One x One discussion

Name: Asreen Morris
Age: 22
Appearance:



Personality: Stern, blunt, thoughtful, stubborn, intellectual, strongly dislikes loud music, likes philosophical and scientific studies. Her indifference towards pretty much everything is the reason why she and Maren, who is responsive, are constantly bickering.

Name: Maren Morris
Age: 18
Appearance:



Personality: Loud, plain-spoken, sensitive, brash, caring, extra-protective of her twin sister. Short-tempered, snappy, grouchy, and argumentative. Has a love-hate relationship with Asreen. The love is more than the hate, but she'd never tell anyone that, proud as she is.

Name: Eilidh Morris
Age: 18
Appearance:



Personality: As loud, outspoken, and crazy as Maren when she's only with her sisters, but is quiet and more reserved in public. Caring, cool-headed, rational, calm and collected. Proud and vain, but again, only her sisters know this. Shares a passion for reading with Asreen.

Name: Vincent Bale
Age: 20
Appearance:



Personality: Tricksy, flirty, a bit of a playboy, but loyal to those he actually cares about. Occasionally courteous, optimistic, observant and curious. Likes secretive girls.

Name: Reese Levon
Age: 23
Appearance:



Personality: Serious, frank, normally self-controlled, an indoor person but doesn't mind battling and taking risks if he has to since he has nothing to lose anyway. Spends jis solitary life studying and learning things. Logical, loyal, and usually honest.

Name: Tyler Lexington
Age: 18
Appearance:



Personality: Loyal, kind, sensitive, optimistic and altruistic. Observant, responsive, open-minded, and honest. Trusting, social, and occasionally affectionate.

Cottage:


Living room:


Asreen's room:

Stairwell:


Reading room:


Maren's room:

Kitchen:


Bathroom:


Eilidh's room:

Asreen took a seat at the four-seat dining table in the middle of the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee. Sipping from the cup, she eyed the bread, jam, and scrambled eggs on the table. She really didn't feel like eating anything at the moment. She had some deer to hunt that day, and having her stomach full wasn't a good idea. It'd only slow down her steps. She finished her coffee in two gulps, set down the cup, and got up from her chair.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Eilidh asked her elder sister as she entered the room with a large bowl of finished porridge--her supper last night. She glanced at the untouched breakfast on the table as she set down the bowl in the sink. "You've only had a cup of coffee. I even made you some half-boiled eggs this morning." She jerked her chin at the little bowl of uncracked eggs half-hidden behind the loaf of bread.

"No," was her reply. "I'm going hunting today, remember? Hunting with a full stomach only serves to slow you down." She picked up her bow and arrows and slid on her cape. Shaking into her leather hunting boots, she headed for the front door and threw the door open. "I'll eat the eggs when I get back home. Hide them from Maren." And then she left.

"Okay," Eilidh called out as the door shut close. She set to work with the dishes, quickly clearing the sink. She had lots of chores to do today. There were heaps of clothes to fold and mountains more to rewash and rehang outside, thanks to the non-stop raining these past few days. And then there were the letters from her foreign friends that she still hadn't answered. And she still had to prepare lunch and dinner.

Despite Asreen's words, she knew her elder sister was actually hungry. Asreen only stopped herself from eating in order to better hunt. She sighed. And gasped. What time is it? She glanced at the old clock in the living room. 8:15 A.M. Shoot.

"Maren!" She shouted at the stairwell. "Maren!"

Maren shot upright on her bed, immediately looking around for Eilidh. Not in her room. She ran out and looked down the flight of stairs and sighed in relief. There she is. Her twin sister looked alright, if a bit panicked. "What?" She called back, yawning and already missing her comfy little bed.

Eilidh huffed. "What do you mean, 'what'? You're late for school, you lazy bum!" She pointed a painted finger at the clock. "It's 8:16 A.M.! Quit yawning, get down here and bath or you're going to miss the carriage to school. Hurry up!" With that, Eilidh went back to the kitchen, hiding the small bowl of half-boiled eggs in one of the cupboards as Asreen had requested.

Maren's eyes widened. Her sister was only halfway to the kitchen when she bolted past it, running into the bathroom. Th water had already gone cold, but she didn't give a damn at the moment. Quickly splashing herself with squirts of soap, shampoo, and water, Maren ran out of the bathroom with one hand holding up her towel and the other aggressively brushing her teeth with a miswak.

She threw on her uniform--a pair of black pants and a simply-designed navy blue tunic with the logo of her school and the signature mark of her class, which was swordsmanship, on the left breast. Then she stormed to the kitchen and stuffed her face with spoonfuls of scrambled eggs and several pieces of bread.

Eilidh watched Maren porking on her food, and a small, satisfied smile tugged at her lips. Nothing pleases a cook better than watching others enjoying their food, her mother once said. She was right. Three distinct ringing of bells sounded from outside of the cottage, and she pulled Maren's hand, urging her to get up. "The carriage! Go on, you don't want to walk to school, do you?"

Maren stood fast enough to topple the chair and hurried to the door, grabbing her leather pouch from one of the chairs as she went. She stepped out, but then turned back to her sister. "Did you hide the half-boiled eggs somewhere? You told me last night you were going to make some for Asreen, and Asreen's hunting right now, so surely she didn't eat anything. Where are the eggs?"

How did she figure that out so fast? "I didn't hide anything. I ate the eggs myself. If you want some, boil the eggs yourself when you come back home. Now shut up and go," she said as she shoved Maren out the door and slammed it shut.

Maren huffed at the door and hurried to the carriage, swiftly leaping over the little stream in front of their cottage. She climbed in and took a seat--right in front of the person she hated most in the world.

The carriage moved, and Reese Levon smirked at her. "Woke up late again?"

Meanwhile, Asreen nocked an arrow, following a fallow buck's movements as quietly and quickly as she could from behind the trees. The buck stopped about eighty yards away from her to eat some saskatoon berries, and she took a breath as she aimed at it, as her father had taught her to. She loosed a quiet breath and shot.

"Hey!" A male voice called from behind her. The buck bolted out of the way in shock at the last second, and the arrow wound up stuck in the saskatoon berry bush instead. She stifled the urge to curse and spun around with a new arrow nocked, ready to shoot at the owner of the voice.

It was a young man. He had wavy, chin-length honey hair, hazel eyes, and a fit body. He couldn't be more than twenty--which meant that he was younger than her. He lifted his hands in the universal gesture of surrender when he saw her aiming an arrow at him. "Whoa. Calm down. I didn't mean to surprise you. I just wanted to ask you something."

"You couldn't wait until I got my game first? You just let my first prey this morning escape, you buffoon," she hissed, but lowered her arrow.

"Sorry," was his only reply. He put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, what's your question then? The one you couldn't wait to ask me?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Do you know someone named Eilidh Morris?"

She stiffened. "Why do you want to know?"

"You haven't answered my question."

"Answer mine and I'll answer yours."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I'm a friend of hers. I'm from Vertbourne and I came here to see her."

"How did you know her?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Just answer it."

"We met at the jetty when I came here to buy some new arrows. She recommended me a few places and helped me pick some good ones. We've been keeping in touch through letters since. Now answer my question, do you know her or do you not?"

"Yes, " she said. "We're neighbours." He grinned, believing her lie. "Excellent. Could you point me the way to her house? I came here secretly to surprise her, so I'm really lost right now."

"Of course," she plastered a fake smile on her face. "In fact, I'd be happy to take you there myself. Right after you help me hunt another deer." She threw a dagger at him, and he caught it by the blade with his fingers. Impressive, she grudgingly admitted to herself.

"Deal," he said.

Maren stuck out her tongue at Reese and folded her arms. "Mind your own damn business." Reese shrugged, already loosing his interest in her. He looked out the window throughout the remainder of their ride to the academy.

All of the students at Lorvale Academy had the same subjects: Self-defense, Basic Healing, History, Mathematics, and Riding class. The only difference between the classes was their course, or better known as 'Singular Stream'. There were five Singular Streams offered at Lorvale Academy: Arts, Law, Athletics and Combat, Alchemy, and Advanced Alchemy.

There were six people in the carriage altogether. Three of them were nice friends of hers who were taking Arts. One was her neighbour, the person who offered the transport service to the five of them. She was taking Law. Reese took Advanced Alchemy, a class limited only to the excellent students, while Maren took Athletics and Combat.

The carriage halted in front of the academy gates, and they all unloaded it. The bell rang just as Reese stepped into the school compound. None of them bothered with goodbyes before bolting for their respective classes.

Back at the cottage, Eilidh washed the last of the clothes in the wooden basin and wasted no time to hang them at the clothesline. Maren's clothes had been the hardest to wash, stained with dirt and whatever else she'd rolled into at her school. Hopefully it wouldn't rain again today. Rewashing and rehanging all of these, plus today's clothes, would be a nightmare. Almost an hour passed, and Eilidh finally finished hanging all of the clothes.

She loosed a heavy breath and strode into the cottage to clean up the house. And as she busied herself with the house chores, she started thinking about her penfriends. Vincent and Tyler. She'd only met both once, both in different places. Vince at the jetty, and Tyler at the weekly market. Both were from Vertbourne, both were around her age, and both were charming in their own way.

While Vince was playful, Tyler was a gentleman. Of course, their relationships were purely platonic. She had no interest in love at the moment. She had better things to think about. Like how to get enough money for Maren's education, and what to do about the coming winter and their lessening food. As Eilidh finished sweeping the floor and headed to the kitchen, she prayed that Asreen would be bringing at least a fawn back home.

Asreen heaved the dead fallow doe's front legs as she stalked through the woods, grunting at the weight. Behind her, the young man did his best to catch up with her as he carried the doe by its hind legs in one hand. "Are we there yet?" He asked, breathing heavily.

"No," was her only reply. They kept going in silence for a few moments. Then--"Are we there yet?" He asked her again.

"If you ask me that stupid question one more time, young man, I will shove a dagger down your throat."

"My name isn't 'young man'," he muttered.

"Then what is it?"

"Vincent," he answered. "Vincent Bale. You?"

"Matilda Beauson," she lied, giving him the name of one of her neighbours who went to the same educational institution as Maren.

"Nice to meet you, Matilda. So, how long have you known Eilidh?"

She gave him a sideways glance. "Quite some time. We've been neighbours since childhood."

"I see. Must be nice to have a neighbour like Eilidh, huh? She's a wondrous woman."

"She's barely eighteen," Asreen snapped before she could stop herself. She just didn't like the thought of having unknown men around her sisters. Even he was a man who could hunt and fend for himself.

"Here we are," she said before he could say anything else. "That's where she lives." She pointed at the pretty little cottage that she and her sisters had grew up in. "Come on." She heaved the doe higher up so it wouldn't get dunked in the stream in front of the cottage and crossed it swiftly. Vincent was a bit slower, but he managed not to fall into the water.

Asreen threw the doe's body at Vincent, not caring that it caused him to lose his balance and fall backwards, and knocked at the door.

Eilidh took out the freshly-baked vegetarian shepherd's pie and set it on the dining table. A knock on the door. She half-ran to the living room and peeked through the peephole, smiled, then opened the door. "Hello, sister," she chirped. "Did you get anything today?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I did. I saw a fallow buck this morning," she began, "but then this young fellow had to blow it up by surprising it. So instead I made him help me hunt a fallow doe." She pointed at Vincent, who was still struggling to get up with the doe's body on him.

"What young fellow?" She craned her neck to look around her sister, and gasped. "Vince?" She squealed, running out to help him. "What are you doing here?" She pulled the doe up and away from him.

Asreen raised an eyebrow at her little sister. Vince? Already calling him by a nickname? Hmm... She watched as Eilidh heaved the doe away from Vincent as if it weighed nothing. Eilidh's strength had always been apparent even when she was a child. And a mystery to her and Maren, as Eilidh had the smallest hands among the three of them. She was like their mother--small, but solid.

Vincent finally got up, the useless chap, and grinned at her in that insufferable way of his. "Hi, Lee. Long time no see."

Eilidh beamed up at him. "Hi," she replied. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? And how did you end up with my sister?"

Vincent's eyebrows rose high. "Your sister? But...she said you were just neighbours." He turned to Asreen.

Asreen smirked at him, but only said, "Answer her question, Vincent Bale."

Vincent looked back at Eilidh and cleared his throat, regaining his composure. "I had nothing to do at Vertbourne so I decided to come here and see you," he gave her a half-smile. "I've missed you, Lee."

Asreen choked. Ew.

Eilidh grinned. "So have I. I'm so glad you came. Come on, let's go inside. I just finished cooking for lunch." She hauled the doe up on one shoulder and pulled Vince's hand, tugging him with her.

Asreen rolled her eyes and didn't wait for the two before going into the cottage alone. She shrugged off her boots and cape, set down her bow and arrows, and went straight to the kitchen.

Vincent followed Eilidh in wordlessly, scanning the cottage interior for potential threats out of habit.

She took him to the dining table and brought out plates and cutlery from the cupboard, setting them down on the table. "I made some shepherd's pie and vegetable soup. Your half-boiled eggs are still in there, sister," she told Asreen, jerking her chin at one of the cabinet doors.

Asreen nodded and got up to get the eggs. She eyed Vincent, who'd taken Maren's usual seat by the fireplace, and demanded, "Can't you serve yourself? Must you wait for my sister to do everything for you?"

Vincent gave her a pout, and started piling up his plate with the pie. "Not too much," she warned. "We have another sister to feed." Then she turned to Eilidh and inclined her head toward the shepherd's pie. "Beef or chicken?"

"Vegetarian," she responded. Then, in a lower voice, "We ran out of beef two days ago and chicken the day before. Hopefully this doe will last us more than just a week, because we're running out of money, too."

She lowered her eyebrows and said in an equally low voice, "I'll skin the doe for you after lunch. Tomorrow's Saturday--Maren won't be going to the academy. You sell the doe's skin, and I'll go hunt another deer or two with her."

Behind them, Vincent cleared his throat. Asreen glared at him, and he half-smiled. "That's my sister's seat you're seating at."

His eyebrows rose, and he immediately stood up. "Which seat is unclaimed, then?" She pointed a long finger at the chair backing the kitchen doorway. He sat there wordlessly and went back to porking out on the pie. He reminded her so much of Maren.

A smile tugged at Eilidh's lips. She really hadn't expected to see him here in Lochcourt. He'd told her in one of her letters that he was a senior student at Eriwall Academy back in Vertbourne, and that he was busy studying for the finals. She honestly thought he wouldn't be coming to Lochcourt again for at least another six months.

Unlike Tyler, who'd told her that he was coming to visit her from Westvale last week. He would be here this month. She should start cooking up something for him. She sighed.

The boring history class finally ended, and Maren heaved a sigh of relief. Finally. She hated Fridays. There were no classes related to students' Singular Streams on Fridays, which meant a dreadfully boring day of reading and listening for the active students of Athletics and Combat stream. Thank God tomorrow was Saturday. Perhaps she could go and have a walk or hunt some squirrels in the woods. That is, if Asreen or Eilidh didn't nag at her to study.

The ride back home wasn't as quiet as the ride to the academy. Apparently she wasn't the only one who was tired of having to sit quietly in one place all day. Everyone was chattering away about her neighbour Matilda's birthday this Sunday. She joined in now and then, but found herself looking out the window with Reese. She eyed him.

What could he possibly be thinking about?. He always seemed to be thinking about something complicated. She sometimes noticed him suddenly straightening his back or widening his eyes. Probably a sign that he'd found the solution to whatever complex problems he had in that messy head of his.

The carriage finally stopped in front of her cottage, and she hopped out. Not counting Matilda, she was the first to be picked up and last to be dropped off, since her place was the furthest from the academy. She skipped her way to the door and burst in, not bothering to knock, then shook off her boots and cape, and stopped. There was another pair of boots there. A male's boots. She wrinkled her forehead.

"Lee?" She called out as she half-ran to the kitchen. "Whose--who is this?" Her question changed as she saw the honey-haired man.

Asreen heard the pitter-patter of Maren's feet first, and braced herself for the sure-to-come questions. And when it did come, Asreen replied before Eilidh could say anything. "Our beloved little sister here has been keeping a secret penfriend. Maren, meet Vincent Bale. Vincent Bale, Maren."

Vincent turned his torso to look at Maren, waved a hand, and continued eating. Asreen's eyes turned to slits. This was the man Eilidh had been befriending? Insufferable.

Maren's eyebrows lowered. "Nice to meet you too, Vincent Bale." She didn't wait for his reply before plunking down on her seat by the fireplace and digging in the pie. Vegetarian. Not her favourite, but she was hungry. Anything tasted good when you were hungry.

"So how did you meet my sister again, Vincent Bale?"

"Just Vince," he told her. "I met Eilidh at the jetty two years ago. She helped me pick some good arrows to buy. We've been keeping in touch ever since."

"Oh, what, you couldn't pick your own arrows, Vince?" She retorted after a mouthful of pie. How come Eilidh never told her anything about this? She stifled the urge to chuck a fork at the laid-back looking man.

Eilidh watched the whole exchange in silence. She was used to this, because it was how Maren treated everyone. But Vince wasn't. She threw him a worried glance, then pulled him up and shoved him out of the kitchen. "I need to do something. Why don't you go and check out the living room? I promise I won't be long."

Vincent grudgingly went out to the living room with the bowl of vegetable soup still in hand.

Eilidh turned to glare at her sisters, hands on her hips. "Would you two please cut it out? He's my friend, and I like him. It's not often we get to see each other, so be nice, alright?"

Asreen sighed through her nose and glanced at Maren. "We'll try."

"We'll try," Maren said in unison with Asreen after their shared look. "One thing, though. Why didn't you tell us? Why did you keep him a secret?"

Eilidh smiled. So that's what this was about. "Because we're just friends. I mean, we all have friends so it's really nothing big. Anyway, you both know about him now, right? So what's the problem? It's not like he's courting me or anything."

Maren's eyes turned to slits as she listened to Eilidh, but returned to normal when she finished. "Whatever, was her only reply.

"Fine," was Asreen's.