Closed Inn-Side Voices[Taz]

[Kamilla]

78th of Fall, 522AV

Light blonde hair broke through the surface of the ocean near the Commons, more and more of it’s Konti owner emerging from the waves until Kamilla could be seen on the beach, dragging what looked like a long cylindrical basket filled with fish behind her. The mage had never attempted to use the desirable fish trap until the day before, but was already impressed with the results after one try. Despite her lack of any fishing skill as well as a lack of bait, after just one day, the trap was still full. Of course, she knew that it was magical, so she wasn’t exactly surprised, but certainly impressed. ”What a useful thing to have.” she said, still dragging the basket of floundering fish behind her.

The Konti was dressed in a matching purple scarf wrapped tightly around her bust, crossing over her chest and tied behind her neck, while her lower half was covered by a short purple skirt of a thin material with a short lace trail, all of which were now soaking, but thankfully hardly a hindrance to her… except the lace trail which clung to her leg in its wet state, forcing her to pull it free every few steps till it dried. It wouldn’t take long with the Sykan heat.

Kamilla made her way to the Children’s Pavilion having heard about it from Jehu and figuring that since she never cooked, she would donate her bounty of fish to them. Already she could see groups of younglings running around as she approached, one particular child already running toward her.

”You’re a Konti too!” the little girl said excitedly, Kamilla noting their shared features, delicate scales, almost imperceptible gills, blonde hair and an overall otherworldly appearance. She had never actually seen another Konti until now and was equally surprised, too surprised to consider mentioning that she was not a Konti by birth, especially not when the child’s eyes were so wide with excitement.

”I am… my name’s Kamilla… what’s yours?” she asked politely, not used to dealing with children at all. ”I brought some fish to donate to the Pavillion.” she said, gesturing to the trap behind her.

The young girl peered around Kamilla’s taller form, nodding and waving over a few of her friends.

”Kamilla… that’s a pretty name. I’m Tori.” the child said sweetly, forcing a smile to appear on her own face. ”Well, I think Tori is a very pretty name too.” she replied as two more kids came over, waving excitedly.

”These are my friends, Darcy and Luke… we all like the ocean and swimming. But they can’t swim like I can…” she said, Kamilla smiling and waving at the newcomers too. ”Guys, this is Kamilla. She’s a Konti like me!” Everytime the child said it, Kamilla felt the sting of guilt at not confessing she hadn't been born that way. ”She caught all these fish for us.” she said moving to Kamilla’s side as they walked toward the Pavillion, the little boy, Luke, wordlessly helping carry the basket of fish.

”We’ll take it inside…” said the bright young brown eyed girl who’s hair made her think of Tazrae and her fear for her own daughter’s curls. ”Okay, thank you.” she offered as Luke and Darcy carried the fish trap off, leaving her with a bright Tori.

”So, uhm…” she began, suddenly looking like she had something to say, but was hesitating, ”Go on…” Kamilla prodded, kneeling down to look the young girl in the eyes. ”… could I go swimming with you sometime?” she asked hopefully, and the look in the young girl’s eyes struck a chord in Kamilla’s chest… One she genuinely couldn’t say no to. ”Uh… sure. You can help me set the trap up tomorrow if you’d like.”

Immediately she could tell that she’d given the right answer, the young Konti practically beaming with excitement, ”Thank you thank you!” Tori said happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet as the previous duo returned with her basket, Kamilla noting that there were still a few fish in it.

”Thank you for the fish… we left some for you.” the sunny girl named Darcy said, offering Kamilla the trap that was now 80% empty. ”Thank you too, Darcy… and Luke.” she added, aiming a smile in their direction before watching them run off, waving goodbye.. ”Now I’ve got to go… I’ll come find you tomorrow for our swim okay?” The little girl bounced and nodded eagerly as Kamilla turned to leave. ”Bye, Tori.”

”Bye bye!” the little Konti said waving happily as Kamilla left.

Ten chimes later, Kamilla found herself at the entrance to The Protea Inn for the first time, having fetched her wagon golem Wally, thankful that the inn was so near to the Cobbled Pathway. The building was impressively big, as far as Sykan structures went and if she’d had any doubts about whether she was in the right place, the lounge of Ixam would have been the confirmation she needed.

Pulling the fish trap from the wagon and reaching in, Kamila began tossing fish at the few Ixam that approached, doing her best to give them one each. ”Remember this if we ever meet in the jungle.”

She had come to the inn with the intention of paying her jungle guide Tazrae, and her daughter Khari, a visit… Kamilla had taken a liking to the benshira woman during their short wilderness survival lesson and felt that there was a lot that the two women needed to discuss. During their hike, Tazrae had expressed interest in Sahova and Drainira, while Kamilla was interested in hearing more about the ancient library the woman claimed to have access to and more. That and… she had wanted to offer a gift of thanks.

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[Tazrae]

Feeding the Ixam was probably a big mistake. There were more and more wild ones that had come into Syka, following their tamer kin home from hunting expeditions and general roaming to see how the little Syka lounges had gotten so sleek and well-fed. Half the adults at Garden Beach weren’t the original twelve that Bree and Tazrae had rescued. They were still there, but more and more had shown up, swelling their numbers to over twenty. In a lot of ways, it was good their mortality rate was so high from either death in the egg or by predators as hatchlings. Otherwise, they soon would have overrun the settlement – not in adults – but in the scavenger youths.

It took Ixam a long time to grow up, years in fact, so it would be a decade before today's hatchlings and the juveniles would be of any use to the Settlement. Until then, they were just mouths to feed. And as usual, they were hungry. Free, easily obtained fish, was not an everyday thing. So the swarm that materialized when Kam started passing out fish managed to be mainly hungry hatchlings and a pair of adult Ixam that were on the wild side.

One of them was the deep lush purple of an amethyst stone, with highlights of pink under her tail and legs, shaded almost exactly like the gemstone she resembled. She was an adult, on the smaller side meaning she was just early into her adulthood, and suspicious like her moss-green companion. The two females snorted, and while the moss-colored creature snatched the fish Kamila threw her. The amethyst, however, snorted in disdain and marched up to Kamilla to nose through the trap herself.

Bold as could be, even looking Kamilla in the eyes with a pink vibrant gaze, she sniffed at the basket, then lifted a claw almost using it like a hand to reach into the trap with a single digit which she pricked the fish of her choice – a fat oily mackerel – and dragged it slowly out of the trap’s basket with a razor-sharp claw. Her eyes never left Kamilla’s gaze as she did so. The reptile brought the speared fish up and popped it into her mouth and began to chew with all the dignity of a queen. Once the fish was consumed, she broke gazes with Kamilla and nodded very intelligently to her before slipping backward to let the hatchlings have at the rest.

The Ixam watched Kamilla discretely, intently, and slowly a smile spread across the reptile’s face. She turned, deliberately walked over to the wagon, and sniffed at it. She circled it once, nudged it, and then lost interest… deciding to settle in the shade by it and watch the newly fed hatchlings and juveniles that were suddenly invested in a game of ‘king of the wagon’ on Kamila’s little cart.

The Inn, like most of Syka’s buildings, was open to the world. There were shutters and doors that could be closed, but they were not. Instead, they were thrown wide open in the invitation for anyone to come on in. Kamilla already knew where Taz was because the Innkeeper was singing a lullaby and moving dishes around in what sounded like a cleanup situation in the kitchen. The Inn’s main entrance, where Kamilla had to have parked her wagon was up a series of steps, through an entryway, that opened into two hallways in an L shape with the entrance being at the inside crook of the L. One hallway lead to the west, and one to the south... with the L shape bent an archway opening into the kitchen where mother and daughter were.

It was just after the lunch rush, and Tazrae was at her sink, hands completely submerged as she cleaned dishes. Khari was on a counter not very far away, strapped in what looked like a wooden bouncy seat that rested on the counter. Taz would occasionally exhale a little res, and cause it to bounce the framed seat and soothe the girl as the baby watched her mother work.

“Kamilla!” Taz said with a smile, not pausing in her washing. “How are you? Are you hungry? The lunch rush is over, but there’s still plenty to eat.” Taz added, nodding at the spread she had on the table in the common area. It was filled with fruits and pastries, a setup for tea or coffee, and a pitcher of juice. “I have some meats in the icebox if you want a real sandwich or something. And there are still fried plantain chips to go with it if you want some salt and crunch.” Taz added.

The Inn itself was an odd mixture of dark hardwood floors, heavy wooden furniture, and open views of the water and jungle. A black snake with iridescent scales occupied one of the chairs, coiled up as if it were its usual place, and she could see Ixam playing in the surf beyond. None of them seemed to be in the Inn itself. High wooden ceilings were lofted above them, and there were hearths for cooking and ambiance in both the kitchen and the Commons area. There were plants and decor everywhere - things like conch and candles made from inverted seashells - that added to the beachy feel of the place. With all the outside light flooding in, the dark wood didn't make the Inn feel dark. The Inn was open and stylish, jungle chic for sure.

“Have you ever visited before? Don’t mind the black snakes with the iridescent scales.. .they are Mussurana. They are rear-fanged vipers, very friendly, and they eat the poisonous snakes like pit vipers for food around here. They are immune to their bite. That one over there is Twilight. He’s our resident rodent executioner and keeps the place otherwise snake free. There are others roaming around because I breed them and raise them in the Reptile Garden off to the northwest of the Inn… I’m populating Syka with them to keep the eyelash viper population down.” She said, continuing to wash dishes.

“Come… grab a plate, get some food... and sit down at the counter here and keep me company. I’m almost done with dishes.” She added, still washing and rinsing, a task she made a face at routinely.

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[Kamilla]

The last thing Kamilla had wanted or expected was to be swarmed by the lounge of carnivorous lizards, fearing for both her life and especially her digits as numerous sets of snapping fangs waited hungrily for a fishy meal. She could have sworn there were far more of the reptiles than there had been during her wilderness survival lesson with Taz. Suddenly she was very thankful to the orphans for leaving her with so many fish.

Just as she was beginning to get comfortable with the smaller Ixam, two unfamiliar and far larger ones appeared, causing Kamilla’s body to stiffen as they approached. Both were objectively beautiful, the first a lush green that she was sure she would never see coming in the middle of the jungle, it snatched the offered fish out of midair without much hassle. The second of the two did not seem as easily sated, Kamilla watching nervously as it ignored the offered fish drawing far nearer than the konti was comfortable with as it began poking around the basket, Kamilla half expecting it to eat all the remaining fish. As the lizard fixed one vibrant pink eye on Kamilla’s purple ones, despite her tense state, the konti couldn’t help but to be in awe of how mesmerizingly beautiful the Ixam was. Deep purple scales with pink highlights adorning the creature’s tail and legs… paired with its obvious intelligence as it dexterously picked out a fish to its own liking before seemingly smiling and turning its attention to the small wagon for a moment before settling down in the shade. The purple Ixam had handled itself with such an air of elegance that Kamilla fully expected it to open its mouth and speak like Bree was capable of doing.

Kamila was still watching the majestic Ixam when the younglings began to climb all over her cart, nipping at and knocking eachother off as if it was the most enjoyable game of the year. Carefully pulling her bag from the wagon while avoiding the smaller Ixam, she turned to enter the Inn, leaving the fishtrap beside Wally. It took no effort to locate the benshira woman in the open structure, purple eyes simply seeking the source of the harmonic singing, knowing it to be her new bard acquaintance… or friend… she wasn’t quite sure if one hike was enough to become friends over, though she certainly intended to be friends eventually.

As she neared the entrance Tazrae interrupted her pleasant singing, having noticed the konti visitor. {b}”Hello… I am a bit peckish actually… I just got in from a swim.[/b] she called back entering the Inn. ”If you’re offering, I wouldn’t mind some good food.’’ she admitted,her own cooking skills were severely lacking and Tazrae had claimed to enjoy cooking, so she was curious. ”Maybe you could show me how you prepare those freshwater clams sometime…Though I can wait till our next foraging session for that..” she was mostly teasing, despite having thoroughly enjoyed their wilderness outing.

Having barely entered the Inn, Kamilla was both surprised and unsurprised to find a snake casually coiled up on one of the seats, carefully avoiding the beautifully scaled serpent as she made her way into the kitchen where Tazrae was washing away at a pile of dishes while Khari was trapped into some bouncy swing device. Kamilla placed her bag neatly on the counter, out of the way and leaned against it as well. ”This is my first time here. Colour me unsurprised to find more reptiles inside… speaking of, are there more Ixam than last time? That purple one is beautiful… and very intelligent…’ she said as she cast a glance in the amethyst Ixam’s direction. She did not envy the chore Tazrae was currently undertaking, ”How are you and Khari? Dishwashing aside.” she teased.

Also, I was wondering… would you like me to make Khari some clothes? Perhaps a onesie? Unfortunately, the only material I have right now is this dark, leaf green…” she pulled the folded cloth from her bag for Tazrae to see. ... What do you think?” Considering all of the benshira’s skills and talents, This was the only thing the konti could think to offer as thanks, as she spoke she made her to way around, sitting at the counter purple gaze taking in Khari’s face more clearly now that she wasn’t strapped to her mother’s chest in the jungle. Although she had never had much interest in or encounters with babies, Kamilla couldn’t deny that the sight of the adorable newborn stirred an instinctual desire to have one of her own… a thought the konti quickly brushed away. ”Also, now that I’m not mostly focused on surviving, I can share a bit more about myself…” she tagged on, remembering Tazrae’s request the last time they were together.

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[Tazrae]

Tazrae dried the soapy bubbles off her hands and smiled at Kamilla. She gave Khari’s bouncy seat another hefty push to set it to bouncing again and headed over to the icebox to pull out a plate of sliced chicken and some sandwich fixings. While she made Kamilla a sandwich of chicken and vegetables with a spread of whipped egg and mustard, finishing it off with some cheese, she spoke about the clams.

“Sure, I can show you how to cook the clams anytime. But it's really easy. Just leave them in a mesh bag and hang them in a larger bucket of fresh water for a few hours. They will filter feed and their necks will all stick out and any debris in their stomachs and intestines will void. Then rinse them off, throw them in a cooking pot, and cover them just so they are submerged in water. Boil that water over a fire until the clams start to pop open. Discard any that don’t pop open… they are dead and can make you sick. Once they pop open, just eat them by digging them out of their shells and dipping them in any kind of sauce you like. I like garlic and butter with a splash of white wine. Wine always classes up the flavor.” Taz replied, then ran by the buffet table in the Common Room and added some fruit to Kamilla’s plate before setting the sandwich and a tall glass of fruit juice in front of the Konti.

Taz went back to doing dishes, working through them steadily. “You can come over and cook with me any time and I can show you… or after you steam the clams I can show you how to make chowder out of them… which seems to go a lot further than just eating the clams themselves. I have a milk cow out there that does relatively well in the fringe jungle here and on salt grass, so we always have milk to make the white sauces out of. You can come by and get some anytime.” She added, offering her friend a smile.

“The tame Ixam we have here attracted the wild ones. The wild ones are always curious, and I’m not sure the term wild applies to them after a few days. The purple one you referred to is a wild one. I’m not sure where she came from, but she showed up about ten days ago. They are all pretty smart. And as for Twilight and his kind…. I keep them at the Inn because it is a safer place with them around than it is without them. Fewer rodents and I’ve not seen a pit viper for seasons. I got bit by one when I first came to Syka. It almost killed me. I vowed never again.” Taz said, rubbing her hand absently as she finished rinsing one more plate and setting it aside to dry.

“Khari and I are fine. She’s been fussy like she hasn’t felt good, and Shiress says it's gas. I guess babies can go through all sorts of phases, but each time she makes a face or cries and I can’t seem to figure out why… I mean she’s not wet, not hungry, not tired… I panic. I guess that’s common in new mothers as well.” Taz sighed. “And honestly, I’m not getting much sleep.” Taz shook her head, laughing lightly. “I mean… we’re fine, but my life is a mess. I really just need… a few seasons of peace.” She added. “I’d kill for a couple of hundred days of uninterrupted routine and good night sleeps,” Taz added, glancing around. “In Syka, it seems like if it's not one thing, it's another.” The Innkeeper shook her head.

“I’d love to hear more about you. We already have a great deal in common, babies aside, and I think there’s a lot we could get accomplished together.” Taz added, then she glanced around.

“I’m going to start building a house soon. I just need to get brave enough to do it. I was sort of holding off on it, thinking that the man that was in my life might be interested in helping so we could build it together… but I don’t think that’s a possibility now. There was someone I cared about deeply, loved even, but after I told him about what happened …. which I haven’t even told you yet… with Khari and Kaysen and everything that went on… he’s just emotionally unavailable and I suspect he will leave soon.” She said thoughtfully.

Taz felt the need to talk while Kamilla ate, glad for the company and glad to have an ear. “The Mulgon has been teaching me magic from off-world and it can be applied to all sorts of things. I’ve chosen to apply it to the growth and function of plants. The end idea is that I can influence them, recombine their traits, and train them in the way I want to be able to grow a living home. It's astonishing, though several mages say it's dangerous. Ialari is really wary of it. And I don’t blame her. It’s easy to ride that magic high and take things too far. Magic for humans on Mizahar is very structured. It hurts my head to follow all the rules all the time. And half of them don’t make sense. Do you know, for example, if a mage overgives, another mage should be able to refill those overgiven mages’ djed and counter overgiving effects in a sort of magical triage?” Taz asked, shaking her head. “Why isn’t that even taught anymore? Is it something we lost with the Valterrian?” Taz mused, then her lips curled upwards.

“Enough talk about me… what about you?” She said, finishing her dishes and starting to pack up the lunch buffet. She only collected fruit, put the bowls in the icebox, and returned the bread to breadboxes. Most of the jellies, jams, and small bowls of dip or dressing were discarded and given to the young Ixam to clean up which created another load of dishes to wash. When she was done, the Common area was clean and there was no evidence of food other than what Kamilla was eating on the counter near the sink.

She offered Kamila a smile.

Words: 1056

[Kamilla]

Kamilla felt slightly bad for interrupting Tazrae’s chores as she watched her put together a delicious looking meal in little to no time, all the while explaining how to prepare freshwater clams. What Kamilla found most amusing was that what Taz described as an easy process still sounded like a lot more effort than she’d ever put into a meal before, regardless she did mentally note all the steps to try later… it did sound straight forward enough. She was especially grateful for the tip about not eating the ones that don’t open, something she’d surely have missed. ”Thanks.” she said to both the advice and the tasty looking meal placed in front of her.

Honestly, every time Kamilla thought she had a grasp on her new friend’s talents she was proven wrong. ”I don’t think I even know what clam chowder is, so I might take you up on that.” she said before taking a bite of the tasty sandwich, smiling as she did, it wasn’t often that she ate meat… not by choice, simply because the two magic items she used to feed herself daily only created vegetarian meals. Now, thanks to Taz, she had a place to get milk, knew how to forage for mussels and clams… and on top of all that, had finally made use of her magic fish trap to catch tasty looking fish. She contemplated the delicious meals she could be eating, or trying to. After years of hunger, the importance of food, especially good food had definitely become apparent to her.

Making quick work if the sandwich, Kamilla was surprised to hear that Tazrae had nearly died from a pit viper bite, thinking back to how easily she’d handled one during their wilderness hike. ”Well, you could of fooled me on our hike.” she said with a chuckle. ”I guess Syka really is as eventful as ever, I thought it would have settled by now… some peace would be nice.” she agreed, wishing she could remain for a few more seasons.

Taking the opportunity to share more about herself this time, unlike during their hike, Kamilla sipped on her fruit juice and pushed her plate to the side as she retrieved her sewing kit and the roll of fabric, green dyed isuas to be exact. ”Well, I’m not sure where to start…” she said, purple eyes sizing up Khari to the best of their abilities, although Tazrae hadn’t responded, Kamilla was still determined to make something for the baby, to show her gratefulness.

”Well, you mentioned someone from Sunberth during our hike… I was also raised there, amongst people who hated and misunderstood magic. My grandmother was a mage,I found out one day and begged her to teach me every day until she eventually agreed. She taught me glyphing and animation theory first, I think she was hoping I’d get bored of plain info, but when I turned 18 she took me on a camping trip and initiated me… she was truly incredible, powerful, confident, intelligent…” Even now as she reminisced, Kamilla’s respect and adoration were clear in her voice.

Deciding she’d just guesstimate Khari’s dimensions, Kamilla pulled out a measuring tape and some chalk to measure out the components for the baby one piece, drawing a rough shape on the now unfolded material. It was perhaps a bit of an unconventional method, but by this point the Konti was confident in her ability to create something for the infant. ”My mom was a bit less impressive, she was humble, quiet, submissive… she taught me how to sew… used to make me help her with small jobs… sweet woman, not a mean bone in her body.” That was probably enough about her childhood for now.

Hearing Tazrae’s situation with the man in her life, Kamilla was completely unable to relate, she’d only ever really been attracted to one man, and he currently spent most nights with her. ”You don’t strike me as a woman that needs a man… or anyone to get things done. You already manage this entire inn, raise a child and impliment plans to protect Sykans from snake bites and I’m sure plenty of other things… what’s a little housein comparison. If you need some stone structures I’d be happy to help… though I’m not very good at construction.” she confessed, reaching for her scissors. ”I don’t know what happened, but…” she sighed, realising what she was about to say, ”… I disappeared without any signs for two years and when I finally returned, Jehu was still looking after my pets and home… waiting for me… he’s my first… well, we haven’t really discussed what we are, perhaps just close friends with something more… but my point is, he stuck around even when he didn’t understand what was going on… I wouldn’t wait around for a man who’s not willing to do the same, if I were you.” she added, snipping the scissors in her hand for emphasis Now blushing slightly. ”Ugh, when did I start sounding like a love story.” another laugh as she reached over to her plate and popped some sweet fruit in her mouth.

She was just beginning to cut the fabric when Taz began speaking about off world magics and their applications, Kamilla freezing in place, her friend now having her full attention. The benshira teased information about new magics and their capability to create ‘living homes’ as well as the ability to… what sounded like, share djed to avoid overgiving and Kamilla was entirely invested in the conversation, though it seemed Taz had offered as much as she was willing for the time being. ”I have not heard of any of these types of magics. They sound incredible, especially the strength in numbers one… my gran drilled the fear od overgiving into me more than anything else… and in the end I still witnessed her overgive in her last moments of life… it was haunting… so I’m willing to learn or assist in anything that could help prevent that… if you need me that is.”

”Well, about me… I suppose despite my rather plain history… Sahova and Syka aside… there’s not much else to tell… not that I can think of. I don’t have much skill in magics other than reimancy… though I’ve always been intrigued by them. Then of course there’s the matter of my disappearance that I mentioned earlier… I suppose that’s the big one.” she spoke while cutting out the previously drawn out shapes for what would be Khari’s outfit. ”I don’t exactly know why, or how… or anything about it… but I’m kind of cursed.” she stated, leaving it at that, a sort of awkward look on her face. ”But… it’s not a danger to anyone around me, I’m pretty sure… though maybe we could save this conversation for after i'm done here.” she said, finishing up her cutting.

”So, this man who’s emotionally unavailable… what are you going to do about him?” she asked, aligning the front and back of the onesie shapes. She’d made a simple shape, cut two identical pieces of fabric for it, including seperate sleeves and a few smaller parts, aligned them and was now wondering where she’d put the buttons. Of course, babies needed their diapers changed, fairly often(she assumed)… so bottom access seemed like the most important. She decided she would run the buttons along the inner legs and crotch area and began sewing the shoulders together, along with the small strips she’d created for ribbing. ”I’m not exactly the best at ‘boy talk’…” she admitted unashamedly, ”Men were never really on my mind since I left Sunberth.”

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