Bendi Task-- The Aeries [Open]

[Kietis]

Kietis rubbed her eyes a bit more, hoping that they might have started to water during all of this fuss. She shook her head fervently. "Don't be sorry, Miss Cyrill. It's not your fault they're mean. They're not supposed to be nice to me, anyways. Aelett said so." She sniffed. "But-- but if I don't get this thing," she placed a hand on the sack next to her, "If I don't get the package to the Aeries, they'll have even more-- they'll be even meaner. Attia says that if I make myself useful, they'll be nice to me." She glanced down the hall for just a moment. If anyone came down the hall while she was there, they would certainly report it to one of the caretakers. If they found out that she was talking to one of the Artinsans when she was supposed to be working on a bendi assignment, it would be even worse for her. "I just want to get th-this done, so I c-can go back to my room, Miss Cyrill." she'd only heard the other children cry a few times, but from what she remembered, they talked funny and repeated parts of their words, so she did her best to imitate them.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill gave up on trying to catch the girl in a lie. She was just too darned adorable and confused. She still had her suspicions about the kid, but if she was wrong… Well, she didn’t want to needlessly traumatize a child. “Alright then,” she sighed. “Let’s get you to the aeries.” Cyrill straightened up and began walking in the direction of the aeries again. What was she doing, anyway, chattering with a Yasi when she had work to do? The other glassblowers must have started to feel alarmed by now. They didn’t think Cyrill had it in her to actually take breaks like a normal person.

[Kietis]

Kietis nodded and followed Cyrill silently. She had to make sure that she didn't forget all that she had said, in case she saw the Avora gain sometime in the future. A fairly easy task, seeing that everything had either been true or a twisted version of the truth. As they made their way towards the Aeries, Kietis made sure to sniffle every now and then so as not to make the Artinsan ask any more questions. She wasn't used to lying to any adults, and they certainly asked more questions than any of the Youth every did. It was tiring, constantly coming up with more and more lies to cover up the past ones. It was no wonder why Attia and Aelett and Nattiek and the others were always honest with all of the children. Soon, voices of the Wind Eagles and their Riders reached their ears. A few Endal passed by before one grabbed Kietis's arm. "There you are, Yasi. What took you so long?" He glanced at Cyrill. "And what were you doing, chattering like a songbird with an Artisan? She does not need to be bothered with such nuisances as you." Kietis held out the bag as much as she was able, given its weight. "I apologize, Endal. Where should I take the package?"

[Cyrill]

“She hasn’t caused any trouble,” Eris said, waving away the Endal’s reproach. “Oh, just give it to me!” snapped man, managing to sound exasperated, annoyed, and haughty all in one exclamation. “I don’t need you bothering the eagles and their riders.” The Endal grabbed the bag out of the girl’s hands, looking at it in confusion. “What is this anyway?” He threw a look at Kietis and then at Cyrill, as if asking whether they had any idea about the contents of the package. Cyrill’s shoulders lifted slightly in a shrug and the Endal let out a dramatic sigh, “It doesn’t matter, I suppose.” “Consider your assignment complete…or something like that,” he added with a shrug at Kietis. It was obvious that the man had only recently been promoted in rank and wasn’t yet fully settled in his position. A small spark of envy lit up in Cyrill – he had an eagle, she did not. The man wrestled with the bag for a while, finally managing to awkwardly sling it over his shoulder. That’s when Cyrill remembered the vase in her hands. The other glassblowers must really be getting nervous now. She gave a curt nod to the struggling Endal and spun around on her heel, starting to walk back down the hallway.

[Kietis]

Finding herself on her own, Kietis ran after Cyrill and stopped in front of her. "W-wait, Miss Cyrill Artinsan!" She wasn't sure why she was nervous-- she had just spent a while talking to Cyrill, and nothing bad had come of it. "When you are done, or after you finish with the glasswork, I mean," She wiped her palms on her bryda, as they were accumulating sweat at an unusual rate. "Would you please tell Attia that I finished my Bendi task? Sometimes..." Kietis paused, unsure if she would get in trouble for one more little white lie. Surely not-- Cyrill had been able to believe her other stories, hadn't she? This was not so hard, after all. " Sometimes the people that I do Bendi tasks for lie to Attia and say that I didn't do it. A-and I mean no disrespect to the Endal, but he seemed awful mad at me, but I can't think why." Unsure of what to do with her hands, she put them behind her back, although it was a bit uncomfortable. "I just don't want them to think that I didn't do it if he forgets to tell her."

[Cyrill]

“Sure, I’ll tell-“ Cyrill broke off, an idea suddenly popping into her head. She still had the nagging suspicion that the girl wasn’t being entirely truthful. Surely, a little experiment wouldn’t do any harm… “I’ll tell her, if you’d like me to,” she continued. “But, this Attia sounds like a monster. Never believing you when you’re obviously such an honest girl and letting you get teased by the boys all the time.” Cyrill shook her head with mock sternness. “I think someone should give that woman a nice talking to. When I’m done in the Glass Reverie, I’ll talk to her about you and ask her why she insists on treating you children so poorly.”

[Kietis]

"Oh," At first, the meaning of Cyrill's words didn't quite register in Kietis's head. A second later, she paled. "W-wait, Miss Cyrill, you can't go to Attia!" But she had to have a reason, didn't she? Oh, think, think, Kietis, there must be something you can do. You can't let Miss Artinsan go to Attia! "Sh-she will be busy... with all of the other children!" There, that was believeable, wasn't it? "She is in charge of hading out all of the Bendi assignments, and she will be very, very busy this afternoon, so you wouldn't be able to go see her! And I wouldn't want to bother you while you are doing things like w-working on the glass..."

[Cyrill]

“Oh, that’s very thoughtful of you, Kietis, but I promise I won’t take too much of Attia’s time. I just can’t let her get away with this kind of thing. You children deserve a better chance at success and all this woman does is hinder you,” Cyrill said, shaking her head in an attempt to suppress the smile that was making its way to her lips. “As a matter of fact, I’ll talk to her right now. Glass working can wait a while longer. Why don’t you show me where Attia is right now?” she asked sweetly, a mischievous glint flashing in her eye.

[Kietis]

Kietis gritted her teeth and attempted to suppress the tears that were threatening to spring to her eyes. She wouldn't be crying if she were telling the truth, so she couldn't start crying now-- it would look way too suspicious. "Well... all right, Miss Artinsan, if it's what you really want. I suppose you would know better than I would, since you're much older..." Why was she looking at Kietis like that? Kietis resisted the urge to squirm, but just barely. It was uncomfortable, that look that Miss Cyrill Artinsan had. Determined not to shed a tear, lest she let on that she had been lying, Kietis thought furiously, looking for anything that could help her; anything at all would-- Oh, she thought. That will certainly do. She turned left down another hallway, speeding up as she went. "This way, Miss Artinsan!" She called behind her.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill tried to conceal her surprise as she hurried after the girl. Kietis had looked almost repentant just a second ago. Cyrill even felt a little guilty for a while, thinking that the girl might cry. But now, she was just intrigued. Could the child be really telling the truth, then? Cyrill had the habit of following through with any idea she had, whether it be an ambitious glass project or catching someone in a lie. And she had been so sure that the girl had been lying, or at least bending the truth a little. She had even reminded her of her brother. Beck was always getting into trouble, but he always had an excuse for everything, usually backed up by a cleverly woven lie. Cyrill had never joined in his tall tales, which was one of the reasons for their slow, but inevitable drifting apart. Now, looking back at her years with her brother, she wondered what made him so inclined to telling made up stories every chance he got. He never really explained it to her. Then again, she had never wanted to understand. In retrospect, that might have been why Cyrill was so bent on getting the truth out of Kietis now. So, she followed the girl down the hallway, all the while wondering what the child had planned.