“What did it in was that she insisted my hair be cut when I went to the herds when I was four,” Hilana admitted. “I had hair down my back to my waist, and she cut it off to my shoulders. I haven’t forgiven her for it, and she knows it,” she shrugged. “I’ll hold the grudge. I know why she did it, this combination of punishment and control while telling my father it would be easier for the boys who would end up becoming my guardians out there. But I don’t care. I will hold the grudge. Their plans fell apart spectacularly out there, because I found people that loved and cared about me. And after a few years of my father wanting me to act like my sisters, to be this quiet little doll… I knew it wasn’t me, and he loved his version of me that existed in his head that I could be, but nothing ever really goes to plan, does it?” She patted his arm when he said he had sabotaged himself repeatedly. “Who amongst us hasn’t, Dominus? We all have, myself included, but I own it and what I’ve done has perhaps injured my standing with blood family… but other than that? They’ll live. Though I’m sure my father is probably weighing chances with the next one as soon as he tries to recall me home.” But with Æros’ offer… Hilana wasn’t worried about it now. Put it off because she was studying under House Saelyan, and let her do it her own way. Who knew, perhaps he’d consider the standing of her friends prestigious and advantageous enough to leave her alone.
“We all have to rest sometimes,” she assured him. “My resting time used to be on the camel's back when we traveled all the time. Now it’s mostly in the evenings or sometimes quiet time in the morning. If I let my wildness build up, I’ll go mad, even here,” she chuckled. “There is no right or wrong way to live. As long as you do something with yourself, and hopefully that something brings you happiness and satisfaction along the way. As for me... I’d like children one day, but not today. Not tomorrow, not next season… there’s far too much to do, and that’s why there is moon tea,” she was pragmatic about it. She had partners; she enjoyed the connection and physical activities, but she also knew she wasn’t ready for a child. At all. And herbal abortifacients weren’t well received in a land that venerated as large a family as possible, but they existed. And Hilana made ample use of them. “But my sisters all had one or were pregnant by now, so naturally there’s just something wrong with me,” she was grinning, at least. She had heard it enough that she didn’t take it to heart. But she had already known that she was the disappointment of the daughters, and that was perfectly fine by her.
“I do know,” Hilana admitted. “You’re a kind and caring person with those you like, and you want the one you care about to feel better, despite the chaos and upheaval he’s experienced. It’s nice to see, truthfully... even if I didn’t know who it was that you were talking about. He does deserve something good, and there’s not really a whole lot I can do for him. So I could ask around; since I’m interested in learning to ride at some point, and see what I can find out. That way it keeps your hands clean, at least," she offered. That was all true; she did want to learn to ride, and chances were, she could find someone who would know about what was going on with the Nykara family's Graecos.
She listened as he talked about the uses of Semblance in other areas. He was right; it was particularly useful on non-sentient targets. And Khyan was able to use it to hide himself entirely from scrutiny so that he could go safely out. “I am going to have to pick that one up one day, then, once I get started with Elementalism.” It still surprised her that she had agreed to one Rune today... and now wouldn’t mind a second. If it wasn’t for the fact that Dominus Æros had assured her that he hadn’t wanted to control her, but encourage her, and she trusted him, she might well have thought she was magicked. But perhaps it was that arcana might well be a path to freedom rather than a chain around her neck as he had said. “And I would like that. I’ve got a few others growing,” she indicated along the row. Æros ould see perhaps a dozen of the cacao trees, but none were as big as this one. The others ranged from little 4’ tall saplings to perhaps 9’ tall, though most of them trended down towards the lower end of that range. “But they’ll take a while. Still, we’ll get there, and when we do... we’re going to add something new to the market.” She laughed. She knew she sounded a bit like her father like that, but she was, perhaps unfortunately, her father’s daughter. Stubbornness and pride. But someone may as well have found a way to do it, and if they could grow the cacao pods here, and in enough quantities... then use alchemy to speed up the process of turning it into chocolate... Well, then! That sounded like a winning solution to Hilana. “Do you like chocolate?” she was curious, then. As a noble, he had probably had his share of it, but she knew that not everyone liked the same thing, after all.
