#v'p

[vartouhix-archive-blog]

Over the course of the day, Vartouhi's pace went from brisk and purposeful to slow and unmotivated. The day had proved completely useless. Her dark eyes were dull, lips pressed together a little more than her standard resting face. If that weren't enough, the disappointment was evident in the way her shoulders sagged slightly. The sun had gone down long ago, and she was simply meandering about the city now, trying to decide if she would prefer breaking into a restaurant or an apartment to eat. She cursed under her breath in Balahyan, shaking her head slowly. How degrading for a princess to resort to criminal activity to survive.

She approached the corner of an intersection, staring across at the buildings as she wait for the light to change so she could walk over. Vartouhi's eyes wandered over the different shops, though she lingered on a little cafe with its windows still bright. She could see a person inside bustling around--no doubt trying to get ready to close up and go home. She watched that person, envious. How lovely it would be to work in such a quaint little place, even if the overhang jutting out from the wall above the doors was a bit old and rickety-looking. With nothing better to occupy her attention while she stood waiting, her gaze followed that person.

[vartouhix-archive-blog]

The princess lowered herself to sit on the bank of a small creek, propping up one ankle on the other leg's knee. The corners of her lips turned down, brows creasing as her nose scrunched in a slight grimace. The bottoms of her feet were black with grime from the city streets--again. Blood was smeared across the foot she was examining, and it still seeped out slowly from the gash going from the inner curve of her heel up across the center of her foot. "Careless," she muttered quietly to herself, shaking her head at her own idiocy. Just an hour and a half earlier, she hadn't paid attention for one moment, distracted by the smell of food wafting from a kiosk, and she'd stepped right on top of the jagged end of a broken beer bottle.

Limping all the way to the park hadn't been fun, but it had been necessary. She couldn't afford to fly herself out to the park that extended back into woods. In the interest of not being discovered for what she really was, she'd opted to take her time about walking there. The amount of people milling about had dwindled on the way there as the sun went down, which she found a bit odd. Normally the city was still pretty lively at night, but tonight it seemed the full moon shooed everyone away into their homes. Meanwhile here she was, forced to remain out in the chilly night air so she could patch herself up before she could try to scout out a place to sneak into.

Carefully, she dipped her feet into the water, starting off with trying to rub away all the dirt from them. Vartouhi couldn't attempt to heal herself until the task was done, or she might seal dirt into the wound and cause it to get infected. She hissed at the sting when her fingers wiped at the area around the wound, and tried to go a little more slowly and carefully. With a sigh, she mused that at least the park at night almost guaranteed her privacy and safety. Almost.

[vartouhix-archive-blog]

luhan + vartouhi

Soundtrack File

Vartouhi watched the people sift through the little alleys between the open-air market's stalls, clustering here and there in talkative, lively masses at the stalls with wares high in demand. She did not often afford herself a break when she was out searching for employment or a person who could repair her vessel. However, when she first stumbled on this place last week, she couldn't help but sit herself down on an empty crate and just watch. It reminded her so, so much of the market in the palace's surrounding province. Only the bright colors of the tarps and the general atmosphere were similar, though, she reminded herself as the breeze carried a whiff of the extremely pungent fisherman's booth. If fish had smelled so disgusting on Balah, she could not remember, or perhaps the natural floral scents in the air had masked it.

Her eyes passed over the faces of many people, simply people-watching to take her mind off the ever-present worries for her current situation. She passed over his face, at first, but her eyes wandered back to him immediately after, brows furrowing slightly in confusion at the head of dark hair. She could have sworn it was her dear friend. Vartouhi's eyes fixated on the back of his head, willing him to turn around again so she could have another look.

And when he finally did, her eyes widened. The resemblance to her friend was uncanny--from this distance, at least. He was a few booths ahead from where she sat with one foot tucked behind the ankle of the leg she had bent up against her chest, arms looped loosely around it. She desperately wanted to speak with him, curious if even his voice was similar. For now she was content to watch, eyes scanning the many items he was preparing to purchase.