Closed Oh, The Things You Find

[Ssezzkero]

57th of Fall, 515 AV
12th Bell, Noon?
The Bizarre

Day was night and night was day, as far as Sezkero could tell. If she was honest with herself, she wasn't quite sure. Perhaps the sun and moon didn't matter in Alvadas, but all the Iyvess had to go by was the clock at the inn or at Madame Kemac's shop. When she had left, the clock told her it was thirty chimes until noon, however the moon outside argued that fact.

Either way, Sezkero had passed the moon and the sunset (or was it sunrise?) before she had found the market, which was currently in daytime. Although the sun would have told her it was almost four in the afternoon. Who knows. Sezkero sighed, defeated with attempted to understand Syna's and Leth's activities. She was no stranger to Alvadas but it hadn't become any less weird in the past twenty years as far as Sezkero could tell.

Sezkero switched the basket from one wrist to the other as she took in the stalls around her. Before she had a chance to look at the list Madame Kemac had given her, the snake's wide brown eyes were caught by the glimpse of a waterfall. Of course this would catch her eye, but it was only a tick before Sezkero found herself weaving out of the crowd, towards the painter's stall, where she could get a closer look at the painting. It was not terribly large, perhaps a foot in height and a half a foot in length, but it looked incredibly real. It was not just the oil on the canvas that made it real, the water was actually moving.

"You like?" A voice interrupted Sezkero and she pulled back, realized she had almost pressed her face up against the painting, trying to find an angle from which the white water was not continuously flowing down the dark mossy rocks.

"Very much." Sezkero admitted, letting a small smile bring the corners of her lips up and looking away. She wasn't carrying her own money, and even if she was, she couldn't afford the painting, no matter how much she may like it.

"Perhaps I can get it to you for a deal? Forty gold perhaps?" She followed the man's hand as he gestured towards the price that was almost double what he offered. Sezkero shook her head.

"Not today." She took a step back, turning away from the vendor before he could attempt to convince her any longer. It would do her no good to spend Madame Kemac's money on something as useless and vain as a painting. And she would probably loose her job.

Melting back into the crowd, Sezkero pulled out her list, quickly glancing at the items once more before looking back up to find the stall. Dried Lavendar, Rose Petals, Lemongrass, Calendula, Comfrey, Plantain and Beeswax Pastile. A simple enough list, if only she would be able to find anything in the never-ending hall that served as Alvadas' bizarre bazaar. Of course then it added the issue that she only would be able to recognize perhaps half of the herbs.

After only a few ticks however, and herb stall appeared in her vision, surrounded by the shoulders of everyone else. Sure enough a large bunch of lavender hung from the front of the stall, which of course she would never be able to reach. "Exxxcussse me." Sezkero switched the basket in her hand once more, peering at the various herbs that both hung and were carefully wrapped in a beautiful array on the stall. "I have a lisst I need to acquire. I know mossst of thessse... herbsss? But I'm not sssure I will reconizze all of them." She leaned over the counter towards the young girl who was organizing a small array of chamomile bundles.

"Uhh," The girl looked up, as if she was completely lost. "My pa just stepped out... I don't know if I can help you if you don't know what you are looking for. You'll have to wait until he comes back." The girl shrugged, apparently not caring so much if Sezkero found what she needed.

"Alright then..." Sezkero eyed her for a moment before turning to the herbs. A small linen bag of rose petals, not hard to find nestled between some strange looking roots and what looked like sesame seeds. Sezkero plucked a bag from the pile, carefully placing it in her basket along with the scrap of parchment that was her list. Beeswax Pastille's, also pretty common and easy to recognize. Sezkero placed the bag of wax beads in her basket as well, it was much smaller, so the snake grabbed another one just in case.

Sezkero glanced up to see the lavender hanging above her and immediately turned away. Might as well wait until the girl's father was back, no use in damaging her pride to attempt to reach it. The Iyvess knew very well how that would go over. Instead the snake glanced at her list once more. Lemongrass, Plantains, Comfrey and Calendula. What the heck were those. "Lemongrasssss." Sezkero spoke up looking for the girl's attention again. "You've got ssome, yesss?"

"Heard of it before." The teenager shrugged, looking down on the array of herbs. She picked up a bundle which looked like saw-grass and held it out to Sezkero. "Look familiar?"

"I think ssssoo. Umm, I'll just wait until your father getsss back. I can't afford to misstake sssomething." The brown eyed snake took a small step back, pointing up at the lavender hanging above her. "Perhapsss you could help me get that bundle of lavender down pleassse?"

[Yisanareysin]

Go to the Bizarre, Reysin, go find out who's driving people away from my stall. Nevermind that there seemed to be an endless amount of people and stalls, or that the sudden "drop" in customers his client was reporting happened to have coincided with the city's return to shuffling buildings around. Rey was fairly certain that his client was just being paranoid, especially with how jumpy the man had been, insisting on the most remote location possible and then jumping at every noise. Siku preserve him from idiot humans.

Still, a job was a job, which was why Rey was wandering around the Bizarre, listening to people gossip as he pretended to browse through stalls.
"-pay thirty three, and no more for that-" "Do you know where I can-" "-an obscene price and you know-" "Well I heard the Speakers are planning a big performance in a few days. Right outside the-" "-way I'm paying for that you-"

Reysin bit back a sigh, moving on to the next stall. Chances were, this job was going to be bells of listening to old gossip and people haggling. Still, it was fairly relaxing, which was always nice. No need to worry about sneaking around or stabbing anyone.

"What if I give you fifteen- " "-telling you, I saw it. There was a giant bird just walking around-" "Exxxcussse me."

Rey froze, hovering over a pile of jewellery. Was that...
"I have a lisst I need to acquire. I know mossst of thessse... herbsss?"
Siku's Scales, it was. Another of his kind? Oh, it had been so long. Calm down calm down. Humans have all sorts of accents. No jumping to conclusions.

Feigning nonchalance as best he could, Rey turned to face the general direction of that voice, and scanned the crowd as inconspicuously as possible. Now, where had that voice come from... There. A woman buying plants, speaking with that hissing accent. A grin spread across Rey's face for a tick before he wrestled it back into a neutral expression.

And she was his hight, maybe even shorter! Another viper, probably. Siku he was so excited, he'd missed being around other Dhani. No, no, conclusions, conclusions. He had to be sure. Glancing around, Rey saw no place to hide, so he settled for being inconspicuous instead. Shuffling over to a different stall, Rey positioned himself so that he had a good view of the woman. Lowering his head, he inhaled deeply, paused to gather himself, then exhaled. His body tingled as magic rushed through him, settling in his eyes and nose and ears and tongue.

So many scents all around him, but Rey focused on the woman, and sensed her. Dark hair, brown eyes, skin, a face, the usual physical things. And underneath that, the familiar scent of a fellow serpent.

The woman's scent was a little odd, though. There was the scent of something... fresh? And maybe a tiny hint of salt? Unusual, but there was always variations in people's scents, and she was unmistakably a serpent, and so, in his excitement, he ignored it.

My deepest thanks, Lady Siku, for guiding two of your children together. I have been too long away from my own kind, and for this opportunity, I am eternally grateful, oh mother of us all.

Best not to interrupt her buying... whatever it was she was buying. He'd wait until she was finished, and follow her until he could talk to her in a more covert setting.

Another of his kind. Ah, everything was wonderful.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Ssezzkero]

After a few chimes, Sezkero gathered what she thought to be all the herbs her teacher wanted. Of course Madame Kemac had describe ead to her before she left, but she forgot just as easy. After holding a large sunflower and a calendula in each hand it took her a whole chime to figure out which was right, but eventually, after much stress, Sezkero had the list.

Perhaps the event would have gone quicker if the snake hadn't been distracted halfway through. In the Bizarre, people were constantly moving, or at least consistently searching for what they need. Unless someone had stopped to chat, it seemed unusual for a man to simple stand there. He wasn't doing anything, as far as she could see from the corner of her eye. But as the Iyvess handed the girl the mizas for the herbs, she could confirm that the man's blue orbs had fallen on her own more than just out of coincidence.

Turning away from the stall, Sezkero took a second to rearrange the bags and bundles in her basket so that it wouldn't fall out if she was jostled. Biting her lip, she took a deep breathe and made a sharp turn into the crowd. She wasn't sure if the man was actually watching her, or why he would do so, but the snake didn't much like to take chances. Even though it was unlikely, if there was any chance he was from Riverfall...

The Iyvess shivered, catching sight of the exit and ducking out as quickly as possible, glancing at the swarm of faced behind her. It took only a second, but Sezkero confirmed his short figure among the crowd. It wasn't hard, aside from the children in the marketplace, he was the only man at her eye level.

Perfect. Sezkero thought sarcastically as she took in the small garden she had stepped into. It seemed to be a public garden, she noticed as two children were swinging on a small swing set. Not far away there were to adults, perhaps their parents sitting on a bench under a tree. To relieve her from the sun, there was a thin canopy of pines over head, shading the cobblestone trail that most likely lead to the nearest street.

But Sezkero wasn't here to enjoy the view, she had to get back to the shop before it moved again. The snake glanced behind her once more to make sure the blue eyed man wasn't in fact following her, Sezkero saw him just stepping out of the Bizarre. Hooking the basket on her elbow, Sezkero twirled to face him before planting her feet square beneath her. She didn't actually expect him to come this far, but the snake attempt to act like she did, raising one eyebrow in question. "Yesss?"

oocI hope you don't mind, I went a little ahead. xD

[Yisanareysin]

As Reysin surreptitiously (or so he thought, at any rate) watched the other dhani, he found himself wondering about the plants she was buying. Just what was she going to do with them? Rey knew next to nothing about plants, not least because he had grown up in the desert. Food? She could just swallow her food whole, no seasoning required, unless she only ate in her human form. Planting a garden? But she was buying plants, not seeds. Unless Rey had been egregiously wrong about how plants worked his entire life, which was, quite frankly, not impossible.

Hmmm. As a youth, Rey had run errands for a nearby poisoner, carrying bottles all around the nest. Perhaps that was it. Their kind did seem to have quite an affinity for poisons, after all. Or perhaps it was something else he had never heard of. It hardly even mattered, not when he was this excited. He hadn't realised just how much he had missed home until he was confronted with someone potentially from it. Meeting another from Eyktol had been wonderful enough, but this was another dhani! Maybe even another viper!

Rey was so consumed with excitement that he almost didn't notice that she was moving. Eagerly, he followed at a slight distance, careful to try and keep someone between them the whole time. He was too distracted for careful work, however, and more than once he found himself with an unimpeded view of her. As she approached the exit of the Bizarre, he thought he saw her turn slightly towards him, before stepping out.

Slipping around a dawdling mother, Rey stepped out into the city, only to find the woman waiting for him outside. Whoops. Rey grinned apologetically, raising his hands in what he hoped was a placating gesture. "Peacce, cousssin." He hissed. How he wished he that could speak snake tongue in this form, that he could be as articulate as he wanted to be. But he was going to just have to settle for this. "Yisssanareysssin." He tilted his head to the side. "Hass been a long time ssince I ssee one of our kind here. Jusst wanted to sspeak with another ssnake, yes? What iss your name?"

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Ssezzkero]

Cousin. That would easily explain why he was interested. Her own attempt to blend in had relaxed in the previous years, and Sezkero didn't much mind that she had been spotted, although her kin haven't always been known to be accepting of their Iyvess subrace. She allowed for a small smile as he talked, trying to placate her previously confrontational expression. "Yisssanareysssin." She repeated the name when he gave it. It was comforting to hear the soft sounds of a Dhani name, even if it was warped by her human tongue. And for a tick, Sezkero felt a pang of embarrassment for her simple name, her human name. Relaxing her crossed arms, Sezkero shifted her basket once more, glancing at the humans in the park around her before replying.

"You never know in thisss cccity." She shrugged, eyeing his stature. "I'm Ssezzkero. Just Ssezzkero." She affirmed her short, simple name to the man, eyeing his reaction at the odd title. It shouldn't be an odd sight to not have to tilt your head to look at someone, but for some reason it was alien that she could look straight at his face, so the Iyvess dropped her own eyes. "I'm not Dhani, if that issss what you think." She glanced back up, biting her lip to keep from laughing as she thought how the man came across her. Her accent would normally be enough, but he would have had to investigate more to make sure, wouldn't he? Or was he brave enough to approach a stranger with the assumption of their race. Perhaps she could play a game with him.

"But you are. Viper?" She stated then asked, hoping she was right as she perked an eyebrow once more. As he answered, She twirled on her heels once again, her colorful skirt billowing out like the petals of a flower around her. "Walk with me?" She asked, flitting her eyes back over her shoulder before continuing forth with or without him. She wasn't quite sure how curious this Yisssanareysssin was, but the snake was going to try to play with him, if she could. Hopefully all before she reached Madame Kemac, who would surely have something to say about her being distracted during her chores.

[Yisanareysin]

Not a dhani? Rey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He had been prepared for quite a few reactions, some potentially violent, if she had turned out to be a rattler or particularly paranoid. But flat out denial, he had not expected. Not a dhani, she said, yet he knew. He'd sensed her, and found a serpent in human form. Although... the scent he'd gotten from her had been slightly different than usual. But he was certain she was a snake.

Either she was lying, or she was something else he wasn't familiar with. Was there another serpentine race? That seemed rather unlikely, and it seemed even more unlikely that this hypothetical race had never made contact with his nest. She had to be a dhani, what else could it- was she a kelvic? Were there snake kelvics? He'd never heard of such a thing, but he couldn't see a reason why it wouldn't be possible. Although he'd only ever seen birds and furry animals before.

Did she... not know she was a dhani? No, that was stupid. She looked to be around his age, so she must not have had her human form very long, so unless she'd lost her memory sometime in the past few years.. it was possible, he supposed, though exceptionally unlikely. Maybe her accent was an illusion? But her scent... was that an illusion too? Ionu was powerful enough for it, to be certain, but why would they bother? On the other hand, why did Ionu do anything?

No sense tying his mind up in a knot about it now. Not enough information to definitively point to any one of his theories, though his gold would have been on her lying, if only because it was the simplest answer.

"My-" Hmm, what was that word in common? "apology? My apology, Ssezzkero. Yess, a viper." She'd realised that quickly, he noted. Most humans didn't know the difference between the subraces. Hardly definitive proof, but it was something to keep in mind. He stepped forwards to walk beside her, letting her take the lead. As they walked, he spoke up, careful to keep his tone light and avoid sounding confrontational."Want to assk, then, if you are not ssnake, where are you born that you sspeak like thiss?" Word choice was everything. If she was kelvic, she might correct him here. If she truly wasn't or she was lying, he was interested in what she'd tell him.

Either ways, this was proving to be an interesting day.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Ssezzkero]

Season Day, 515 AV

"Want to assk, then, if you are not ssnake, where are you born that you sspeak like thiss?" Sezkero couldn't hold back a grin as the corners of her mouth warped in effort to hide it. The Iyvess looked away front the Dhani for a moment to compose herself. Acting and deception was not a strong point of hers, but, surprisingly, she was enjoy the small amount of control that she grasped. It was a very small amount, because as she assumed curiosity was fueling the man beside her, it was eating away at her charade as she wanted to ask her own questions. Specifically how he discovered her aside from her accent.

"I am snake." She let her mother's tongue roll out, the words cut it odd placed by her human tongue. In this form the words were not as elegant as they should be, but it made the point. "But I am not Dhani." She corrected, glancing down at her basket as they reached a cross-roads. A small key to Madame Kemac's shop was tied to the handle. The metal was rusted near the handle but polished from use on the teeth, and it gleamed in the chilly sun as it pointed her in the direction of the shop.

She pointed in the direction that the key was taking her, and returned to the conversation. "You know, you guysss are not the only children of Ssssiku." Sezkero glanced at the sun, which seemed to be moving towards the morning as they walked. "But how did you know?" She asked, forgetting her mysterious act, as the question burned it's way through her thoughts and into her words. "How did you know I wass a ssserpent asss well?"

[Yisanareysin]

A snake, but not a dhani. Signs were pointing to Kelvic. Disappointing, but only a little. A snake was a snake, after all. Rey was almost convinced. Almost. But there were little things that kept him suspicious. The way she looked away from him when he asked his questions, the way she paused before she spoke. And, of course, that fact that she spoke snake tongue. Rey didn't know much about Kelvics, but he'd never seen any in the Cave speak their animal tongue in their human form. And her snake tongue was oddly spoken, even taking into account her human tongue. Slight emphasis in different places, slightly different inflection, but understandable.

Her next words only confirmed it. A snake kelvic might worship Siku, but could not trulycall themself one of her children. Only the Dhani held that privileged position. Or, so he'd thought. If Sezkero was to be believed, she was a child of Siku, yet not a Dhani? But was their descendence from Siku not what unified the vipers and the rattlers and constrictors all as one race? Or was there something else? Rey thought he might vaguely recall something else that bound them together, from before the Great Cataclysm, but his history lessons were decades past, and he had never paid much attention to them as a snakeling.

Reysin needed to know more. And Sezkero had just offered him the perfect opportunity to find out. A little bargaining was in order here. "Ssscale for ssscale, friend. I would wish to know more. You ssaid some, so I give this: there iss more to ssensse than you can ssee."

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Ssezzkero]

Well, she walked herself into that one. It was the least she could expect, the snake was no good at mystery. But what did he mean by more to sense? "Ssssooo... you can read mindss?" Ker took the chance, blurting out her most outrageous theory for him to possibly shoot down. "Or, let me guesssss. You have a charmed bone that tellss you the racce of a sstranger when it isss unclear?" Sezkero added, trying to keep the tone light. She was going to distract him, until she figure out how to word it.

This wasn't the same as speaking to the Chaktawe man. She had not history with the Chaktawe. But how was she to tell a Dhani? You remember those water-Dhani, children of Siku, like you, that you drove out of Falyndar? Perhaps your grandmother has one of our heads hanging on her mantle? Yeah, that's probably my grandmother.

Of course she couldn't say it like that. The Iyvess was not one to make quick assumptions, but she doubted the Dhani would have any remorse of the event five-hundred years prior. O,r perhaps, he simply didn't know about it. Sezkero doubted the near extinction of her kind was as important to their land-kin as it was to her own race. She couldn't fault him for that.

But also she was curious. Curious about this viper and why he was in such foreign lands when he could be in the jungles of the south. Why did he leave his nest and what did he do to find out she was a snake? Suddenly realizing she was looking at him for too long, Sezkero forced her brown eyes to dance away from his, looking at the street around her. She didn't recognize a damn thing, but the key told her this was the direction to go, and it's pull was only getting stronger as they walked, so it must be right.

"Alright, I'll tell you why you recognizzed me. I am Iyvesssss." She surrendered, trying to read whatever emotion would cross his face at the reveal. "We are the ssserpentss of the sseass and the riversss, although your kind hass probably forgotten usss by now... If you can't read mindsss, and you don't own a charmed bone, what did you do?"

[Yisanareysin]

When Sezkero suggested her theories, Rey couldn't help but laugh. Well, she wasn't entirely wrong about the mind reading. "Or maybe both?" He teased. "A charm bone that letss me read mindsss." He had her, he felt certain. She was curious now, and he'd already made it clear he wanted her explanation in return for his.

And what an explanation it was. Rey stared at her, to shocked to even try and hide his amazement. "Iyvesss..." He tested the word out. It felt smooth, almost like a dhani name. Snakes like dhani, but of the sea and rivers? "Of the waterss? Make more ssenssse that we viperss hass never known you, I think. We would ccertainly remember sssnakes of waterss in our land." If she was used to more watery climates, he doubted Eyktol would suit her kind, just as Rey himself was never going to go anywhere colder than this. "Why would we forgotten you? Where isss your nesst? Iss it by the sseaa? Iss it in the ssea? How did Ssiku put you in the water? Can you sswim?"

Before she could answer any of his questions, Rey shook his head. They'd made a deal, after all. "Ansswer first. I.." Rey hesitated. They were in public, and though there was no one around, it was best to be safe. Alvads were only barely more tolerant of magic than Sunberthians were, and considering the events of a few seasons past, it would probably be for the best if Rey kept his sense as secret as possible.

"What I'm about to say, I'd ask that you not repeat to anyone else. While on this topic, speak our tongue. You never know who might be listening." Rey grimaced. The words were awkward and clunky on his tongue, nothing like the silky smooth, sibilant hiss it should have been. Also, his tongue was contorting in ways it really should not have been. But, safety concerns came first.

"When I was young, I was taught the ability to sense. Humans call it-" Rey hesitated. "I can't say the word in common, else someone might hear. It's a form of magic, to know the soul of a thing, it's essence. Your soul smells as snake as my own. That's how I knew. "

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic