As Sirella's breathing goes soft, her fingers loosely curled in the sheets as she sleeps soundly, Solaire's mind tinkers and contemplates
...What is this kingdom? We know it's named Nitsilvania, but i remember that usually we humans have colored eyes..., i have a violet left eye and a red right eye..,Sirella has green eyes, or emerald as she likes to call them.
He contemplates deeply, pondering.
He shifts on the bed as his arm rests under his head he lets out a long thoughtful sigh. Sirella was always carefree so he must shoulder the responsibility of planning their life, after all they are orphans, the porch owner's kindness is obviously not the norm in this kingdom.
After seeing all those people in those huge crowds i did notice how almost everyone has dark brown eyes, but i never saw someone with two eye colors....but it was really common back in Halia... He ponders further, trying to better his comprehension of this unknown kingdom.
He slowly closes his eyes I'll continue thinking tomorrow, for now I'm just gonna sleep for the whole dang day... He finally decides to postpone his contemplative session to another day, eventually he'll come back to it, and it'll be much more diverse and complex.
Meanwhile on the porch, the kind man sips his tea, slowly. In the peaceful atmosphere of his ranch he relaxes in the serenity as he mutters to himself
"I don't recall seeing anyone with mixed eye colors, especially not red and violet..." He continues as he relishes his tea "i wonder what my wife will do once she sees those siblings."
He rocks on his chair as he adds to his muttering "But that kid doesn't look over 12 years old, and he wants to work? It's not like i can exactly take care of them, it's already hard to get by..." He sighs, long and hard, his sympathy conflicting with his rationality.
His eyes widen slightly as he remembers something "Ah, we didn't make introductions..." As a man of courtesy and manners, introductions are essentially the most vital part to connection. "They must be sleeping right now. I won't wake them just for introductions, the kids look absolutely exhausted....not to mention the boy smelled of blood, i wonder if he had gotten injured." mutters the man to himself.
Eventually the man finishes his tea, it's time for him to work.
"Do i milk the cows first or muck out the stable?" He ponders as he rubs his chin.
To him, organization is essential especially for labor.
"They say start with the harder tasks" He mutters as he shrugs "I'll muck out the stable and groom the horses i suppose." It's true that the man has hired hands, but today is Sunday, and it's a non-work day for his hired hands. Today those men rest, tomorrow they work.
He treads towards the stable "I hope there ain't that much manure in there." with a creak of the door he opens it, greeted by his horses' neighing.
"Awww, always so welcoming" He smiles, obviously loving towards his horses.
As he goes to pat the first horse it immediately gets it's neck closer, it seems the love is mutual.
He even named the horses.
"Awwww, i love you too, Lisa." He says as he rubs his cheek on her neck gently, his hands patting her gently and it nickers in response, seemingly satisfied with his affection.
Meanwhile back in the ranch home's guestroom, after a 2 hour nap
"nngghhh..." Solaire yawns and stretches as he finally wakes up, and yet his sister remains asleep.
"How's she still asleep?" He mutters to himself groggily as he slowly gets out of bed.
Once his feet land he rubs his eyes "Where's the bathroom?" He murmurs "I'll just have to find it, i guess..." He concludes. But did he just figure out that the kind man left to work?
Huh? Wait why don't i ask the man? He thinks to himself as he stands and pads towards the room's door to open it I feel like i know he's not here though... He thinks further.
The door creaks as he opens it to reveal the hallway.
"Maybe the bathroom is on this floor?" He mutters to himself as he rubs his eyes again, his grogginess evident.
It's definitely not healthy to nap in the afternoon.
He turns to the right to check there, seeing two doors he opens the first one on his left "Ah, lucky, i got it first try...., still though...why could i feel that it was this room?" He mutters to himself, his perplexity evident as his brows furrow. Nonetheless he goes inside, does the deed, washes his face thoroughly as a person who loves to care for his appearance he'll also comb his hair.
"Hmm, does this guy have a comb here?" He mutters to himself as he searches the bathroom cabinet, only to be greeted by a variety of bottles "...What are these things?" He pokes at a bottle, only to immediately retract his finger "Eek! What's this material?" As if he touched a boiling hot pan, which he obviously did not.
"It doesn't look harmful..." He concludes after an intense stare contest with the bottle "But what's anti-dandruff mean? I know what shampoo is, but what's that?" He scratches his air as he thinks I definitely don't know.
Reluctantly he picks it up "I suppose I'll wash my hair with it." he quickly opens it and places some shampoo on his hand "It's jelly-like, so weird. Usually shampoo is soapy" He mutters to himself as he puts it on his hair and begins rubbing it in thoroughly. "Oh it feels soapy now"
Perhaps Nitsilvania is just more advanced than Halia.
After a thorough cleaning session of his hair he begins to brush it back, careful to keep it straight he moves the brush slowly "This brush is so smooth, where did this guy get this stuff?" He mutters, excited.
To his surprise Sirella shows up behind him, groggy and yawning she asks
"Afternoon..., What's that thing, Solaire?" She points at the brush in bewilderment, her wonder evident.
"This is called a brush dear sister." He grins "And it's so smooth." He gestures for her to come closer "Come I'll brush your hair, i just finished brushing mine."
"Eh? A brush?" She tilts her head "For brushing hair? But aren't there supposed to only be combs?" She asks, obviously not used to such tools, and Solaire isn't either but he adapts either way.
Solaire shrugs and responds "There are supposed to only be combs but hey these brushes are better!" He gestures at his hair, his voice brimming with excitement and joy as he says "Look at how smooth my hair is now!"
Sirella pads softly towards him and runs her hand smoothly along the edges of his hair "You're right it's so smooth..." She murmurs quietly, her eyes wide with awe "But it smells nice too, how?" She adds.
"Oh that? That's because of the shampoo" He laughs "It said anti-dandruff on the back of the bottle, whatever that is." He shrugs as he points at the bathroom cabinet where he took the bottle.
Sirella turns her head as Solaire points at cabinet, and quickly goes to open it
"Oh? This one?" She asks as she shows him the same bottle. He quickly nods in confirmation.
Sirella scrutinizes the back of the bottle, trying to understand what's written "It says this shampoo gets rid of dandruff..." She tilts her head as she scratches her hair "What's dandruff?"
Solaire shrugs "I dunno. But if i were to guess I'd say it's the yellow stuff that falls from people's hair when it hasn't been washed for some time." He taps his chin as he wonders about his own guess. "But i dunno." He adds, obviously he doesn't want his words to be taken as fact when they're not verified, at the end of the day he islogical and he knows that's his strong suit.
"Okay i guess" Mutters Sirella.
But she grows quiet, pursing her lips as she wonders how to voice her question.
"So....what are we gonna do now?" She asks, staring at him as she awaits his response.
Solaire pauses immediately, he's still thinking about that, and he knows that getting a job on this ranch probably won't be good for them.
What path will he take?
Eventually, he attempts to reply after moments of silence.
"Well....that's a good question but..." He rubs the back of his neck as he continues "I don't really have a concrete answer for that...i mean I'm 12 and you're 10, we're not exactly in working age..."
Sirella nods slowly "I know that..., It's why I'm asking."
Solaire clicks his tongue as he takes a deep breath "I'd say we should explore this Nitsilvania kingdom." He turns his head up to look at her "So...what do you think?" He asks as he awaits her thoughts on the matter.
She scratches her hair as he brows furrow in concentration, it's not always that Solaire asks for her opinion on important matters.
Her finger on her lip she eventually enlightens him with her opinion
"It's a good idea. But how about we go to crowded places?"
She rubs her hands together as she thinks some more. "Maybe it's best to ascertain general knowledge first?" She adds.
"Yup, that's a great suggestion, Sis!" He praises with a wide grin on his face, lighting up her day as he's technically now the only person capable of that.
Sirella proceeds to murmur quietly "I wish mom was here to see how hard i think..." She twiddles her fingers in the process.
Solaire sighs as he obviously emphasizes, he's devastated as well but not as easily affected. "Me too...." He agrees with pensive eyes as he runs a hand through her hair.
He quickly shakes his head "But let's not get depressed! I'm sure mom and dad would want us to press on!" He says in an attempt to cheer and encourage with a face full of determination he makes Sirella giggle with his theatrical seriousness.
"You're like a naive action hero" Sirella chuckles softly as she says that.
Hehe, calmed sis down. Solaire thinks to himself in accomplishment. From his perspective, managing to comfort someone while being extremely inept at comforting is quite the achievement.
"Let's go then!" He quickly blurts out.
Sirella nods in agreement immediately and begins to wash her face to rid her expression of left over grogginess.
Once she's done the siblings make their way downstairs, and are greeted by the kind man who allowed them to stay her.
"What's gotten you two in such a hurry?" He asks with a raised brow his expression's curiosity palpable.
"Oh! Uhh....ummm...." Solaire scratches his hair as he contemplates how to reply, he doesn't want to sound rude as the man literally allowed them to stay here and sleep, and now it's about 4 pm and they wish to leave already? After Solaire promised to work no less?
But Sirella steps forward instead and bows gracefully as she speaks "We thank you dearly for your hospitality, Sir."
A beat of silence as Solaire stands there staring at her When did she get those manners?! He thinks to himself with a mix of shock and bewilderment.
The man nods as he replies "Of course, dear." he awaits their explanation.
"We're grateful for what you did, but we must take our leave. We are new to this kingdom and wish to explore it." She says as she straightens from her bow.
"I see..." Says the man. "Go right ahead. You can come back here if you need a nap." He says gently. "Oh i almost forgot again!" he groans.
"Name's Henry. Nice to formally meet the two of you." He smiles warmly, as a radiance flows out of his smile.
"I'm Sirella Sinclaire Silverhand." She curtsies gracefully as she overflows with elegance.
"Solaire Sinclaire Silverhand." He says as he bows slightly with his left hand on his chest he extends his right arm to the side.
"A pleasure to meet you, Solaire and Sirella." The man nods, happy he finally got to know their names.
Solaire and Sirella nod in unison and walk past him to the exit.
And finally depart from the ranch.
"He's a kind man, isn't he?" Sirella says in respect, with a smile on her face.
"Setting that aside." Solaire says as he narrows his eyes at Sirella as they walk beside each other "When the hell did you get them manners, Sis?"
Sirella shrugs "Mom taught me manners, unlike someone i know." She glances at him condescendingly.
"Excuse me?! How rude! Manners my ass! You're condescending!" Solaire huffs in indignation as he crosses his arms.
The siblings agree to explore Nitsilvania.
What will they discover?
And what will they do?