First

[Storful Stöttan]

22nd Candlemark
The first brightening of Immanis, in the Season of Winter
Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum
The Second Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

He hit his head on the door frame, like usual. He never could squeeze into his little hovel safely. The splintered wood above the door agree. He had gotten used to it. He completed another number of tasks this day and could not wait to eat and rest. Todays ration was a biscuit and boiled turkey leg. Delicious. After eating, Storful laid back on his sleeping mat and pined for a real bed before falling asleep.

In his dreams he saw his old room, in his old home in Eastern Jaedaxia. It wasn't fancy, but it was better than this. He looked out the window to the port and watched the ships offload their cargo. Always he wondered what was in those boxes, where they were heading to, or coming from.

Before he knew it, it was morning. He woke up. Time for work.

[Adelyn Weiss]

The 45th brightening of Immanis, in the Season of Spring
Era II of the Celestine Mandate
Era XIV Post Fractum
The Second Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Upon return from Paxia and Tearsfall, Adelyn had noticed a strange new arrival in Nexus Prime, a .... giant, quite literally, living in a tiny hovel next to her own. She had first noticed the newcomer because his house would shake a lot. Yes, shake. Adelyn was not one to discriminate, but having a giant living in a hovel seemed bewildering, even stupid. Of course, a few giants had worked for Roland, so she was certainly no stranger to them, but never had she known one to live in a small hovel.

Stomping feverishly from her comfortable abode, Adelyn headed next door to the giant's home. She knocked impatiently and as loudly as she could, hurting her knuckles a bit on the worn grey-brown wood door.

"SERALE!!" she yelled into the window adorning the hovel, dusty with age, like it had never been cleaned before. Adelyn placed her hands on her hips, exasperated, and waited for the giant to manage to open the door. Now really, what could the giant have been thinking?

[Storful Stöttan]

"Hm. Nothing", he said to himself as he examined the Town Mutterer, hoping for some interesting rumors of treasure or odd jobs to look into. On days like this he would just walk past his home and wander into the woods. He always fancied the great outdoors and it was better than going back to his cramped living quarters. As he got closer to his home he noticed a small human by his door. Seemed to be a female human, banging on his door and shouting through his windows.

"WHO GOES THERE!", he barked. Not at all accustomed to having visitors and thoroughly confused, as he enjoyed his life of solitude.

[Adelyn Weiss]

A loud resonating boom startled Adelyn from behind. Goosebumps formed on her arms, and neck. She turned around ever so slowly and looked up at the sky. The giant was walking back to his hovel, apparently not at home. She blushed at her mistake and cleared her throat, preparing to yell.

"Serale GIANT. What brings you to Nexus Prime? You seem very out of place here... and I must say that you have brought nothing but terrible sleepless nights for me by stomping around my home!" Her face flushed red in anger. She referred to him as giant, completely ignoring the fact that he might have a name yet. Adelyn's hair fell loosely to her back, from stretching up towards the sky to have a good view. Her neck began to ache slightly.

[Storful Stöttan]

The rage on her face and tiny human yells delighted him more than the spoils of a successful hunt. He could not help but chuckle a little.

"I am here because I do not have the supplies nor the will to go back to Jaedaxia. And I find this place much in need of a freelance worker like myself. It keeps me busy and paid. I like it. Which home here belongs to you? I may tread lightly around it."

[Adelyn Weiss]

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The giant was laughing merrily now, all traces of anger gone from what she could see of his face. Adelyn's emerald eyes squinted, searching for signs of deceit, but upon finding none, she eased up.

She replied more calmly, but still shouted upward, "My HOME is this one to your left, giant. Please do take care to walk, and lightly at that, around it. If I am correct, it is fragile as it is, without anyone stomping about. I don't know what it is you do, but you sure do like to go out at crazy hours... hours in which I like to sleep, giant." She paused, noticing his delight, so she frowned at her rudeness, "In any case, my name is Adelyn Weiss. I am from the House Moonstar. Have you heard of it, stranger?"

[Storful Stöttan]

"It is hard to live here and not have heard about this House Moonstar. I do not know details, nor do I have plans of inquiring. All I want is to yoik and sing in the forest with my lute and a drinking horn full of ale from Lingerer's."

With lute and drink in hand, he was getting antsy to get up to his spot in the hills. There was nothing he enjoyed more than making music for himself. Except for maybe the nights he would spend trading his earnings to the barkeep for pint after pint in the Lingerer's Tavern.

[Adelyn Weiss]

A small, and quite possibly inaudible, gasp left Adelyn's mouth at his reply. "You make the Moonstars sound bad, giant." She groaned and made a fist with her hand, "Have you even got a name?!" Not letting him answer just yet, she continued rambling. "I can't believe it... you, a drunk! If you were ever to slip and fall while drunk... you'd certainly cause my home to collapse. You lack serious judgment, giant."

She was growing weary of calling the giant simply by giant. And she grew tired of yelling at all. Adelyn hoped he could only bend down a bit so she could better talk to him. The chances of that were, at best, slim. The giant in question didn't seem to possess much intuition.

[Storful Stöttan]

"...lack serious judgement?", he thought to himself. Was this new human judging his judgement? Who is she to do this? He no longer found her anger cute, and began to feel his own anger grow.

"My name is Storful, human. And if we're done here, I have somewhere to be." He looked up to the beaten path behind his hovel leading up to the woods.

[Adelyn Weiss]

"I do believe we just might be done. I was only hoping you'd be a good sort of giant, Storful. Apparently you want nothing to do with me, so maybe it is best you went on your merry drunken way." Adelyn smiled fakely in his direction. The last thing she wanted, or even needed was a drunk giant after her. Standing at a mere 5'2", she'd definitely get hurt right away. She shrugged apathetically, and waved at Storful.

Noticing he was looking towards the path behind his home, Adelyn began to wave and him and yelled up, "I was only kidding, giant... I mean, Storful. I do hope our paths cross again." Adelyn laughed, and headed back to her own home, right next to his. There were matters of a more troubling nature to take care of, including the learning of some politics for the future of Paxia.

The ground shook a bit underneath her and after stumbling for a few steps, she was distant enough to walk on non-moving ground. What a strange giant she had just met. Storful was likely drunk and when he was in a more sober mood, they could possibly get along one day.

[Storful Stöttan]

Storful grunted, took a swig from his horn, and made his way to the path.
It was well past noon now. The sun was starting to set but he did not turn back. Up the winding path he went, a short journey to his favourite area. If he could have build his home up here, he would have. Nothing but rock, trees, wildlife, and the notes from his lute.

"Finally", he said to himself as he sat on a large stone and took another drink. He began to play. It was getting darker as each song passed and as each pint emptied. Before night fell, Storful gathered firewood and lit a campfire by his seat. And drank. Heavily intoxicated now, he continued to play, sing, and dance around the campfire. While spinning and yelling incoherent lyrics out to the forest, he lost his balance and met the ground face-first. There he slept.