Ω Grεεκ Μψτh: Dεfεπd Λτlαπτιs Ω

(Wow, cool. thanks for the history lesson)
He wondered about the strange-looking grin, but a second later, he gave it no second thought as it was replaced with thoughts of an agora. Agora... But why- He quickly followed her when he noticed he was falling behind.

When they reached their destination, he understood. "Oh. That." He walked over to Aurora's stall, before looking at the grapes and strawberries. "Wow..." He watched Aurora take a grape and strawberry and eat them without even paying. That probably meant he wouldn't have to pay either...Smiling at the concept, he picked up a strawberry and said, "Sure!" He opened his mouth, threw it in, and chewed, before swallowing. "Wow! This is really great! Now I see why this is the city's best."

 

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The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora smiled and laughed a little. She had never seen someone so excited to eat before, but that was usually the case when you didn't grow up poor. Food was never in short supply. She gathered up the berries and grapes in a cloth and nodded appreciatively to the vendor. Aurora was sure she'd see him out in the fields working the next day and would make sure to say hello. "I'm glad you like them. Now, what would you like to eat?"

She perused the different stalls all the vendors had up. There were so many elegant trinkets and lots of interesting foods to choose from. "So Poke, are you from Athens, or visiting our lovely city?" Aurora was honestly curious. She didn't get to socialize with the townsfolk too often, so getting to know anyone from town better was thrilling to her. She was always busy at home meeting suitors, working out in the fields, or helping make the wine.

 

He walked along the stalls with Aurora, looking at all the types of food. Wow, you could feed a hippo with all of these... He stopped abruptly when Aurora asked where she was from. "No, I'm not from Athens. I guess you could say I'm visiting...More like searching, actually." He tried to push out the memories by focusing on the food. Apples, oranges, bananas, chicken--chicken? Nope, just bread. Oh no, flies! Truth be told, the memories slowly crept back anyway. If Aurora asked what he meant by searching, it'd just make it worse.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

She picked up an apple off of one of the vendor's carts and took a bite of it. Aurora handed the man a few coins and picked up a loaf of bread as well. She licked some apple juice off of her lip, still smiling. "I See. Well I appreciate you accompanying me. The city has grown rather dangerous, not really fit for roaming alone." She sat down on a ledge and held out the loaf of bread to Poke. "Would you like a bite?" Aurora ripped a piece off and ate it with the apple she had in her other hand.

 

He sighed of relief at Aurora's response, before he continued walking, listening to her every word. "Dangerous...? I don't see how Athens is dangerous." He looked around some more, before he stopped as Aurora held a loaf of bread towards him. He smiled. "Sure!" He grabbed the loaf, then started taking big bites off of it. I'm eating so much and I'm still not fat. ​He thought to himself.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora ate her apple quietly while watching Poke devour the bread. He was just a mere child and yet he was wandering the streets of Athens alone. There was something wrong with that picture. "Poke, did something happen to your parents? You don't have to tell me about it, it's just that no child from out of town should be wandering the city by themselves. It's unsafe." She pulled the cloth back out that contained the grapes and strawberries. They glistened in the midday light and she took a bite out of another strawberry. Her lips stained red from the juices and she used the cloth to wipe off her face.

Aurora had suddenly felt responsible for the boy. He was alone and hungry, probably without any money. She couldn't just leave him to starve. It wasn't right.

 

He finished eating his bread, then listened to what Aurora had to say. He froze up, stressed, when she asked where his parents were, but calmed down after knowing he didn't need to tell her what happened. This was a sensitive topic for him, so he looked down, deciding to get lost in to his own world before realizing he had more to say. Then, he raised a brow when Aurora made her statement about him traveling around unsafe, feeling slightly insulted. "Hey, I might be a kid, but I know a thing or two about self-defense."

 

Euphemia dropped the bucket of water onto the group, the door of her home closing right behind before she leaned against it. She placed her hand over her chest as she leaned forward, panting; she had practically sprinted her way back home, and by how she was running, the bucket of water was half way empty now. A bead of sweat rolled down her temple as she regained her breath, picking the bucket back up. The young woman made her way towards her mother's bedside, seeing she was still asleep. A faint smile formed on the girl's lips as she gently placed the bucket beside the bed, Euphemia kneeling down at her mother's bedside. "I'm home." She grabbed her mother's hand, gently squeezing it before she rose back to her feet. Her smile faded as her body began trembling, her mind returning to what had happened to the pool of water. How did I...

Euphemia shook her head lightly and made her way towards a different part of her home, sitting down on a chair that sat against a wall. Maybe she was just imagining things, however, she doubted it. It was solid ice, and she knew it. Her lips pressed tightly together as her attention shifted towards the bucket of water she had brought home. They needed that water, but it couldn't hurt to at least try again. ...Right? Her brows furrowed as she rose to her feet and made her way towards the bucket; she knelt down and stared down at the water. "I shouldn't do this..." she muttered, her eyes momentarily turning to her mother as she heard her move. As soon as she saw her mother did not wake up, Euphemia slowly moved her hand over the bucket and slowly lowered it to the water. Hesitantly for a moment, she pulled her hand back and closed her eyes tightly. Making one last thought, she kept her eyes closed and quickly moved her hand down to the water. She opened her eyes and looked down at the bucket, seeing the water had turned to ice.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora nodded and ruffled Poke's hair. He was a cute kid and there was obviously something wrong with him. If he didn't want to talk about it, she wasn't going to pry. But he couldn't wander Athens by himself, especially if he didn't have money. He wouldn't last til morning. That wasn't something she could live with. "Poke, would you like to come stay with my family? You shouldn't be all by yourself." She smiled at him reassuringly and held out some more grapes for him to nibble on.

 

He got a sense of uncomfortableness when she ruffled his hair. He was not used to that, at all. "Uhhh..." He was surprised when Aurora asked him if he'd like to stay at her home. "Whaa....?" This really gave Poke some confusion, but he didn't argue with the grapes. After biting one, he said "Sure, I guess? Haven't been in a house for a long time."

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora couldn't help but laugh at the house remark. Poke was in for a treat. "It's...not exactly a house." It was something much, much greater. She waited until they finished up the food and then dusted off her dress as she stood. Home wasn't too far away, but it would still take a bit of time to walk all the way back their. When she entered town, the suitor had taken her on a chariot ride. Horses were much faster, but she preferred to walk. Exercise was good. "You're in for a treat. We'll get you cleaned up, fresh change of clothes, and a real meal in your stomach. You're going to love it." There was a large grin on her face and she turned in the direction of the vineyard.

 

"Exactly, huh?" He wondered what she meant by that. Was it a mansion? he'd find out when he'd get there, so he was going to have to wait. He smiled as Aurora elaborated on what would happen to him when he got in, except for the part of the change of clothes. "Change my clothes? What's wrong with the ones I have now, besides the fact they're a bit dusty?" He looked down at themselves. They weren't a little dusty, they were VERY dusty. Instead of being bright-red, his leather coat was covered in dust with small patches of red. The same went for his blue jeans. "I like these clothes. They were the first ones I stole, and probably the only ones I'll ever wear for a long time."

 

"Okay, seriously, I have no idea what you're trying to tell me. You seem like a smart bird, why don't you just grab something to write with, or arrange some pebbles; just something that I can actually understand. Hoping in a semi-circle doesn't help at all, and it is only more confusing. Now if you don't explain to me what you're trying to say soon, you're going to end up as dinner for my family, because you're a big bird, and they're a big, hungry family. Get me?" Kaji stood with his back straight and eyed the bird. This bird was obviously trying to tell him something, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what it was saying. Of course, he wouldn't really cook the bird, but he needed to give it some sort of incentive to try something different. Although, there was a small part of him that did want to make it into dinner, because he was hungry, it was lunch time, and he had a giant bird just fooling around in front of him.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora laughed at the boy some more. He was awfully worked up over nothing. She hadn't been around a man so charming in a long time and sadly that man was a boy. Were he ten years older, she wouldn't mind her parents sending him to meet her. That, unfortunately, was not the case. "I just mean that you'll get clean clothes. You'll get something temporary to wear while the help washes your current outfit. Once it's clean, you can change right back. I promise. You can also have some spare clothing. It's unsanitary to wear the same thing every single day."

As they walked, she found it refreshing that he had not grown strangely greedy and selfish. Aurora was starting to get the feel that it wasn't just related to her family's wealth, that there was more to it, until she met the boy. He has no idea who she or her family are, and he showed no signs like all the others. Her parents were probably right. It was all in her head. They weren't actually changing because of her presence, but shaking the feeling and knowing were two different things. There were still the few times men had actually attacked her.

 

He wondered for a moment about how it was unsanitary. Sure, same old clothes everyday would make it stinky, but unhealthy? He'd best not argue since she was probably the expert on health. "Well, alright then. I can live with that." He couldn't help but smile. A real house, full stomach, and getting cleaned up. He really was a lucky guy. And this girl...she was so generous. Maybe, just maybe...

"Umm...Aurora, can I ask you something?" He was seriously regretting what he just said. Was he really going to ask her? Would Aurora call him crazy? This could ruin the chance for a new life. Then, something popped in his head, a thought that made his decision to speak his mind clear;He had a family, and a treasure to find. It wouldn't matter either way, he wouldn't give up his quest, meaning that he'd have to leave his new home after a while.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora glanced down at him, noticing the serious tone and then back on the road. The smile from her face had slowly started to disappear, but then she gave him a flash of a grin for reassurance. "Sure. What about?" They were making better time then she anticipated. The wine heiress could already see her home in the distance, along with the hundreds of trellises that encompassed the house. Aurora stopped walking and faced Poke. She would rather give him his full attention for whatever it was he wanted then only half listen as they walked.

 

He sighed. Well, here it goes... "Do you know anyone that's able to...do strange things? By strange, I mean...well..." He sighed once more. "Well...I'm able to...to control the temperature. I can make it hot or cold. I don't know how, but I can...Do you know anyone else with this power?" He braced himself for any random insult that was about to be thrown at him.

 

​

The sins of jealousy and anger
made this man deal unjustly with one bringing blessings
-Dionysus​

​

Aurora resisted the urge to laugh since Poke seemed rather serious. She shook her head. The things children came up with these days. Everyone liked to play pretend, but he looked like he seriously believed he had special powers. It was a little sad. She wondered what had happened to the poor boy that would make him believe such things. "No I'm sorry. Not that I know of, but I mean... I don't leave my house often. There might be, I just don't know." She started walking again. Her mother was going to have a heyday with her if she didn't get home soon. "If you'd like, I can help you search."

 

He scratched his head awkwardly. "No, no thanks." Maybe I'm just going a bit crazy...

​(Short post is short :[)