[Darniva CommonRooms] Pain or Salvation (Taln)

[Rista]

53rd of Summer, 511 AV

It was more early than late and a dim light of dawn was slowly beginning to brighten the sky, spreading a faint light over the parts of the warrens that connected to any of the great, windowed halls. It was peaceful and calm as the corridors and stairs lay empty and barren, void of any people except perhaps the rare red-haired passer-by, on their way to or from work. Some of the torches or lamps that provided light for the darker of the passages had gone out, yet to be lightened by the hard-working dek; many corners lay in shadow, hiding away things that shouldn't be seen.

The sound of feet was barely noticeable as a small group of older yasi carefully slipped out from a room in the far reaches of the Commons, trying their best not to get noticed as they slipped back towards their rooms to get some small amount of rest before breakfast. The door they came from creaked a bit in a draft and swayed on the hinges; it hadn't been closed properly and from the small crack a light flowed out, as if a lamp had been left alight. It wasn't a part of the Common-rooms that was normally used; the rooms were small and lay deep into the mountain, usually too hot for comfort. The yasi had made some of them into hideouts; they thought no-one knew about it, and the adults let them keep thinking that way. It was a cheap price for some peace and quiet, as they didn't have to run around the feet of the working people in search for amusement.

The sound of a muffled cough came from within the room. Rista spat out a lump of half-dried blood on the floor before her and shifted slowly where she laid on the floor, struggling to get up despite the pain. The girl tried to straighten herself out, the churning in her gut making her gasp and feel like retching; she couldn't though, her dinner had already been pounded out of her. The sour stench of vomit that lingered in the room made her head spin even more, so much that she couldn't quite remember why she had ended up like this in the first place. She was sure it had been something, they had told her, but...

Struggling to even sit up, it was a slow and agonizing task to push herself up on hands and knees and crawl over to the wall, where she somehow managed to turn around and sit, the back and head leaned against the wall with the legs spread out in front of her. She wondered if she looked as horrible as she felt. The face was swollen from receiving numerous blows, it was impossible to open her left eye, and the taste of blood suggested that her lip had burst at some point. Maybe she had a nosebleed too, it was hard to tell. The part of her skin that could be seen was equally badly damaged; the belly was red and swollen from blows, already turning bluish as blood had nowhere to escape to. Arms and back had whip-like marks spread over them, probably made by someone's belt; nothing that would scar, but plenty enough to make moving a difficult task.

Breathing slowly, Rista tried to make the head stop spinning. Somehow she had to try and make it up on her feet, and then back to her room. She didn't know what time it was; she had to go to the lessons, couldn't be late because of something like this... She made a vague effort to move, the spinning of her head increased and with a desperate sigh she fell back, laughing weakly at herself. Right, as if she would be able to ply a bow in this state. She would have to apologize to Kovac later for not showing up. Technically it wasn't good enough of an excuse to have lost a fight, but when it was this badly.. and in a way it was his fault in the first place, even if Rista wasn't going to let him know that. It was his fault for taking time to teach her, and for driving away those whispering yasi instead of letting them have their way with rumors and taunts.

She remembered now, as she chipped for breath and tried to see if she had any really serious wounds. They had grabbed a hold of her after dinner and dragged her here; it was the same room as always, she remembered the time when she had been younger and been ganged up on, at that time to receive punishment for making herself important. This time it had been something similar. A 'committee' of sorts had been waiting for her, a gathering of yasi around her own age and some of the younger. They had complained about her recent bouts of obstinacy, talked on and on about how she should stop thinking that she was worth anything or that she had a future in 'their' Wind Reach. It had all been a bunch of bull really, since all they wanted was to figure out what was up with her long private lesson with Avora Kovac, and whether she was getting an apprenticeship. Maybe it had been stupid of her to taunt them, leading them round and round with words that didn't answer anything but implied a lot. Maybe she shouldn't have tried to defy them by calling them vultures feeding off the shyke of dead animals; it was true, all they did was peck on those they perceived to be lower, but it didn't mean that they took well to hearing it.

Coughing again as the air that reached her lungs wasn't enough, Rista lifted a hand and pulled it through her tangled, messed up hair. Half the braids had come loose under the beating that followed, while soot had been rubbed into the rest to 'dye her into her true color' as they said. Too beat up and sore to even feel angry, the small girl tried desperately to fight the sleepiness that was coming over her; it wouldn't be good to fall asleep now. She had to do something, get up and.. She tried to move again, managed to get the hands in under herself to push her frame up on the feet; the legs wobbled and gave in under the weight, sending the small, beaten frame into a pile on the floor once more.

Pain shot through her body and the stabbing feeling in the gut made her curl up, coughing loudly and trying to breathe; black spots darted around in front of her eyes, and through it all the dark-eyed girl began to laugh, sorely and helplessly. By the gods, wasn't she pathetic. Unable to even stand up... It was too hilarious, too ridiculous. Something stung in the small cuts on her face but Rista just kept on laughing, not even noticing how tears dripped from her eyes from pain and fear and exhaustion. Maybe she wouldn't be able to stand again at all...

[Taln]

An irritated voice sounded from around the corner, "They wake up in a bell or two so you're the only one tall enough to light the braziers and then you're done with your shift. You understand? Answer me you dumb brute!" No audible reply was made but a nod of the head was assumed in the answer, "Idiot dek, do you even know the language? Never mind, I know better than to keep talking to a rock." A tall copper haired man shuffled quietly around the room, a lit torch held to each brazier in passing. Although his height made the task effortless, his utter lack of expression was that of any other nameless dek to be found. The man's large stride made short work and lit the last of the torches. He was unusually well dressed in a custom, black silk Lontev. A dek sat nearly beneath his feet, swollen and bruised, right next to a fouls smelling pile that used to be a meal. The empty expression disappeared to be replaced by concern for another of his caste. His green eyes took in the bruising and swelling skin and several welts. He'd best not leave the girl to those .. yasis. He lifted the nearly weightless girl from the floor and carried her carefully, keeping her as from himself as he could, while taking large, swift strides. His enormous gait had him weaving through the warrens in uncanny grace. Taln was careful to keep most of the weight shifted to the right, which took the problem off his bandaged right hand, but exacerbated the problem with an injury to the right side of his ribs. Sometime you just couldn't win no matter what you did. 'I'll take her to Reech's room, the poor thing left beat up like that! I'm so tired of all this, I swear when Reech is gone, I'm just gonna--' Taln's thoughts were interrupted as he'd arrived at the room faster than he realized. Reech chirped softly in greeting at his entrance. A fledgeling with fluffy pre-flight adolescent feathers was moulting in heaps. The red haired man didn't bother to answer. He didn't speak now unless forced to, which wasn't very often. He put out an index finger to the falcon's chest feathers and turned his attention back to the girl. If he'd brought her to the healer, he or she would simply dismiss the dek simply for her caste. He was glad he'd laid in a fair stock of supplies for himself and Reech just yesterday. The man set the girl down on her side, so he could wash her face easier. Taln took in the swollen eye, broken nose and the lip split in two places. Only a dek would truly understand the depth of that kind of pain and the brutality that inspired it. When he set her head on a pillow, he felt a small lump above her temple--and a bit of blood. He didn't know any medical stuff but he could at least clean her up. Moving the bucket closer, he dipped a clean rag in it and wiped carefully through the blood to try and find her face and head. Soot came off on cloth and he stared at it for a brief chime as he continued cleaning her up as best he could. 'Why is there dark fire dir--ash- in her hair? This will need soap and vinegar to clean it. That's what the healer did for me.' he thought. With a full mix of soap, water and vinegar, he cleaned her head and face of the ash and blood. Taln wrapped a cloth around her head securely, which not only kept the wound protected, but got all that tangled hair from her one unswollen eye. He didn't do a very good job of it, but then again he wasn't a healer either. When she spit up another chunk of blood, he scowled and did what he had to do. He pressed down firmly on the bruising to feel if it was hard. He knew it would hurt to do so, but it was the only way to test if it was serious. Taln was an expert at getting a beating so that was one of the few things he knew. It was bruised, but not hard to the touch, so while painful, it wasn't life threatening. While he visually looked over her injuries, reluctant to touch her at all, he remained completely silent. Since that day with Rista, he'd learned the hard way to avoid talking when he could. Just when he thought he'd seen all her injuries, his gaze swept over the welts on her back. They were nearly identical to his own 'collection' but thinner and shorter. 'Damn bully yasis.' He thought in passing. There wasn't much to be done for those kind of beatings except leave 'em alone; so he did. Taln grasped his own blanket and wrapped the young woman in it. Mindful that she needed rest, he leaned her against the wall sideways, like his position. He sat down by her and watched the top of her head in silence. Taln held out his right arm just enough to keep her from falling over, but even that made him edgy. The dek was leery of making too much physical contact with anyone. He'd learned his lesson hard and well. Shut up, don't touch and do only as you're told. The man had done enough to see to her care, and left it at that. There wasn't much room in the tiny space, and he kept as far from her as he could. The room would be cramped to most, but in the young woman's condition, he thought she'd find it cozy and much safer than that yasi fighting pit. Before he realized it he'd dozed off wearily.

[Rista]

Footsteps approached and echoed in the foggy emptiness of her mind. The girl tried to open her eyes and see who it was, but couldn't raise her head enough; it was so hard to breathe, and the tiredness was overwhelming. She just wanted to sleep, but something told her that she couldn't. Not yet, it wasn't good to sleep just yet. The sounds came closer, or at least she thought they did. The echo confused her, she wasn't sure if it was from the room or just in her head; struggling to get some air into her lungs despite the beaten belly. Something touched her body and she felt like screaming; a faint yammer of pain was all that escaped her as she was lift up by strong arms, and then everything slowly faded to black as the young woman fell into a light state of unconsciousness.

She wasn't sure how long time had passed when the mind began to clear. There was no sign of sunlight in the room, and her internal clock had been messed with too much by the fainting. The little mongrel kept her eyes closed, tried to orientate herself and make a check of her health; ugh, not good. She felt like a wrung out rag, swollen and in pain and there was a strangely familiar scent of vinegar in the air..

Rista took a breath, with slightly more ease than before even though the muscles of her stomach wanted to cramp and twitch in pain. Moving was impossible, her muscles had stiffened and become hard during her blackout and it was a pain to lift the head from the surface it was leaning against. A shift of light and a brief touch over her cheek and hair hinted that she wasn't alone, but she didn't know.. who was it? Trying to sit up a bit better, she gritted her teeth and pushed the eyelids open, trying to peer at whoever was being nearby.

She couldn't see much through the small slits she managed to crack open, but a pair of broad shoulders and the sheen of a copper-red hair was all she needed to begin to understand the situation. There was really only one person that she knew who would bother to help, and who would use vinegar to clean off wounds... Guilt washed over the girl and made her close her eye again. After all she had done to him, he still cared enough to help her? Of course, there was the off chance that he hadn't recognized her for the black-eyed brat that kicked his ass in public. Rista hadn't seen him for several days, and she'd had the chance to regret many times the things she'd said. And done. Sure she still felt that she disliked the fact that he hadn't waited to hear her opinion on the matter before putting such a plan into work, but it certainly wasn't enough of a reason to call him stupid and an idiot.

How much damage had she done? Gods knew she had been hurt, but he had only tried to help, and she had scolded him for it. Did he realize that it was her, that it was Rista he cradled to the chest like this? Maybe he took her for a dek; she knew he couldn't see that well, and the light surely wasn't too good.. Her shoulders made an attempt at tensing up, but it hurt too much and she winced quietly, all too aware that he had to be able to hear her. Why was it that he had to see her in all her worst moments? No wonder he saw her as weak, she never got the chance to prove otherwise.

"Sorry.." she mumbled sorely, the voice sounding small and faint as it barely managed past the beaten mouth; she felt so weak, and perhaps it wasn't all that strange. "I'm so sorry, Taln.." Her eyes stung, but the girl forced herself not to cry. It'd be too humiliating, it was bad enough that he saw her like this. If he still was mad at her, he had a really good chance to get rid of her now. Weak as a kitten, defenseless.. It would be the yasi that got the blame because of the injuries, and he could always claim that she died from her injuries. Her thinking like that was a pretty good hint at how badly she had been beaten; the girl was too tired to think straight, and even though the warmth that slowly seeped into her did good, her bumps and bruises still hurt a lot.

[Taln]

After only a bell, he heard her stir near him. Taln couldn't understand what it was the girl tried to say. She must have a dry throat and mouth. He may have been exhausted, but he was glad to at least be wearing his new custom Lontev. The finely crafted gleaming black silk felt foreign, but it was amazingly soft. 'Maybe she's thirsty.'He thought. Taln spoke inaudibly in the quietest of whispers to his falcon. He placed a rolled up blanket on the floor for a pillow and motioned her to the blanket, to lay on her side. The large man left the room abruptly and came back a few chimes later with a bucket of fresh water and a cup. The falcon chirped softly in greeting and per usual, Taln paused to stroke the bird's feathers with his index finger. The fledgeling was the only living creature Taln could trust. He noted she was feeling better enough to try and move after only a bell. He motioned with his right arm for her to sit up and was about to hand her the cup when he noticed it. The eye that was open was pure black! There was only one person in the world that had those color eyes--Rista! Taln dropped the cup of water on the ground in surprise, visibly flinching from her gaze like a whipped dog. He moved backwards so fast, he nearly stumbled over his own feet, hurrying to the edge of the wall, putting as much distance between them as he could. That's why she was mumbling--trying to yell at him to get away from her! His face and neck burned as crimson as his hair in shame and his guts twisted. Even with a swollen face, Rista had tried to tell him to go the petch away! Gods! She was the last Inarta on earth who'd want anything to do with him! Her ebony eye looked glossy with anger and he looked away in total embarrassment. The girl couldn't even properly voice her disgust of his presence. The yasi should be feeling better in no time and soon enough she'd be back to her old ass kicking self. The copper haired man glanced at Reech, and another worry roiled inside. Now a petching yasi knew about Reech! The gods had to be laughing at this idiot dek right now to make such a mess of things. She shouldn't have to tolerate his dumb brute self in such close quarters but there wasn't much to be done for it now. As soon as she could walk, he was sure she'd be outta here. Hopefully not to reveal Reech and his small secret hole in the warrens. Taln set down the bucket and cup near her and rapidly backed away, making sure to stay as far from her as he could in the petching small place. If only he'd known it was -her- he'd never have brought her here. Well, he supposed it would make her heal all the faster to be under the bumblings of an idiot dek that she despised. With each passing chime, he regretted bringing her into his home, his safe place where little Reech was now at risk. He shouldn't have overreacted at the common rooms. She probably would've been just fine on her own. She didn't need anyone's help, much less a stupid, mindless, brute of a dek. A deep ache made him glance at the mess between his right side and back--the one place he just couldn't reach on his own. Mud and grass smeared the ugly and infected wound. He silently thanked Drusilla Avora for the custom made Lontev last night. It covered the wounds and scars, making him feel almost normal. The dek sighed and tried to think of something, anything else other than being here with someone who hated him so vehemently. Taln's gaze swept over each of her injuries, his eyes avoiding hers like his life depended on it. He wondered what she'd tried to say earlier. Probably it was something to the effect of get the petch away from me you big stupid fool. Her sores weren't life threatening so she'd be either kicking his ass or getting the hells away from him in no time. He mimicked removing the bandage on her head, assuming she'd do so or not as she pleased. The dek didn't know if she had a fever or if anything was serious but he knew it was none of his damn business. The memory of her words echoed in his mind, seeming all the louder now that she was here. ' "Should I trust that you are just a mindless, ungrateful brute like they say you are?" "Fool!" "Taln, you big, stupid, retarded beast of a fool." " full-blooded idiot!" ' With his left hand in a dirty bandage, he'd been using the right one more often, especially with the falcon. The tall man stood and turned around to Reech, stroking the back of the little bird's neck with a long finger, seeking comfort in the only living creature that he could. He bent to remove a leaf wrapped bundle tied to his leg and opened it to reveal his entire supper ration. With large and gentle hands, he laid it in front of the hungry fledgeling. The bread had soaked in meat broth so it was an exceptionally good meal for Reech. Taln looked a lot leaner these days, giving over more of his meals for the fast growing bird. The bigger the bird grew, the leaner the man became. Secret : All mention of medical stuff edited out. If there's anything else, just pm me.

[Rista]

There was a sinking feeling in her gut as the man didn't reply to her words; it even looked like he couldn't hear her. Rista opened her mouth and tried to talk again, repeat her words in a louder voice, but nothing came out as she tried to speak. Helplessly she stared at the blanket, unable to really make use of it, even though lying down would have been great. She hadn't felt this weak in a long time, so.. painful. Both the body and the soul ached, one from the bruises and the other from causing pain to another; she stared at his back as Taln left the room, waited patiently until he came back... She tried to speak again, looked up and tried to catch his gaze, black eyes searching until they finally met with the pale green ones...

The reaction startled the girl and made her flinch hard as the cup fell to the floor and stained it with water. His reaction made it more than clear what the situation was like. He hadn't recognized her until now, and he most certainly hadn't forgiven her. Why else would he recoil like that, if not for anger and distaste? The little yasi felt like sinking through the floor in shame, and quickly lowered her seeing eye to the floor, wanting to hide the bruises and her own incompetence.

Filled with agony, the girl listened as the man moved around the room, refusing to look up. Her head ached, her body was sore, and now she was in the care of a person that she had mistreated so utterly. She hadn't been able to miss the bundled up hand, nor the fact that he moved carefully; it could be heard in his pace, how the feet moved over the floor. He talked to the bird it seemed, but Rista couldn't make out any words. It was a strangely surreal situation; two people in a room, both injured. One unable to speak properly, the other unable to see clearly. So similar and yet so different...

The girl swallowed and sorely managed to shift where she sat, until her back was leaned against the wall and her legs pulled up enough to let her rest the least bruised cheek against a knee. The silence was deafening, her own heartbeat throbbed in the head and made it pulsate in rhythm with the bruises. Letting the hands rest unmoving in her lap, she sat as still as she could, trying to make herself unnoticeable; in a different place it might have been possible, but the room was too small for anything to disappear in.

Finally she was unable to resist, and pushed the right eye open again to look at Taln. Seeing how he fed the young bird, she saw how he had been loosing weight; was he giving it to the bird instead? It was commendable, but hardly wise. The large man probably never got to fill his belly as it was, and a growing hatchling, soon fledgling, ate a lot of food.
"Do you hate me?" she asked slowly, a bit more clearly this time; that she was speaking couldn't be mistaken on, even if the words were a bit slurred due to the swollen lips and her dry mouth. The water in the bucket next to her was tempting, but she didn't touch it. She couldn't, not until she knew..

[Taln]

Taln busied himself with straightening the bird's makeshift nest and heard Rista shift slowly against the wall. Despite what he'd motioned for her to do, she'd neither laid down nor removed the clumsy head bandage. That was the bandage the healer had given him for his leg yesterday and that was all he had to give her. The silence in the room was like a startled living creature when Rista spoke. Slowly the tall man turned around, not raising his head or eyes, but rather stared at his bare feet. He shook his head no and kept his head bowed, the coppery mass of thick hair obscuring his green eyes completely. Mad? Why would she think that? Wasn't she the one who was so furious at him? Her words, loudness and tone had been Avora clear to go the petch away and -she- was asking him if -he- was angry? Yasis were confusing and irritating enough on their own, but females were the biggest enigma of all. The girl hadn't touched the blanket or water and her arms were limp. Then he remembered the welts and realized that every moment would be agony. Belt welts didn't always scar, but by the gods, they hurt more than most open wounds. That's why she asked that! She expects me to still tend to her injuries until she recovers. The large dek caught himself on the verge of sighing and stopped it abruptly. No matter how much the higher castes insulted him, his services were still needed. Taln didn't know the exact words to express it, but he knew that deks held the society together. The mighty Endals would live in their own filth until a dek like him would clean it up. A haughty Avora would go without necessary material or a meal without a dek like him to run and fetch it for them. Subconsciously, he knew the concept and it was what kept him going from day to day. The higher castes may spit on us, but without deks, they'd never be where they were today. He'd missed their tentative friendship but a dek couldn't afford friends. Rista had thoroughly taught him that lesson and he'd learned it well and deeply. To only play the friendly game but don't believe a word of trust or how they'd pretend a kindness because you'll get stomped back into your place in the dirt the moment you let your guard down! The girl was only doing the proper thing; he'd overstepped his bounds as a dek and acted without waiting for orders. She would make a fine Avora some day. He'd seen her leaving Kovac Avora's a lot lately and figured she must be training extra hard. She'd soon have a bright future and a higher caste before her. 'Can't keep her waiting much longer or she might get angrier.' Taln thought, putting thoughts to motion. He moved toward her and sat on the floor in front of the girl. His right leg hurt too much to kneel on so it was the only position that would work right now. Scooping up the dropped cup, he dunked it in the fresh water and brought it to her mouth. His emerald gaze swept the welt marks on her arms and felt them as if it were his own pain. The dek had lost count of how many times he'd felt the harsh kiss of a leather belt across his skin. To someone who's never felt it, the feeling was hard to describe. There was something about a strip of leather that when it smacked against skin, raises such a quick snap of pain. You don't feel it at first because it's so quick, and then a deep, fiery throbbing sets in that seems to match your heartbeat. Even if not a drop of blood is drawn-sometimes especially so, the red raised welt nowhere near matches the screaming flesh beneath it that takes days to subside to a whimper. Taln had never felt an open injury that hurt nearly as much as beating welts. Every movement must be a hells of agony for the little yasi and he understood her reluctance to move, even a little bit. Once she drank her fill, he put the cup in the bucket and moved it aside. She probably wanted to lay down and just couldn't move her arms very well. Her leaning position looked precarious; like she was unable to hold herself up. With large but gentle hands, he rested her weight on his right hand and lowered her slowly to the blanket on the floor. He sat confused for a moment, unable to offer her a third blanket. She had his clean one for a pillow and his own sleeping blanket to lay on, but what could he cover her with? Taln suddenly remembered his 'wealth' of clothing now. Drusilla Avora had made him this silk Lontev just two bells ago, and repaired his bryda too! The dek got up and moved over to Reech to grab the bryda stowed in a shelf just behind the bird and changed into it. Now he had something to cover Rista with and could wear something that would leave him much cooler. He wasn't overly fond of shirts and always seemed to overheat quicker than most. The copper haired man, held out the custom black silk lontev and admired it for a brief chime before turning back to the injured girl. He sat before her prone form and laid the soft silk material over her at the waist, careful not to let anything touch the thin welts that marred her delicate arms. He hoped she didn't object to it. It was the finest thing he'd ever been lucky enough to own in his entire life.

[Rista]

With silence echoing between then, Rista watched with pained eyes as the man quietly came over and gave her water, then helped her to lie down; while it felt good and the liquid soothed her throat, it wasn't what she had wanted from him. The quick nod that had come upon her question wasn't satisfying, it could mean anything and nothing at all, she could have mistaken it for a mere twitch, and it wasn't enough. His actions was so confusing. On one hand it looked like Taln didn't want anything more than turn and run from the room as fast as he could to get away from her. On the other, the way he treated her was as gentle as ever; the silk clothing felt incredibly cool and smooth as it enveloped her beaten body, and the girl couldn't help but finger it in wonder. She had never owned a silk garment before. Where had Taln gotten something like this? Maybe he had bought it, or it was something he'd found.. But it seemed so strange, that he would spend precious pinions on clothing when he barely had enough to eat every day.

She forced her attention to slip from the black garment and over to the red-haired man that sat by her; to try and keep him from moving away again the black-eyed little yasi reached out a hand, hoping to catch his bigger one between her fingers.

"Taln" she said, trying to make her voice clear even though it hurt to talk. "I'm sorry... For what I said, for the things I did. For getting you involved. Sorry." The feeling of regret was so strong now that she faced him again. How could she ever have hit him like that, it was beyond her own understanding. It was a tough realization, to know that she could loose control over herself and her emotions to that extent.

Was it really true that he didn't hate her? It was so hard to believe. She had re-payed his generous attempt at helping with a scolding, she'd called him foul things and told him to stay away from her. All in anger, without a thought to what he could have felt about it. She wasn't surprised that he didn't want to talk to her, not really. It was just, she really wanted him to say something. Anything other than this agonizing silence. To her surprise, tears began to sting in the eyes again and Rista quickly lifted an arm, trying to cover her face. She couldn't let him see, didn't want him to know how weak she was. It hurt so petching much, her entire body was pulsating slowly in an agonizing rhythm. It wasn't fair, that she should be the one to feel like she was while those stupid yasi lay asleep in their beds or went to lessons like nothing had happened. All they had to care about were some scraped knuckles; Rista really doubted that they had any conscience to feel stings in over what they'd done. Perhaps one or a few, but certainly not all of them.

Not like she did, when looking at the big, kind brute of a man that for some reason chose to help her even though she had treated him like crap.

[Taln]

Taln sat quietly cross legged in front of Rista with his head bowed, the thick coppery hair guarding his eyes. His mind drifted back to the day he'd last seen her and was of two minds about it. It definitely wasn't a good day for either of them as friends go. Her words hurt more than an average Inarta, because they'd got to know each other better the night before--he'd even guarded her in her sleep. The dek knew he couldn't read or write and being called stupid was just part of his caste; it hadn't been personal, until she had called him a dumb brute. It was his own fault anyway. Rista had remembered her place, her caste, and quickly put him back in his, as it should be. Dek weren't supposed to have friends in a higher caste, or at least not without sharing furs first. But then midnight promises never counted for much. He could've gone that route years ago, bedding the highest caste, and going out of his way to please him or her. But Taln just couldn't, wouldn't do that. There was still a small part of him that yearned for a chance to earn a higher caste by his own merit, not by sucking up to someone else, reliant on them for life. Either way, the yasi had lived up to her Inarta blood, her fury making sure nothing and no one stood between her and her wishes. She'd done what any other yasi should in that situation. It didn't occur to Taln to defend himself against the tiny little half blood, or anyone of a higher caste. In the dek's ugly past, his impressive size and strength had proven his ability to kill brutally if provoked. A part of his mind was always conscious of just how easily he could physically harm someone, and he'd always taken great pains to be gentle. The large man flinched when something small reached for his hand unexpectedly, and held it. He blinked and looked down at Rista's little hand reaching for his and couldn't fathom why she would even want to have anything to do with him--on purpose. When she actually apologized to him, Taln looked at the girl in surprise, his green eyes wide and staring. He honestly didn't know what to think or how to react. No one apologized to him--he was a dek for Gods' sake! But Rista had behaved as a Yasi should. What was there to say sorry for?! If the sudden touch and apology weren't enough to shock him, the abrupt tears definitely were! If there was only one thing on the planet that made Taln want to run, it was tears. The large man always felt so helpless and stupid when girls cried, there was nothing he wouldn't do to make it stop. He stammered at first and then his words became faster and more urgent. "Yasi, please..uhh.. don't cry! I'm sorry I forced your actions, I won't don't do it again--I swear! I never, ever acted like that again, since that day. I promise! Whatever you want. Anything, everything, you want, just please don't cry Rista!"

[Rista]

In the midst of her pain and tears, she almost began to laugh when he suddenly began to speak to her, words just gushing from his mouth in a stream of anxiety. He was weak against tears? If she'd been someone else the girl might have considered using it against the large man, stored the information away somewhere and tied him to her using blackmail. Luckily for Taln though, Rista hated crying as much as he hated seeing someone cry; that kind of tactic wasn't something she'd ever use. She was too naive for that; in all her knowledge of the darker parts of humanity, there were still things she had yet to learn. Being raised in such a straight-forward society, the thought of keeping something secret, and saying things that held hidden meanings... Such things was beyond her.

Suppressing the laughter made the sure muscles of her stomach ache, and it was with a strange mixture of laugh and sob that she tried to calm him down. Keeping his hand in a firm grip, she continued to hide her eyes away under the lower arm as she spoke; even if he already knew, it was too humiliating to have him watch as tears rolled down the sides of her face. She just couldn't seem to stop them from coming.

"Stupid" she mumbled, the tone thick and a bit slurred from the swollen lips, but with a rather affectionate sound that took the edge off the insult completely. "Aren't you always doing just as you please? I don't want you to do as I say, I want you to do as you want, like always. Ordering me around, not listening. Not like a dek at all, I swear.." She tried to smile at him through the tears, but as she did the cut on her lower lip cracked and began to bleed again. The taste of iron upon her tongue made her grimace, causing another wave of pain from the swollen black eye. Seriously, this was ridiculous.

"I'll kill those petching bastards" she breathed, squeezing the hand of her friend hard without really being aware of it. "Because of them... because if them I missed my lesson, and Kovac might loose interest." Why was it so exhausting to speak? She felt out of breath already, and small waves of blackness threatened to roll in over her when she looked up at Taln. Would she faint again? Please, not again. She couldn't loose more time. Trying to stop the feeling she closed her eye again, constantly making sure that she still felt the warmth of the others hand against her palm; using him as an anchor, it was all she could do to remain conscious. She'd give it back, every little slap and insult. She'd pay them back for this, whenever she got the change. It wasn't fair that she would have to go through this and they wouldn't...

[Taln]

'Why is she crying so much? Is it the welts that hurt?' Taln scowled, watching her sob(laugh) frantically and became well and truly flustered. His green eyes lightened to ocean colored in his worry as the tears coursed down Rista's cheeks. He tried to pat back her hair, but it only seemed that she was getting more upset. Her little hands clutched his, only emphasizing the differences in size between them. It was so confusing. Why would someone who loathed him so much, be holding so tight to his hand? She must be in a lot more pain than he'd originally thought. 'Is it her stomach? Is she bleeding inside? It must really hurt for her to cry so much!' "Stupid" she'd said and the dek almost nodded in answer. He'd been called that more often than his name, and responded to it as readily as the others of his caste did. The yasi seemed alright because of her first comment but then her words made no sense at all--the injuries must be making her hysterical or something. Rista looked like she was grimacing in pain and he saw her lip start cracking and bleeding. Taln had a busted lip a hundred times and it didn't hurt enough to cry over so it couldn't be that. He wasn't a healer and honestly didn't know what to do to stop her crying and nonsense words. Taln decided to do the only thing he did know how to do. Carefully he took the crying girl in his large arms and just held her. The copper haired man made soothing shushing noises and rocked her gently, desperate to calm her crying. Slowly he moved back and forth, trying to will her to stop the tears. His thoughts flurried back and forth on taking her to the healer. Was it serious? Was it just surface stuff? And how could he even know that what he was doing right now might not be hurting her? It had to be her stomach right? It must be the welts and her stomach that made her cry and talk so strangely.