Sleep deprived and Deks. (Taln)

[Kikue]

10th day Fall Kikue was returning from a hunt. She hadn't been successful and was pretty annoyed. The game she had been hunting had managed to get away just in the nick of time each time again. After three days of hunting that slippery beast, she had given up. Not only because of getting discouraged, but also because she was getting not enough sleep. Her eyes had gotten saggy and she was looking a little glassy out of her eyes. Her sleep deprevation could easily be read from her whole body. She walked into the stables and started to loosen the belts of the saddlebags. She was rubbing her eyes quite often before she managed to managed to loosen the saddlebags completely. "Oh, god I want to sleep.", she thought drowsy. She was fumbling with the belt of her saddle and couldn't open it properly. Looking around she asked a large dek: "Ey, big guy, could you give me a hand?"

[Taln]

Gratefully, Taln immediately stopped hauling heavy sacks of feed and turned around at the voice. He glanced at her and her mount from beneath the thick hair that nearly obscured his face. 'Oh great, no catch so she'll be extra bitchy and tired.' the large man thought quickly. He nodded swiftly to Kikue, his coppery hair almost completely covering his eyes. With practiced ease, he loosened the girth on the horse and led it to a wall ring. His large hands switched the bridle for a head collar and securely cross tied horse. Removing the saddle and saddle pad, the dek ran up the stirrups, placed them on the proper tier and removed the half empty bags of supplies. Taln brought her belongings over to her and set them on the ground in front of Kikue. Sure hands moved with long practice, currying the horse with gentle, even strokes. In less than ten chimes, he'd brushed down the horse, picked the feet and led it to a cozy stall with hay and water. The woman hadn't said exactly what she wanted so he didn't make the assumption of just walking off without dismissal. He knew he chanced getting yelled at for standing around but that was life. If one didn't berate him, then another would and all the man could do was mentally shrug. The six foot dek bent and picked up Kikue's gear and stood quietly before her. Taln kept his head bowed and his green eyes averted properly down and to the side. And waited as patiently as her pack horse, with her heavy bundles.

[Kikue]

The Avora noticed that the dek had reacted and started to unsaddle her horse and the rest of the works. She was a little amazed at the speed he did it at. "Wow, that guy is fast...... and.......... huge............................. crap, I really feel like a midget now."/, she thought to herself. She never really expected a dek to work this fast, but that could be because she never really payed attention to them. "Wow, you're fast... thanks.... Could you carry them around for me? I need to go to the market and I'm tired as hell. I'd appreciate it.", she said, ignoring the difference in caste. She swayed a little, before she regained her balance. Her fatigue was clearly visible. If one were to look closely, small cuts and rips in her clothing could be seen. They were vague, but visible. "I really want to go sleep........ I'm dead tired, but I need to resupply first.", she thought. The Avora started walking towards the passage towards the warrens. As she walked, the small woman swayed from time to time. She was clearly tired out. For Kikue it is the first time that she's this tired. She had never been so focussed on bringing that one game down as she had been this time.

[Taln]

Taln raised an eyebrow but remained silent and nodded to Kikue. The poor woman looked like she could barely stand. Her blatant disregard for naming caste or pulling rank surprised him thoroughly. The large Inarta was learning quickly to recognize caste chasers or irregulars that held his status with no regard other than just another willing slave drudge. This one looked to be of the latter group and he was glad for it. He'd needed a break from the verbal harassment. He hefted the saddlebags over his right shoulder and put his left arm around her waist to give the exhausted woman something to lean into. If she rejected his help, then so be it. His frame was much leaner and harder from a difficult summer of feeding a growing falcon, his demeanor growing more withdrawn. Despite the tall muscled frame and his looks, at only twenty years old Taln was evolving into a another nameless dek with nothing to say for himself. The man would take an insult the same way he would an order or a comment of the weather. The dek's eyesight was too poor to notice details like vague cuts or rips in clothing, and life experience was beginning to make him blind to physical nuances as well. This was about the time when most dek his age decided to conform to Inarta society or get beaten to death.

[Kikue]

Feeling the arm of the tall dek around her waist, the small Avora blushed slightly. She had never been this close to someone around her age before. "Oh.... eh thanks....", she said softly. She felt the silence weighing on her quite heavily as the two of them walked onwards. Just halfway towards the commons, the small woman finally broke the silence and said: "Why don't we talk a little. This silence is killing me." She leaned a little closer to the deck to make sure that she didn't show her fatigue to other Inarta later on. She hated it to be seen like that. If anything, she'd most definitely didn't want to show Endal that she was dead tired. She felt that this dek was quite meager and wondered if he'd like it to eat proper for a change. Of course she knew that she'd only bring trouble for him if she'd eat at the kitchens. Maybe they could find an empty alley or so. In times like these, she wished that she'd have asked for a room in Wind Reach. Though she'd later regret it, because of the maintenance required to keep them proper.

[Taln]

His vivid emerald eyes caught her quick blush and he wondered at it. She seemed entirely too self assured to be shy. Maybe she was just introverted and been out hunting too long for uh....social..skills. Looking down at the top of the woman's head, he answered in a deep, growly voice barely above a whisper. "Don't worry. When others see us like this, the last thing they'll think is that you're tired. They'll just assume you intend to share your furs tonight." She'd asked for conversation, well there was nothing like the truth for a good start on some interesting talk. Taln caught her gaze and wasn't sure what she was thinking. It wasn't his place to question her. If she wanted him to know, she'd tell him and not a chime sooner.

[Kikue]

As the small Avora heard that, she blushed furiously and pushed herself away from the dek. What she didn't realise was that she wasn't that stable on her feet anymore and fell backwards on butt. "Sh......... sh......... sh........... share m...... my......... my furs..........????", she stambled. She looked at him a bit shy, but couldn't help but admire his firm build. She wasn't really sure what to think right now. She was too conscious of him and her thoughts were spinning around. "Wh........ what is he....... w...w....would they think that rather then...... me being weak?" Kikue sat there on the ground, looking down to it as if inspecting every crack on it. She was really sitting there more like an innocent little girl. It was obvious now that the huntress didn't have any experience like that with guys.

[Taln]

He was the last person in Wind Reach to force touch on anyone so he simply let her fall to the ground. The man stood over Kikue while she sat in the dirt stuttering and blushing. She seemed more innocent than most but a dek could never tell for sure. Taln watched her gaze as she looked him over and stammered some more. "You've been out hunting a long time haven't you? No one allows a filthy idiot brute dek to touch her unless she has something in mind. Or at least that's what most Inarta seem to think. Then again, they don't think a dek like me can string more than two words together either." The green eyes studied her incredibly small self and wondered if Inarta in general were getting shorter. He shifted the saddlebags to the other shoulder and said quietly. "You might want to stand Avora, people are staring. It looks too much like I knocked you down and I'm really not in the mood for another beating today. You can accept a hand up, rise on your own, or stay sitting in the dirt; the choice is not mine to make."

[Kikue]

The Avora didn't want to cause trouble for this dek, so she got up quickly. Though she was a little to quick about it and got a headrush. It went black before her eyes and she wobbled quite a bit again. Though she remained standing this time. She wasn't really aware of it, but to remain standing she had reached out for the dek's hand. She felt sorry for him that people thought so low of him. But she was just another powerless Avora, unable to help him in the way he needed it. "You're not a filthy...... well.... you could use a bath I guess.", she said as she smelled the stench coming from him. "At least you're not brute or stupid. You lay your hand gently around my waist to keep me from falling down and I appreciate that. I wish I could help you in some way. I don't really know why, but it could just be because I'm fickle according to my master." The Avora moved a little closer to the dek again. Even though she felt embarrassed about what other people might think, she'd rather have that then show them her weakness. "Maybe I've been out hunting for too long... But I can't stand being here for more then a day." She then sighed a little dejected as she thought of the approaching winter. It wouldn't be long before she'd be trapped in the mountain. She just hoped that she could get a place of her own under the open sky somewhere. That could lift her mood a little.

[Taln]

When Kikue took his hand and she moved closer he said nothing of it. If a high status Avora didn't know she'd claimed him and yet reacted so modestly, it wasn't his place to judge her. "Yea mucking stalls and cleaning horses for ten bells won't make me smell like flowers." Taln shrugged as he spoke. The Avora either didn't understand the caste boundaries or simply didn't appear to care in the least. Taln knew he could get away with a small amount of impudence, that he'd never dare to with a more aware Avora. 'Why would she mention a Master? She wasn't a yasi teenager still learning. She was short, but she definitely looks like an adult woman. For a seeming loner, she sure likes to talk.' The dek thought. His voice was deep and quiet as always when he answered. "Yes Avora, I don't like crowds either. They make my teeth itch."