A Slave, A Snake... And a Dumpling [Blossoming Blossoms]

by **Lilou** on January 7th, 2014, 2:06 pm

Lilou had been entertaining herself with the coin and its lights when Mamoru turned to her again. She started, pocketing the gift in a moment, and hopped up. He didn't want anything important, it seemed, but she frowned a little at his question. Big people didn't normally talk, or ask questions. They just ordered. Shayna wasn't a 'big person' in her mind, as slaves never were... so Shayna talked. But Mamoru?

She frowned a little, worried, before speaking. "She's nice. She likes flowers and things... she doesn't normally leave, but today she did... today she's come and gong a lot. The other people say she normally stays with the flowers, but that I'm here now, so..." She shut her mouth with a 'snap'. She'd answered the question, and almost started to babble again. Opal hadn't like it when she babbled, a lot of people didn't like it when she talked period. Mamoru had asked though... he seemed to want to talk, but she was unsure...

by **Shayna** on January 7th, 2014, 4:19 pm

Shayna, of course, let herself be bundled up under his arm though she cautiously looked around the room. It was not that she minded the little affections he afforded her, quite the opposite. They made her feel safe and wanted, which was novelty for her, but it didn't discount the wagging tongue and the damage it can do. Slave mistresses were kept quiet mostly, more so if the freeborn or Dynasty was married, mostly she thinks it is so that there is less political weaknesses for slaves are often considered reflections of their masters.

His whispered words perplexed her a little, though she tried to keep her face smooth. Treachery from a slave, even so much as teaching another slave to hide things from her owner, Shayna wasn't sure if there was a Kenashern law against it but it certainly seemed like there should be. However she gave him a smile a deep breath, and a "Of course M'Lord." Before looking back at the child slave even as he murmured something that at first she had to decipher in her mind. So out of no where did it come, but also because she had never thought about things such as her desires, and the way he said the words made her think he wasn't meaning something she simply wanted him to purchase. Her own green eyes rose to meet his briefly before she looked away, having been given something else to mull over.

She looked around the shop, casting her gaze until she found something that might work. Moving away from Mamoru, Shayna slips over to a table that had a strip of cloth, a small thing that Shayna guessed was used to wrap around the stems of bouquets to keep them moist longer. She grabbed one of them, and moved back to the child. By this time she had answered Mamoru, so Shayna moved closer to kneel on the floor beside Lilou. "You know that coin, it is something that others might want to take from you. So you need to keep it hidden." Shayna speaks slowly, her tongue slipping out to wet her lips as she looked up at her master before back to Lilou. "However if you make it not look so tempting then they will leave it be. You have all the makings to do that right here."

Shayna leaned behind the child and scooped a little of the soil from one of the planters. Not a whole lot, just enough to fill the palm of her small hand. It was moist enough to cling but not so moist that it drippped. "If you cover your coin with soil, then wrap it in that cloth to protect your clothing, even if it falls out while you work then no one will even look twice at a dirty cloth a slave has." She looked up at Mamoru, wondering if her spur of the moment 'fix' would please him, or if it was obviously flawed in some way her mind did not see yet.

by **Kalesserimamoru** on January 7th, 2014, 5:10 pm

Little Lilou was more talkative now and he did learn something. This woman, Elanai didn't leave her shop often, and from what he saw there weren't many others round the place. The girl said she liked flowers, though that part was obvious. But he wondered, if her attention to the shop was so important to her that she didn't trust others to handle it for her...or if she didn't have the hands to do it for her. It didn't make much difference, but it would explain why only a tiny girl was there to tend to things her very young mind was still learning to process.

"Did..something happen today? Recently? Something must be to keep her away for so long. Hmm?" He didn't expect much of an answer, and in truth her reason could be delivers, or some form of catering. But if there was a chance that little Lilou might spill something interesting he wanted to hear it. "This city seems to be..bright. Does she sell a lot of flowers? To..families? Freeborns?"

Shyna looked at home in the shop, two little gardeners chatting about. He had thought a few times about getting his own garden. Not just to give his pet something else to do, but flowers seemed to make a place brighter and less threatening. There was already a rumor about the cottage that it was haunted and if they saw fresh flowers growing around it, they might dispel that myth. However, he wasn't all that sure that he wanted that. Mamoru preferred his privacy and he didn't want to encourage others to snoop around his home.

Watching her with the tiny girl was interesting, and her idea for hiding the coin was smart. He doubted the tiny girl had access to much else, but dirt she had plenty of all around her. Mamoru nodded his approval of her quick thinking and stood by while they continued to wait.

by **Lilou** on January 7th, 2014, 10:21 pm

Mamoru asked even more questions - not complaining about her talking - and Lilou mused. "I dunno why she's out a lot today. She didn't say. But she does sell a lot of flowers! Lots and lots of flowers. Big ones little ones... she makes wreaths too!" Again she stopped abruptly, worried that she was getting off topic. She wasn't as comfortable with this man as she was with Shayna, or even Elanai... but it was getting close. She knew Shayna would never tell her to stop talking, at least.

Then Shayna came up, explaining something about hiding the coin. Cover it with dirt and wrap it with a cloth. She frowned, but nodded. But that would make the coin shine less, wouldn't it? It wouldn't be as shiny or pretty or sparkly... she frowned at the thought. But she could always clean it off when no one was looking, spin it, and cover it with dirt again. There was always dirt. She nodded and wrapped the coin in the cloth she was given, tying it tight at the top. She carefully slipped it back into the small pocket, watching Shayna carefully. She still wasn't so sure about it... what if Elanai found it?

As if thinking of the woman made her appear (not that they hadn't been talking about Elanai) the tall, well dressed freeborn pushed through the doorway, a large basket in arms. "Oh, hello!" she greeted the two customers with a smile. Lilou held a pleased expression, having forgotten about the coin entirely. Elanai was back! "How may I help you... or has Lilou already been doing that?" She spotted the lily bouquet and nodded. "Nice choice. I'm assuming you're buying that?" The woman strode around, checking on a few flowers before adjusting herself to stand before the younger girl.

If either Mamoru or Shayna confirmed the statement, she would nod and smile. "Well, it's 5 silver mizas... is there anything else you want? Another bouquet, or a single flower?"

by **Shayna** on January 7th, 2014, 11:00 pm

Shayna smiled as the little girl did as she was told with the coin. The smile was a little that the child might be able to keep the generous gift her master and given Lilou, but largely it was due to the approval of Mamoru. His approval was important to the slave, so she stood and gathered the flowers in her hand that they were intending on buying to stand next to him just as the owner of the shop slipped in.

Immediately Shayna became the Shayna he had met when he purchased her from the auction house. Her eyes set forward, not looking directly at Elanai but neither were they sliding away. Her attention was on her surroundings but she was using her peripheral vision more then direct vision to observe. This was a business transaction, she might be holding the items that were to be bought but it was her master that was expected to do that.

She didn't know this Elanai, and hadn't heard any sort of gossip other then what Lilou herself told her. She liked flowers, hot bread, and was nice. Not a lot to go on but it was enough for Shayna to assume she kept much of her self away from Lilou, probably because children were notoriously bad at keeping things private, and were often jumbled in their thought processes. Or it could be something more sinister, but Shayna couldn't know that until she observed her more.

by **Kalesserimamoru** on January 7th, 2014, 11:45 pm

Mamoru turned towards the door when the tall woman walked in. He looked her over and noticed that this woman was a freeborn going by the brand that she had. "Hello, you must be Elanai? Name's Mamoru, it's a pleasure." He smiled to the woman trying to make a good impression. He gaze lowered to Lilou and he winked to the girl, her secret was safe with him.

Shayna returned with the flowers, and he waved her to step closer so that the woman could see exactly what was picked and give him the right price for it. "I think that will be all for now. But I may return here in the future." He glanced to Lilou and Shayna again, his way of saying he may bring her back to see her friend again. He reached into his pocket and placed the five silvers into the woman's hand gently. "You have a nice shop here, I hope that Kenash takes full advantage of these gifts."

It seemed like a good idea to make nice with the woman, and with Lilou in his corner now, she might whisper a few nice things about him to her mistress. Assuming the woman even listened to the child. Mamoru turned his gaze to Shayna in thought, he didn't know if she liked flowers or not. She had been a gardener, and good at it as she had said before, but that was her job. "I suppose that is it, does the cottage need any flowers Shayna? I suppose could could use a bit of living up."

by **Lilou** on January 9th, 2014, 3:11 am

Elanai smiled at Mamoru's greeting, whilst Lilou seriously considered edging away. She didn't like deals too much, and she really just wanted to get back to her flowers. Well, Elanai's flowers. But they were her flowers too. She backed up a step as the woman spoke, hoping to slip just behind that bush... "Yes, I'm Elanai. It's nice to meet you," the older gardener said with a smile, hands clasped politely before her.

She took the offered coins with a nod, before looking at Shayna when the attention turned to the slave. Lilou, on the other hand, had succeeded in her tactical retreat and had found a bush to hide behind. The flowers on it were big and quite scented, meaning she could enjoy their beauty while pretending not to be there. She wondered if she should poke around to pick up Elanai's basket... and decided against it. Too risky, in her opinion. People might try to talk to her, and she'd lost all courage for that. It had been fun... but with Elanai around, everything felt more official. Elanai was nice though...

by **Shayna** on January 9th, 2014, 3:59 am

Shayna was taking in the behavior of the child slave. She was shrinking rather then growing more confident with her owner present. Of course Shayna herself was far more subdued when there were strange freeborn or Dynasty but one's owner should be familiar and easy. Perhaps it was the coin, Shayna herself almost felt sorry for Lilou, it might be guilt. She knew if someone had tried to get her to hide something purposefully from her master, if she somehow was talked into it she doubted she would be able to handle the guilt. Slaves were a different breed of people, especially those who never knew another way of life.

She was surprised when she was addressed and for a moment her mind blanked before she realized what he was asking. "Oh." She said dumbly, trying to think. She was a gardener not a florist, which she knew some flowers she was more about the vegetables and herbs.. and sometimes they had pretty flowers on them but flowers as just decoration was not really her specialty. "I think your home is nice enough M'Lord. Flowers die." She didn't add that if he really wanted flowers he should buy a pot, dirt and seed and let her grow them. Then they wouldn't die in just a few days.

by **Kalesserimamoru** on January 9th, 2014, 2:57 pm

Mamoru watched the scene with mild amusement, slaves were odd, but then he found people to be odd either way. It was interesting to see how much fear played a part in kenash. It had also played a huge part of life inside the nest. Fear of Myrians, fear of angering the queens or just women in general.

He looked upon Elanai, the woman who owned the shop. She was kind enough it seemed, but it looked like she wasn't that close with tiny Lilou. Whenever he entered a room, Shayna always moved towards him, the girl didn't shy away and hide as this one did. It was curious, and he wondered what happened behind closed doors to cause the child to behave so.

However, it wasn't his concern and he wasn't in kenash to free slaves, or start some form of rebellion to get them better care. He looked to his pet as she complimented his home and for him the sell was complete. "Good, That is all I will need in that case." He waved for Shayna to collect the flowers, and whatever wrapping that was needed to keep them fresh until they reached the party. "It's been a pleasure." he smiled to the woman and turned to leave the shop.

OOC1 gm to Lilou
flowers for 5 silver

by **Poppy** on January 19th, 2014, 7:01 pm

...because you've EARNED it!

Shayna :

Mamoru :

Lilou :

Notes: Fun little thread, with a neat variety of skills. Thanks for the read!

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