[Sanctuary] Sister Light Sister Dark (Akela/Sanc Staff)

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 62nd day of winter, 509 AV Location: The Sanctuary Origin: Continued From Here Purpose: Reunion Kavala was back in less than a single chime or two. She had a large tray in her hands, half of which consisted of a very crude tea service, two wooden mugs, sugar, and cookies. The other side of the tray contained a folded tunic, a pair of loose pants, sandals, and a small medical kit. The konti moved with purpose, not hurried but not wasting any more time than necessary. She was in her element here, sliding into full time caregiver mode. It was the skill she was absolutely best at in the world. When it came to fighting, she was next to useless, and truth be told she was awkward in social situations. They both were. But here they only had to face each other and the various denizens of Sanctuary. And most of those creatures didn't talk back, ease drop, or bother with making many demands past food, shelter, and an occasional pat or scratch. Kavala set the tray down on a stone ledge above the bath, removed the clothing and medical kit, and poured her sister some tea. She sat the wooden mug - sugared like Akela liked it - near her right hand. The cookies were in a bowl and soon joined the tea. Kavala poured herself a mug, then kicked off her shoes and leggings and waded into the tub and sat down on the rim opposite of her sister. She studied Akela for a long time, noting the exhaustion in her eyes. Kavala didn't speak for the longest time. When she did, it was with a soft sigh. "I've never seen you look like this." It wasn't a statement to her sister's features. It was a statement towards her exhaustion and the bruising on her body. The mark on her breast was new, because Kavala had seen her sister's skin many times. They had identical windmarks to go with their identical ivory skin and their eyes that were almost the exact same shade. The Denusk Pavilion of the Sapphire Clan liked to brag that its twin Konti were tokens of luck. At least, they used too, before Ay'aka - their mother - had fallen from a mare and broke her neck. The Pavilion used to be such a joyous place, their mother's joy filling it and bringing happiness to the family, their father, and the other two women he was married too.. their brother and the other family. Ay'aka had been Called to the grasslands to help with a problem that had literally plagued the horses of Cyphrus. She'd brought old healing with her and used the blood of sick horses that recovered from the Running Death to make a tonic for the ones that hadn't yet fallen to it. Ay'aka had brought honor to their Clan and had married a human Ankal which was incredibly rare for a Konti to do. Akela had been born. And then Kavala. One sightless, and one suited only to heal. Kavala heard animals far better than she ever read people. Akela picked up a sword before she could walk and bested her brother soundly even before they should have been using steel instead of wood. It mattered little. Their brother was a gifted webber and a leader. He would be the next Ankal, leaving the girls free to peruse their own arts. Tensions rose, and before long Kavala decided to visit Konti to enroll in the Opal Temple to learn Medicine. Rak'Keli marked her there, almost upon arrival, and it was very clear before long her talents ran along the lines of animals, not so much with humans. She stayed two years and had missed her sister terribly in that time. But she'd never managed to make it home to find out what happened in her absence. Kavala would have to tell Akela sooner or later, but the shame ran deep, so she remained silent. Kav knew better than to push Akela into explaining anything. She'd talk when she was ready, probably after a cookie or two and half her tea. Before long, Kavala filled the silence herself. "This is Sanctuary. It's not my place, though I run it for the city. They loaned me the facility for a stables and animal clinic. They do that for women here, sometimes, when they have a business mind and agree to their terms. There's no formal written statement to this regards, but the cost is a child. I'll have to pick one of them sooner or later and carry one for them. And I'll have to do so until its a boy and they take it from me. Great deal isn't it?" Kavala said, her usual humor laced with something strange... a bitter acid of humor. "And you know... I'm slowly getting used to the idea. It's not exactly growing on me... but its becoming less and less repulsive." She added. "I think I get to keep the land as long as I retain my broodmare status in their society. It's a lovely setup. Shall I sign you up?" Kavala said, leaning back and looking amused. It was funny to her sister, but had she known what Akela had just been through, the comment wouldn't have been made. No, not at all. Kavala leaned over, took a cookie, and began nibbling absently. Whatever else Kavala had gained from the Akalak, it was not decidedly tact.

[Akela]

Life and heat trickled back into Akela's limbs, and brought strands of more complex thought with them. She watched her sister provide for her necessities with the flawless efficiency that was her mark. Nostalgia washed over her, and for a moment it felt like waking up from a long dream. Even now a part of her could not call it a nightmare, and that part of her had been the one conspiring to keep her in the colony. The part that had almost got addicted. The girl's white skin and the intricacies of her tattoos and scale patterns began to resurface under the layers of grime and dirt. She outstretched an arm and tried her best to eat her cookie in a dignified manner that did not immediately scream 'starving'. That failed after the first bite. It would take much more than just a couple cookies to sate Akela, but it was a good start nevertheless. When Kavala commented that she had never seen her like this, Akela considered that her sister was right. Life had had its ups and downs, but this was the first time she'd ever sunk so low. "And I pray you will never have to see me like this again," she just murmured, looking almost apologetically in her sister's direction. She was supposed to be the strong one, the older sister, the guide. Perhaps she should have followed Kavala to Mura after all, but the prospect of meeting all those Konti women, with those sharp sights, staring at her, through her, past her who was sightless... it had been unbearable. She was on her fourth or fifth cookie, when Kavala broke their silence talking about the Sanctuary. The explanation of the unwritten deal between her and the Akalak of Riverfall answered the questions that had crowded her mind upon seeing the beautiful niche Kav had carved for herself. It looked too good to be true, and in a way, it was. Akela could not blame her sister, in truth, not after what she had been through. Enjoyment and shame in equal parts. Nikali had given her the means to keep living, though at the cost of almost taking over her mind. "I think I will pass," she smiled weakly, though the reason was not quite what Kavala might be expecting. It had little to do with morals. "I guess no-one will do something for nothing these days. Such things don't make me blush anymore, Kav. I..." Her voiced trailed off as she mustered the force to begin a tale and decide exactly how much she was willing to reveal at this time. She did not think Kavala was exactly ready for the full story. Kavala's trouble may not be growing on her, but Akela's had. "I was traveling south while you were away among the Konti," she said softly, locking her blue eyes in her sister's, "I felt restless and grew impatient for your return. The clan, eh, I wasn't feeling welcome there anymore despite brother's best efforts. I just know, deep down they thought I was the source of all the bad luck from mother's death onwards." This had not changed about Akela, the deep conviction that she was a bad omen, and so was the sight that 'was late in coming', as she put it when cornered, when in fact she had known from childhood that it would never come - as if it had exhausted itself telling her it wasn't going to make it there. A secret only Kavala knew. "Anyways, one day I decided not to wait any longer. I took Shimmer - do you remember him? - and rode south. The way of the sword and so on. I wanted to see those fabled Eypharian swordsmen who handle six blades at once, feel the rush of the duel again. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Well, it wasn't." Akela propped her chin on her forearms, elbows supporting themselves on the edge of the tub. "I was unfamiliar with that part of the sea of grass, but I was feeling, I don't know, invincible I guess. That's what happens when you grow complacent around the same usual opponents. The Zith weren't my usual opponents. I thought they were stupid. They weren't. They were actually quite smart, and surrounded me on all sides." "They ate Shimmer first, in front of me," her eyes narrowed a little, as if reliving the moment, "he was still alive when they, well, I'll spare you the details. They said I was next if they ran out of food before we got to their colony. They were from Din, which is not a good thing." It was actually the worst of the worst. Those Zith were the most animalistic of all, being far removed from civilization. "So, I entered the thriving business of slavery from the wrong door. I think I tried out the full range of things slaves do at one time or another, except becoming food. And, that was... how long could have it been? Maybe two years. I only got free earlier this season. Lopped the master's head off during the day, when they are much less sharp and willing to pursue." Akela blinked and tried to capture the essence of a reaction on her sister's face. She knew the tale was full of glaring gaps - it did not account for the carnal mark on her breast, or the fact that she had retained her sword. And slaves usually did not last nearly that long in Din... unless they bore a mark like Akela's, which made them quite irresistible.

[Kavala]

Kavala listened quietly as her sister spoke. There was a sensation growing in the pit of her stomach as Akela's story. She couldn't imagine how Akela felt about Shimmer's death and then what happened afterwards. Bile rose up in Kavala's throat, burning away her ability to speak. She put the cookie she was holding down, setting it off to the side of the plate where the rest of them were, and waited, letting her sister finish speaking. "Two years? Akela did they... no of course they did. I'm so sorry. I had no idea you were missing. I never heard any word from our father or the rest of the pavilion. I don't blame them for not sending word. They probably thought you went to Mura to find me. I... I know there's no words of comfort to make you feel better. By Semele, I can't imagine what you went through. No wonder you look like this." She said softly, shaking her head. "I'm glad you killed him. The Zith are the worst form of life. Someday someone will wipe every last one of them from the face of Mizahar. And I'll help them if I can. Akela, what can I do... anything I have is yours. You can stay here a while if you'd like... forever if you want. I can't replace Shimmer, but there's other horses here too. You are welcome to one... clothing... anything. I will promise even to not cook for you. " Kavala said, a ghost of a smile whispering across her face. "I understand a little what you went through. I spent a while in a slave caravan myself. It wasn't pleasant, and I'd probably be Zith food too if an Akalak raiding party hadn't crossed paths with them. I didn't get the satisfaction of killing them myself but I got to watch." She said softly, which further explained why she was in Riverfall. She wouldn't have told Akela, truthfully, but she wanted her sister to understand she knew a little about her situation. The weeks she spent with the slavers, however, didn't compare to the years with the Zith though. It couldn't begin too. The mark, however, was still unexplained. "Akela, what is this?" Kavala said, reaching forward and running her hand across the mark on her sister's breast. "It looks like a gnosis rather than a tattoo." The konti said gently, curious.

[Akela]

"I'm pretty sure they did," Akela nodded with a tiny smile, though she did not look devastated by it. If Akela had shown any feeling of shock or deep grief, it had been when she mentioned Shimmer's fate. The matter of whether the Zith "did" or "didn't" was actually not so obvious. It wasn't black and white, really, if the definition included willingness as its deciding factor. *** There had been this vivid dream the night after she was captured - at least, Akela had thought it was a dream as she could make no sense of it. A woman had introduced herself as Nikali, the only one who could possibly save Akela from her fate. At first, it hadn't been clear how, but the mark had explained it soon enough. They had brought her to Din, welcomed by the gruesome sight of piled bones and rotting flesh. In broken common, the Zith had felt it important to tell her she wouldn't last a season here. She had been defiant in spite of that, and there had been some pride in her at the time. She thought she had angered them, and they were considering eating her to make her shut up. They tore her clothes to make some progress in that direction, and happened to see the mark. They appeared to know about its significance, and were very pleased with it. Akela had resigned herself to die, and decided to meet Dira without a tear. Then the Zith had touched the mark, and her world had flared into feelings she did not even think could exist. She could not remember that day too well, but she had probably begged them for more, and that was only the first day. After a while, she came to be under the possession of a single Zith who was strong enough to lay claim to her. He took her sword as his own, loving the craftsmanship unknown to the Zith, and made Akela into a permanent slave, a rarity in Din. She remembered staring down at the other slaves in their pens as they cursed her in their eyes. She was well fed so she could stay lively and pleasing to the eye. She never asked what they fed her - she didn't want to know. She had learned to be an unquestioning Zith slave. She did as he commanded, bearing any humiliation with a smile so she could have her daily fix. Nikali had kept her promise, letting her live, though at the price of almost losing her mind. Her memories of life before the Zith were fading away in the face of slavery and the enjoyment it brought. Then, one day, her sword had saved her. Her master didn't really ever use it. He just liked to show if off, all shiny and sharp, but when it came to fighting his hands were plenty, as well as much more satisfying. It was a good thing; he never defiled the blade with his brutish ways. But one day, he unsheathed it in front of her to ask her a thing or two about it. And the sword talked to her. 'Is this all you want to be? Didn't you make a promise to me? You could be so much more.' It was as if she'd woken up from a long sleep, stunned. "Sure," she had answered, "let me show you how you handle it." He saw nothing bad with giving her the sword - she was, after all, obsessedly devoted to him. Akela had taken the sword, and everything had suddenly returned to her. The way of the sword. Her one redemption. "Like this," she had given him a tiny smile, decapitating him with a clean slash. His blood sprayed suggestively in quick rhythmical spurts. The mark on her body had liked it. A lot. *** "I'd love to stay here a while if you'll have me," Akela said, her tone reassuring. She was hurt, but not destroyed. "I can't promise forever... you know me, I'm still thinking about those Eypharian swordsmen... but we have been separated for too long. I want to make myself useful somehow." The idea of working under her younger sister was not entirely comfortable; she would have liked to feel like a peer, even though Kavala's success was a tough bargain indeed. Still, Akela knew she was not an entrepreneur like her sister; she better stick with blades and let Kavala think about managing the Sanctuary. "A horse, oh... I want one so badly, Kavala. I will pay for it, though. I stole coin from the Zith, so I can afford one. Can we go see them later?" She seemed to brighten at the thought. She was far more Drykas than Konti, after all. It didn't last long, though. When Kavala talked about being captured as a slave, Akela felt shame gather up in her stomach. She was supposed to have been there, protecting her sister - the only thing she was good at. But no, she was probably screaming in a Zith's alcove while they tortured Kavala. "I am so very sorry to hear that. I should have been there." And you should have learned some self-defense like I've always told you, her eyes suggested between the lines. Distracted by such thoughts, Akela thought nothing of Kavala reaching forward and running her fingers across her mark. Her eyes went wide, and she pulled back out of instinct, before she could start craving more. Clothes rubbing against her skin had absolutely no effect on her, but a willing touch was powerful indeed. She looked up at Kavala, stunned for an instant and shivering a little. She was horrified at the indecency of the thought that crossed her mind for a fleeting moment. "It's... painful in a way," she managed. "I would be incredibly grateful if you didn't mention it to anyone, especially to our family. Please... it's important for me." She looked at Kavala with pleading eyes.

[Kavala]

Kavala looked thoughtfully at her sister. There was something her sister wasn't revealing. When she talked about her time with the caravan, she always felt devastated. But Akela seemed... like it was something else. She mourned the loss of her horse, certainly, but everything else seemed somehow strange. Something was off, very off, and Kavala had no idea what it was. "Of course you can stay here. I have sixteen horses, most of which are pregnant and ready to foal, and I'll be so busy my head will spin... you're the better rider anyhow, and all the ones that aren't pregnant need work. Especially the ones that are going to be offered for sale. At the very least, we're going to have to teach them to be tethered. Coming from the grass, they aren't used to it. Sadly, only Wind belongs to me... the rest are owned by the city itself. But you can work the cost of one off. I have the right to pay a helper and so far I only have a groomsman. And you can stay with me. It's not my place... I'm only caretaking it." She said softly. She would have offered Akela her own room, to share her bed, but something in her sister's eyes screamed of a need for privacy. But Akela mentioned her sorrow at Kavala's situation with the caravan and shrugged. "I know what your thinking, Akela, and its not like that. They threw a tripwire out and Windsong went down. I thought it broke his leg. I was knocked off and I struck a rock with my head. I was out of it for quite. I couldn't do anything ... and when I woke up anything there had been to protect virtue-wise was already gone. A sword wouldn't have helped. I'm better with a scalpel and needle and thread anyhow... you know that." Even now, she felt like she needed to defend herself to Akela. She didn't want her older sister to think she'd been weak... taken because she couldn't defend herself. Well, that was half the truth of it anyhow. But when she started to touch her sister... Akela pushed away, not letting Kavala's fingers touch the mark for more than an instant. There was something in her sister's eyes, something horrified and intermingled with something akin to longing. It was just there for a moment, but it was so completely unexpected and startling, Kavala doubted she'd even seen it. "It doesn't look painful. It looks like a tattoo or mark of ownership. It even looks like a gnosis, though its in a strange place for one. Of course I won't tell anyone, Akela... especially not father. But you still haven't answered my question. What is it?" The younger sibling pushed, knowing when her sister was being evasive.

[Akela]

Kavala just was not going to let the matter drop, was she? They were almost too identical in some respects, a puzzled Akela considered for a brief moment. This was knowledge that, once shared, could not be forgotten for the rest of their lives. Kavala was about everything Akela had left; sure, there was Vanator, but his duties were with the Drykas who had never fully accepted the girls, especially after their mother's death. She had no idea how Kavala might react to the discovery, and whether her sister would distance herself from her. Akela's apprehension was justified in her mind. She appeared to shrink smaller with reflection, then splashing warm water over her face as if to give herself clarity. Water still dripping from her lips, she moved towards the edge of the tub, again closer to Kavala to allow her a clear view of the mark. "It is a gnosis, Kavala," she conceded with a heavy sigh, "and I think the location of choice is meant to obscure it as well as prevent accidental contact. How to put this into words? It's the mark of Nikali." It was a scarlet thing, soft and sinuous, with so many little loops woven into a knotwork resembling a chain. "It was given to me by the goddess on the way to the Zith colony," Akela explained, slowly, hands gripping the edge of the tub. "She is, after all, the goddess of slaves. I want you to know that this mark is the only reason I am alive today, and I am very thankful to Nikali for helping me. Nothing else could have saved me, Kavala... slaves just don't get out of Din alive. But I was liked, I was wanted with an intensity that made me rise above a food supply. It's what this mark does to those who wear it. It makes them want to please, and it makes them extremely good at it. And yes, it makes them enjoy it tremendously." "I will admit, I had plenty of opportunities to escape," Akela confessed, arching forward closer to her sister, "but my will wasn't strong enough to do it. This mark gets you addicted, and it scares me to think I am only wearing one. I do not know what will happen to me should I gain more, honestly. In time, I have learned to live with it and push it back before it's too late. The only problem is when someone touches it; it's like getting drunk, then. There are no inhibitions, no thinking of the consequences, and this mark doesn't care that you are my sister." "I get some kind of sixth sense of what the other person craves," Akela murmured, "and the urge to provide it. It's Nikali's power. Whatever shape their pleasure may take, I will become its faithful mold. I can become anything, sister... anything. At least the Zith were straightforward. Their thinking is so linear and ruled by their instincts... their satisfaction is also very primitive. It was almost too easy. When you touched me, however, something else crossed my mind." She shocked herself as she heard her own words. She had spent far too long with the Zith, perhaps, and she had lost the ability to self-censor her speech. "At first, I thought 'she likes it rough', but then I knew that wasn't entirely accurate. It was actually... 'she likes it cruel.'" She stared at Kavala, blue eyes in blue eyes. "Correct? Well, if you touch me like that long enough, you will get from me exactly what you crave, and we'll both risk getting addicted to it. Trust me, Kavala, I know how it works. Frankly, I suspect it's things that will make our brother want to flay me." She spoke no more, but neither did she make an attempt to move or hide her mark. It was, after all, also Kavala's fault for being so insistent. She should have known that curiosity killed the cat.

[Kavala]

Little sisters made themselves pests. It was part of their job being born junior to their older siblings. The problem was, they generally had no clue when they were pushing for the wrong things or pressing to know something truthfully was best left unknown. And Akela's reaction was truthfully unknown territory for Kavala. When her sister froze then splashed water on her face, then seemed to shrink back into herself, Kavala leaned closer and her eyes widened. She knew the answer was going to be something unexpected - something astonishing - and she didn't want to miss it. It was. And it was also horrifying. Nikali was something whispered of in the dark. She was a topic that caused men to grin lecherously about. Notorious. Famous. Wholly unholy. Kavala stared at her sister in shock, not knowing what to say. It was difficult at first, to hear the rest of the words, to let their true meaning sink in to Kavala's mind. The goddess had marked Akela, and thus Akela had not only survived her slavery but had enjoyed it and thrived. Nikali was on the surface something obvious - the goddess of slaves, sex, and servitude - but she was something deeper as well. She governed addictions - often giving them and most certainly identifying them. Kavala had seen Zith before. All Drykas had. They were hated by the horseclans with a ferocity that was unrivaled. The creatures ate their horses, their children, and anything they could get their hands on. And as Kavala's eyes met Akela's, the older sister would understand what her younger sibling was seeing. In Kavala's mind, she was seeing Akela willingly touching the beasts, even enjoying it. There were images locked in Kavala's mind - scenes of her own capture of being pinned beneath stronger larger males or watching other women be pinned -and all she could see was her sister's form replace the victims she knew and a winged monster replace the attackers she'd witnessed. It was heartbreaking, but in a way Kavala was thankful. Very thankful. Akela could see any number of emotions cross her sister's face; fear, astonishment, uncertainty, horror, then acceptance. "If it allowed you to survive, I'm very grateful that you wear it. Though, I cannot imagine how hard it must have been... still is... to know ... " She was cut off. Her sister had more to say, and what was forthcoming was something as equally astonishing. It was as if the Akela she knew was gone, buried somewhere in the sky out on the grasslands, and this new creature was someone more insightful, someone who's initiation with the dark side of people had been fully completed. The words Akela spoke were tainted somehow, spilling truth out across the very situation Kavala had been trying to overcome. Kavala bowed her head, ran wet hand through her hair, and stared at her sister with haunted eyes. "I don't know what to say, Akela. I don't know what is more horrible... knowing the truth or living the truth. I live with only my own truth, but I suspect you live with everyone's truth you've ever been with." Kavala said softly and blinked as tears welled up in her eyes. "While I was in konti learning to be a healer, Rak'keli marked me. After the Akalak freed me, I tried to take my own life... it's hard living with something you don't understand. It's not cruelty, it's pain. Somehow in my mind, it got all twisted around and I don't know how to fix it. My own mark won't let me take my life. I can only heal... and heal anything that needs it, even my tormentors. It's compulsive. But craving pain... hoping for it without being able to inflict it upon myself is something horrible. I don't want to taint you that way, Akela... so forgive me if I.. don't touch you. It' is not because I do not love you. I really do. I just don't... not that way... life has already been too hard for both of us, I suspect." Kavala said gently. Her eyes were still shining with her unshead tears. "I don't have to like it, and I don't think its fair. It's... horrible, Akela. For both of us. I am starting to think the curse is real" She said, almost breathless.

[Sorian]

The crisp wind of winter was one which breathed heavily on the massive blue figure lingering around the environs of Sanctuary, and his distinct movements were ones which rather spoke of uneasiness and tension. He lumbered in a quickened pace along dark corners, seemingly ashamed to approach Kavala and her sister in their heartfelt conversation. However, this was not the case; he merely wanted to set himself as far away from them as possible, for while he wanted to scoff and laugh at the foolishness of their talk's subject, he somehow dared not to. Hiding away behind a dark wall on the opposite side of the room, the powerful Akalak could not help himself to two things. One was to have to listen to the conversation, for his acute senses kept taking the words in despite his haughty and displeased assessment of these. The second would be his own feral curiosity, for much like a wolf would be drawn to the sound of prey, it interested him and made him plunge into a terrible lucid trance. A growl emitted from his lips, probably giving him away; This time it was Navis, and not Sorian, at the helm of the perfect azure body. He had been prowling around the fields in search of anything that didn't belong to Sanctuary to throw his savage pleasures at. Somehow his stay at Sanctuary had made him a less prominent fixture in Sorian's life, the more gentle original even managing to secure a begrudging acceptance of his presence. While in a way this is what Navis wanted, he felt that he was becoming quite docile already. He has a reputation to uphold after all, what with him being Navis the Tormentor. Unfortunately for him the winter snow was quite heavy that day, and thus even the small animals which he had turned into sport during his spurts of freedom had disappeared into their burrows, marking him with a constant cloud of displeasure. His breaths were heavy and laden with spite and annoyance; he had never felt such constraints in his life, and despite the reaction which he showed Kavala that first night they were together, he totally rejected the notion of her crushing herself under the weight of her world. It was absurd for him, just as Sorian's own dilemma was as well. He could not understand why, or how heavy their troubles were, even though he had become the reservoir of the former, and was the direct source of the latter. And then there's Akela's own burdens, which she seemed to have learned to enjoy, despite the heaviness of the blessing -or curse- which she had received from the goddess of slaves. As she spoke of the gnosis mark and her experiences, Navis could not help but grit his teeth and snort his displeasure away, folding his arms across his chest in a two-bit show of his annoyance and arrogance. "I don't have to like it, and I don't think its fair. It's... horrible, Akela. For both of us. I am starting to think the curse is real". These words from Kavala proved to be the last straw for the terrible Akalak, his clenched fist unwittingly smashing into the stone wall, cracking a section of it and rocking the entire room. He remained behind the wall though, his eyes glowering and rolling at nothing in particular as he continued to listen. He knows that his rough actions would give him away anytime to the fearsome servant of Nikali and his overburdened host, and waited for them to come see him as he spoke out his displeasure. "Bah, what foolish thoughts! Women these days!" he grunted furiously.

[Akela]

Kavala's reaction was perhaps expected, but it still managed to surprise Akela nonetheless. A string of feelings piled themselves up on her face, some more obvious than others. In truth, had it been anyone but Kavala,she would have anticipated a slap and being called a traitorous whore at the very least. Kavala was not a violent woman, though. Even before her initiation as a healer, she had never resorted to physical means to assert herself. And now, she was addicted to receiving pain. Akela would not tell her sister how she had been tempted to slap her across the face with full force, just to see if Kavala really liked it. She had a feeling her younger sister was more into other kinds of pain, though. "I think I owe Rak'keli a big one," the Konti sighed, going back to the business of undoing the knots in her hair, "if there's one thing I learned from all this is that the easy way out rarely pays off. There's always a greater opportunity, the big city beyond the hill. And we all cough up blood to get there." The idea of Kavala committing suicide terrorized Akela. Just like her mark had saved her life in its own way, Kavala's had prevented her from doing something both stupid and irreversible. Kavala had a lot of monsters to face deep down in her soul. Akela thought herself better off than her sister; at least she had long washed the guilt away. The goddess of slaves had completely undone her so she could be remade, but Kavala? As things stood right now, there was no obvious solution to her plight. "You need to decide for yourself what you need and what you want," Akela smiled, encouraging her sister, "but now you are aware that you're a bit like someone who decided to quit drinking for good, and I'm the man-sized keg of booze in your living room. In truth, I don't know what the right choice is. Resisting and yielding... both have their ups and downs. Life is probably about finding that golden middle ground." "The curse," Akela repeated with a cynical grin, "I have always believed in it, and so should you; if it exists, it can be broken. But I think this curse will make us..." She stopped as the walls trembled with the rage of a shattering blow. A hairline appeared on the wall to the right of the bathtub. Perhaps surprisingly, Akela was not startled; instead, she looked intrigued by the event. "These house things aren't as sturdy as they look," she shook her head sagely, as if knowing there was no immediate danger. "But each comes bundled with its own eavesdropper, apparently." Akela licked her lips, smelling something through her mark. "What a magnificient addiction, but... stifled. In withdrawal. The Zith are no match." She stood up in the tub and cast a glance at her sword lying not far from her. "I am afraid you will find me a little... more prone to bloodlust than I used to be," she whispered to her sister, smiling. Right now a part of her wanted for nothing more than to quench this being's desire by crossing swords with it in wanton violence.

[Kavala]

Kavala wasn't as calm as her sister was. Because her voice had dropped slightly at the mention of the curse, the crashing against the wall was easily heard, and it made the young healer jump. Which, of course, caused her cheeks to redden because her sister seemed to calm. Akela was always the unshakable one. She had an inner strength that the konti was well able to convey out through her arms and out into her blade. It was almost as if Akela herself were a blade. Such things weren't possible... not really. But if they were, Kavala was certain Akela would qualify as being one. Even now, after so much experienced, her sister was a pillar of strength. The healer softly shook her head, took a deep breath and then another, and swung her legs over edge of the tub to find her feet again. "Unless Wind slipped the latch on his stall again, that could be only one person. Well, technically two... but we'll leave it at one for now. I don't live here alone. One of my ... patien.... " She started to say patient but that wasn't exactly true. What was Sorian? A friend? A stray she'd brought home to nurse back to health? "He's staying here a while, taking some time to ... regroup." It sounded familiar. In fact, it almost sounded a bit like what Akela was about to do herself. Well, at least she'd named the place the right way. Sanctuary was somehow fitting. Kavala offered a soft smile to Akela then let a soft rage fall over her features. She thought rage was probably how she should react, even though truthfully she didn't mind where Sorian was lurking and what he was listening too. It was just one of those things... those times... where she had to pretend to be normal. She had nothing to hide. And as for Akela's privacy, well... her sister could set her own ground rules and take action according to how she saw fit. So, the healer padded barefoot across the stone bathing chamber and crossed the threshold to peer outside. Her eyes met his as she caught sight of him and scowled. She wondered if it was believable. Kavala didn't really feel irritated. It was hard for her to work up such emotions, because they were tiresome. She didn't mean that in a spoiled way, but rather they were tiresome in the way that they exhausted her to maintain. Anger, rage, even sustaining a bad mood was difficult for Kavala. She'd much rather surround herself in quiet cheer and hard work than brood or mull. It was simply difficult for her to enjoy. Not that the world held much joy for her these days. Melancholy was the more apt description. But regardless, she met Sorians' gaze, tried to look angry, and said in a soft rough voice "Would you like to come in and introduce yourself or are you going to lurk outside destroying things at random?" She almost smiled. Almost everything about Sorian or Navis was random. Always. If they were going to do something, they'd simply did it. Not because it needed doing, but more often than naught, they preformed a task because the mood struck them. They did it there and then. No waiting, no pre-plans, no hassles. It was truthfully a refreshing way to live. "Because Sorian... or are you Navis... its rude to ease drop. It's far better to boldly walk in and join the conversation like any decent Akalak... any person ... would do. " She said shaking her head. If she was a less violent person, she'd have his ear twisted in her fingers and be dragging him on over to meet Akela personally.