Pavi Shmavi {Taylani}

[Timshel]

Timshel opened his mouth. Then closed it. When he had seen the glisten in her eyes, he reached out, but quickly dropped his hand in lieu of hers. Now, he looked around for a place to sit, but only saw flattened grass and pavilion tents. Finally he decided to plot himself against an indiscriminate tent pole. The Drykas around shot him a queer look, but he merely sighed, looking at the girl. “Don't apologize, Taylani, I was the one who yelled. The Eypharians had enslaved the Benshira for a time up to the Valterrian. During the disaster, they used the chaos as a chance to flee,” Timshel said, “They're still plenty of slaves in Ahnatep; many are still Benshiran... but I already mentioned that. A concubine is actually a fairly upstanding role, there. Right behind the military and civil servants. Only concubines really train or use dance professionally." Timshel twirled a piece of grass between his fingers. "Unless... you are nobility. That would explain your entitled sense of 'property'...” Timshel caught himself a bit, "Sorry," he said and looked down. He gave a ostentatious twirl of his hand. “M'lady?” he asked.

[Taylani]

Taylani takes an extra moment to compose herself, more and more often lately she has let her frustration and anger over the entire situation rule her mind. No matter how much she told herself to internalize she couldn't seem to keep it in. After all this time it didn't seem as if Taylani had learned her lesson yet, though one thing has happened. She has gotten used to sitting upon the ground. So while he grabbed a tent pole, which she couldn't help but give a small smile at, she sank down to the ground. The movement was smooth, and fluid with no hitching motions.

"In Syliras there are no slaves. In fact, the knights often put slavers to death and free the wretches..so we don't..or I guess now it is they don't get a lot of visitors with slaves." Her fingers smooth out her skirts around her body, the plainly colored garb conspicuous considering even the Drykas' tents are colorful. "I am not nobility, but everyone in Syliras had worth. None just because they were born with the ability to bear children. I danced, and practiced to perform in theaters. On stage." Bitterness colored her words but she did allow a soft smile to grace her lips, remembering the feeling of listening to the music and controlling her body in different poses.

"You've got that groveling thing down pretty well.." She says, one brow quirking upward, her tone colored with just the hint of teasing. "You must have had practice.."

[Timshel]

“Of course I did.” Timshel grinned, “I'm still alive and pretty, aren't I?” He adjusted himself, leaning back so the tent pole aligned with his spine. “I've heard tales of the Syliras knights,” he said, "Heard they were stringent." He put the piece of grass in his mouth, sucking on the root. “Performances and theaters, eh? Yeah I guess we had things kinda like that. During festivals, at least...” Timshel chewed on the root, pausing. It had been growing dimmer as they had walked. Now the tent-pole's shadow next to Timshel was long, and the sun was winking behind the tip of a tall pavilion. The warm-colored, subdued sunlight always seemed so nice. Timshel decided to give up on his map and fold it into his tunic. Afterwards he used his thumb to crack each of his fingers, glancing at the girl as he did so. “So what are you going to do now that you're here, Taylani?” he asked.

[Taylani]

With just a little flounce of her skirt, Taylani settles to the ground in a graceful slip to the ground, her legs curling beneath her denoting a practiced ease. Her hands smooth her skirts around her out of habit before looking back toward Timshel with a rueful smile. "Yes the knights are strict. Mostly to keep order in Syliras I am sure, if you followed the rules you were safe. They protected you. If not..." Her voice trails off and she looks away, at the horizon of the setting sun. Her shoulders lift in a shrug but she does not pick up her sentence. Her own squabble with the knighthood had started the ball rolling on this course of events, but it was not something she shared with others.

His final question was more difficult to answer, and though she found herself enjoying this conversation since for once it was not with her captors or other unfortunate captives like herself she was not sure how much to say. "I don't know. Endure I guess." Her fingers pick at the grass, her eyes did not meet his gaze. "The man who bought me, he is demanding two children from me and then he says he will take me home." A light blush rose on her cheeks coloring her pale skin and another vague shoulder shrug is given. "I suppose that is what I will do. Though he wants me to braid and bead my hair, and play the Drykas puppet as well." her eyes finally lifted now, the blues going as hard as steel and the lines around her eyes tighten, "But I won't be Drykas."

[Timshel]

Her eyes, once watery, now froze into a sharp, still blue. Furrowed brows seemed to ridge ice into the snow-white alpine banks of a frozen valley. “I won't be Drykas,” she said. “I believe you,” Timshel said, eyes wide. He plucked the grass from his lips; then flicked it away. He stood up. “Listen, it's getting dark,” he said motioning towards the winking sun and the tent-pole's shadow. It had reached her curled feet now. “I should head back to the outskirts and cook dinner before dark.” Timshel reached out and offered her a hand up, “But don't be shy now. The only one I really have around here is Jas, and she's not really much of a talker." Timshel mused about his horse for a moment. "Otherwise...” He trailed off. “Well, I don't know much about this place,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “But if you're not a slave, and you won't be Drykas, I'll be interested to see what you'll become, Taylani.” Timshel put his hands on his butt and arched his back, cracking it. He tried cracking his fingers again, but failed. They were still loose from before. He shook them limp anyway. "I could help teach you to ride, if you like."

[Taylani]

Taylani accepted his hand up, moving easily as one who is comfortable with her body and knew exactly what it could do and not do. It was not something that was easily taught, most people took for granted their own bodies and musculature but for a Dancer that was the first thing she was taught and it showed in each movement she made.

"Perhaps I will take you up on that offer. I will need to learn eventually, It will be a very long while before he has to uphold his end of the bargain and until then..." She shrugs again, she is not sure what she will become. That was a large part of the problem for the type of Dance she had dedicated herself too was not forgiving of long breaks. The sacrifice of practice, training, and dedication to keep one's body in shape was grueling at best. Two children would effectively ruin her body for many dance styles just because of the prolonged time between practices. So already she was no longer who she had been before her capture, and she has no clue who she will be by the time she has met her required goals to be taken home. "Do you need help finding your way back?"

[Timshel]

“Right. Two kids.” Timshel's eyes flicked to her belly, then back again. He managed a smile. “I would love help finding my way back,” he said. He pulled out the map he'd been working on. “This thing turned out utterly useless!” he said, crumpling it up and throwing it behind him. “Just look at how quickly the city changes. It's ridiculous.” He motioned towards the new tents that had come to set up for the night, the ones from this morning left prints and stomped grass in their wake. He paused, then walked over to his crumpled piece of paper, picking it up and carefully flattening it out. “Waste not,” he said. Straightening up, he flourished his hand in the direction they came, “After you...” He stopped. Looking past his fingers, he saw two Drykas. They were chatting and making similar, wild gestures. Some circular, others sharp and pointed. They talked rapidly between each gesture and instead of holding each others gaze, their eyes shifted from hand to head. “Just what is all that about, anyway?” he asked, pointing towards them.

[Taylani]

Her hands shift instinctively over her belly as his eyes flicked lower, with his words. A flush raises in her cheeks but she lifts her chin, tossing her vibrant hair over one shoulder, knowing what he must have been thinking. Yet she has made the bargain, and whether or not she had had any real choice in the matter, it was not something that she allowed herself to dwell too much in self-pity and self-loathing over. That way was madness if she let it.

When he picked up the piece of paper, she offered him a little rueful smile "Considering unless you bring your own, you won't find paper and pencil in Endrykas. The Drykas feel that they are unnecessary and unimportant." Taylani shrugs, moving toward the direction they had come, agilely side stepping a tent stake in the ground. "They do many things the more difficult way, such as teaching history by word of mouth. Expecting I guess for everyone to simply remember. Expecting that word of mouth means that some things inevitably get changed. Written history doesn't change much."

Her body glides along the grasses easily enough, completely fluid and if one did not look at the stormy blue eyes, and didn't stop to chat with Taylani they might not have managed to figure out that she was not here of her own volition such was her movements. "Pavi. It's another thing that is unnecessarily complicated. All that gesturing in lieu of some words, and in others just a way to emphasis meaning." She shrugs barely looking at the two men. "Walking around here you will always assume that things are about to come to blows just because of the wild gesturing. I don't speak much of it though they try to make me learn it."

[Timshel]

Timshel followed her, weaving between tent poles and people. “They do many things the more difficult way...” she said, “word of mouth means that some things inevitably get changed. Written history doesn't change much.” Timshel dodged another Drykas, hefting a heavy spear behind his back. The tip, still wet with bright red blood, hopped and bounded with the man's gait. “I expect written history is fairly skewed as well,” he said, watching the spear bounce by. Behind the man, four men carried a large boar on a stake. Timshel's stomach growled as it went. “Pavi... All that gesturing... to emphasis meaning.” Taylani shrugged. “Walking around here, you will always assume that things are about to come to blows just because of the wild gesturing...” Timshel laughed, suddenly looking at the circles of people around. Waiting for a fight to break out. Men, women and merchants talked and bartered. Within the circles, hands flitted and flickered. One group of three women said only a few words followed by a long series of signs. The whole group giggled and looked over at a shirtless man tanning a deer hide beside his pavilion. “You really think it's as bad as all that, huh?” he asked while walking next to her. As he did so he made a circle with his finger in front of them. Inside the circle, he signed a side-ways crescent with two dots above it. A smiley face. OOCWhen I'm quoting you, I'm not trying to cut off what you said or change the meaning in any way. It's just a placeholder so that my own post makes more sense, but at the same time isn't completely redundant.

[Taylani]

Taylani moves without thought to her surrounding, so used to these people that she rarely even saw them. So inwardly drawn to avoid giving them any sort of ammunition to use against her she had lost all sense of her surroundings most days. So when Timshel had to dance aside from the Drykas carrying the spear she was mildly surprised at his lingering gaze of the spear.

Perhaps it was the callousness that reigns in her heart now, the hard shell that she has erected to prevent herself from being broken and dispirited, to prevent herself from losing herself. Would things be easier for her if she ever let go of that shell, forgot Syliras and her former life? Perhaps, but then that would be tantamount to killing herself, for surely Taylani could not survive becoming these people.

"Written history, perhaps it can be skewed but not as easily surely. If someone was to tell you something false, when there is written accounts at least there is something to weigh it against." She responds to his words on written history. However it was his words about her thinking they were all bad that caused her to miss a step and almost come to a halt. She hadn't really thought of it that way, but yes everything she had experienced in Endrykas, good and bad, were colored by her situation. Perhaps the people were not completely bad.

"Perhaps it's the whole idea that someone can be happily living one's life the way they want to live it one day, and then another become someone's breeding slave. So easily that colors my perceptions of these people." She allowed her blue eyes to cast across the tent city, seeing the colors and the people, seeing the children playing and laughing. "People who can do that to another person. People who can strip someone's dignity from them, even behind the guise of having to build their numbers up. Anything good will always be stained by that."
She begins to walk again, stepping over stakes once more without even seeing them. She did spare him a glance, and a small smile, "so yes I do think they are all bad. You however.. I don't know. What are you doing in Endrykas other then you are on a walk. Something made you decide to take a tour of the barbarian city."