20th of Searing, 4622
It was a fine day and an even more elegant evening ahead, the final sighs of the lights, its luminous rays bursting forth in its splendid reds and golden hues scattered across the alabaster peaks. A moment of glory soon fades into the violet curtains that litter the sky in shimmering pearls and brilliant diamonds. Jared merely sat on a random rooftop that edges closer to the docks of Alistian, letting the sight linger one last time before making the leap of faith that he had longed for.
His left leg arched in a triangular form whilst his right acted as the base; his upper body leaning back only supposed by his two semi-muscular arms that are riddled with many scars, most of which are minor scratches and cuts. The petty thief took a deep breath before letting out an exhausted sigh, not in the physical sense but more emotionally as it seems there are more questions about this strange world than not. "Today is the day, huh?.." Jared takes a moment to survey the land once more, albeit brief. "Time to leave the nest? Wonder where this crooked road will take me? Maybe I might fall head over heels over someone… ha~ that is funny, Jared… like anyone would like a commoner such as yourself…."
It wouldn't be too long until Jared set all his plans into motion, a few days before his average run-in with the local informants and paying a few loose lips with some farthings that a ship is due to depart to Gentvene in a few days. A deal that Jared was mentally tossing over as he has not ventured outside of Alistian's stone walls at any moment of his life, yet the outside world's curiosity beckons him to leave, to seek the unknown.
Either way, Jared had very few in his possession in the first place. A few sets of clothing of decent quality; nothing too fancy like those in the merchant class but not shoddy enough to be mistaken as a Serf either. A simple iron dagger for self-defence purposes or merely cutting loose coin purses, a few days' worths of rations which Jared so humbly left an I.O.U for and some spare coins in case he needed to hush some people up for his travels. If push comes to shove, Jared had a few backup plans in case he needed to make some farthings in more legitimate ways… even if it was pretty mundane for the most part. Nonetheless, plans within plans are Jared's mindset, even though it may not get him as far as he would like it to be…
"Oi, earth to dipshit. Get your ass off the highway, or you will be late to stow away off the ship." A rather gruff yet young voice echoes from below to the rooftops. He was quickly peeling off to the side of the rooftop, a familiar figure & voice to Jared, a companion & partner in crime for lack of better terms words. A 5'7ft hazel-eyed man with a semi-muscular build paired with fiery-red hair fitted into a short quiff and faded at the sides of his head. "Oi, Ronny, get up here. Probably your last chance, we can race each other to the docks for a while, if ever!" Jared piped up, his voice rather husky and low-growl tone as if his voice was buried under heavy piles of gravel. Not the most delightful sound to hear but unique, to say at least.
"Oh, you are on. Don't say I warn you, and it's not my fault if you busy a leg in the process!" Ronny boldly states to Jared before scurrying his way up to the rooftops, Grabbing onto little ledges available before hoisting his entire body into the air for a moment or two. "Pfft… I needed that quick warm-up. Alright, wanna make a bet?" The red-head grins for a moment, excitingly waiting for a response from the Jet-black-haired male beside him. "Hmmm? A bet. Do we even have time for that now?" Ronny continues to smile and nods enthusiastically. "Fine. A favour for a favour, got it. So you're fine with that deal?" At this point, Ronny shakes his head as if his face blurred for a second or two, perplexing Jared for a moment as to how someone could be so excited over something so tiny.
“Alright then… When I drop this rock his the ground; The race begins, got it?” Jared turns his amber gaze over to his partner in crime, who continues to nod with excitement. The world froze for a moment as if nothing could interfere with this event that was about to transpire.
Jared tossed the ivory-coloured stone, focusing solely on the rock about to land, until Ronny made a sudden sneak attack in the form of a brief kiss on Jared’s cheek, knowing that this simple act would cloud Jared’s thoughts & judgement for quite some time. It all seems like a blur for the jet-black-hair man as suddenly his concentration is interrupted by a brief warmth that lingers on the tip of his scarred right lip. A wave of confusion rushes forward in the petty thief’s head; Affection was one of the few things in life that Jared wanted so profoundly and partly envied when others could attain it quickly.
Stunned for a mere moment, it didn’t even register to Jared’s brain that the race had begun as his senses quickly honed themselves back to reality, and his vision promptly noticed a red-hair male sprinting off into the distance. “Oh for fuck sakes… Ronny, when I get my hands on you….” Jared was fuming, but he couldn’t delay his position any longer, and so, with very few opinions to bears, the Jet-black-hair petty thief began his mad dash towards the docks. With many obstacles ahead, from scaling taller buildings to giant leaps from block to block. The number of hazards that could hinder one’s movement is vast.
From Jared’s perspective, He had one goal: to beat Ronny to the docks of Valtorin by any means necessary. Conjuring up a dense sphere of darkness, Jared takes a moment to elongate the globe to form a thin & flexible staff to vault over, essentially near-impossible, before quickly receding into its circular form, awaiting its following command.
In another case, he was utilising the flexibility of this black substance to allow a broad wall run before launching himself off to another rooftop, gradually making his way down to the street level once he was in range for the final sprint.
With his goal in sight, Jared quickly dashed for the docks. He briefly sees Ronny overhead as vaults and bars swing towards the finish line. With only a few inches towards the finish line, It was only a miracle that the two minor criminals hadn’t attracted much attention from serfs, merchants and guards, for that matter, with their disruptive antics, but maybe luck was on both their sides. It was only by an inch, but Ronny managed to get the edge of Jared despite the low-blow tactics.
“Looks like I win, Jared!” Ronny’s face tells it all, how excited he was and how much he wanted to win this last race. Jared couldn’t help but pant for a moment as his body felt exhausted from running & leaping over buildings but also utilising this strange, eerie black substance in short successions and maintaining its form for the duration. “Fuck…. You man…. You cheated….” Jared couldn’t help but perch himself on a nearby crate to catch a breather, assisted by Ronny, who seemed quite concerned for him. “Oi, Jared; This isn’t like you to be winded like this. What gives?” Seeing how concerned his buddy was for him. Jared took a moment to extend his hand out and create a globe of umbralplasm. “Was trying to beat you with this since you cheated, but I guess I pushed myself too hard…It feels like I ate shit, and it isn’t getting better for now…”
Ronny didn’t seem to be phased about Jared, made out of thin air. “So you were planning to cheat with that thing? Huh, I didn’t know you had a gift like that.” Jared stared at Ronny for a moment before sighing. “I didn’t show it to you because I need practice, and I thought of this more as a curse at first…. But with practice, I discovered things that I didn’t even know were possible….” Ronny took a moment to think about it before nodding in solidarity. “Fair enough, we all have our secrets, but enough of the heavy talk; I want to cash in my favour.” That statement caught Jared off guard as his amber-hued eyes widened for a moment. “Okay, what is it then?” Jared tilted his head for a moment before suddenly feeling Ronny’s lips on his for just a few moments before backing away. “Wanted to that for a long time; you are quite a dense & handsome looking guy…. And knowing that I may not be your type, I decided to steal your first kiss~ Oh, don’t worry, someone will pop your cherry for you; just wait!.” The red-head man lets out a hearty chuckle before quickly vanishing into the alleyways, disappearing into the darkness and leaving a stunned Jared perched on a crate in a flustered state.
Quickly scurrying away onto the mercantile ship that is boarding the Amoras river heading its way over to Genteven. Easy enough to stow away and keep out of sight until arriving at Genteven, Jared had a bit of time to think about what just happened and what Ronny meant by him being dense…. And someone popping his cherry…
