"A Moment With Her Mistress" Log Date: 3/24/99 Log Cast: Kiera, Faanshi Log Intro: Faanshi's so-far tranquil life at Atesh-Gah has begun to take a turn for the distressing, as of late. For one thing, for all that her control over her power cannot be said to be exactly steady, she was commanded to heal the gravely wounded and ill Prince Kuronbo of the Atlanteans -- an experience that proved far more than she bargained for, for the man's powerful telepathy drew her unprepared mind in relentlessly and filled it with images that have haunted her sleep ever since. For another thing, Kiera's naraki Murako has disappeared, which disturbs the shudra maiden deeply... and for a third, her heart-mother Ulima's health has begun to deteriorate. With all of these things on her mind she has almost managed to miss entirely Kiera's deep consternation about the coming marriage of Khalid Atar to Thalia Tritonides, but fortunately Kiera has not forgotten her shudra.... *===========================< In Character Time >==========================* Time of day: Night Date on Aether: Monday, May 22, 3904. Year on Earth: 1504 A.D. Phase of the Moon: Last Quarter Season: Spring Weather: Sleet Temperature: Cool *==========================================================================* Kiera's Room - Atesh-Gah - Haven(#1242RJn) The muted opulence of this room is positively simple in nature when compared to the rest of Atesh-Gah. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all made of smooth, pale, polished stone. While not huge by any standards, there is more than ample space for movement (even that of a winged form) around the furniture placed within. A large, four-posted bed with a canopy above sits directly across from the door with a night table to its left. There is another small table of golden-varnished wood to the left of the door, bearing an assortment of washing implements. A small window, too small for a human form to fit through, looks out to the courtyard. Contents: Kiera Ulima Obvious exits: Out The sleet and cold of outside finally drives Kiera in, and when the halfbreed arrives, she looks terrible. Mud stains her usually pristine wings, dried blood is left in the cracks of her elbow, in the hair around her scalp, in her garmet. She's soaked and cold and doesn't even knock before she enters, but arrives dripping and already stripping, though she still casts threatening looks at the ceiling and walls. Stay. Night and the promise of warmth in a little hearth within the room has put Ulima down for the evening; the old woman dozes quietly in a chair, a shawl tucked about her aged shoulders, just now placed there by Faanshi's youthful hands. At the entrance of her mistress, though, the girl's green gaze snaps about towards the door. Faanshi's gaze brightens, but it takes about two heartbeats for her to realize that the halfbreed she serves looks to need warmth from the fire more urgently than warmth from her. "Here," she speaks up immediately, stepping aside to allow access to that tiny hearth. "Please, warm yourself..." Without a word of derision for this indoor comfort, Kiera does as she's told, dripping muddy-colored water the hwole way. "I have come to speak to you, Faanshi. I will not go to the 'wedding'," there's that saved-up derision, "But I will let you go to Masada, with Murako, if you wish to. I think you should go. It is somewhere you haven't been and the walls will probably not fall, if I am not there." KIera's clothes slop onto the floor, are nudged nearer the fire with a muddy foot. Faanshi, in the midst of glancing around the room for a basin of water and clean garb for Kiera, can be seen to blink. Twice. "The wedding," she repeats blankly, and as if then aware of the way that makes her sound, she tries to clarify, "I... had not thought about it, and I have not seen Murako in a hand of days..." Oh. Kiera considers both, then looks at Ulima. "I think that Ulima would be OK without you, and you can go with the Clan Khalida. Many have left already, but some have yet to go. I," she affirms again, as if there was any doubt, "Am not going." Though her mouth is obscured by her veil, Faanshi nevertheless bites her lip. "Ulima is... not well enough to travel," she murmurs very softly, glancing at the aged priestess. For a moment, she pauses uncomfortably, before finally adding, "I... do not think that I would be comfortable going alone, unless the Khalid would need me to provide service..." Alright. Then Kiera will not argue. She instead falls into a contemplative silence, studying the flames at a distance. The slightest of breezes ensures that the smoke goes into the vent, and not the room, but does not appreciably limit the warmth cast off by the fire. "When did you last see Murako?" "I think," murmurs Faanshi uneasily, "that he was ordered to take supplies to the refugee camp in the city... a few days before this. But I have not seen him since then." The shudra girl considers, and then adds impulsively, troubled by the idea of the naraki's absence, "But I do not often see him... I do not thikn he is comfortable sleeping in his room." Kiera nods. "Can you please ask around here, to see if he has been seen?" He's an eyeful, so to speak. Any woman would remember having seen Murako. And then that subject is dropped. "Are you doing OK, Faanshi? I am sorry I have not been around. It is spring." As if this is explanation enough. Faanshi blows out a soft breath, as she brings Kiera something clean to wear, located at last. Her gaze flicks to Ulima, a bit shaken of seeming over the top of her silken veil, before returning to the smaller halfbreed. "I have been.... well enough," she admits. A beat. Two. Then she admits very softly as she hands out the fresh clothing, "I had hoped... to speak with you." After another moment, Kiera registers the clothes, and she takes them. "Thank you. And now I am here. If you want to speak. Ulima is doing well?" KIera slowly begins dressing herself, loathe really to cover herself when the fire is now thawing her out. A happy Kiera woudl be one who could escrew clothes altogether. Faanshi clasps her hands at her breast, her soft voice pitched even softer than usual out of deference to the slumbering priestess by the hearth. "She must conserve her strength, but she has much spirit and it helps her... I... am just afraid that I-I have kept her awake at night, since..." And she trails off, her gaze dropping to the floor. Abashedly, she finishes, "... since the Khalid bade me heal... Prince Kuronbo." Something Kiera hadn't heard about. "Why has this kept you from sleeping, Faanshi?" Kiera doesn't get any immediate connection, and her gaze now addresses you, unblinking. The worst of Kiera's shivering has stopped; she merely shudders now and then. "I have been having bad dreams," the shudra girl whispers tinily. "I-I think they are starting to go away... a little... but I made Ulima awaken in the night." The response is a long stint of isilence, before Kiera asks, "Have you spoken with any of the Atarvani, about this? They have the saem sort of magic as you. Maybe they can help? Or is it not a magic thing?" Surely you've seen beaten-up sorts of folks, or hurt folks, right? Kiera didn't see the Prince. She's been actively avoiding Atesh-Gah. Faanshi sighs, a very soft little breath of a sigh. "I have not, no... not yet... perhaps I should, but..." She tilts her head, and after a moment, draws hesitantly nearer, coaxed by both the conversation and the hearth's warmth. "There is an Atman, Siba... perhaps I can talk to her. I talked with her a bit... days ago... about being in the Atarvani." "Siba is kind. Talk to her, Faanshi. And do go outside more. I never see you out. Only ever in here. Take Ulima out, and put herin the garden. It is warm, mostly, days, adn the sun will be good for her." But for Keira, looking up and around, she decides that she's had enough poisen of an enclosed space. "Thank you for the clothes. I will be in the stable, now." So spoken, Kiera turns to head out. Faanshi bobs her head, willing to accept this for now, though she doesn't offer the argument that most of her duties have kept her indoors. "I do like the garden," she agrees shyly. "I will see you then. Maybe more, if Khalid and his 'queen'," more derivsion there, "Remain in Masada." OK. So mybe Kiera's being silly, but she's already got Thalia pegged as the Evil Stepmother, in person. The halfbreed's wings curl in as she heads out the door. Kiera opens the door and steps out into the Hallway of Atesh-Gah. Kiera has left. [End log.]