Peccadillos [Claudia Fii]

[Serasia]

Serasia sat quietly as girl slurped up the precious water. She had seen that brief look of irritation on the Kelvic’s face, which had melted into rightful timidity just as quickly, and she was offended by it. Inexplicable anger boiled at the bottom of her throat, but she refused to make a fool herself, or any more of one than she already had. Her back was too straight, her hands paired randomly and her fingers clasped stiffly. As she looked down her nose at the slave, her chin seemed too high, as if lowering it would allow some ugly word to spill from her lips. If Claudia stayed with the eypharian for very long, she would recognize this posture as the precarious brink of a rampage.

“That’s enough,” she said shortly as she saw her head rise from the bowl for the second time. “You may take it down to the water later in the evening, when the air is cooler.” After a few moments to allow for a reply, Serasia stood abruptly and moved to the chest in the corner of the room. “You will bathe then, too.”

She produced a small piece of cloth, too new to be a rag, and closed the space between them. There she raised it to the girl’s chin and neck, wiping the water away where it had carved light lines through the filth on her skin. Her hand, with its painted nails and sparkling knuckles, was not quite gentle enough to match the strange motherliness of the gesture. Serasia did not know whether she liked this creature, but she did know that for some reason she did not want her to leave. If anything, she could be of use around the small home, and she was attractive enough in her animal form to calm the jeweler’s unpredictable nerves.

In truth, Serasia had very few friends. Since the death of her mother, she had hungered subconsciously for companionship. “I saved your life, you know,” she mentioned as she pulled the soiled cloth away and perched it on the side of the bowl. She was not naturally good at the various persuasive techniques customary of her race, but she figured the girl was simple enough that convincing her to stay would not be too hard. “You have no master, but you will earn one soon, if you stay very long in this city. You must know how the people are cruel here.”

[Nenura]

She only gave her head a simple nod to the woman's statements. She was then shocked that this woman was scrubbing her. Now she noticed the clean veins of slightly bronzed flesh that was hers that glistened under the small layer of water. She was so unused to bathing, and being washed by an almost stranger was bizarre.

It took her a few seconds to catch on that the female had finished her new line of statements and had missed most of it in her daze. Still, she had not snapped from her state and stared emptily at the filthy cloth on the side of the bowl. Her filth. It almost disgusted her.

Her voice was just as empty, as lost. Slow. "Thank you, Ma'am. Maybe I will no longer be a slave.. never be a fox again.." How many times has she thought of this? She had tried so many times to stop changing, but oh how she loved prowling and receiving attention from small children who thought she was so cute. It was quite the toss up between the title "girl" and "Claudia".

When she was "girl" she was barely considered human with little worth, but what would it be like to be "Claudia" again?

[Serasia]

Hazel eyes rolled at the naïve Kelvic’s answer, hands folded and clasped impatiently. When Serasia’s gaze settled on her again, it was full of incredulous condescension. She sighed. “No, girl. You are a slave, and you will forever be a slave. I should think you owe it to me to stay here. As mine.”

She took advantage of the girl’s confusion to talk at her more, to convince her of her role. “If I do not require otherwise, you are not forbidden from your fox form.” The word felt peculiar on her tongue, but it was not entirely disagreeable.

Serasia did not want to seem too concerned. She turned suddenly away to look in the water’s mirror again, idly inspecting her face. Her expression seemed calm, or at least no longer twisted into ugly irritation. The recent moments seemed to have sufficiently abated her anger. Without looking back, she added, “You will keep this place clean, and you will replace the water in the basin every day. If I give you money to buy food, you will leave it and all of the change on the table. And you will not eat without my permission.”

Then Serasia faced her once more. They stood close enough that her height made her tower over the skinny thing. The Eypharian lifted one of her many limbs, the same one that had once held a moist towel, and moved the matted hair out of the creature’s eyes. She had never owned a slave before, but she had noticed the way others treated theirs. Kindness, no matter how insincere, often led to obedience. “Whatever your name was before, forget it,” she said softly, “I will call you Nenura.”

It was an unoriginal choice. She had heard other slaves with similar names at least twice before. Serasia had never been good with pets. “Do you understand?” she repeated.

[Nenura]

This news slightly disheartened her. No choice of doing anything other than as she was told. This is the life she was born into, and now she was finding that she could never sway from such a life. Her steps had to be as they were told to be. Her movements, her words, her everything. Never would she be able to choose between girl and Clau-Nenura..

She wasn't too fond of this new name. However, what did it matter if she liked it or not? She was owned, and what made her her barely mattered. Only that she obeyed.

Now, her occupational choices? Slave.. and slave... or dead piece of filthy flesh. What a marvelous thing, her mind was suddenly dripping with hot, sarcastic thoughts..

She idly twisted her torso towards the left, her cranium suddenly too heavy for her neck and dipping towards the floor. It seemed an action of defeat, and unwillingness to look the woman in the eye. She assumed what she hoped was a pathetic look as she mumbled tiredly... depressed... "Yes, Ma'am. Anything You wish."

After barely a few seconds, she realized she was acting out in a small way. She should not show unhappiness at her Owner's words. She was being such a brat, and that was disrespectful. Now, she took three skipping, small steps back, her abdomen twisted back into a more straight position and her head raised until she was proper once more. Then forward, her back parallel to the floor in a thick, ribbed line with her arms to either side of her. Her voice again had become itself. Not the self she had been showing the female, but her cheery, excited self, even though it was barely genuine. "So sorry for my actions, I had no intention of seeming unhappy. I look forward to our time together."

She cringed within her curtains of filthy hair at her use of "I"... She had been raised as a lesser being, and she was supposed to show that she knew she was such. Saying "I", apparently made her appear that she felt as if she were of the same level of the non-Kelvic races. At least, that is only what she had been taught. She hoped her new Owner did not notice it.

[Serasia]

Serasia’s lips were thin as the Kelvic accepted her place. She saw the hesitance in those wandering eyes, but she could tell it was for dejection rather than defiance. It was a dangerous game to play, to tell a creature that she did not belong to herself, when in fact she lacked the authority to do so. Nothing but the afternoon’s events bound this girl to her, no money nor documentation nor spiritual bond. Only words. Powerful words, but empty words, filled with meaning by the woman who said them. She reached up to press her hair against her head, and push the apprehension out of her mind.

The bow was, perhaps, too embellished for her taste, but a smile tugged to her lips at the display. If anything, the girl was cute. The action only affirmed her prediction of calmed nerves and abated irritations. As she rose, however, Serasia frowned at the hair in her eyes, and the filth that yet remained on her face. She did not reply to Nenura’s emotional confusion; it did not concern her.

She reached into the purse that still hung at her side and set a few pieces of gold on the table. “I am going out for the rest of the afternoon.” She said flatly, glancing at the slave’s naked body and then turning to the chest. She pulled out a simple white dress, far too long for Nenura’s body, but it would have to do.

“Put this on; you have errands. First, go to the market and invest in a dress of your own, and a band for your hair. Do not buy anything above your rank.” Her eyes flashed with the sincerity of the threat. “Then go down to the water, bathe, wash my clothes, refill the basin. When I return, I want to see some food on the table. Bread. Honey. Pomegranates.”

Perhaps she should not have trusted her new slave with so much money and responsibility, but something in her gut told her that the meek stranger would not betray her. She moved to the door and pulled back the curtain, then turned back with half-feigned impatience. “Can you remember that, Nenura?”

[Nenura]

She simply nodded her head to confirm that she did. She hadn't moved at all as she listened very closely to Serasia's words, minus the occasional flutter of eyelid. Then, she set to work, pulling the dress over her head and wiping most of the dirt from her face. She gathered up Her clothes and put them in to water basin. It really didn't matter if they got wet. She held the pieces of gold tight in her right fist since it really wouldn't do to lose it.

She set out to complete all tasks set before her, however, she did not purchase new clothing with Her money. Instead, she located her sack of possessions just where she left them and carried them along with her on her back, and bought the band with her own money.

[Colombina]

The XP Wand Is Waved! Oh those Eypharians! I love the snobbery, it warms my heart. Also, Fennec foxes are the cutest thing on earth, Serasia has no heart. Good thread, ladies! Become a force to be reckoned with. Too many fellas in Ahnatep. Nenura's Loot 1 XP Investigation 1 XP Escape Artist Lore of Socially Appropriate clothing Lore of Ahnatep cuisine Serasia's Loot 1 XP Intimidation 1 XP Investigation Lore of plate prices Lore of Kelvic Metamorphosis Colombina is pleased.