(The Communal Kitchens) Eating Issues (Taln)

by **Drusilla** on August 22nd, 2011, 5:14 pm

"Thank you for your kindness, if you can show me where to obtain something edible, I can catch it. I'm faster than I look." Drusilla went to smile at Taln, only to sense something had upset him, "I'm sorry, I seem to have said something that has upset you, I'm sorry..." Her tone was wavering and almost unhearable to the ears. She lowered her head, letting her hair make a barrier between her and Taln. She was visably upset with herself. "Perhaps I-I should make my leave... I'm sorry to have wasted your time Taln. I shall find some food on my own, I guess."

She got to her feet, " I should return to my looms, I can get a head start on tomarrows work.." She made her way to the door, "Good bye, Taln. It was nice speaking to you, and I apollogise once again for upsetting you." She gave a small bow. Being upset she didn't care if it was improper to bow to a dek. "Maybe I should just weave, and give up on socalizing...I seem to be horrible at it," Drusilla whispered to herself. She exhaled and paused, attempting to regain composure. Time to burry her feelings in her work.

by **Taln** on August 22nd, 2011, 7:49 pm

Drusilla thoroughly confused him like few had ever done in such a short time. Was she Avora or dek? He listened to her stuttered apologies, bowing and half attempts to move off before anything was clarified. It inflamed his temper and the Endal within erupted into life. This was just bird shyke.

Taln stood with solid grace, unfolding his six foot frame from the chair and moved to her in a single swift stride. His emerald eyes blazed and his chin went up as he took gentle but firm hold of the woman's arm to guide her outside. Her antics were gonna get them both killed if he didn't move her stuttering self to a safer place. In a strong, quiet voice that brooked no room for argument, he commanded,

"Stop acting like that or someone will see and give us both a beating--and they'll only be nice to you about it. Just follow me and we can talk this out in privacy instead."

The fiery haired blazing-eyed man looked every inch an Endal as he furiously walked Drusilla out the door of the kitchens and they headed swiftly toward the Tisuma baths for optimum privacy. No Inarta used this area at this time of day because it was between cleanings.

When he finally stopped, Taln dropped the woman's arm and folded his arms over his chest. He made a swift and thorough glance that they were alone and then he spoke in the same strongly controlled, clear tone.

"What the petching hells are you doing? Why do you waver with every other sentence? You're an -Avora- and as a foreigner, you're given more status than a pure Inarta like me, and yet you act more the dek than I do! If you're hungry, just -say- so. If you wanted to bed me, just -say- so. You want me to fetch? Just -say- so. Why were you bowing and running? Speak up! I don't understand what you want from me, unless -you tell me- what it is."

The temper died from his eyes leaving them looking frantic and puzzled and his frame seemed sapped of energy. He knew that once again, he'd overstepped his bounds as a lowly dek, but this uncertainty and insecurity from a foreigner was confusing at best and disturbing at worst. Why didn't she stake her claim as the Avora caste she was, and -live- it?! Gods what wouldn't he give to have her status! He could do so much with her caste--help or teach hundreds and really get things done! This pale lily had fangs in her mouth, but no strength to her words. No conviction to her tone--as though anything she said could be taken away by the soonest breeze with nothing to back them up.

He didn't care that the floors of the baths needed cleaning, he stripped off the bryda and stepped into the nearest bath. Taln watched the pale, velvet skinned woman with a very direct emerald gaze. She'd given him no further orders and seemed to have no idea how to even speak a full sentence. The man would get her some food but only if she made up her petching mind about who she was and what she wanted from him. He couldn't abide the indecision. Higher castes were for leadership roles. To take command as he'd always dreamed of. His copper hair fell forward over his face and he stared at the tepid water. And waited in silence.

Secret :

by **Drusilla** on August 22nd, 2011, 11:37 pm

To say that Taln surprised her was the biggest understatement ever. As he grabbed her arm, she stared large pupiled eyes looking confusingly at him. But she let him lead her, she didnt make a noise. She hadn't been this frighten in years, eight to be exact.

Drusilla was confused to find that they had ended up in the baths. She looked around no one was here, it was alway crowded her- Her thoughts were interupted by Taln yelling. Standing there almost shaking, her mind trying to take in everything he was saying. Bed him? make him fetch? Was that what he thought of her? She wanted to scream and yell, to cry and run away all at once. Among all these emotions, never did violence cross her mind. She would have to hold her ground.

"Bed you? Is that really what you think of me?! To be so low to force someone to do that? I don't know what childeren are told here, but I was taught to say please and thank you! I was also taught to treat humans as HUMANS! Dek is just a word, Avora is just a word! If your upset for me treating you like a human, well then sorry for that! What do I want? I was attepting to make a friend...I saw you bundle up your food, so I gave you the inedable food my body can't digest."

Drusilla was silent for a moment, "You asked what's wrong with nudity? I'll tell you, its a Symenestra's weak spot." She began to unbutton her high necked dress, she pushed it to the side. Her body was covered in shell like armor like most of her kind. She started to remove her shell exoskelleton. Revealing the last layer of her defense, the rags that were wraped around her entaire body. It would take forever to redress... Mostly the rag strips, they took forever to put on. She began unwrapping herself. Placing the rags to the side. She strided into the water, her long hair taking on a life of its own in the water.

by **Taln** on August 23rd, 2011, 12:29 am

Taln smiled. Just a little. She was finally saying what she wanted to! What she needed to!

"You were brought up different and I understand that, but now that you are given the -privilege- of Inarta caste, use it, as you are now. Open and direct. You can't move to Wind Reach, accept a title of leadership and then timidly mince every sentence. I'll bet it felt good to finally let out what you feel, huh?"

The smile dropped from the man's features as he saw her undress.

'What the petch kinda skin -is- that? Gods--she's taking off her skin!'

A growing discarded pile of clothing and symenstra exoskeleton littered the floor and he watched the pale woman not only approach but join him in the tub.

A small thought wormed its way into the front of his mind--she'd seen him with the bundle! Gods if she told anyone, they would kill him for sure! Taln's groin tightened in fear and panic took over.

The strangeness of a foreigner with fangs and exoskeleton--was supposed to be different--but if she told anyone what she'd seen, he'd be killed for sure and ....Reech would starve to death alone!

His green eyes clouded over with worry and his eyebrows nearly met in worry. He licked nervously at his lip ring and he just didn't know what to think or say.

Drusilla had said so much on top of revealing her knowledge of him hoarding food, and peeling off two layers of skin! Taln just needed to think, he was panicked and couldn't think through his worry over the fledgeling's possible death. He just needed a chime or two to think is all, and then he'd talk, but right now his mind was just too full.

by **Drusilla** on August 23rd, 2011, 1:40 am

"I assume, that I wasn't ment to see you hide that food." Drusilla glanced over her shoulder, "I have no intention of telling anyone about it. However I am curious what that food is for..." She went silent thinking over what the food was for. What was he hiding?

Drusilla looked over her pale form, "My bones are fragile." She smiled sadly to herself, "What would break a human's bones would shatter mine."

She looked to Taln. The other Avora.... do they really do that to people?" She made her way to Taln. She was thankful for her long hair, it covered most of her body. As she was frightened by other women as well as fellow Symenestra, Drusilla had no way of knowing if her body was attractive to the Inarta or to anyone at all...

She pushed the thoughts from her mind, it didn't matter. She remembered the early conversations she had when she first came to Wind Reach Miss? She more like, a spinster then a lady. Head Weaver Dai, proudly proclaims that she killed her taste in sex at the age of twenty. Whenever one of her weavers become pregnant, she screams and yells about how there is nothing more noble then work and that children just distract from that. I have even heard that Kaden was forced to cut her rations after the last outburst. Anyway, the bad news is that she hates you for being young and a foreigner. On the bright side of things, it doesn’t seem she hates you anymore then every other person here.” Emil giggled,

Drusilla gave what sounded like a giggle, "Being what I am, I don't think pregnancy will be an issue."

Emil simply shrugged at Drusilla when she said she won’t get pregnant. Emil understood that Drusilla was a foreigner and that it was very unlikely an Inarta would mate with her.

She had sealed her fate of loneliness that day. It hadn't ment much to her back then. But now...

"Oh, Tanl I'm sorry, I spaced out," she hoped she hadn't missed anything important. She blushed, almost certain Taln would say something about not focusing.

by **Taln** on August 23rd, 2011, 2:12 am

After a long silence, he'd manged to get back his composure and set about answering all the questions she'd asked--like an Avora.

"Yes. Avora and the majority of females only talk to me for that one reason." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Not all of them are female Avoras." He shrugged, as if trying to shake off unpleasant memories.

"You're mistaken then--you're treating an -Inarta- like a regular human. We're not soft. Weakness isn't encouraged--especially in children. We work hard and take pride in that. Saying please and thank you doesn't mean a thing to a people who work petching hard just to keep eating. Please won't feed, clothe or shelter me Drusilla. It's a word of appeasement that's low on the list of priorities when we're mostly just trying to survive."

He stretched out his full frame, ducked his head under the water and sat up again. Wiping the water from his face, the dek continued talking in his unusually quiet voice.

"You gave me your unwanted food. Most Inarta would save that for their favorite yasi student, not waste it on a low life dek."

Taln's mouth snapped shut when the woman's eyes glazed over as if he simply wasn't there. He didn't know if she was daydreaming, bored with hearing him talk or doing something symenestra.

by **Drusilla** on August 23rd, 2011, 2:58 am

"While it's true 'I'm sorry' wont feed or clothe someone it shows that a person is concerned. The Inarta are by no means soft, even with outsiders they know of the firery hearted and haired angels." She looked at him, smiled her careful smile and giggled.

"I'm not an average Avora, if you hadn't noticed. I dont know any Yasi, very few Inarta care about my life. Unless they wish to stare and whisper about me. If I were to die today no one would care, and no one would mourn." She looked into the water, "I don't blame them. Symenestra are monsters, plain and simple. Maybe thats why I'm an Avora, had I been made a dek it would of made me dangerous to other people. A dek with fangs and claws. A hunger for raw meat. Eyes that see in the darkness. I am nothing more than a monster."

Her hair swirled back and forth through the water as Drusilla looked at a clawed hand. "I wish...I was pretty like the other Avora," the last part almost unhearable. "Would you be ok if I paid you a compliment? Or is that horribly wrong, even with no one around?" She smiled, " I also want to ask a few questions, if you dont mind... as person to person, not Avora to dek"

by **Taln** on August 23rd, 2011, 4:26 am

"Angels?"
Taln looked at her for a long moment. He didn't hear giggling often and wasn't quite sure what to make of this mercurial woman.

The man listened but shook his head in disagreement.

"No Avora don't have to be tough if they craft things. They sit on their butts and just make pretty things. First of all, you already said that your bones are fragile--you're just not tough enough to be a dek. Not trying to be insulting, but you'll find no stronger creature than a beaten dek. We're hostile because we're forced to survive, and have the will to survive. You sound a little like me a couple moons ago. I just wanted a friend, someone to care whether I lived or died or maybe even if I was happy."

The man flicked a glance at her and away again out of pure habit.

"I'll show you where you can get raw meat. If I understand anything, it's hunger."

Taln stepped out of the pool, water sluicing off his skin in a sheet, his wet feet slapping against the floor. He pulled on the bryda and sat by the side of the pool again.

"Why would you wish to look different than what you are? You're as pale as a lily with a touch like velvet--no one I ever met had -purple- eyes."

He shifted to sit cross legged, resting his elbows on his thighs and looked at Drusilla through lowered lashes.

"I shouldn't have overstepped my caste earlier, I'm sorry I scolded you. You're an Avora and if you want to compliment, insult or question me, then the choice is entirely yours."

The man answered in his quiet tone. Why would she ask him permission? Oh right coz he'd gone all scarred dek beast, dragged her around and scolded her when she was timid already. She was afraid of the big dek bully. If he didn't already have his head bowed in courtesy, it would have gone there in shame.

by **Drusilla** on August 23rd, 2011, 6:38 am

"Yes, angels. I met an eagle rider as a child, and that's the only word I could think of to describe her," Drusilla smiled. This memory was bittersweet, but just as vivid as the day it happened. She still needed to find the eagle that the woman rode, just to make sure it really had happened.

Drusilla started to get out of the bath, "What happened to making a friend? Did you make one?" Her eyes showed curiousity. "Like a lily? I'm as pale as the walking dead! The 'velvet' as you call it, are tiny little hairs that allow me to scale most surfaces. My appearance to most here is ghastly, not flowery.. Where I'm from, green eyes aren't the everyday norm" Drusilla had began to wrap the cloth rags around her arms and legs.

"No need to be sorry. Yes, you caught me off gaurd. But if you needed to rant. Well, its alot safer to yell with me than with someone else." She noticed that Taln had lowered his head again. After fixing the buttons on her dress Drusilla approached him carefully. Slowly she reached out a hand lifting his chin. "You're always looking down... Now tell me if your ok with some questions, not because you HAVE to but, if you WANT to."

by **Taln** on August 23rd, 2011, 4:07 pm

"Yea eagles are amazing aren't they? Once in while on those few lucky days I get to go to the Aeries and clean up for them. They are everything great all in one creature! They can -fly- fast and strong to anywhere they want and they're so intelligent, fierce, strong and actually mind connect with their rider!"

Taln's voice tinged with massive awe and respect as he described the little he'd seen of the incredible creatures that played an essential role in Wind Reach.
He nodded at her friend question and left it at that. He wasn't about to mention Reech to anyone and didn't want to drag down Rista's young yasi reputation by being associated with him. Some things are best left unsaid.

"Scale? You mean climb? That's perfect! Coz the place that has all that fresh raw meat is petching high up. I've almost broken my neck trying to get to it."

Taln watched Drusilla in curiosity.

"Foreigners are supposed to look different. You don't look ghastly, you look like your race and I look like mine. Well, I'm a lot taller than most, so I guess I'm kinda different too."

The man flinched as she reached for his chin. After years of use as a punching bag, Taln was scared as all hells of anyone reaching for his face.

He couldn't count the times they'd reach for his face, forcing him to look at them and then whack him for making eye contact. When she lifted his chin he kept eyes strongly averted to the side, and held his breath as his heart beat battered the inside of his ribs.

Touch was almost always associated swiftly with pain and Taln's mind went blank in fear as she talked. He didn't know what she wanted him to say. Who could think when someone's grabbing your face! Why did girls -always- grab at his face? Not once had he ever had the urge to grab someone's face and force them to look at him. He licked his lip ring and swallowed hard, waiting for whatever she chose to do next.

A small, scared thought poked the edge of his mind, 'What if she wants to get revenge for me yelling at her?'