Quest Caught In The Spider's Web (Dovinya)

[Ensnare]

Summer 10th, 513AV
Edge of Kalinor

One had to wonder what went on in somebodies head that had seemingly become infatuated with both their jelousy and desire to be something more, both a tug and pull of opposite directions, to go through with their emotion filled thoughts, or listen to reason. No matter the circumstance, one would not be able to deny the spark behind their actions, whether it was from lust, greed, or simply doing what must be done. At great costs. There in the caverns beneath the surface hung a city known as Kalinor, inside the city was a people known as the Symenestra, and of those people there was a woman with great hopes and dreams. Ambitious aspirations.

A desire to rise in any way possible, at any cost, for it was her whom had suggested such a devious plot. It was her who had found a house at the edges of the city many years ago, and it was she now whom trapezed across cords of finely woven silk away from the prying eyes of her peers, escaping their area of inspection. To the edge of nowhere. Or somewheres, for what was a Symenestra woman of her status doing in the abandoned parts of the city? Underneath her arm beheld a small basket no bigger than her head filled to the brim with food; plums, tomatos, a jar of peach jam, and a bowl filled with just a small portioning of shredded beef ready for liquefying.

It was just as she paused before a house, eyes wary and looking about that a drip would begin inside the premises, a slow, antagonizingly annoying one. From the ceiling it started, bulging, and appearing as more gathered in the spot until finally it became a tear drop shape and fell from its watery shackles. Down, down it went, passing through air to land on a head with a 'plop' arousing the Symenestra man from his slumber. He was bound with his hands behind his back, as well as were his feet, incapcitated until further notice. If the drop of water had not awoken him, then the sound of a door opening would, from the darkened chasm crawled a woman.

The very woman whom had put him into this mess.

Nallesa Erva was quick to upright herself on the floor, giving Dovinya quite the scowl at his groggy appearence until he decided to look at her. Then she would simply give him a smile, cunning underneath, but warm on the outside "Oh Dovinya, Dovinya, why are you sleeping on the floor like that? Hee-hee." Her voice rung with much silent humor unspoken of, trying to mask it with actual care and compassion for his situation. Nallesa would set the basket she had brought in with her on the shoddy table, placing its contents out without sparing him a glance. Routine as this was, the Symenestra woman had not been to care for Dovinya in nearly three days.

"Come now Dovinya, I have your meal ready, I can only imagine how famished you must be" she turned around to tease him further, wiggling her fingers at him as she grinned. She did expect a reply, for she hadn't bothered to gag him.

[Dovinya]

Dovinya's eyes fluttered open moments after the drop splashed against his cheek, the drop quickly leaving a streak of wetness down the side of his face. Largely under the sway of sleep still, he instinctively tried to wipe the wetness from his face, when he remembered his hands were bound. Frustration filled him. His dream had not merely been a dream, just a cruel reflection of his situation! If he could not find peace in the dreams, what peace was there to find?

The creak of a door opening roused him from his thoughts, and his eyes fell upon the form of his sister-by-law. His tormentor.

He sneered at her rhetorical question, not appreciating her levity in the slightest. The woman was poison, always so casual around him, even when he lay humiliatingly on the floor. It was irritating to say the least.

As if to taunt him further, she had the habit of laying out the food on the lone poorly cut table in the room, reminding him of the hunger that gnawed at him, before provoking him yet again.

"Could you bring it to me, Nallesa, I seem to be a little tied up at the moment" He spoke through a frown, sarcastically being excessively civil with his tone. It only made him fill marginally better.

[Ensnare]

"Where would the fun in that be?" Nallesa quipped at him as she moved to sit on the nearby chair, watching him with a glimmer of cruel interest. Reclining on the wooden back support and resting her cheek against one of her hand's knuckles, she examined him, his form, the way he layed on the ground. Absentmindedly she plucked one of the plums from their resting place on the table, observed it with a growing bored expression, her black claws probing the taut flesh that held the meat inside, and the juice. It reminded her of this situation now, with a lack of tact, there would only be pressure and the plum would lay in ruin.

A bloody mess, opposed to a preciseful point so calculatively made, with enough pressure, and a sharp tool, the plum would go 'pop' and its juices would run freely while the rest of the plum remained intact. That was exactly what happened just then, the plum itself made no sound, but a blackened claw had punctured its flesh and released the juice along with a sweetly scented aroma that followed after. "Will you not play my game Dovinya? You're making your sister sad," she flicked her gaze down to him, eyes going large, and a tad watery, playing coy with his helpless situation "if you're so hungry, then why not wiggle over here..."

"Like the maggot that you are..?"

Torment, she was tormenting him, torturing, teasing, playing with his mind but only Dovinya could choose whether or not to fall for her sultry charms, and wicked nature. Yet truth be told, the pain in Dovinya's stomach that called out for nourishment would make any normal person buckle down to recieve the food they needed. Lest they would die of a slow and painful starvation. Only the strong of will would be able to resist Nalessa's words, but perhaps he needed an incentive to wriggle his way over to her. She bit into the plum slowly, took a rather hefty bite, and chewed with thought, an act that would drive the deprived wild with envy.

Not out of lust, but need; Nalessa promptly dropped the half eaten plum on the ground adjacent to her feet, it rolled in the cloth beneath the two and came to rest in two folds. Not close enough for him to easily get, but not so far that it would drain him completely out of energy to attain the half eaten prize.

"Come now Dovinya.. Surely your pride will not keep you from trying?"

[Dovinya]

Viratas preserve me

He prayed closing his eyes before looking back up at Nallesa. The fairness of her skin, and the symmetrical beauty of her features almost made up for the poison that dwelled within her heart. Almost.

Her taunting made the weariness and hunger aches that he felt, all the harder to bear. His resolve thinning as hunger forced him to embrace humiliation. He'd had no pride to take even before being captured, but Nallesa's treatment had long ago stripped him of the fragile respect he'd possessed of himself. Her visits always left him feeling like a beast, and this one would be no different.

With the fleeting energy he possessed, he silently did as he was bade, struggling with great effort against his bonds only to inch his way across the cold floor. He felt like a worm, fighting against the unyielding ground for scraps. It was beyond humiliating. As much as it pained him though, he still crawled on, driven to caring only to his basic needs. He was a slave to necessity here, forgetting more of the life he'd once lived the longer he spent here, in Nallessa's 'nurturing' care. The only thing that gave him comfort here was Viratas, that sacred bond he treasured above all else for with his mark he knew he was never alone, and best of all, it was the one thing she could never take from him. It was because of Viratas he'd managed to keep his humanity for so long.

Nallesa was a tireless in her efforts to break him though, her latest idea was making his body work against him as she placed a half-eaten plum on the floor agonizingly away from him. His body, deprived of sustenance for so long, spurred him on, to the protest of his cramping muscles. It felt like it took him a bell to reach the plum, every moment of it filled with torturous pain.At last though, he reached it.

A shameful pleasure filled him as he devoured the plum, even going so far as to lick the juices off rough stone of the floor. It far sweeter than he expected, his starved body amplifying the taste. He made quick work of it, and hungry for more, he looked up at Nallessa hopefully. Perhaps she would look kindly upon him.

[Ensnare]

Nalessa watched him crawl to the plum with glee, the little spiderling was bending to her will. "See, was that so hard Dovinya?" She questioned him with a sick sadistic smile, her dainty foot finding its way to push her toes into the side of his face. Rolling the cheek flesh that was there along with the greasy and unkempt hair that fell in locks down his head. She believed him to be within her grasp. Mayhaps it would be a good idea to award the starved boy, condition him to do as she wanted, and in return he would recieve food. The method reminded her of a book on pyschology.

Yes. Nalessa quite liked that idea, he would be no better than a dog.

Of course if he chose to bite at her, there would be severe reprecussions. Her claws found a jar of jams lid, the peach preservatives could be seen through the glass while a piece of colorful grangham cloth acted to hold the cover in place. Nalessa popped the lid open and placed the cover and its cloth on the table, meticulous in her ways so as to tease him more. Though she had brought jars of jam, she had not thinked to grab spoons for an easier consumption; all the better for her plans. She felt like playing a game with him, she would offer him some choices to gain this jar of jam.

"You see this jar of peach jam?" She swayed it in gesture to its presence "you have two choices to pick from," she set it back on the table. Terrible in her ways. "The first choice is to talk sweet to me, Dovinya, and the second choice if you should choose it is to figure a way out on your own to get this jar of jam while I watch you fail misearbly in your weakened physical state." Nalessa had taken her foot away so she could stand and move closer to the wall, as if to act like his audience. She would not mention the reward for succesfully sweet talking her to give him the jam; she wanted his efforts to be presented first.

That seemed fair to her, either way it would present some form of amusement for her, and food for him, unless of course he decided to give up half way. "If you give up, I'll just leave you here and you can continue to stare at food that is not within your reach. For I have a real life to attend to, and I'm certain others would notice my missing presence." She smiled lightly. Her image was more important to her than Dovinya's well being, and may have possibly been the reason she had not been to see him in three days despite knowing he would go hungry.

[Dovinya]

He found no such mercy in her eyes, her words ringing heavy with condescension as she dug her foot into the side of his face. The pressure forced him to sink heavily against the ground, not because of the force of it but because he was simply too tired to fight against it. All that struggling he'd done to reach the plum had sapped him of his meager energy, and left him hungrier than ever he realized as he stomach torturously cramped up. Reflexively he clutched his eyes shut as he weathered through the agony his body was putting him through.

Even after the most severe hunger pains had washed through him, and it was becoming something he could get used to, he still kept his eyes shut, in hopes that he might find reprieve from this pain in sleep. Nalessa was going to have nothing of it though, he realized as she the quietness of the brief lag in conversation by proposing another game, one she most certainly expected to be acknowledged. Viratas please guide me, he prayed before opening his eyes.

To his surprise, her "game" gave him a choice this time, though even this freedom of decision left him with despair as he realized he didn't have much a choice at all. As much as he was loathe to admit it, she was right when she suggested he'd fail miserably to get the jar of jam on the table. His body was far to wearied to reach the table, he was too tired to even lift his head off the floor so he could regard Nalessa more acutely. Talking would be an effort to be sure, but certainly more preferable than struggling to reach that jam. That thought caused him a moment of pause though as he vaguely remembered a time when considering such a notion as preferable would fill him with revulsion. Had he fallen so far?

Nalessa's last statement jarred him from his contemplations, the implied threat much too real, and despite his meager reservations, he decided to try to placate her as she asked.

"Please... Nalessa, sweet.. kind.. beautiful Nalessa, won't you share your jam with me?" He pleaded, pausing every so often to clear his throat. "You were always... the most gorgeous and fair of your web and.. oh so much smarter than I could ever be. Certainly.. I'm privileged to have this audience with you... others I know would be so envious"

[Ensnare]

Nalessa just smiled at him, the silence between brother and sister in law after his last few words fell on the room deafeningly. She was curious, just how far could she make him go? That would have to be found out at another time, she was pushing her time chimes longer than need be, his plea would have to do for now. The next time it would be more difficult, a corner of her mouth quirked upwards as she chortled at him. Covering her mouth with her hands for a few moments to blush and giggle "oh stop it, you flatter me Dovinya." It was just an act, but she loved the compliments (albeitly they were rather forced, he would learn how to sound more sincere later.)

To Dovinya this would seem like a small victory, a success. Nalessa was swift with her movements as she strode to him, placing a knee on his back while grabbing his bound hands and untieing the silkened ropes, doing the same for his knees and feet. "Think of this as your reward, it won't be so easy next time" she whispered sleekly to him "and don't try to think to escape, the door above will always be locked." Nalessa attempted to ward away any hope he might have gained in a few chimes. Quick as her hands, Nalessa was gone through the door, with a prompt click of lock and key; Dovinya was left alone to his devices, how would he spend his time?

The food that was still there lay on the table out of his current reach on the floor, but to him, the plum had renewed his energy just enough to get his prize. If he so chose to look around and get a better grip of his surroundings, he would notice that he was in a small, Symenestra home, with a table, chair, bucket and many cubby holes in the spherical walls for him to search through. To notice anything else would require further inspection, and to get up and look; or he could simply resign to his fate as a prisoner to Nalessa forever. The choice was his to make. Yet one thing for certain was that his sister-in-law would not return for a long while.

He had all the time in the world to kill.

[Dovinya]

Time seemed to for a moment as he agonizingly waited to see what she would say, or do for that matter. His very welfare hinged on his words after all, and in his mind he repeated them over an over, wondering if they were enough. Silently he asked Viratas to grant him this small concession that he might sustain himself, while staring forward expectantly at Nalessa, hoping against all odds that she would find reason to allow him to eat.

To his surprise, she did him one even better as she finally broke the silence with her response, and set about releasing him from his bonds. Relief and hope filled him only to be tempered by her reminder of that he was not as free as might think. Wisely he waited for Nalessa to leave before trying to get up off the floor, thinking that she might reconsider her decision if she saw he so eager to get to his feet, though that was likely foolish speculation on his part. Still, he figured it didn't hurt too much to be careful, especially when granted such a gift as mobility in these trying times.

Hungry and tired, he managed just barely to get himself seated at the table before diving hand after hand into the jar of peaches, scarfing them down as fast as he could, as a few tears ran down his face. He was so happy just to be eating that he could scarcely think of anything else at the moment, or be bothered with more graceful eating habits, for he wanted, no needed this food badly. Dovinya even took to licking his fingers after finishing the jar without a second thought, an action he'd have been loathe to do before his kidnapping. Here alone in this house, he'd forgotten many of the social graces of society, and didn't much miss them for that matter.

A while after finishing his meal, he slowly started paying attention to where he was staying since he no longer thought with just his belly. It was a rather typical home in Kalinor but quite sparsely furnished, but possibly it was stocked with an assortment of things he figured, noticing the niches in the wall. Perhaps, he dared to hope, something that may help him get out of this mess, and this time, aloud he said a prayer to Viratas, to bless his efforts.

"It is eye your servant Dovinya once more, I only ask for guidance that I might see past the weariness of my body so I can help myself out of this trouble"

At the end of it, he took his right hand with his left, and drove the claw on his thumb into the flesh of his palm until it punctured the skin, causing him to wince in pain as the blood pooled there in his hand.

"I offer my blood in thanks for your constant vigilance"

At that he let it drip from his palm into the emptied jar for a few moments, before pinching tight the wound with his index finger and thumb. Now with that said, he could search the room with peace of mind, and weakly coming to his feet, he made his slow way towards the holes in the circular wall. Heedless of his bloodied hands, he inspected them each in their turn, hoping beyond all the odds arrayed against him that he might find something that might be his salvation in this dank prison.

[Ensnare]

Whether Dovinya's prayers were heard or not, it was his choice to percieve how the consequence of rewards came about- pure luck, or actually a divine interference? His hands were unbound by the mere will of an over confident woman, who believed herself to still be very much in control of Dovinya's situation. It was by his own actions to beg so lowly to her feet, that he now held the ability to move around comfortably and without restriction; and to effectively replenish his energy with sustance provided by the same cruel hand of entwined fates.

To Dovinya's search of the nooks, the most he would find would be stray strips of cloth, some in tatters, some still looking fully whole; alongside the strips of cloth, there was a wooden comb with a few teeth already broken, a pair of old iron scissors with the blades rusted together shut, and a small rag doll that appeared to be of non-Symenestra origins (the cloth for the skin was not bleeched white.) Signs that perhaps someone had once lived here, but had come and gone, or perhaps Nalessa had simply left the items there for him to find later.

There was enough food to last him a few days, he still had one jar of jam left, the small bowl of cooked shredded beef, two plums, three tomatos, and now the empty jar of what use to hold jam. Plink. Went the water drip, reminding Dovinya of the constant leak in the ceiling. What would be Dovinya's next plan of action?

OOC NoteI wasn't really sure how to respond to the amount of prayer to Viratas, since I'm only an AS and that means I can not control divine beings. I hope you didn't have your hopes up, because Dovinya will most likely (definitely) not meet Viratas or be saved by him under my hand.. >.> Sorry.

[Dovinya]

Finding nothing but mundane items in the niche served only to frustrate him further, his thoughts increasingly less focused on how to get out of this predicament and more on wondering if he ever would. His step sisters' plotting appeared to be complete in its success of imprisoning him here, leaving nothing of any value that he might liberate himself with. It only served to remind him that in these quiet days he had to himself, he could feel keenly the loneliness of the place, and the hopelessness of his struggles. He was fated to be trapped here for as long as Nalessa felt to keep him alive it seemed, a concept that was recently becoming commonplace in his waking thoughts.

The notion of such a thing troubled him greater than the thought of being imprisoned here forever, for the dismal thought was a betrayal of his faith in Viratas in his eyes, and though he was quick to try an push such treasonous thoughts from his mind, it still depressed him greatly that he was coming to such conclusions in this dark time in his life. It brought him to the strength of his faith, thus bringing about more self admonishment, for he wouldn't thinking such things if he trusted more in Viratas after all. An even darker thought lurked beyond that though, one that he fervently tried to not even acknowledge with his attention. The supposition that perhaps his lack of trust in Viratas was somehow related to this trouble he found himself in.

Though in the perpetual quiet of this place, distractions were hard to come by, making avoiding the thought ever more increasingly difficult. In an effort to stave off the doubt that encroached, he instead focused on how he might ration out the food that was left to him, since he suspected that once again Nalessa would not return for a long stretch of time, though even sorting that out hardly occupied his mind for long, and resulted in him sitting at the table, rolling the empty jar in his hands as he idly listened to the water repetitively break the silence.

It was almost mesmerizing, that drip, so much that it didn't occur to him the he was tapping the jar on the table to match its repetition until it slipped from his hands to bounce across the table and smash against the floor in so many glittering shards of glass.

The accompanying shatter of glass on stone broke him from his trance and for the first time in bells, he remembered that the ceiling had been leaking. Without thinking, he craned his head up to study any faults in the stone, consciously trying to determine if any of them were significant enough to allow his escape. It was quite a stretch of the imagination to think that something would come of such an inconsequential thing as a leak in the ceiling but what did he have better to do here where there was so little for him to do. Besides, it certainly kept his mind for those more trying questions waiting on the edges of his conscious thought.

After a while of studying the ceiling, he allowed his gaze to once more take in his surroundings, more importantly the broken glass that now covered part of the floor. Perhaps, if he was careful, he could find use for it at the entrance to this very abode so that Nalessa got a nasty surprise when she got back. It would mean spilling blood, something he was loathe to do against his own kind, but what choice did he have? But could he really bring violence against his sister in law, even in such a situation?

Rubbing his face, he was at a loss for what he should do, and mindful of the glass, went back to searching the place again, if only to allow his mind to sort through all the confusing thoughts that assailed him.

oocOh! No worries, I'm certainly not expecting an appearances. I just see Dovinya as being even more dependent on his faith in these trying times, hence the frequent prayers, thought perhaps I should use more artistic license and stop doing it so often in thread as looking back I've done it quite often in the spell of a few moments