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[floralassassin]

It had been a while since Aya had found his sister's hospital bed. He had been very tempted to get rid of it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it so he managed to get it back to his hut. He wasn't sure what to do with it beyond that, but at least he was keeping himself busy enough that he didn't have to look at it too often

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[aly_brighteyes]

Aly wasn't surprised in the least to see the stranger practicing with a sword. Though it didn't seem as common for people to carry weapons on the island, it had never been an unusual sight to Aly before she came here. Even now, when threat did seem unlikely, Aly had seven knives perfectly concealed on her person. What did strike her as unusual was that the sword didn't seem to have a make she would have seen in Tortall, but the slim elegance of a Yamani katana.

Intrigued, she stood back and watched, mentally calculating his skill, comparing him to the other warriors she knew. When he did seem to notice her, Aly bit her lip and took a step back, wearing the face of a girl who was frightened of swords and fighting. "You're very good," she commented, injecting a slight tremor into her voice.

[floralassassin]

"Thank you." He said as he put the sword away.

"I haven't practiced in a while." He admitted as he made himself comfortable on a nearby rock. "The sword is well made." It shouldn't have taken him so long to actually use it, but he figured this was a good time to start practicing again.

Since the blizzard he hadn't spent a lot of time at the compound. "I'm Aya it's a pleasure to meet you." He did his best to reassure her as he offered her a smile.

[aly_brighteyes]

"I wouldn't know," she lied, Aly had known on sight it was well-made, though she'd never be like her friend Chenaol who could tell good steel from bad at a glance. "Can't say I'm much of a fighter, begging your pardon."

When the sword was put away, Aly let herself relax a hair, as someone who was actually scared might have. "I'm Aly, sir."

[floralassassin]

He had known, but really the only way to be for sure was to see it in action. "It's not something most people have to worry about at least not where I am from." He added realizing that people here came from very different times and situations.

"How long have you been on the Island?" He asked keeping his voice as soothing as possible.

[aly_brighteyes]

"There's plenty of fighting in my world, with knights and armies and swords, but I was just a serving girl back home," Aly explained, speaking almost all of the truth, eliminating the more colorful elements.

To answer his question, she shrugged, "Not long. I'm on my third week or so."

[floralassassin]

"I don't think you are the only one who comes from such a place." Although it wasn't like he had talked to many of them.

"I am not sure you will get totally used to it, but I have been worse places." He still wasn't over Hayley's disappearance, but teaching had helped him deal with it. He was used to such cruelty he supposed so he wasn't sure anyone else would say the same about this place.

[aly_brighteyes]

Aly shook her head, frowning a little. "I'm the only one here who even knows what Tortall is, so far." The homesickness that passed briefly over her face wasn't artifice. "No one seems to have heard of it, or any of the people from there."

She hitched her shoulders in a shrug that seemed to begin in her shoulder blades. "There's worse places to be stranded for a time than a peaceful island."

[floralassassin]

He could imagine that must be the worse thing about this place. At least people here knew Japan, and the island itself was a lot like home.

"It's possible someone from your home will arrive here." He would liked to have sounded more hopeful, but he was a bit too realistic for that. "Yes, I think most people, well aside from the strageness that we have to deal with, see it as a vacation of sorts."

[aly_brighteyes]

"It's been very relaxing," Aly agreed. It was a good and bad thing; there was only so much peace she could stand before her love of intrigue, spying, and adventure would jab at her, driving her mad.

"I've even got my own little house and everything." And that was a blessing; her new hut was a new project, one she had to rig with locks and traps to make sure she was the only one who could get in. "Things are quite nice here." Anyway, if the gods were punishing her, she intended to have fun to spite them.

[floralassassin]

"That is good to hear." He was still not sure what to think about the items that had appeared here, but teaching was good and it made him feel useful. It was hard to let go of the past, but maybe he was slowly, but surely.

"I have heard of disturbing things happening, but I suppose that is something that will never change." It was easier to remember the bad than the good, but the good often made the bad easier to deal with.

[aly_brighteyes]

Aly had heard similar and had had brief encounters with the peculiar items in the rec room, though she preferred to stay out in the jungle, exercising or practicing with her knives. "Well, I suppose I can't sit around waiting for that kind of thing to happen. It would be very boring to look over one's shoulder, expecting the worst all the time, I imagine." Mentally, Aly laughed to herself; she'd aptly and quickly described her life as a spy.

[floralassassin]

"Some people are more used to it than others, but yes most of the time living like that isn't really living at all." He wouldn't call it boring, no, but he realized that without people around you to make it worth it that kind of thinking just exacted too high of a price.

[aly_brighteyes]

And Aly had called it her life for a very long time, and her Da and Grandda before her. In a way, it still was. Even when it seemed no longer necessary, Aly still lied, collected information, and kept her true self secret. "What about you?" she asked, head tilted slightly. "Do you like it here?"

[floralassassin]

It took a while for him to think it over. "Yes, I do actually." It was a little strange to say it out loud, but he realized immediately that it was the truth, even with the weirdness and the pain of seeing his sister's bed again.

"There have been a few things I wish hadn't happened, but it's been better than I would have believed at the moment I arrived."

[aly_brighteyes]

"I think I do too." Even though she missed home a great deal and she needed to do the work she'd promised her queen, Aly didn't mind being here so much. It seemed like she'd only be returned home when the gods willed it anyway, so she was taking care to enjoy their punishment as much as she could, for spite. "It's certainly more peaceful than where I came from."

[floralassassin]

"Back home was peaceful enough." Well for those who didn't know where to look. There were others like Aya who knew all too well that it was just a facade. "But here there's a slower pace. There isn't as much you have to worry about getting accomplished from day to day. It's nice to slow down a bit." He wasn't sure he should allow himself to relax, but it was nice he could even if it was just for a short while.