks for Angel Haven.... But then she reminded him of life in the city. "It's not bad," he answered honestly, "I have everything I want and need. But there's definitely some things in my life I feel I'm missing." His lips drew in and formed a thoughtful line, but then he quickly shrugged, "It's not unbearable, though. I was wondering... have you been to the very top of the Peaks?" And may the dig for information commence. He tried to drive his fork into his cake, only to have it hit ceramic. Gone so soon? If he hadn't seen the slice for himself he would have consider himself robbed!

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Kivani understood the social awkwardness to an extent. Being a lone creature, she rarely conversed with other people and now that she thought about it, she found that she couldn't think of a single person she called a friend. Banez, she figured, was an acquaintance, as were most people. Most of the time it didn't bother her, but today it did. "You don't have many friends?" she inquired. Her tone was less empathetic; maybe she wanted to know that she wasn't the only one without many friends. "I mean... you know many people, why don't you feel comfortable asking them to eat with you and being their friend?" Humans were so complicated! But she knew the lonely feeling that could come without friends. "Are you okay without having many friends?" A trail of questions followed in her mind, ones she decided not to ask because she was prying too much.

As the conversation switched back to her territory of livelihood, she hesitated. "Oh, just the usual. Nothing really, just survival, you know? It's tougher to live up there than in a city." There were a lot of adventures and oddities, but nothing necessarily unusual. The entire land was unusual, which made that usual. "You're just missing the gritty need of survival and adventure," she responded with a laugh. Kivani definitely got her adrenaline rushes living in the mountain range, but most would leave her alone for fear they would be cursed killing her.

"Hm, the top of the Peaks? A few times, I don't go up there every year... It's a little dangerous you know. Why do you ask?" Kivani couldn't figure out why he would want to, but that's when her eyes lit up, "Do you want to go to the top of the Peaks?"

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez tapped his chin when asked why he didn't feel comfortable, "I don't know... Maybe it's the energy. They're good as acquaintances, but not as friends, if that makes sense. I'm okay, though. It gets lonely sometimes, but I just try to be social where I can." It worked more or less, so he hadn't really thought to fix what wasn't broken, so to speak. "What about you? I imagine you gain some close bonds with people in an environment like the Peaks." Survival and adventure, eh? Banez smiled, "Adventure sounds exciting. Survival is something I wouldn't want to walk on the edge of so often." Too bad, since both often went hand and hand. Maybe he could just go on adventure binges every so often and then head back to his house when he was done. But didn't you catch wanderlust eventually? Ah well. "Grit isn't much my style anyway," he supposed. He opened his mouth, about to ask if she had seen anything strange at the top of the Peaks, before she asked if he wanted to go there himself. This gave him some pause. Then he grinned, "Well... if there's anything unusual up there, yes, I would."

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

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[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Kivani nodded. While she didn't quite understand why eating together was a problem, she knew the feeling of acquaintances and the unusual relationship with people and animals that weren't friends yet but they weren't enemies. "That's a good plan, I suppose. Being social is always good." Kivani shrugged at his question. "I do. There are only a handful of people in each little town that brave the life of the mountains. I've met some very good people there. People there are generally willing to share shelter and whatnot if a traveler needs it. Not all, of course, but most. I've made friends up there."

It was actually a tricky question because not all people were given the lifespan she was. If she tried, Kivani might remember former friends now passed, but all of those memories were repressed. Truthfully though, she had told Banez a lie. How horrible. Well, not technically, she reasoned with herself. She did have friends, it was true, and people were nice up there, she just didn't have many friends. With that resolved, she felt her composure sink casually, as if a weight had lifted off of her shoulders.

"You never have a dull day." Kivani enjoyed survival, it gave her an adrenaline rush and the adventures she lived through were always amazing to her. Kivani nodded. It wasn't for everyone, she understood, even though she found it rather enthralling. Kivani nearly expected him to oppose going to the top of the Peaks. It wasn't easy; there were definitely trials that tested her will to survive. Lack of food was one of the most frequent. Grass didn't really grow in the winter time and she survived off of bark on trees, which wasn't tasty.

"Well.... Everything is unusual. Which would make that usual." She frowned in the confusion of that statement. "But there are interesting creatures up there and civilizations on the way and such. There's always trinkets left behind individuals who made their way to the top too. I'm not sure if you'd find anything valuable, but it's always an exciting journey."

Kivani thought it out a little more. Would he be up for a journey in the mountains? "You hike or anything? Hiking up a mountainside isn't easy," she added. "And then you've got gear you have to carry and all of that stuff." Kivani found out that if she led him to the top that she would have to remain in human form. She usually travelled as a unicorn, which was much easier. And she would have to carry stuff as well. She would have wrinkled her nose, but that would be rude.

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[atrb=width,470,true][bg=6b0000] Banez nodded, with some feeling of sadness. "You see that quality of community little in the city, unless someone takes the initiative. It's a bit disturbing how many people are apathetic to certain topics, and towards other people. It seems rather silly sometimes.... No matter what kind of creature each person is, we're all in the same place together; is it so hard to treat each other with decency?" He shook his head. That was a rant that should be saved for another day. He then smiled sadly at Kivani, "I'm sorry. It's just something I feel strongly about." But yes! The Peaks! Creatures he was less interested in, civilizations and undiscovered areas he was more interested in, and odd miscellaneous might or might not have their value, but he'd have to see.... The more he thought about it, however, the more he thought that Angel Haven wouldn't be at the top of a snowy mountain. But then again... he would never know unless he looked, right? "Investigations as a Guardian sometimes took me to odd places, but I've never hiked with gear before," Banez answered. Would that be bad? Well, hopefully being an inexperienced hiker wouldn't get him killed. Besides, Kivani would be there! What could possibly go wrong? "If you tell me what I need to hike to the top, I can get them, and then I could meet you at the base of the Peaks at an arranged time?" he suggested.

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character sheet - record

It comforts me
to think that the stars in the sky are other worlds
Even if we can't speak to each other

[/size][/font]
[/center][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[FLY[leaf]]

Kivani nodded, knowing what he was talking about in essence. Although she did understand that some creatures just wanted to kill. She had met those before in the mountains so it definitely was not a perfect place to live. In fact, she would assert that there was more open danger in the mountains than in the city. But that was her biased perspective. "Well, it's a good topic," she replied. "Mostly true." She shrugged.

"Really?" For some reason, this really surprised her. In some community in the mountains, there were hunter warriors, which meant that they were trained in the way of the shadow and that they were trained in the arts of fighting to protect their community. As a Guardian, she assumed that he would have to go on long excursions. The city was a different world to her, one she kept finding out that she still didn't understand the constantly evolving place of many creatures.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind doing that. You'll just need clothes and some sort of container for water. And we need to discuss provisions. I am a vegetarian. Which means I can find plants that we can eat and I generally know where the water is. It's the summer so unless things get gritty, we won't have to eat bark." She offered a bright smile. "But, I don't know if you eat meat... If so then you'll need to bring your own provisions to hunt as well." Quite honestly, she hoped he didn't eat meat, but if he did, she would have to get over it. Though it still made her edgy.

"When would you like to leave?"