//Closed by Admin A Beggars Foray

Ian had wandered about the school for the better part of the day. Culture shock might have been a very mild way of describing what he was going through. He had gone from a cramped dilapidated space to a luxurious wide open mansion. However, the main source of the shock might have been the prevailing attitudes of the inhabitance. The majority of the orphanage was concerned only with day to day survival and did not think about the future. There was far more hope where here, but it had not yet rubbed off on Ian.

The voice in the back of his mind could not be silenced. Eventually he was guessing the school would want some sort of payment. Ian was left with the choices of either trying to beg his way in, trying to find some way of actually making payment or face another exile. With this in mind he figured the latter two options would involve getting to know the nearby town. Maybe he could find some sort of odd job there, or maybe the population would be kind enough to support a beggar.

Slowly Ian walked along the edge of the path leading him away from the school and towards the town he had heard about. He was deep in thought about what he needed to accomplish. It would have been nice to have some clothes that made him look less like a beggar and more like a student but that just meant he would need to stick close to the shadows and be as inconspicuous as possible. Stealing anything, no matter how easy it might be was out of the question at this point. The last thing Ian could afford was to make any enemies and being caught might isolate him from the school and the town at the same time.

Ian had finally reached the edge of the school grounds. He could see the village from where he stood. It was already apparent that it was in better financial shape then the region where the orphanage was located. Ian imagined the worse when he found out the orphanage was sending him away but thus far everything had exceeded his expectations.

This time Ian was in tune with himself. Long before he was touched he could hear the footsteps, feel the presence of another in the grass field. Ian’s first instinct was always flight so while others might have turned to greet the individual or perhaps something slightly more drastic Ian readied himself to bolt. He was still right up to the point when contact was made his head quickly turning in order to catch a view of the individual in his peripheral.

Ian’s instinct and mood quickly and drastically shifted upon the identification of the unknown presence as Christine. Ian had never been called Sir before today but he was trying to mask the fact that it was slightly unnerving to him. Sir was a term he normally reserved for his marks or authority figures who might be making a decision he was interested in.

" Are you taking a trip into the village today? "

Ian was now facing Christine as he processed the question. He was indeed on his way into the village but there was no way he was going to explain to Christine his true motive for the trip. Part of his past needed to remain in his past, he was not going to do anything to jeopardize the kind treatment he had experienced thus far. Added to this was the fact that he had started to form some sort of bond with Christine. What this bond was currently, or what it was going to become was unknown to Ian but he felt at least somewhat protective of it. “Yes….my clothes are in a state of disrepair and I thought I might find something in town that would let me…fit in a bit better.”

He was aware of the blush that slowly invaded her cheeks but did not understand the source. As she lowered her head and spoke Ian broke eye contact to hopefully make her feel more comfortable. It was a source of frustration for Ian that he did not really understand Christine, something he wanted to rectify.

"I'm headed into the village to one of the shops...I'm hoping I can buy something special for a friend."

The statement perked Ian’s interest further as he slightly leaned in towards her. He almost asked her who she would be buying for but figured that would be at least slightly rude. “Perhaps we can go together…if you would not mind. I don’t really know much about the region…and I’ll do my best not to slow you down.” The meek statement was about as bold as Ian could remember being in a long time. In that moment it was if the clouds parted just for her, her form enveloped by a ray of light from the heavens. She had done a good job at concealing some of her features but she could not hide the beautiful essence that defined her. A warm smile washed over Ian’s face as he spoke in a lighter tone than before. “Shall we?”

There was no other place for Ian’s eyes to rest other than the young women standing before him. He did his best not to make the eye contact uncomfortable. Although Christine was mostly covered her body language seemed positive and her eyes were so inviting. He could not help but notice the pointed tooth. Ian had wondered about what Christine was, he had never seen anything like her before. This functioned to put Ian at ease, or at least as close to ease as he had been in a good while. Ian had no time to worry about how she might respond to the offer as she almost instantly responded in an overwhelmingly positive aspect.

As Christine moved to Ian’s side he slowly started to move in the general direction of the town. His pace was somewhat slow and not that purposeful. He was giving Christine the chance to take the lead or at least steer the direction because she had been to the town before. Ian slowly started to lag just an inch behind Christine as the pair walked towards the town, he was trying to think of something to say but kept dismissing all the comments that came to mind. Ian was smart enough to realize that being paralyzed into saying nothing could make Christine uncomfortable but was not smart enough to realize she just wanted to talk.

"You know I tried walking to the village a few days ago and I got caught in a storm. It was quite scary and dreadful. But thankfully we made it out okay..."

There was a pause in Ian’s stride as he looked up towards the sky. Normally he would have thought things over and offered a simple word or sentence but instead he began to verbally articulate his thoughts. “Where I’m from there are a lot of storms, it is a bit like a swamp in the winter and a desert in the summer. So you have to become good at spotting storms so you can avoid them. If it hits it will be light…and more than likely to the west of us…we should be ok.” Speaking caused him to lag further behind so his pace quickened until he was once again trailing just an inch behind. “So what type of…item might you be looking to pick up in town?”

"I'm glad you've allowed me to come with you Ian. I couldn't imagine what I would have done if I'd gotten caught in another storm."

It was such an interesting way to speak about the situation. Ian was overjoyed that Christine would join him on his trip, although now he needed to mask the true intention of the foray. The word ‘allowed’ stuck in his mind like a splinter and although he wanted to profess to her that he was the fortunate individual Ian remained his quite self.

As Christine broke her pace Ian caught up along side of her. It dawned on the young man that it might have made her feel slightly uncomfortable to be trailed so he did his best to walk along side of her without getting too close. During the short walk Ian was already starting to pick up hints about the town. It seemed as if the land could support crops, the area might have a good mix of weather and the fact that there was such a huge school nearby lead him to believe the inhabitance were not poor.

"A notebook. It's for a friend, I think he'll enjoy it but I'm not sure..."

It took Ian a second but he started to respond to the statement in the somewhat shy and soft voice he was guessing Christine was becoming accustomed to. “I think anyone can use a notebook…you fill it with yourself and it becomes an extension of yourself. It can become as important or as mundane as the user wills it to be.”

It was clear that something was on the young women’s mind but Ian had not the slightest clue what it might be. He knew that he could not find the courage to ask Christine what she was thinking about so rather than push towards the unachievable he resigned himself to not knowing. As they walked along towards the town he could feel those warm brown eyes upon him again.

"I really did enjoy our dance together, Sir Ian. I hope I did not step on any of your toes. It was my first time dancing so I'm glad that I had you as a partner."

It was if Christine had entered Ian’s mind and hijacked the exact words he would have spoken to her. There was no hiding the blush on his face as he kept pace with her. “It was my pleasure to substitute as your prince, it was my first time as well…it’s a good thing we did not harm each other.” As his eyes moved forward he caught his first glimpse of the town. From this distance it did not seem to have any remarkable qualities. “Did you have somewhere in mind...like a shop?” Ian had tons of questions all of the sudden but did not want to overwhelm her.

Christine had a way of penetrating Ian’s fortified defenses and putting the young man at ease. He was not even aware that his posture had become much more relaxed and tone of his voice much more informal. The slight giggle caused a smile infiltrate his face as he turned towards her as the pair continued towards the village.

"Substitute? Why on earth would you think you were a Substitute? You have been my prince in many ways, Sir Ian. You not only guided me through a difficult first experience with dancing, but you are now guiding me towards the town so I will not have to make the venture alone."

Blushing red embarrassment flooded his face as his mind worked feverously to craft the correct response. Ian needed to walk a delicate tightrope, explaining what he meant without coming off at all brash at the extremely kind statement. Before the youth could respond Christine continued on the same thought process.

" And you were there when I made myself the most vulnerable in the greenhouse and yet you are still here and willing to speak with me...."

Ian finally managed to speak with a somewhat shaky and unsure voice. “You…are a very kind individual…who…who deserves to find what she is looking for, all I was saying…or thinking was that someday you are going to find a true prince…but I am more…I mean it would be my honor to try and fill that role for now.” Ian could not manage to tell her how uncomfortable it made him, because what she was speaking was coming from a place of kindness. He could not bring himself to risk the ruin of the blossoming friendship due to his own insecurities. He could see the tears steaming down her face but could not bring himself to act on them. He was praying his words were not offensive but was too afraid of the answer he might receive to ask.

"I heard there is a little shop in town that sells alot of different items and I was thinking I could look for a notebook there."

Ian had interest in seeing the whole town but if Christine had a place she wanted to start in he would offer no objection. Shops like the one she described pulled people from all income brackets so it might be nice to see the spread. You did not want to beg to poor people, you were less likely to get anything and in some instances it could create resentment. “I have no problem with that, I am looking to explore everything.” The town had come into focus now as the pair had parted the school grounds and now were on the outskirts passing houses and cabins. Her next question provoked an immediate battle between his inner beggar and the person he was trying to act out. You never turned down the offer for a free anything, because it might be the last offer you would get, but he was not sure if he should accept so willingly or offer up any resistance. “Christine the walk…and you hopefully showing me around the town will be more than enough of a treat...but if you were to insist I would not be so rude to tell you no." The pair was still now in the splender of nature, the man made world laying just before them. Inside of Ian there was an urge to say more, but because he could not understand the urge he remained silent.

A furious blush came across her cheek at the thought of Ian being her Prince Charming. Biting her bottom lip she would look away from him and walk in silence for quite a while. It was an intriguing thought. She had never known any boys and she felt she could trust him. She wasn't sure what to do though....or where to go with this. It was all so new for her and it made her heart flutter and stomach twist into knots. It was a strange and odd feeling but it was something that she grew to enjoy when she was around him.

She would lean in and give him a soft nudge with her shoulder as they came to the end of the trail and where the town began to spill out into view. A gentle sigh flew from her lips. It was oddly breathtaking in all it's glory. It was not a cluttered mess of buildings and streets, but rather simple little shops lined up all in a row giving the landscape it's own room to breath and the sky a view for all to enjoy. She sun was shining bright in the sky and she covered her eyes to shield them from it.

At his words, she turned to him. "Well Sir Ian, I do insist that you join me for dinner. I would very much like the company. However, I don't believe I want to walk the path in the dark, so can we try to be home before sunset? Like I said before, I need to go to the bookshop, so if you would like to meet up at the restaurant at a certain time. I don't want to slow you down with your shopping."

She would blush again, looking him in the eyes, a hidden smile forming it's way in the corner of her lips. Leaning in, she would begin to do something she had only ever done to Miss Danae and Martha. She would wrap her arms around his form ever so gently to give him a soft hug. When she pulled away, she secretly thanked that she had her extra extremities hidden, for her tail was swishing entirely too much...With a soft laugh she would pull away from him, waving back as she trudged on to the shop to pick up her gift, hoping that it would appease the relationship that she had hoped she had a chance to fix.

Leaving Ian behind, she would feel her heart flutter, and an anticipation building within herself that made her rush to the store in hopes to get her shopping done quickly so she could spend more time with him...

[Exit unless stopped....]