Aftermath

[Lelio]

"I supposed there are definite bonuses to the life of a noble, the extravagance of it is certainly...beautiful. I do enjoy going to the occasional party, and yes, I know that I could have all of that all the time and have my art as well. But the way I see the life of a noble is like a rich dessert, it\'s certainly enjoyable, but in my oppinion, far too decadant for every day life."
 
"And the truth is that the life of a noble is designed for strutting about like a peacock and avoiding getting dirty or breaking a sweat. I like to go through the wilderness outside of the castle for my inspiration, to swim in the rivers, to be free. I realized early on in life that there is a great deal of freedom that one loses simply by being a noble...I want to be able to do what I wish to do, and not merely what is expected of me."

[Blue]

Lucia listened to Orin\'s words intently like all the other words. Unlike the violent girl at the market, Lucia accepted to listen to Orin\'s ideas as he wasn\'t filthy, rude, or more importantly violent. However through Orin\'s semi-speech, Lucia\'s mind caught on to one thing.
 
When he was finished, Lucia instantly responded to the one thing, "You swim in rivers?!" She asked, her voice a little shrill with shock. Her gray eyes were wide from the thought, "Like dirty rivers that fish swim in? With the bears and the birds and..." Lucia dropped off, a rather disgusted expression replacing the shocked one. She stared at Orin with the disgusted expression, waiting for a better explanation of why one would possibly want to swim in a river.

[Lelio]

"Well when it\'s warm enough." Orin said, laughing a little at how shocked Lucia was at the mere fact that he swam in rivers. What a proper noble she was indeed. It was amusing.
 
"As long as the water is flowing it\'s clean, it\'s still water that you need to watch out for." He said. "It\'s incredibly refreshing. I can understand why it wouldn\'t be for everyone, but for me it\'s incredible, to be swimming in the river and feel the fish swimming next to me. Just being completely surrounded by life in all it\'s beauty." He said.
 
Yes...best not to mention to the lady that when he swam in the rivers he was most often nude.

[Blue]

Lucia continued to stare for a few moments before finally looking away. She looked towards the trees off to the side. Lucia had never even really seen a river. Once when she had been little and traveling in a carriage, out from the window she had seen a bubbling brook, but that was the closest she had ever gotten. She wondered if streams were all that great. In the books she read, bodies of water like rivers and streams usually had positive connotation. Her family as well as most nobles regarded it as filthy however.
 
Lucia glanced back to Orin. Her disgust was gone. The shock was still there in the background. But curiosity had begun to take over. "Are they... pretty fish?" She asked, trying to get an image in her mind. Right now all she thought about was those goldfishes kept in ponds on the courtyard.

[Lelio]

"Beautiful." Orin said with a smile, pleased to see that the disgust at the thought of swimming in the rivers had faded from her face, and was replaced with curiousity. Maybe there was hope for her yet. At least her mind didn\'t seem totally closed to everything but needlepoint.
 
"You\'d love the way their scales shine in the sunlight, like jewels. And the water just sparkles and a hot summer day it feels so cool, feels better than anything."

[Blue]

Her curiosity took over entierly. Holding her skirt up a bit as she walked over another puddle, she smiled, "It does sound charming." Lucia commented. Her imagination had begun to create pictures of jewel fishes. It seemed like it would be pretty.
 
"Do you go swimming in the winter too?" She asked, the cold water from the puddle reminding her that it was a cold season. Lucia\'s braid fell over her shoulders, resting on her chest. The lady gave a light hop over another puddle, not wanting to walk through it.

[Lelio]

"Sometimes, though not much, the water is very cold in the winter, and if you go swimming in the winter you can\'t swim for very long at all without getting a chill, and then there\'s the cold walk back home, made even colder by the fact that you\'re wet...not pleasant at all." He said with a little bit of a laugh.
 
"I usually start swimming around mid spring, once everything has warmed up a bit, but there\'s other things that I do in the winter that can\'t be done any other time of year, and the snow so beautiful when it\'s fresh"

[Blue]

Lucia watched the other with intrest, "What other things?" She asked instantly. Her thoughts had forgotten about her dirty clothes, her missing maid, and the reaction back at home.
 
Lucia was intent on learning more about what Orin did. It was amazing that this noble seemed to think outdoors and commoner activities were something beautiful. What was more amazing was that Lucia\'s imagination was making them beautiful as well.
 
Eventually, they were getting closer and closer to the gates. In just a few moments they would be there. Lucia hadn\'t noticed until she looked away towards the nearing gates. She felt a stab of sadness. Orin and her would have to part then. Lucia wanted to walk with him more and learn more, but she knew that she couldn\'t come home with a man... even if maybe he was sort of a noble.

[Lelio]

"Like building things out of snow...and Ice skating, Ice skating is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it, it\'s almost like flying, and everything is just so beautiful, the way the snow covers everything, I just love it." he said, grinning broadly.
 
"But then, I love all of the seasons, nature is where the true beauty is...next to it all the velvet curtains and gold jewlery and silk clothes just seems...fake. I prefer real beauty." He said with a bit of a sigh. "But I guess I just sound like some sort of maniac to you."

[Blue]

Lucia gave a soft giggle, hidden behind her hand. She was enjoying listening to the other talk about nature. It didn\'t necessarily change her mind that dresses were beautiful and fun to buy and wear, but it did make her wonder more about outside.
 
"A maniac?" Lucia repeated the question, a smile on her face, "Most ceretainly. But you\'re a sane maniac at least." Now a real maniac would be that girl at the market.

[Lelio]

"A sane maniac." Orin said with a little bit of a chuckle. "Oddly enough I believe that is the most flattering way I have ever been discribed," Orin said. He was far more used to people talking about how horrible it was that he acted like a commoner or a madman, which they seemed to consider to be the same thing.
 
"Though I believe the very term \'sane maniac\' is a bit of a contradiction." He thought for a moment, smiling. "Though maybe it makes it all the more acurate as I myself am a bit of a contradiction."

[Blue]

"You\'re rather funny." Lucia commented, giggling again. She was glad that she had met this young man. It ceretainly made up for the terrible events of the day. Looking towards the gate which was only a few feet away from them now, Lucia stopped walking. Her gaze went back to Orin.
 
She stared for a little bit, trying to think of a way to say good-bye. Lucia didn\'t want to stop talking with Orin but she knew she couldn\'t come through the neighborhood in this shape with a noble who wants to be a commoner. It just wouldn\'t look good. Though any way it wouldn\'t look good. It was a lose-lose situation all over. Lucia let out a heart-felt sigh.
 
"I\'m sorry, but I should go on alone now." She spoke in a depressed voice, her vision on the gate ahead, "If you aren\'t too simple, perhaps you would like to be invited to a garden party later on?" Lucia asked hesitantly. She would love for Orin to come to one of her family\'s parties. Then perhaps she could actually converse about worth-while things and not about the earl\'s daughter\'s jewelry.

[Lelio]

"Yes, I would like that." Orin said with a smile. It was nice to be able to have a friend...or a potential friend anyway. He knew that he could wear some of his nicer clothes and avoid being an embarassment. "I have greatly enjoyed our conversation."
 
"It is getting quite late." Orin said looking up at the sky. "I should go home too, but don\'t worry, I\'ll wait here for a bit after you go in so you aren\'t seen going in with me." He said. The Airell estate was, of course, located within the gates as well.

[Blue]

Lucia smiled, feeling rather delighted when Orin accepted her invitation to a party. She was already looking forward to the next garden party her mother would hold. In fact, Lucia was so exicted she didn\'t feel so terrible about saying good-bye as much.
 
When Orin spoke up about staying behind, Lucia felt a tad guilty. She knew that the male understood what the society would make of Orin escorting Lucia home, but she couldn\'t help but feel a bit sorry for having to make the other wait outside the gates as she went in.
 
"Very well. I hope to see you again soon." Lucia gave a graceful curtsy, "Painter Orin Airell." She spoke his name almost as if confirming it. The young lady would have to tell her father the name so that Orin could be invited to the party. She only hoped her father didn\'t have some sort of grudge against the Airell family. Lucia curtsied one last time before turning and heading through the gates. She prepared herself to go home and face the utter chaos that would break when her family saw the state of her dress and hair.

[Lelio]

Orin stood outside the gate for a couple minutes so there would be a reasonable amount of time so that it didn\'t appear that he had been walking with Lucia. He knew what people would say if they saw the two of them together, It would be horrible for Lady Lucia\'s reputation.
 
Once he had waited what he gauged to be enough time he stepped in through the gates, walking happily towards his home.