davin | one jump ahead of the slowpokes, one skip ahead of my doom (open to all!)

Davin's moral compass is really starting to be a pain in the ass.

He has no money, and there seems to be no way for him to earn money that wouldn't make him feel horrible about himself. Men and women alike have offered to buy him for the night, and he's turned them down. He could do magic for people, but all his contacts come from Coop and therefore they all want dark magic, which is something Davin would never do in any case, but especially not for profit.

His cheekbones have become slightly more pronounced, and he's had to tighten his belt. It's just a sign of the times, and an unfortunate side effect of choosing his apprenticeship over his job at the pub. Coop usually has food out, but Davin only sees him a few times a week. He's able to do odd jobs sometimes, which can earn him room and board for a night or so, but that isn't reliable at all.

Someone is selling fresh baked bread and cured meats at a stall in the marketplace, and Davin is standing and staring with an expression of open longing on his face. He would never steal, but maybe he could charm young man selling the bread for just a scrap, just a crumb. Maybe.

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Mira's finished with work for the day, and she's all but raced through getting fruits and vegetables at the market, just about promising that she's obtained at least one thing wrong. But if she finishes quickly enough, she can reasonably find some time to explore, to herself to dream of the forests and towers she can still see past the town gates and walls. The places her father tells her are too dangerous.

It's with her head in these clouds that she almost knocks down the young man openly gazing at the bakery stall, and drops her basket full of fruit and bread.

"Blast. I'm so sorry," she hastens, flushing and leaning to get the food.

Davin blinks when he's knocked into, stumbling a bit but ultimately keeping his balance. It's then that he realizes how weak he really is. Maybe if he goes to Coop's tonight, he'll be in a good mood and let Davin sleep there for the night. He's done it before. Usually for a price, but it's not really one that Davin minds paying.

"Oh, it's fine. Don't ya worry." Davin kneels down and helps the woman repack her basket, swallowing hard when his hand closes around a juicy looking apple. It takes a great effort for him to drop it in the basket. His stomach makes a low gurgling sound and he smiles wanly at her, stepping back when the basket is put back together. "There ya are. All set."

"I'm always off in my head," she's already explaining, "Away with the fae, my mother says..." She looks up and it's then that she really sees the young man. Probably not older than she is, maybe closer to Etta's age, even, but his pinched look gives him years, and her stomach drops a little. That gaze at the pastries in the next stall wasn't one of consideration.

They've had tight months, though she knows she's lucky to have shelter and two parents both living. Her father has a reasonable job now, private tutor to the wealthy children of the aristocrats that live outside the village in their manors, but it doesn't pay what you'd think, and coming from outside these walls, he's not always been trusted as he is now. Her mother, meanwhile, has always managed to make whatever situation it is they're facing work, with room for more if necessary.

"No," Mira says, carefully and intently, meeting his eyes, "I think these were yours," She passes him back the apple and a small loaf of bread she'd been hoarding for herself if she managed to get time to read. "What's your name?" she asks. "I'm Mira."

"No, I didn't-" He catches the look on her face and his eyes widen a bit. He sometimes gets indignant in the face of charity, unless it's something he's charmed someone into giving him with a smile or wink, but she isn't making a big deal out of it. She isn't making him feel pitied for his situation, and for that he's grateful. He holds the apple and bread to his chest like the precious items they are and nods, smiling at her. "I'm Davin. It's very nice t'meet ya, Miss Mira."

She smiles back, standing up and brushing off her skirt as though nothing has happened. "Davin. It's nice to meet you too." He may not have been trying to charm her, but he's sweet, and doesn't have to be, not halfway knocked down. "No 'Miss', though, just Mira. I get enough of that with the children I teach. Are you from around here?"

"Mira it is," Davin says with a smile, happy to be rid of the formalities. "Not from here originally, but it's the longest I've ever been one place, I think. I kinda like it here."

He looks down at the bread and barely resists the urge to just take a huge bite right here in the marketplace. If he's waited this long, he can wait until he can eat it properly. "D'ya wanna go sit somewhere? You can tell me 'bout your books."

Mira smiles. "What brought you here?" It can't have been fortune, or at least she hopes it wasn't. "I'm desperate to get out."

She nods, smile widening at the prospect of someone interested in her hobby (possibly, addiction). "I have a little time before they send my sister looking for me, at least." She grins down at the books she's carrying. "I'll warn you, you may regret asking me to talk about reading."

"Nothin' specifically. I was just tryin' t'get away from where I was an' ended up here." Davin found himself in Siren Cove and quite liked it. It's beautiful, bracketed as it is by the sea and the forest, but it was also home to more magic than he'd ever seen or felt in one place. That's the main reason he stayed. And then Coop found him, and the rest is history.

"Nah, I won't regret it," Davin says with a smile as they approach a large, shady oak tree. He sits down in the grass underneath it and tears off a bit of bread. He face he makes as he eats it (as politely as he can) is one of pure bliss. The bread is actually fresh and still a little warm. It's one of the best things that Davin has had in awhile. "Books are precious, y'know? I don't my hands on 'em too often, so I'd love t'hear about yours."

Mira smiles as they sit down in the grass, glad at his delighted expression, even if it's hardly enough food for one person. She doesn't have much, but no one deserves to go hungry.

She brightens more as he encourages her to go on about the books. Her parents encourage reading, of course, but they'd much prefer Mira not wish to be the author and focus on more practical pursuits. "I love to learn things," she admits. "Just -- anything. History, languages, science. I want to know everything." She shows him the book on top, an adventurer's description of the myths and magic of different lands as well as their various plants and animals, opening it to the middle where there's a star map with constellations drawn out and passing it to him.

"I'm much the same," Davin tells her with a smile. He pulls out his blade and starts to cut pieces off of the apple and pop them into his mouth. When she passes the book over to him he looks a little surprised, and he sets the apple down and wipes his hands on his trousers before pulling it over carefully. "Wow, this is amazin'."

Davin is endlessly curious, and reading and learning are two of his utmost favorite things, but his lifestyle doesn't lend much opportunity for scholarly pursuits. Just being able to hold this book is a gift and Davin leans over it, running his fingers over the images and doing his best to commit them to memory, matching them to what he remembers of the night sky.

one jump ahead of the slowpokes, one skip ahead of my doom (open to all!)

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