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Post by murat on Oct 11, 2011 19:43:26 GMT -5
It was eight o'clock. The sun had recently lost its battle for supremacy of the day, with the moon only recently been victorious. The city began to celebrate the moon's victory by starting to come alive. People were walking the streets, going about their business of the night.
Murat was headed towards Hafiz's Bakery, a Middle Eastern bakery located conveniently on Peanut Street. He thought that they made decent confectioneries and it sufficed to remind him of home. Their baklavas were the best, and he also liked their awwami, kanafeh, and qatayef. Their lokum was also noteworthy.
He opened the door and gave a greeting to Hafiz. He began to stare at the many variations of their confectioneries. He began to salivate, but kept himself under control.
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Post by megmasters on Oct 13, 2011 11:17:26 GMT -5
The sun couldn't set fast enough.
Megaera was glad that the seasons were changing and it was cooling down. This also meant that it was getting dark earlier. It didn't make too big of a difference, since it still remained dark the same amount of time. It just meant that she was able to enjoy some of the stores before they closed. Some of the store clerks who worked at the shops she liked to go to probably thought she was a seasonal person since she only came in when it was starting to get chilly outside and dark. She'd even heard one say something about her being a vampire. Thinking of that now made her smirk and then scoff. People were idiots.
Meg had her own apartment. She might have been a Guardian but she didn't like to sleep on top of City Hall like an animal. She was better than that. As the sun went down and she peered out her window her stomach began to growl angrily at her signaling that it was time to eat. Luckily, there was a little pastry shop not far from where she lived and she set out of her apartment to go to it.
Only minutes later she found herself standing outside of the pastry shop. Hafiz's Bakery. She knew it was one of those ethnic shops because some of the things they served she didn't even know how to pronounce. When she moved to the front of the short line, she looked at what was available and then pointed at one. "...the.." She had no idea how to even say it, which made her a little annoyed. "..qua-tuh-yeef." Meg said, having no clue what that even was. She just hoped it was food.
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Post by murat on Oct 14, 2011 2:28:48 GMT -5
As Murat glanced over the food available, he saw some girl enter. When she came to order, he could easily see that she was a non-Arab White American. Her butchery of the word qatayef was enough to lay any belief against to rest. She added a u-vowel sound after the q where it wasn't there, took away emphasis from the second syllable, and finally extended too much emphasis on the last syllable. Murat chuckled a little, but not a lot. At least she had tried, as opposed to many who would simply not bother and go for a baklava instead.
The cashier, probably somewhat used to mispronunciation, simply took out and handed her several pieces. Murat then finally decided to join the line. The next thing he realized was that he had spent twenty dollars on baklavas and some lokum. He paid an additional one dollar for a cup of thick Turkish coffee. He didn't have a steady job, and so his mind drifted to how he would regain the money he paid here. Perhaps he could simply get a job here? He didn't know.
Simply out of curiosity, he decided to walk to the girl who had ordered the qatayef. He took a sip of the Turkish coffee and then walked up to her. "Do you come here often?" he asked. He realized how overused this phrase was, but he could not come up with any better phrase.
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Post by megmasters on Oct 15, 2011 12:25:08 GMT -5
The qatayef reminded her of the mexican dessert, the empanada. They looked similar as far as the outside went but the inside was different. Maybe next time she'd try and find a Greek shop. There were a few Greek restaurants, and some of them were good, but they still didn't come close to the Greek food that her parents made when she was young. Greece had been their favorite place to travel to and every time they went there they always sent her home gifts. She'd become spoiled by the Greek customs, even if she wasn't actually from there.
"Do you come here often?" Just when she was about to bite into her treat and find out what it was filled with, someone spoke up. She looked over and realized the person who was speaking was looking directly at her. Was that some sort of pickup line?
She moved the qatayef away from her mouth and looked at him with an almost bored look on her face. "Of all the overused pick up lines you chose that one?" She asked him and rolled her eyes. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him since she was so short, but she also leaned it to the side to make the angle a little easier on her neck. "Sure. I come here sometimes."
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Post by murat on Oct 16, 2011 1:10:27 GMT -5
For merely a few seconds, Murat took notice of the fact that whoever this was happened to be much shorter than he was. That normally did not happen too often in this country. Then again, it didn't happen too often anywhere for that matter. What could this mean? How did he know?
For a second, her response of "Of all the overused pick up lines, you choose that one?" took Murat aback. However, remembered that he had a perfectly legitimate response to that allegation. "Hey, give me a break. I haven't lived in the States that long, and my English isn't that good," he said.
"Sure, I come here sometimes," she had said. That would imply some satisfaction with the products, he assumed? Even if that was true, what could that mean? "Well, would do you think of the food here, anyway?" he asked.
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Post by megmasters on Oct 26, 2011 12:52:54 GMT -5
Meg didn't know why this guy was talking to her. What was funny was that he looked like he was shorter than average himself. Yet, he was still taller than her. Who wasn't taller than her?
"The food is edible." Meg told the stranger and shrugged her shoulders as if she didn't really care. "It's close and convenient. And these empanada looking things aren't half bad." She held up the qatayef to show that was what she was talking about.
He definitely had an accent. By the looks of him and what he said about being new to the states, she figured he was probably eating at this bakery because it was close to home. "Where are you from?" She asked and cocked a brow at him with mild curiosity. Not that it really mattered, because Meg figured she probably wouldn't run into him again. Although conversation seemed to pass the time.
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Post by murat on Oct 27, 2011 23:28:07 GMT -5
"You mean the qatayef," Murat said, making sure to pronounce the word correctly. Arabic was not exactly his native tongue, but at least he must say it right. He took a long sip of the Turkish coffee that he held in his other hand. Perhaps he would return to his residence to keep reading more of Haeckel's works. He could always return to the library.
"Where are you from?" she had asked. Was his accent too prevalent? Even so, it was acceptable because he had not spoken the language for any extended period of time. "I'm actually from Ingushetia," he said. He knew about this country's censuses and how inaccurate they were. He was a true Caucasian, not any people from Western Europe.
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Post by megmasters on Nov 2, 2011 23:19:08 GMT -5
Meg listened to him speak and correct her on what the pastry she was eating was. She still thought it resembled an empanada and that was easier for her to remember since she'd known that word longer. Although hearing him pronounce the qatayef now she'd know for future reference the right way to say it. She knew she was saying it wrong all along but it didn't really bother her and nobody ever corrected her.
She stared at him while he spoke, a bored look on her face and waited for him to stop talking. She didn't much like strangers but then again it wasn't as if he was being unfriendly. He wasn't bad. Decent, even in his mild manner. At least that's how she perceived him. "Ingushetia?" She'd heard that name before.. where had she heard it? She pegged it as Russian and thought about it for a moment in silence, her brows furrowing together curiously while she pondered the location. When she was sure she didn't know exactly where it was she decided to just mentally take note that it must have been in Russia.
"Long way from home. Your parents drag you here or something? Why would you leave there and come to Oregon?" Meg thought that Oregon was such a dull state. Yes, it did have geographical beauty but she didn't care about that. She liked to cause mayhem and Scriptor Bay wasn't exactly the best place where being a troublemaker would go unnoticed. Not like corrupt cities like Las Vegas, Nevada or Atlanta, Georgia. Even Atlantic City would be a great place to live. Not Oregon.
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Post by murat on Nov 3, 2011 16:43:09 GMT -5
OOC: Nokhchin (Noxçin) in the word for Chechen in both Chechen and Ingush; I just used the term to show Murat's lack of familiarity with the English language,
"Long way from home. Your parents drag you here or something? Why would you leave there and come to Oregon?" she had said. Murat knew the true answer, but he did not want to come off as crazy. However, since this person here was clearly a local, he could probably tell the truth without that fear.
"First, life is actually better here that back home. Now, it is not that I don't love my homeland; I have perfectly good reasons for moving here. Nokhchin people started to move to my land when they began fighting the Russians. I don't mind them or the Russians; I hated seeing people shooting each other for no real reason. Both the Nokhchin and the Russians actually harmed my people in their unnecessary struggle. I hated watching that for a childhood. First, I decided to convert to Hinduism," he started.
"I have heard the so-called legends surrounding this place. I came here to seek some for of peace between peoples. The Guardians, I believe? Well, I hope that they can use their powers to bring this outcome," he finished.
"Also, this state of Oregon is very beautiful. I like seeing the harmony that people here have with the natural world," he added.
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Post by megmasters on Nov 12, 2011 17:00:18 GMT -5
"I have heard the so-called legends surrounding this place. I came here to seek some for of peace between peoples. The Guardians, I believe? Well, I hope that they can use their powers to bring this outcome,"
Meg was only halfheartedly listening to what he was saying about his homeland, paying more attention to the treat that she was picking apart between her fingers and eating. When he mentioned the guardians she couldn't help herself from grinning with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes.
She turned her head slightly to the left and gave him an obvious smirk before shaking her head. She knew of the Guardians well enough because she was one of them. "That's just a superstition. There's no such thing as Guardians. If there were don't you think we would have seen one by now?" Meg loved to play with people and that was exactly what she was going to do. "And if they were real what makes you think they could bring peace?"
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Post by murat on Nov 13, 2011 12:56:39 GMT -5
He knew that people here as well as back home would think of him as being a lunatic. This was obviously the first experience as such. He had actually though of ways to defend his beliefs. "Perhaps that is true. It's a lot like the Ancient Astronauts theory suggested by figures like Erich von Däniken. There is a chance that it is false, but if it is true, that will change the course of humanity greatly. With von Däniken-what if the extraterrestrials return? That much is guaranteed. That would be our first experience with a greater intelligence," Murat started.
"Similarly, with the Guardians-if it is true, which is possible, that will also change the course of humanity for better or for worse. I'm here to make sure that it is for the better," he finished. He took a sip of the Turkish coffee in his hand and then took a bit of one of the baklavas that he had bought.
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Post by megmasters on Nov 14, 2011 13:29:31 GMT -5
At first Meg thought this stranger from a strange land was just spouting out whatever came to mind. That he was there like some sort of tourist who wanted to take a picture of something bizarre and sell it to a tabloid to make a quick buck. But the more he talked about it the less she thought he was on some personal quest to find Big Foot.
Her expression changed from mild amusement to mild seriousness, her lips now curved down a bit to make it look almost like she was frowning. Knowing what she knew from past experiences, she knew that having a silly human knowing that the Guardians do exist was not that great of a thing. They usually freaked out and wanted to tell everyone.
"It's too bad you'll never know the truth. If they are real I don't think they're going to just come out in the open and tell you about it. What's your master plan to get them to tell you?" Now her curiosity was getting the best of her and she figured maybe she could play with him a little. She wanted to know how he'd react and what he'd say. Not that any of it mattered in the long run. But at that moment, it was interesting enough to keep her there.
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Post by murat on Nov 19, 2011 12:14:46 GMT -5
"It's too bad you'll never know the truth. If they are real I don't think they're going to just come out in the open and tell you about it. What's your master plan to get them to tell you?" this stranger Murat had embroiled himself with had just said. He stared thoughtfully before sipping his coffee again. Was there actually a way that he could do what he sought to do? He cursed in Ingush under his breath before looking up.
He could merely say that he actually had no plan, but then he would look like a complete fool. However, she was a complete stranger so he could possibly tell the truth. He would still cushion it in good words to make himself seem better than he actually was.
"I actually don't have a plan. I'm still coming up with it. I'll just need the time to think about it. There is no point in creating unnecessary animosity," he said,
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Post by megmasters on Nov 21, 2011 22:35:58 GMT -5
Meg heard the guy say something under his breath but she couldn't hear it clear enough and figured he was probably swearing or muttering to himself. A lot of people seemed to do that. She was one of them sometimes. She'd catch herself perched somewhere up high talking to herself. But if anyone asked she'd deny it. Nobody needed to know she did that.
The girl put a palm down on one of the tables and used it for balance as she hoisted herself up to sit on the surface of it while managing to not spill her treat that she was still munching on. Meg was always very peckish when it came to eating. She ate slow and she only ate a little at a time.
"I actually don't have a plan. I'm still coming up with it. I'll just need the time to think about it. There is no point in creating unnecessary animosity,"
Animosity. She couldn't help but actually smile as if she were holding in some sort of private joke. "You're afraid of creating unnecessary animosity? What if they do? What if its in their nature to be animals?" Meg asked him with that sly grin spread across her face. She was no animal herself, but the Therians were. Not to mention most of her kind acted like rabid, wild animals at times.
"Let's say these Guardians are real. Say they've been hiding in plain sight this whole time and nobody has seen them. What if they don't want peace and don't want to talk to regular humans? That would defeat the purpose of this whole trip, wouldn't it?"
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Post by murat on Nov 23, 2011 21:09:08 GMT -5
Murat grabbed more sweets out of his box and devoured them with coffee. He had no money, so this might be the last "meal" he ate in a while. He looked up and nodded tho show that he was indeed paying attention.
"Let's say these Guardians are real. Say they've been hiding in plain sight this whole time and nobody has seen them. What if they don't want peace and don't want to talk to regular humans? That would defeat the purpose of this whole trip, wouldn't it?"
For a moment Murat thought about a reaction. "Well, to your second point, it is fallacious and can be somewhat disproven due to that. Of course, we are presuming that Guardians assume a human form most of the time. This means that they must live in human society also-most of the time. They must therefore be obliged to talk to regular humans at some point or another," Murat started to say, except that he was not buying his own logic.
He took a long sip of coffee before returning with another response, "To your second point-if the Guardians were ever found out-notice that I said if-they would most likely be persecuted by humankind in general. It is then or must be eventually intrinsic for them to want peace at some point or another. Humans are such a species that will stop at nothing to annihilate another, whether it be other humans or another species entirely."
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