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Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 11:36 pm
by Nnerka
While Nnerka was not full — not in the way she used to be with her sisters, sitting heavy around the bones and fires of the enemy — but she was full enough. Satisfied with the meal that she had shared with the little lysanrin beside her. A curiosity to her, really. Her gaze swept over the street as she sought out somewhere to get dessert. Something sweet; though, Yshvold had plenty of sweetness while they’d eaten before. He’d downed the lacewings quite quickly.
The spider squinted at the people passing by. This, the convenience of finding a meal, was perhaps one of the few perks she had to give to the city. It didn’t stop the general distaste she had for the city, but it made it slightly more tolerable to be around. Lips pursed, she considered what a child might like to eat. Her own childhood treats would probably have invoked the same reaction as when he’d first seen his plate, and it wasn’t likely that there would be a shop more versed in confectionary insects.
“Little one,” she let one hand brush the side of his face, “What would you like to eat for dessert? Oh, and a drink. You’ll need to wash all that sugar down. There should be a well around here somewhere.” It was easier to let it be up to the person this was for to decide what they wanted. Though, she would have liked to see his expression if Nnerka had chosen some other odd concoction for him to drink. If his stomach would betray him and he’d vomit everything he’d eaten before. She lifted a hand to stifle her laughter, fanning herself with another as she turned to survey their surroundings once more.
It had gotten only a little cooler since their departure from the little restaurant. Slightly more bearable, but enough to make her feel lethargic after a good meal. Maybe they could stop and sit when they’d found something to eat for dessert. And maybe she could learn more about Petra and her strange little manservant.
“How did you meet Petra?” And then another thought: “How old are you, little one?” She’d never been all that good at discerning ages of other races. Some looked old and were young, and some looked young and were old. She’d never thought much about it, either, but it was important to check. There’d been a time or two when some patrons were revealed to be underage, sneaking in on a dare.
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Wed Nov 10, 2021 7:11 pm
by Yshvold
Loneliness 60th Ash 121
Coming out of a strange building with a full stomach of strange, sugary, bugs is something he felt he could used too. The jittery feeling was wearing off and Yshvold felt his body slog along more slowly than usual.
He paid no attention to the surrounding faces, that may or may not be looking at him, and simply reveled in his triumph of a free meal. Not even walking around as exposed as he was, with a hood down and mask off, made him feel uneasy. For once he felt as though he belonged, even if it may not last once he leaves Nnerka's side after the end of his duty.
"Dessert? What is that? I thought we were done eating." Yshvold was not so concerned over finding a source of water as he was with this new concept the spider woman had introduced to him. What could come after eating? A post-meal-meal sounds like something a rich noble would think of, but it might be something that people in polite society partake in on the regular.
He followed her as she searched for somewhere for them to enjoy their dessert, whatever that was, and let his paranoia slip away from his mind. If someone were to cause problems for him then they would have done so by now, he was safe and so was his charge.
Yshvold heard her asking more about him and Lady Petra, particularly his age caught his attention, and he looked away to think. At first he simply stood in silence as he brow furrowed down slowly, then he brought up his hands and slowly brought up fingers slowly to count. Clenching his fists as he admits defeat in remembering his own age, he looks up towards the spider woman and purses his lips.
"I, uh, don't know how old I am. I didn't keep track and the sun doesn't shine in Hauseu. I apologize." Yshvold bows as he finishes explaining to her and stands up straight like a duty bound soldier.
"However I do remember how I met my Lady, mostly." Yshvold averts his eyes at the last part and rubs his chin as he thinks back at that fateful day.
"I was starving, or I think I was starving myself, and made myself leave the Middens. I don't remember how exactly I got up here but I was dying in an alleyway and she appeared." Yshvold started his story as plain as possible but as he got to mentioning his Lady Petra, his voice got a noticeable change of positivity.
"She was merciful and kind. She saw me waiting to die and gave me food, without asking for anything in return. So she must be someone worth protecting and serving. Even if she doesn't want me to, I'll destroy everything in front of her to help her." The normally stoic boy became much more expressive as he continued to sing her praises, bordering on cult fanaticism. The cold grey of his eyes slowly gave way to the sparkling sapphire blue of joy and happiness, and crazed dedication.
"Uh, I mean..." Then Yshvold snapped back to his senses slowly closed his fists towards his chest, embarrassed that he let himself be seen like that. "I enjoy serving her, at whatever capacity."
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2021 5:30 pm
by Nnerka
“Dessert is…” She squinted, the Common words not quite matching what she wanted to say. The concept itself was simple, but — words. “It is something sweet that you end your meal with. You, however, don’t need something sweet.” She tipped her head to the side, thinking. There could have been something right for him somewhere. Bread, maybe? “We will figure something out for you soon enough, I suppose.” Yes, maybe bread would be good for him. He had downed a fair bit of those lacewings.
As he pondered the answer to her question of his age, her brows rose. It wouldn’t take someone so long to come up with their age, even going so far as to attempt to count it on his fingers. Her scoff was more of disbelief than of any sort of contempt. “You don’t know how old you are? Do you not feel the seasons change down in...Hahseu?”
Nnerka had celebrated birthdays. Not in the way that she had since her arrival into the city, but a marked passing of years that she and her sisters shared. Where she had been exposed to the concept of cakes and impractical gift-giving, the day of her birth was celebrated with games and hunts with one of her sisters crowned victor and thus, the star of the day. It tended to be a touch more difficult to celebrate them all as one, and it was good competition. Fair, really. Deserved treats were rewarded and the first bite of the kill given. She could almost sigh now, the memory of greasy leg parts grilled over a fire of lemongrass and cedar.
Here, birthdays were different. People did often engage in some sort of celebration, but there were sweets or some remarkable feast made by one person and little sticks of fire stuck into cakes to be blown out. ‘Make a wish’ she’d heard someone say once. She’d not done so, confused as to the significance of what that would be. She could make a wish at any time if she wanted; why would she need the aid of a stick of wax burning down over her treat?
But this brought forth the question of what Yshvold actually did know.
His story was...well. She wouldn’t exactly call it compelling. She might even have considered it a waste. He was indebted to Petra, with his life. Should she disappoint or turn on him, would he leave her? It didn’t seem likely. How attached the little one was. Her lips quirked with a smile, a soft hum leaving her. “Maybe your lady Petra will be able to help you with figuring out how old you are.”
She continued her walk, a half shrug. “I only remember how old I am because my mothers taught me to watch the change in the seasons. To know when it grows warmer and when it grows colder. That, and my sisters are more than happy to remind me of when the next birthday hunt is.”
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:10 pm
by Yshvold
"I see." Something was quite strange after an after meal meal, but he wasn't educated enough to question the etiquettes of those more fortunate than him. If it was another meal then it should serve to keep them full for longer, and as such they would be healthier for it.
"Hahseu is... different from up here." Yshvold took some time to consider how he would describe living underground and away from the natural elements. "I remember some parts being a bit colder than others, but not by much, but nothing that really stood out to me. I don't think it is very important anyway. If I remember right then those colder times are when we would have more people living down there than usual. If they survived then they would all leave again until it got a bit colder again." Yshvold used his hands as he talked slowly swinging them to the side as he described the influx of refugees underground and then swinging them to the other as they would leave.
"If I had to count how many I remember, then it would be maybe nine or ten. Probably more since I can't remember that far back. When I was alone during these times it was hard to find more food, a lot of people were killed for scraps. I apologize for forgetting about the change in seasons, I didn't think it was very important." Yshvold bowed his head as he finished his explanation of how it had been for him underground during the cold seasons.
He finished and thought about her later question. "I think that she is too busy for something like that, it's not very important. If you have hunts for celebrating your birthday then I think that is pretty weird, if I'm being honest. If you want to celebrate living for another year then you should just celebrate waking up alive every morning. It's the same thing, isn't it?"
All thought about a continuation on desert had left him. This new concept of a 'birthday hunt' intrigues him. He wonders if the others around him attend stuff like this, and if he would be invited to attend.
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Thu Nov 18, 2021 1:55 am
by Nnerka
“What are you apologizing to me for? I’m not your teacher or your mother.” She shrugged. That bit was the truth and this was all inconsequential information that she didn’t actually need. She was just curious about it. Although — “It is good to keep the seasons in mind, though. You’re more aware of the obstacles you face and any threats to your survival if you know what the season holds.” There had been plenty of times that caravans had passed through her family’s territory, unprepared for what the season would bring them. And that would only make them easier pickings as they found themselves stranded among the trees with no real sense of what they’d gotten themselves into. But, well — Yshvold might not need to worry about all of that. Not from her at the moment, at least.
She had a brief stint traveling through the waterways of the Hahseu. And it was nothing like the watery domain some of her sisters had decided to lay their webs. It was unnatural, a construct of metal that — in her opinion — could have been better managed, but that was the thing about cities, wasn’t it? There was always something overlooked because no one wanted to be bothered with it. And yet, people lived there. They ate where others might well have thrown shit. Her expression soured a moment. And they had had the gall to, at one point, call her a savage.
Ridiculous.
“Well. That might be a problem, then, wouldn’t it? Because I can’t help you figure out how old you are, and some people put importance in age for certain things.” She shrugged again, placed a hand on his head. “All you small people look the same to me once you’re capable of walking. I can only tell the young ones apart from the old based on how much fat they have on them, but you’re a skinny little thing.” She blinked, turned two eyes down to the boy.
No, she hadn’t had a birthday hunt in some time. Not because she didn’t want to, but because of the distance between she and her family. It wouldn’t be the same if it was just her doing it. It wouldn’t hold the same value.
At his question, a brow rose. “A birthday hunt is supposed to make you feel special. Like you matter in a swarm of hundreds. Because you get a chance to truly dominate the competition, the predators that are even remotely as capable as you are.” She did, then, sigh. “Your metal trap of a hole is a far cry from the bounty of the home I came from, so I doubt you would understand what the real thrill of having lived a whole would mean.”
Her words were not meant to be callous, but to her it felt like the truth. “Just scrapping by to survive was not the same as living, which is what you should be celebrating. What a good birthday celebrates.”
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:56 am
by Yshvold
"Well most people look the same to me, with the exceptions of those I have to deal with. Fat or not, they are all the same." Yshvold tries to relate to what she said, it sounds very familiar to how he treats those he isn't acquainted with. "The only differences I would notice is how full their coin purse is, or what weapons they carry. I don't have to worry about that so much anymore."
Yshvold started to think about how important it would be to know his exact age. It might be an impossible endeavor but he should try some day. As for her talk of celebrating those days, he wonders what he could do to celebrate his own.
"I think I would enjoy hunting for my birthday, there are plenty of strong beasts below but they don't fight fair. You kill one and ten might be around the corner, not to mention the hidden monsters that will try and take you and your prey after you kill it." His face grows sour as he remembers the tunnel worms, mariad of rats, slimes, and the occasional sighting of something more ferocious straying too close to the towns edges.
"I wouldn't mind going outside of the city to find something... pleasant? I hear about big furry animals, those sound a lot nicer than anything in the sewers." For once he seemed to be more open as he explored something outside of his usual routine. While the topic wasn't exactly normal for someone as short as him, his way of delivery shows some hint of a real child beneath that cold exterior he puts up, outside of the unusual bursts of emotions when talking about Lady Petra.
"If I can find out when my birthday is, I would like to do a birthday hunt. What should I go after?" Yshvold lets his mind wander about what could exist outside the city walls. He thinks about his nightly stargazing and the monsters he draws from the stars, he would very much like to see something like the great winged beasts he imagines and slay one.
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 2:09 pm
by Nnerka
At the mention of a fair fight, she chuckled. “There is no such thing as a fair fight. That is simply how nature works, little beetle.” It was a matter of who was superior, the advantage going to those with more expertise, more skill. More — everything, sometimes. That would include numbers. It made sense that something would hunt in numbers if they could. Or that one would lay in wait for the right moment. They would merely be taking advantage of those that did not take care. “It sounds to me you’re not the predator you think you are, if such a thing troubles you.” A half-smile lifted the corner of her lips. “Maybe you should work on that.”
Her gaze drifted to the area around them, paying a slight bit more attention to the people passing by. If there was somewhere they could get dessert around, the people leaving it might be in the area. There was a fair amount of people around, some of whom were not empty-handed.
“Pleasant? I didn’t take you for someone who would want to hunt little bunnies, but you’re quite little yourself so it’s fitting.” She tipped her head to the side. Her size certainly skewed her perception of what was a pleasant hunt and what was not. She was also aware that some people liked to hunt for sport. Which made little sense; why waste a perfectly good kill? His birthday hunt better not be like that.
If? “Why not just come up with a birthday? I do believe our sort live longer than humans, so you’re free to mix up a few years. Someone with better knowledge will figure out how old you are from your bones when you die and then they’ll revise how old you are. Perhaps, even, we could go by how old you feel.” She turned her attention away for a moment, pausing as she watched a small child bite into a sticky bun, glaze smearing onto their cheeks. “Think we ought to head that way.”
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Sat Nov 20, 2021 2:52 am
by Yshvold
"Hmph" Yshvold knew when he was being insulted, even inadvertently. Her words sounded more like a challenge than a suggestion for lesser game.
It wasn't that the game at the above levels were a threat, they simply bored him. You see one rat, you've seen the other hundred's of thousands that make their home there. A boy can only kill so many of them before it becomes tedious. While he hasn't seen a bunny before, something about their name suggests them to be easy prey.
Maybe one day I'll show you how much I've already work at it. Yshvold thought as he let her talk. As he learned to be silent when hunting, he also learned not to alert his target when the hunt begins. He let himself drag behind a bit as he glared for a moment, until her birthday suggestion came up.
"I feel like if I learned that, I would learn other things. There are people I would like to find and they might be found if someone knew when and where I came to be. Does that sound strange?" While his pride had been poked at, it didn't mean he had to act out. He had agreed to walk the streets with her as a gracious tag along and to go against that would hurt his proud self more than her barbed response.
As Nnerka pointed out the direction she wished to go, Yshvold saw the sticky bun as well. He thought about the sugary bugs and what that taste might be like without the exotic textures of insects, he must have it.
"I agree, I will lead the way." Yshvold grabs her by the hand and almost seems to pull her along as he tracks down where the delicious sugary sweets might be. Her challenge must wait, there was food to be found.
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:51 pm
by Nnerka
Oh? Was he — “Are you pouting, little beetle?” There was the edge of incredulity in her tone, a lift of her brows as she observed him for a moment. Well — he was still a child. That would make sense. “Bunnies are perfectly reasonable for someone of your size. You probably don’t need to eat too much.” She tapped one of his horns, letting her finger slide down the curve of it before giving the end of tug. It would jerk the boy’s head back some, but not forcefully. “I on the other hand was a little bigger than...however old you are. I was always a little big.” She sniffed, and perhaps looked a little smug at the proclamation. And, well, so had all her sisters been big. A byproduct of their Mother’s influence, she supposed.
“People you would like to find? Like your parents?” She considered it a moment. In the wilds, animals abandoned their young only if it meant survival of the others or they were majorly unwell themselves. Had he even been abandoned? There was always the possibility that those parents of his were dead, long gone. Or maybe they were stupid, cruel people that had decided they did not want him. It would make sense when one considered this was a city. And people from cities could be stupid and cruel without provocation. “I don’t believe it to be strange. But...it seems unlikely from what you’re telling me that you will find them. Perhaps someone who knew them, and maybe you when you nothing more than a pudgy little blob in your mother’s arms? That might be more...manageable and maybe they will lead you to your birth giver.” She shrugged, flippant. She’d had the fortune to keep both her parents, but that had mostly meant that they were clearly capable of keeping themselves alive.
Yshvold showed another burst of child-like enthusiasm as he pulled her forward and maybe she felt the need to hide a giggle. She feigned attempting to keep up with him as they wound their way down the path to a quaint enough little bakery. The signage was marked by a steaming bun carved into a wooden plank that hung over the door. Her shadow darkened the open doorway, customers at first glancing her way before doing a full double-take. No, this was a part of the city she had not seen much of. A little further out of her range.
“Maybe it would be best if you went inside and order for me this time.”
Re: Walk It Off [Yshvold]
Posted: Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:38 pm
by Yshvold
An affermative, and determined, nod followed her order and he was off.
Yshvold didn't wait for people to clear the door and instead finessed his way past them, moving between a person and the door frame. His small frame allowed for such movements and required little effort for him to go unnoticed as their attention was Nnerka's presence.
Inside was just as humble as the out, a single wooden counter kept the customers on one side with a clerk on the other handling payment and delivery. She was a petite little thing, her apron painted with hand streaks of sugar and frosting covered most of her body. Yshvold assumed her hands would be much of the same but it seemed she held cleanliness in mind as coin returned was not covered in said sugary goodness.
Her brown hair had been braided up and crowned her head neatly, complimenting the sunny smile and charming demeanor she presented every customer that came towards her counter. Every transaction given the rightful service, and respect, due. She would be every supervisor's dream employee.
Finally Yshvold reached the counter and slammed several coins on top of it, his darkened cold gaze being a stark contrast to her usual greetings.
The first lesson of business he had learned was to be more intimidating towards the other side, as to get a better deal out of it. That is how it worked underground, so why not here?
"For two, something sweet. I don't care what it is." Yshvold commanded as he stood on his tip toes to appear taller to her and have a good sense of what was being presented to him.
"Well that's not how we say please. You look a little jittery already, maybe something with a bit less sweets would suit you better?" The clerk helpfully suggested before Yshvold pulled out more coins and put them on the table instead.
"I do not play hardball, as they say. If it is a bribe of coin then this should be enough. I require that thing that tastes sweet, the spider lady called it sugar. I want it." Yshvold did not think he was intimidating enough without his weapons, but this was not the place for such displays. He held himself up on the counter his his arm, his legs dangling off the ground but out of sight of the clerk. He appeared about a foot taller than he normally would be.
"Not without the magic words." Her finger waved in front of his face before she folded her arms and smiled, by now the crowd behind him started to chuckle at his attempts to look threatening.
"This is humiliating." Yshvold whispered and took a deep breath. He looked up at the clerk and gave his best toothy grin, a frightful sight to be sure. "Please?"
The clerk giggled as she grabbed two honeyed buns from the back and set them on the counter, taking only the coin required for purchase.
"Well here you go young man, next time you should ask nicely. I'll be sure to remember you, and give you a better sweet if you come back." Not once did she break her warm exterior and even dared to softly ruffle the boys hair as his arm trembled from keeping him lifted for too long.
Yshvold had to let go and the false tallness was gone, now all that was left was several coins he was scrambling to gather up and his flustered mannerisms from having been treated so lightly by this clerk. Truly she would be a hard nut to crack if he had to go against her.
He returned quickly, swooping past others just as he did going in, and presented his gains to Nnerka. His orders accomplished, but at what cost to his pride.
"Today has been humiliating, but the food hasn't been bad. Thank you." Yshvold admitted out loud before he bit into his own sweet.