Northern Water Tribe :: A Crystal Sunset

Subject: Northern Water Tribe :: A Crystal Sunset Tue Apr 17, 2012 11:33 pm

| Prince Castiel |

Spoiler:

Castiel was still, peering out over the expanse of water: a wet and abyssal wonder, wondering what else was out there. Summer had long since melted the abundant ice floes close to the shore, moving the 'land' inward and effectively making way for small merchant ships scattered 'round. The prince stood alongside his brother, his twin, Cassian, awaiting the arrival of a particular liner. The object of their eternal patience was the passenger liner, The Cecilia. White and grand, reserved only for those of higher status. Since the early morning, the twins have seen both similar and dissimilar ships enter the harbor, but none of them were The Cecilia herself.

Cassian hadn't spoken a single word since the night before, when it rained so softly Kihana was leaning over the balcony to catch snowflakes over her tongue and he chastely warned her not to tip over the edge. He'd always been quiet. Silent. Cassian found 'unnecessary communication' both annoying and unneeded, much to his twin's displeasure. Cassian had always been more talkative around his family, but his aloof nature gravitated so much in public Castiel gave up communicating with him altogether when they were around others. Cassian's body language spoke volumes enough, however, and their 'twin telepathy' proved useful at times.

Both twins had their hoods up, disguising their telltale long, dark hair from view of the civilians. Castiel had his hair pinned tightly at the nape of his neck, whereas Cassian still sported his high ponytail, lying over one shoulder. The other boy gazed mutely out over the ocean, too. Eventually, the spotted a ship in the distance. White. Pure. The Cecilia.

"It's late," Castiel remarked, shifting on his feet slightly.

Cassian glanced at him, before glaring out over the ocean again. He glared a lot, too.

Castiel sighed. "I wonder what she'll be like; Shiori. Father seemed excited to meet her .. so much he sent us to fetch her personally. Who do you think she is to him?"

"His niece," Cassian replied abstractly, shrugging his shoulders when Castiel shot him a curious look. "I overheard him talking to the chief. His sister moved away years ago and now her daughter finally found out who she was. It's not rocket science."

"She must be confused," Castiel sympathized. "I would feel very upset if I knew I had royal blood and no one told me. Not for the purpose of it being advantageous; but simply for the fact that I had no idea I had connections to a king and queen. They might've missed me, just as Anuk did."

Again, his brother shrugged. "Anuk never knew her. He's just curious to see what she's become over the years." Oh Cassian, always so .. Castiel couldn't place a word for it. Cynical and pessimistic did not seem to be the true fit. Literal, perhaps. Cassian was brutally honest and it never failed to upset the other twin. Sometimes.

The twins waited until the ship docked another hour later, before scrambling over to the loading area. The docking area for The Cecilia was enclosed and heated. The ship entered through a sheet of ice and unloaded from a makeshift bay. There wasn't supposed to be so many passengers. Castiel expected to pick Shiori right out from the bunch.

Guest

SHIORI

Northern Water Tribe :: A Crystal Sunset Karla_9484

Shiori looked out over the bay, the cool crystal water brushing up against the side of the sparkling vessel. Tiny droplets brushed up from the edge and brushed her face softly. Her hair waved in the wind, and her serious Grey eyes looked out into the setting sun. Shiori anticipated her arrival, she was very eager to meet her family. So many questions ran through her mind. What was her family to be like? Would they accept her? As soon as she contacted them, they seemed to be rather excited. Responding as fast as they could, even saying she would have personal escorts from the dock.

She smiled, it was very nice of them to do this, unnecessary, but nice. She was grateful. Shiori remembered just as her mother had told her the news, it shocked her, she was still shocked today, and it had been at least a month. Did they remember her mother? Did they even know she was alive? They probably didn't even know of Shiori's existence. This was expected, her mother ran away, her grandmother and grandfather dead. she was curious to see if her Uncle remembered her mother... hopefully.

Shiori's eyes finally set on the shimmering Northern Water tribe. She was supposed to arrive earlier, why did she arrive so late though? Shiori thought about that one woman who boarded late, a rather stuck up old woman. Why was she so important? Why was she to be considered above them all? Shiori sighed and shook her head. She should dwell on that now. She was on her way up North. They were close. Nervous shivers ran through her body as her eyes had looked at the city in front of her, glistening in the sun. The wall opened up to let the boat pass through. It entered, streaming into a small bay where the ship docked.

Shiori sighed, slung her bag over her shoulder and simply muttered to herself, “Alright, let’s do this.” She passed from the deck of the large ship over to the landing. Many peasants and people alike scurried off the boat. What was their hurry? She walked down slowly, pulling her hair behind her ear.

She peered out once she stepped onto the dock. Out in front of her were two cloaked figures. Were these her escorts? She wondered who they were, most likely just royal guards, no one too special. With her hands at her sides she stepped forward a little more.

Subject: Re: Northern Water Tribe :: A Crystal Sunset Wed Apr 18, 2012 9:24 pm

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Cassian scanned over the small crowd of people, many of whom he recognized. There was Sienna, for one, a bitter Earth Kingdom treasurer who happened to come to the North for some political affair he didn't really care about. She greeted them. Sienna had immediately recognized their faces despite their hoods. Castiel removed his, finding no further prompting to keep it on, and waved kindly. The woman was complaining about being late to board the ferry. Cassian scoffed outright; she should've gotten her lazy ass up sooner.

"Okay, we need to find her before she wanders off," Castiel murmured.

Obviously, the other twin thought airily, but got back to looking around. His blue-lavender eyes fell on their target almost immediately: a young woman with long dark hair. Kanuk had explained to them her general appearance, and also dropped in the fact that she would have been the youngest on the ship. The other occupants of the ferry were much older, private citizens. Just looking at them made Cassian's skin crawl. Many of them acted as if the world owed them something. He privately recalled each and every patronizing remark and gesture elders made towards him.

Of course, his idiot brother hadn't located her yet. Cassian fixed him an irritated glance before nodded his head in Shiori's direction. The woman looked somewhat apprehensive, as most people that wounded up in a place they've never been before did. Common Sense, his trusty friend and companion, screamed at him that this was Shiori. In the flesh.

Castiel gave a start. "Oh, I feel like a dolt," he complained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

His twin tore forward, intent on getting the other girl's attention. Cassian followed behind him, more sedate, face slack and disinterested. Why the hell was he here again? Father could've easily sent real guards. Castiel could never travel the pathways and canals without being swarmed by children. Citizens were not ignorant to the younger twin's antisocial tendencies, but Cassian had his fair share of overcrowding any time he ventured out without any kind of disguise. F*ck it all.

"Excuse me, Madam," Castiel interjected in that painstakingly nerve-wracking way of his. "I am Castiel Leiheng, and this my brother, Cassian Leiheng. Is your name Shiori?" His tone was cautious but laced with hints of excitement. For as long as he could remember, it'd just been him, Cassian, Kihana and Roman. Their cousins were all either too distant to even develop a rapport with, or too old to socialize with comfortably. At least Shiori was young. And Castiel's compassionate nature must've been feasting on her confusion and apprehension at the moment.

Cassian, forever the rational twin, knew that despite Shiori being only two years their senior, she was still very much a woman and might not have any interest in children such as themselves. Cassian decided he would at least attempt to tolerate her; she was his cousin after all. But Castiel and the others came first. If she turned out to be some intolerable wench, Kanuk could do with her whatever he pleased; she was not his burden.

Castiel glanced back at him, eyebrows pinching, as if to say, "Say 'hi' to her. Stop being rude.'

To appease his brother, Cassian offered a cursory nod.

Guest

SHIORI

[center]Shiori watched as one one the hooded figures brought down his hood to greet and older lady. The one that caused the entire vessel to be late, because it just had to wait up for her. She then watched from a small distance as one had spotted her, the one with his hood still up, yet he didn't walk forward. The one without it seemed to be... well not quite there as he looked all around for her. She giggled to herself, and smiled as finally he noticed her, with the help of the other gentleman next to him.

Slowly they both walked forward. Yup these were her escorts, well at least she had faith that one of them could get her somewhere safe, while the other, well he was a little sketchy. The one without the hood spoke out to her,"Excuse me, Madam," He said politely. Madam? she questioned in her mind, who were these dwerps? Defiantly had to be taking orders, and they seemed a little young too. A year younger at least. "I am Castiel Leiheng, and this my brother, Cassian Leiheng. Is your name Shiori?" He had asked, while the other seemed not to care about her standing in front of him. Typical...

" Yes, i am Shiori. " She said looking them over. They weren't quite what she expected. Shiori expected a group of men in armor, that spoke a little more driven and marched as they walked, but of course the world had different plans. She had never seen any man in armor besides Duran, and he was just in the water tribe militia. Not like he wore alot of armor and he certainly didn't speak like a solider. Well her mind was a little spacey at this point.

She glanced over the man's shoulder to see his brother painfully acknowledge her existence. On the inside she sort of just huffed, but because she would be respectful nothing escaped her lips beside, " Thank you, i appreciate you offering your service in my regards. I know i'm not worth much, so this is very kind of you two. " She said politely while pulling her hair back behind her ear once more.

Subject: Re: Northern Water Tribe :: A Crystal Sunset Sat Apr 21, 2012 12:53 pm

| Prince Castiel |

Spoiler:

Castiel was immediately beside himself. "Oh no; please do not say you're not worth much. We were sent to personally escort you on behalf of King Kanuk."

Castiel took in her appearance. They did look as if they could be related. In fact, Shiori did hold gray eyes, a trait of their younger brother that hadn't come from either parent. However, Roman's eyes were more of a metallic, silvery gray. Shiori's were darker.

To his left, Cassian pulled down his hood, removing the minimal shadows hiding the rest of his face and hair from view. He would've considered that an act of courtesy -- in that odd way of his.

"Come with me," Castiel told her. "The palace is just this way. We're traveling obscurely, so I'm afraid Cassian and I must put up our hoods once more." At this, he raised his hood and made way for a canal merging with the bay. The boy climbed into a somewhat-small boat moored there, and motioned for her to do the same. A single guard stood in the back, as if he were just furniture. Cassian stepped in after his brother, glancing around him without much interest.

Their incognitos wouldn't be so necessary if they were alone. Kanuk was concerned his niece would be caught off-guard if anyone were to recognize the twins and go on a adoring rampage, shoving presents and compliments in their faces, so the robes came forth. Their driver, a man Castiel knew quite well, greeted them with great fervor.

"Most of the trip will be taken by canal," he said enthusiastically. "I'll be sure to point out a few of the sites."