Something of My Own (Pim/Guardian)

It had been three days since the fire at the Phoenix Forest, and it was also the longest time he had ever spent away from his home. He had left the forest before, but he always returned within two days. But now that he was that target of some unsavory people, he couldn't come back to that forest anymore. The most he could do was watch it regrow from atop the mountain, by himself in the care of Silver Wolf.

Well, that wasn't completely true. He wasn't totally alone—he just didn't know anyone. Because of these people's thoughtfulness, the scrapes and scratches that littered his arms and legs had been carefully bandaged, and he had a nice roof over his head even though he was perfectly content without it. In other words, he didn't have anywhere else to go, and he was thankful for these people's kindness, so what other paths could he have possibly taken other than to join them? There was only one issue with that...

"I—I can't talk to anyone!" he mumbled rather audibly, his expression nervous and troubled, "I didn't even get the chance to thank them properly for what they did... I really am the worst, aren't I? I've been thinking about how to repay them for their kindness, but I get so... nervous... when they talk to me... or look at me... what do you think?"

When he asked the question, the only person to hear him was in fact, not a person at all. It was a single field pigeon plucking grains of something from the ground, staring at him with its dark, beady eyes. It seemed about as interested as any other common animal, but it didn't fly away. Sitting on the steps to the guildhall, the blonde man sat there hugging his knees and eagerly staring at the pigeon. Although he could talk to and understand plants and animals, it never meant that all of them were good at holding conversations. The pigeon completely ignored him.

The blonde let his head fall between his knees, sighing. "I'm hopeless..." he twiddled his thumbs together, "b—but thanks for listening anyway. Maybe today I can greet them properly. Maybe even make eye-contact!" he encouraged himself, but the wetness in his eyes was clear that he was having a hard time believing he could actually do it.

After that, he stepped up from the steps and adjusted his hood so that it covered most of his face and concealed him in a thin veil of darkness. He'd make his way down the railing, approaching a sharp corner, lost in thought, not paying that much attention to his surroundings.

Maybe saying hello to those settlements throughout the years wasn't such a bad idea. he thought to himself, I don't know what to do—

"—Ack!" the blonde grunted, running into something. If he were paying more attention, he may have been able to avoid it, but he was too caught up in his own anxiety to even do that much. As a result, he lost his balance and fell with a soft thud, his hood almost coming off. What just happened and who did he run into?

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

It had been a few days since Pimwadee had settled into the guild, after meeting the lovely guildmate and beta that was Yuvon and Mercury. She had quickly settled into the space that was her new home, before taking the time to get her bearings. She hadn't taken any jobs yet but focused more on getting herself acquainted with the guild's rooms. The library, in particular, was exciting to her, so many texts to peruse and enjoy. Of course, with some difficulty, as a Scholar she knew that it would be her duty to study and learn as artefacts and various items were brought to them. One of her main struggles was the transition from Fiorian texts to Lhukian, and then there were other documents too, in even more complex languages.

She wandered across the courtyard, toward the guildhall, shopping bags in tow and boxes of purchases stacked in her arms.  Initially, she had gone out to get some language books, hoping that a Fiorian dictionary, as well as a Lhukian language guide, would help her. This little shopping trip had quickly derailed as she explored the village markets, buying a varied selection of random items from food, to clothes, to candles.  It was a weakness of hers, she couldn't help herself that often peaked when travelling through new places. She loved buying things and she just so happened to be an easy target for Stall runners. A good pitch meant she often left with much that she didn't actually need.

It might have been wise to readjust the boxes to make sure she could see where she was actually going, but her determination to get to the guild first before reorganizing her boxes. It was better once she was inside the guilds magic barrier, but the outskirts of the guild were still freezing to her and even sporting a cream-coloured woolly jumper dress, she was still really, really cold. Eager to get inside and sit by the fire she rushed toward the entrance, only to feel herself collide into an object. Stumbling back, she squealed as she lost balance, tumbling backwards and landing with a hard thud in the ground. Her shopping bags and boxes falling askew around her, she winced from the force of the falling. Reaching around to her hip, she rubbed the sore spot as she brought her amethyst eyes up to whatever it was that had knocked her over.

Her gaze fell on the sight of a person who had also fallen to the earth, gasping in shock, she realised that in her foolish clumsiness she had walked into someone. Quickly scrabbling onto her knees, she crawled over to the man with haste, taking a closer look at him. "I am so sorry, Are you okay?" She said; the sentence was clearly spoken, but with the hint of her Lhukian accent carrying certain syllables. Leaning forward, she would lower her face so she could peak under his hood, and check that he was alright.

---

Their bottoms slammed to the ground, but it seemed that whoever was on the other side of him hit the ground a lot harder than he did. Or, that's what it felt like. When he recovered from the shock of the fall, he noticed that it wasn't just someone who he ran into, but a tower of boxes and bags as well. All of it, including that girl, was scattered across the ground.

Looking around, the young blonde didn't know what to address first—the bags or the girl? Before he could make a brisk decision, she had recovered far more quickly than he did and stole the words right out of his mouth.

"I am so sorry!" she'd say, scrambling over to him on her knees, "Are you okay?"

It was already nerve-wracking to even be speaking to this girl, but the moment his emerald eyes met with her purple ones, he felt his heart skip a beat—or more accurately, he felt it stop. The blonde would suddenly look more flustered, his mouth hanging open but he couldn't say anything. Instead, the middle of his face began to turn red, stretching from ear to ear, over his nose and filling his cheeks with an embarrassed blush. After an awkward moment of silence, the blonde suddenly burst.

"N—No!!" he exclaimed, anxiously flailing his hands in between him and the girl in a panic and scooting backwards as fast as he could to attempt to create distance, "I-I mean yes! I—uhm—hnm..."

The moment his words fell flat, his entire face began to turn red. He'd instinctively grab the top of his head and pull it down to cover his face, holding it there with both of his hands. Oh, how sweet the thought of death was, right now! If only he could return back to normal, where he didn't matter and no one looked his way, he'd feel blissful!

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

The brief glimpse of face that she did see included smooth pale skin, pretty male features and eyes the colour of emeralds. Another attractive guildmember, with such light skin that she could only imagine how her friends back home would gush at the sight of him. Foreigners were so sparse in their lands, and whilst Pim was starting to get used to seeing those of lighter melanin, she could only imagine how amazed her family would be to see so much physical beauty. She eyed him with concern, noticing the worrying flush off pink across his cheeks. Was he perhaps ill? Had she been so ignorant in her movements that she had knocked over a sick person? Guilt washed over the woman, and as he spoke she would eye him with a confused blank expression, watching as he moved back from her in desperate haste. It upset her to see that she had distressed him so much, following which it occurred to her that perhaps she had done some kind of cultural taboo and overstepped.

Pimwadee brought her hands together, palms pressed against one another, she brought her hands above herself before bowing forward, crouching low in her in prostrate in an attempt to atone for her action. "Please forgive me, I am a new person here at this guild and I was careless. I am very sorry." She told him, staying there for the moment. Her face centimetres away from the ground, and her eyes pointed downward at the earth. She would hope that he would find it in himself to forgive her behaviour, otherwise she would have to find a way to suitably repent for her foolishness. "I am not from this land and I do not know how I can make up for this but If you have a request, I will do my best to complete it for you." She told him earnestly.

---

When he allowed his pretty emerald eyes to peek underneath the hood that concealed his face, he could see the girl from before prostrating herself! It was the last thing he expected to see, and it showed on his face. The blush had faded and his face and instead lost color, turning pale as he realized what she was doing. In a panic, he crawled back over to her nearly as quickly as he evaded her just moments before, staring down at her with this frantic look on his face.

"O-Oh, no! You don't have to do that! It was my fault, anyway! I should've looked where I was going..." he apologized, realizing that if he hadn't been so caught up with his own problems, this whole incident could have been avoided entirely.

His expression softened a little when he thought of the bags and boxes she dropped because of him, his eyes floating onto the mess surrounding her. Without saying a word, the hooded man left her side to collect the items she dropped; neatly stacking the boxes on one side, and holding all of the bags on the other hand. After briefly organizing the mess, he realized that it was no wonder both of them had fallen to the ground as they had, as anyone would likely have trouble seeing or navigating with so many items to carry...

He looked at her, the redness returning to his ears and nose again. "D—Do you need help?"

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

The purple-haired woman would hear him move closer, his panicked words putting her at ease. So it would seem that he wasn't angry or upset with her, that was a relief. She would tilt her head upwards, peeking over her hands at him. She then straightened up as he began to gather and tidy the boxes she had dropped. A smile returning to her face at the sight of his nice gesture, she never really knew what to expect from the people of Earthland. In her country, there was always a standard for the respect that she had been accustomed to, a civility that you tried to uphold when interacting with someone else. People didn't always follow such customs, but it was much rarer than what she had witnessed since her travels. The people of Earthland were very much more mixed in the sense of kindness, neutrality and ill-manners as it were. It was always pleasing to come across someone on the higher end of the 'nice' spectrum.

Pim noticed that whilst he was distracted, he didn't look as flushed as he had moments before. Maybe he wasn't sick, but just embarrassed about falling over. Which she could understand, her guilt lingered over the thought of causing such discomfort - What an awkward impression to make on another guildmate.

As he sorted the bags and boxes, he would look at her, asking her if she would like any help. She looked back at her shopping, on one hand, she felt bad for enlisting anyone's help in dealing with the situation she had created for herself. It was her own burden and it wasn't really ideal to put this on someone else. But on the other hand, if she continued to walk around like this, then it was very possible that she might knock over someone or something else. Which she really didn't want to do. She considered it for a moment, before deciding that she would accept his kindness, on the additional hopes that not only could she avoid any further incidents but that she may perhaps get to know her fellow guildmate as well. "Yes, thank you very much."

She would take a selection of the bags, and a box, leaving him a single bag and box to carry. she would then climb to her feet, smiling at him gratefully as she chose to introduce herself. "My name is Pimwadee, what is your name?"

---

There was a moment of clear hesitation between both of them before the girl finally accepted his offer to help, and that was that. While he intended on carrying everything himself, the girl took it upon herself to share the load, leaving him with a single bag and box to carry himself. It wasn't what he had in mind, but carrying anything was the least he could do for running into her as he had. He picked up his box and held it with both hands, the bag hanging snugly from his arm. They weren't particularly heavy, but it was obvious that it could become overwhelming with the amount that she was carrying all on her own.

I wonder what she was doing with all of these things... maybe I should ask... or maybe I shouldn't... he debated in his head, his emerald eyes darting between the box and the floor. Looking at the items felt almost invasive to him, and wondering what was inside ate away at his curiosity. At some point, he could no longer withstand his wonder and nervously looked over to the girl to ask his question.

"Uhm—"

"My name is Pimwadee, what is your name?" she asked him, smiling at him kindly. Needless to say, judging by his wide-eyed expression, free of anxiety and concern, the blonde was caught off-guard by the inquiry. In fact, it was as if she had suddenly spoken to him in a different language.

"My... name?" he looked at Pimwadee. It wasn't until now that he realized that names held some importance in places like these. In the forest, there was never a need for names, since some things you just... knew. Whenever the woodland critters and spirits needed to get his attention, they'd do so physically or tickle his ears with the sound of rustling groves of trees. For the last twenty-two years, he couldn't recall a time where he was identified with a "traditional" name. It never bothered him before this, and yet he couldn't help but feel his expression soften with a subtle melancholy when she asked. "My name... I—I don't have one..." he spoke softly, quietly, avoiding his eyes meeting Pimwadee's.

She must've thought this was weird. Not having a name? This place was nothing like the forest, and while he was aware of their traditions beforehand, having to partake in them was a rude awakening. How could he ever hope to gain what they have—live comfortably—be of use?

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

As he took the bag and box that she left for him, she would climb to her feet. Steadying herself carefully, a little more cautious following her fall. Her purple irises scanning his face, or at least as much of his face that she could see under his hood. Pim stood before him patiently as she waited for his answer, repeating the words back to her. She considered for a moment that she might have phrased it wrong as she sometimes did, but as she reflected upon it. She was certain that her wording had been correct, having practised it more times than she could remember.

And then he would answer with a rather peculiar response, causing her to furrowed her brows in confusion. For a moment she thought he meant his name was 'Eidundhaffwun', but then as the translation slipped in. Oh. That wasn't what she had anticipated, perhaps slightly more strange than the name she thought she had initially heard. She examined him as he avoided her gaze, her features softening at his own awkwardness. He didn't have a name, which was odd but considering that this was a completely different land with completely different cultures. She didn't know if not having names was a common this in Fiore, but she could tell his felt embarrassed about it. Suddenly filled with the urge to ease his discomfort, she found herself talking.

"Maybe I can... give you a name." She offered tentatively, eying the man in front of her. Names riddled through her mind, reviewing his demeanour. She didn't know the man, but from what she had seen he was shy, skittish and somewhat adorable. He had pale skin, golden blonde locks and pretty green eyes. As she stared at him, a distant memory came to her mind, a memory of one of her local temples. A safe haven for the local macaques, she often went there and bought treats to feed them. They too had light hair and wide eyes, they were jumpy too. Just like him, she found herself giggling at the thought. Yes, it was perfect. "Ling! I shall call you Ling, if that is okay?" She asked, beaming at him hopefully.

---

The blonde boy looked a little surprised to see his dark-skinned acquaintance eye him the way she had, and he felt a little naked too. When she offered to give him a name, the boy didn't object. In fact, he was far more curious as to what she was thinking so hard about than what her answer would be. Abruptly, after a moment of silence between them, Pimwadee broke the ice with peals of soft giggles.

She told him that his new name could be "Ling." He didn't know what it meant, but he knew that he could easily remember it. Not only because it was something of his very own, but because it rhymed with so many other words he knew.

"Ling?" he said, feeling his face begin to flush again when he repeated it. Something about seeing Pimwadee's face brighten made his own face lighten up too, and not with embarrassment. The very thing he had just started wallowing over was finally granted to him, and all in but seconds. "That's... a very nice name! Yes, it's a very good one!" Ling tried his best to compliment her, although his lack of confidence almost made him fumble over his words. After that, Ling couldn't hide his shy smile. He stared at his feet, hearing his thoughts run wild. But feeling the weight of the bag and box hanging on his body brought on a new question.

Ling looked at Pimwadee, the hood hanging over his head and nearly covering his flushed countenance. "Hey—uhm—" Ling stuttered, "A-Are we friends?"

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

Pimwadee would await his response to the name she had carefully bestowed to him, hopefully fervently that she hadn't overstepped by offering him such a title. He would start by repeated it back to her, neither confirming or denying whether he liked it. But fortunately, his facial expression would begin to mimic hers, shifting into a look that she discerned as positive in nature. When he spoke once more he would tell her that it was a good name, filling the Lhukian with joy over the successful naming. "I am glad you like!" She told him happily, feeling much more elated after her embarrassing fall from moments ago. It was fortunate in way, that her clumsy behaviour had led to such a pleasant interaction. She didn't know if he would tell others of the name, but she liked that she had created something to share with a fellow guildmember. She was very keen to intergrate herself into Silver Wolf and get to know those around her. To truly become part of this exploration guild.

She would begin to move toward around the building of the guild hall, leaving him toward the entrance of the building. Taking light, slow steps as she attempted to lead him instead, she wasn't fully used to the Guild yet, so she didn't want to make the error of leading him in the wrong direction. She glanced over to him once more as he spoke, tilting her head as he asked her another question. This was a word she didn't need to take a moment to translate haven't learned this very early on in her studies and practiced it often. She also took no time to answer, excited by the prospective meaning behind answering such a query.

"Yes!... Er, I mean, we can be friends, if you would like? I would like to be your friend very much."

---

When Pimwadee replied to his query positively, Ling felt his chest become light with both relief and satisfaction. After spending his entire life with woodland creatures and spirits, Ling couldn't help but be a little envious of the civilization just outside of his own home. To talk with them as they had to one another was a moment he had desired for a long time, and now, he finally had the chance, even if it was over carrying bags and boxes.

His cheeks became light pink as he averted his eyes away from her, hiding his expression. Ling had just befriended someone for the first time, and needless to say, he felt rather triumphant about it, but unfortunately, a man as shy and timid as him could only revel in this victory... inwardly.

Both Ling and Pimwadee found themselves somewhere in the guildhall, but the blonde was clueless as to where their destination actually lied. He could hardly navigate himself through the building alone, so being able to identify things or places within it was a whole different matter. Still, one couldn't help but wonder.

"U—Uhm... Pimwadee..." said Ling, gingerly lifting up the bags and looking at them apprehensively, "why do you have all of these?"

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

It was official, Pim had an actual friend in Fiore. This was a great day of the Lhukian girl, perhaps one of the biggest achievements so far since coming to this land. Despite all of the people she had met, and how nice they had been. None of them had requested to be her friend until now, and it was a great feeling. To know that she had gained a friend, she couldn't wait to call her and tell her family about her new friend Ling. They were bound to be very happy for her, knowing how worried they were for her when she left. It was reassuring really, her time since joining Silver Wolf had been pleasant thus far, and it would seem it was only getting better. Once again cementing how she had made the right decision, leaving her homeland to travel, explore and meet new people.

The pair would move through the building, pacing past the stone walls and warm-toned carpet. After they had entered the guildhall, Pim would pause for a moment, testing her memory to see if she knew which way to go. Fortunately, it would come to her quickly and she would move towards the right side of the lobby, towards the stair-wall that led to the second floor where the living quarters were. Yes, this was the way! Pimwadee gave herself a mental pat on the head for remembering without prompt. Hopefully this meant that she would remember the path easier from here on out.

She glanced over at Ling as he asked her about her shopping, glances down at the bags of overzealous spending on her part. she would pause again, taking a moment to work out the best translation to explain what this was, fortunately it wasn't too difficult. This conversation dialogue fell under the topic of 'Chorp gup mai chorp' during her lessons, which was a subject they covered often in her early days of studying Fiorian language. "Ahh, er… I like to go shopping, I am not from here so it is fun to see what I can buy." She said, giggling lightly at her own impulsiveness before looking back up at his hooded face, "I went to buy books but there was so many nice things that I liked very much. I will send some home to my family." She explained happily, already imaging the looks on their faces as they opened up their parcels. "Do you like to shop … Ling?" She asked, tentatively adding his name on the end of the question to test it out. She had to admit, she really liked it.

---

Shopping because it was fun to see what you could buy—a common reason for those who went regularly indulged in the activity. But for Ling, he had trouble understanding it at first. He guessed it was no different from swimming because it was fun, or climbing a tree just because you wanted to. Still, living the life he has, he couldn't help but think of it all as excessive and too otherworldly for him to understand. Seeing all of the bags and boxes that would be difficult for a single person to haul all on their own, Ling couldn't imagine where she could find the time to use all of it. But he was a minimalist, even if he didn't know it, so it was only natural that he was bewildered to a small extent.

"H-Huh?" Ling stuttered, caught off-guard by Pimwadee's curious question. He instantly knew what his answer would be, he struggled to say it with confidence because of his bashfulness. "I-I... ehm... I've never gone shopping... before..." he mumbled, looking away from Pimwadee when he said that.

There were many things Ling was eager to try since joining Silver Wolf. He wanted to learn how to read and write, and he wanted to go to nearby towns and try everything. It seemed that this world that was previously exclusive of him began to unlock, and even though shopping seemed excessive and very laborious, he wanted to try that too if that was something other people did.

"But," he slowly raised his gaze so he was sheepishly looking at Pimwadee just underneath his white hood, "I'd like to try..." Truthfully, Ling didn't know when or where he'd find the chance to shop, amongst other things, and he wasn't even literate enough to do it all by himself. As far as the eyes could see, he was a shy, lamb-like man without a single jewel to his name or the understanding to make it.

---

If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me
One day I'll know, if I go there's just no telling how far I'll go
Pimwadee Chakri

Pimwadee's feature's transformed into a look of mild surprise as his reply- had never shopped before, really? Even to the foreigner who was very much expectant in the possibility of differences in culture, found this revelation to be quite shocking. In her country, at least twelve percent of it's population lived below the national poverty line and although other nations suffered much greater struggles, it was still noticeable. But even some of the homeless people in her area who had spent their entire lives poor know of the pleasure of shopping. Even if it was with only a few spare Thxng coins. So for Ling to have never shopped before, it took her aback but only for a moment. She had to accept that people in this country were different and led very different lives to her.

He would continue with a soft 'But', his gaze peeking up at her from under his white hood, the sentence that followed suggestive of a want. She stared at him for a moment, her smile widening slightly. Maybe she was misinterpreting him wrong, perhaps her translation was failing her, but something told her that this was an invite. Or at least, an invitation for an invitation. It was a hook she was happy to be baited by, the want for friendship inspiring her next response. "Maybe, we can ... go together, someday." The offer let her lips tentatively, she didn't want to overstep but Ling had said he wanted to be friends. And this was what friends did, at least this is what she did with her friends back in Lhuk.

They arrived at the door to her room and with the open invitation in the air, she would reach out and unlike her dorm room. Pushing the door open, the gap between door and frame would reveal a sneak peak into her world. A tidy room, spotless even, everything neatly in a place. The bright colours of Lhukian throw, high-count sheets of purple and colour tidily stretched over a low mattress. The waft of lemongrass incense emanating from the room and pictures of people placed around the room, the photographed folk a similar tan to Pimwadee, all wearing happy smiles and eyes locked on the lens ahead. Reaching over she would take the remainder of her things, bowing her head to Ling in thanks as she did so. "Thank you for helping me, I hope to see you again, soon." She told him earnestly, stepping over through the doorway, she lowered her things down and turned to face him. "Goodbye, Ling." And with the playful testing of his newly bestowed name on his tongue, she would give him a small wave and close the door gently behind her. Once it was shut, she would stare ahead for a moment before doing an excited little shake. Turning on her heel, she scooped up her bags and set about organising them, humming happily as she did so. She had gained a lot of things today but despite all of her purchases none of them came close to the most recent acquisition, which was by far her favourite. Because there was just something so undeniably wonderful about gaining a friend.

---