From a past long gone

❝ A masterpiece of tragedy, turning even stars into dust. ❞

He leaned back in his chair as he looked over the notes he had taken. A smile softly curling up on his lips. That looked okay for now. He just had to perfect some of the script and it would be ready to send to the commisioner. They had asked him to rewrite an old tale so they can make a play out of it. He looked forward to see how they responded to the slight retelling of the olden tale. He had given it some more modern tones and made it a bit more appealing to the general public. Adding a hint of romance and hitting up the violence button by some notches. It still was a very peaceful telling, for the most part, but with the extra bits he was sure it would grab the readers attention. He could only wish it translated well when it was performed.

He stood up and looked over at the corner of his room, where his training material was stacked neatly. As he neatly folded his notes, he put them away in a drawer. He had to read it all over again at a later time, then have someone to do a test read on. He could ask his mother, as she loved his reading... But she would also be gone to Lemuria soon enough. It would be a matter of time before she was back, ofcourse, but id the script was finished before her return he would have to find someone else. He was someone who always tried to deliver on time, so for him it was crucial that everything went as smoothly and swiftly as possible. Oh... But that was a matter for future him. As for now he turned his attention towards some of the training material. He looked them over, before grabbing one of the beaten up training dummies in the back. He lifted it with ease on his shoulder and moved towards the inner garden of the house.

He places the material down, looking up at the sky for a moment. It was already past noon, so it would seem, as the sun wasn't right on top of him. There was plenty of shade in the small inner garden for him to properly train. He took his upper garments off as the heat of the outside got to him rather quickly. He was safe for sunburn as long as he remained in the shade. He took on his fighting position slowly and started to circle the dummy at a slow pace, holding his hands up as his feet shuffled on the stones. He leaned a bit back and shot forward, delivering powerful jabs as he hit the thing brute fashion. He turned his body and delivered a quick, which cause the dummy to loose its balance and fall over. He sighed, taking a deep breath and picking the thing up. Again.

So he went on with beating the shit out of the training dummy, zoned out in his own head as he went over some of the new lines that had formed. It was the soft voice of his mother that got his attention, however. "Zu," He looked up. His breathing was hastened, but somewhat calm. He was just training and therefore... he actually felt quite relaxed. "You have a visitor," he frowned. A visitor? Why? He barely knew anyone that would visit him, let alone take the time out of their day to come over.

❝ A masterpiece of tragedy, turning even stars into dust. ❞

He took a deep breath and sighed as he shook his head, wanting to move inside and grab at least a shirt he could wear. However, as soon as he walked out of the small outside area that was part the housing, he spotted the small sun elf he knew all to well. He felt himself get flustered right away as he was basically half naked. He was never really good with people looking at him in general. On top of him being a bit self conscious of how he looked, he didn't really like it. He could feel his cheeks warm up, most likely making his bleak face warm up in a bright shade of red. He lifted a hand and laid it over his face as to cover it up somehow. Even though she was most likely the closest he ever had to a friend, he still felt so uneasy being around her. Not that it was her fault, he was just a very shy person. He always needed some time to warm up to people, even if he knew them.

Sin didn't let this opportunity slip her by, commenting on the way he was dressed. He lifted his shoulders as he turned his face away a bit, looking over at a shirt he quickly grabbed it off the table and put it on, as if it was nothing. She went on to ask about the dummy. He glanced at the garden for a short period, before nodding. "Felt restless," Was his sad attempt at trying to explain the situation. In all honesty, was it the truth. He let his hand go over his face once more, still feeling a bit warm as he just couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the slightest things going somewhat wrong. People could toy so easily with him and he rarely did anything about. Even though he could and perhaps he should... But he didn't have that kind of courage in him.

He cleared his throat as he looked over to the white haired elf. "Your uh... Hair looks nice today," Oh- "I mean... You look nice in general," He heard his mother chuckle from outside the living space. He did his best to keep a straight face, but he got flustered again. No... He averted his gaze, sighed and shook his head. "You... Leaving again soon? Want some recommendations?" He quickly moved himself away and towards his room. He had some books in store that he had been saving up to give with Sin. That and... he couldn't look at her right now, since he felt his face flush in a bright red once again. Why did he have to be half naked again?

❝ A masterpiece of tragedy, turning even stars into dust. ❞

He wasn't used to having company over, let alone someone he liked. He was socially a wreck, couldn't help himself around anything as he had the social skills of a hermit crab thanks to his anxiety. He never really had to develop them... But as of recent he... Was trying? Oh well, he'd been trying for some years now... And still he found himself dumbfounded whenever a conversation started. It all went well in his head, when he planned out the whole talk, but when it came to execution he failed miserably. Today was no different, sadly.

She smiled when he complimented her and he... He just smiled back at her somewhat awkwardly as he averted his gaze, remaining flustered. He quickly regained himself as his face slowly went back to his more neutral expression. He shook his head slowly, letting his hand go over his face as he tried to find something to focus on. Books, trading matters. What was up ahead in terms of business. She came for stories and other things, so... Hm... He had already prepared some romantic tales that she could take to Ashmoor, but if she was going to Ravaryn as well this time then he would also have to prepare some of his other tales, which he hadn't yet. As he slowly got lost in his own head, her comment caught him a bit off guard. She thanked him, which didn't do much at first, but as she went on and complimented him, he started to blush right away. Getting even more red when she went on about the fact that it was better without a shirt. "I- That's-" He fell over his own words as he tried to regain himself. Focus Zuhayr, focus. "Tha- That is... I don- don't think-" he stuttered silently as he fell over his words.. No he couldn't really get himself to actually form a decent word... So he quickly covered his face with both his hands as he turned around. AUgh.

Luckily for him conversation went on towards business... Finally, yes, something he could properly talk about. She was leaving in two days for Lemuria. He slowly removed his hands from his still somewhat flustered face as he stepped towards his room, nodding. He didn't dare to look at her again as he knew he was sure he would start blushing once more, hearing her comment again in his own head. Dammit. He opened the door to his room and walked over to his desk as she asked him what he had for her. "Romance novels this time, I had prepared them for Ashmoor, but I think they'll do well in Lemuria as well..." he brought his hand to some books and placed them over the desk as he took a step back. "Poems do well too in Lemuria, so let me get some of those ready as well," he nodded at her before walking to one side of his room, where a somewhat chaotic looking book case was standing. It was packed, he had organize it sometime... But he found order in the chaos, since it was his collection. He let his hands go over some of the covers as he quickly pulled out a few books, stacking them on his one arm as he went on, a focused expression on his face. The flustered feelings fading now that he was in his element.

After he collected some books he turned back around, placing them carefully the desk as he placed them down one by one next to the rest. "Tales of Laphiss... Might also do well this time of year," He said holding up the book in question as he carefully placed it back down. "And this one is a retelling of the first luna moth festival I wrote about a year ago, I think it could do well with tourists," He nodded, taking the next book. "Poems of the ocean, a classic but... I think it still holds up," He let his hand go over another book. "This is my newest book I finished just a few days ago. I'm not sure if will even do well in Lemuria, I think it will do better in Ashmoor. It isn't based on legends or tales but it's a tragic love story," He stopped for a moment. "Less religion, more personality base you know?" He placed it back down as he let his gaze go over his books. What else could he offer her...