Aselia probably should have been shocked by the appearance of Pain’s wounds, but she had seen other things ... Raptors could be just as injured and their wounds usually were a mess of muscles, dried blood and sticky feathers. Accidents didn’t happen often on Konti Isle for there were hardly any predators or other large animals, but nevertheless they did happen. So Aselia merely washed the wounds to avoid future infections. She worked quickly and efficiently, she hoped, although her touch sometimes was quite rough. Animals protested anyway. Being soft with wounds wasn’t her strength.
When Pain said ‘thank you’ in such an awkward way, her head snapped up. Lump of gold? She felt the urge to laugh, to release that shrill sound building up in her throat. “I’m certainly not gold”, she said instead, with a painfully wide grin. “Besides, I bet you’d be pretty if you bathed more often and dressed up a bit.” That was everything she said. From all the people she had observed in her life, she knew that self-consciousness was one of the hardest things to ban from their minds.
The girl continued with the questions. Aselia chuckled a bit to herself, before realizing what she was asked about. Family. Memories welled up from her subconscious, countless scenes infused with that one word. Timandre. Well, Aselia had never felt particularly connected to anything, let alone her relatives. After that one mistake, she had pretty much put up with connections and enjoyed the freedom of living off of a generous inheritance and making friends with her bird. Animals didn’t betray. Animals didn’t lie. The relationships she formed with them were innocent and serene. Still, she had to say something. “Yes, my family name is Timandre. I have eleven sisters. My elder sister Kamalia has come to Syliras with me, but she’s left in the meantime. She knows what she wants.” The information was presented in short, clipped sentences. Aselia really disliked talking about herself. Although she knew Pain was friendly, she couldn’t help but act that way.
Rounding the answer up, she added: “There are no male Konti.” Even the thought of a male Konti made her laugh. On the other hand, they would be more if there were. They wouldn’t depend on the Akalak so much which certainly was a good thing – but a hopeless wish nonetheless.
Confronted with Pain’s hobbies, Aselia blinked. For her, the image of someone beating up others for fun was a hard one to digest. She couldn’t really imagine why anyone would do that. Didn’t they see the pain in their enemies’ eyes? Didn’t they feel what they did with their fists? Well, she had heard that humans were kind of insensitive in that regard, so she swallowed her questions. They probably would have sounded stupid to someone like Pain anyway. Instead she commented: “Do you earn any money in case you win?” A senseless question, maybe, but that was about the only reason she could imagine.
Thinking about her own hobbies made her smile. “I like birds. In fact, I like raptors, caring for them, hunting with them. I’ve recently purchased a peregrine falcon; peregrines are the fastest species ever. You hardly see them when they dive for their prey ...” Oh, how she could lose herself in that image. “I also like singing, watching people from high places, swimming ... well, the kind of stuff most Konti enjoy, I guess. Did you ever swim at night?” From how she said it, Aselia certainly had, and on more than one occasion.
While talking, she had finished cleaning all the wounds. Although the rest of her body would be dry by then, Pain’s wounds were soaking wet. Next, Aselia approached a drawer and took several large straps of white fabric out – bandages. She returned and started wrapping them tightly around Pain’s shoulder.
When Pain said ‘thank you’ in such an awkward way, her head snapped up. Lump of gold? She felt the urge to laugh, to release that shrill sound building up in her throat. “I’m certainly not gold”, she said instead, with a painfully wide grin. “Besides, I bet you’d be pretty if you bathed more often and dressed up a bit.” That was everything she said. From all the people she had observed in her life, she knew that self-consciousness was one of the hardest things to ban from their minds.
The girl continued with the questions. Aselia chuckled a bit to herself, before realizing what she was asked about. Family. Memories welled up from her subconscious, countless scenes infused with that one word. Timandre. Well, Aselia had never felt particularly connected to anything, let alone her relatives. After that one mistake, she had pretty much put up with connections and enjoyed the freedom of living off of a generous inheritance and making friends with her bird. Animals didn’t betray. Animals didn’t lie. The relationships she formed with them were innocent and serene. Still, she had to say something. “Yes, my family name is Timandre. I have eleven sisters. My elder sister Kamalia has come to Syliras with me, but she’s left in the meantime. She knows what she wants.” The information was presented in short, clipped sentences. Aselia really disliked talking about herself. Although she knew Pain was friendly, she couldn’t help but act that way.
Rounding the answer up, she added: “There are no male Konti.” Even the thought of a male Konti made her laugh. On the other hand, they would be more if there were. They wouldn’t depend on the Akalak so much which certainly was a good thing – but a hopeless wish nonetheless.
Confronted with Pain’s hobbies, Aselia blinked. For her, the image of someone beating up others for fun was a hard one to digest. She couldn’t really imagine why anyone would do that. Didn’t they see the pain in their enemies’ eyes? Didn’t they feel what they did with their fists? Well, she had heard that humans were kind of insensitive in that regard, so she swallowed her questions. They probably would have sounded stupid to someone like Pain anyway. Instead she commented: “Do you earn any money in case you win?” A senseless question, maybe, but that was about the only reason she could imagine.
Thinking about her own hobbies made her smile. “I like birds. In fact, I like raptors, caring for them, hunting with them. I’ve recently purchased a peregrine falcon; peregrines are the fastest species ever. You hardly see them when they dive for their prey ...” Oh, how she could lose herself in that image. “I also like singing, watching people from high places, swimming ... well, the kind of stuff most Konti enjoy, I guess. Did you ever swim at night?” From how she said it, Aselia certainly had, and on more than one occasion.
While talking, she had finished cleaning all the wounds. Although the rest of her body would be dry by then, Pain’s wounds were soaking wet. Next, Aselia approached a drawer and took several large straps of white fabric out – bandages. She returned and started wrapping them tightly around Pain’s shoulder.
