The Day They Met Again

N A T A L I A
A S H M O U R N E
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┼ A V A T A R | O F | L I F E ┼

[Light Cooking - Darker Than Black OST]

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Current Active Gates
None

Current Active Forms
Base

The sun had been hidden by a veil of clouds on this day, and Osora town was subject to it as much as anywhere else. That didn’t stop the small town from going about its normal day all the same. Cars populated the roads as people went from one section of the small town to another; on a clear day people usually chose to walk from place to place despite the greater expenditure of time. The threat of rain changed the minds of people however. Inside though, in the mall and stores people were looking for things. If you sat and watched the people for a while you might almost believe that this was a place that the wars had not touched, that destruction had overlooked.

You’d be about half-right. The wars of the spiritual beings had not really affected the small town for a variety of reasons, and nothing truly destructive had taken place within the city’s borders. No one had a real inkling of why, and most chose not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Some believed the city had a guardian angel that kept the horrors at bay despite the lack of a dome and permanent defenders.

They weren’t exactly wrong.

In the city there was one woman who knew the secret of the city’s defense, and she wasn’t about to bring it up. After all she was the one protecting the city, and it was her preference that no one knew it. Why she did this was a deeper secret, and a story for another time. Now is the time for a different story, the story of a relic from the past located within the city’s confines; a small tavern that had rooms for weary travelers and food for anyone with the money to pay for it. Above the doorway hung a hand-carved wooden sign, the name ‘Serenity’ carved out of some dark wood. A large truck was parked around back of the tavern, a man tapping his foot impatiently as a blond-haired woman inspected the contents of his truck. She was the innkeeper, and this was a shipment of materials from cities further out that she needed to keep the tavern running.

The tavern had gone up several years back, and the innkeeper had appeared once it was complete. Overnight she had moved in, and the next day the place was open for business. The tavern didn’t advertise its food; it didn’t need to. Those of the town knew it, and told any person passing through that they HAD to try the food before they left. The bulk of the shipment was food, ingredients from all manner of strange places, many of which weren’t cheap. Where the woman got her wealth was a question no one had bothered to ask.

Natalia gave a nod finally, and signed off on the ledger. It was another thirty minutes though before everything was moved into the refrigeration and storage unit. Then the impatient delivery man could finally leave to whatever it was that was making him so antsy. She double checked her supplies once more before she was satisfied. Then she set a small pot on a stove to boil and walked out of the kitchen, which would have been bad etiquette if there had been anyone else in the tavern at the time. There wasn’t though; the tavern was closed for a while yet, to give her time to restock and prepare for the dinner rush. She made sure everything else was in order; the tavern was cleaned, the alcohol was stored, and so forth.

Then she went back to the kitchen, and put ingredients into the boiling water; fresh vegetables, chicken, spices. She brought all of that to a boil once again, added a few more spices, and finally her own dinner was done. She poured the contents into a simple wooden bowl, took a spoon, and sat down outside in the small garden to enjoy her food. To be sure, it was warmer inside; Natalia didn’t much care. Over her lifetime she had seen all types of weather, and had learned to love them all. The air smelled clean now, which promised a storm in the near future. She’d have to make her stew then; people had a tendency to get melancholy when the rains started, so they appreciated something to raise their spirits. She mentally went down the checklist of what she’d need for the stew while she ate.

She rose and wandered back into the tavern’s kitchen. And so the preparations for the dinner began. She chopped up vegetables, spiced the meat, and so on; the details can’t be given because the recipe is kept a secret. Suffice it to say that the pleasant aroma of deliciousness rose out of the kitchen and into the tavern proper. She moved about the kitchen doing what would take most a handful of men to fully accomplish; Natalia was not a fan of people in her kitchen however, and preferred to work on her own.

When the stew was nearing completion, there came a knock on the front door. She left the stew to simmer, and went to the door; outside stood a small crowd of regular customers and a new face or two. She smiled at them all, and admitted them as the warmth wafted out of the door along with the smell of spices and cooked meat. Several of the regulars knew what this meant, and rushed for the chairs near the bar where they were sure to be served first. Natalia walked over to the large fireplace and stoked the fire; it was really more of a decoration though and she clicked up the temperature another notch or two just to be sure the place stayed warm.

The stew was coming along nicely; about this time was when a young girl showed up with a smile and a wave. She was one of the children who helped out around the tavern, mainly with serving since Natalia took care of the rest of the jobs. Natalia handed the girl some baskets with bread to take out to the room full of people who were now anxiously awaiting food. She heard the jingle of a bell that meant more people were coming in; this was going to be a busy night it seemed. She set up another basket of bread for the girl when she came back in and moved on to the completion of the stew. She added in a few more ingredients and spices, took a small bite, and found it to be acceptable. It was time for the disclaimer.

Natalia walked back into the tavern proper and cleared her throat. Those nearest her fell into a knowing silence.
”Good evening everyone. Before I send out the main course for the evening, I have to give a small disclaimer. Because of the popularity of the dish we have tonight, I ask that you wait to ask for seconds until everyone had been served at least one dish. There is only so much to go around, so not everyone may get a second serving; if that is the case, I apologize and I’ll find a way to make it up to you. Enjoy.”
There was a cheer of praise which made her smile again, and she began the task of sending out the bowls of stew. Here and there she picked up compliments on the food; the silence of others as they ate she took as compliments as well.

The tavern wasn’t completely old fashioned; behind the scenes there was a myriad of technology. In the main room there was also a large TV that she would turn on from time to time; this proved to be one of those. In olden days singers and players would be hired to entertain the guests, but this wasn’t the olden days, and she didn’t feel much like singing tonight. She took up her post at the counter, and got a few customers drinks as they ordered them. Some were regulars, some were new, none of them threw them off with their drink requests this night. She smiled to them when they thanked her, and went about her business.

She ducked back into the kitchen at one point to pour out more stew for a new arrival when she heard the door open again.
”Be with you in a minute,” she called out, though with the talk going on in the tavern proper there was no guarantee they’d hear. The girl came walking back into the kitchen.
”Go see that whoever walked in gets a seat and take this to the group in the back near the fire; big guy with the crazy beard and blue shirt just joined them and wanted a taste,” Natalia said with smile before she sent the girl off. She cleaned up the back some, put some bowls on the side in case of new guests, dished out more stew for other new guests, and generally ran the job of tavern keeper.

She was called back out front because someone wanted to book a room for the night. She dried her hands on a towel and walked out to discuss it with the man. They settled on a price, as it was a little known fact that Natalia didn’t have a set price on rooms; she priced them based on the person, their actions, and other factors. Apparently the price did not suit the man’s wife, however; she seemed generally nervous with the town at large based on what she was saying and the way she said it. Many people who passed through here were, especially those who lived in the safety of the domed cities such as Karakura City. The man turned her down with an apology, and Natalia shook her head and let him know that the offer stood should he decide to take her up on the offer later. A few words of thanks, and the man departed. Natalia went back to filling a few drink orders; the job was never done it seemed.

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N A T A L I A
A S H M O U R N E
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┼ A V A T A R | O F | L I F E ┼


[Fairy Tail Main Theme(Piano) - Yasuharu Takanashi]

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Current Active Gates
None

Current Active Forms
Base

The serving girl sat Iori at her desired table, and then took the bowl of steaming stew to the table a little ways away where a man with a huge beard and blue shirt sat sharing a great laugh with his friends. He accepted the stew with thanks, took a bite, and immediately began to ravenously eat; there may have been a tear in his eye, but between his hurried bites it was hard to tell. The little girl flitted back through the crowd towards the bar. The golden-haired bartender pushed around several drinks as they were ordered, and took an order for a different meal from a vegetarian. She gave the young lady in question a reassuring smile, told her it was no issue, and slipped into the back as the little girl ran in.
“Miss Ashmourne, we need another bowl of stew for the red-head!” the girl called out as she arrived.

Natalia gave the girl a smile, but the words triggered a small memory; one of millions but a prominent one all the same. A young girl in northern China, a temple, training. The girl’s name had been Iori. She had been an exceptionally martial artist despite her age, and given enough time she may have surpassed Natalia at that time. Granted, things were different now; even then Natalia was not a normal human, but at that time she had just been at the beginning of discovering the Gates. Once more though, a story for another time. She dished out a hearty bowl of stew, place a piece of homemade bread onto the plate, and sent the girl out to the red-head. Then she took a seat and let her mind wander back to those times.

Out of the sight of prying eyes, Natalia’s happy façade faltered for a moment. She had met so many people, and none of them had been able to stay near her as friends were supposed to; those that had the capability had to be kept at an arm’s length for other reasons. This wasn’t something new, some fresh thought that had just came to mind; more, it was salt in an old wound. As quickly as she faltered, she pushed it aside with a small smile. She pushed herself back to her feet, rolled her shoulders, and walked back out into the lobby proper.

She shot a glance at the red-head the serving girl had taken the stew too; for half a moment she came up short. Natalia had been granted an incredibly accurate memory, and the person she found herself looking at was more than familiar. The girl Iori, scaled up a few years, sat in her Tavern thousands of years after she should have died. Natalia only stopped for the space of half a heartbeat, an unperceivable space of time for a normal person. Then she continued on, and started to fill a random drink order almost mechanically. Her expressions, her movements, even the glow about her seemed to have recoiled in slightly; very few would have picked up on this even if they had known Natalia for years.

It was a shock to be sure, but she had seen things like this in the past. Every now and then you found that proverbial “twin” to someone else. When you had been around for the shear length of time that she had, it happened every now and then. It was something else that was throwing her; it wasn’t the physical look that had struck her, it was a type of presence. And not just the presence of spiritual energy; she had detected that from the moment Iori had entered the city. While the woman wasn’t putting out a great deal, it was more than normally existed in this city, and Natalia had made it her business to detect such small variances. It was a presence of familiarity in a sense. The girl not only looked like the Iori Natalia remembered, in many sense she carried herself like the girl as well.

It was not impossible either was the scary thing; perhaps Iori had died and found her way into the camps of one of the spiritual nations. The type of energy was different from a Shinigami; it was one of the races she had less contact with, so it was difficult to place. She passed out the drinks, flipped the channel to a different one upon a majority request, and generally kept busy.

Even if this was the Iori she was thinking of, there was a hard truth that Natalia had already realized; besides the fact that Iori most likely wouldn’t remember her after so many years and changes, she couldn’t know for the sake of Natalia’s secret. She slipped back into her role of innkeeper, and pushed these issues from her mind. Thinking about them would only make them worse really. It wasn’t like a spirit or girl would remember a face from several thousands of years ago. Besides, Natalia’s appearance had changed since that time; her hair had lightened to a degree and grown longer, her skin was a different color tone, and her eyes had changed to a different color though that wasn’t of her own choosing. In a strange way, that made Natalia relax some. It was simpler in many ways.

One question lurked at the back of her mind though; what had drawn this woman who looked so much like an old friend from the distance past to the same place and time as her? Was it was joke of fate, or was something else in the air? Also, what time was it? Natalia checked the clock; she would need to take care of the flowers in the back soon.

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