The Waltz of Treachery [Open!]

[Aurelia]

Tread lightly my friends, this is not your land. Watch your step, for the Earth is no longer sand. You venture on your own with too much confidence, young beauty. The world outside of your refuge is not pleasant, and it will do evil things to you. My dear, take shelter with aggressive poise, for they shall not take your blood away.

It was magnificent. Nothing that the desert mirages could ever make up on their own. The sight of the towering castle gates that seemed to hiss at the desert gypsy's presence. Her sandals stored away in her pack to allow her bare feet to feel the healthy and rich grass between her toes. Since Aurelia made her way out of the burning desert, she had been barefoot with delight. The Benshira rarely left Yahebah, but her family had sent her out to the desert in search of more supplies. Being so far away from common civilization, the Benshira had to make pilgrimages to the big cities for the new technology that the cities developed.

As the dark-haired desert beauty approached the gates, she began to feel underdressed in her outfit. It wasn't near as hot out here as it was in the desert, so there was even slight goosebumps on her arms. The knights at the gate seemed to notice as well. Their helmets tipping down ever so slightly as the oddly dressed and charismatic wanderer smiled brightly. Her shockingly cyan-colored eyes were blue enough for anyone to take a double take. "Greetings bold protectors of the city!" Her Shiber accent was thick and very slurred. The language was beautiful and made mostly of vowels, but appeared to confuse the knights. Perhaps they spoke the language of the other humans?

"Hello. I would like to enter the city." Her common language wasn't  near as educated or quick as her Shiber was. Her vocabulary was lower and her pace a bit slower. It was obvious that she wasn't fluent in the language as she made strange faces as she attempted to think of the correct phrases and words.

The knights were patient and kind as they slowly moved out of the way and allowed the muscular woman to make her way through the gates, saying something that she didn't quite understand. "You, thanks!" Aurelia messed up her phrase, but thanked them none the less as she entered the bustling city in search of a knife stand.

But music caught her ear first. The gypsy was very much so into music and dancing. Her concentration easily distracted as she looked towards the small band on the side of the street that played instruments that Aurelia was not familiar with. Her icy eyes watching the band and drawing towards them as she closed in on them. It was so loud and fun, and something Aurelia did not expect to see in such a fantastically large place. 

But before she knew it, she was dancing with a strange man who had grabbed her by the waist and twirled her around quickly. Laughter filling her and him both as she was spun and switched partners, dancing with another man. The Benshira much resembling a strange rainbow the way she was dressed and how gracefully she turned. Her laughter musical, and the attention being drawn to the bright-colored foreigner. "The city is as lively as the fire in the--oh! The dance! It is fun!" She laughed as the dancing stopped as the people gathered to speak their strange language, much too fast for Aurelia to understand.

What was she doing, again?

The woman stood awkwardly for a moment as she twiddled her thumbs and shifted away  from the laughing group, the music staring again as she shifted away. No matter how much she tried or felt like she was blending in, she knew she was attracting attention with her tasseled black hair, cyan eyes, and desert clothing. "Knives?" Aurelia said, as she grabbed a stranger by the shoulder. The response wasn't quite as kind. She scowled and pulled away, walking away quickly. 

The city was amazing, none the less. Walking along the stands, and running her nimble fingers across the strange jewels, foods, and weapons. And she spoke the same word to everyone, until finally, someone pointed her to where she wished to be. 

The man at the stand was patient with her long gaze as she stared down at the knives. What type of knife did her father want? Something to do surgery with, is what he told her. But what exactly did that mean? Aurelia had been confident in the type of knife he had wanted until now. Standing before an actual stand and seeing all the types of knives, it didn't quite make her as confident anymore. "Sur....uhm....surgery knives?" Aurelia asked the man at the stand who cocked an eyebrow at her. "M'am, we sell hunting knives."

"Knives for...  cutting humans?" They weren't quite understanding one another correctly. He scowled at her and gestured to the knives. "For  animals." He said, trying to dumb down his speech for  her. "Oh. Stand... where I can get surgery knives?" The two were getting frustrated with talking to one another. "Somewhere." He responded coldly, "Buy one of mine, or walk away."

'You thanks..." She grumbled, turning around slowly. People weren't very helpful. It would be nice if she had met someone who spoke Shiber and could help her. But instead, she'd have to bare through the communications problems and find that knife  for her father- the medic of the caravan.

[Eanos]

The smith was not the most gregarious of men and certainly wasn't in the habit of socialising, but even he sometimes had need to travel outside of his own smithy on errands of one sort or another. He had no particular interest in women and certainly not in the females of other races for his Mistress was steel. It was the steel which had drawn him to this part of the marketplace and he caught only the tail end of the conversation between the stall holder and the young dark haired woman. Since he was of a curious nature and one never to miss an opportunity for business he took the moment to pick up one of the knives and transmute a small amount of his own personal djed. His sense of touch extended down into the steel and explored it's structure. He tossed the knife down with a sneer and spoke. "Walk away," he said, "since he was so generous as to offer the choice. If you were to ask me I'd suggest that your coin was better spent elsewhere." It was a challenge to the stall holder, and one backed with a confidence in what he'd felt in the steel. There wasn't anything especially wrong with the knives, but then you'd hardly expect to be able to buy the highest quality on a market stall.