[Pig's Foot Tavern] What Now? (Caela)

[Deltan Colari]

The young man's eyes widened slightly as he realized what he'd asked Caela to discuss right in the open. Her shake of the head was met with a rueful smile after Deltan carefully glanced around to ensure no one had paid them any mind. None had, thankfully. Deltan doubted he had enough power, magical and mundane, to dissuade some angry Sunberthan from whipping the crowd up into a froth. That had been a very, very foolish idea. Caela's amusement at Deltan's lack of etiquette did not go unnoticed. He gave her a vaguely vexed look, her lack of tact by not ignoring his slip enough to help him disregard his mistakes. At least she'd not commented on it. Deltan knew how to be polite, though he was very capable of unrepentant rudeness when the occasion demanded it. "Very nice to meet you, Deltan," the woman said in a tone that reminded him a little of Mirian's, "So to what do we owe the pleasure of a visit from the city of honor and order? I do wonder how you can be careless and end up here. Fall into the wrong cart?" Though Caela was teasing, Deltan's expression hardened slightly. She hadn't meant her purring tone as flirtatious, he suspected, but it still unsettled him. He forced it out of mind, not planning on rebuking her for anything that wasn't obvious. Still, it brought a bit of anger into his countenance before he could banish it. A quiet, fake laugh joined with Caela's before he said, "Yes. I didn't care where the caravan I was going with was bound for. My mistake." His words became more easy and natural as he forced himself not to think about her first words. Had she not been very businesslike about her handshake, rather than the lingering touch Deltan associated with more loose women, he might have had to struggle not to strike her. Not that he would; that would be extremely uncalled for. Deltan would just have had the temptation. Forget it! he commanded himself, exercising as much self-control as he could to try to make his mind obey him. The young man answered her question with a faint smirk after a moment, once he'd gotten himself under control. "It's order, like you said. The knights keep the peace. They're not perfect, but most of them won't run you through for a handful of mizas or kill your family for not keeping up with a debt." None of them would, so far as Deltan knew. Corruption could only go so far in Syliras, and no farther. Fortunately, by the time they were done talking they had arrived at the first brothel. It was a good distraction from the conversation. There were women who were unquestionably of ill repute, as well as a few men--or were they boys, when they looked like that?--who idled around as show pieces. Ruby's Scarlet Sanctum, Caela had said. The mention of working here turned Deltan's mouth downward. He sized the guard up, and the guard naturally took notice of him. It was unusual for him to be more interested in the guard than in the women, after all. The young man jerked a nod of mutual respect at him, again somehow seeming more Caela's bodyguard than a hapless tourist for a few moments. Deltan turned back to Caela and said, "So, why don't you like this place? Used to work here?" Deltan didn't use hypnotism at all; he wanted to see how far he could press the issue without magic. It didn't occur to him that he had asked if she had been a whore until after the words left his mouth. He fixed his most obliviously innocent expression on his face while he awaited an answer, fully expecting to be slapped if she took it the wrong way. He really did speak before he thought, sometimes.

[Caela Dorin]

.

The subject of magic was wisely abandoned, the man not choosing to bring it up again during their walk. Caela had no intentions of initiating that line of conversation again and so if he wanted answers - which she sincerely hoped he didn't - then he'd have to bring the topic up once more.

Even without his reactions to the subject of magic, there was still plenty about the man that was indecipherable. Reading him was something that the dancer found particularly difficult, his behaviour as alien to her as that of an ant crawling on the ground. He was unfathomable, catching her by surprise almost every time he opened his mouth. She could hope that he was having as much trouble trying to work her out but she wasn't going to flatter herself; she wasn't that complicated.

Yet again something she'd said seemed to have angered him although the emotion wasn't necessarily aimed at her. As before she had no idea what had caused it as she couldn't work out what in her speech could have provoked such a response. Was it her comment on his carelessness in arriving in Sunberth? He'd admitted to it himself jokingly so she presumed that that wasn't the cause. It was even more strange because he forced a laugh despite the rage she could see affecting his expression. He wasn't angry at her but was it something about her? Did she somehow remind him of someone who did anger him? There'd been so many mood swings on his end and they seemed so disconnected that she was having a hard time coming up with an explanation.

The rage in his countenance disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived, leaving the blonde as baffled as before. Feeling a little unbalanced by all of these changes in his personality, she thought it best to only nod along with his explanation. Better to be quiet rather than say something to switch his mood again, at least until she could determine what it was that she was saying wrong. The young woman was still interested in his explanation however and was able to read in between the lines of his speech. So the knights were as capable of immoral acts as the denizens of Sunberth. Not all of them perhaps but it seemed that there were some in their number who didn't do the job they should, some perhaps even disrupting the peace rather than keeping it. No doubt they were protective of the wrongdoers amongst their ranks, a few could affect the reputation of the many after all, and so it presumably left the people in the city in an uncertain position. There were bad knights but they couldn't know which ones. Villainy dressed up in the guise of honour. She preferred the Sunberth way, at least they were honest about it.

Deltan didn't react the way she thought he would once they reached the Sanctum but then what did she know about the man's behaviour? He gave the prostitutes no more than a cursory glance and seemed more interested in the man who guarded the merchandise rather than in the wares themselves. A jerked nod was directed in the guard's direction before his attention was turned back to the dancer. She assumed that he was in a business mindset rather than one of pleasure but she had still expected him to show at least some interest in the whores.

Well he hasn't shown any real interest in you either, at least not physically. Maybe women aren't his thing. There had been boys outside the brothel too so that didn't seem like great evidence to support her theory with. Maybe he doesn't like pretty boys. Maybe he likes his men to be a bit more masculine, she thought, uncertain even as she considered it. It could be that she was trying to read into it too much. Men could become very single minded about some things so maybe he was just too focused on assessing a possible workplace to be bothered.

His question made her head jerk in her direction, face painted with a mixture of horror and rage. "How dare you! How dare you even- You petching bastard!" she spat indignantly, fury beginning to win out over horror. "Why does everyone I meet in this petching city seem to think that I'm a petching whore? I'm not my petching mother, I'm not-" She screamed in frustration, gave him the filthiest look that she could muster and marched off in the direction of the remaining brothel. She'd point him at it and after that he could go to hai. The blonde wasn't going to allow herself to be insulted like that. Let the bastard find his own way around the city after that, she wasn't his gods damned mother so let him look after himself.
.

[Deltan Colari]

OOCEveryone thinks poor Deltan likes men! Well. That didn't go over well. As Caela began shrieking at him, the young man's shoulders jerked just a bit. By the time she was done and stalking away rapidly, Deltan already wished she'd just struck him instead. He could deal with that. It wouldn't hurt that much. Maybe even pull a knife on him. Things like that he had dealt with before. But this? Never. It was entirely outside of Deltan's experience. The young man stared at Caela's back for a few moments, processing what she'd just said. Minus the swearing, of course. He hadn't thought she was that good at swearing. It was rather impressive. Focus, Deltan. Her mother? Well, that would elicit her reaction. He'd clearly touched a nerve. Abruptly, Deltan noticed she was almost lost in the crowd. The young man darted forward, shoving a through a pair of women who were in his way as he weaved through the crowd. "Caela, wait!" he called, not daring to use hypnotism in his current state. He'd never overgiven before with his hypnotism, and he had no plans to. Before he could catch up, they'd be almost past the second brothel. Once he realized she was going to keep on walking, Deltan made to catch her by the shoulder. "Caela! Look, I'm sorry!" The young man would be careful; if she went for a knife, he'd let her go quite rapidly. Short of mortal danger, he'd try to stop her, trying to turn her to face him, though he'd settle for just getting her to stop. "I didn't mean to call you a whore, all right?" he said rapidly, trying to get the words out before she could scream at him again. Caela was the first person in this petching city who had shown even the slightest willingness to help him. He didn't want her thinking he'd repaid her with unkindness. "You're not. I know that. I'm sorry."

[Caela Dorin]

.

Deltan's voice carried, reaching her over the heads of the crowd that she pushed through but she didn't stop. If he wanted to come with her then he'd could run to do it. There was no way in hai that she was slowing down for that bastard. If he didn't catch up with her it wasn't even her problem. If he kept her in his sights then he'd be able to follow her to Brega's and she'd just keep right on walking.

The crowd didn't hold him up for long enough though and so he succeeded in catching up to her as she approached the brothel. He seemed more intent on stopping her though than sussing out his potential workplace. His hand grabbed at her shoulder, trying to drag her to a stop and turn her. The touch made her flinch as she tried to twist from his grasp. The Syliran seemed quite determined to stop her however and was quite the force to try to resist. So she stopped trying and let him turn her, shoving against his hand once she was facing him with sharp words on her tongue, "Get your petching hand off me before you lose it." Her hand went for the dagger sheathed at her right hip, the blade slid partly out of its holding. The dancer didn't know how he'd react but given his behaviour so far she assumed he wouldn't be willing to attack her. He was from Syliras, he had honour.

His apology was taken in in cool silence, the blonde's green orbs seeming to freeze within their sockets as she stared him down. Once he was finished, she raised an eyebrow and asked coldly, "Is that all you have to say?" None of the fury in her eyes entered her voice but he couldn't possibly miss it. He knew that he'd displeased her and it was clear that he hadn't wanted to. The blonde let him stew. If he wanted his apology to be accepted he could be kept waiting. Just because he hadn't meant it didn't mean that it hadn't hurt. There were plenty of people who suspected that she was a whore, there was nothing new in that but it was never something that they said. They assumed that it was true, looked at her a certain way and when they did it she knew. Mal had often called her one. He'd known that it wasn't true but he'd said it to tar her with the same brush as her mother, to hurt her. At least he had known that it wasn't true. Deltan on the other hand knew nothing about her and had said it in such an offhanded way that he couldn't have hurt her more if he'd tried.

The rage cooled slowly, leaving her eyes to betray the hurt that he'd inflicted. Her head cocked to the side slightly. "If you didn't mean it then why did you say it?" she asked softly before stepping back from him and walking the remaining distance to Brega's. Her pace was slower than before, signifying that she wasn't going to run away and leave him, and waved a hand in the whorehouse's direction. "Brega's House of Happy Endings. So now you've seen them both, are you happy? Would you like to ask me if I worked here as well? You don't have to mean it of course, you can just say it. It's not like it matters or anything. It's not like I have feelings." Somehow she managed to keep her voice level, allowing the sarcasm to ring through without bitterness. He probably would have preferred if she'd screamed it at him.
.

[Deltan Colari]

"Get your petching hand off me before you lose it," Caela said, gripping the dagger she wore sheathed at her hip. The young man immediately released his quarry, ready to leap away if she tried to hurt him. He wanted her forgiveness, but if she took it into her mind to stab him, he'd decide forgiveness wasn't worth getting killed for. The young woman seemed disinclined to actually hurt him, though Deltan wasn't at all sure about that. She certainly was angry enough. And he'd hate to hurt her if he had to stop her; Flux could give him the edge he needed to disarm her, though it would risk breaking bones in either or both of their arms. Deltan was taken aback by Caela's response to his apology. He hadn't expected warm acceptance, of course, but...She seemed hateful, glaring at him that way. He shifted a bit, one hand rubbing at the back of his neck. When asked what else he had to say, the young man gave a sudden smile and replied, "What else can I say to make you forget I spoke like a careless fool?" Along with those words was a suggestion of good humor that would nudge at Caela's anger. It wasn't much, but it was worth a shot. If it worked, Deltan would count the sudden pain flaring in his throat a small loss. He knew better than to work magic while distracted... Deltan had briefly considered placing a hand on Caela's shoulder, but he rather liked his hand. No need to tempt her to take a few fingers in repayment for his careless words. He kept quiet as Caela walked over to Brega's, his mind entirely on her rather than on the place she was showing him. "Caela..." he said after taking in a breath once she'd gotten the rest of it off her chest. "I wasn't thinking. I know you have feelings... Look, I've had bad luck with women as of late." Well, it was true in a certain sense. "I didn't think you were... that you worked here. You don't act like it." The young man put on a smile, ignoring the pain in his throat that made him want to wince every time he opened his mouth. "Can't we pretend it never happened?" With that, the young man gestured onward--it didn't much matter where, as long as it was away from a place that apparently upset Caela. "Why don't you show me around the city some more, and we can get to know each other, so I don't make a mistake like that again?" Clearing his throat, he turned briskly to the side and proffered his arm to Caela in a gentlemanly sort of way. Well, what he'd seen gentlemen do before. Perhaps treating her like a lady would dismiss the idea that he considered her a woman of the night. With his other hand, he coughed softly into his sleeve. Deltan kept that hand out of sight for the moment, knowing there would be blood on the sleeve. Just a little, he thought. He hadn't gone too far with his magic... Just a bit past his limit. No more magic for now, though. "What do you say, M'lady?" He asked, trying to lighten the mood with a playful smile.

[Caela Dorin]

.

She continued to stare daggers at him but her expression softened gradually as he talked. There was just something about him that that made it hard for her to be mad at him. It was connected to his smiles, she thought. Boyish charm? Maybe. He did look fairly young, perhaps his late teens. A boy trying to be a man. Yes that was certainly the impression that she got from him. He'd ended up in Sunberth through carelessness, probably intent on making his mark on the world. He'd already been robbed, he didn't seem completely comfortable with women and there was a fair chance that he was still pretty naive. Not as naive as when he'd arrived but probably still so.

The young woman sighed. No, there was no way to remain angry with him. He was just a boy regardless of age. Juvenile. She'd dealt with juvenile boys before and having been taken down a peg or two was probably enough to make him behave. He was making a supreme effort to try to earn her forgiveness. He was a stranger in the city and Caela was the only ally that he'd found thus far; he couldn't lose her. By the sounds of it, it might well have been a woman who had robbed him but she didn't know for sure. If he'd had a sword of some sort then it was a possibility that a woman had gotten it off him. Female thieves could work in different ways to their male counterparts. She knew that some of them lured their marks to bed, an act that the dancer knew made them little more than whores. If a pretty woman came onto him, a youth like him, then it was a very real possibility. He probably had had a weapon if his earlier bristling was anything to go by but she wouldn't pry, curious as she was.

He offered his arm to her, suggesting that she continue to show him around. She'd stopped glaring at him now but her eyebrows arched as she regarded his arm and considered his invitation. Was he actually flirting with her or was he too innocent to even consider how his words could be construed? The blonde could play along if she wanted to give him the wrong idea. At the same time it could provide her with some amusement. He'd been insensitive before and hurt her feelings so why not play with his? It wasn't like she couldn't do it.

Her lips stretched in a slow smile, the blonde stepping to his side to take the offered arm. One arm linked with his, the hand of the other softly patting the limb. "As long as you think before you speak in future, I think I might just be able to show you a bit more of the place." Her voice was soft, the young woman leaning closer to him so that he could hear. She tried to act as if she hadn't noticed that she was close enough for him to feel her breath at his ear. She drew back a little to allow him some space, leaving her second hand resting lightly on his arm. "I don't know where it might be nice to bring you so I think we'll just go for a walk, what do you think?"

A gentle tug was given, the young woman intending to steer her companion further into the city.
.

[Deltan Colari]

Deltan suppressed a sigh of relief as Caela seemed to warm to him again. That was good; he'd half expected her to simply walk off. That was no way to ensure future good will. Besides, it was good to know that Caela was the temperamental sort. He'd need to watch what he said around this one, to be sure. If he kept slipping like that, she'd probably leave in a huff and avoid helping him in the future. Besides, she seemed nice enough...If a bit dry and sarcastic. The young woman watched him, eyebrows raised, for a few moments after he offered her an arm, and he thought quickly of how to fix it if he'd committed a faux pas. Perhaps it was an insult? Knowing his luck, escorting a lady by the arm meant she was a whore in this part of the world. Fortunately, it appeared his luck was holding for once. Caela slid her arm through his, lightly patting it with her free hand. "As long as you think before you speak in future, I think I might just be able to show you a bit more of the place." The young woman sounded uncomfortably like Mirian there, with her soft tones and the decidedly too-pleasant way she leaned in to talk to him. The young man took in a breath, uncomfortable and having to force down his anger. He kept his temper in check, though, and carefully kept his face forward without making eye contact. He wouldn't let her see the fury that her bearing inspired in him, though he made a resolution; if she started seeming too forward, he'd walk away. Mirian was the last one he'd make that fool mistake with. As Deltan was lead off through the city, he seemed a bit stiff for the first couple of minutes. After that, he returned to looking about, seeming entirely calm as he looked between Caela and the rest of the city, occasionally asking about establishments they passed or eying threatening-looking individuals. All the while, of course, he was quite aware that Caela was on his arm. To him, it was a polite gesture of respect and friendship. He tried his best to ensure Caela thought of it that way, too, though...he was admittedly a bit young to know how to make that clear.

[Caela Dorin]

.

The man wouldn't meet her eye as they began to walk and his arm that she had a hold of was kept rigid, a state that seemed to carry to the rest of his body as well. That was certainly a bad sign and she knew it. Had she acted wrongly? Perhaps she'd made him angry again, she hadn't worked out how she was setting it off all the time after all, but she couldn't tell with his eyes so carefully averted from her own. There was no desire for conversation now, no looking about him. Deltan was definitely giving her the cold shoulder. She decided not to push him. Better to let him to come back around to her in his own time rather than forcing a reconciliation.

Sure enough the man began to question her on different places. Some of his questions made her snort but she made sure to let him know that she wasn't actually laughing at him. Just because he'd offended her didn't mean that she wanted to cause offence to the Syliran in return. He was still a bit naive by her standards but if he could settle in here and decided to stay then he might prove a useful ally. The dancer had no idea where he might end up and so while she'd been more than willing to play around with his feelings a bit before, his reaction had made her think better of it. He could be useful to her in the future assuming that he didn't choose to return to Syliras and go somewhere else. Considering the highly structured and lawful environment that he'd come from, Caela couldn't exactly blame him if he chose to get out of here as soon as he had the coin.

The Slag Heap Fire was something that she felt that he had to see up close. It wasn't much of a fire but it was certainly a good sized heap of shyke that had been dumped there over the years. After her mother had died, they'd suggested chucking her body on it but Caela had refused. While it was a good place to hang out, especially in Winter when it got colder, it was not the way that she wanted her mother's body to be dealt with. The fire in her opinion was reserved for all of the useless things in the city to go and she wasn't going to count her mother among that number, even if she had been somewhat useless to the blonde. Shaking the morbid thoughts from her head, she forced a smile as they approached the smouldering pile.

He would have no doubt seen the smoke long before they approached it but she'd be interested to see what he made of the source. It stank of course, more than the city in general, but it was still an impressive sight. It was a great place to the denizens of Sunberth although outsiders weren't always so enamoured by it. She glanced up at Deltan as she waved in the Heap's direction. "This is the Slag Heap Fire. It's been burning forever... well, not forever but for a long time. Don't ask me how long but it's been burning. I don't know anyone who remembers it not being on fire and they hadn't known anybody who remembered it being any different either," the dancer explained. "People come here to play dice and drink and stuff," she waved in the direction of the clumsy tables, "and sometimes people burn things on it too. Not too many people do that though. It's a bit too hot to walk right up to it just to dump something but there are some who are willing to do it." She shrugged.

She watched the man's face to see what he made of what was really a hazard if you were bothered to look at it that way. It was doubtful that he'd seen anything like it before. It was probably only in a place like Sunberth that such a burning mess could possibly be found, a symbol of the disorder that ruled in the city. Far too disordered to be found in Syliras certainly. "So what do you make of our little fire, Deltan?" she laughed.
.

[Deltan Colari]

As they made their way through the city, Deltan found himself growing slowly more relaxed. Caela seemed to be acting quite ladylike, which put Deltan at his ease. He rather liked her, truth be told. She seemed a nice sort, if a bit prickly. At least she knew when to leave well enough alone. As for himself, the young man did his best to keep Caela entertained conversationally and to make up for making her so angry before. Soon, he saw a pillar of smoke rising into the air. He'd glimpsed it a few times before, but he'd never been going in that direction. Apparently, they were moving directly toward it. The young man paid less attention to their surroundings and more to the smoke as they approached. He didn't ask, though; he would if they passed by without seeing whatever it was these people kept burning for days at a stretch. He smelled it before he saw it. It reeked of...something sulfuric and acrid. He wrinkled his nose in a grimace when it finally came into view. A massive pile of...something, burning. Heat came off it in waves as powerful as the stench, burning more powerfully than the flames led one to believe. He made a conscious effort to breathe through his mouth as he listened to Caela. She seemed almost to be unbothered by the vile heap of fire. No, that wasn't it. She was proud of it! The young man seemed disgusted, but also somewhat intrigued. He did think of the hazard, but he supposed that, after all those years, it was hardly a risk if you didn't live too close to it. After a minute or so, he answered her question with another question. "Why do you people keep that thing here?" he asked incredulously. "It smells terrible." Deltan smiled a bit for Caela's sake, so she'd know he didn't mean it against her city. This place really was nothing like Syliras. So disordered and unsettlingly dangerous. One wrong step meant death, here. He supposed he could be stabbed in the back right then and nothing would happen. Even Caela could suffer that fate, Deltan guessed. Looking at Caela, Deltan studied her features for a moment, searching for clues as to why she wanted to show him the Slap Heap. Eventually, he glanced back at the Heap, and said, "I don't think you'd survive in Syliras. I bet all the order would make you choke." There was the ghost of a smirk on his lips, and Deltan's eyes shimmered playfully in the light cast from the fire. It was true; no one in this city could stomach law. Even Caela, who seemed as close to an upstanding citizen as existed in Sunberth, would likely be miserable there. As miserable as he was in Sunberth, at any rate. That thought reminded him: he had to find a job, and a place to spend the night without a Miza to his name. The young man sighed, and moved to extricate himself from Caela, smiling at her. "Thank you for showing me around the city, Caela. We should meet again sometime. I owe you one." While most of it was said warmly, that last was dead serious. He'd help her, if he could. When he could, of course. Right then, he was as helpless as a babe. Well, almost.

[Caela Dorin]

.

The dancer repressed a snigger at the expression on the man's face. He looked truly disgusted, the smell getting at him if the slight wrinkling of his nose was anything to go by. It did smell bad of course, there was no denying that but she still found it funny. The incredulity of his voice brought a smile to her face, a smile that broadened as he voiced his opinion of the smell aloud.

You didn't have to tell me that, Deltan. I can tell the stink is getting to you.

"Why do we keep it? Why do you think? Who do you think is going to move a two hundred foot high pile of shyke that's on fire? Where would we put it? How would we put it out? It rains here, it snows and yet it doesn't go out. So what way would we deal with it?" she laughed, shaking her head from side to side. "We don't care that it's there, even if it does stink. It's just part of the scenery, I guess. Guess you don't have anything like this in Syliras, huh?" Her eyebrows wiggled up and down for a moment before she laughed, meeting his gaze.

He studied her face for a few moments. Caela watched his eyes shifting over her features and wondered what he was looking for exactly. It wasn't a lust filled stare or anything he was just examining her. Slight colour rising in her cheeks she wondered why. He didn't keep it up though, his eyes going back to the Slag Heap. Her eyes moved from the fire to him and back again. There was no way of knowing what was going through his head as much as she tried so she sighed and fixed her eyes on the smouldering heap instead.

His comment elicited a light laugh. "Oh I know that Syliras would choke me. I'd go mad if I had rules to follow. I get pissed off that I have to go to work everyday so how do you think I'd deal with everything going on in Syliras. I wouldn't. Doubt that I'd manage anywhere outside Sunberth, not even Zeltiva." A quick glance was shot his way, a wary one to see if he'd picked up on her little slip. The blonde had made Zeltiva stick out from the rest of Sylira. Sure, she had a connection to that city but Deltan didn't know that and he didn't need to know either. Her gaze returned to the fire, trying to keep her face calm so that he wouldn't ask her about Zeltiva specifically. There was nothing harmful that could come from divulging her link to it but that didn't mean that she wanted to give anything up so freely.

He made a move to take his arm from both of hers and she released him, not wanting to hold him against his will although she was surprised by this change in attitude towards her. This escorting her around like a lady thing had been his idea after all. The dancer answered his smile quizzically, her eyes no doubt reflecting her feeling of puzzlement as well. "So keen to leave me, eh? And here I was thinking that you were enjoying my company," the young woman joked. "I'll hold you to that. Owing me one, I mean. I'll be sure to come seeking that favour at some stage in the future so be warned. I don't know where to find you though. Where are you staying or is it a big secret?" She cocked her head to the side, blonde hair sweeping across her face. She tossed it back, the strands coming to hand mostly over one shoulder instead.
.