Of Outsiders and Twisted Paths (Norahsshaagwen)

[Haasha]

44th of the Yellow Stone, 514 AV.

Hands were almost falling asleep, muscles prickling under the weight of the basket. She wasn't the one who was supposed to do the job, but things were even worse with the other slaves. As she dragged herself forward along the corridors, one after another, turn after turn, she made herself think. Thinking and walking went together better than sleeping and walking. Her breath was hardened - the always damp, heavy air seemed to be slowly watering down her lungs. Glowstones passed by her on both sides as she walked, patterns and random instillings, each with that creepy, ghostly shade of blue.
Meat. And it'd better be fresh. Lichens from the lower levels. Where were they, on those 'lower' levels, and where were those levels? Haasha was quite sure she didn't have a chance walking off to anything snaking around this much to another level and getting back alive... ever. Besides, curiosity didn't suit her position... she'd spit on it the moment she had a better variant. Probably. That was a thought to hold on to, definitely.
The period of slumber was over, for the most part, finally... and yet, if only someone knew about it, it'd be a great opportunity for the Myrians to take the city with their bare hands.
She didn't care about the society which made her a slave. No. But that same society would protect her to a certain point, should it be attacked - the guards and all, and the mages in the front rows, of course... and that was a particular reason to care.

"Wait... left, right, second to the right, left... but there are no left turns... and there weren't any forks in the path for awhile, as well..."
She'd missed a turn. Quite a while ago, from the looks of it. The rare passes-by seemed so very concerned not falling asleep that their weariness was twice as diseaseous. Haasha stopped, and fear crawled down her neck and spine, cooling her brain enough to have one short, clear thought.
"I'm lost."
The knuckles turned white from the steel grip on the basket handles. She felt cold sweat forming on her neck, hairs rising, and had to close her eyes for a second to catch her breath. Her heart pumped when she looked around, heavily, reluctantly rushing blood through her veins.
"No... no, please, no." she muttered.
It was not the possible punishment, even. It was... She was like a little girl, lost in the city. A big city shich snaked around quite a bit. She was late, and she was so very, very lost. Just like then...
It took a minute to strangle the rising panic, which threatened to give her a heart attack on spot. It wasn't just like then. She'd just have to push a Dhani for directions. A guard, if only possible.
"As if that trick's not deadly. The moment they look closer..."
Yes, she knew those looks. For the most part, mentioning the Viper worked. Noone wants to get set on fire by an angry pregnant master reimancer and all that.

She had something to overcome, her fear included. As if the lethargic moods, even those that'd come to pass, weren't enough to paralyze her brain. She was not a weakling. To overcome fear, she could try getting angry on herself. There was noone else to get angry at her around, so it could possibly be the best option...
She walked to a nearest posted snake and took a deep breath.
"Good day." the usually quiet voice was made to sound loud and clear, the half-blood was definitely putting pressure on herself inwardly to pronounce the words properly, hating the accent she spoke with at that moment. "I'm a servant for the Dhani Queen, Shoshakuasamamushi, and I got lost. Can I please ask you for directions to the living quarters?"
She stressed out the words, in case the guard's hearing comprehension was impaired, just as of the majority of the local Dhani, until the plant they've found would be completely destroyed. As well as visual comprehension. Dumb, blind, deaf snakes. And, to her grief, she was no better.
For the most part.

[Norahsshaagwen]

To some degree she could function better than she had nearly the entire season. There was a hardly a day inside where she was 'active', fungus or no, but she was not acting as foolish as some were. Gwen might not be a master manipulator but she was an idiot. Eyes watched from everywhere now. Judging the actions of the slightly impaired and completely impaired. At her post the Dhani was relaxed, not quite sleeping but certainly not commanding full attention to her task. Rather, it was habit that kept her from dropping her axe or laying her head down. If she tried, Gwen was sure sleep would come but she held off, just allowing what was left of the fungus to make the job pass easier.

But it was not meant to be, she heard the body approaching before she seen it. The easiest part of being a guard was echo, it helped catch hunters who enjoyed toying with the guards or foolish escapees from escaping. Today was no escapee but a servant. Gwen did not bother to suppress her amusement at the obviously half-bloods appearance. The Dhani thought a flick of her tail would end the things life easily though she did wonder at it's gender until it spoke.

The name rang throughout and was enough to rouse Gwen to full height. A little hiss escaped her lips, her serpentine head snapped foreword with deliberate slowness but there was little she could do to center her aim. She had to lower herself to get eye to eye with the fair skinned woman. "Shoshakuasamamushi." Gwen repeated slowly, her tongue tasting the air, feeling out for sense of obvious unease the half-breed exuded. One did not need to see a face to note the distaste in Gwen's voice, or the way her hands tightened around her axe. "Viper...queen, yess. You sserve."

The Dhani could not deny a request of the servant. In a sense, she held more power. If she denied the servant, the stupid little half-breed would tell the vile little viper about it and considering their last meeting...it would be frowned up to say the least.

"Sshe keep ugly pet." Gwen commented. As she spoke an idea formed, Gwen may not have enjoyed games directed at her or been the most practiced but it was hard to deny her own nature. This half-breed acted like prey, and the Dhani would treat her as such. She did enjoy toying with her food and wondered if a half-breed would count as tasting both types at a time or if it would make an entirely new flavor. Gwen would not eat her though. She could not. It would be frowned upon and only because of Shoshakuasamamushi.

In an almost gentle tone Gwen nodded, "Yess, I take. Follow."

Immediately the Dhani retracted herself silently and turned to her right, the opposite way the half-breed had come and in the entirely wrong direction. After all, Gwen had said for her toy to follow her. She had never said she would take her to the living quarters. Even if she had there was no guarantee that Gwen herself would get mixed up in the tunnels. It was not an unheard of thing for her to do.

For a few chimes Gwen would lead them right, then left silently until their second turn. "How alive, half-thing?" Gwen demanded of her silent follower. She wanted to know precisely what and how such an abomination could come to be.The Dhani could not comprehend the idea of one of her own laying with...whatever the woman was.

[Haasha]

"She keep ugly pet."
"Where?" the half-blood replied with a tired sarcasm that was originally intented to sound with a seriousness of a jester. "I've been living with her for awhile now, I can swear there are no animals in the cave."
She followed the Dhani, reflecting on how she didn't like her tone at all, and doing her best to memorize the way. They weren't returning to the main cave... in the very least, it wasn't that long a walk to get back to the paths the half-blood knew. Did the woman know the turn Haasha hasn't learned yet, or was she being a snake in the bush? The half-blood wondered, but walked after the snake, for this while, at least. She trailed off a little bit, walking not by the twisting tale, but behind it. If the Dhani did want to hit her suddenly, Haasha'd have to see a snake who jumps in a narrow tunnel. She also needed to keep talking, for the sake of getting the snake's attention scattered, be it boredom or interest
"How alive, half-thing?" the woman asked, and Haasha fell into thinking for a few seconds. She didn't measure up words - to the Dhani all non-Dhani would be wrong, no matter the circumstances - but for a moment she questioned herself. Why, indeed.
"I wonder." she chuckled good-heartedly. "I've been born here. Been travelling a lot for long, then... got lost in the jungle, and then the Queen found me and brought me here." she shrugged lightly and added, not bothering to hide the irony in her voice. "I guess she keeps me around because it's hard to find someone as good-looking as I in whole Falyndar. Well... It is quite sad, really. I walked all the long way from the north-east, and then I got lost. She saved me from the jungle, but trapped me here, in the tunnels." she smiled lightly. "The attitudes here are no different from anywhere else. No chance for spiced meat, though, not even for properly grilled. Or wine with honey and that nice smelling plant... don't remember the name, they have it in the north. It's a great thing against the cold."
With the same mixed expression on her face, she let the Dhani slither a little further.
"Sad, indeed. We've been moving east for the last five minutes. The quarters are to the north-west. I don't like this at all. She will probably strike at any minute."
"Where are we going again?"
She made sure the distance was enough, and the Dhani started slithering down one of the ways in the tunnel's fork. The half-blood would just have to dash really fast and she'd get her chance to live through the day.