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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 15:41:10 GMT -5
There was this thing about leaving home that Eva was still not used to. Perhaps it had to do with how crazy everything was outside her small circle of friends and family – from leaving her home town to heading out to the seaside, to finding her way onto a ship, then another, and another just to(and those were not even pirate ships per se and she was certainly not a part of any crew, but anything to) arrive somewhere she could definitely find a crew that would accept her. Why pirates? She was not quite sure herself, but it sounded like a reasonable enough choice – if there was any way anyone could place “piracy” and “reasonable” in the same sentence, which apparently she liked to think was possible. But those are details and they are not necessarily important at the moment – although they are for her, as they make up her current train of thought. So perhaps they are important, but solely for her.
Eva made her way through a crowded street, looking in every direction but the obvious one – in front of her. Really, she was too caught up in discovering Tortuga – she had never been here and while the trip was tiring, she was much too excited about finally arriving to sleep – that and she still had to find somewhere to do so. Clinging to her tiny bag (the contents of which consisted of some money, extra clothes just in case and knife), she tried to find some place to stay in for a night or two. She was very well aware that if none of these... Pirates wanted her in their crew (and she would not blame them if they didn’t, unless they spewed out some story about her gender), she would have to find a job. But that was in the worst case scenario (well, actually no, the worst case scenario was someone hurting her or killing her) and she was not thinking about that right now. She was being optimistic!
So optimistic, really, that she kept not taking notice of where she was walking; she was bound to do something stupid.
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 16:05:07 GMT -5
Nikolaas was admiring the nice set of throwing knives he had acquired from a pirate from the Asian sea. They could be valuable tools for protection, as they where easily to conceal under his coat. He smiled to himself as he hid the knives in his coat. Suddenly he felt someone bump into him and he turned around to glare at the offender.
"what do you think you're do--" Nikolaas didn't manage to finish his sentence. The person who had so rudely bumped into him was a blond, green-eyed girl with a slight expression of lost and wonder on her face. "B-Belgium!?" He blurted out withouth thinking, before pinching the bridge of his nose - a headache was coming on. "Sorry...ignore that...I don't know why I said that" He straightened himself up again and examined the shorter girl standing in front of him. Something was painfully familiar about her, the feeling he got when looking at her was the same one he got when he saw his family back home in The Netherlands...but this girl, he had never seen her before, yet he knew he had. Damn, the headache was getting worse the more he thought about it.
"Excuse me...this might seem very odd to you, but have we met before?" He was curious as to why this person in front of him 'felt' different, as if the aura she was radiating was of a different nature - one that made him feel like he should take care of her and protect her...this was very odd.
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 16:18:01 GMT -5
"Ah!"
Distracted as she was, Eva did not notice there was something - no, someone until it was too late and she bumped into this stranger, stumbling back a couple of steps. Thankfully she managed to keep her balance, but before she could even apologize he was already scolding her (what a great way to start off her new life; how perfect). She didn't have a chance to even apologize but--
Wait. "Wh-what..?" Did he call her...?
Eva could only blink in confusion. Did her perhaps know where she was from? She finally got the chance to take a good look at him - he'd never seen her but. She swallowed dryly, feeling her stomach churn. No. There was something about this person. She had no idea what, but it was making her feel slightly nervous - like she had mixed feelings. But she couldn't possibly make such a quick judgement. She clutched her bag tighter and lowered her head, shaking it in the process. "Nee, I don't think we have met. I'm sorry sir, I will be more careful next time."
It was best to get away as soon as possible.
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 16:34:18 GMT -5
"Hey wait just a minute!" Nikolaas reached out and grabbed a hold of the smaller girl before she could get away from him. "You...you seem familiar somehow...I...I feel like I should know you from somewhere" He trailed off and allowed himself to look at the blond girl a bit more. Confusion about this whole situation rather obvious in his eyes. He then noticed she was clutching a small bag like it was her own life, could she be new in town? He knew perfectly well himself how being new in Tortuga could feel like. While it was a mesmerizing place, it was a very bad idea to be out and about alone, unless you where skilled in weapon wielding and self defense, and even then this place was not safe. He had acquired a few new scars after arriving here, some where from fights he had himself gotten into, other where from completely unprovoked attacks. "You new in town?" Obvious question right there, Nikolaas mentally kicked himself, not exactly a great first impression
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 16:55:02 GMT -5
Eva was quick to protest - she did not know this person so why was he insisting on not letting her go on her way? Obviously she tried to struggle and wriggle out of his grasp at first, but as his words began to sink in, she managed to calm down a bit. Well at least enough to, instead of struggling, simply narrowing her eyes at him. She kind of felt exactly what he was trying to explain to her, but she would not admit to it; he - whoever he was - was a stranger to her and she really didn't like being grabbed in the middle of a street. She wondered if a lot of people here had a tendency to do that or if this was just her unlucky day.
And then he asked a question she almost hesitated to answer.
"Ye-- That is of no concern to you." She bit her lip; that was a slip right there. Truthfully, if they had met in any other circumstances she might have been less hostile, but as it was, she did not quite appreciate being approached like this. She almost felt bad about being so blunt, but still... "Let go of me. L-leave me alone. I do not know you, we've never met before."
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 17:12:14 GMT -5
Nikolaas was strong but he was still thankful when the girl stopped struggling, although it was probably more painful to her than him...
At the younger blunt and hostile answer, Nikolaas felt a pang in his heart. He really hadn't mean to be prying and he didn't mean to be so rough with her either. Something in the back of his mind wanted this girl to like him, not be angry. But again, the fog in his mind would not allow him to understand why he felt this way.
"I'm sorry..." he looked away and loosened his grip around her arm slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you, but a young woman like you shouldn't be walking around this place on you own...there are some pretty...shady people around here" he gave a slight smile, hoping she wouldn't accuse him of being one of these 'shady" people - as so many others did the second they saw him.
"Ah...yes..of course not. How silly of me. Your accent is not Dutch, so you can't be anyone I know from back home." His expression softened and turned into one of sadness for a moment, as he thought about his family back home. Mentally kicking himself again, he straightened up and let go of the girl. "Again, I'm terribly sorry Miss. As you said, it really is none of my business. You just seemed so familiar, and to be honest in a place like this, familiarity is not something I often meet" a sheepish and shy smile crept onto his lips and a small blush appeared as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "oh..um...if you're looking for a place to stay the night, I'd recommend "The Lamb Inn" close to the market street. Decent place and not to expensive..."
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 17:28:11 GMT -5
"People like you?" Sadly, Eva was far too confused to understand why that simple smile made her heart clench in such a way - and she blamed it on her own suspicions, thinking it was just her intuition telling her to not, under absolutely any circumstance, trust this person. (Even if a part of her still thought he was oddly familiar and while conflicted, oh so conflicted, she felt like she could almost be safe.) "N-never mind." She shook her head. All the while as she accused him, she looked down at her feet. It was almost as if she could not say that to his face and actually mean it, if that even made any sense.
"I-it's fine. I understand what you mean." 'You seem familiar too', Eva almost wanted to say, but she kept that part to herself, finally willing to look up at him. She almost looked helpless for a moment there. "I don't know where that is.."
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 17:43:41 GMT -5
Nikolaas managed a small laugh. "Yes...perhaps people like me. But I like to think I'm better than most others here"[/color] Oh how easily this girl could bring him down from his throne. Why was that? All this confusing was making his head hurt like hell.
A soft smile appeared on his lips at her confession of not knowing where the market street was. So he really had been correct in assuming that she was a newcomer in the town. "It's not too far away from here, my shop and house is on that street too, and I'm on my way back anyway, so feel free to tag along. I wouldn't want you to get lost in a place like this on your own." [/b]he gestured behind him to empathize what way he meant, and hoped she wouldn't just storm off.
He stretched his hand out and offered it to the young girl "I think a proper introduction is in need here...I'm Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck and I'm a merchant here in Tortuga. Nice to meet you Miss" [/b]
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 18:08:46 GMT -5
Eva muttered something about inflated egos, but did not say much else about his first statement; truthfully, she would rather if he was not one of those shady people. His smile was not the most calming thing, either; in a way, she was suspicious and thought he was just tricking her - but then she recognized that she could not get around by herself and in any case, she could defend herself. Right? Right.
... Hopefully.
She almost felt like sticking out her tongue and tell him she wasn't tagging along with anyone - but that was childish. Not to mention that before she could do anything else, he held out his hand and before she could even process her actions, she was already taking his hand. When she realized what she'd done, she could feel her face getting slightly warmer. The name made her hesitate for a moment before answering though - had she heard it somewhere before...? It sounded awfully familiar. "Eva. Eva Vermeulen."
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 19:06:17 GMT -5
"Eva? That's a beautiful name" He flashed her a warm grin and held on to her hand as he started dragging her toward the market street. But the name rung another familiar bell, and she had not let on that she had a similar feeling, so it was probably just his own imagination...After a few steps he decided dragging her behind him was probably not a very good idea, so he gently lead her up in front of him and placed his hand on her back. Carefully guiding her to-wards the market, making sure none came to close to her.
It only took ten minutes to reach the start of the market street - the place where everything trade-able under the sky could be found. "There you go Miss Vermeulen. Over there is the inn" he pointed to a sign hanging from one of the houses. "I presume you can make you own way now,right?" another grin crossed his face. "but if you have any trouble, my shop is just 10 houses down from the inn. Feel free to drop by. You'll recognize it imediatly..it's bright orange, so it stands out quite a lot" Nikolaas chuckled a bit to himself and smiled down at Eva. He had probably over stayed his welcome in her presence by a lot, he turned to leave with a small wave.
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 19:25:28 GMT -5
At the compliment, Eva merely nodded and muttered a cut ‘thank you’. It was not that she did not appreciate it, really – but it was odd, to her at least, that a stranger would be so nice to her for no apparent reason. Not that he felt completely like a stranger, that much she had already noticed, but it was still odd. Not to mention he was being awfully rude just pulling her along and—oh, well, her mental protests were quickly cut off as he changed that. It was odd – she still felt somewhat uneasy, but at the same time she did not seem to mind that hand on her back as much, or the fact that wherever she was being led to, it was somewhere she did not know. For all she knew, he could just be leading her to the wolf’s den.
... Which was probably not so far from the truth; it was a crowded street and she could not help but clutch her bag even tighter. And the saddest thing was that he was leaving her just like that, in the middle of the street. For a moment she felt completely helpless, like she was just a little kid again – but that brief moment snapped her back to reality. No, she was here because she wanted to be tough and she wanted to find answers to her questions. She was not here to be a little lamb in a pack of wolves and she was certainly not going back; she had gone this far already! She nodded at his explanation. Bright orange, eh? It sounded almost fitting – even though she did not know this person. “Thank you bro—“ She cut herself off immediately. “Mister Hasbrouck.”[/color]
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 20:00:15 GMT -5
What had Eva just tried to call him? Nikolaas almost did a double take, but at her own correction he just decided to ignore it and pretend he had only hear her call him my his last name. "Any time Miss. It was my pleasure. Oh...a small hint, in this town, always place a chair under the door knob...this inn might be one of the safest ones here, but that's still no guaranty for other residents." he gave her a sad look before taking a few more steps back-wards giving a small wave. "Take care Eva, and please do drop by some time."
While he walked off and toward his own home he did wonder if it really was such a good idea to leave her all by herself again...his instinct was telling him to pick her up and place her in the safety of her own home, but they had just met - and even in this town he was pretty sure that would be kidnapping... Oh well..if she did need him she should be able to find him. His shop was very hard to ignore...he had customers who claimed it glowed in the dark...suited him fine really, at least in brought in customers when it stuck out.
Nikolaas got out his key and unlocked the door, flipping the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open'. He scanned the front room of the shop, everything was the way he had left it - nice and orderly. He seldom had customers at this time of day, so he decided a cup of coffee was a good idea. Once he'd made a cup he sat in the chair behind the register and relaxed. Trying not to worry too much about Eva...there was no reason for him to be worried, she wouldn't have made it all the way to Tortuga if she couldn't take care of herself, but Nikolaas still felt concerned for her wellbeing. An odd thing for the tall dutch man, who seldom cared for anyone outside of his nearest family...
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 20:15:24 GMT -5
Eva was silently glad that the man didn’t question her slip. It was embarrassing, really and she must have looked absolutely flustered about it. Thankfully all he did was give her a hint on how to get around this place; that was good enough really, although she doubted she would even sleep well the first few nights. With a small nod and a thank you, she bid him goodbye and turned away, heading towards the inn.
She could not help but to look around at the people in the area. She was going to be one of them...? She felt completely out of place. Completely helpless again. And that thought was even more frustrating. With a shake of her head, Eva quickened her pace to the door of the inn but stopped as her hand reached the door. It was as if she completely froze in place and she even looked over her shoulder, hoping to see that Mr. Hasbrouck again. Alas, he was not there. She sighed; this was childish. They were not related, she did not know him and this feeling must be what everyone feels when they get to somewhere they don’t know and someone is nice to them, right?
... Maybe wrong.
It was still early enough. She would be fine taking a look around – it was better now than later at night anyway, right? Right. Taking a deep breath, Eva made sure she still had her bag and decided to take a look around, stopping once every so often when something interesting caught her eye. Perhaps she would not do so badly here, if only she got used to it. Perhaps... “What...” Without noticing, she had walked all the way to that bright orange store. It really did stand out... She had to blink a few times. But she couldn’t go in, could she..? No, no, she should just move along and—well, it wouldn’t be so bad if she took a peek inside, right...? Wrong. He was there. And she was just making herself look stupider and stupider.
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Post by Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck on Jul 23, 2010 20:25:49 GMT -5
From the corner of his eye Nikolaas caught some movement outside of the shop door. Through the glass window he could see the young girl he had just a few minutes ago, left outside in the street. Slightly confused, but even more so, he was rather pleasantly surprised, he smiled and waved at her to come in.
"Missed me already Miss Vermeulen?" he gave a small chuckle and sipped his coffee. "Please take a look around if you wish. I've got everything from weapons to food to clothes..." he gestured to the wall's aligned with all kinds of things. One wall was entirely dedicated to weapons, while another had things like tea, sugar ,spices and flour. There where also a large selection of clothes suitable for life on a boat. Coats with large pockets and shirts made out of rough and long lasting material.
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Post by Miss Belgium on Jul 23, 2010 20:44:44 GMT -5
The voice startled Eva and if she previously had any chance to walk off without being noticed, then she had completely wasted it. There was no point in walking off like she did not hear him talking to her now; that was quite rude and uncalled for and she was truthfully thankful that someone had helped her out. She shyly stepped into the shop, taking slow steps as if she was waiting for the floor to crack underneath her - there was no reason for that, really, but she was feeling insecure all over again.
"I-I did not!" She sighed and crossed her arms, stopping just a few feet from the register and taking a look at her surroundings. She would probably need better clothes if she actually got to join some ship but... That was unnecessary at the time so she looked away; that was a bit of a weakness. Pretty things. The weapons. The weapons. Perhaps those would be a better sight, never mind the irony of what they are used for not being pretty at all. So maybe the spices and such... "I- I was just taking a look around." She muttered after a long pause. "I did not think I would end up here."[/color]
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