Closed The beauty within horror [Mellena]

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia was reviled to have the konti switch to common, but it was also a bit embarrassing to the Cross. She knew the scaled woman must have felt sorry or awkward for her language and struggle to speak, so she wasn’t entirely sure should she be happy or not. At times like this, Amelia wished she would have studies up the language of his race better when she had the chance, but with Tia, the only thing that really she was willing to learn was fortunetelling, and that was such an amazing form of art…yes, she called it art.

But as the Konti continued speaking, Amelia remembered more and more of how her friend introduced her to the religion, the history and nature of the konti…and it all came together even more. She could see vivid images of her older, scaled friend smiling and laying out tarot with her webbed fingers ”the lily, the way Avalis’s gift visually shows on the Konti and anyone else it is trusted upon…I must say that I am not that educated in the religion of the goddess or her gift, I am not a follower of the goddess even though I hold respect towards her she spoke and gradually came closer and closer to the woman, limiting the distance between them and lowering her own voice” …but please, for your own sake, avoid mentions of other gods in this city” she reminded the konti. This was a city of Rhysol. Other gods where not to be worshiped, they might be tolerated, but she was even unsure of how that worked in the city. Better safe than sorry, came to mind.

”But I use tarot for my own readings and palm reading…I know how a few other techniques work theoretically, but I have never used them in practice so it’s really…nothing I actually know…” she left Tia before she could learn in depth, and with her leaving to Zeltiva, she doubted that she would be seeing her friend anytime soon…if ever…and her mother ”my deck of tarot was a gift from my friend, Nol’tia is her name, medicine is her main trade though”

She shook her head, ”back to Valerius, did that man specify anything about what he wanted? Anything at all? I have a good guess of what cake he would enjoy, if that works, but it is pricy”

oockeep calm

[Melenna]

“Oh, you know Valerius. The more expensive, the better it is. He would not be happy at all if I returned with some half-priced deliciousness. Mmm, just think of the things all those very important gossipers would say if they found out he could settle for common food! The thought makes me shudder.” Melenna covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she laughed, offering a wink at the woman. “So don't worry yourself about prices. I think just about any pastry would be the same to his sweet tooth that doesn't officially exist.”

Truth be told, the Konti's humor was somewhat strained, but she hid it well. The mention of Avalis' lily had made the back of her neck burn self-consciously—she still hadn't told her master of her ability to see chavi. By some fortune, he had somehow missed the importance of that mark on the back of her neck, which would have been a source of scorn as well as exploitation. Who wouldn't want to know the recent past of their enemies and friends in a place like Ravok? Every secret lurking right at their fingertips? It would be too much to resist, and Melenna had a hard enough time of divination as it was.

Thankfully, it seemed for the moment that her secret was still safe behind the long locks draped about her shoulders. Melenna didn't want to take any chances of being recognized for a true follower of Avalis, so she let the topic change on its own, deciding not to complain about Ravok's extraordinarily bigoted view of divinity. She was also curious about this talk of tarot, but it also seemed a little too close to her own experience with divination. No, she needed something entirely neutral...

“There is something I have been dying to know since I ran into you, Miss Cross. I simply must know who your tailor is! You see, while the Nitrozians have decent taste in clothing, they simply lack... flare, true style. And while I may be a slave, it is also fair to say that Valerius is one to please—his guests, of course. If you could find some way of introducing him to whoever makes that ever-so-lovely gown, I think my prospects as a musician would be even better. Appearance is everything here, after all.”

[Amelia Cross]

Amelia couldn’t hold a straight face, she just had to giggle away to the comments the slave gave about the man. She knew Valerius as a stiff man, she just couldn’t see his slave being like this girl, but then again, she probably was quite fresh, not adapted to the unwritten rules of the city. The rules the Nitrozian household must have. Amelia didn’t know them, but she had ears, and there were enough whispers on the streets and taverns. Funny that the family whose image seemed to be so important, was talked about so much. ”well if price and form of the sweets are no question, I know exactly what he likes” the pale girl continued giggling, for a change feeling light to the hearth and mind.

None the less, the thought was not long, because Amelia noticed how the slave drifted away from the native topic of the konti, fortune telling, divination…sisters. It all was the type of things that the konti women enjoyed to speak of. She had a guess it might be painful to speak of such things when in her given position, remembering the freedom a konti has…so she respected that and just smiled at her comment about her dress and followed the flow of the discussion, from fortune telling to dresses. Truth be told, these topics the Cross enjoyed.

”most of my clothing comes from other cities” she still didn’t name the fortress city that was Syliras ”but this gown, comes from the Azure tailoring’s, owned by Alira Wickham if I’m not mistaking, she also sews and designs clothing but I am not sure was this her own job or that of an apprentice or an assistant, since I picked it up from the already finished clothing stands” Amelia explained as she looked the konti’s apparel up and down. She had to admit, the clothes where simple, but they were clearly better than what most slaves got to wear. ”it is however an expensive place, and I am not that sure the Nitrozians would want to spend that much miza on a slave, might hurt their reputation, and reputation ranks just a bit higher than beauty on the priority lists of Ravok.” she explained, because the visual image of a slave wearing silk gowns just didn’t come together, then again, who knows? The Nitrozians aren’t known to be as unpredictable as Larks, but she guessed they could also serve up a surprise.

"So you play music?" she added in while slowly walking in the direction of the place where she expected to get the sweets.