Hey isn't for horses (Rista)

[Taln]

Summer 41st, 511AV The Stables A few whining yasis and some grumbling deks worked their way through a seemingly endless pile of work to be done. Horses meant the work was never ending. A blood bay dominant mare stuck her head out of the stall and tried to bite anyone that came near. Her teeth snapped angrily, reminding more than a few of them of an angry Avora they'd known at one point or another. Countless buckets waited to be filled with either water or feed and all the horses wanted it done. Now. A few impatient hooves stomped at the doors of their stall, demanding instant care. Irritated whinnies and the occasional yelp of a kicked Inarta drifted across the stables to add to the already lively atmosphere. A growing pile of manure sat to the left of the doorway, waiting to be hauled off by reluctant deks. Part of the problem was as soon as a wheelbarrow of muck was taken away, three more were added by complaining yasis. All in all it was another fun work day at the stables and only the horses were getting the good end of the deal. 'It was like a room full of Endals!' Taln quietly chuckled to himself. 'Each one kicking and screaming to get attention first and then squealing in outrage if a lowly yasi or dek approached too closely to give them what they wanted in the first place!' It wasn't quite as hot as yesterday so he shrugged another sack over his shoulder and made the long walk to leave his 'deposit' in the ever increasing dump pile. When one of the Avoras called lunch, the yasis stampeded out of the stables a lot faster than the horses could ever manage. The deks wouldn't get to eat yet so Taln just shrugged and kept working. "Hey half half breed, there's your dek meat again. Did you two have fun last night?" a young male yasi taunted someone and Taln turned his head at the cat call. The copper haired dek kept his emerald gaze pinned fiercely on the punk boy yasi, his mouth a grim angry line. He glanced that the Avora was long gone and charged over to the boy who couldn't be more than five and half feet and about fourteen years old. From his full six feet, his green eyes blazed and he nearly growled at the boy in a very deep and quiet voice filled with malice. "You run you mouth again little boy and I'll pierce your head with my fist. Get the petch out!" He took a threatening step forward, "Now!" He nearly did growl at the boy's retreating back.

[Rista]

So far, the day had been horrible. The girl had woken up in a strangely good mood; that the dek had disappeared sometime while she slept didn't matter much to her, it was enough to remember the strange events the night before to put a smile on her face. She hadn't been that relaxed in a long time... It had started as she noticed that the unfamiliar work of stitching together the skin of a living person had given her blisters on her fingers. The tips were sore and the swelling made it difficult to braid her hair more decently; it had made her late for breakfast. The meal had been a rather unpleasant affair; apparently someone had noticed Taln sneaking out of her room sometime during the night, and with that a wildfire of rumors had begun to spread within the yasiry. The mongrel had brought a dek to her room, and not just any dek either; the female pet favorite as of late...

There was really only one way to interpret that, they thought, and the whispering, the glances and the not so well hidden puns had rained over Rista as she tried to eat. At first she hadn't realized what they were going on about, but as soon as she did the taunts became close to unbearable. Her blush had made the pecking even more intense, until it actually drove her away from the table; by then her cup had been flipped three times, her food sabotaged and small, sharp objects thrown at her from numerous directions. A small cut from something that might be a shard of glass glared red and sore just beneath the left eye; it was a miracle that it hadn't made her blind.

The worst part was, how was she supposed to defend herself against it? Taln had as good as admitted the night before that the rumors were true, so she couldn't deny anything about that. The reason for the visit wasn't very pleasant to bring up either; the drudges were viewed as vagiks and the closest thing to animals a person could come without actually having fur and crawling on the ground, and to actually try and help one would be viewed with disbelief and contempt. It would only make it worse, and the implications she had to put up with, that she was getting so desperate from lack of attention that she was willing to turn to animals to get any, was already too much to swallow. If she had only been able to point out the one who started the rumor... But it was impossible. The other yasi clung to each other like flocks of sheep, just whispering behind her back and staring innocently at her when she turned to see who it was that spoke. It was infuriating, and it brought the young womans mood down to an all time low.

Good things had happened to her lately, she might have met a friend in Eoin and a mentor in Kovac; both avora capable of helping her to a better future if she just could learn to trust them enough... But that wasn't enough to weigh up the grimness of her everyday life, and being unable to do anything to retaliate against her tormentors was so frustrating.

Rista straightened her back with a tired sigh as lunchtime was announced, grimacing as her spine popped back into place. Mucking the boxes were tiring business, but with this many hands it went fairly quickly. Any other time she might have smiled at the horses, taking some time to pet and talk to them before going for lunch, but her flammable mood made her keep a slight distance, not sure whether her patience was enough to stand any skittishness or fickle behavior. She had plenty of that around her anyway. Putting the tools away, the girl was planning on hiding away in some more secluded place and eat the scraps she'd brought from breakfast rather than go down to eat in the hall; as the taunt was thrown at her by the passing boy, her shoulders tensed and she froze for s brief, short moment. Then she nearly exploded.

Quick to spin around, her right hand was already clutched into a tight fist aimed at the face of the boy, the face pale with anger and indignation. She would have hit him if a sharp voice behind her hadn't made the guy back off out of reach, only to quickly spin around and take off towards the exit. Rista hissed in disappointment and continued her turning until she could see the man that had spoken and chased away her prey; it was how she felt right then, choking on anger and suddenly lacking something to take it out on. The person that stood before her wasn't someone she could punch; while it probably wouldn't make Taln flinch all that much, Rista didn't want to risk the frail sense of camaraderie that had begun to form between then, and then he could be however much dek he wanted. Her fist trembled from a need to connect to something, her face tense and fierce looking with the glaring eyes and her mouth pressed to nothing bu a thin line. Unable to restrain herself, the girl drove the hand forward in a hard punch, aimed not at the tall man that towered over her, but rather the wall to the right of him.

Pain exploded through her mind as the knuckles made contact with stone, and the struggle not to wail along with a sudden need for air made her almost shudder from delight. She hated getting hurt, but sometimes it was way better than to feel this helpless, unable to do anything to defend her honor...
"Mother-petching vagiks, may the gods curse them and crows feast on their rotting shyke" she growled between gritted teeth, voice thick with emotion and the eyes seething with something that almost bordered on hate. Her small frame trembled as she continued to grind her knuckles into the wall, trying to make the pain clear her mind or at least relieve some of the pressure; she didn't stop even as the skin on her hands tore and blood oozed out, smearing over the stone and her own hand...

[Taln]

Taln sighed. He made sure to leave a bell before sunrise, and it still didn't help. May-- Rista's curses turned the air blue and he nodded. "Yea that's a perfect description of a dek in one try." He frowned when he saw Rista hit the wall and just ....keep her hand there. Grinding it into the stone. "I get mad too Ris, but that's just dumb--even for a yasi." gently he removed her little hand and guided it toward her side. Taln took out a small bit of rag and wrapped it around Rista's tiny knuckles. "I'm sorry, I thought I was careful enough when I left this morning. I honestly didn't mean to petch things up for you. I know something that will help. I'll just show you this and I won't kill your reputation any more. C'mon." The tall man grabbed a bale of hay and balanced it on his shoulder like holding air. Taln wasn't sure whether or not she'd follow and honestly wouldn't blame her if she didn't. His effortless stride brought him quickly to the back of the barn where there were a few scatted bales that looked pounded to straw and he dropped the bale. "You wanna feel better, -this- is what you kill in safety and it's awesome the way it rips apart. I know, I spent a half bell this morning doing this." He set up part of a ragged bale on top of two untouched ones, took a step back and stood very still while clenching both large fists. With sudden fury and violence he whipped around with both large fists at once and decimated the hay bale into bits with one hit, the baling string flying off in several pieces, and straw filling the air like snow. The copper haired man moved back a few paces, giving Rista enough space that if anyone saw them, it wouldn't seem like the two were even speaking. As straw stuck to his stitches, the large man sat on the ground, arms folded with his back against a tree. He kept his profile to the yasi, where he could at least glimpse her a little without compromising her further. Rista was the only real friend he'd ever made and he'd killed her reputation by... simply just being near her. He tied the right leg of the bryda into a messy knot, then the man remained as silent and still as the tree he leaned against. The last thing Rista needed was his nasty dek arse dragging her name through the mud. His thoughts churned almost as hard as his stomach. An idea slowly formed in his mind that just -might- help Rista's reputation. Maybe a little. It had to be a step up from what the yasi brats were doing to her today. Quietly, as if talking to himself, "If someone wanted to separate their reputation from a dek, all they need to do is a public beating and denouncement. What better way to up a yasi's status than to kick around and yell at dek? If she waited till they came back from lunch to take out her rage on the one she should be, her problem would be solved."

[Rista]

Her limbs were stiff as they moved, the arm putting up some resistance as it was brought down to her side by the larger hand; torn between annoyance over how casually he was touching her and gratitude over the fact that he cared at all, the swirling emotions made the girl feel numb. Still, she allowed him to wrap the cloth around her hand, only grimacing slightly as it scraped over her sore knuckles; she didn't care if it was stupid, it was a privilege of youth to do things that weren't reasonable or very intelligent. Rista didn't feel like being mature and sensible at the moment, she wanted to hit someone!

A sharp snort was given at the mans words, a mix of sarcasm and disbelief; he actually thought she gave a damn about her reputation? That was dragged in the dirt anyway, she didn't have much of a good name to defend. It wasn't the reason for her anger, nor did she blame Taln for anything, strangely enough. It would have been so easy to push all the responsibility over on him, direct her anger at his inability to remain unseen; he wouldn't have been able to retort. It just wouldn't make anything better. She'd feel bad, he'd feel accused, and the yasi would keep on tattling just like before.

Taking a deep breath, Rista tried to calm down and glared after the tall mans back as he began to walk, at first not sure if she wanted to follow. Being around him only made things worse, and when she was like this there was no telling what she might do or say. Still, curiosity over what he was going to do with the bale; slowly she followed, somehow tormented by the distinct distance between them that made it difficult to tell whether they were walking alone or not. It wasn't fair, it wasn't good how those evil tongues actually managed to affect her..

The expression on her face still tense and a far cry from being calm, the short-built yasi watched quietly as Taln made the process short with the hay. It seemed somewhat ridiculous to act like that, and she only reluctantly stepped forth, feeling beyond silly as she hesitantly bumped her undamaged hand into the packed bundle of straw. The feeling seemed to reawaken the anger within her though; the pathetic punch was replaced by a hard one, more determined. Soon the girl seemed to have lost herself completely in the straining activity, flying fists accompanied by curses that were bit off the tongue and spat out ferociously. It was quite impressing how intense she was; despite her small size Rista wasn't weak. Her built was anything but frail, she had broad shoulders and sturdy legs, and the punches that were dealt with full force damaged the bale quite a bit. Not exactly disintegrating like Taln could accomplish, it still served as a splendid way of blowing off some steam.

Finally she couldn't keep going; sweaty and with the face flushed from the effort, Rista leaned her forehead against the abused bale and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. It was hard to really see her face but the way she dug her fingers into the dried grass suggested that she wasn't very happy. "You think I'm mad at you, don't you?" she said with low voice, remembering how he had talked about his good hearing; maybe he could hear her even if she was quiet. "It's not like you have changed anything though, you being around just gave them a nice new reason to keep going. This is how it always is, Taln. My anger isn't because of some ruined reputation; I've never had a good one in the first place, there's nothing to destroy or drag in the dirt. If it hadn't been this, they would have found something else to pester me about; my eyes, my skin, growing up in the nursery, being child of a dek.. Just because I actually know what caste my mother comes from, it's like it's suddenly become interesting to drag it up all the time. Half of them grew up along side me in that nursery, and the other half used to play with the first one; it's not like anyone else is any better."

Her voice just sounded tired when she spoke, as if she explained something that should have been obvious anyway. The girl rubbed her head against the uncaring bale, the dark, braided hair falling down to cover her face and shielded her away from any looks.
"Most of the time I just don't care what they say, unless they say it to my face; then I deal with it in whatever way works best, usually by fighting until they fold or get backup. I won't let them think that I tolerate everything they throw at me; I'm not lower than them, I don't have to do as they say or act like they want me to act. I won't give them the pleasure. But when they begin talking about things that simply aren't true, without listening or caring about the real story behind, I just can't take it anymore. Not only are they insulting me, they're talking trash about the ones around me too. And when I try to keep them from saying anything, they just keep twisting it around until it gets even worse.."

The voice was becoming strangely hoarse as she spoke, sometimes pausing as if to swallow or breathe; the girls shoulders were still and tense, nothing gave away what expression she might be wearing behind that cloak of black-red hair, but even so she managed to look a bit smaller than she had just a while ago, slightly more frail. It wouldn't be fair to call her weak; no one would breathe easy after a day like hers, it was just that.. She couldn't take it anymore.

No matter how much she tried to deny it, the perpetual wall of contempt and ignorance she constantly was faced with hurt beyond belief; and there wasn't anywhere she could go to be free from it. Her beloved twin brother was dead since many years, her mother just a face in a crowd if even that, the father was a mystery she didn't want to solve, and there weren't anyone in her own age that cared enough to try and befriend the strange mongrel girl with the freaky eyes. She was alone; the few acquaintances she made now and then didn't really count, they weren't people she could run to with her worries; what would grown Avora care about the loneliness of a single yasi? Why should an Endal take time from her busy schedule to listen to someone who was supposed to be able to take care of herself by now?

It didn't even make it better to know that she still lived a good life compared to the man that sat a few strides away, maybe or maybe not able to hear her mumbled words. Who was she to complain, really? It wasn't like anyone expected anything from her, when it came down to it..

oocugh, sorry for the sap. >.< sometimes I like her mood-swings, but not so much when it turns like this..

[Taln]

Taln nodded and smiled to himself as Rista tore at the bale in a frenzy. He should've let her do that to the punk yasi, or better yet himself. He glanced over and heard her start talking, not pleased with her tone. The girl sounded so defeated. But the way she attacked the bale showed her true Inarta fury and she needed to tap into it. He remembered the first time he'd changed his feeling of failure to anger and it's what kept him at least half sane as a dek. This little girl had the chance to -be- someone, to -get- somewhere and ..was she crying? Taln shook his head. He couldn't just go over there and hug her. Tears were for privacy, not daily life. As much as he wanted to tell her everything was gonna be all right, he knew it wasn't, and wouldn't give her those lies. The man respected her courage too much for that. But Gods she was so tiny and delicate, the world just seemed too big of a place for her. The dek shook his head hard enough to dishevel his hair into a coppery mess and a few bits of straw flew out of it. He -had- to help her, but this was no time to wipe her tears or pet her hair. Rista needed to focus her rage and harness it to further herself. She had Inarta in her and she needed to embrace it fully--to grab it pummel it like she did the hay bale. Taln heard distant footsteps and knew he needed to take action. He couldn't let those ravenous yasi brats see her cry. They needed to see in Rista what he saw--the tough, smart, independent Inarta. She might hate me for this now, but it'll make her stronger, more respected, and most importantly to -never- give up. His acute hearing picked up the confident steps of the Avora and the smaller strides of a few approaching yasi. He had to--for her sake--make her madder than she'd ever been in her life. Taln said a silent good bye, knowing she'd mostly likely hate him for life. He thought that at worst, the Avora would probably laugh, but wouldn't bother stepping in over a mere yasi/dek problem. Taln stood swiftly and threw a large flake of hay directly at Rista's head. He picked up another two flakes and aimed hard for her head again. The man's tone was scornful and harsh, his attitude more insolent and scornful than a bored Endal. He caught a glimpse of several red haired teens approaching and made sure his voice was loud enough to carry over clearly. "Watcha doin baby half breed? Hey look at me when I'm talking to you, you shyke eyed demon mongrel!" He kicked the ground in front of her, splaying clods of dirt and grass at her. His scowl turned fierce and his green eyes blazed in fury. The large man stood threateningly over Rista, silently praying he'd said enough for her to lash out--strike out--anything to show her true Inarta self. The dek thought desperately to the heartbroken teen, 'C'mon baby, let it out. Gimme a love tap good bye! Be angry! Be furious! Rage! Show them the -real- you! Hit me dammit!' "Is life too hard for the sissy little yasi?! I got news for you spoiled BRAT! Life is supposed to suck so go back to the nursery if you can't take it! Anyone with a drop of Inarta blood wouldn't be a weak mess like you. Go ahead and prove it Rista! Is life too hard for you? Poor petching baby! You want me to hold your little hand? Prove yourself you spoiled mongrel low life....dek! PROVE YOU'RE NOT A DEK RIGHT NOW!"

[Rista]

The lump of hay hit her with force, not painful but still enough to rattle her mind in its miserable state. The girl blinked and looked up, at first thinking the man was trying to tease her out of the gloomy mood; her face was smooth and showed no signs of tears, but there was a glossiness to the black eyes that suggested they weren't far away. The features were surprised but not really upset - she had already settled with the realization that Taln was never going to act as she expected him to - and she opened her mouth to try and ask what the petch he was doing. Before she managed, another flake came hurling towards her and hit her over the mouth, pressing her lip against the teeth in a painful way.

The pain, along with surprise and a sudden feeling of hurt made something begin to seethe within, but it only displayed in a furrowing of the eyebrows as she stared at Taln. She hadn't heard what he said about fooling the other yasi, she definitely hadn't noticed the youngsters that came back; catching sight of the display they halted slowly, clumping together like they always did and began to whisper, always whispering as their eyes looked incredulously at the scene. The large man towered over the little woman, fuming with something that looked like anger while she almost thoughtfully reached up a hand to wipe a bit of blood from the lip, only to stare at it as the dek spoke to her, harsh and mocking words that made the yasi snicker and gasp; that he dared! A filthy dek.. then again, she was barely more than a dek herself, or shouldn't be more with those looks of her.

Rista stared at the blood on her hand, feeling strangely detached from herself as the man she had begun to trust stood and began to snap at her, the thundering voice seemingly coming from the sky as he towered over her. More hay hit her head - she didn't even try to avoid it - and as he shouted at her and kicked up dirt, she only stood there, face calm and distant... Too calm, actually. Normally her feelings were displayed on her features like pictures carved from a wall, clear for everyone to see, but now, there was only icy calm, as words kept hailing down on her.

On the surface it looked like she didn't care about it. On the surface, she could as well have been standing on a sunny patch of meadow, too absorbed in feeling the sun to think of anything else. On the surface she looked like a statue of flesh and blood, solid and incapable of breaking.
Beneath it all though, hidden by those glossy black eyes she recoiled, hunched and trembled for every single word he tossed at her. Numbness spread as pain of the lip and the soul became too much, anger rose as a means to cover her, shield her from any more.

She had trusted him. It had been silly and incomprehensible, but she had cared for him, allowed him to touch her, she had treated his wounds and shared her room for a night, they had spoken like equals. He had made her smile, and just moments ago he had helped her, chased off a tormentor like that night before... Why was he throwing these words at her now? Had she said to much, trusted too much? Was it too much to ask that someone would hear her out, and if not answer than at least listen quietly to the things that weighed her heart down? How come the same man that had tucked her in for the night was now standing before her, angry and threatening, while calling her names and crushing her confidence under his heel?

Why was she even allowing him to say things like that? It wasn't like they were equals, when it came down to it. For a moment there, in the darkness of her room and with her mind clodded with tiredness and confusion, she had begun to doubt the fairness of the Inarta society. She had felt compassion for someone that was below her, and thought of how she could help him, and even help others that was in the same position like him. This was how he thanked her? The anger grew stronger, seething and boiling within her, fueled by pain and loathing over herself, steadily expanding within her. The girl clenched her fists, the jaws pressing tightly together as she stared at his reddened face, somehow unable to recognize it for that of the laughing, clumsy but strangely warm man she had befriended the day before. Did he just call her a dek? He definitely called her that. It was too much, to be named a drudge by the very same person that only bells before had said that she could go to whatever heights she wished...

It was as if she watched from outside herself, standing somewhere within the group of laughing yasi. From there the girl saw herself move, seemingly in slow motion but in reality with sudden, explosive movements as anger startled her into action; out of nowhere a clenched fist flung out with all the strength she was mighty, aimed towards the injured side of the man and the stitches she had made herself not a full day ago. Following up, she watched as her body slipped closer to the tall drudge, both fists pounding rapidly into his gut, one, two, three times, before a knee rose up, aiming to lodge painfully in the mans crotch. Aiming to bring him down on his knees, she turned her right side towards him, shoulder shoving into the muscled chest and pushing him back, almost calmly assessing the force to be enough to shove him out of balance; if all the blows connected, the gathered shock and pain would probably be enough for even such a large man to budge... And then she would be able to look him in the eyes.

[Taln]

Taln didn't have long to wait as Rista turned into an explosive bundle of rage. He had fully expected her to go for the stitches. It was a blatant weakness to take advantage of and at her dainty weight and height, every bit of knowledge helped. She fully met his expectations and then an angry rapid fist ripped into the newly stitched injury and tore it open mercilessly. Rista's knuckles must've got caught in a bit of the string, because the wound gaped open like a macabre mouth shouting in surprise. Her hands connected with the ribs and something snapped sickeningly from within the dek. Taln stumbled down hard onto his knees, grasping his side and wheezing. The impact was too much for the still healing leg and it gave out under pressure, leaving him only one to kneel on. The dek put up a hand in defense as the furious yasi rabbit punched fast and hard. Although it was intended to reach his gut, his raised hand was at a bad angle for him and the knuckles on both of her hands smashed into the fingers he'd held up. A few bones cracked from somewhere within the mess that was the dek's left hand. Before he could take a single breath at her swift attack, she went for the gold. The large man went silent and bent forward. Caught totally off guard, Rista's shoulders hurdled into the six foot man and he crashed to the ground with a hard thud, breathless and squeezing his eyes shut in agony. The Avora firmly clapped Rista on the shoulder once in approval. "When those drudges forget who they are, you gotta remind them they're lucky we allow them to live. Not bad yasi. I'll give you a bell to go clean up 'cause blood makes the horses edgy." Irritated, she gestured shortly to the group of gathered teens to get back to their Bendi. "That's one less dek to work, so you--the tallest boy--get shyke duty. Go." She turned a glittering golden eye on the prone form and curled her lip in disgust. "Now one of -my- yasis has to take over your duties you big dumb brute." She paused for a brief moment to kick his back, not sure if he was alive or not. " I'll be back in an hour and you either better be dead or working. Shyke for brains." The imperious and incredibly beautiful Avora turned on her heel and strode back to the tack room, her boots striking the floor with sharp authority. The small group of yasis whispered amongst themselves and headed back to the stables. The dek lay half on his left side and half on his face, with his good right hand cradling where the groin shot had struck home. A mop of copper hair completely obscured what little of his face might have shown that wasn't resting against the grass.

[Rista]

The pat on the shoulder seemed to bring the girl back to reality. It all came crashing down over her head; the stinging feeling of her knuckles, the faint throbbing of her lip and the rapidly beating heart; she could hear the yasi mumble behind her and glanced their way. They didn't really seem overly impressed by the display and her gaze was met with raised eyebrows and some sour grimaces, but it seemed that they had stopped tattling for a while at least. Unable to produce a smile, the short little yasi simply nodded and mumbled something in thanks to the Avora, and then waited for all of them to leave before she turned to look down on the red-haired man on the ground.

Face still holding the same cold numbness as before, Rista slowly moved over to him with a taste of blood lingering in her mouth, and hunched down by his shoulder, her hands resting loosely over the knees as she stared at the mass of hair that sprawled over the ground. Her mind felt blank. She knew what had happened, she remembered everything, every punch and every word of the exchange, but a part of her refused to acknowledge the even at all. A small fraction of her wanted to stretch out a hand and clear away the hair from his face, make him look at her... But she couldn't. The pain from his words and accusing tone still lingered within, and like the child she still was the yasi felt like getting back at him still, for causing her to feel like this.

"Why?" The question was barely audible, spoken so quietly that she wasn't even sure herself if it had been spoken or just thought in her head. "In the name of the gods, Taln, why? I don't understand you; one day you treat me like a long lost little sister, and today you say things like these. What part is it that is real? Should I trust that you are just a mindless, ungrateful brute like they say you are, and that last night was just a fluke, a random thing that will never happen again? Or should I not trust you at all?"

There was no mistaking the angry and hurt tone of her voice, spoken as if from a great distance; the usually so intense girl seemed void, empty and used up, as if she couldn't take feeling anything more than she currently did for a while. Her eyes trailed away from the man, looking over the scenery without really seeing anything; if seen from a distance, it would just look like she was whispering to the dek, uttering low warnings perhaps. Maybe she did. As the fog slowly began to clear from her mind, the emotions settled into two camps within; one that was hurt and angry and wanted to storm away without caring anymore. And another, that tried to understand what had happened and why, aching over the pain she had caused him. His response would probably decide what would happen next; but either way, the anger hadn't subsided completely from her. It still seethed within, ready to erupt once more from the seemingly endless depths of her black gaze.

[Taln]

Taln blew through the annoying hair to get it off his face and spit the blood out of his mouth. His voice was rough, clearly not used to raising it above a very quiet speaking level. "I can't believe you didn't petchin hear me. Before I threw the bales at you, I said and I quote exactly, 'If someone wanted to separate their reputation from a dek, all they need to do is a public beating and denouncement. What better way to up a yasi's status than to kick around and yell at a dek? If she waited till they came back from lunch to take out her rage on the one she should be, her problem would be solved.' " She hadn't heard him? Gods now what had he done to the girl's already petched up mental state? The man sighed, but it was too deep and something pinched inside, which brought him up short. Safer to breathe shallow right now. The man had given Rista fair warning and fifteen chimes to prepare-- and she hadn't heard a petching thing. So first she was degraded, moping and ashamed because of what his own presence had caused and now he'd verbally bashed her with no -audible- warning. The large man rolled very slowly to his side, the ground mashing grass and dirt into the re opened wounds on his leg and side. He propped himself on an elbow and waited for the nausea to recede. He couldn't do his pinch trick with only one hand so he waited for a long chime in silence. "I told you why. I thought you heard me. It was my own stupid fault; I didn't speak loud enough for you to hear it and choose to disagree or prepare." The young woman's words hurt far more than than any of the physical attack. He expected physical pain as a part of daily life, but he knew words could hurt far more than anything else an Inarta could inflict on another. Taln had hurt the only human being that had ever treated him kindly. As something more than a dumb, untrustworthy brute. The damage was done and nothing would fix it. If I'm this stupid not to make sure she heard my dumb plan, than maybe it was for the best. Then she'll learn not to trust a drudge beast. Too many long hours of sleep and food deprivation combined with trauma and Taln would've retched if he'd eaten anything to sick up. Only a thin bit of bile and a viscous string of blood came up. His arm gave out so the copper haired dek rolled onto his stomach. He stretched his arms out in front of him and leaned his chin on them. The man kept his eyes closed against the nausea, silently willing it, begging it to pass. "I played a part to divorce you from my reputation, based on a plan I thought you heard me say, but you didn't. So I don't know. Maybe you -should- consider me a mindless ungrateful brute. You shouldn't trust me at all now that I've hurt you like this. In fact, I don't think I can move for a few chimes yet, so why don't you work out some more anger? Just coz a dek is down, doesn't mean you should stop kicking. Go ahead. I can hear how pissed you still are. Or just walk away from this mindless, ungrateful brute and grab your future." Taln lay very still and stretched out against the ground, earth's gravity seeming to weigh him down heavily. He breathed as lightly and shallowly as possible and eventually the nausea eased to a bearable level. The man hadn't realized till this very chime how much Rista had come to mean to him in so short a time. People just didn't willingly touch him out of kindness and most certainly didn't talk to him like they would another human being. He just felt more tired than he ever had, so bone deep weary that he no longer cared if it was blood loss or just life. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

[Rista]

Her eyes turned back to him when she heard him say something, though it was barely audible under the mass of hair. The girl frowned. What on earth was he.. talking about? She hadn't heard him say anything like that, and even if she had, she would never have..

Slowly it began to dawn on her the full reality of the situation, and as realization settled in her mind her face changed, the frozen expression shifted to one of horror, humiliation and..yes, decidedly anger. She kept it at bay as he talked, his struggle to get up from the ground observed by a pair of now almost glowing black orbs; the red streaks in her hair almost seemed to lighten up and glow - it was just a trick of the light as clouds strayed away from the sun, but still - and it was with noticeable effort that she kept herself from doing as he suggested and pounded him silly.

"Fool" she hissed after the whispered apology, the voice kept low but with a renewed intensity of the voice. Oh, she was angry now, seriously pissed off. "Taln, you big, stupid, retarded beast of a fool, how dare you? How dare you decide on your own what is best for me! How can you even for a second think that this is a good solution? Striking you won't solve anything, don't you realize that? They might be quiet for now, they might have decided to shut up for now, but tomorrow, or next ten-days they will have found another reason to taunt me. It never ends, you stupid dek, because they don't give a petch about me in the first place. Do you really think I want to be like them in this, beat up people around me for the fun of it or just because they are different?"

Her hand reached out to grab a hold of the top of his hair, attempting to pull his head up from the ground so she could look him in the eyes. The small girl had a furious expression in her eyes, the grasp trembling as she tried to keep herself from doing what he apparently wanted her to do. His words rang like bells in her ears, speaking to her about how he must look at her; small, in need of help. Or was this just for his own convenience, to relieve some bad conscience about getting her into trouble? It just seemed selfish to her, because right now she wanted to beat herself up for injuring him like this. He couldn't even get off the ground!

"I'm not weak" she continued, words pressed out through gritted teeth. "I don't know what you see when you look at me, but I'm not a little girl, I'm not frail or scared and I won't let anyone tell me what to do or how to do it, not without having earned the right to do so. Endal I will obey and Avora too, because they are the ones who keep me fed and give me the clothes on my body. Chiet I might follow, but only if they give me a damn good reason for it, and not without questioning. But dek? Taln, I'd like to think that you are a good man, but I'll be damned before I take orders from you or let you decide anything about me. Don't ever do something like this again, do you hear me? Because if you do, I won't hesitate to deal with you for good."

Without warning the girl opened her hand again and let his head fall to the ground before standing; she was too angry to try and help him up, and it'd look decidedly suspicious if anyone was watching. The yasi looked grim as she stared down at the much taller man, her words serious and completely honest. She could tolerate a lot from a person that managed to make her laugh, but this? If anything, she was hurt from his lack of trust in her.

Had he believed that she would agree to his plan in the first place? She would have refused, Rista would never purposely harm anyone that had showed such kindness to her, dek or no dek. That he had taunted her into hitting him stung and burned within, from shame over her own quick temper and the fact that she had allowed herself to be fooled. The fact that he thought he had to protect her was humiliating; did she look so weak in his eyes, so unable to take care of herself? And just over a bit of whining, it was too hard to swallow.

"Keep away from me for a while, Taln" she said, no ordered with a voice that didn't have room for objections. "It seems you have misjudged me quite thoroughly if you think I'll turn from you completely over such a small matter as a rumor, but I'm too angry right now to think straight. You've acted like a full-blooded idiot, but I think you meant well, which is why I'm not going to hit you.. How could you ever think that hitting you would make me feel better!? Argh, people! Why am I even surprised?" Her hands flung out in an exasperated gesture and spun around, continuing to curse as she quickly started to walk away, head shaking and hands flailing as if she was continuing the scolding even when the man couldn't hear.

What a day, and it was just barely past lunchtime. She needed a bath, she needed lunch.. Rista really hoped that the man would be gone from her sight when she came back, because otherwise... Taking a deep breath she tried to swallow some of the upset emotions that boiled within and began to hurry down the trail, heading back to the Reach to make use of that bell she had been awarded.. Such a stupid thing to award someone for, anyway. Was everyone in this place mad?

oochaha, wow, ehm.. I'm not sure if we can continue this any further at the moment. xD Talk about emotional upheaval, I didn't expect this. Shall we start a new one? We can let them have some time to cool off, and then try again and see where it leads. If you want to? Pm me, and we'll chat about it.