"Spreading the Word"

Log Date:
	1/4/01

Log Cast:
	Trina, Faanshi, Mehul

Log Intro:
	Shocking though the declaration may be -- and none in Atesh-Gah
are so shocked over it as Faanshi -- Thalia's halfbreed shudra servant has
been made the aide of Salmalin al'Sar, the disreputable and drunken kshatri 
drafted by Thalia into the position of the Varati ambassdor to the Sylvans.
Faanshi is deeply anxious to make certain that the Maharani's wishes in
this matter are fulfilled, and so, for all that coaxing Salmalin into his
duties will be a task beyond her, she diligently applies herself to the
easier task of relaying to the Sylvans she knows that the Children of Fire
have a new Voice to speak to them. And as she ventures to the forge of the
elder BroadShoulders, she has Mehul to provide her companionship and support
-- though she has no way of knowing that the presence of one she has healed
in the recent past is of a rather different kind of interest to her new
Varati suitor....

*===========================< In Character Time >===========================* 
             Time of day:  Night (Duskside) 
          Date on Aether:  Friday, August 25, 3907. 
           Year on Earth:  1507 A.D. 
       Phase of the Moon:  Waning Gibbous 
                  Season:  Summer 
                 Weather:  Clouds 
             Temperature:  Comfortable 
*==========================================================================*

The forge is quiet, deserted now as the sun sinks low and leaves the city to 
  cool in the dim evening, and even the busy bustling streets outside begin to 
  lose some of their hectic noise. Even greater peace is hinted at by the cry 
  of an owl, echoing through the building as the door opens, revealing a trace 
  of green hidden behind it. But thsound does not come from Trina, for she 
  walks through the door tall and pale and entirely human - as entirely human 
  as she gets, that is. Still, she casts a brief, longing glance backwards 
  over her shoulder, towards the call of the other owl, before she closes the 
  door behind her, shutting out the twilight-sounds of the garden.

Quiet, indeed, but not as quiet as one might expect -- for although this is an 
  odd hour to be calling, still, a pair of visitors have shown up at the door, 
  and just as Trina emerges from the door at the back, she might well find a 
  maiden in black sari and veil with a Varati companion towering over her at 
  her side. "--possibly come back later," Faanshi is saying softly, looking up 
  for once to meet Mehul's charcoal gaze with her own leaf-hued one, somehow 
  managing to relay her disappointment for all that her features are mostly 
  hidden by her veil. "I have not yet said my evening prayers, after all..."

Her much larger Varati companion is indeed listening to her, his head bowed a 
  bit to meet her eyes as well. He nods. His hands are clasped behind his 
  back, and his stance is firm, a touch behind her and at her side, but as she 
  finishes, smoldering charcoal orbs dart lightly to the direction of Trina, 
  communicating to the shudra just as well as though he had spoken. He will 
  not though, she is the emmisary, not him.

Dim light is no obstacle to Trina's owl-yellow eyes, and even though Faanshi 
  is nothing more than black-on-black in the dark forge, the young graisha 
  woman spots her immediately, offering a bright smile of surprise along with 
  her greeting of, "Good evening!" The tall man at Faanshi's side gets a 
  slightly less delighted reception - the smile falters a bit, and Trina's 
  quick steps skip a beat with sudden uncertainty as recognition fails her. 
  "Can...I help you?" she asks, more cautiously.

Faanshi's head swivels about, and as soon as she espies Trina, she steps 
  forward with hands clapsed palm to palm at her breast. "Namaste', and 
  chookma," she greets earnestly, a touch of relief and pleasure lightening 
  her voice at the sight of at least one familiar face here. "We have come to 
  seek the Elder BroadShoulders, Imphada, but his apprentice has said that he 
  is not present at this time...?"

He waits until she moves first, the ever dutiful guard at her side, but when 
  Mehul finaly steps, it is a stride that commands grace and strength, a 
  deadly stride and he falls in once more at her side, his body otherwise 
  motionless, eyes churning and smoldering as they narrow in the accenting 
  darkness upon the form of Trina, studying and assessing while attempting to 
  not appear imposing... ha. He says nothing and only inclines his head in 
  greeting and acknowledgement.

"N-no, he's not here." It is the rhythm of Trina's voice that stutters now, 
  wavering with her confidence as the enormous stranger moves forward. Pale 
  against the darkness, the young graisha woman pulls herself upright with a 
  lift of her chin and a tiny involuntary flutter of her miniature wings, and 
  she turns her gaze back to Faanshi, as the confidence that comes with 
  familiarity returns. "Can I leave a message for you?" One small flick of her 
  eyes towards Mehul, though, betrays her lingering uncertainty.

Only now does Faanshi seem to realize that perhaps, just perhaps, her sizeable 
  companion might be a bit of a shock in this place. She peeks back and forth 
  from Mehul to Trina, and then says hopefully, "Yes, if you could please, I 
  would be most grateful... you see... I, um..." Now it is Faanshi's turn to 
  have a bit of faltering confidence, as she turns to figure out exactly how 
  to describe her recent change in duties. Distributing written announcements 
  that speak to Haven of a new Varati ambassador to the Sylvans is one 
  thing... but coming to speak to Sylvans that know her personally, and who 
  may well come to _her_ rather than the man she in theory is aiding, is 
  another thing entirely. "I have come to tell the Elder... there is a new 
  Varati Voice to the Sylvans... I-I am his Hand, you see. This..." And she 
  gestures shyly up to the man at her side, to whom she bows her head in 
  demure acknowledgement. "... is Mehul, who is travelling the city with me as 
  I spread the word. Mehul, this Imphada has given me the honor of permitting 
  me to heal her."

A deeper bow does Mehul communicate this time, his massive frame sweeping low 
  as a hand crosses over his chest and his knees bend in proper fashion. 
  "Namaste Imphada." he speaks, in one of his most soothing and assuring 
  tones, now that he has been permitted to, if silenelty, by his charge. "It 
  is a pleasure to meet you. We have come to represent the new Varati 
  ambassador to the Sylvans, to introduce ourselves and him in hopes of 
  opening up the lines of communication." He's not stepping over Faanshi, not 
  at all, he speaks too softly for that, he is mearly affirming what she said, 
  and he smiles... yes smiles at the pair warmly. Even if the stench of 
  graisha reminds him so of the daggers about his person.

Between the words and bows and gentle tones and traces of tentative 
  recognition that begin to tug at her mind, Trina's tension begins to ease, 
  and a slightly wider smile makes its way onto her face. "Congratulations," 
  she says first, with warm sincerity behind the simple word. "And it is a 
  pleasure to meet you too, Imphadi," she adds, inclining her head in a polite 
  nod to Mehul. "I wish you both luck in your new positions - it sounds like 
  quite an honor. I will make sure that BroadShoulders gets the message, 
  although I can't be sure when he will be back..." The young graisha woman's 
  voice takes on a businesslike tone, her words coming quick and official to 
  match the professional matter at hand, even though the traces of her 
  friendly smile remain as she glances back at Faanshi.

Oh, Ushas, that was blessedly easy -- and now that she's gotten that news 
  blurted out, Faanshi relaxes visibly. "I thank you," she says, with a warmth 
  she rarely is comfortable enough to express. "If you could please tell 
  him... and the Grandmother Tanith, if you know how to find her...? I have 
  hoped to seek her as well, but my luck as of late has not been good. And 
  Mehul" -- as she utters his name, the maiden's glance flickers up 
  involuntarily to him, as though the mere utterance of the name somehow 
  magnetically draws her attention back to its owner -- "and the Voice and 
  I... we must go out to see the tribes that live around the city soon, so I 
  do not know how much time I have to spare to seek them out again myself...!"

The man nods, but nothing else, again he is silence and duty, standing by his 
  charge and guarding her from harm... though his eyes, those dark charcoal 
  eyes, a warmth is within them when he looks upon her, and he smiles almost 
  affectionately before returning his gaze to Trina. Though the expression 
  remains, and it is welcoming and pleasent, it is still different.

Now that the man's presence has been explained, Trina can let him fade into 
  the background of her mind, focusing her attention on Faanshi. "I can find 
  both of them, I'm sure," she replies, with a quick, confident nod. 
  "Grandmother Tanith has been keeping more to herself lately, but I'll be 
  able to find someone who knows where she is, or how to find her. How much 
  longer do you think you will be in the city? She can go into meditation for 
  days on end, sometimes..." Despite the easy chatter of her voice, the young 
  graisha woman is not entirely unaffected by the dark gaze boring into her - 
  even if her conscious mind is not attending Mehul, some other sense picks it 
  up, for her wings lift and shudder with some strange chill.

"A few more days at most, perhaps, for the Voice is sometimes indisposed, and 
  I must make the proper preparations." Of the undercurrents that seem to flow 
  between the graisha woman and the big man at her side, Faanshi does not seem 
  to be aware, speaking with the almost childlike guilelessness which seems as 
  much a part of her as the tiny wings upon her back are a part of Trina. "But 
  if you could relay the word to them both... I would be most grateful. A-and 
  let them know... if there is anything that the Sylvans in Haven need to say 
  to the Varati... they can seek me in Atesh-Gah. I will tell the Voice." As 
  she says these things, now, something almost like assurance steals into 
  Faanshi's humble tones -- the assurance of a solemn pledge, and the 
  beginnings of a fragile warmth borne of having a purpose in which not only 
  she believes, but in which her mistress does as well.

It is a hard struggle for Mehul not to place his hand upon the shoulder of 
  Faanshi and smile at her with pride and affection both... but of course it 
  is equally as difficult not to rip his dagers from his belt and tear this 
  graisha's flesh from her bones and watch her bleed to death in agony. But 
  hey... you can't have everything you want now can you? So instead, again he 
  nods, continuing to hold that pleasent smile, keeping his charcoal eyes 
  unwaveringly upon Trina as they smolder and burn of their own accord.

Only the barest edges of Mehul's venom make their way into Trina' slumbering 
  animal senses - her conscious human mind is calmly fixed on Faanshi, as the 
  young graisha woman nods in agreement. "Thank you. I will do what I can to 
  spread the word - I will tell it to BroadShoulders myself, if I can." A 
  smile seals the promise, and a decisive nod, as she shrugs away the nervous 
  twitter of her wings with an absent, dismissive gesture. "Is there anything 
  else you would like me to tell him?"

Impulse swirls up within Faanshi then, and she breathes, "Yes... that I... 
  would like him to tell me more about..." She straightens up a bit, 
  unconsciously, her eyes very full above her veil. "My father's other 
  children... a-and if he knows how to find them...?"

Now no longer can he hold back, and a hand, slowly and deliberately, graceful 
  and smooth in even the most minute of movements, lifts itself to come to 
  rest upon the shoulder of the tentative shudra, and Mehul's eyes move to 
  gaze upon her softly, whatever venom Trina may have detected vanishing 
  instantaniously. He does not say anything though, just breathes a sigh for 
  her when she can not, that connection between them offering to take her 
  angst.

One slow silent blink greets the veiled woman's words, and then Trina's round 
  eyes slip open again as she nods, taking in this information with a nod, and 
  a small sympathetic smile. "I will ask him," she replies, her voice quiet 
  with the weight of the promise she makes.

"Thank you," Faanshi breathes then -- though if the glance she gives her big 
  companion is any indication, more than a little bit of her gratitude is for 
  Mehul as well, his unvoiced comfort, the stoic anchor that is his touch upon 
  her shoulder. The man seems indeed to have a magnetic pull upon her, for she 
  gazes up at him for a moment or two almost as if unwilling to look anywhere 
  else...
Though her eyes are just as full and just as earnest when she tugs her 
  attention back to the graisha and inclines her head to her, thankfully. 
  "Good night then... chookma, Imphada, I hope to see you again!"

It is not until Faanshi's face draws away from him... and during that pause, 
  where their eyes lock, Mehul is a person reborn, a warmth in those dark orbs 
  so contrasting to his prior behavior... it is hard to believe it is the same 
  person... that the Varati releases her shoulder and drops his hand once more 
  behind his back, bowing his head to Trina and smiling. "Indeed," he agree's 
  with Faanshi, "Chookma, Imphada."

A small nod, quicker and less formal, serves as Trina's reply, and her words 
  are brightened by her smile. "I hope to see you soon," she says. "Good luck 
  with your new job," she adds. No, she has not missed everything - a brief 
  flicker of her eyes takes in the interaction between Faanshi and Mehul, and 
  her smile deepens a bit, warm and knowing, as she says one final, "Good 
  night."

[End log.]