falling a step behind; { introducing Eva }

[Im Yong Soo~!]

((Belgium))

There was this thing about leaving home that Eva was still not used to. Perhaps it had to do with how crazy everything was outside her small circle of friends and family – from leaving her home town to heading out to the seaside, to finding her way onto a ship, then another, and another just to(and those were not even pirate ships per se and she was certainly not a part of any crew, but anything to) arrive somewhere she could definitely find a crew that would accept her. Why pirates? She was not quite sure herself, but it sounded like a reasonable enough choice – if there was any way anyone could place “piracy” and “reasonable” in the same sentence, which apparently she liked to think was possible.

But those are details and they are not necessarily important at the moment – although they are for her, as they make up her current train of thought. So perhaps they are important, but solely for her.

Eva made her way through a crowded street, looking in every direction but the obvious one – in front of her. Really, she was too caught up in discovering Tortuga – she had never been here and while the trip was tiring, she was much too excited about finally arriving to sleep – that and she still had to find somewhere to do so. Clinging to her tiny bag (the contents of which consisted of some money, extra clothes just in case and knife), she tried to find some place to stay in for a night or two. She was very well aware that if none of these... Pirates wanted her in their crew (and she would not blame them if they didn’t, unless they spewed out some story about her gender), she would have to find a job. But that was in the worst case scenario (well, actually no, the worst case scenario was someone hurting her or killing her) and she was not thinking about that right now. She was being optimistic!

So optimistic, really, that she kept not taking notice of where she was walking; she was bound to do something stupid.

[Im Yong Soo~!]

((Netherlands))

Nikolaas was admiring the nice set of throwing knives he had acquired from a pirate from the Asian sea. They could be valuable tools for protection, as they where easily to conceal under his coat. He smiled to himself as he hid the knives in his coat. Suddenly he felt someone bump into him and he turned around to glare at the offender.

"what do you think you're do--" Nikolaas didn't manage to finish his sentence. The person who had so rudely bumped into him was a blond, green-eyed girl with a slight expression of lost and wonder on her face.
"B-Belgium!?" He blurted out withouth thinking, before pinching the bridge of his nose - a headache was coming on. "Sorry...ignore that...I don't know why I said that" He straightened himself up again and examined the shorter girl standing in front of him. Something was painfully familiar about her, the feeling he got when looking at her was the same one he got when he saw his family back home in The Netherlands...but this girl, he had never seen her before, yet he knew he had. Damn, the headache was getting worse the more he thought about it.

"Excuse me...this might seem very odd to you, but have we met before?" He was curious as to why this person in front of him 'felt' different, as if the aura she was radiating was of a different nature - one that made him feel like he should take care of her and protect her...this was very odd.

[Im Yong Soo~!]

"Ah!"

Distracted as she was, Eva did not notice there was something - no, someone until it was too late and she bumped into this stranger, stumbling back a couple of steps. Thankfully she managed to keep her balance, but before she could even apologize he was already scolding her (what a great way to start off her new life; how perfect). She didn't have a chance to even apologize but--

Wait.
"Wh-what..?"
Did he call her...?

Eva could only blink in confusion. Did her perhaps know where she was from? She finally got the chance to take a good look at him - he'd never seen her but. She swallowed dryly, feeling her stomach churn. No. There was something about this person. She had no idea what, but it was making her feel slightly nervous - like she had mixed feelings. But she couldn't possibly make such a quick judgement.
She clutched her bag tighter and lowered her head, shaking it in the process. "Nee, I don't think we have met. I'm sorry sir, I will be more careful next time."

It was best to get away as soon as possible.

"Hey wait just a minute!" Nikolaas reached out and grabbed a hold of the smaller girl before she could get away from him. "You...you seem familiar somehow...I...I feel like I should know you from somewhere" He trailed off and allowed himself to look at the blond girl a bit more. Confusion about this whole situation rather obvious in his eyes.
He then noticed she was clutching a small bag like it was her own life, could she be new in town? He knew perfectly well himself how being new in Tortuga could feel like. While it was a mesmerizing place, it was a very bad idea to be out and about alone, unless you where skilled in weapon wielding and self defense, and even then this place was not safe. He had acquired a few new scars after arriving here, some where from fights he had himself gotten into, other where from completely unprovoked attacks.
"You new in town?" Obvious question right there, Nikolaas mentally kicked himself, not exactly a great first impression

Eva was quick to protest - she did not know this person so why was he insisting on not letting her go on her way? Obviously she tried to struggle and wriggle out of his grasp at first, but as his words began to sink in, she managed to calm down a bit. Well at least enough to, instead of struggling, simply narrowing her eyes at him. She kind of felt exactly what he was trying to explain to her, but she would not admit to it; he - whoever he was - was a stranger to her and she really didn't like being grabbed in the middle of a street. She wondered if a lot of people here had a tendency to do that or if this was just her unlucky day.

And then he asked a question she almost hesitated to answer.

"Ye-- That is of no concern to you." She bit her lip; that was a slip right there. Truthfully, if they had met in any other circumstances she might have been less hostile, but as it was, she did not quite appreciate being approached like this. She almost felt bad about being so blunt, but still... "Let go of me. L-leave me alone. I do not know you, we've never met before."

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Nikolaas was strong but he was still thankful when the girl stopped struggling, although it was probably more painful to her than him...

At the younger blunt and hostile answer, Nikolaas felt a pang in his heart. He really hadn't mean to be prying and he didn't mean to be so rough with her either. Something in the back of his mind wanted this girl to like him, not be angry. But again, the fog in his mind would not allow him to understand why he felt this way.

"I'm sorry..." he looked away and loosened his grip around her arm slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you, but a young woman like you shouldn't be walking around this place on you own...there are some pretty...shady people around here" he gave a slight smile, hoping she wouldn't accuse him of being one of these 'shady" people - as so many others did the second they saw him.

"Ah...yes..of course not. How silly of me. Your accent is not Dutch, so you can't be anyone I know from back home." His expression softened and turned into one of sadness for a moment, as he thought about his family back home. Mentally kicking himself again, he straightened up and let go of the girl. "Again, I'm terribly sorry Miss. As you said, it really is none of my business. You just seemed so familiar, and to be honest in a place like this, familiarity is not something I often meet" a sheepish and shy smile crept onto his lips and a small blush appeared as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "oh..um...if you're looking for a place to stay the night, I'd recommend "The Lamb Inn" close to the market street. Decent place and not to expensive..."

"People like you?" Sadly, Eva was far too confused to understand why that simple smile made her heart clench in such a way - and she blamed it on her own suspicions, thinking it was just her intuition telling her to not, under absolutely any circumstance, trust this person.
(Even if a part of her still thought he was oddly familiar and while conflicted, oh so conflicted, she felt like she could almost be safe.)
"N-never mind." She shook her head. All the while as she accused him, she looked down at her feet. It was almost as if she could not say that to his face and actually mean it, if that even made any sense.

"I-it's fine. I understand what you mean." 'You seem familiar too', Eva almost wanted to say, but she kept that part to herself, finally willing to look up at him. She almost looked helpless for a moment there. "I don't know where that is.."

Nikolaas managed a small laugh. "Yes...perhaps people like me. But I like to think I'm better than most others here"[/color] Oh how easily this girl could bring him down from his throne. Why was that? All this confusing was making his head hurt like hell.

A soft smile appeared on his lips at her confession of not knowing where the market street was. So he really had been correct in assuming that she was a newcomer in the town. "It's not too far away from here, my shop and house is on that street too, and I'm on my way back anyway, so feel free to tag along. I wouldn't want you to get lost in a place like this on your own." [/b]he gestured behind him to empathize what way he meant, and hoped she wouldn't just storm off.

He stretched his hand out and offered it to the young girl "I think a proper introduction is in need here...I'm Nikolaas Lars Hasbrouck and I'm a merchant here in Tortuga. Nice to meet you Miss" [/b]

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Eva muttered something about inflated egos, but did not say much else about his first statement; truthfully, she would rather if he was not one of those shady people. His smile was not the most calming thing, either; in a way, she was suspicious and thought he was just tricking her - but then she recognized that she could not get around by herself and in any case, she could defend herself. Right? Right.

... Hopefully.

She almost felt like sticking out her tongue and tell him she wasn't tagging along with anyone - but that was childish. Not to mention that before she could do anything else, he held out his hand and before she could even process her actions, she was already taking his hand. When she realized what she'd done, she could feel her face getting slightly warmer. The name made her hesitate for a moment before answering though - had she heard it somewhere before...? It sounded awfully familiar. "Eva. Eva Vermeulen."

"Eva? That's a beautiful name" He flashed her a warm grin and held on to her hand as he started dragging her toward the market street. But the name rung another familiar bell, and she had not let on that she had a similar feeling, so it was probably just his own imagination...After a few steps he decided dragging her behind him was probably not a very good idea, so he gently lead her up in front of him and placed his hand on her back. Carefully guiding her to-wards the market, making sure none came to close to her.

It only took ten minutes to reach the start of the market street - the place where everything trade-able under the sky could be found. "There you go Miss Vermeulen. Over there is the inn" he pointed to a sign hanging from one of the houses. "I presume you can make you own way now,right?" another grin crossed his face. "but if you have any trouble, my shop is just 10 houses down from the inn. Feel free to drop by. You'll recognize it imediatly..it's bright orange, so it stands out quite a lot" Nikolaas chuckled a bit to himself and smiled down at Eva. He had probably over stayed his welcome in her presence by a lot, he turned to leave with a small wave.


At the compliment, Eva merely nodded and muttered a cut ‘thank you’. It was not that she did not appreciate it, really – but it was odd, to her at least, that a stranger would be so nice to her for no apparent reason. Not that he felt completely like a stranger, that much she had already noticed, but it was still odd. Not to mention he was being awfully rude just pulling her along and—oh, well, her mental protests were quickly cut off as he changed that. It was odd – she still felt somewhat uneasy, but at the same time she did not seem to mind that hand on her back as much, or the fact that wherever she was being led to, it was somewhere she did not know. For all she knew, he could just be leading her to the wolf’s den.

... Which was probably not so far from the truth; it was a crowded street and she could not help but clutch her bag even tighter. And the saddest thing was that he was leaving her just like that, in the middle of the street. For a moment she felt completely helpless, like she was just a little kid again – but that brief moment snapped her back to reality. No, she was here because she wanted to be tough and she wanted to find answers to her questions. She was not here to be a little lamb in a pack of wolves and she was certainly not going back; she had gone this far already! She nodded at his explanation. Bright orange, eh? It sounded almost fitting – even though she did not know this person. “Thank you bro—“ She cut herself off immediately. “Mister Hasbrouck.”[/color]

[Im Yong Soo~!]

What had Eva just tried to call him? Nikolaas almost did a double take, but at her own correction he just decided to ignore it and pretend he had only hear her call him my his last name.
"Any time Miss. It was my pleasure. Oh...a small hint, in this town, always place a chair under the door knob...this inn might be one of the safest ones here, but that's still no guaranty for other residents." he gave her a sad look before taking a few more steps back-wards giving a small wave. "Take care Eva, and please do drop by some time."

While he walked off and toward his own home he did wonder if it really was such a good idea to leave her all by herself again...his instinct was telling him to pick her up and place her in the safety of her own home, but they had just met - and even in this town he was pretty sure that would be kidnapping...
Oh well..if she did need him she should be able to find him. His shop was very hard to ignore...he had customers who claimed it glowed in the dark...suited him fine really, at least in brought in customers when it stuck out.

Nikolaas got out his key and unlocked the door, flipping the sign on the door from 'closed' to 'open'. He scanned the front room of the shop, everything was the way he had left it - nice and orderly. He seldom had customers at this time of day, so he decided a cup of coffee was a good idea. Once he'd made a cup he sat in the chair behind the register and relaxed. Trying not to worry too much about Eva...there was no reason for him to be worried, she wouldn't have made it all the way to Tortuga if she couldn't take care of herself, but Nikolaas still felt concerned for her wellbeing. An odd thing for the tall dutch man, who seldom cared for anyone outside of his nearest family...

Eva was silently glad that the man didn’t question her slip. It was embarrassing, really and she must have looked absolutely flustered about it. Thankfully all he did was give her a hint on how to get around this place; that was good enough really, although she doubted she would even sleep well the first few nights. With a small nod and a thank you, she bid him goodbye and turned away, heading towards the inn.

She could not help but to look around at the people in the area. She was going to be one of them...? She felt completely out of place. Completely helpless again. And that thought was even more frustrating. With a shake of her head, Eva quickened her pace to the door of the inn but stopped as her hand reached the door. It was as if she completely froze in place and she even looked over her shoulder, hoping to see that Mr. Hasbrouck again. Alas, he was not there. She sighed; this was childish. They were not related, she did not know him and this feeling must be what everyone feels when they get to somewhere they don’t know and someone is nice to them, right?

... Maybe wrong.

It was still early enough. She would be fine taking a look around – it was better now than later at night anyway, right? Right. Taking a deep breath, Eva made sure she still had her bag and decided to take a look around, stopping once every so often when something interesting caught her eye. Perhaps she would not do so badly here, if only she got used to it. Perhaps...
“What...”
Without noticing, she had walked all the way to that bright orange store. It really did stand out... She had to blink a few times. But she couldn’t go in, could she..? No, no, she should just move along and—well, it wouldn’t be so bad if she took a peek inside, right...? Wrong. He was there. And she was just making herself look stupider and stupider.

From the corner of his eye Nikolaas caught some movement outside of the shop door. Through the glass window he could see the young girl he had just a few minutes ago, left outside in the street. Slightly confused, but even more so, he was rather pleasantly surprised, he smiled and waved at her to come in.

"Missed me already Miss Vermeulen?" he gave a small chuckle and sipped his coffee. "Please take a look around if you wish. I've got everything from weapons to food to clothes..." he gestured to the wall's aligned with all kinds of things. One wall was entirely dedicated to weapons, while another had things like tea, sugar ,spices and flour. There where also a large selection of clothes suitable for life on a boat. Coats with large pockets and shirts made out of rough and long lasting material.

[Im Yong Soo~!]

The voice startled Eva and if she previously had any chance to walk off without being noticed, then she had completely wasted it. There was no point in walking off like she did not hear him talking to her now; that was quite rude and uncalled for and she was truthfully thankful that someone had helped her out. She shyly stepped into the shop, taking slow steps as if she was waiting for the floor to crack underneath her - there was no reason for that, really, but she was feeling insecure all over again.

"I-I did not!" She sighed and crossed her arms, stopping just a few feet from the register and taking a look at her surroundings. She would probably need better clothes if she actually got to join some ship but... That was unnecessary at the time so she looked away; that was a bit of a weakness. Pretty things. The weapons. The weapons. Perhaps those would be a better sight, never mind the irony of what they are used for not being pretty at all. So maybe the spices and such... "I- I was just taking a look around." She muttered after a long pause. "I did not think I would end up here."[/color]

"Take your time, it's not like it's busy in here right now" Nikolaas chuckled and leans back in his chair - sipping his coffee. "You know...one of the reasons I painted this shop oranje is because it tends to subconsciously draw people to it. Plus it's a pretty cool colour" He grinned and let Eva browse through all the things in his shop.

After a while he got bored of the silence. He stood up and walked around the counter, positioning himself next to her. "See anything you want or need then Miss?" He asked with a friendly smile. He had noted her clothes seemed rather worn and old - she really needed some new ones, he mused to himself...she would most likely look adorable in one of the dresses hanging on the racks.
"Tell you what, it's your first day in town, choose and outfit you like and I'll give you a discount" He ruffled her hair a bit while smiling - a habit that was usually reserved for his younger sibling at home, but for some reason his hand had just done so automatically. He quickly withdrew his hand and blushed a bit, smiling awkwardly.
"ahh..sorry...didn't mean to do that....my fault" he cringed and hoped she wouldn't scream or hit him. "you know what..screw the discount, just pick and outfit for free..."

"Huh." Truth be told, Eva did not really know what to say to that so she simply nodded; it was a smart scheme though, she at least had to give him credit for that. Orange was a nice colour, but it made her feel a lot of different things - sometimes it was pleasant and sometimes she could not stand it at all. Sometimes it even made her scared that wearing it would mean that something bad would happen.

Admittedly, he sold a lot of interesting things, many of which she had never seen before - so she was staring in awe when he appeared next to her, making her jump a little. She briefly wondered why he was even being so nice about clothes but... He did have some pretty neat stuff for sale. However her train of thought right about crashed at the next gesture.

He. Ruffled. Her hair?
But the strangest was that she did not scream or try to punch him and she didn't even freeze in her spot - she laughed at the gesture; a soft, honest laugh like she was almost used to this. It was over as soon as it started and that is right about when she was slightly scared with this familiarity. She looked up at him briefly, her own cheeks tinted pink, but immediately looked away and back down at her feet.

"N-nee. It's fine." She swallowed dryly, nervously bringing up a hand to make sure her hair band was in place. "A-and you don't have to do that, really. Y-you have some very pretty things. They are worth their price a-and I cannot afford it either way. I still need to pay for a room at that inn." By now, Eva was just trying to avoid the previous subject. She was not doing very well, however.[/color]

[Im Yong Soo~!]

What the hell was wrong with him today? He never opened up so strangers this easily, so what was it about this girl that made him do so? She was hiding her face from his view, so he turned around to the rack of clothes and started sifting through them. "If you're low on money you're going to need to find a job, and despite what it looks like, it's a lot easier to get work around here if you're dresses decently...And new clothes are always nice, right?" His hands traced along the rack of clothes, looking for something suitable. He found what he was looking for and pulled out 3 different dresses, holding them up to determine if they where the right size, satisfied he smiled and handed them to Eva.

"Here, go try them on over there" he pointed to a small changing room in the corner of the shop "see which one you like the best..." He smiled at her reassuringly "They're not all worth that much...but what if we strike a deal then? I 'lend' you the clothes until you have enough money to pay me back. Does that sound better?"
Part of his mind was screaming at him for going against every merchant business code he had been taught, but another part of his mind just really wanted this girl to be happy.

“But…” The Belgian looked down at the clothes that had suddenly been handed to her. They were nice, very nice indeed; she felt somewhat bad about this. She was not stupid to the point of not knowing that what he was offering to her was also what brought him his money at the end of the day; anything less would also mean less money for him in the end and she always thought people would care for themselves before caring for others. Strangers like her, no less.

Eva remained silent for a few minutes, contemplating the situation before nodding in agreement; if he really did mean that – if he was really willing to make such an agreement, she could perhaps accept it... Just this once. Just this once. If anything went wrong, the most she could do would be to not really trust anyone again (which would really be the wisest thing to do but go figure) and punch him in the gut.

“I will be back in a minute.”

Well, perhaps longer than that. She quickly made her way to said room, hesitating by the door but eventually stepping in when she was sure no one else was there to do a thing about it – hey, she still had to be careful. There was no way she was letting her guard down even further if she could avoid it. Three dresses; she looked them all over – alright, so maybe one of them was not exactly something she would wear, but she gave them all a try, if only because Mr. Hasbrouck had been that nice. In the end, she rather liked a green and white one – it matched her hair band, too. However, she was not sure if she was supposed to just change back and pull a ‘hey thank you for the dresses, I’m leaving now’ card, or actually show up dressed like that. So after spending a good while leaning against the door, she opened it just a little to take a peek into the shop; hopefully this wasn’t all a big, stupid trick.

”Are you sure it is alright to make such a deal, Mr. Hasbrouck?”[/color]

"No 'But's... Go try them on so I can see if I have to alter anything on them for you" He flashed her a warm smile and turned to tidy a bit up in some of the shelves while she went to change. He knew he'd look like a totally creep if he just stood there waiting for her to come back out again.

After several minutes Nikolaas was rather absorbed in dusting the top shelf of the weapon wall. A the sound of Eva's voice he turned around to face her. "hmm? Oh of course! I was new here in this place myself a few months ago, no real help from others got me this far, so I figure you might get pretty far yourself now." He put away the dust rag and turned to face her fully. "now get out from there and show me what you look like. Can't have you running around in a dress that's not properly fitted" Nikolaas mentally kicked himself, that...didn't quite sound the way he wanted it too...oh well.

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Running around in a dress not properly fitted, eh? Eva shot him a blank stare for a moment, but soon shook her head. Well, at least he had not been waiting by the door or something, so she felt a bit more at ease - though this whole thing.. It had a sort of familiar ring to it. Perhaps she was just feeling a bit homesick though, so she quickly shook the thought away. She did not take any longer or opened the door slowly or anything though - really, if she began acting like that, her life would suddenly become a thriller or something. So, really, Eva was quick to step out of the room, making sure to wipe some imaginary dust off the dress before looking over at him again.

"I like this one."

Nikolaas looked at Eva with a smile on his face when she came out of the changing room, the dress suited her perfectly. "Turn around for me will you?"he made a circle motion with his hand, satisfied that the dress was the right size and length he crossed his arms and leans against the wall.
"Glad you like it, you do look very pretty in it" with a small chuckle he looked at her again, trying to again determine why she was so familiar. Like and old friend you have not seen in years, yet when you meet you can pick up exactly where you left off...that was the familiar feeling this girl was radiating. "it looks the right size to me, but is there anything you feel needs to be altered?"

Somehow, he had a feeling she would like the green and white one. Well her eyes where green, so the green in the dress made her eyes shine even more. However there was something in the back of Nikolaas' mind that whispered that perhaps green was one of her favorite colours...and perhaps she wore that colour a lot. But that would be silly, he couldn't know someones favorite colour having only met today. His mind was probably just tired and was making stuff up. Maybe he'd go smoke his pipe later, to relax...

That simple gesture made her cheeks burn – it was as if, suddenly, a little part of her was ridiculously proud that he approved of his, which made no sense considering he still was a stranger. Except that little part was not considering him a stranger, but rather... Well, she was not sure. Perhaps a friend; a good friend. But she could not quite make sense out of it; how frustrating. She did turn as he requested her to, however, finding it rather easy to comply at the moment. It also gave her a chance to not make any stupid faces as he spoke - she did take her time before finally turning back to face him once more, though by then she was flashing him a cute smile.

”I think it is perfect just like this. I love the colour.” She looked down, touching the fabric with the tip of her fingers. Had she been able to read his thoughts, she would have proven him right – green was one of her favourite colours; even her favourite hair band, which she was wearing at that moment, was green.

”Thank you. You are too kind.”

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Nikolaas was pleased she like the green dress, he had hoped she would at least like on of them, he smiled again at her - this girl really did bring out the best in him...he had to wonder why...
"Well I'm pleased to hear that. And you really suit green...it..looks good on you" He smiled rather sheepishly, she must think him to be an utter creep by now...most people did...

He gave a small chuckle and headed back behind the counter, sitting down in his chair. "Kind? Me? Can't say I remember anyone in this town referring to me as kind..." It was rather true though. Nikolaas was being oddly kind to Eva. He was usually a cold and brutal merchant and tradesman, but towards this girl, he really couldn't be his usual self. God damn..how the hell do you try to explain that to someone you've just met?

Truthfully she did not think of him as much of a creep as she originally expected. Well sure, he was complimenting her a whole lot and he was being awfully nice about all of this but she was gradually beginning to feel more at ease about all of this. Which was good, unless that was what he wanted and soon she would regret it, but when that train of thought hit her, she just ignored it completely.

Watching him, she leaned against the door; perhaps she should change back? She was not sure, so she did not move away from there. Not to mention the crowd of seemingly suspicious folks that she could spot through the window did not inspire confidence. Well... Sure, they were at a relatively long distance and their attention was turned elsewhere, but she did not really want to take her chances just now – which was odd, really; she was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. Perhaps it was just the other’s presence in the shop; maybe it made her feel safer than being outside alone, go figure why.

"You are not usually this kind, then?"

A warm and friendly laughed escaped from his lips at Eva's question. "In this business, in this town, kindness is seldom the way to start or make a profit. But...I'm not completely hearless...but it helps to have that reputation around here. The tougher you look and the more intimidating you can appear, the better." Nikolaas hoped that was explanation enough...He didn't really care much for others, they where people who he earned a living from, nothing more...

He scratched his head and gave a little grin "I must sound like a rambling fool, you'll have to excuse me...it's been a weird day..."

[Im Yong Soo~!]

At his explanation, Eva arched an eyebrow - well that made perfect sense, really, but it also left her with a question; was it different for women - were they meant to look prettier instead of tougher? She could not exactly voice such a doubt like that.

"Shouldn't I look intimidating too, then?" The dry tone surprised her - she was simply curious and had hoped he would not take her wrong, but she didn't mean to make it sound so... Displeased. Like she otherwise would have said to someone who nagged her about something over and over.

She immediately shook her head. I-I'm sorry I did not mean it like that. It has been a strange day for me as well."[/color]

"Intimidating?" He gave a little laugh "If you're worried about not being taken serious or not being intimidating because you're wearing a dress, don't worry" a reassuring smile appeared on the dutch man's face - he knew very well that a lot of women in this town where very powerful. "trust me when I say a lot of the scariest people in this town are women...or wear dresses...either or...aperances isn't everything. Besides...if you're worried you can always come hide in here. I won't let anyone harm you"

Nikolaas wondered if Eva's day had been as odd as his own..maybe he should ask...
"A weird day for the both of us then...Again..sorry for being so rude earlier today...I...I have..well..missing memories I guess you could call them. I get..flashback of places I know I've never been too, or of people I've never met...you...um..seem to..have..'triggered' one of these...memories...or well..a familiar feeling anyways" Nikolaas was stuttering trying to find the right words to explain his earlier actions. It was proving more difficult then he'd have imagined.."ahh...sorry...I'm making no sense" he tried to hide the small blush that was creeping onto his face..this was not going to end well…

It was strange – she felt like this Mr Hasbrouck could almost read her mind; he knew what she meant exactly and practically left her speechless – she could only nod as he spoke, barely being able to mumble a soft «I don’t need a bodyguard» – though art of her hesitation at that was her own doubt, really. She felt like she really did not mind being protected... Or just a little bit, really.
The blonde did not step a away from the door – in fact as he kept talking she was sure that, if it was not closed, she would have hid behind it. It was clear from her gradually more nervous and fairly surprised expression that his words were not foreign to her – or their meaning anyway. This similarity was frightening and she could feel her heart beating even faster; was this some sort of joke or...? He couldn’t possibly know what she was thinking. ”I- I know what you mean...” She lowered her head, eyeing the front door momentarily. ”I- I think I understand you perfectly.”

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Nikolaas stared in confusion at Eva. "Y-Y-You do?" his eyes went wide with surprise. "Do...do you mean you get those f-flash backs or deja-vu's too? I-I was so sure it was only me" an expression of relief appeared on his face and he sunk down in his chair, leaning on the counter. "You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear that it's not just me...I'd almost started to think I was going insane.." he gave short laugh before smiling at Eva.
"But if we both have these, 'forgotten' or 'cloudy' memories, could that mean others out there do too?"

The relief he felt was endless, if Eve too had these odd dreams and memories, maybe they could somehow solve this 'mystery' together? It had been bothering him for years, but lately it was getting worse and worse. He had taken to smoking various things to stop the headaches, but he had quickly realized that he needed much more than any other normal person did to relieve the pain. But with another person who seemed to 'suffer' from the same thing, he might be able to be rid of it once and for all.

"But..." Eva shook her head, finally willing herself to step away from the door and pace around a little. She could probably use sitting down by now, as she had been standing for the last few hours; but she would not voice that thought. This young man was doing more than enough for her as it was. And while he was smiling at Eva, she looked concerned - she was doubtlessly happy to know that the strange feeling she got around him was not just her own, that he had it too. But that left a whole lot of unanswered questions - what was it exactly? Had she felt it before? She was not sure. Did it mean something or did it just make them sick people? Her breath came out in a huff and she rubbed the side of her face, feeling something akin to a headache.

"I-it's not... Memories per se. More like dèjà-vu, ja." She swallowed dryly, finally stopping to lean against the other side of the counter. "I don't know if these are memories or if it is just me hallucinating. I just... Think. And I feel things. Such as when I saw you." With a sigh, the turned her head slightly to the side to look at him and finally admitted, "You are an intriguing man. You seem oddly familiar, yet I don't know you. In fact, I have never seen you. And I keep having mixed feelings. I don't know about other people - you are the only one I have met who I can relate to. I wonder why?"

Nikolaas noted Eva seemed to be pacing a lot, he motioned for her to sit down on a chair behind the counter next to him.
"I doubt it's hallucination, but a hefty dose of dèjà-vu I can certainly believe it to be...but why we have both have a feeling of dèjà-vu when we've never met before is rather odd." He massaged his temples - another headache coming on.

"Perhaps you've yet to meet anyone else with the same dèjà-vu problem, the world is a large place with a lot of other people. Maybe somewhere out there there will be more like us..." He trailed off and stared out the window for a few seconds.
"Relate to me? Maybe we're related then" He gave a smile and chuckles lightly, it was a silly though, he knew exactly who his family was, but it was a small attempt at lightening the mood. "You--- you remind me of my younger sister...you look nothing like her, but if I had to pin down what type of 'feeling' of 'familiarity' I get when I look at you, it's like you're a sister"

[Im Yong Soo~!]

In spite of his best intentions and worries, Eva did not sit down; she truly wanted to, but right now she was much too busy thinking this – whatever this was – through. She looked so serious like that, staring at the floor with a slight frown, her lips curved in the manner of one who is deep in thought. “What defines people ‘like us’?” She sounded displeased with such a vague expression. But she was just confused; she wanted to understand what was going on. “And what does it mean, anyway? Maybe we are just insane.”

After that, Eva remained silent for the most part; only a sigh or two could be heard from her as Nikolaas kept speaking – and perhaps right then she felt a slight pang of guilt for having been so blunt. But not just that; there was something else, something that made her stomach hurt, something that made her feel quite anxious. “... You have a sister?” She looked back to him. Well, maybe that explained the way he was acting towards her – and maybe deep down it made her happy to meet someone who could say that to her. However, she was not sure she could say the same. “I don’t know what to think of you,” the blonde admitted with a sigh. “My siblings... Pushed me around quite a bit. But they also kept me safe. I love them all the same.” She looked towards the door, shrugging idly. “But I do feel like I can be close to you... Safe, I suppose. Is that a good thing?”

Nikolaas turned his chair around a bit and put his feet up on the empty chair next to him - if Eva didn't want to sit, he'd just rest his feet there instead. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, pondering her questions.

"It's hard to justify a good 'definition', but maybe if someone triggers the dèjà-vu feeling, or in my cases: a serious migraine headache or flashes of memories, they are like us" he went silent again for another minute before giving a slight chuckle "Insane? I've been labeled as insane for as long as I can remember, but never though so about myself, so think whatever you wish, but I doubt that really is any factor."

He turned slightly to face her again, smiling slightly "Ja..I have two younger sisters...but I look nothing like them...or my parents for that matter. To be honest I'm fairly sure I'm adopted or something..." he chuckled again and shifted his gaze to the people walking in the street outside his shop "You can think whatever you want about me...I won't get upset or offended." He smiled at Eva again, a bit intrigued that she too had siblings. "they pushed you around? Heh, that's what siblings do...builds character or something" he ran a hand absentmindedly through his light brown spiky hair, staring into empty space "I'm glad I don't scare you or anything, and if you feel safe, then I think that's a good thing. Most people come to this town knowing only fear...and that never makes for a good life." Nikolaas sighted, he was rather glad it was a slow day today, Eva would surely have ran off ages ago if there had been any customers around, there where a few who stopped outside to peer in the widows, but no one entered, leaving Eva and him to...well...'bond' or get to know each other...whatever you called this..

_{((changed font colour because I realised orange on pale brown does not work well...))}

((Luxembourg))

Caroline hummed lightly as she bustled down the street, for all appearances calm and composed, but her tawny eyes never rested behind her spectacles. Ever since she had stepped onto the port of Tortuga, Caroline’s internal alert system was constantly engaged—true, the blonde had managed to relax slightly around her new workplace/abode, but the streets outside the Salty Sea never failed to evoke a healthy sense of paranoia.

She gave every person that drifted close a cursory glance, her hand occasionally drifting where her pistol was concealed from sheer nerves, but, as of yet, the European woman had no use for her weapon. Caroline sighed, adjusting her glasses with the blade of her palm, and looked about.

The locals at the bar had warned that a mild sea storm was fast approaching, and when it occurred to Caroline that she was ill-equipped for rain, one of her coworkers had been so kind as to point out a place where she might be able to afford a reliable and reasonably priced parasol. The blonde blinked up at the garishly orange colored establishment, a tiny, wry smile twitching the corner of her mouth (orange had always been an amusing shade), before she made her way closer.

Taking a brief glance at the window-wares, Caroline knocked lightly, as her manners dictated, before she laughed at herself and opened the door, setting off a small, tinkling bell. “Gudde Mëtte,” she greeted, smiling, “You are still open, ja?”

Caroline looked up to face the other two in the room, and slowly stopped moving, eyes wide with surprise. The shop door quietly shut behind her.

Let the awkward family times begin! XD -quietly invades-

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Eva did not mind that the very least; if anything, she would be a terrible customer – if she could be considered such... after all she was not yet a customer per se – and sit on the counter. It was an old habit she had never gotten rid of – and in truth did not even remember how it had started, but it felt perfectly natural to her.

The Belgian heard his explanation silently, not once daring to interrupt him; it seemed as if it had happened to him before, or perhaps he was just quick at realising these things. In any case she could only say that she was confused. She could not understand this... Strange feeling. She was a friendly person and relatively quick to get attached if given the chance, but not... Not like this. “It is just strange, I suppose. I have never met anyone who felt this way, too.” With a soft sigh, she glanced down at one of her hands. “I look a lot like my siblings. Personality-wise we are quite different, though. I wish they had been nicer sometimes, but like you said, it builds character.” She laughed softly, thinking back on that; for a moment she was struck with homesickness, but the feeling vanished almost immediately, as if there was really no reason for it to exist in the first place. How curious.

It was still a somewhat heartbreaking feeling though, so Eva made a point to not bring up that subject again it seemed as if they had more to talk about anyway. Like... This fear he spoke of. She had only been scared upon finally setting eyes on the shore of Tortuga – and honestly if he had not found her, Eva would most certainly been dealing with the wrong crowds at this very moment. How lucky she was, indeed.

“I can’t be afraid,” She admitted with the slightest smile playing on her lips. “I travelled all the way here in... In search of a crew, I suppose. I want to understand a lot of things and it seemed like a smart way to start.” Looking back, she could not entirely agree; but she had only just gotten here, right? Things would be alright, or so granted all her positive thinking.

Eva kept her eyes on one of the windows; the sky did not look so bad, but there were some clouds and she idly wondered if it would rain. Rain seemed like an excessive concept to her when she was already surrounded by water. But this was a location like any other, so any sort of weather was to be expected - well, almost any sort. She could not contest to any absence of, say, snow, somewhere this close to the water. But that was beyond the point, really; somehow, the sky’s condition reminded her that she had yet to pay for a room at that inn he had taken her to earlier and she really ought to get going and do so before someone else did that first. Eva was not looking forward to spending a night outside, much less if it got too cold.

Yet as Eva was about to move away from the counter and begin on her half-apology, half-excuse to leave and find herself a place to stay, the sound of a bell and the door opening cut her off and at the sound of that voice – that greeting; had she heard it somewhere before? -she almost mechanically turned her head to see who had walked in. Her mouth hung slightly and she stared at the newcomer with a look of surprise.

“Salut...”

Nikolaas looked at Eva with a curious expression "I'm the first one? Really? I've met one other person...think she worked in a bar here or something, but it wasn't quite the same feeling as meeting you" he grinned and scratched the back of his head. The shy was growing darker, the chances of any more customers was rather slim now.

"well, I'll award you bravery points for willingly coming here on your own. That's for certain, I don't meet a lot of women who have the guts to do that" He reached out for his cup of coffee, taking a small sip from the now lukewarm drink.
At the sound of the shop door's bell he turned to face the customer.
His eyes widened in surprise and he dropped the cup he was holding to the floor - shattering the thin porcelain into a million pieces.

He couldn't even utter a greeting before a terrible migraine grabbed a hold of him and all he could do was hold his head in his hands, massaging his temples. Visions of war and death flooded his mind mixed with scenes of 3 people grinning - through the 'fog' in his mind he realized the 3 people where the two women in his shop and himself. He groaned and warily stood up. What had felt like hours was more likely only seconds - but god damn, that had hurt.

"G-Goedemiddag" he greeted the petite woman. "We're still open...feel free to browse around..." He gave a small smile, his head still throbbing like mad. Could..could this woman be another one? She spoke Luxembourgish if Nikolaas wasn't mistaken...why was it he felt it was obvious that it was there she was from?

Caroline remained still, one hand loosely holding her bag and one half-raised to her face in an unfinished gesture. Her tawny eyes slowly drifted between the blonde woman sitting on the counter and the older man behind it, never settling on one for more than half a second before moving back towards the other. Her mind was blank as a page, deaf to the novel of impressions and intuitions and sheer feelings her heart was all but screaming, and it took just a moment past propriety to remember how to breathe.

Caroline blinked, and the moment was lost, reality crashing back in. She would’ve stumbled if she had been in motion, but as it was the young woman only finished adjusting her spectacles and tucking a stray lock of dark-honey-blonde hair behind her ear, placing her hands back over the handle of her bag and bustling in. The petite bartender looked up between the two people, smiling calmly and defying the sudden instinct to shyly bend her head down to either of them.

Caroline’s eyes honed in on the man for a second, a worried frown crossing her face at the pallor of his own, detecting the suppressed pain of a sudden headache. She suddenly remembered the sound of cracking china when she walked in, and, rather than follow the medic’s impulse to fuss and prescribe treatment, tried to allow him a moment to gather both the pieces of the cup and his composure by turning slightly towards the woman clad in a green and white dress, taking her to be the man’s business partner.

“Moien,” she greeted again, glad her accented voice was still clear and did not suddenly spike into any high notes, as she directed her question to both of the older adults, “I am looking for an affordable parasol; I was told this was the place to look?” The Western European fervently hoped that neither of them could see the unexplainable tremor in her shoulders, nor read too deeply into the still slightly spooked haze in her eyes, the only thing shielding her wild speculations from view.

[Im Yong Soo~!]

Eva was indeed surprised that he had met other people who he could relate this feeling to, but did not say anything else beyond that, being far too absorbed in her own thoughts.

Many of those thoughts seemed to stem from the very presence of this... Newcomer. Eva found herself staring, which was not the most polite thing to do but it seemed to work as far as she was concerned. She was practically frozen in place, hands gripping tightly at the edges of the counter to the point that her knuckles were turning white – and it was perhaps the only indication that something was off. The shock could have easily worn off, much like the light echo of the bell or the vague sound of the cup breaking not too far from her, but it did not; even when Eva closed her eyes for a moment, exhaled and allowed herself to offer Mr Hasbrouck’s new customer a somewhat strained smile, the little voice inside her head kept reminding her that somewhat was not quite normal right now and the rest of her body reacted accordingly. Besides the tight hold on the counter, she could feel her stomach twisting and turning and it literally hurt. She briefly wondered if she should buy some tea or if this justified blowing away her money in drinks at a local pub, but the young lady’s voice cut her off.

Eva was not the one who should answer said question though, so she remained silent, hoping the man would help her with that soon. With that thought in mind she did divert her gaze down to the floor between them, the smile vanishing, only to be replaced with a somewhat pained, somewhat sad expression. It was as if, for a moment, she was struck with such a wave of longing that it almost felt unnatural – and it was. And Eva did not want to think too much on it, either.

She idly wondered if this was what he meant; that there were other people who could make her feel so.. Strange, deep down. People who made her feel like something was-- is missing.

{apologies for taking so long aah}

under his breath, Nikolaas cursed his own clumsiness and this damn headache that refused to let go. Two in one day...what where the odds?
He bent down quickly to retrieve the pieces of broken china, discarding them in a nearby dustbin. He stood up at full height - he may have given a terrible impression on the new customer, but he might still have some hope of regaining it...

He smiled at the petite woman and walked out from behind the counter "My apologies miss. My friend here does not work here..." He gave Eva a grin and ruffled her hair "She's just a customer"
Nikolaas wondered why the small woman had though Eva was a worker here, then again, not many customers would make themselves so comfortable so quickly - maybe he should employ Eva... He turned his attention to the newcomer and gestured to a large wooden barrel full of parasols and umbrellas. "I have a selection over there Miss. The prices wary a bit, but I'm sure you'll find one to your liking" Nikolaas was trying his hardest at being a good merchant while ignoring the headache and dream-like visions that flooded his mind the more he looked at the petite woman.
'she looks like a doll' he mused to himself, she looked terribly cute...but Nikolaas though he saw a hint of...fear...in her eyes. Could this woman be like Eva and himself? That would almost be too good to be true...


_{[[sorry for taking so long...]]]}

Caroline’s gaze couldn’t help but linger on the young woman for just a moment longer, her head a swirl of impressions. On the one hand, she had the impulse to jump up and embrace the woman, bury her head in the other’s dress, and sob in relief. On the other, she wanted nothing more than to turn tail and run, and never look back.

Neither action was very appropriate, however, so instead the petite doctor turned her tawny gaze up at Nikolaas, smiling sheepishly and covering an embarrassed laugh in her hand, “Oh, es tut mir leid, my mistake.” She smiled at the little display of affection, even as another wave of eerie remembrance swept over her, before directing her attention to the parasol barrel.

Caroline bustled over, happy to have a distraction (distraction? this was her purpose in coming here, non?) and began to browse through, humming a little song under her breath. “You have a wonderful range of selection, good sir,” she commented, her fingers brushing across Oriental paper umbrellas and fine Victoriana pieces made of soft, flexible fabric.

She looked up, tucking her hair behind her ear, “Tell me, what would you recommend for durability?” Caroline glanced at Eva, and smiled faintly, thinking it was only polite to inform the other, “I hear there is a storm approaching, and I don’t want to be caught without an umbrella.” She then noticed the expression on the woman’s face, and frowned, bustling over in sudden concern. “Are you alright, Madame?”

((-huggle- Welcome back!))