A Meeting of Minds (Private)

The jingle of a small bell attached to the top of a shop door rang clearly as Adam stepped out an down the three steps, unto the main road. "Definitely coming back here again" He said as he strolled down the road, stopping as he checked the bag he had carried out of the shop, counting the number of wood sticks he had purchased. "Twenty Two, that should be just enough I think" He said, smiling brightly as he continued forward, passing by a sign, new by its lack of rust on its edges which read "New Nebelheim" Looking up at the shop signs as he walked he seemed perplexed, as if the writing was in some foreign tongue. "I need to pick up those glasses..." Adam said as he stopped at a fork in the road, leading to two separate roads. "It would help if I could read the signs" He said, laughing at his own confusion, spinning in circles until he made out the faint image of a cross sign and a pair of glasses. "That must be it...in the completely opposite direction."

His laugh died down a bit, the feeling of embarrassment taking over as he wondered how anyone could get used to traveling across such wide opened villages. Having lived his life in or around large cities, it was a new experience for Adam, one which he would cherish...as soon as he was capable of actually seeing it. "Just a little further ahead" He said as his foot caught a stone, which rose up from the ground slightly, catching the very front part of his shoe and caused him to trip and fall against a wooden fence. "Nibelheim...a nightmare for the blind and uncoordinated" Adam said as he took a moment to catch his breath.

Sophia walked along the dusty street, breathing in the fresh air deeply. "So good to be out of the city again" She thought to herself. She stopped to look in the window of a small bakery and felt her stomach growl as she inhaled the scent of freshly baked bread. Before she knew it she had subconsciously walked into the bakery and was in the process of ordering a large pecan danish to go. "Actually, make that two" She said to the woman behind the counter as she fished her wallet out of her pocket and took out the money to pay. "Skipped breakfast"

She nodded in thanks, took her pastries in their brightly coloured paper bag and turned to leave the small shop. It was then that an unusual looking fellow walked passed the door and caught her eye. He was dressed in such a way that made him stick out like a vicar in a brothel, he most certainly wasn't from around these parts.

She took a bite of her snack and brushed the flakes of pastry that fell onto her chest away with her hand as she followed him down the street, her curiosity peeked as she spied the sticks poking out of the top of his bag. She wondered what he was going to do with that amount of timber when he stopped and began spinning around as he quite obviously lost his bearings. Sophia quickly turned and looked into the nearest window in an attempt to go unnoticed, only to find an angry looking old lady staring back at her. This was not a shop, it seemed. She hurried away in the direction the man went and looked up just in time to see him stumble and fall. Instinctively, she rushed to his side and helped him to his feet. "Are you ok? You seem a bit... disorientated. Is the fresh air making you woozy? I know its a little different from city air, you should take your time to get used to it before you go rushing around like that. Do you need help with anything?"

Attempting to catch his breath, Adam failed to notice the rather pathetic situation he had found himself in, finding only the energy to laugh out of embarrassment as he struggled to stand up straight. Feeling someone's hands pulling him up Adam turned to see a woman, struggling along with him to place him on his feet. Grabbing hold of the stranger, Adam soon found his footing and continued to catch his breath, although with less of a struggle. Moving one of his hands from his knees and towards the kind stranger, Adam smiled and addressed her kindly. "Hey, thanks for the lift, my name is Adam and yeah, country air isint as thick as the city, hard to keep a handle on your bearings in a place like this" Adam said as he bent down to pick up his bag, which had dropped during his stumble, looking around to make sure he hadn't dropped any sticks.

"I could use some help finding the pharmacy, I spoke to one of the clerks and they said they could repair my glasses." Looking down at his watch, Adam attempted to make out the miniature numbers, but wasn't entirely sure of the current time. "They said it would take about an hour and im pretty sure its about time..." Taking a few steps unto the main road, Adam paused and thought silently, looking briefly at the woman, seemingly wanting to add something to his statement before she answered. "...maybe afterwards we could look around the village together, its my first time here and it would be a lot more fun to explore with a friendly face to get lost with" Adam said, smiling brightly as he calmly awaited for the woman's reply.

Sophia raised an eyebrow and shook her head at the peculiar man and continued to help him stand upright. A feat that proved slightly more difficult than it should have been in any normal situation. She suddenly found her hand being shaken rather vigorously as he introduced himself "Sophia, pleased to meet you. Shake that any harder and you'll pull it clean off!"

She was about to help him gather his belongings when he stooped and swept them all up himself, while she was left poised with her hands either side of him to catch him should he stumble again. "Sheesh! Take it easy there! Don't want you eating gravel again just yet"

She leant against the street sign while he checked his bags and finished off her pastry, pocketing the other one to eat later back in the small room she was staying in. Upon hearing Adam's request for help finding the pharmacy, Sophia pointed down the road he should go, only for him to take steps in the opposite direction. It was then that he made his request for a travelling companion "I think that would be a great idea, since you would obviously wander into an open mine shaft if we left you to your own devices. Pharmacy's this way" With that, she linked her arm through his for the purpose of keeping him upright rather than a friendly gesture, and turned him round 90 degrees and lead him down the street to pick up his glasses.

"Where are you staying? I got myself booked into this cute little guest house on the outskirts of the village. If you don't have somewhere to stay, I'm sure they have another room if you want it. Foods good too." Sophia became aware that she was rambling and cut herself short as they neared the entrance to the pharmacy. "You need help when you get in there?"

Hearing Sophia mention his rather extraordinary lack of direction, Adam began to laugh nervously, he had been worse off than he thought. Seeing her finish off her pastry, Adam smiled, perhaps he would pick something up himself after he could see what was immediately in front of him. "Thanks a lot, you're very kind" Adam said as Sophia linked her arm around his and spun him to the opposite direction, causing Adam's nervous laughter to return, he was practically useless without those glasses. "I should seriously consider an alternative..." He thought as the two walked along, Adam paying close attention to Sophia's living arrangements. "As long as its affordable im all for it, I would like to explore the countryside some more, and it would be nice to have a friend to talk to while im here anyways." He said as the two arrived at the front steps of the pharmacy.

Making his way up the first two steps, Adam stopped, turning to face Sophia as he heard her offer him further assistance. "Its ok, im sure I can take it froooo...!" Slipping on some dirt that rested on the second step, Adam moved forward in an attempt to catch himself, only to trip on the third step and fall straight forward, landing flat on the inner floor of the pharmacy as an old man who had exited a few moments earlier held the door open, a confused expression on his face. Poking Adam with his cane, the old man made his way down in a hurry and smiled at Sophia before quickly shuffling away. "...It isint gravel" Adam said, raising a hand as he attempted to inject some humor into the situation, laying on the floor as the lower half of his body kept the pharmacy's door open.

Hearing his apparent acceptance at lodging in next door to her, the two arrived at the first steps as he began to climb up, assuring her that he was perfectly capable of getting up on his own. His back turned, Adam could not see the pharmacy door open as he leaned in to open it, instead catching his foot on the last step and stumbling forward in a quick and quite painful frontal face plant. "His legs may as well be silly straws..." Sophia said, her arms outstretched as she had tried to catch him before his triumphant fall. She sighed loudly as she walked up the first few steps, reaching down to pick him up like a child who had tripped on the playground after he had forgotten to tie his shoes. She sat him up with a sigh and dusted off his shoulder vigorously as the old man who had opened the door stepped over him and carried on his way.

Sophia looked inside the store and noticed the meticulously neat fashion the shelves were stacked from ceiling to floor. Seeing as he was in no condition to even manoeuvre a few feet in any direction, Sophia reluctantly took it upon herself to retrieve Adam's glasses, before he caused himself or anyone else any further damage or embarrassment. "Wait here, I'll go talk to the man. Don't want you knocking over the entire display of cough medicine"

Sophia made her way to the back of the store where the counter stood and leaned against the dazzlingly clean, white surface and spoke to the also pristine clerk ”My friend over there said he put his glasses in to get fixed? I really, really hope they’re ready. A trip to hospital is not on my list of fun things to do”. The clerk peered over her shoulder at her hapless companion and nodded slowly as he reached his hand under the counter and retrieved the item in question. ”N-n-no charge. J-j-just keep him outside” Sophia raised an eyebrow at the clerk and simply nodded as she turned and walked towards Adam. "Here you go Murphy..." Sophia said jokingly as she grabbed Adam's hand and gently placed the glasses in his hand, hoping these frames would make him even slightly less accident prone. ”So you want to go see about that room? Follow me” She turned and walked out of the store, hoping that he was steady enough to follow.

She rounded the corner to the Guesthouse door, placed her hand on the handle and held it open for Adam to walk through. Upon hearing the old wooden door the owner, a large perpetually flustered woman, blustered in and began talking to Adam in her high speed chatter. Sophia shrugged at Adam apologetically and said ”I’ll leave you to sort things out here. I’m going to go up to my room and grab some stuff, I’ll meet you back here in a bit”

She bounded up the stairs to her room and carefully unlocked the door. Laying in the middle of her bed was her small pet, Naomi. She held out her hand and petted her gently, taking out a few small apples from the drawer by her bed as she did so. ”there ya go, little one. Don’t eat them all at once. Now you stay here real quiet for me, the lady doesn’t like pets” She stood and walked to the small closet and took out her jacket. Just then there was a loud knock at the door, her heart leapt into her mouth as she rushed to hide the tiny deer from view as the door slowly crept open.

The sounds of bones popping back into place were heard as Adam extended his arms out, pushing himself off the ground, putting his back into alignment before dropping flat against the floor once more. "I'll just let you handle that" Adam said with a cough as Sophia stepped in and spoke with the pharmacist, producing his glasses from the counter and proceeding to maker her way towards him. Feeling her hand grabbing his wrist, Adam chuckled as she placed his glasses in his palm, closing his hand to make sure he wouldn't drop them. Turning on his back, Adam dropped his arm and placed the square frames upon his face, allowing his eyes to adjust to the view. Smiling he outstretched his left arm and stuck out his thumb, expressing both his gratitude and sense of relief. "So were friends?" Adam said as he began to get up off the ground, apparently his voice was too low for Sophia to hear as she offered to show him the rooms she spoke of and dashed out of the establishment.

Getting up to his feet, Adam dusted off his pants and proceeded to follow her out, dashing quick enough to catch her rounding the corner. His sight immensely improved, Adam turned the corner easily and viewed on as Sophia held the door open for him. "That's quite nice of yo....ikes!" Adam said as the hulking owner stepped out and began to bombarded him with a flurry of information, including open rooms and costs. "...yeah, no problem, i'll catch up in a bi... for the love of sanity breathe woman!" Adam said as he focused on catching at least 2 words from the woman's nonsensical chatter. A few moments later, Adam bounded up the stairs as he slipped out of view after having filled out some paperwork. Having caught a glimpse of Sophia entering her room, Adam followed suite and knocked on the door, playing with his own room keys in his free hand as he began to open the door. "Hey, guess what! I got the room right next to yo...oh deer!" Adam said as he looked at the lower half of a deer, badly hidden in a rush under some blankets. Adam's surprised face soon turned back to normal as he began to chuckle. "Get it? oh deer?"

Walking into the room Adam quickly closed the door as he began to hear the owner's high pitched voice from downstairs. "Oh sweet gods no..." Adam said, sighing deeply before turning to face Sophia and the deer once more. "Right, so whats on our agenda buddy? now that I am no longer a hopeless imbecile?"

Sophia breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she saw it was Adam bursting into her room. "Mrs Nosey von Busybody down there doesn't allow pets in her 'fine establishment'. If she saw little Naomi in here she'd bust a high-pitched gasket." Within seconds of her finishing that sentence, the sound of the overbearing woman echoed up the hall. Sophia dashed to the door, pushing Adam out of the way as she moved and quickly closed and locked it, making sure to leave the key in the lock half turned. And from past experience with the woman, Sophia quickly pulled the small table in front of the door and hung her jacket over the door handle, barring the view from the keyhole in the process.

She turned to Adam and held her finger over his lips to shoosh him when he spoke, just in time too as the owner could be heard knocking on Adams door "Yoooohoooo. Mr Kessler! I brought you some lovely towels and some... oh" The sound of his door being opened then faint shuffling of feet could be heard from the next room "Hope you didn't have anything too private in there!" Sophia snorted quietly.

Sophia looked over to the bed just in time to see Naomi's little white tail disappearing under then bed as she instinctively hid from the overbearing womans voice. "Smart little thing, I wish I was small enough to fit under there too" The sound of the woman closing the door to his room was swiftly followed by the sound of her heavy footsteps growing closer. Sophia darted into the small bathroom and quickly turned on the shower to provide the excuse she needed for not letting the woman in. She looked at Adam and rolled her eyes as the predicted knocking came. Pretending not to hear, she flicked the soap off the edge of the sink so that the clattering noise it made could be heard outside "UGH. WHY DOES THE DAMN THING ALWAYS FALL WHERE I CAN'T REACH IT"

This seemed to do the trick as the old lady shuffled away chuckling to herself about how clumsy her guests were. "Lets get out of here before she tries to spoon-feed you porridge or something. I was out for a walk yesterday and found this great little roadside vendor up by the meadow on the other side of the woods if you fancy it? Follow me, we'll go the safe route" Sophia opened up her window and climbed out onto a small ledge just wide enough to get her feet on. She very carefully shuffled to the left and motioned for Adam to come out while pointing the he should move to the right and down onto the roof of the small outhouse inches away from her window. Once he was out, she quietly closed her window and followed suit. Quickly making her way across the roof, she climbed down onto the tall wall of the property next door and hopped down into the small yard on the other side. She nodded to the owner as he popped his head out to see who it was and got a polite nod in return. This was not the first time she had had to escape in this fashion. Once down, she dusted herself off and waited for Adam to make his, hopefully graceful, entrance and join her .

"It's this way." Sophia led him out into the lane and into the trees that backed onto it. She took a deep breath in and smiled, the scent of the woods reminded her of being a child once more and brought the spring back to her step. She led the way further into the woods knowing exactly which way to go. She had always found it easier to get her bearings amongst identical looking trees than in a crowded city with signposts and noises bombarding every sense she had. "It will take about 20 minutes to walk there, would you like to rest a while before we head off?" She guessed that he would need to and sat down on a fallen tree trunk to await his reply

Hearing Sophia's explanation for keeping Naomi in the room, Adam smiled, waving at the little dear as he began to asked a question. Sophia's finger shot up suddenly, placed against his lips before Adam had a chance to form the words, replacing it instead with low sounding mumbles. Feeling a chill run down his spine after hearing the owner knock on his door, shutting up immediately and letting out a long sigh after she had walked away. Hearing Sophia's comment and quiet snort, Adam himself laughed lightly, fixing the glasses on his face. "No nothing too private, mostly just a journal, a few letters from the folks at home, a book, a kite and some string really." Adam said, completely oblivious to the fact that he had been so frank and descriptive.

Adam turned his head, catching Naomi fitting herself under the bed, causing him to crack a smile. "Shes an adorable little thing" Walking into the center of the room, Adam placed his hands in his pockets as the owner made her way back, this time to Sophia's room. Upon hearing the noise, Sophia had rushed to the bathroom in order to prepare a distraction; Adam had to try and keep himself from laughing at the soap comment. Having successfully outwitted the owner, Sophia mentioned a trek down to a vendor, which Adam thought was a great idea, anything to get away from that woman. "My mom still feeds me porridge when I travel home, stuff of demons that is" Adam said, his shoulders shivering at the thought of eating that goop. Moving towards the window, Adam watched as Sophia made her way down to ground level, making sure to keep in step, a task much easier with his glasses. Stumbling at the last hop to the yard, Adam did caught himself with his hands and rolled to a stand, holding his arms up as if he was performing for an Olympic game."Whats my score?" Adam said, as the male owner tilted his head, slightly confused and worried for the boy's sanity.

Following Sophia down the lane and into the trees, Adam looked around at the scenery, he had never seen so many trees in one spot before. Feeling himself run out of breath, he struggled to maintain his speed, falling behind as Sophia turned and offered a rest. "Yeah, that would be great" Adam said, placing his back against one of the many trees as he stood and attempted to catch his breath, taking in big lungfuls of pure clean air. "So Sophia, you seem quite at home here, you're barely out of breath." Adam said, chuckling to himself as he took in a deep breath. "Do you come around these kind of parts often?" He said, backing off the tree as he began to stretch his legs, awaiting a reply.

Sophia slid off the tree trunk onto the ground and lay back with her hands under her head, drinking in the air and the sunlight as it filtered down through the leaves of the trees. She sighed contentedly and answered Adam's question "yeah, I grew up in a place just like this. Only with more trees. I used to play in the forest as a kid, my mom used to say I spent more time up a tree than on the ground. She was right. I like to come here at least once a month to wash the city out of me, its almost like going home since I can't do that."

She picked up a twig with her right hand and began fiddling with it, feeling the roughness of the bark on her fingertips brought back a flood of long forgotten childhood memories of various scrapes and bumps as she regularly fell out of various trees. She smiled to herself as she became lost in her daydreams. Suddenly she was brought back to earth with a bump as she heard Adam shifting his weight and snapping small twigs under his feet.

She rolled onto her stomach and brushed the forest debris out of her unruly hair, then propped her chin on her hands and looked at her companion. "So what's the bag of sticks for? You seemed awfully fond of them back there. You got some evil plan to take over the world with some contraption or something?" She smirked and playfully flicked the twig she was holding towards her new friend as she waited for his response.

Adam continued to catch his breath, taking in the clean pure air of the country side, smiling as Sophia went on about the forest and where she was raised. Sitting himself down, Adam laid back against a fallen tree trunk and allowed himself a moment to take in the cool breeze. The mention of Sophia's inability to go back home caused Adam to raise and eyebrow and frown slightly. "Sounds good, that home of yours" Adam simply said, not wanting to push the subject less he offend his new found friend.

Adam eyed her as she lost herself in her daydreams, fiddling with the twig and smiling to herself, it caused Adam to smile along with her. Having realized her distraction and rolling unto her stomach, Adam began to chuckle as she cleared the debris from her hair. His chuckled continued as Sophia asked him about the bag of sticks he carried with him, it only just now occurred to him that the bag may have made him seem a little odd. "No plans of world domination, just kites, I like to build them and fly them, the city is too crowded to do it properly so here I am" The twig that had been flicked towards him tapped his leg, Adam smiling as he picked up one himself and flicked it at her hair. "With any luck we could build a bird's nest out of that"

Another brief chuckle and Adam relaxed himself on the fallen trunk, wondering whether they should get a move on or not. "So then shall we go? The vendor you spoke of shouldn't be too far away now" Adam said, playing with another twig as he spoke, he seemed to enjoy himself, nice quiet spot with a good friend. "No rush though, pacing is all up to you" Adam said, smiling as he tossed another twig into her unruly hair.

Sophia brushed the latest twig from her hair and chuckled at Adam's birdsnest comment. "Wouldn't be the worst thing a bird ever did in my hair, thats for sure!" she said as she stood up, grabbing a handful of leaves as she went. She nodded in agreement with Adams suggestion and walked casually passed him, depositing the pile of leaves on top of his hair on her way "With any luck we could build an eagles nest out of that"

She chuckled as she walked ahead and made her way through the trees while she left her companion to de-leaf himself. She trailed her fingertips across the trunks of the trees she passed, enjoying the familiar feeling of the rough bark on her skin. She had to remind herself that she had company and resisted the urge to get lost in her surroundings as she normally would.

Suddenly, all her senses swam into sharp focus as her nerves prickled with the sensation of imminent danger. She held up her hand in a silent gesture for Adam to be still and quiet while her eyes swept the area for any signs of what may lie ahead. The faintest sound of leaves rustling gave away the location of what she suspected all along. She pointed to where the sound came from and whispered to Adam "Wild Boar. Looks like a pig, stinks like a pig, but will kill you if you're not careful. Stay put and don't make a sound. And if he comes near you? Get up a tree! Be right back."

Sophia very carefully began moving silently around to the other side of the beast. It was safe to assume from her demeanour that she had done this before. While she never took her eyes away from the animal for even a split second, she saw within her peripheral vision a small stone and bent slowly to pick it up. She carried on walking stealthily around until she had managed to position herself unseen on the opposite side. She Silently began climbing up into the branches of a sturdy looking tree, and when she was happy with her position, she took aim and hurled the stone at the boar.

The stone found its mark, hitting the beast square on the rump causing it to squeal in annoyance and spin around to face its attacker. Seeing that its foe had seemingly already fled the scene, it gave chase leaving Sophia and Adam alone in the woods once again. Sophia jumped down from her perch and jogged over to where she left her friend with an enormous grin on her face "Dumb as a rock too! Shall we go? Its not much further now"

Soon they came to the edge of the woods and quickly found the small vendor she had promised to find. She rushed up to the window and spoke to the owner "I'll have a large hog roast sandwich with all the trimmings and a large coffee, please. And my friend will have... " She grinned and turned to ask Adam what he wanted "The meat is extra fresh here. Y'know... looks like a pig, sinks like a pig, tastes like a pig. You should try it!"