Completed To tame a Dancer

[Taylani]

There was little that Taylani could do about the turn of events in her life, she has already done all that she could to rectify the situation. For now anyway, other then taking off on her own out across the huge expanse of grass, Taylani must uphold her end of the deal she had struck with the barbarian. The deal itself felt as constricting as chains, and Taylani knew if she focused on it for long she would drive herself mad with anger and other feelings she did not want to contemplate. She knew that she could not simply wait day in and day out for the deal to be completed, and so it was decided in her mind that she was going to fill her days with learning. She could be useful other then just as an incubator. "Amethyst Clan." She repeats, her neck curving delicately as she looks around the camp once more, at the tents that are spread out in some kind of order that she herself could not detect. "Is that like a family? You know, Mom...Dad..Brothers.. Sisters?" The question is a sincere one, though she did not hold any love for the Drykas she still wanted to know more. Either to put to use later in her favor, or simply to better her chances of surviving her years here. A soft spasm of coldness swept through her as the thought years struck her, realization that this was indeed going to be a long time of her life here. Instead of letting the creeping sadness and anger to return, she took the stab of pain and let some memories of her old life come to mind. Thinking that if she could share with him how much her own family meant to her, how her training in the arts of dance and song had driven her before then he would know just how hard this was going to be for her. Perhaps even loosening on the requirements of two children. "My family was hard working as well. My mother crafted jewelry, and my father worked in a smithy. They worked hard so that I could learn what I loved." A wistful smile crosses her lips, and her fingers gave her simple ring a final twist before she deepens her breath and straightens her shoulders. "We were simple people, and never left Syliras. We had no need of horses, I had never been outside of the city walls before ..before the day that I was taken from there. So no, I have never ridden a horse." Finally her eyes looked back at him, and really looked at him. His age was not readily apparent in his features, because while he looked weathered he did not look old. He was not unpleasant to look at, and she was struck by how easily he seemed to sit amid this open nothingness. For a city girl who was raised up within walls, that were surrounded by yet more walls, the nothingness could and has seemed almost oppressive. She could not bring herself to smile at him, but she did go so far as to give him a slight dip of her head in acquiescence of the language barrier. "It would be good for me to learn working Pavi yes. I have never tried to learn a new language, but I do need to try."

[Fallan Windchaser]

Had this tale been told to another of the Drykas, Fallan suspected that they would be amazed by such a thing; that two 'simple' craftsmen could be so wealthy that they could afford for their daughter not to work with them. Some might not believe it because it was so far out of their knowing as to be incredible. Fallon however had been to Syrilas, had seen the castle and the people that scurried like insects through it's hollowed walls. Compared to Zeltiva it was relatively wealthy, at least in the sense that everyone had a job, but he had seen the poverty that not even the Knights could hide, and how anyone could live trapped in such a place he did not understand.

He pondered her question for a moment, trying to find a way to explain it.

He pointed to the tents. One tent, one family. Father, head, Ankal," he used the Pavi word. "Mother, brothers, sisters. Also brothers wife, children." He wondered if she would grasp the extended family which lived in each Pavilion, a structure which was so at odds to how she was brought up.

"Many tents, one clan, big family. Seven clans. All Drykas family." This seemed to him to be harder to understand so he kept his words slow. "Marry between clans, big family." He nodded encouragingly, wondering if she was starting to grasp how very different the clans were to Syrilas.

That she could not ride was another problem to be overcome, though not yet for he had no wish to provide her with a ready means of escape. If she was a good dancer then he was sure that she would find learning to ride easy. But there was a world of difference between being able to ride and riding well enough to delay being caught by a glassbeak.

He studied her for a moment wondering if she had learnt anything from her parents. Even if she had not learnt any skills, surely she would have familiarity with them and that could be useful. "Pavi then you learn." He had no wish for her merely to be decorative around his tent, feeding his ego because he owned a woman as attractive as her. "All Drykas work," he wasn't ready yet to attempt to explain their laws to her.

"What work will Taylani do?" The question was posed as much to the wind as it was to the woman opposite him and he did not really expect an answer from either.

[Taylani]

While not yet willing to relax her guard, having no reason to feel safe, Taylani stays cautious and wary though her hands no longer fidget in her lap. There was still the hollow numbness within her that she suspected was going to be more protection rather then a liability in the days to come, to protect her from the internal turmoil. All this seemed to flash across her face, turning her features cautious and mindful, losing any traces of openness. However, he did seem to be genuinely seeking to know her, to teach her and she would not let this opportunity to pass. Instead she did make an effort to keep resentment hidden, keep bitterness at check so that when she speaks her voice is pleasant if not warm. Taylani makes a conscious decision to try and be civil, at least as long as he continued to be respectful and not refer to her as a slave..or treat her as such. It was on that decision that she nods her head at his introduction of Drykas culture, her brow furrowing as she tries to understand. "You mean. Everyone lives...in one tent..in I mean of the family?" This posed another problem, one more of privacy then anything else, and a notion struck her that caused her blue eyes to widen and her cheeks deepen in color just slightly. Trying hard not to dwell on that thought, Taylani pushes it aside and focuses on the Pavi word he had uttered. "Ankal.." she tries to repeat, her tongue feeling heavy when using the foreign word. "Ankal.." She repeats slowly, watching his expression for any clues if she was repeating it atrociously or passably. Her lower lip is chewed in a nervous habit whenever he asked about work, and she nods again in acknowledgement. "In Syliras everyone earned their own keep as well. Though.." She smiles, perhaps for the first time in his general direction though definitely not at him, "I imagine there were more uses for entertainers in the city then.." Her hand raises and gestures to the mass of tents and pavilions that make up Endrykas, "out here." Again she twisted the ring on her finger, teeth still worrying at her lower lip. "I never prepared...prepared for a different life then that of a Dancer." Her eyes blurred yet again, but she resolutely pushed the tears back. Crying would do nothing for the situation at hand and she was so very sick of tears. "The only thing that..that I did when I wasn't learning my own trade, I used to sit with Mama when she would craft her rings."

[Fallan Windchaser]

"Yes, one family, one tent," he confirmed at lenght and quickly connected her reaction with the question, though perhaps not understanding the reason. "Fallan alone in tent. Not stay with family. Fallan travel, just Fallan, not family."

It was the oddest sort of slavery was the thought that ran through Fallans mind as he watched her repeat the word. Of course her accent was terrible but that would improve with time at least to some degree, so he smiled and nodded. Start as you mean to go on, he reminded himself. If he allowed her to think that she was a free woman then she would act like one and that would make his life more difficult than he needed.

"Drykas dance. Not sure pay to see dance." There were places that might, but he was not sure that he wanted her to be the subject of drunken attention at somewhere like Baultimes. Perhaps a craft was the answer, but with it came the question of travel for his Strider was not a pack animal and what he'd traded in the past had been small and light as a result. Perhaps too why his trading had never done more than put food in his mouth.

Perhaps they both needed to learn and to invest what little he had in tools and such. He was sure that he could not afford a wagon and still manage to eat for the whole season. And even if he could he could not afford a horse to pull it.

"We see about work." Now he stretched and stood. "Now, you have stuff? We get and go Amethyst Clan." He held out his hand and waved for her to get up and come closer to him. "We walk, you ask."

[Taylani]

Now was not the time to contemplate ramifications, fears or worries. Taylani knew this, she knew on some level that she was far too emotionally fragile right now to think about anything but the here and now. The moment the thought of being with these people for seasons let alone years caused her throat to constrict, and she did not want to know what would happened when it came to begin to fulfill her side of the bargain. However the bargain, in and of itself, gave her a little comfort to hold on to. It made her feel less like an object and more like she had some say in her own body and life. Though that would technically speaking be considered prostitution, that seemed a little better then breeding stock. Relief shows plainly on her face when he answers and clarifies that it is not extended family that stays in the tents but simply him. She took that to mean that the clans stayed in the general vicinity though. Work was not something she minded, she had always had a mind for learning and this provided ample opportunity for such. It was not much different in Syliras, everyone was expected to work and to pull their own weight. It would also give her something to do besides sit and wait for appropriate times. She had just never had to think about having to do something for money, rather then doing something she loved and was paid for it. She stands at his beckon, but she keeps her distance, raising her chin once again in mild defiance. However other then the awkwardly stiff set of her back, arms and shoulders as she continued to be wary and cautious she does not openly try and cross him. Instead she crosses her arms, and hunches her shoulders, a defensive posture but nothing more. "I had my pack, with my things." She murmurs though she quickly realized she is not sure where they should be going. There was a question that burned in her mind, one that she was hesitant to ask, in fact loath to ask. Yet it niggled and nagged at her, why had he bothered to buy her. She decided against asking that, not so close to having almost settled on an uneasy truce. Instead she eyed the scratches on his cheeks, remembering the flash of white hot anger, and recognized that the same emotions were still hiding under the surface. Now that they were preparing to go to his tent, those same anxieties started to spasm deep in her stomach, causing another uncomfortable tightness in her chest. She tried to hide these against showing on her face, in stead she settled on asking another. "You said many Drykas die. What happened?" She imagined many things, wars and fights between factions were not unheard of, even if she herself had never experienced such herself growing up in the relative safety of Syliras.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Still she refused him, and still he did not resort to violence. He was surprised at his own restraint and wondered what it was that held his hand. The thought revolved in his mind for a while until he came to the realisation that it could only have one ending and something was holding him back from that. If it were to happen then better in the privacy of the tent, but doing so would set them back from where he had managed to get them. The reminder of the complication annoyed him and so he was a little brusque.

"Show me where your things." He would take them there if she could find it, and if not it would have to be found another time, assuming that her captors had not taken it for their own.

Inevitably they came, sooner or later to the part of the encampment which was mostly the Amethyst Clan. Likely enough she would have realised that if she was paying attention. In any case, he slowed and pointed out where they were.

"Amethyst Clan. See colour?" Around them it would be hard to miss, if she hadn't noticed already the fact that the people and the tents showed the purple finishings of the clan.

He led them off to the quieter part where his tent was pitched, his horse was in the paddock with the other clan horses. Amongst the pavilions his tent was small but at least it wasn't a one man tent and would be large enough, at least for now to house them.

Undoing the flap he motioned for her to enter. Inside the tent was neat but missing the furnishings to be found in the pavilions and doubtless the most obvious thing of all aside from his gear was the unrolled bed roll. Only those items which were in use were unpacked, everything else was carefully stored in the bags.

He stood at the flap and watched curiously for her reactions. Anticipation here was almost as satisfying as what would follow for he could guess what she would be thinking at this point.

[Taylani]

She is not sure why she was taken just a little aback by his brisk manner, surely she should have expected such a thing from someone who felt that they could possess people. But when he was abrupt and did not answer her question, which truthfully was simply asked to fill time and chase away anxiety, she could not help but be a little bewildered. So instead she simply nods, and moves toward where she thinks the auction pavilion was. She could not read him, did not know what he was thinking, though she kept cutting glances at him out of the corner of her eye. Taylani's pack was depressingly small, but it was the only thing of her home that she had. Her meager possessions of underclothing and mizas if they were still in there. She had not wanted to check in front of him, clutching the leather pack tightly to her stomach as a kind of shield. Indeed she had noticed the purple hue, and looking around she saw other cluster of tents a bit aways that sported other designs that she could only guess meant that they represented other clans. However her attention wasn't really on her surroundings, but was on keeping her breathing even trying to slow her heart rate. Her hands tighten on the pack, until her knuckles popped in protest, turning white from the pressure she was exerting. As he opened the tent, and gestured her inside, she hesitates. On one hand she does want to get on with fulfilling her end of the bargain, and that would by necessity dictate that she lie with him. On the other, she was reluctant to do so because then he will know her as no other man has ever known her. It would make her a particular kind of vulnerable that frightened her almost more then the thought of the wild animals that were surely out there some where. However, to not go in could be seen as breaking her word, and that would give him yet another control. So she closes her eyes, and ducks into the tent, willing herself to not notice the bedroll, instead she leaves her back toward the opening breathing in and out steadily. If he knew anything about the anatomy of a human, he might recognize the deliberate pacing of the breath as a calming exercise. Though her body trembled gently, her pinked from the sun face pales slightly her voice was calm, soft, almost hushed but steady, "I have never." That was all she said, again making a concerted effort to keep her eyes off the bedroll, her pack still her shield against her body.

[Fallan Windchaser]

Her body language could have been read by a child, even Fallan could see her reluctance and it pleased him. For a moment he thought that he would need to force her into the tent, the tent which symbolised so much. Until now everything had been talk. The auction and then the edge of the grasslands, these were all places where reality could to a degree be pushed aside.

Now though came the reality that she really was his and once she stepped over the threshold and he closed the flap, then she was in his space, with no hope that actions might be restrained by the public view.

He followed her in and pulled the flap closed, and so doing muted just a little the sounds of the camp. Light filtered in through the fabric of the tent but with the flap closed it cast the interior into gloom which only the lanterns might alleviate, had they been lit.

She had never. It explained much and he was pleased that he had not previously given in to temptation, though always it had been a possibility. It made the moment all the more sweet, though mostly because it increased her reactions when he teased her.

He stepped in behind her, slowly so that they almost touched, remaining silent. With his right hand he gently brushed her hair away from the nape of her neck and pushed it over her shoulder, then ran his fingers along her right shoulder and down onto her upper arm which he gripped softly. He could hear her breath and feel the tremble in her body.

"Taylani," he whispered from close behind her and kissed her on the back of her neck. He stepped in and pulled her closer so that their bodies touched. Ah, the temptation now was almost too much as she stood there clutching her belongings. Instead he stood still for a moment and then told her, "Sit."

When she had done so, he moved round to sit in front of her, but close, close enough that he could easily reach out and touch, close enough that she would be uncomfortable, close enough that he could easily move in and push her to the ground with his weight pinning her down.

He allowed a long moment to pass and then spoke, changing the subject, at least for the moment. "You ask why Drykas die." It was a subject that held shame for him, "last winter, came pox. Took many." He realised that this might worry her, and it worried him too and for any children they might have. "Pox gone. Fallan not here then." He shrugged. "Fallan here now. For Drykas, for family."

[Taylani]

As the flap closes, the gloom that follows seems to give the area a air of expectancy for Taylani. Everything was muted, sounds outside and the colors inside. His presence somewhere behind her seemed to expand within the confines, and his scent was everywhere. Something between horse, leather and man that she couldn't quite describe but was strongly male. She is not sure what she is expecting, other then the obvious mechanics, she does not know what or how he intends on moving forward. So when he pulls up behind her, the leather on her bag creaked as she tightened her grip, her throat closed when his fingers brushed her hair over to one side. Her neck bent naturally, curving so that her face was pointed to the floor, offering the thin expanse of the column subconsciously. When he grazes his fingers over her neck goosebumps pebbled her pale flesh, and even as they passed from bare skin to the plain fabric of her simple dress she still felt them almost. A lingering feeling where his skin had touched hers, sending conflicting thoughts through her mind. This was the first time he had touched her other then when he had grabbed her hair earlier, and the simplicity of the touch spoke volumes in her ears. When he whispered her name, her entire being stood on edge, her lip tucked between her teeth now firmly being chewed. When he placed the kiss on the nape of her neck a gentle pain registered, confusing Taylani for a mere second before she realized that it had caused her to jump and to bite her lip outright. With a conscious movement she removed her lip and let her eyes open. The strength he emits as he draws closer still, and their bodies meet causes Taylani to take a quick breath. Her body is so tightly stiff now, that it seems to her that a gentle wind would cause her to break in half. She does not pull away but neither does she lean in to his strength. Instead she slowly almost painfully unclenched her fingers so that the pack that she had kept so stalwartly against her as a shield hung by a single strap, hooked over by her finger to keep it from dropping completely to the ground. The command to sit was enough to bristle the hairs on her neck, though this was more due to the tension already within her body. She understood that some of his directness and brisk manners could be attributed to the language barrier, but understanding this might be some of the cause of his attributes does little in face of the fact that he is one who openly participates in slavery. Bristling or not, she does as he commands and sinks to the ground. It was a slow sink, a graceful glide downward. Her legs folding easily beneath her, her back remaining stiff and erect until she sits with her back toward the bedroll. Wide blue eyes display the tension, anxiety and nervousness that war within her, but she does not attempt to mask this as she watched him move around and sink down as well. He was so close that she was tempted to move back, but doing that would put her on top of his bedroll, and she was not ready to put herself there just yet. Instead she simply takes a deep breath, and listens to his story. There was a quality of..sorrow almost now in his voice and face. Sorrow might not be the word, but Taylani watches as his dark eyes cloud as he speaks. There was no huge outward show of emotion, but she did notice the slight tightening of his body as he spoke and it softens her heart towards him just a little. They were so close that if Taylani wanted too, all she had to do was lean in to offer her brand of consolation, but again she is not ready to do that, nor does she quite think that she should want to console him. Instead she hesitantly reaches out, to try and take his hand in her smaller more delicate hand. He had said so little, but what he hadn't said was not something that Taylani wanted to contemplate on. Better or for worse, her life was now twined with this man, at least for the near future. It remained to be seen the quality of her life, and much of that depended on Fallan. Would she spend the next few years in this tent, with him? Or would she spend it fighting and battling him ever step? Only the gods knew, Taylani herself did not.

[Praetorian]

Taylani

Interrogation	+2 XP
Brawling	+1 XP
Negotiation	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+4 XP

• Alone in the Rainbow of Endrykas
• Endrykas: It's a Hard Knock Life
• Fallan: His Slave, Like it or Not
• A "Taker" that was Taken
• The Price of Freedom: Two Healthy Children
• Member of the Amethyst Clan
• Endrykas: Built of Seven Clans and Many Families
• Pavi Word: Ankal, head of family
• Fallan's Tent: Definitely a Bachelor Pad
• Pain of the Pox

Fallan Windchaser

Interrogation	+3 XP
Brawling	+1 XP
Negotiation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP

• The Need of Endrykas
• Taylani: Beautiful and "Deadly"
• Taylani: A Spirited but Unbroken Mare
• Women require well chosen words.
• Taylani: Death Over Loss of Freedom
• Taylani's Family: Jewlers in Syliras
• Of Coin and Character, The Value Of Taylani's Life
• A Secret Desire: Taylani to Stay of her Own Volition
• Taylani's Temptation

Notes :

I can't even describe how much I love the way y'all are able to write the interaction of your characters. Taylani, good job of making her stubborn but not unreasonable. Fallan, you did a wonderful job of keeping his feelings for Taylani a secret. This thread had far more lore than skill points simply because you both learned so much about one another in this thread.

I will just make a note, Taylani, that you frequently muddle past and present tense in your writing which can be a bit jarring for narrations. It can be hard to chose one style, trust me, I know; it took nearly my entire first season to settle into past tense. Just focus on keeping yourself in one, ok?

Have any questions, comments, or concerns? Think I might have missed something?Feel free to message me.