[The Winter Blaze] Did It For The Meat (Eosi)

[Ssenislin]

10th of Winter

While Dhani as a general whole disliked crowds, particularly young ones with no option to go incognito, free food was a promise that could not be ignored. The other partiers attending the Winter Blaze might have wished it could when the sight of a gigantic serpentine creature forced to duck hanging decorations cutting through the throng like a snow plow caused them to spill their drinks.

Truthfully, Ssenislin had never been to a human party; the ones in Kenash tended to be of a more discriminating sort, and someone of his stature and character always got snubbed, but so far he was loving the looks of shock and horror thrown his way and the occasional shriek as a distracted party-goer nearly got trampled. The attention was lovely and brought a gleeful grin to the Dhani's face, but that wasn't what he'd come for. No, he came for vittles. The alcohol came in infuriatingly tiny glasses that broke every time he tried to pick them up with his fat fingers, and after about a chime of hunching over the table and five broken glasses he turned away with a reptilian snarl and slithered off in search of something less finicky.

A table full of meats and olives on toothpicks seemed promising, but when Ssenislin tried to throw back a plateful of the things the wood caught in his throat and nearly choked him until he managed to hack them out, though not before inadvertently smashing a hole in the table in his thrashing. "What infernal creationss are thessse?!" the Dhani demanded furiously of the table, waving dismissively before anyone could answer and leaving the evil Dhani-killer meats, fuming. What was the good of free food if he couldn't eat it? Human parties were the worst! Ssenislin had half a mind to trash the place and retire to a nice lagoon when he saw something beautiful.

Sausages. An array of adorable little sausages, blissfully devoid of sharp things jammed into them for no sensible reason. As if pulled along by an invisible rope made of pillows, the Dhani slithered to them, paying no need to the old lady he bumped a good four feet with his ample belly as he came to a stop in front of them, picking up a plate and holding it up to his eye level. So far, so innocent. With a quick motion, the Dhani flipped them into his mouth.

Yes. The delightful things, though marred slightly by being cooked, went down smooth and had a lovely warmth and body to them. In a matter of ticks three more plates were stuffed down Ssenislin's gullet, but the portions were far too small! This was unacceptable. After throwing back a couple more platefuls the Dhani took hold of either side of the table and with some effort tipped the entire thing forward, reveling in the river of meat flowing into his maw as plates and bowls of punch shattered on the ground around him. Human parties were the greatest!

[Eosi]

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Straif Davin had spared no expense in his preparations for the Winter Blaze. Decorations festooned the walls. Amenities were everywhere, from the overflowing platters of food to the entertainment lilting in the background. Waiters laden with trays of every drink imaginable fought their way through the crowds. For the average person, this kind of hedonism was a welcome respite to the daily routines they’d to fallen into. But all in all, Eosi could hardly be accused of being the average person.

She stood with drink in hand, simply watching the debauchery unfold. She'd been there for only a few moments and already she felt like an outsider. It all seemed a profligate waste of time, in her own view. The wide hall was filled with lovers, friends and companions all writhing together in time to the music. Their ambient laughter was the perfect lyrical accompaniment to the performers that strummed in the background. Some faint bitterness rose up from her chest, like so much bile. It took all her discipline to wrestle it back to that place contained inside of her. If she’d had her own companion, then perhaps she’d feel differently. But as it stood now, she’d never felt more alone.

Upon entering the Blaze, she’d set her own offering amongst all the others. It was a simple dish that she’d cobbled together with the help of her new Konti friend, earlier that morning. It was there she still stood, having lifted a narrow flute of champagne from the tray of a nearby server. Her taut frame was clad in a white cotton dress, with a bit of cerulean damask at the neckline and a small square of exposed flesh in between. Eosi had woven her great mane of fiery hair into a simply but elegant knot at the nape of her neck. She hadn’t bothered with any kind of adornment outside of that, not even her little flame pendant.

Those who came close to her seemed afflicted, for some reason. In contrast to the incredible liveliness of the party, anyone who came within a certain radius of Eosi seemed… Troubled. It was as if the darkness that warred in her psyche was catching to all that passed by. One woman took a single look at her and began to cry. Eosi took that as her cue to remove herself, before she made a scene.

From where she next stood, she watched as what could only be described as a great, scaly beast slithered past in her periphery. Her eyes might’ve followed for a passing second, but Eosi’s mind was elsewhere. She watched as the dancing and singing swelled gloriously throughout the crowd. With a steely expression, she took another swig of champagne.

This was supposed to be good for her. Her associates at the Antiquities Society had all been clamoring to go. What a fool she’d been for allowing herself to get swept up in the notion. Eosi felt her knuckles whiten around the delicate glass. She took another sip and then, another. It wasn’t very often that she elected to get drunk, but the thought became more and more appealing. Before long, her glass was nearly empty.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. There was a disturbance happening out of the corner of her eye. Eosi turned slightly to see what was going on, just in time to glimpse the bowl of punch as it was launched mid-air. Set against the chandelier it was deep red, like the blaze of an afternoon sunset. She scarcely had the time to consider that it was coming right toward her, speeding as if it were volleyed from a great trebuchet.

Within the second, Eosi was eclipsed in a shower of punch. It soaked her in an instant from head to foot, stealing away all her dignity. To cap it off, the punch bowl arrived just a second after, turned completely upside down and catching upon her head like a great silly hat.

Those nearby simply froze in shock. The moment just hung there. Comically, she was still standing just as she’d been, the empty flute of champagne still in hand. In the retelling, those who’d seen it said they were close enough to hear the woman’s blood boiling.

Calmly, she lifted the bowl from her head. It was thin, spun from delicate glass. The impact against her skull had left a fissure through the middle. Her mind was spinning in the desperate attempt to hold fast to whatever restraint she had left. All the anguish of loneliness and the rage of humiliation fought against discipline, pure and simple.

Until she revealed her face. The moment the bowl was lifted just far enough to reveal her cheeks and hair, waterlogged with sticky punch, an onlooker in the crowd simply couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

That was it. That was all it took. In one swift movement, one hand threw the empty glass of champagne and the other launched the bowl as that laughter sliced through her patience like a knife. The sound of shattering glass completely punctured all the levity in the room. Eosi’s eyes were on fire as she cut through the crowd toward the source of the incident.

Anyone within feet of her suddenly felt their deepest, darkest emotions erupting. Eosi was a lightning rod for that which everyone kept hidden in the nebulous spaces of their hearts. But she didn’t notice. She simply did not care. Women openly wept as she passed them by. Men paled in her presence. Even the Akalak, bravest of the races saw her and visibly despaired. They reached for their lakans, eyes glazed over with grief.

But she was not there anymore. No, instead Eosi strode up to the lizard creature she’d seen early. He was the one who tipped the table that’d had the punch, of that she was certain. He'd done it to get a belly full of sausages, the remnants of which were scattered about on the floor.

Eosi did not stop to verify this story. Not that she’d have any luck if she did. No, instead she strode up to the massive creature who was bent down, still in the midst of his feast.

She picked up the wide tray that’d kept the sausages and broke it over his scaly green head.
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[Ssenislin]

As Ssenislin devoured his way through what was meant to be fifteen peoples' worth of sausages, he couldn't help but feel a stone form in his gut. In Kenash he could do whatever he wanted, the water was always lovely, and he had somewhere that truly felt like his domain. Here, great size apart, he was merely one face in many, the presence of eager Akalak guards and an overwhelming level of development and structure denying him any place to claim as his own.

Put simply, he felt homesick, and the more he thought about how this party still wasn't as good as he had it in Kenash, the more homesick he felt. He almost decided to put the table down and find a nice river to laze and feel nostalgic in, when he felt a sharp impact on his head. Suddenly his sense of powerless, homesickness and swollen pride combined to create a completely new, overwhelming emotion: rage.

The Dhani hurled the table to the side with immense force, the thing crashing to the ground, rolling several times and causing several people to dive out of the way before coming to a stop. His tail swept out violently as he whipped around and drew himself to his full twenty feet, eyes livid and jagged teeth bared in animal fury as he demanded in a guttural roar that echoed even in the noise and reverie "WHO DID THAT?!"

It took less than a tick after his demand to figure it out. Among a ring of terrified onlookers, a single sopping wet redhead stood unmoving and defiant. There could be no one else. This insolent, contemptuous, arrogant whelp dared to sully his flesh? He didn't know why she chose to attack him, and didn't care. To the Dhani, even the slightest disrespect was unacceptable. "Well, what have we here?" he growled in a voice more reminiscent of a crocodile than a human as he leaned over Eosi and his mouth twisted in a frenzied grin. "A brave lil' ssslut puttin' on airsss?"

For two ticks, Ssenislin was still, thick ropes of saliva pulling taut and breaking between his teeth as they parted and a reptilian rumble rippled from his chest. Suddenly the Dhani's hands shot toward Eosi's waist and clamped around it like a closing bear trap. Once caught, Ssenislin lifted the woman up to his eye level, a pained chuckle escaping from him that soon melted into a manic laugh of anticipation. "Thisss ain't no place to pick a fight, ssssnookums." Ssenislin hissed through clenched teeth, a predatory gleam coming to his eyes. "How about we go sssomewhere quiet and have us ssssome real fun?" He couldn't have his own fiefdom here, but he could at least dominate one human. He'd teach this bitch fear, and for one night at least feel like he was King of the river again.

[Eosi]

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Fury ran through her veins with impunity. Her whole body was trembling. Years of solitude, of meaningless toil and despair all congealed into an anger that defied expression. It didn't matter that this creature was impossibly large and frothing with anger. The spectators that gathered around them ceased to matter. As he jeered at her, she stared back at him defiance, not bothering with a retort. Not that silence really helped matters. Before she could even think twice, one scaly reptilian fist shot out to grab her at the midsection and hold her before him in a vice.

Eosi said a prayer to Ivak. Not for courage, but for release. The upheaval in her heart clawed his way forth from between parted lips, fueled by the searing pain of her ribs as they buckled under his grip.

"You loathesome creature," she said, tasting each word as she spat it out. "Do you think you can frighten me?" The usual muddied hue of her woodland eyes grew darker with her rage.

"You are the king of nothing," she said in defiance, fists balled at her sides. "You have no dominion over me, you worthless cowardly beast." The inverted empathy field crackled around her, then surged with the power of her feeling. Whatever her actions evoked in his shriveled heart would no doubt come racing to the surface, amplified a thousand times over.

"I have suffered the aches of emptiness and tasted the ashes of a dead future. What do you know of my suffering?" She said between clenched teeth. "What makes you think you can hurt me? My weak skin, my fragile bones?"

"My hometown was destroyed! All those I'd ever known and loved were immolated in the storm of Ivak's fury. The only love I've ever known simply vanished, in spite of divine power, in spite of all reasoning. What do I care for your humiliation, your scorn, your fury?" More than she'd ever realized she carried came pouring out, as if she were an dam suddenly broken asunder. Her voice began to swell in righteous indignation.

"Break my bones!" She shouted in the face of her attacker. "Tear my flesh and melt my heart and I will never yield to you! Her nails pressed so deeply into the flesh of her palms that they drew blood. The power of her oration fell over the entire hall.

"You cannot take from me what has already been taken. I have nothing..." She said, melancholy blooming in her tone. "I belong nowhere. I have no home anymore.

Eosi thought of Leo and for the first time, truly acknowledged the depths of her sorrow. The rage in her heart slowly ebbed into despair. What did it matter if he hurt her? There was no damage this creature could do that would rival what'd already transpired.
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[Ssenislin]

This outburst confused Ssenislin. "Cowardly?" he repeated with an incredulous scowl. That was a strange adjective, considering the circumstances. In addition, according to all the rules he knew (which largely consisted of variation on "big thing beats small thing") the tiny human should have been peeing herself already. Instead she shouted with more rage than ever before, about how she had lost her home and family and everything she knew and loved.

The Dhani stood there frozen, expression blank and a touch distant for a good three ticks, until his lower lip started quivering and he broke out bawling. "I know that feelin' sissster!" he wailed, pressing Eosi against his breast a touch too hard for comfort. "Forssaken in a ssstrange land with no kin or comfort to ssspeak of! I'm lossst and alone too!"

Ssenislin's eyes then perked up, a wicked grin stretching across his face as he looked around him then down at the human against his chest. "Ssay... Thisss looksss like a mighty fine esstablishment..." he rumbled impishly as he released some of the pressure on Eosi. "How about we annexss thiss here hootenanny for uss lossst folk?"

[Eosi]

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Eosi would never have predicted this outcome. Never. For a moment she merely blinked, clutched with almost comic intensity against his broad, scaly chest. For the very first time in her life, she felt like a rag doll to be tossed around or discarded. In retrospect, picking a fight with a giant reptile wasn’t exactly the wisest decision.

Even as he wailed and bellowed, she felt a strange sense of connection with the beast. They were impossibly different, but they shared that same sense of displacement. It had been so long that she’d been held or even touched by any other person, that contrary to all her usual inclinations, she wrapped her arms around him in an act of reciprocation and closed her eyes, relishing the moment of connection for what it was.

Now, at the next suggestion… That was interesting. As the Dhani eased his grip on her, she knew there would be bruises to show for it. Eosi looked up into his reptilian eyes with a neutral expression, assessing his usage of the word ‘hootenanny,’ among other things. She peered over her shoulder at the crowd that had gathered around them. There were lovers clutching one another, hands trembling. Friends, family, co-workers. Each of these people had another. They were were all connected, whereas Ssenislin and Eosi had nothing and no one. They were alone. Except now… They had each other.

She turned her gaze back to the Dhani and an evil grin slid across her expression. Eosi appeared quite mischievous all of the sudden, grinning madly and covered in punch. It was time for true upheaval.

”How about it then?” She asked. ”I’m Eosi. I say we go have a turn or two on the dance floor, to start with.” From what she could tell, there were plenty of things that could use breaking in that direction. She wriggled in his grasp, gesturing toward the other side of the room.
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[Ssenislin]

The Dhani giggled wickedly as he transferred Eosi to the crook of his arm and rolled his shoulders. "Pleassed to make your acquaintance Eosssi. I'm ol' Ssenislin, and I like your sstyle." Straightening up (nearly bumping his head against a chandelier in consequence) and throwing his gaze out to the dance floor, he locked eyes with the first set of instruments he could find (a trio of humans and an Eypharian on strings) and froze them with a jab of his finger. "You four!" he hissed with a threatening squint, "Mussic."

The poor souls stood frozen in shock for a moment before obliging with a bouncy little tune as the Dhani slithered through a crowd that parted like water for them and lowered Eosi onto the dance floor, grinning like a child having their first pony ride as he bent over the little redhead, pinched each of her hands awkwardly between a thumb and two meaty fingers and started a polka. The scene looked something like a puppeteer swaying with a marionette, until Ssenislin's smile took on a cruel edge, his eyes flashed and the pair flew apart. The Dhani immediately seized a table next to an ice sculpture and swung at its head, decapitating it and sending the head flying with a spray of cold powder and spilled fruit tarts until it exploded against a pillar directly over a young blonde couple's head.

The lady of the pair shrieked in fright and took off for the door while Ssenislin began to cackle as he tossed the table aside, hefted an ice horse over his head and hurled it at a dense cluster of onlookers. It was at this point, as sculpted horse legs shattered and pieces of its snout chipped off while men and women dove out of the way and an elderly woman with a puffy lace hat and a cane got flattened, that a panic started to ensue.