[Sanikas Gate] A reluctant student (Flicker)

[Rista]

52nd of Summer 511 AV

This was decidedly not what she had been planning for the afternoon. Her bendi had been fairly quick to deal with and she could have been enjoying some leasure time while mending some of her trapping equipment. But instead of doing that or longing for supper she was climbing her way up to the Gate to receive an unwanted lesson in a language she didn't care about. It didn't make for a very happy Rista, and the look on her face was decidedly glum.

She had a ton of reasons for why she didn't want to learn Tawna, but none of them seemed enough to impress the old gatekeeper. Why Valterrik was trying to have her learn it was something of a mystery, but the short yasi was convinced that it only was a matter of a fix idea, and that if she complained enough about it he would tire of the whole thing... Then again, she didn't want to appear more childish than she already looked, and the promise he had made of sharing his meal with her was abit tempting.

But the reason the girl finally coaxed herself up to the mans room at the gate was really only to make him quiet. He had been pestering her for a while now, and she couldn't set her foot outside Sanikas Gate without him asking the same question time and again. It was getting on her nerves, and if taking a lesson was the only way to shut him up... She didn't exactly need to remember anything of what she was to learn anyway.

Emerging out as her path ended, the girl looked around. The simple fact that she wasn't heading anywhere after this point was unusual, and it was enough to make her hesitate and look around. She opened and closed her hands a couple of times, wet her lips that suddenly had gone dry, and with a reluctant voice she called out for the old man.
"Oy, Gatekeeper! I'm here for that lesson you were so stubborn about..." Deciding to simply wait where she were, Rista folded her arms over the chest and made herself comfortable, unsure how long it would take for the man to react. For all that she cared, he could keep from coming out at all; it'd be so easy to just turn around and walk away again...

[Flicker]

Speaking of meals…the most delicious of aromas emanated from Valterrrik’s nook, using the faint breeze to propagate and tease stubborn young Inarta. It had taken him a while to plan his lessons with the surly girl. Maybe it was a half-breed thing, he considered with Kovac in mind. This half-breed’s less-than-polite greeting rolled off the gatekeeper’s back and he finished straining his mint tea before dispelling the ponderance and rising. “Welcome, Rista. Come.” His easy smile softened the order as he stepped to the side to allow her entrance. The fire had been switched out for a season-appropriate fan made of vegetation—hey, he had to have something to do in between visitors—but otherwise the small hide-away remained barren. Rista would walk right through it into the small private chamber where Val really entertained guests, and upon her hesitation, the host assured her invitation with an encouraging nod. “Have a seat,” the elder suggested as he lowered himself onto a seat at the set table. Aside from the small eating corner with its pair of chairs, there was a small couch and a small device created for the express purpose of heating tea without creating too much excess warmth. A stock of tea leaves waited in orderly ranks on a shelf unit and the rest of the wall space peeked out in rare spots from beneath intricately painted Eagle feathers. What Rista noticed first, however, was probably the food teasing her with promise of great taste and a full stomach spread all over that table. “The fare is simple, but I thought we should start small, Yasi,” he began, uncovering dishes one at a time as he served them. First came the steamed green beans, a small portion for Rista and a full sized one for himself. Then the sweet potatoes, a small slice for Rista and a half for himself. Next he placed a half-portion of mushrooms, cooked just the way the youth liked them, on her plate, and skipped any for himself. The top of a roll for Rista, an entire one for himself. Sweet-wine glazed chicken over a bed of rice for himself and a bit of rice for Rista. There was a theme here. Even though the food covering the half-breed’s plate was lacking in portion size, there was enough to curb her hunger but wet the appetite. With no further ado, he dug in. Between a few bites of the greens he spoke. ”Green beans,” he informed her in Tawna. Without looking for a response, a few bites of potatoes found their way to his gullet. ”Sweet potatoes.” And so the lesson continued with each food item. At the end, his plate was clean. Blue eyes finally met Rista’s dark ones, dropping to inspect her plate for a moment before returning. “Would you like more?”

[Rista]

She wasn't sorry for not being more polite. If she'd had a choice in the matter.. but there didn't seem to be a point in continuing to feel sorry for herself. The scent of food lingered in the large hallway of the Gate and made her stomach rumble from the promise of being filled, and it only grew stronger -both scent and rumbling- when the man opened the door for her with a smile. The yasi hesitated slightly on the doorstep, wanting to ignore the slight prick in her conscience - did he really have to be that nice? Then again why not, he had won already after all - but wasn't quite able to do so. Her eyes went to Val, and upon his nod she sighed a little and stepped inside.

This wasn't a place you came to often, at least not if you were a yasi. Rista couldn't remember if she had ever set foot inside the door before, and she managed to occupy her senses for a while as they moved through the first room and to the second, taking in the furnishing and the beautiful feathers on the wall... Indeed, she hadn't been able to avoid noticing the set dinner table, she felt her mouth watering from the alluring scents that came from it. She made it a point to ignore it though, at least until she sat on a cool stone seat and didn't have any excuse to look elsewhere.

Quiet and a bit wary, the short girl followed the movements of the gatekeeper as he filled their plates with the edible treasures; hungry, but not so hungry that she didn't notice the pattern he created when adding the foodstuff. So, it was going to be like this? This man, he was so sly; Rista secretly liked him, both the foxy cleverness and the apparently genuine kindness that he harbored. She would probably never admit it though, she enjoyed their games far too much for that, but it was hard to stay on edge against a person that was feeding you. Perhaps that was part of the plant too...

It was hard not to just throw herself over the food once he set the plate down in front of her; it took quite a bit of willpower to eat slowly, chew thoroughly savoring each and every piece before she swallowed. This was a feast; while yasi still were fed decently, they didn't get anything until the Endal, Avora and Chiet had had their fill. It mostly meant that they got soups, porridge, sometimes mushrooms.. there was always bread of course, though it tended to be a day or two old at best. Rista couldn't help it; for every bite she relaxed more and more, a smile of pure delight teased at the corners of her mouth, and every now and then a shudder of pleasure ran through her shoulders.. Such a sly man.

Whether she wanted to or not, it was impossible not to listen at least a little whenever Val mentioned a word. The girl was really not opposed to learning things, she enjoyed it in fact, and the largest argument she had for not paying attention to Tawna or her heritage was that she was afraid of becoming less Inarta by learning it. That had been effectively beaten down though, ignored as a poor excuse, but even so the doubt still lingered within her; somewhere between two bites the girl suddenly lowered her hands and became still, eyes turning distant. She flinched a little when Val addressed her, and only slowly reacted by looking up at him. The question he asked was pushed to the side for a bit, and after a moment of silence Rista put down the things she had in her hands; her plate was almost empty, only containing some larger crumbs and the half bite she hadn't been able to mouth.

"Elder, can I ask you something?" she said with low voice; it somehow lacked its usual snap, felt oddly unguarded. "What is really your intention with teaching me this? Really? Aside from the things you said about trading and benefiting against Chaktawe and all that.. I've never even seen one of them in Wind Reach, all I know about them is the things you can find in the books. Not that I've been looking or anything.." The last part was a bit defensive, and for a second her dark eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He shouldn't think that she was curious, because she wasn't. Not really.. Just, the remark he had made that day about them being skilled in the wilderness had intrigued her.. Even if she had looked in the Enclave, there hadn't been much to find. So it wasn't like she actually had read about them...

Rista felt her thoughts slipping and forced them back to the subject. Her stomach rumbled quietly, content about the food that reached it and craving more; for the moment the young woman chose to ignore it, and instead kept her attention on the old man, wanting to see if he would reply at all, or just keep on playing his game.

[Flicker]

Valterrrik knew better than to relish progress when the one fighting it was sitting right there, and this one needed that gentle touch. Quietly, his meal tasted more robust and flavorful under the reluctant interest she showed. He served himself up another helping of the sweet potatoes, dipping out some of the juices to put over a small bit of rice, while formulating a response. How he would phrase his motivations with this one differed greatly from how he would have with another young Inarta. It wasn’t manipulation, per se, but definitely some things would be left out, things that she would dig her heels in at, and other things would be emphasized, things that shouldn’t be so important but were to her. After savoring a bit of potato over rice, he laid down his fork and folded his hands together at the edge of the table. “My intentions are not to showcase your difference to the rest of the city, Rista,” Val slowly assured her, pausing a moment. No, this was not what he planned on starting off with. As he looked at that face, featuring the familiar essences of their secluded little race but skewed ever so slightly by her father’s alien looks, this probably wasn’t the worst way to start off. Rista would be eaten alive by some Endal. “They already know. Denying your differences isn’t going to hide them when they’re all over your face.” Yeah, that was a little harsh; the girl already knew it. Still, his blue eyes rested with unflinching poignancy on hers; she apparently hadn’t connected the dots. “You have too much fear about your father’s legacy. Someone will use it against you instead of you using it against them.” The girl should have learned by now that the Inarta cannibalized upon each other to get ahead. With a speed no old man should be able to attain, Val snatched up the girl’s wrist and flipped her hand palm up. “Did you feel that? Before I grabbed it? A feel like a breeze rushing over your palm or a current of water? No?” There was the possibility that she hadn’t inherited the trait, or perhaps she’d never been aware of the sense so from disuse it had gone dormant. Either way, the off chance that she could use it to aid in hunting and fighting should be more than enough to encourage her to find out. “No matter, we’ll come back to that. What is the word for green beans?” he asked, returning to the matter at hand.

[Rista]

She studied his face as he spoke and found how she relaxed slightly at the reassuring words. Somehow it probably should have been obvious that he wasn't trying to frame her for being different, but her habitual wariness against attention from anyone, no matter who they were didn't allow her to simply trust him to have good intentions. It was precisely because she knew how the Inarta thought that she was acting the way she was; the girl was and might always be at the bottom of the pecking order because she was different, and then she could like someone however much she wanted.

Something about his choice of words made her thoughts go to Kovac and the lesson in archery he had given her not too long ago. He was a half too, just as much of a mongrel as she even despite their differences. He was a mongrel like her, and yet he was still Avora, he was still allowed to fly behind the Endal on the hunts... It made her expression change into a thoughtful one, and without really thinking about it the girl reached for the last crumbs on the plate... She flinched from the mans sudden movement as Val grasped her wrist and stared up at him, surprised beyond words. Had she felt what? Should she have felt anything, and why?

"I'm.. not sure.." Rista said and frowned as she looked at her hand, flexing the fingers a bit. Had there been anything? She honestly couldn't tell herself, it wasn't something she had ever thought of before. Wasn't there always drafts of air when people moved? At least when they were this close.. But no, she was happy to have her attention brought away, because this was just too puzzling, it made her think too much about things she couldn't recall. Picking up the fork, she quickly brought the last crumbs on her plate into her mouth to stall for some time, and gave herself a moment to think back at all the words he had said. The copper-skinned girl swallowed, gnawed her lips a bit as her stomach rumbled for more filling.

"Bean.. greens?" she offered after a brief pause, forming the foreign word clumsily with her tongue. It was very different from the trilling, almost chirping Nari, and seemed more difficult that the common that she could speak at least somewhat well. The girl liked learning, but just languages weren't something she came across every day, so picking up on it didn't come naturally. Still, she thought she got it somewhat right, and looked at Val to see if she was right; the beginning of a smile lured at the corner of her mouth. So, maybe this wasn't so bad after all. He was strange and unpredictable, but his way of doing things was decidedly interesting.

[Flicker]

Perhaps associating food with lessons was a good idea after all, Val thought as he tried not to let his surprise and admiration show. He’d studied a lot of pupils over the years and few could recall words with foreign sounds so quickly as this one. It had to be the food. A small helping of the food item in question found its way to her plate. “Green beans,” he corrected her inversion. “I would have given you your food backwards but I’m frightened at what that would have entailed,” the elder continued in Tawna, for no other reason than to continue to acclimate her to the sound of the language. “Good.” Praised in Nari. Now to see if she could maintain her stellar performance or if it was just luck. “What’s the word for sweet potatoes? Chicken? Rice?” So on and so forth through the few food items. The ones she got right, or close enough, found reward in a very small second helping. He then proceeded to the dining ware, not quizzing but telling her the names. Plate, table, fork, serving spoon, chair. And asked for recitation item by item. After she had a decent grasp, and probably was quite full from the food reward (which sometimes varied between half a spoon or just a single bean to keep the girl from getting complacent or too full), Val tossed the serving spoon down and reached over to clap the mongrel on the shoulder. “Good job, my girl!” Praised in Tawna. The elderly man lifted stiffly from his chair and after a series of cracks skittered up his spine, quite audibly, he moved toward the small couch. “Come, come,” he beckoned in the language of their lesson. But before she settled down, he held up a hand to forestall her. “What’s the word for chair?” the expectant elder inquired in Nari as he pulled out some sweet pastries from behind the tea heating apparatus. Even if she was full, it would be a crime not to have one of these. And after she had got it or not, either way she was offered a treat and a seat, he settled back, resting his old bones. “Well, lass, was that so bad? Now come, tell me what has happened to you to make you eschew your lineage?”

[Rista]

"Green beans" she nodded, repeating the word carefully as not to twist her tongue around the strangely formed syllables. Rista tried her best to answer the mans questions as they came to her, thinking and struggling until it felt like her head was spinning and perspiration forming on the forehead. Sometimes she got things right and often the girl found herself making mistakes in pronunciation or combination; it wasn't easy, but there was no mistaking her focus and growing interest as Val continued with the names for the table-ware. This time she listened more properly, and the replies came somewhat easier, without for that matter being entirely correct all the time.

It felt like a lot to remember, but slowly and surely she felt her hunger become sated, and it was with slight difficulty she scraped up the last crumbs from the plate and brought it to her mouth. Chewing still, the commendation was met with only a shy smile; she wouldn't know what to say anyway. Had she done that well? It felt like she had made more mistakes than answered right, but perhaps the elder didn't feel like being too strict the first time. At the very least she wouldn't let her guard down the next time. Wait now.. when had she decided to come again? It had to be the food that made her think that. Surely it was the food...

Feeling a slight bit too full, the dark-haired girl slowly pushed her up from the seat and followed her teacher to the seat he offered; there was a slight pause as she tried to remember the right word for chair, there had been so many different ones and her mind was feeling as full as her belly.. Eventually she remembered the right one though, and sunk down with a rather satisfied feeling. Receiving the treat gladly even if she probably was stupid for eating it so soon, the petite girl nibbled slowly on it and listened to the question - and the creaking of the mans back. Sounded painful... It must be awful to get old.

"Why you say.. I don't really know" she said and let the eyes stray towards one of the painted feathers on the wall. "The lesson wasn't bad, and the language sounds rather nice I think. It's probably that.." There was a slight pause, as Rista hesitated and shifted the pastry between her fingers. "I want to be Inarta. I want the people around me to see me as one of them, a part of them like they are a part of me. I try my best to fit in and do as they do, because I like what I see; maybe not all the time, sometimes I don't like myself when I do some things.." The image of Taln lying beaten on the ground, avoiding her angry eyes flashed before her inner vision and made her flinch. That was not something she was proud of. In anger she had beaten someone she liked, someone that might had been close to a friend.. She had said some pretty awful things, and now she wasn't sure she could take them back.

"I still think it's good to be Inarta and live like this though." Her voice turned stubborn as she pushed the thoughts away, and returned her eyes to the elderly man; so far from his blue gaze as one could come, foreign with their dark, bottomless depths. "But no one sees Inarta when they look at me. My hair doesn't have much fire, my eyes are strange and scary, and my skin looks like it's been dyed by ocher. Maybe I thought, that by not knowing about this blood that makes my body different, it'd be easier to pretend its not there. If I don't think about it, maybe it becomes less true that I don't really belong.."

No, that was saying too much. The girl quickly looked down and pressed her mouth tightly together, as if trying to keep more words from escaping. What was this, had the man put something in her food to make her blabber so freely about the insecurities of her heart? It wasn't something she wished for another to know about, not even this kind person that had fed her so generously. He didn't have to know about her doubts, her fears or the fact that her stubborn pride was only a shell. No one had to know; it was her burden to bear, and her obstacle to overcome. There was no need to bother anyone else about it; she wasn't going to drag anyone down with her existence and weaknesses. She could help and be useful too, somehow...

[Flicker]

Val didn’t know where the girl went when she got that shamed expression on her face, and he felt it prudent not to dwell on it when the girl deliberately moved the conversation on. He could ask, or maybe she would tell, later. She trailed off in the end, but this time he didn’t spare her. He did, however, take a bite and chew with all the attention one of his age needed to give the task, in order to allow her a moment to collect herself. With a pleased sigh, he dabbed some crumbs from his lip and turned those piercing but kindly eyes to the pupil. “We haven’t got much diversity, it’s true. But the plain fact is that your body could make you the best ‘Inarta’” because the girl had a funny definition of the word. “Among your generation.” The old man shrugged as though he hadn’t just told her something that could drastically change her outlook on herself and her self worth. He wouldn’t share that he, among others, felt that she was possibly so Inarta as to be obnoxious. “If you have to hone other skills besides whatever your job is in order to survive in our culture, then you are the more powerful for it, and you are the better than your peers for it. But what am I saying? You haven’t come to listen to my notions about your situation, I hardly-“ A knock at the door interrupted his dismissal of what he suspected she might view as meaningless babblings designed to make her feel better. His sun abused face pinched in displeasure at the interruption, but he dutifully scooted to the edge of the couch and carefully pushed to his feet. “I’m afraid I forgot to tell another kid learning languages that he mustn’t come tonight.” The old man paused, hand on the door, and his face swung back around to the girl, an inordinate amount of pleasure replacing the previous opposite expression. “Actually, you two can help each other out, since you’re both around the same level in Tawna. His name is Taln, he’s a Dek, and I expect you to treat him as a peer,” he ordered with the most irrefutable command she’d ever heard him utter. Turning away, and ignorant that the two had come to blows, he pulled open the door and invited the young man in with the usual warmth. “Taln, you know how I’ve been searching for someone you can speak Tawna with? I’ve found her!” With the exclamation of the good news, the old man stepped out of the way and allowed them sight of each other. “Her name is Rista, she’s just had her first lesson today. She’s going to teach it to you in the same manner I taught her.” Quite pleased with this fortuitous turn of events, Val ushered them both toward the table over the any and all protests that he knew must certainly arise from caste and wariness of strangers.

[Taln]

He could do nothing to hide his bandaged left hand and the gaping wounds on his side and leg, but he did his best to ignore it, hoping the gatekeeper wouldn't comment on it. The tall copper haired man nodded politely to Val, stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. As much as he desperately wanted to learn, the last thing he desired was to be near -any- yasi right now. To finally be allowed to learn any and every language he wanted was more than he'd ever hoped for! The dek had never been lucky enough for anyone to teach him regular education skills that most Inarta took for granted or even complained about! Learning languages was something that he was actually good at and there was nothing he enjoyed more. Taln had given up several nights sleep just to soak in the knowledge he'd been denied for twenty years. He'd make the best of it because nothing and no one would stand in the way of this once in a lifetime opportunity! He kept his head bowed as always and was immediately glad his features wouldn't show the profound shock of hearing the name Rista. Crimson colored his face, neck and ears like a glowing sign of his embarrassment. 'She's here? Petch! The Gods are laughing at me so hard right now!' Taln stood rigidly by the door, barely even moving enough to breathe, his stiff posture conveying a deep reluctance to approach even a hair's width closer to the yasi. He answered in a very quiet pitch that spoke far more than the three words conveyed. "We've met Sir." At the motion to go to the table, the dek instantly moved from years of training. His desperation to obey Rista's order to stay away, was immediately overruled by the gatekeeper's command. Taln kept his features an impassive mask with no emotion whatsoever. As much as the the man hated the situation, the scent of food reached him and his attention was firmly set. He'd obey the older man, get to be near food and even better, be allowed to learn more languages.

[Rista]

Much as expected, the features of the girl shifted into doubt as she listened to the elderly man. Did he even know what he was saying? It didn't make sense at all to her; wasn't blood and appearance and the ability to perform a task well enough to aid the people the things that made an Inarta? That she would ever become equal to the people in her generation, or even better than them, that sounded just like her wishful thinking. Reality was that it wouldn't happen, they would never admit that she was one of them. Wouldn't they have done it by then, if they ever would?

Her wish to object was cut short by the rapping of the door, and Rista frowned a little as she was pulled from her thoughts. There were other students coming? And for Tawna of all languages, were there actually more insane people out there? She thought herself to be mildly crazy for taking up this huge task, and now.. The yasi just shrugged a bit though, not exactly thrilled about getting company but not overly against it either. At least, she wasn't until she heard the name slip from the old mans lips. It was as if someone had slapped her with a belt over the back, or shoved a handful of snow beneath the collar. Her back straightened abruptly, the face paled and froze and the solid black eyes went automatically to the figure that appeared in the door. It was unmistakable. That giant built, the red hair and the ring in the lip... Taln.

Taln, whom she had beaten to the ground in anger just days ago, whom she had tried to help before that, and who probably hated her guts right now. Her eyes caught sight of the bandage around the hand, and the stitches in his side that had ruptured... Her fault. Because of her inability to control her anger... Yes, but he had been at fault too, for trying to tell her what to do. For forcing her to do something without making sure that she had picked up on the suggestion and accepted it. Shame and anger rose up within, brining color back into her cheeks; the face stiffened as she noticed how he looked at her, and she quickly averted her eyes. This would be unbearable. Did she want to apologize or tell him to go jump from the Wall? She couldn't decide.

The girl looked back at Val when he cheerfully declared how the lesson would continue, and got something almost panicked over the face. If she couldn't treat him like the drudge he was, then what was she supposed to hide behind? There was no way she would open up to him again, it hurt way too much to be rejected and insulted because of it... She hadn't forgotten. She had spoken of herself, and then he had used it against her to fuel her anger, and the result was this shattered mind of hers. That he had only wanted to help didn't matter; it was a horrible thing to do, almost as bad as how she had behaved.

Searching for a loop-hole on the order, some way of escaping, the yasi eventually find one and almost sighed in relief. Treat him like she would her peers, was it? That wouldn't be hard, she usually just ignored the other yasi. Unless she really had to deal with them, and then...

"I'm not sure I remember everything correctly, but I'll try" the girl said with impassive voice, the face looking almost bored. There was none of Val's gentle kindness to her as she pushed herself up from the chair and went back to the table, and it was more like she looked through Taln than at him as she sat down, taking the seat that the Elder had previously used. All to protect herself, she really had to stay cold like this, and not think about the things that had happened. He was just another yasi, another person that treated her like she wasn't worth anything, as if she was inferior. Those she could deal with; it was the warm and generous persons she couldn't handle.

It was a good repetition for her to transfer her new knowledge to the man, but Rista really wasn't a very good teacher. Her patience wasn't even close to Val's and her own mistakes annoyed her as much as the ones the other made. The face soon changed expression from cold listlessness to impatience, and irritation. In her efforts to pretend that she didn't feel anything towards the dek she tensed, the pronunciation of the words became off, and since she was so full from her own lesson the scent of food made her feel a bit nauseous. Had she been alone she would have given up a long time ago, but with the gatekeeper in the room, quitting wasn't something she could do. She had to prove that she wasn't going to waste anything, neither her gifts or his time or.. anything.