nice to meet you ;; aran

"So you're telling me," asked a tall, blonde boy. "That there's more world's outside of Amelia?" He had a smirk on his face, and his tone was condescending. Freaks like this woman deserved to be picked on. He was probably compensating for something.

Zoe nodded, a calm look on her face and her large eyes were slightly closed. She was use to dealing with non believers, and other clio who thought her lifestyle was strange. It never bothered her, only saddened her. If everybody was as spiritual as her clio, the world would be much more peaceful.

"You're a freak lady!" The blonde boys red headed friend yelled. "There's no way!" The two boys were laughing together, picking fun of the crazy blonde woman and her weird animal skin clothes. They started making fun of her clothes, and the items around her campsite, even going as far as to mess around with her personal belongings.

Still, Zoe did nothing. She didn't like confrontation, didn't believe in it. All she did was sigh sadly. Instead of fighting against the young boys, she began to pray to the Gods for their well being. Hopefully some day they'd become more ethereal as she.

Aran had been in Dahlin today, buying new tennis shoes. The soles of her old ones and worn out completely, and when Amerie caught her duct taping them back together, she'd given her some cash and insisted she go get some new, nicer ones.

She was wearing her new ones now, and they were pretty fucking awesome. They were so comfortable she decided to break 'em in by going on a run back to Solas through the nearby woods. On her way through, she came across a kind of...weird sight.

There was a blonde girl with big eyes sitting at some kind of camp site thing, and a couple guys walking around and messing with her shit. "Hey!" she yelled, running over. "Are these assholes botherin' you?" She glared at the guys, who had stopped and were both staring at her.

Zoe's thoughts were interrupted when another clio began to approach her campsite. Nanuq was worried that it was another clio coming to join the two mean boys bothering her clio, but she soon realized it was somebody there to help.

Aran wrote:"Are these assholes botherin' you?"

"Oh no," she replied airily. "They're just having a little fun...two young clio who don't know any better yet." She shut her eyes, deciding it was a good time to start meditating.

"Oh. Are...are you sure?" Aran asked, looking confusedly between the two asshole (?) guys, who also looked confused at this point, and the blonde girl. It had seemed like they were fucking with her stuff and bothering her, but maybe she'd totally misinterpreted the situation. The girl didn't seem bothered or upset at all.

The blonde boys confused look was replaced with a smirk. He shook his head and said, "Come on, Trent, let's get away from this freak show." Whatever the two boys were holding, they threw down and left, laughing away and making fun of the two weird women as they left.

Zoe opened her eyes after a moment and glanced up at the woman who was sort of her rescuer. "Thank you," she said. "Although, the situation would have solved itself eventually I'm sure." She smiled at her, "Come sit with me!"

Aran probably hesitantly sat, and Zoe watched her, a smile still on her face. "My name is Zoe, and this is Nanuq, what is your name?"

Aran was too confused by whatever the fuck was going on to be mad about the one dude's freak show comment. First it looked like they were harassing the girl, then she said they weren't, then they went and made fun of her again? What?

"Come sit with me!"

She slowly sat, sort of at a loss right now. "Aran," she said when the girl, Zoe, asked for her name. She pointed at Gamma. "That's Gamma." She looked back to where the two guys had been just moments before. "What the fuck was that even about?"

"Just some nonbelievers," Zoe replied. "It's very sad, they don't love themselves, how can they expect to love the world if they don't love themselves?" She started to braid her hair into a fishtail braid, before continuing. "I love the land, the ocean, the sky, our little island...there has to be something more than just this small chunk of land." She sighed, a dream-like expression on her face. "I've been everywhere, but off this beloved island, there's got to be something more." She reached out and took one of Aran's hands into hers. "You have strong hands," she remarked. "You are very strong." Zoe never really learned about personal space. She was also never really in her own mind one hundred percent.

"Nonbelievers of what?" Aran asked. Fate? The gods of Amelia? To be honest Aran didn't really believe in that crap either.

The more Zoe talked, the more Aran was pretty sure she was just high as fuck. Which, hey, Aran wasn't gonna judge, she used to do all kinds of shit back in the day. Still, even for a stoner Zoe was pretty weird, with her ramblings about the land and the sky and the island. "Um, thanks," Aran said to the compliment about her (and her hands?) being strong. "I try to be."

Aran wrote:"Nonbelievers of what?"

"Of a world beyond our own," Zoe replied. "They'll learn someday..."

Aran wrote:"I try to be."

Zoe nodded. She could tell that Aran had been through a lot, had a rough past. She didn't know the extent, and probably never would, but there was just something about her. She smiled again. "Are you hungry?" She asked. "I made some rabbit jerky the other day, it came out just wonderful."

"Of a world beyond our own," Zoe replied. "They'll learn someday..."

"What--like, other planets you mean?" Aran asked. She had read about other planets in their solar system in a book one time, but didn't know that there were any clio out there that didn't believe in 'em. Shouldn't kids learn that in school or something? It seemed kinda important, somehow.

"Are you hungry?" She asked. "I made some rabbit jerky the other day, it came out just wonderful."

Aran wasn't really hungry, but she had never had rabbit before (that she knew of) and was interested. "Sure," she said. "You catch 'em yourself?"

That was kinda cool. Aran had never been hunting herself, since there weren't exactly a ton of wild animals roaming around the streets of Stonecraft, but she had never been one to be picky about where food came from. Clio in Stonecraft couldn't afford to be, anyways.

Aran wrote:"What--like, other planets you mean?"

Zoe shook her head, a patient look on her face. "No," she said. "Beyond our ocean, beyond our island."

Aran wrote:"You catch 'em yourself?"

This time, Zoe nodded. "I make all of my animal traps myself," she explained. "And I hunt, with a bow and arrow mostly." She then began to explain her and her family's rituals whenever they would catch an animal. How they would thank the animal for their hide and meat, before finally killing it for its use. They always used every part of the body, from the tail to the eyes.

Zoe wrote: "No," she said. "Beyond our ocean, beyond our island."

"I don't think I get it," Aran said. Did Zoe mean another big island? Wouldn't they know about that, if it existed? Like wouldn't someone have found it? Sailed around the ocean and come across it? To be honest Aran didn't actually know, she didn't know anything about geography.

Zoe's whole thing about hunting sounded pretty fucking cool, though. Well, Aran didn't really get the thanking the animal thing. What the hell was the point of that? It's not like it could understand, and even if it could, being thanked isn't exactly a consolation when you're being fucking killed. "That's cool," she said. "Why d'you thank the animal, though?"

"Oh hey, this is good," she added about the rabbit, as an afterthought.

Aran wrote:"I don't think I get it,"

"It's okay," Zoe replied. "Someday you'll understand." She hadn't said it in a condescending tone, like she thought Aran was stupid for not understanding, more like an encouraging way, as if Zoe was training Aran at a new job, but Aran wasn't quite getting the cash register just yet.

Aran wrote:"Why d'you thank the animal, though?"

"Out of respect for the animal," she explained. "Just like how I would thank you if you lended me your coat on a chilly day, or vise versa."

Aran wrote:"Oh hey, this is good,"

Zoe smiled again, bright with pride. "I'm glad you like it!" She replied. "It's my mother's recipe, I've been trying to perfect it for weeks!"

Zoe wrote:"Someday you'll understand."

"Not if you don't explain it," Aran pointed out. She didn't say it in a mean or rude way, but Zoe couldn't expect her to ever understand whatever she was talking about when all she did was say somethin' vague and then assure her she'd get it one day. That wasn't how clio learned things.

Zoe wrote:"Out of respect for the animal," she explained. "Just like how I would thank you if you lended me your coat on a chilly day, or vise versa."

That...wasn't really the same thing at all ("thanks for letting me eat you, rabbit, now here's the life you gave me back"), but whatever. Aran wasn't the judgmental type and she wasn't gonna keep questioning why Zoe did something just because she wouldn't do the same thing. Different strokes for different folks and all that.

Zoe wrote:"It's my mother's recipe, I've been trying to perfect it for weeks!"

"Oh yeah?" Aran asked. "Never been much of a cook myself." In the Solas mansion, Amerie had professional cooks who prepared dinner for everyone. It was fuckin' awesome.

Aran wrote:"Not if you don't explain it,"

Zoe really had no idea she was being so vague. That was just how she was...out of it. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them and smiled. In her mind, this girl was curious, and curiosity was a wonderful thing. "Nobody has every left this island," she told her. "Not a soul, or at least if anybody has they never returned." She had a dreamy look on her face as she continued. "What if those clio who never returned found somewhere beautiful?"

Aran wrote:"Never been much of a cook myself."

"I've been cooking since the day I started walking," she replied proudly.

Aran just looked at Zoe for a second, trying to figure out if she was serious. Clio had definitely left the island and come back before, they did it all the time. Aran had never gone to school, but she still knew about Martha's Vineyard. There was also Nadar Island, and that one farmy place. But...maybe Zoe had just never learned that. Aran didn't like to judge clio for not knowing things, especially since she herself wasn't exactly the most educated clio around.

"Actually there are other islands," she said with a nod. "I never been to any of 'em myself, but I know clio who have."

Aran wrote:"Actually there are other islands," she said with a nod. "I never been to any of 'em myself, but I know clio who have."

"Oh I'm not talking about Nadar, Taiger, or Martha's Vineyard," Zoe replied. "I've been to them as well." She smiled at Aran. "Maybe I can take you to them sometime!" Using her hands while she talked, she described to Aran what could be beyond the little islands of Amelia. Miles and miles away, there had to be more land than the lands they knew and grew up on. Clio thought that Zoe was crazy, none of them ever believed her, but she knew.

Zoe wrote:"Maybe I can take you to them sometime!"

Aran laughed a bit. "You wanna take me to the islands?" she asked. "You just met me."

She listened as Zoe described her ideas, about how there still had to be uncharted territory in the vast ocean, and how maybe there were more islands out there that hadn't been discovered yet. "Mm, I'unno," Aran replied thoughtfully. Cuir and Ughdarras clio had to've explored the ocean, right? "I feel like someone woulda found 'em by now, you know? But I guess anything is possible."

Aran wrote:"You wanna take me to the islands?" she asked. "You just met me."

Zoe smiled and nodded. "That's okay," she replied. "You'll love them!" She didn't think it was strange that she had just met Aran. She already considered her a friend. It made her so happy that Aran had been sitting with her this  whole time, listening and talking. That's how you made friends.

Aran wrote:"I feel like someone woulda found 'em by now, you know? But I guess anything is possible."

"Well," she replied thoughtfully. "If that's true, they haven't documented it yet!" Zoe bit her lip while smiling mischievously at Aran.

"You have already learned so much about me," she said. "But I haven't learned a lot about you yet, where are you from?" Zoe felt a little embarrassed. She didn't like talking about herself too much, it was more fun learning about others than teaching them.