All in the Family (Aleixo)

by **Arundel** on October 2nd, 2013, 6:43 pm

513 AV, 10th Day of Fall

Arundel forged ahead of the mass of family following behind her, spurred on by unease and anger. She was mad at herself for not thinking. Making a hasty decision based on only the Gods knew what, she'd bought Aleixo, which gave her brother the courage to purchase his possibly dying and pregnant sister. With a furious slap, she tossed aside the entrance to their pavilion and slunk inside. She heard the others at her heels, and once the other women emerged, she stopped and turned to the men. Ganden - the eldest - carried Antia in his arms like one would a tired child. The stress of the day had clearly taken its toll on her already weak body. He brushed past her, ignoring the surprised looks on the clueless mothers' faces, as well the curious stare of their youngest sister, and disappeared into one of the curtained off rooms.

On the way here their father had called on one of the most skilled physicians in Endrykas to see to Antia's health. The old man was on his way right now. Arundel's uneasy green eyes focused on Aleixo, looking so out of place among the family standing about. He hadn't been pleased when her brother had scooped his sister up and carted her away, ignoring the foreigner's protests. Why did she raise her hand at the auction? She stared at him curiously, trying to see if there was any obvious indication as to why she'd done it. Was there a glow about him? Her eyes narrowed. No. He was tall, powerful looking, and very handsome. That was all. Arundel chewed the inside of her cheek, folding her arms unhappily. Her mother was talking to her father, but she didn't pay attention. Asking about what had happened, no doubt.

Maybe it had been the way he had so defiantly stared down a throng of Drykas, bravely comforting an ailing, captive sister. After all, she knew perfectly well the close bonds held by family. Her hard eyes softened slightly, remembering how he'd been a rock for his sibling up on that platform. She couldn't begin to imagine what they had felt. Arundel hadn't spoken more than a few words to him since they departed to auction no more than a bell ago. Everyone seemed to be dispersing, going off to discuss the day's events in private with each other. All but him. The two of them stood there, facing each other down. She felt like a hunter who'd cornered an unpredictable animal. The Drykas uncrossed her arms, but then immediately refolded them, feeling too exposed.

She looked around at the pavilion, decorated comfortably. There were several curtained off areas for privacy, and everyone had taken off into what could be considered their rooms. Her unmarried brothers all shared one, her father and his two wives had another, then her eldest brother and his wife - for they hadn't been married long enough to move into their own pavilion - and finally the three sisters, including herself. They would have to do some rearranging. Or perhaps her brother would now leave, what with having two women of his own. Arundel looked up suddenly as the pavilion's entrance parted, and in came the physician. He looked a little winded, and when the folds of the tent closed behind him, the filtered daylight once more became muted.

"Where are they?" he asked without hesitation, crossing the rugs making up their floor with long, purposeful strides. She jerked her thumb at the curtained off room. Her father, mother, and his other wife had joined them inside. She could hear the occasional murmur and whimper. "He took her in there." The good doctor had already been informed of the situation. He nodded and immediately left her alone with Aleixo once more. She was halfway prepared for him to bolt after the physician, and would fight him to the ground if she had to. He would only be a distraction. She raised her hands to him - palms out - hesitant of how he would react. "Alright?" she asked him with a thick Common accent. Arundel wasn't sure what he was thinking right now. She was at least positive he wouldn't make a run for it. Why come all this way with his sister if he had any intent to do so?

by **Aleixo** on October 2nd, 2013, 9:02 pm

Aleixo glared at the woman, his knitted brow more a product of concentration and frustration than of any real ire directed at her. His eyes shifted, from her out turned palms to the curtain behind which the horse man had taken Antia. It took every bit of restraint that he had left after this harrowing experience of being “sold” to stay where he was, as it was obvious that is what she wanted. Who “she” was still wasn’t absolutely clear to him – this woman with half a head of hair. Aleixo hadn’t noticed that, from atop the auction platform. But once he had half-supported, half-carried his sister down to the grassy sward, and the small band of mostly men and this one lone female had come up to them, he’d finally noted the odd hair style. That wasn’t all that he noticed about the tall, leggy brunette - not by a long shot. But it was…arresting. If she was trying to make a fashion statement, she had certainly done so with flare, though he couldn’t say he found it very appealing.

This had been the least of his worries, though, as, unsurprisingly, Antia had been overcome finally and practically fainted in his arms. Completely supplanting all consideration of hairstyles – good, bad, or otherwise – had been the swift movement of the man who, Aleixo was now certain, had bid for and “purchased” Antia. The Rider was at least as tall as Aleixo, and built on strong, lithe lines, and to Aleixo’s complete surprise, the man had stepped up and scooped Antia into his arms, as if she was no more than a rag doll. Aleixo, caught off guard, had immediately said, “No…!” But there was one now standing with them who seemed to be a part of this whole production and he spoke the Common tongue fluently. He had placed a gentle, but firm, hand on Aleixo’s forearm, and in a quiet, but no nonsense voice, had told the Syliran that the Drykas now had a legal claim to his sister and that he only meant to see to her, to help. Antia made no struggle – she was barely conscious – and the older Drykas added that this Ganden was a good man and that Antia was fortunate that she was going to a good home, where she’d have the best chance to recover and regain her health – and that it was something of a miracle that anyone was willing to take this risk. He added as a final thought that Aleixo should count himself fortunate too, that he was going to the same pavilion, and that he’d not have to be separated from his sister. All this was heard, and acknowledged, by the Syliran. He knew it made sense. Still, it was so difficult to see this stranger laying claim to Antia – to let her go, and relinquish his own care of her. In the end, it took no more than two breaths for Aleixo to accept – unhappily – this change in circumstances, knowing things could be far worse, and knowing, this was all his own damn fault anyway. In the end, he did not voice a further protest, but only looked at this Ganden and nodded, falling into step with the little party as they moved off, after coins were exchanged. He’d seen that indeed the woman herself paid over some, but still, Aleixo did not really see this as that she had bought him, as her brother had bought Antia. He was puzzled, a bit, but much more preoccupied with Antia, and craning his neck to get a look at her when he could as they walked away at a good pace.

And now…here they were. It had been a fairly short walk, to this huge tent home. It was the first Aleixo had been in, at least, as far as one actually set up to house a real family. His eyes had widened at the sight of so many who came to greet them once inside, and he had wondered just how many people lived within the mobile walls. He looked about, curious, and heard the babble of voices and saw the hand gestures, none of which he understood, as the family communicated amongst themselves. But again, his attention was captured by the sight of Ganden moving off, and beyond a curtain wall, with Antia still in his arms. He wasn’t the only one to stare at the man as he disappeared with his newly purchased wife to be, for the other women looked at him too, their faces clearly wondering. Aleixo hesitated, and would have made to go after his sister, but there was one who gave him such a look that he did not move, instead staring back at the green eyed woman with the strange hair. The look she gave him was appraising, and he felt his skin prickle a bit – with some mix of embarrassment and indignation. He returned her look with a cold, sharp one of his own, his eyes flashing and his lips compressed into a thin line. Without even a word from her, Aleixo knew that she did not want him to follow the man and his sister. She’d said a few things right after the auction, but he hadn’t paid much mind to them. All his thoughts were for Antia. But now they were alone – or getting close to being so, for the others in the pavilion were moving off, retiring behind this curtain wall or that, quietly chatting in Pavi, their words just an unintelligible murmur in his ears. The woman’s stance was not exactly hostile, but it was certainly defensive enough, and Aleixo wondered again what her role was in all this pantomime.

His thoughts, and her stare, were interrupted by the arrival of a newcomer – yet another Drykas of course – an elderly man who asked one curt question and received an equally short reply from Halfhair. In this instance, Aleixo was easily able to understand that the visitor was being directed to his sister, and as his face bobbed back and forth between the two Drykas, his eyes were asking the question – is he here to help?. The new arrival didn’t pause at all and went right back, behind the same curtain where Ganden and Antia had disappeared. Aleixo craned his neck a bit, trying to see around the woman, when she did that, with her hands, gesturing for him to stay put, and adding in the one word question, in thickly accented Common.

His gaze flew back to her, and his brows lifted a bit. He’d had no idea that she could speak in Common. Without thinking, he fired off a volley of questions at her, unconsciously stepping closer to her as he did so.

“Who is he? Is he a healer? Can I go to her? I’m sure she’ll be very frightened – I need to be with her.” His eyes appealed to the one who seemed to be there to…what? Supervise him? Stand watch over him until someone came along to tell him where he was to go? Would they expect him to begin work today? They surely must know he was a smith. He accepted that he’d have to work, and assumed it would be doing the thing he’d been trained for. But would they let him stay a bit longer? At least until he knew that Antia would be alright?

Aleixo’s eyes had come to rest locked on those fiery green ones, and his voice lowered as he made yet one more plea. “I have to be with her – to take care of her. Just until I know that she is OK. Please – then I’ll do what you wish of me. I promise.”

His gaze then left her and he looked about, as he asked, “Where – where is my… my new… master? The one I will work for. Perhaps he will allow me just another hour, to sit with her?”

by **Arundel** on October 3rd, 2013, 8:11 pm

There was a mountain between the two of them - a language barrier that would take some hard work and creativity to climb. They both were on either side, glaring at the peak. Arundel knew little Common, and his skill with Pavi was surely worse, if it existed at all. As soon as she spoke that one, hesitant word, it was like Aleixo's floodgates were thrust open. So many foreign sounds came out of his mouth, clogging in her ears and tumbling around her brain like a pack of snarling wolves. The uneasy look on her face fell instantly into distress. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Only a few words he'd said did she understand, and it was even more confusing when spoken quickly.

She could tell by his tone and posture - the way he practically leaned toward the curtain blocking his sister - that the pleading had something to do with her. He was asking to go with the doctor, she concluded. What else would he be asking? Arundel looked pained, glancing around the large living area just as he took it all in as well. A cookfire burned in a shallow pit under an opening at the peak of the roof - a stew simmering - so she did the first thing that came to mind. Feeling awkward and clumsy, the Drykas quickly crossed to the cooking area and retrieved a bowl and spoon - both carved from wood from the fringe forests. Glancing back at Aleixo, she used the small, thick towel laying by the fire to take the lid off the pot.

After she scooped a bowlful of thick broth, venison, and vegetables into the bowl, the lid was replaced and she straightened, turned, and gave a careful sign in her language. Come. The Drykas repeated the word in hesitant Common, trying to make him understand. "Come." Oh, he looked about ready to burst. At least he made his way over, albeit suspiciously. Arundel chewed the inside of her cheek again, motioning for him to sit on the stool at her feet. When his butt was in place, she thrust the bowl of stew into his hands. The spoon swirled in the thick broth that almost sloshed over the side. Heavily, she dropped to her knees in front of him - eyes wide and watchful. He needed warm food in his belly. Something to take his mind off of everything. At least that always seemed to make her feel a little better.

Eat, she signed in Pavi, then pretended to take a bite off an invisible spoon. Arundel rubbed her corseted stomach for emphasis, ignoring the quiet grumble that her innards replied. She would eat soon enough.

The Drykas knew that he needed a better explanation of what was going on, so her thoughts turned inward. She wracked her brain for the right words, trying to remember what little of his language she remembered. Her brother was fluent, and would have taught her, but she'd always thought the skill to be useless. How wrong she had been. But when in her wildest dreams could she have imagined herself in this situation? This was the closest she had been to him - she'd kept an angry distance until now. It gave her good opportunity to really look at him. His skin was dark - not pale like she always imagined Sylirans. The corded muscle was obvious under his dirty clothing - which would need replaced - and Arundel fought the urge to touch him.

Her hands fisted the linen skirts of her dress in her lap, and her eyes trailed up his broad shoulders, thick neck, to the sharp angle of his prickly jaw. That was acceptable, but she was sure he would look horrendous with a full beard. Most men did, in her opinion. At least after it got so long. His face she'd already come to the conclusion was handsome - almost devastatingly so. He was a pleasant thing to look at, but she shoved those thoughts away. The hair on his head was short - as short as the Drykas made slaves wear it. The thought made her balk and left a foul taste in her mouth. She would try to have him grow it out, even if only a little. Mostly because she wasn't sure how keen he would be toward that change toward his appearance.

Arundel realized too late that she'd been staring at him for a few solid chimes. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went aflame. Hurriedly, she shot to her feet and smoothed out her dress. "Wait here, and don't move," she ordered harshly in Pavi. Pointing to where his sister had been taken, she glared and shook her head, then pointed at the stool he sat on. "Stay," she mumbled in his wretchedly challenging language. Many words eluded her like an apparition. Without further comment she exited into her own sleeping quarters to quickly change her clothes. Her baby sister was playing inside, so Arundel was able to commission to child into loosening the stays on her corset. It would have been a pain in her ass to do so alone - and she didn't need more reason to get angry.

When she returned, she was bare footed in tan breeches and an untucked white shirt, with her long sleeves rolled up the elbows.

by **Aleixo** on October 4th, 2013, 3:19 pm

It was clear that the woman didn’t understand, though Aleixo was so distracted by worry for what was going on with Antia that it took him a few moments for that to register. So he had rushed through his plea, watching her face, wishing that he could transmit with his eyes all that lay in his heart, all the anxiety and frustration and anger (at himself) and…hope – for better things to come. When her own features concentrated into a look of incomprehension, Aleixo pulled back, both verbally, and even physically, his shoulders sagging a bit, his face falling into lines of disappointment. Did she understand him at all? Or was there just some reason that going on to be with his sister was not to be allowed at this point? He didn’t know, and he had no way to ask in her own language. Aleixo had watched the woman watching him, and then his own gaze had left her for a moment as he wondered about what lay in store for him in the very immediate future. Now they came back to her face, but she was looking away – only not towards the curtain beyond which his sister had been taken. He continued to stare at her – not meaning to be rude but so intent upon getting some sort of answer to his plea, even if she had not understood his words. But she moved away from him, away from the back of the open space and towards the embers that glowed in a fire pit. He didn’t know what her intentions were, but within the next moment, he saw. She reached for bowl and spoon and scooped up some of the contents of the kettle that hung near the coals, filling the wooden dish. Aleixo assumed right away that she meant to eat, and he took this for a bad sign. Whoever this young woman was, she was apparently set over him as some sort of guard, until whoever was to take charge of him should come to fetch him. She had no authority to allow him access to Antia, and she couldn’t very well have a friendly chat with him. So she was opting to pass the time in a way useful to herself, by filling her belly. Great. Wonderful. Aleixo’s eyes smoldered. Again, his ire wasn’t directed towards her individually. He was simply frustrated with the whole situation. He folded his thick forearms across his well muscled chest and huffed silently through his nostrils, considering his options, and the wisdom of various paths he could choose in the next few seconds.

He was caught off guard, then, when she turned back to him and signed one word in Pavi that he did know. Come. Of course, being held captive – even as well treated as they had been – simply being around the Drykas put in charge of those taken in raids had begun to instill some few simple words and accompanying gestures to their new ‘acquisitions.’ Come was a pretty elemental term, and one used over and over in the past weeks. Aleixo recognized it right away, and the word spoken in Common only confirmed her intent, at least as far as the fact that she wanted him to come closer. He still wasn’t sure at this point about what she intended to do. There was one bowl, one spoon. Did she have some task she thought she could somehow communicate to him to perform, while she ate? Did she just want to stow him somewhere further away from the temptation of his sister. His brow was knit in a frown as he tried to puzzle it out, and as he considered what would happen if he refused her… command? Or was it a request? His status was far from clear in his own mind. He’d come here by choice, but he was clearly not a citizen of this city. He had no idea if he had any rights, or liberties. He’d just been ‘sold,’ but it had been explained to him and the other captives that this was more an internal function of the community, to let those who wished to reap the benefit of filling in the holes in their families pay for the benefit that would bring them. So…his sister could not leave, but she was not technically…a slave? He wasn’t sure of that either. But his own denomination – visitor, new resident, slave – he really found this very confusing.

So when she motioned for him to ‘come’ he did hesitate, for a number of reasons. But within a second or two, he felt that, for Antia’s sake, he would be cooperative, for now. He was less concerned about his own skin, but of course he also realized that it wouldn’t take much for one of these riders to shove one of their fine swords or spears through his chest, either. And one thing had been made abundantly clear, when he and his sister had first encountered the raiding party. He would be allowed to come, by choice, for so long as he didn’t cause them any trouble! Any attempts to help his sister flee would garner him a swift reprisal, specifically in the form of a quick death. They had no time to fool around with a man who didn’t wish to go with them. Choose, they had said. And he had chosen. He was sure things hadn’t changed any as far as that all went.

He took the few steps necessary to bring him to her side, then, unsure what was to happen next. And what did happen had his eyebrows lifting in surprise again. She gestured for him to sit, on a low stool, and he did so, watching her every movement and shifting expression like a hawk, trying to read her mind, if he could not understand her words. Then, the next thing he knew, she was giving him the bowl! The contents almost spilled over onto his thighs, from the abrupt way she handed it to him, and he looked even more surprised, wondering furiously about her. Halfhair seemed…unhappy…to be his temporary guard. He could only conclude that she’d been assigned this task against her will, and that she’d been told to feed him – maybe in hopes to preoccupy his attention away from his sister until someone else could come fetch him for…whatever lay ahead. He settled the bowl in his lap, the smell of the stew it contained wafting up and tempting his pallet. He swallowed thickly, but pushed aside the small pang of hungry interest his stomach gave in response. His mind was much too full with other concerns to be willing to give any regard to his much more empty stomach.

He still had his eyes glued on the woman, though his ears were pricked for any signs of whatever was going on beyond that curtain behind them. Once again, she gestured a sign that he knew – eat – or maybe food. That differentiation was a bit hard to make. In any case, it was the sign their other ‘guards’ or caretakers had used when it was time to eat. Halfhair went further to mimic raising a spoon to her lips, and then rubbing her belly. Despite all this, Aleixo still did not dig right in, but continued instead to look at her. This time, as it seemed they might be forced to share company for a while – he took the time to really look at his ‘companion’ – to regard her closely, and take in what he was seeing. She had made this easier (unintentionally so, no doubt) by kneeling beside him (which he found still further suprising) and giving him the same sort of close scrutiny – an assessment of sorts – at least on his end. Aleixo was trying to gage somehow the caliber of the one who now seemed to have some say in what he did and where he went. Was she doing the same? Trying to take the measure of the man her family had just purchased? Judging whether they’d made a good bargain, or not? He didn’t hang his head in embarrassment or a sense of subservience or shame. He returned her stare measure for measure, and for the first time, he really saw her.

She was tall, for a woman. He’d already noted that, right off, even when he’d still been on the auction platform. Her hair was a shade of light brown – a hue that might easily catch the sun and shimmer with coopery light, or as easily turn to liquid chocolate in the shadows cast by a camp fire. Eyes as green as the new buds of spring looked out candidly from a face that he thought would be at most time open, and probably quite frank – though at the moment they held a deep curiosity, which was no doubt reflected in his own dark orbs. There were small lines about her eyes and lips that spoke of a serious mien to this woman, yet it seemed the type of face that could radiate warmth, should a reason pop up for her to smile. Already, from what little he’d seen of her, she seemed quite intense, and yet not one who could easily hide her feelings behind a mask. Her complexion was sun kissed and deeply tanned, her body built on long, lithe lines that belied what he could see were hard muscles underneath that smooth skin. The outfit that she wore emphasized the flowing curves of femininity, which of course drew his eye. She seemed a woman of seeming contradictions – a willowy build that concealed a core of strength – a stern, no-nonsense demeanor that he thought might easily fall away to be replaced by something much more passionate. Even in repose like this, knelt in such a quiet way, she seemed to contain a vitality that would only infrequently submit to the need for such restraint. In a word, she was possibly the most arresting woman that he’d seen in quite some time. She was not the most beautiful female he’d ever laid eyes on – but she was certainly eye-catching….or….striking. He was sure this one left an impact wherever she went – good, bad or otherwise.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, as he cradled the untouched stew in his lap and watched her looking at him, he knew that if the circumstances had been different, if he had met her in Syliras, before the world had turned on its ear for him and for his sister, that he would have noticed her. If he had caught a glimpse of her at the bazaar, or at a tavern, or in the crowded tunnel like streets, he would have noted her – she was that kind of woman. And as Aleixo was no shrinking violet when it came to women, he would have at least tried to speak to her, to get to know her, to find out more about her. Ironically, now here he was, with such a woman as this at his feet, literally, looking up at him with such a careful appraisal, yet he felt that he could not – or should not – be thinking of her in this way – not at all. She was a part of this pavilion, that now owned him. Call it what you will, they had paid coins for his body, and Antia’s. And the very last thing he wanted to do was screw up his sister’s chance to become part of a good home, a kind family. He wasn’t sure yet if this family was such a one, but they seemed concerned about her, and that was a good sign. As for himself, he’d need to behave and not cause waves, or risk being thrown out on his ear, or worse. And then of what possible use could he be to the sister that he’d created all this mess for? So, with an effort, he made his eyes fall away and forced them to look down, into the steaming bowl. Not out of a sense of degradation or submissiveness – far from it. He just needed to refocus on what was important here, and not let his thoughts wander too far into the ridiculous. For Antia’s sake. If the woman herself started and blushed and looked away, Aleixo missed it, for he wasn’t looking at her.

And in the next moment, he felt he’d already crossed some line, for Halfhair jumped up, and seemed to be annoyed. His eyes shot up to look at her, and she gave him what was, in no uncertain terms this time, a command. He understood this too. ”Wait…” He didn’t understand all of what she said, but he did know that much. Her voice held a hard edge to it and her eyes were hard as well, her face set in lines of…what? Anger? His mind leapt to a conclusion – she was offended by his own survey of her. He had stepped out of line. He was a slave, right? Despite those few moments of mutual silent inquiry, she was in charge. He shouldn’t have been that bold – that stupid! She didn’t have to, but she sealed the deal with that one mangled word in Common – ”Stay”. The type of command you would give a dog. Then she turned and strode away, just like that.

Aleixo felt a maelstrom of reactions to her behavior erupting inside his chest. To feel that first grain of attraction – even when he logically could tell himself it was pointless – and then have her treat him like an animal? It made him feel…indignant…and badly treated – though he knew, he knew rationally, that he could not expect to be treated like an equal, not here, and not under these circumstances. But logic and reason have nothing to do with emotion. He felt annoyed that she was annoyed. He hadn’t asked her to do anything for him, to pay him any attention. What had she expected of him? To hang his head like the dog she must think him to be, while she sized him up like some side of beef in the market place? His reaction had been a natural one – a human one – returning her curious stare with one of his own. But maybe she didn’t feel he was quite that – human. Maybe she only expected obedience and humility. It was confounding and confusing and unpleasant and humiliating. He didn’t know what was expected of him. He didn’t know their language. He couldn’t ask questions – he couldn’t understand answers. He didn’t even know who he was any more.

Fuming, like a child he petulantly set the bowl of stew down by his feet, feeling he would not eat what she had given him. He’d wait for someone else to take charge of him. Maybe it would be someone who spoke better Common – hopefully a man who wouldn’t gawp at him – and who he’d have no…unreasonable… thoughts about. Hopefully…

Aleixo’s head swung around as he heard the small cry. It was soft, and muffled by the curtains, but he instantly knew it. In a trice he was on his feet, and moving to be where he should be – with Antia. At that very moment, of course, his keeper reappeared, dressed like a man! Aleixo glared at her but made no indication that he was going to stop, and it was clear where he was heading.

by **Taylani** on November 10th, 2013, 3:49 am

Arundel

Skills :

Lores :

Notes :

Completed All in the Family (Aleixo)