❀ The Younger Twin ❀

{ ⚘ Siluka’s Attire - Barn Dance ⚘ }

Profit: x3

[ +4,500G ]: For working at Carosello Café.

[ +3,000G ]: For working at Flower Fair.

[ +3,000G ]: For working at Celestia Church.

[ +6,000G ]: For being the Boss of Flower Fair.

[ +4,500G ]: For being the Owner of Celestia Church with a menu.

[ +1,500G ]: For responding to an open post.

Expenses: x3

None!

New Balance: 286,552G

dragon-twin·:

Ren loved his sister dearly, but he had always felt lonely at home. His only sister, but also his only friend was Rin. For years, that was how it had been. Eventually, he made some friends in customers, but none that were the same age as him. Everything was different now, though. He could go out and see people compared to back home where there was no one for miles.

A breeze blew by and Ren noticed Siluka shiver. It was summer, so he wasn’t wearing a jacket or a coat he could offer her. He did have his bag of clothes and other necessities from home that he could rummage through for a jacket, but that might be weird. Ren thought about it for a moment before he decided against it. 

He had been afraid that he was too forward, but relief washed over Ren as Siluka responded positively. Soon after the relief, warmness spread through his body. He had made a friend. Ren couldn’t wait to tell his sister about this.

“I don’t have anything to do,” he said a bit too quickly. “I mean…I just got here so all I have to do is settle in to my new apartment.” Following suit, Ren got to his feet and grabbed his bag along with the other bag of groceries. A smile formed on his face at being called foolish. He could tell by the slight expression change that she meant it in a lighthearted way. “Draco?” Ren looked back to see Draco now standing as well, looking back at him quizzically. “You okay with walking some more?” The dragon’s expression morphed into that of joy as he stepped closer. “I think he’s okay with it.”

•｡ ❀ 𝒮iluka tittered ever so lightly - like a feather floating in the breeze - toward the sudden shift in his speech; it reflected the slight change in his aura - from a clear sky blue to speckles of white scattered like fluffy clouds - and while part of her felt that she should disclose to him that she can read auras, she decided to keep it her little secret. Innocent in nature, her innate ability may have been, but she also understood how it could be perceived as a breach of privacy; however, to her, it was simply another layer to her interpretation of who people are and how they walk about the world. With Ren, specifically, she started to grow fond of who he was - yet, in the pit of her stomach, there was a strange sensation... akin to butterflies... toward the warmth he expressed toward her upon the prospect of a friendship. If she were to be honest, she could not remember the last time someone other than her sister desired to be her friend - the meaning and symbolism behind the world having faded over time.

𝒜nd his bond with Draco was evident through their jovial interaction with each other; it spoke volumes of how a human being treated another creature that was not part of their kind. She supposed that he was included with her spending time with Ren - and she did not mind one single bit. 

dragon-twin·:

Ren smiled as Draco joined the two. He looked a bit irritated for a moment (perhaps he wasn’t getting enough attention) until SIluka stroked him. Draco then looked to Ren, expecting him to follow suit which he did, running his hand down the side of Draco’s back. They both returned their gaze to the ocean and enjoyed the silence. The only sound were the gentle waves of the ocean and some insects chirping. 

“Wow…that’s beautiful.” SIluka really had a way with words. His thoughts were redirected towards his own sister. Was it the right move to leave home? With Siluka’s definition, he had in fact left home. Did he abandon his family? He realized he had left the cafe with one less employee, but he had no doubt that his mother could find a replacement. Although, the thought made him a bit sad. No, he couldn’t lose perspective. He left home to become more independent and see the world. It was actually a bit hard to believe he had made that giant step. Now, he was an ocean away from home. Siluka said something interesting about the ocean though. The ocean he was looking at with Siluka was the same ocean he looked at home and maybe his mother or sister was looking at the ocean too. 

“Yeah, I do. Arcadia seems to be in touch with nature much like home and now I have you…” His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed as he realized what he had said. “Er..I mean, well, I met you and I hope…I hope we can be friends.” Ren brushed his hand through his hair and shifted his eyes to the side bashfully.

•｡ ❀ 𝒮iluka was caught off guard by his words - sincere and genuine, albeit spoken in a manner that could have revealed their true implication - casting her gaze down toward the sea as rosy hues of pink danced across her cheeks; the word echoed within her mind after it came from his lips - a friend... merely thinking of it left a trace of bittersweetness in her mouth as if it was foreign to the tongue - excluded from her vocabulary and native language. Ever since she was a young child, the only person she considered to be her friend was her twin sister - and, of course, there were the villagers she grew up alongside with, but to a certain extent... they were simply family. She never believed she needed a friend other than Iluka, for she was all she wished to be with... but, as the priestess took an introspective glance at herself, there was a lingering of loneliness that resided in her - an isolation rooted in a general distrust of others, especially men; however, given the time she had spent with Ren thus far, he was certainly not like the others... oh, she did not know what to think.

𝒜 gentle breeze rushed over the ocean and past the three of them sitting on the cliffside - the wind passing through her air and gliding against her skin that was moist from the ocean; yet, as the cool sensation gave her the chills, it was what she heard that truly caused her to shiver - like it was a message from the spirits of the land to follow her heart instead of her mind that, at times, could envy the turbulent waters that pirates traverse through on their darkest days. With clarity, she paused for a moment and listened to what she believed to be real of her perception of Ren - and a gentle smile appeared.

Profit:

[ +1,500G ]: For working at Carosello Café.

[ +1,000G ]: For working at Flower Fair.

[ +1,000G ]: For working at Celestia Church.

[ +2,000G ]: For being the Boss of Flower Fair.

[ +1,500G ]: For being the Owner of Celestia Church with a menu.

[ +500G ]: For responding to an open post.

Expenses:

None!

New Balance: 263,952G

dragon-twin·:

Siluka seemed to think for a bit before agreeing. Perhaps she was scared. “Don’t worry. Draco would catch you if you fell,” he said, doing his best to assure her. He wasn’t sure if he could put his faith in a dragon he had just met or a person.

To Ren’s delight, she took that leap of faith and sat beside him.The sun was nearing the horizon and Ren was glad he left home when he did. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to experience this moment and although they had just met, he was glad to be sharing this moment with Siluka. 

At times, Ren wondered if he would ever make a friend other than his sister. They had each other and that was all they needed. Yet, there he was, watching the sun set with someone he had met only minutes ago. A new hope began to form. 

“Do you miss home?“ He didn’t want to pry, but she had been asking him questions, so she probably wouldn’t mind him throwing a few back. Ren had gotten the impression that she did in fact miss home, so he thought he knew how she would answer.

•｡ ❀ 𝒮he appreciated his humor to alleviate her worries regarding the impossible with this situation - giggling quietly underneath her breath; goodness, part of her attempted to reason why in the world she would leap to the wildest of conclusions like that. Siluka looked back at Draco who joined them along the cliffside - revealing a warm smile previously hidden behind a cool façade and petted his side; the more she gazed at him, though, the more she wondered if Ren rode him here from their island - or if it was too far - or if two could fit on him like a steed - but the idea of flying caused her to shiver. It was brave of her new acquaintance to not only tame a dragon but to train one to be as kind-hearted and friendly as he was - but, perhaps, their hearts were not as cold as the blood that ran through their veins; nevertheless, it did not matter to her either way at that moment - she was basking in the serenity of this moment with them whilst viewing the sun beginning to set.

𝒮ilence. It was peaceful to simply sit there together without exchanging words; nature always expressed its message to its inhabitants with no words - after all, the sunset and streaks of red and orange painted across the blue canvas of the sky was enough. When he spoke up, she was a little startled - but translating his voice into a question about her feelings toward Lulukoko Village changed the tone; she closed her eyes to think of an appropriate response. Iluka did not talk about their home all that much in hopes that they would be able to adjust quicker to Arcadia being their home - but it was with that thought that she determined her answer.

“𝓗ome is not a place,” the priestess faced the sea with a solemn expression on her face, “it’s a feeling. My sister is my home... wherever I am, as long as I am with her, then I am home.” Though, as of late, her sister seemed to be more distant than usual; part of her believed that she was finally found a friend on this island, and in all honesty, she was slightly jealous - but her happiness that Iluka was becoming accustomed to this island superseded that. “Do I miss my village? Yes... but I come to the water and feel its embrace... and remember that my village is never far away from me,” she placed a hand over her heart. Indeed, it was true that her sister meant the world to her - but even with those words said, her heart still yearned for something more; it was not necessarily Lulukoko Village, nor Iluka... but something else she still remained uncertain of.

dragon-twin·:

“No way, really?” he exclaimed followed by a gleeful chuckle. What a coincidence! “I wonder what else we have in common.” The way she said the latter part of sentence led Ren to believe she wasn’t too happy about her current situation. Maybe she would have preferred to have stayed in her village…or maybe he was just reading too into it.

Ren followed instruction and switched direction with a small nudge from Draco. Draco had been so quiet, Ren might have forgotten he was there if he wasn’t so large. They walked up a hill and soon were adjacent to a cliff overlooking the ocean. Following suit, he turned to face the water.

“Wow…” What a breathtaking view. The shimmering sea was beautifully contrasted with the setting sun. He couldn’t believe it had gotten so late, but he was glad it was because he got to see the scene before him. “Yeah, definitely,” he answered, eyes glued to the picturesque sight. Ren motioned Draco to follow him before walking towards the edge of the cliff. He took a seat, letting his legs dangle over the ocean below. Draco would surely catch him if he fell, so he felt no fear. Looking back to Siluka, he patted the ground beside him.

“Would you like to join me?”

•｡ ❀ 𝒜 simple gesture - innocent in nature - like accepting an invitation to sit next to someone, especially along a cliffside where one misstep could lead to an untimely demise, was associated with risk; thoughts of hypotheticals scattered across her mind like a rain shower: What if he were to push me? What if he were to corner me and rob me of my valuables? In the eyes of some, this may be considered paranoia or overthinking - but her and her sister have encountered enough bizarre situations and dangerous people where these questions must be considered for their own safety; to place their trust into someone was not a careless decision made on their behalves - and at the forefront of her mind, she planned to humbly decline and continue standing in the case scenario of a surprise attack.

𝓑ut what caught Siluka even more off guard was the fact that she did begin to trust him; thus far, he has not given any reason for her to question his reliability or reevaluate his intentions by engaging with her in the first place - his aura remained an indicator of his trustworthiness, so what exactly was it that she was afraid of? 

“𝒮ure,” she nodded - setting her bags of groceries down before walking over to his side and sitting down; the priestess maintained a respectable distance between the two, but at that moment, she felt calm - a sensation she oftentimes did not feel - much less in the company of another that was not her sister. 

dragon-twin·:

Ren was surprised by Siluka’s influx of questions. She didn’t seem like the type. Usually he was the one asking people about their homes and families. It was…nice, being able to share about his home with those unfamiliar of the cafe or the land surrounding it. As they were walking, he had noticed small differences from home. For example the birds were different from the ones that would flock around the ocean at home. Even the people dressed differently.

“My family is pretty small. It’s just me, my sister, and my mom.” He also considered his coworkers to be family in a sense, but that probably wasn’t what she was asking about. And then there was Pappy. Ren still wasn’t really sure who he was. As for his father, well he didn’t even come to mind because Ren didn’t even know the man. He never thought of his family as odd or incomplete because of his lack of father, though.

As SIluka described her home, Ren tried to picture it, but she didn’t give much to picture. He imagined somewhere tropical based on her description and her style of dress.He may have not been an expert in geography or different cultures, but his mom did the best she could homeschooling him and his sister.

“Yeah, I’m sure they will eventually. My mom doesn’t like to close the cafe, so I doubt it would be too often.” Ren recalled when his mother had fallen ill and his sister and him, still children, took up the role of running the cafe because they knew their mother would hate it being closed for an extended period of time. When she woke up however, she felt terribly guilty.

•｡ ❀ 𝒜s he continued to disclose more details about his life prior to his arrival to the island, Siluka discovered more similarities - even the most minuscule - they shared; from having a sister to living and working at a café with your family, there was a piece of him that resembled a shard of glass from a mirror - reflecting her image back to her of when she first came to Arcadia, albeit his enthusiasm toward this new opportunity was the factor that set him apart from her. Indeed, her insatiable curiosity led her to wonder - if his life back home was as picturesque as he was painting it on a canvas to be - why he uprooted himself and come to Arcadia of all places; alas, she imagined the unchartered waters she would be trekking into with that question - so she left it at bay until, maybe, another time when it would be appropriate.

𝒜 mother, too... sometimes, she envied those who knew and had a good relationship with their parents, but ultimately - the priestess grew up with her twin sister by her side; it was all she ever knew - so it was needless to consider the impossibilities.

“... 𝓑ack in my village, my sister and I also lived at and ran a café, though it was more of a tea house. When we came here, my sister wanted to expand our business, so... here we are.” Siluka did not hold any resentment toward her twin sister - or, at least, she tried not to - because in all honesty, she would follow her to the end of the earth if it meant that they would be together; however, she did not want to move away from all that they knew to this place, but... at the end of the day, it mattered more to her that she was with Iluka than anything else... even if it was at the price of her own happiness.

“𝒯his way!” Siluka nudged the dragon between the two, thus gently pushing into Ren like the domino effect to walk along a path that traveled upland - off the course of the beaten path, but she was certain that it would be a worthwhile detour; after heading up a hill and leaning a little to the right, they eventually returned to level land - the only exception that instead of grass on either side of them, a cliffside that oversaw the ocean was on one side of them - to which the priestess stopped in her path to face the horizon just beyond the sea.

[ Open Post! ]

•｡ ❀ 𝒲here flowers bloom, so does hope; to the local islanders of Arcadia, the Celestia Church was a holy sanctuary - an invaluable symbol of spirituality and otherworldliness that was precious to them. Siluka empathized with their adoration for the place of worship, for back home where she was from - she shared those same sentiments toward the shrine located nearby the village where she danced for the heavens above and wished for goodness; therefore, after coming into possession of the building from a previous employer who has since moved on to another place, it became a personal mission for her to restore its structure to its former beauty that has been idolized by the islanders for years and years - and even though she was not native to this land, she still felt the gratitude that was bequeathed unto her for her efforts - the expenditure of time and energy she put forth into this building - and, at the end of the day, a simple ‘thank you’ was enough. One of her favorite features of the church were the flowers she planted; they made her happy. Sincerely and truly happy.

𝓗appiness, though, is fragile - shattered or taken within an instant - a moment.

dragon-twin·:

“Yeah, I miss it a lot, but I miss my family more.” He had only just arrived in Arcadia, so he tried to hold off on his homesickness for a little bit, but it was difficult. He had lived in the same cafe with his mother and sister his whole life and now he was somewhere new alone, except for Draco. Plus, it seemed he had might have a potential friend. Siluka seemed a bit distant and hard to read, but she had also been very nice and interested in what he had to say. At least, he thought she was. It was hard to tell with her constant neutral expression, yet there was a softness behind her eyes. He was infinitely grateful that the first person he met had a kind soul.

“Oh, what’s your home like?” he asked, returning the question. Already haven gone on about his home, he was curious to know about where she was from. Ren had always wanted to explore the world, but perhaps hearing of far off lands was the best he would get. Customers at the cafe had always brought with them stories from their homes. There were so many places he would like to visit. He was happy to be able to cross Arcadia off his list.

•｡ ❀ 𝒲hen Siluka awakened this morning, she expected today to be another ordinary day consisting of her regular tasks around the café; little did she anticipate herself meeting someone on a whim and, furthermore, inviting them - and their dragon, no less - to accompany her for friendly conversation - but there was something about him that captivated her. Be it his radiant aura that engaged her or his kindness that she was not accustomed to - especially by men, given her past encounters - but, then again, it was exactly that which caused her to shy away when she felt herself genuinely begin to open up; like her sister said, it was better to be safe than sorry - and Ren was no exception to that rule.

𝒜las, her inquisitive nature had yet to yield itself. “What is your family like?” 

dragon-twin·:

You could say Ren always looked on the bright side of things and you’d be right. Despite missing home, he was also excited to explore the island. Plus, there was a whole other island right by Arcadia that he could explore. He loved the cafe dearly, but there were rarely customers around his age and his coworkers were all older. It was really just his sister he had to hang out with.

“Oh, I lived on a small island, even smaller than this one, in a cafe / inn where I also worked. There’s no other houses for miles. It’s surrounded by nature; there’s the ocean on one side and forests on the other. The wildlife is abundant as well.” He looked forward as he spoke, fully engaged in visions of his island home. Pulling his head out of the clouds, he returned his gaze to Siluka, although it was a bit difficult with Draco in between them.

“What about you? Are you from around here?” He figured that there weren’t many people from Arcadia, seeing as how small it was. His own island only held one family.

•｡ ❀ 𝒮iluka adored listening to stories - a window looking into the past and a mirror reflecting the present; tales as old as time woven with anecdotes of adventure and adversity - bridging the past and present together - were essential to her village in preserving the memory of the heartache her lineage endured. With each generation a story was bestowed upon, it ever so slightly changed - and though it may change the course of history, she viewed it as an opportunity to view who the person was and where they came from; yet, part of her was in disbelief toward the fantastical description Ren shared about his homeland - as if it were a piece of a whimsical tale of a faraway land that merely existed in storybooks. Alas, she believed it to be true - his words were earnest, but above and beyond that, the determining factor to her faith in his story was his eyes; seas of cerulean blue gazing into the distance with a twinkle that could not possibly be a sign of deception - rather, she watched as they danced in accompaniment to the speckles of light adorning his aura whilst he spoke.

“𝒲ow.” To be honest, the priestess was speechless - at a loss for words after envisioning his homeland in her mind; albeit imperfect and flawed, she could still empathize with him and his yearning for home - or so she figured, judging from the emotion embedded in his words. “Your homeland... it sounds like a dream. I can imagine it is a sight to behold,” a small smile crept upon her face, “... do you miss it?”

dragon-twin·:

There was a variety of ways people reacted to Draco: fear, shock, or fondness which Siluka seemed to have taken to. This was relieving seeing as he didn’t have to go through the trouble of calming her down and assuring her that Draco was friendly. She even let out a (cute) giggle.

 Ren could see out of the corner of his eye Draco making a pleased face as Siluka pet him gently. “So far? Well, I think it’s very beautiful. The scenery could rival that of my home.” The land around his house was hard to beat though.

“As for what I did at the cafe, I did a little bit of everything, really. I cooked, I cleaned, I waited tables…Maybe it’s not the most organized system, but we made it work.” Ren recalled the sometimes hectic working conditions at Little Dragon’s Cafe. “I suppose if I had to choose, I’d love to be a cook, but I’m not very confident in my cooking so it’s probably I start as a waiter.”

•｡ ❀ 𝒮iluka remembered less than fondly of when she first arrived to Arcadia - fresh off the ship sailing from her homeland; in her eyes, the island was not nearly close to the caliber of beauty that her native village beheld. Over time, she learned to appreciate the little things about her new home, but it made her wonder what exactly it was that he saw that envied his place of origin - albeit his first impression of a foreign land, he still viewed it as beautiful. His bright aura - speckled with flashes of light like snowflakes on a winter day - explained itself through his cheerfulness and optimism, considering the tremendous change he just experienced - transplanting himself from one land to another.

“𝓑eautiful...” She echoed his sentiment, pausing for a moment.