Stone and water [Graded]

[Iris]

35th of fall


Iris was on her knees scrubbing the grit off the stone floor with all her might, her dark grey Lontev streaked with dirt. Her stomach roiled, the last day she had missed one of the two daily meals Deks were allowed. Not only her garment was streaked with dirt but her thin arms and pale legs.
She bent extremely low trying to see in vain better with her week albino eyes. She was in the middle of a corridor, still half to go, she bit her lip a bead of blood forming. Iris bit her lip a lot out of habit and worry.

With the prospect of feeding time with increased vigour she ploughed on until she was ¾ of the way, then she allowed herself to breath again. She turned, sitting down surveying the wet patches on the slowly drying floor, her hands raw her knees aching. Luckily no one had interrupted disturbed or given her other tasks while she was cleaning, she was grateful for that. She fingered the wet rag she had been using and sighed, a hand slipping slighlty on the wet floor.
Being a dek couldn’t be described exactly as hard but as life, energy, health and mind consuming. She knew she had to finish before feeding time but she just refused to go back to work, she needed a rest. She cursed inside her head as she shifted and started on a new section of floor reluctantly, she coudnt allow herself to think that she needed a break, it was not her place and not her duty or privilege.

[Sairque]

Thankfully, the boots scuffling quietly on the newly scrubbed floor were clean as a short Endal with a no-nonsense bearing made her way along the hallway toward the albino. A mouth watering aroma accompanied her, in one hand she had a late plum and in the other a fresh roll, complete with steamy goodness. Her blood red locks were tied in a plethora of small braids, beads adorning the ends of some, and a few of the little ropes falling into her face.

The boots stopped right next to the crouching form, and when the Dek looked up she would find the austere woman regarding her patiently, bites slowly intermittent between the plum and the soft roll. A pair of white bryda with green embroidery matched the green vinati top that displayed generous amounts of her upper body. An upper body that was muscular just like most torsos in Wind Reach. The juice of the plumb sprayed thinly out, bathing the air around them in the scent of sweet delight during a new bite through the dark skin.

Only after she was done chewing and had swallowed did she break the good news, she had a task that would ameliorate the poor drudge's day!

"Come," the flight leader suggested in a tone that left the severity of the order ambiguous. Turning smartly on one heel, she led the way through the corridors. "Leave it," was her next order, her pleasant voice carrying down the hall with a smile in it, and knowing that the albino woman would agonize over what to do with the cleaning supplies she had been using. The mouth watering scent of the roll overpowered that of the plum and lingered in long tendrils along the path the Endal took.

OOCI was waiting for some other people to hop in here 'cause I don't want to snag all the threads, but since there have been no takers thus far...

[Aidara]

The slap of sandals bounced around the stone walls of the twin's common room. Addy paced around the circular living space she shared with her sister, waiting for said sibling to return from the kitchens with her food. Perhaps this was a mistake, it was taking far too long. Did she forget Addy was waiting? The pacing continued, her shoes slapping loudly against the stone. It wasn't until Catabasis squawked from his aerie that the woman realized how much noise she was making. "If your precious girl would come back faster, you could be sleeping! TELL HER TO HURRY! And that I'm going to go meet her in the halls!" Lacking the proper respect one should have for an Endal's eagle, Addy shouted the instructions at the bird as she left their abode. Living with the creature had robbed her of all said respect for him. He was a spoiled brat. Strutting along the corridors, Addy touched lightly upon where she kept Sai in her mind, and headed in that direction. It was like a built in compass, which was very handy. However, Sai would regret such a connection if Addy found her without any food to share. A hand went to the healers stomach as a particularly loud growl erupted from within.

[Iris]

Iris’s stomach clenched as a tantalizing odour wafted past, it gnawed at her as she looked up to see an imposing figure biting into a dark, luscious, plump plum. A sigh escaped her lips as she was ordered to follow the Endal. She squinted slightly as the figure walked away torn by doubt, what would she do with the cleaning utensils, she scrambled to her feet, wiping her hands on her dark grey shift. It was goodbye meal for her that was for sure, Iris bit her lip as she groped for sponge and makeshift bucket and ran after the woman who needed her precious help.

She hurried to keep up the tantalizing mouth-watering, stomach churning odour guiding her fumbling footsteps. She could only wonder what was in stall for her.
She came level with the Eagle Rider her white hair obscuring her reddish eyes, she asked softly “What do I need to do?”

[Sairque]

Too far away to get the surge of displeasure Aidara was feeling, Sai continued striding down the hall way toward the kitchens. Personally, her stomach hadn't been about to wait for a return to the aerie with their meal, so she had got herself a snack to keep grumpiness at bay while searching for a likely Dek. 'Lo and behold, there was the wash woman, sticking out like a sore thumb in the richly colored corridor.

"What do I need to do?" she asked upon falling into step with the Endal.

Sai glanced over, an eyebrow jumping. "Follow me, like I said."

Immediately after that, the message from her impatient sister was relayed to her by Catabasis. Certainly not because he had been ordered to deliver it but because he rather liked his rider and didn't want sibling-cide on his hands. Incoming. Next to the albino Drudge, the flight leader stopped suddenly and looked around. What was heading her way? That's when she felt it. The bond with her sister momentarily tightened, which always meant that the healer was trying to use it to find her. Indeed, when Sairque felt back along the connection the little blip that was her sister was moving around too much to be in the confines of their home.

With no explanation offered to the woman beside her, their stroll was recommenced. The roll was completely gone at this point, and as they rounded a corner the plum was finished as well. But the Drudge would get something for her troubles, Sai reached out and handed her the seed. "Here. What's your name?"

The blip that was Addy was still so far away that her bearing was undecipherable, but the dredge would probably know just where she was being lead. The communal kitchens. Hey, Addy needed a drudge and Sai needed someone to carry Addy's breakfast. It worked out perfectly.

[Aidara]

The faint point of yellow light in her mind that represented her sister was growing dimmer. Picking up the pace, Aidara marched down the various corridors that wound through Wind Reach, acting more like an Endal than she had any right to do. Fellow Avora and Dek's alike all stepped aside, brows raised at the tiny, striding woman. Her hair was tucked into a messy bun on the top of her head today, decorated with various strings of beads, all of which clacked and clattered as she walked, drawing all the more attention to her. Not that she minded, or anything. "Seen the Flight Leader come through here? No, not him, the snarky one with yellow eyes." Hunger rumbled deep in her stomach, shaking her grasp on the little dot of light she used to pinpoint her sister. A flicker..and it was gone. No worries, there were other ways to find her sister. Sai tended to leave an impression on people when she passed by- and not in a positive sense. The Dek whom Addy had pinned down with her green eyes, gaze hard with hunger, quailed despite being roughly six inches taller. "Uh...Yeah, I uh...saw her go that way, with uh..white hair..." And as he realized his words were failing him, he began backing up. Stone wall eventually met his back and it wasn't until then he decided to turn and run. The twins had the "Good Cop" "Bad Cop" routine down pat, and although Addy did the coddling, she did have some fire and spunk. A small smile cracked through the brick wall of hunger around the healer, lightening her face just a bit. Strides were still heavy, boots clicking an accelerated staccato the closer Addy came to the kitchen. Maybe she could head her sister off, to see if she had actually done as asked, instead of whatever her little butt wanted.

[Damal]

Stalking wasn't the correct word for what Dama was doing. It was more simply following. Strange what Damal was doing but stalking it was not.
Every day since his arrival in Wind reach he went to the cafeteria to watch Drudges eat. He'd casually chat and try to help the ones who had bruises and cuts and needed sleep the best he could. A albino was something hard not to notice specially surrounded by red hair. He had noticed the girl had missed yesterday's meal.

So for today Damal had decided he'd folllow her around and let her do her tasks and not bother her but he would step in when someone came to give her a task. Now this girl ordered her to follow and this was where Damal would step in. He followed them until Sairque stopped to feel the bond between her sister. He approached her with a loaf of bread in hand which he gave to the drudge and instructed her to eat while her and the endal spoke. "What do you think your doing?" he said his voice echoing a bit down the corridors.

[Iris]

“I-Iris” She mumbled as she clutched the apricot seed, her stomach heaving, she clenched her hand around the seed

She followed just behind the Endal halting when she halted a stranger though stopped the eagle rider. Iris could only wonder at the symenestra, and secondly to the whole slice of bread that was given to her, and of course the way he addressed Sairque. Her bad eyes gave her the concentrated look she always had.
She shrunk away her back to the wall, bread and seed in one hand and bucket and other implements in the other, she daren’t say anything. Iris had never seen a Symenestra before and her jaw dropping slightly, she didn’t hesitate in eating the bread quickly almost without chewing.

She could only wait for the Endals reaction.

[Sairque]

Eyes had a natural inclination to skip over that which was unpleasantly permanent. Permanent, however, isn't quite the right word for what Damal was. Unpleasantly permanent would fit an open sewer, or birth goo from a new born baby; not Damal, however, because he wasn't permanent. He had been let in through the gates, yes, and perhaps even given a job at this point, and maybe even had a few friends. Ah, that's right, Aidara, the flight leader's highly adored twin, had even spent a little while, that Sai could attest to first hand, speaking with the pasty outsider. But Damal wasn't a feature of the city or a natural cycle of life; Damal had a pulse, he had veins, he had intestines that Sai currently pictured spilling onto the floor, over her hand clutching the knife that ruptured his bowels.

Killing him, however, was juvenile and would likely be a blessing to the pasty sod. Shrewd eyes sized up his intentions with little trouble. The kind and pitying way he looked at the Drudge, Iris, she had her name was, and the way he thrust the bread into her hands, knowing that she would not turn it down. The glare he gave her as he challenged her right to order the woman about. Laughter, low and condescending, spilled from between her cruelly grinning lips. He was saving her from a fate that he knew not of. Oh, how the best of intentions can turn fortune into disaster.

Sairque held one finger up, indicating that she had every intention of answering his query in just one moment, and turned to Iris. "Iris, darling, perhaps you should thank this young man for stepping in and preventing me from using for my evil purposes. But before you do, let me tell you what they were. My sister, Aidara, is a healer and requested that I find her a helper for the day. I was first supposed to go get her breakfast, fruit, fresh rolls, pastries, sausage," she listed off, glancing at the hard loaf the woman was gnawing on, amusement rife in her voice and hard features. "And, unfortunately, for you, Addy has a soft spot for every man and woman living in Mt. Skyinarta, so she would have subjected you to this horrid breakfast before viciously putting you to work stacking bandages." Oh, dear Gods, the horror! The horror! So heavy and such tedious work, so much worst than scrubbing floors!

Sai's eyes cut back to Damal, taking in his reaction to having ruined this reprieve from hunger and knuckle grinding work for the white woman. "But don't worry, I can find someone else right after you thank this kind gentleman for saving you from this fate worst than death." The flight leader crossed her arms, her foul mood showing on her face for the first time as she waited for the forced interaction between them.

There was no escape for either from this. Though, she suspected that Iris had quite a bit to say thanking this man, things like 'Wow, go bugger yourself for trying to play Silyrian Knight and failing epically' or perhaps telling him to stay far away and stop trying to help the lower caste. Damal, she would take between her hands force to take Iris' 'thanks', and then recite his feat, complete with failure, to all the Dek at the next meal time. Oh, yes, what a grand idea. Now there was a bit of a smile on the woman's face.

[Aidara]

Aidara knew there was something wrong by the way people started dashing past her, towards the kitchens. Even at her fast walk, the small woman was practically getting trampled. Being rushed past quickly turned into being bumped and jostled. One particularly large Dek actually knocked her off her feet, sending the healer sprawling off to the side of the main corridor. Addy landed with a thud against something soft. Rolling off her squishy landing pad, the woman huffed and gathered her feet under her, brushing strands of hair from her face as she glanced around her feet. Ahh, she'd landed in the lap of a fellow Avora, one who worked with his hands by the size of his muscles. There was a glint in her eye, a mischievous smile quirking at the corners of her lips. "Ah, a shame it had to be this way, hm? I have a good feeling about you..Um, literally." She giggled at her own comment and held out her hand to help the stranger up. However, the moment she did this another surge of people down the corridor sent her sprawling...again. "Really?!" Getting to her feet this time at the same time as the man. Green eyes cast one more appraising glance before she sighed. Handsome man....curious crowd of people...man... crowd gathering incident..... "Ah, pech! You're just going to come with me. Do you know whats going on?" Unable to decide between the two delicious choices, Addy had taken him by his hand, and was practically dragging him down the hallway, whether he liked it or not. Big, beefy man in tow, Addy weaseled her way through the groups of people gathering at the end of the hallway. Using her new toy as a meat shield, she pushed him ahead of her and had him part the crowd. People eagerly stepped out of his way, closing ranks behind them. Anxious to see what was going on, Addy slithered around the side of the Avora once they broke through the crowds last line of resistance. Ah, they were at the entrance to the dining area, and the cause of the common was as easy to spot as the firey red hair, and the better-than-you attitude she kept swathed around her. "Ah, she's hot." Came a deep rumble from beside her. Addy looked over, brow raised in slight shock at the man she'd aprehended. He was staring at Sai with his mouth hanging slightly open. "Normally, I would take that as a compliment, since we both look alike, but right now...well, you just ruined your chance with twins, buddy." and with that Addy was done with him, striding away from the man and the crowd to see what trouble her sister was causing now. The healer reached her sisters side about the time she finished talking and crossed her arms over her chest. Tapping her sister on the shoulder, green eyes darted between the Sym standing all by himself a half dozen paces away. "Um....Sai? Her gaze then flickered to the woman, and she paused, her head tilting to the side. Hm. She looked Inarta, but she was...well, she had white hair and red eyes. Odd. Addy gave her a smile and a nod before turning back to her sister "This is the Sym from the baths, isn't it? You didn't go hunting him down....did you?" Addy didn't look at Damal as she spoke to her sister, green eyes hard in such a way that Sai knew she meant to get an answer. Arms crossed, and a posture was taken up much like the one her twin carried, except her face looked interested, if slightly amused. Sai's resembled a thundercloud. "Oh, and thanks. I see you forgot my breakfast. I'd almost forgotten how hungry I was after being shoved down twenty times just trying to find you. You realize you've brought half of Wind Reach to outside those doors, right?" As she spoke, Addy snatched up a pastry off a plate and took a huge bite, her hand swinging towards the door to point at the crowd gathered there, waiting expectantly. "I at least hope you have something interesting planned, cause I think they want bloodshed."