Spirits of the Earth

[[Tags to @Lion! I'm the worst at coming up with thread titles. D:]]

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The rearing of a Sirrush clutch was serious work. And this was the first time Kaya Nawar Aram would be responsible for her own! The hatching of the clutch, and the subsequent care of the hatchlings, was a major undertaking for the parents - all three of them, in Kaya's 'herd' - and for the Sirrush breeder. With temperamental adults and vulnerable hatchlings, Kaya and her Sirrush left her tribe and set up camp on their own. For the hatching and first month or so of the hatchlings lives, they would seek out a safe and secluded spot in the desert to tend to the young. Somewhere secluded enough to avoid bandits and predators, but sheltered enough to protect the young (and the rest of them) from the desert elements, and close enough to a well that Kaya could go collect water every few days. And hospitable enough to keep the small herd of goats that would feed the Sirrush during these tenuous times.

And Kaya had found somewhere perfect. On her own! A shrubby hillside on the border of a sand sea, topped with jagged, bare rock formations that would provide the perfect nesting place for the Sirrush, and cover for all of them. The nest and Kaya's tent could easily be hidden between the rocks. So this is where they'd spend the next few months: Kaya, the three Sirrush, a small herd of goats, a dog whose primary job was to look after said goats, and a donkey.

It was the donkey that Kaya was leading down to the well, a little more than an hour's journey from her camp. But when they arrived, the young Alawi girl gave a gasp. Because there was something else at the well other than water! Laying face-down besides the well was a... a man!. Dressed in northerners' clothing, he was laying face-down in the sand, unconscious or maybe even dead.

Kaya looked urgently around for any bandits who might have ambushed him at the well, but there was no one. A lost traveler who had underestimated the desert, she guessed. She looked at the donkey, as if for guidance. "You're right," she said begrudgingly, "I have to check."

Cautiously, she approached the man, little by little, as though he were some dangerous animal that might bite her. When she got close enough, she gave him a little nudge. But he didn't move. Grimacing, she got a little bit closer to push him hard enough to turn him over. He definitely was a northerner. She could tell by his skin which, while probably normally fair, was burned red from the sun. Nearly as red as the dark red hair matted against his forehead. But he was breathing. Kaya could see the shallow rise and fall of his chest. "Um, hello?" she asked tenuously, nudging him with her boot. No response.

Hm. Kaya drew water from the well, pouring a little bit of it over the man's face. Still no response. Well. There was no way around it. If she left him here, he wouldn't still be breathing for long. Kaya drew the water to fill the two large jugs she'd brought along - they'd still need water, even more so if the man survived - and then looked at the donkey. "We can't just leave him," she said, as if anticipating the donkey's protest. The only challenge was getting the man onto the donkey. "Just, don't kick him off, okay?"

Then Kaya braced herself to lug the man upwards, nearly falling over under his weight. But she was stronger than she looked, and in a few minutes of awkward manhandling, she managed to get the man up onto the donkey, who brayed in protest. Time to head back.


When he woke, the man would find himself alone in a tent, laying on a bed of colorful rugs. Worst of all for Kaya, he'd find himself peeled out of the torn and tattered, salt-encrusted clothing she'd found him in (and it had been quite a job, undressing and redressing a man with her eyes scrunched closed through half of it!). Instead, he'd find himself in a tunic that, sure, was long on Kaya, but came down only mid-thigh on the man. It was the only thing she'd had that'd fit him!

What had he been thinking?  Going all the way out here and getting lost!  And then getting waylaid by fucking desert marauders.  His life had all the makings for a bad adventure story.  Because normal people didn’t wander around aimlessly with nothing more than a few stories in search for a mystical creature that probably didn’t exist.

Quinlan wondered when he was going to wise up and stop going on these ridiculous wild goose chases for unsavory proprietors that  were unwilling to go and do it themselves.  He was the one taking all the risk after all.  Maybe that was why he did it…  The risk maybe was all he needed to get on by.  It was better than nothing.  Might as well get his kicks while he was young enough to enjoy them.  It didn’t matter anyway; it was just him.

Yet there was an incredible loneliness in wandering that desert.  And he was quite certain he’d never seen so much space in all his life.  The land was varied, and there were all sorts of interesting shapes to behold, so many nooks and crannies for people to hide in, creatures likely hidden from the rest of the world.    But that wonderment would not keep him alive, and he was alone without decent supplies.  He suppose if he was going to die anywhere, at least it was from the elements on not his foolish condition.

It was all dream he knew however.  All a bad, uncomfortable dream which he would soon wake from.  Unless he really was dead, in which case it’d been a good go.  He always knew he’d croak in some place exotic.  It was kind’ve like vacation.

Gods, this bed was the most comfortable thing he’d slept on in a while.  And that sure beat burying himself in sand.  Maybe he was buried in sand.  He did feel kind’ve itchy.  Skin tingled and he felt something breathing on him.  Well, shit.  Not dead.  That was a shame. 

“Get off me, quadballs,” he griped and opened his eyes, looking at dog staring down at him.  Quinlan shoved the dog away.  He tried to sit up but every motion stung.  And he looked at his hands and arms and saw that they were red.  “Your breath smells,” he informed the dog idly.  “And why am I in a dress?”

After lugging the man back to camp and setting him up in the tent, Kaya had made sure to keep herself busy so she didn't just hover over and stare at him. A man! In her tent! A foreign man. Her mother would flay her alive if she found out. But what was she supposed to have done? She couldn't have just left him there fore dead! So instead, she busied about her chores, feeding and grooming the donkey, milking the goats, chatting with the Sirrush and helping them find whatever extra piece of rock that was absolutely necessary to add to the nest. She'd just realized that the dog was missing when she heard from the tent...

Kaya sprang over to the tent, nearly tripping over the carefully stored urn of goats milk as she did, and half-blundered half into the tent. For a moment, she just stared at the pair, red-faced red-haired man and dog. The dog also had red fur, as a matter of fact, it was a short-furred dog with huge, bat-like ears and a slender face and frame; all the better to survive the desert.

"Eh! Get out of here!" she scolded the dog, who was after all shirking his duties. "Get back to the goats." Her brow, turquoise-ringed eyes watched the dog hawkishly until it had left the tent, and she popped her head back out for a moment to make sure it went back to the flock.

When she looked back into the tent, it was with a bright, ear-to-ear smile. "Hey! You're alive!" she declared, as though it was news, and good news!, to all of them. "I wasn't sure about it for awhile! You nearly died out there!"

"Yeah, I'm alive.  And my skin hurts!" Quinlan gripped, resorting to lying back down on the bed of rugs and pillows.  Quinlan closed his eyes tightly and huffed a little.  Of course far be it from him to be grateful to anyone that went out of their way to save his life.  He frowned deeply and opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling of the tent.

"Where am I?" he asked.  "Are you sure I'm not really dead?  Because if there's an afterlife, I have to go back and tell someone.  They begged me to find out....  Though that may have been just because they wanted me dead."

He shook his head and winced.  "My skin is dreadfully painful.  Please, oh please, tell me I'm dead, little person thing."

"Must be sunstroke, listen to how delirious he is" Kaya said thoughtfully, presumably to herself. In fact, she was so used to being surrounded by animals, that she frequently spoke out loud as though she were talking to one of them, even though none were here in the tent now. Well, in truth, Kaya just talked a lot. Whether there was someone listening or not.

She crept the rest of the way into the tent, the flap closing behind her, but still perched by the opening. As though Quinlan were some dangerous thing she didn't really want to get too close to, but was very curious about.

"You're in pain because you're burned from the sun," she told him, speaking louder and a bit too slow, perhaps trying to reach him through his delirium (as she imagined it). "I don't have anything with me for it," because she was smart enough to dress appropriately for the desert! "but I can make a salve out of goats' milk that might help you heal a bit faster."

She leaned a little closer, looking at him with a wide-eyed curiosity. What had he been thinking! He must be so white, to have burned so red! Northerners were always so dumb when it came to the desert. But what had he been doing way out here?

"You're definitely not dead, though!" she reassured him, her tone brightening again. "What's your name?"

[Quinlan's not like pasty-white. XD  He has some tan from travelling and all that.  But he's not vampire pale]

Well, it was a sunburn. That certainly explained it. He hadn't had one of those in a long time and certainly never this bad before.  Maybe he was just lucky enough to have been found.  Either she or wild dogs would've gotten to him.  He would find a way to thank this woman-thing later.

Quinlan grumbled something to himself about just his luck getting sidetracked, but it was inaudible.  "Wel, ugh, thank you. Just how bad am I burnt? Wait, don't answer that. I can already feel it places that should never be burned...  Godballs.  I'm parched."

He coughed and carefully ran his fingertips along the cloth of that weird dress she put on him. He eyed her from the side of his vision.  "Quinlan," he said .  "What is this I'm wearing anyway?"

[[Sure, but what does Kaya know? She just sees a very red northerner. And all northerners are pale vampires! :D ]]

Kaya blinked at the grumbling, red-skinned man. He wasn't very pleasant, was he? Kaya decided to give him the benefit of the doubt; she wouldn't be very happy if she'd been burned half to death in the desert sun, either. Of course, she wouldn't have been foolish enough to venture out into the desert so unprepared to end up like this guy had.

"Well... uh... I don't know what you normally look like!" she concluded, unsure how to politely say 'you are very burnt.' "So I can't say exactly. But you're pretty red. It might take some time to, uh, recover. But, um, you can stay here. For a little bit. While you recover..." Kaya hadn't really thought about that before now! If this man was sleeping in her tent... where would she sleep? She couldn't sleep here! Oh, she was going to be in Big Trouble if her mother found out about this! 'But I couldn't let him die' was not an argument her mother would accept about some soft foreigner.

Kaya realized she was just staring at him as she went through those thoughts, and suddenly snapped back to the the present. "Oh! Parched! Of course!" She clambered over to the front of the tent where she'd left a small jug of goats' milk. Then she cautiously crouched near Quinlan again - but not too near - and held the jug out to him. "There. That'll be better for you than water."

Once she set the jug down, she moved away a little bit again before sitting back down. Pushing her black curls out of her face, she stared at the tunic-like dress she'd had to dress Quinlan in. Some men, she knew, were quite sensitive about their masculinity and would not like to hear they'd been put in a dress. "It's a traditional Awali tunic," she lied quickly, then smiled once she gained some confidence in the lie. "For men. You're lucky I had one with me - my cousin had this tent last or I wouldn't - otherwise I would have had to put you in women's clothing or something! How embarrassing!" Har har.

It was safe for Quinlan to conclude from then on that he was indeed still in the desert, and not transported off to some magical hideaway where green was in major abundance.  He wanted to move and hated that he couldn't.  Maybe he was a terrible patient but anyone who was burnt to a crisp probably would be.  And this girl's chipper attitude - admittedly - wasn't helping his spirits.

She was just so odd.

He was quiet for a while when she went to get the milk and he daintily reached out for the jug, gripping it gingerly until it was close enough to him that he could turn over, dip his hands into the milky whiteness and drink.  It wasn't cold, but nothing was out here he assumed, and for the moment relieved him off his thirst.  Water would've been preferred, but he didn't bother questioning his hostess. 

"An Awali tunic?" he asked, looking a bit skeptical, but shrugging nevertheless.  "Well, I suppose it beats being naked.  But considering I feel uncomfortable being in my own skin, maybe naked would be better.  Do you mind if I take this off?"

That wiped the smile off Kaya's face. Her eyes went wide as saucers and her face immediately flushed at Quinlan's question.

"What?" she stammered. "Mind? Yes, of- of course I mind!" she answered hastily. "If you took it off, you- you'd be naked!"

As if Quinlan hadn't realized that himself. Naked!

"Yes, that is the idea.  But if you mind, don't worry, I'll keep it on.  You look like your eyes are about to pop out of your head," Quinlan quickly added, putting his hands up as if that would wipe away her worries.  He shook his head, even chuckled a bit and let his fingers dance on the fabric again.  "it's okay.  Don't worry."

"So tell me who you are?  You got a name?  And your dog.  He keeps staring at me."  The snout immediately vanished from the tent flap upon being discovered and the sound of paws on sand could be heard scampering away.

Kaya continued to stare wide-eyed at Quinlan, not quite snapped out of her shock that he suggested he get naked. Here! In her tent!

"Me?" she asked, suddenly hearing his question. "Oh, I'm Kaya. You're lucky I'm out here. Otherwise probably no one would have found you... What?"

She snapped her head around to see the dog's snout disappearing from the tent flap. Grumbling, she sprang to her feet and disappeared for a moment outside of the tent. Yelling in some other language could be heard as Kaya told the dog to stay with the goats. That was its job! But if the dog was wary of Quinlan, what would the Sirrush think? She'd hoped to get rid of him before he ever even saw them, but if he really had to stay for a few days... Maybe he wasn't that burned.

Kaya reappeared in the tent a moment later, sitting cross-legged across from Quinlan. "I was saying, you're lucky!" she sounded a little more comfortable now, and her tone was a bit brighter. But she still sounded a little wary, as though Quinlan might disrobe at any moment. "What are you doing way out here, anyway? Especially an abjad like you," she added, using the pejorative term many in her clan used for foreigners from the north. "Where were you trying to get to?"

Geeze, if she was so offended by the mere suggestion of nudity, Quinlan wondered why she didn't just leave him in his old clothes.  Speaking of which, where were they?  Eyes scanned the room in search for his things but found them nowhere in immediate sight.  He could ask her later, he figured since it didn't seem he was going anywhere for a while.  And those mythical creatures could lavish another day being undiscovered.

He watched her return and gave a quirked brow.  "Abjad?" he mimicked.  He snickered a little at the odd word and leaned his head back.  He hated feeling useless like this, but there wasn't much else to do other than wait for some of that salve this 'Kaya' promised.  If that was her real name.  And Quinlan knew she gave him no other reason to believe otherwise.  Maybe he was just being paranoid.

"This abjad thanks you," he said with a nod and touched a hand to his forehead and then to his heart, like his dad used to do when he didn't want to say the words.  Quinlan eyed her speculatively.  "I was looking for a city, a grand city and really the only one I know of out here.  All er...abjad know of it.  Essyrn, if I remember correctly.  Heatstroke."

He examined his burnt pasty skin.  And then to her clearly unburned dry skin.  "Your nose.  No, maybe your eyes.  I think I met them before."

"You were trying to go to Essryn?" Kaya asked in disbelief, looking at him anew. And her look was clear: that was not the answer she was expecting! "Boy, were you off track! How did you even end up out here? Did you have... er... a map?"

Man, what an abjad! Kaya always thought the other Alawi were exaggerating when they talked about how stupid northerners were! But this guy made her wonder. She, of course, didn't have a map. Like any good nomad, the map was in her head; Kaya always knew where she was. And, usually, how to get where she was going. Wow, Essryn!

When he said that he recognized something about her, though, she stopped staring at him like he was an idiot and perked up. "Oh yeah? Maybe you've met my aunt Kheema! She's a famous Kaadir and Sirrush breeder! And I'm just like her! Everyone says so!" Kaya boasted proudly. It was possible. Kheema even traveled up to Adela to trade Kaadir and Sirrush sometimes! Maybe he met her there! "She's the best there is! At least, for now," she concluded with a big, confident grin. Kaya was going to be even better!

So excited was she to talk about her 'famous' aunt and how great she - and by extension, Kaya - was made her completely forget about making any salve or whatever for the poor abjad's burns.

Quinlan rolled his eyes, making a face as if she would really believe that he would wander all the way out here without a proper way to navigate.  Sure he'd never been in the desert before and all of it more or less started to look the same to him, and maybe he was half content with getting lost in search for mythical scaled horse animals.

"I had a guide," he quickly added.  "We got attacked by bandits.  I escaped.  I don't think he made it."  Quinlan sighed and flicked his eyes back to her, giving her a half-glare.  She was irritatingly perky, like no day could be a bad day.  Except for the whole threatening to be naked thing that seemed to stun her greatly.

His lips flicked a grin.  "Your aunt?  Hm, I don't think so.  Other than the bandits, you're the only other person I've seen here in this expanse.  No, I...I think I remember someone that looked like you from more up North."  He sniffed in thought and felt like having a cigarette then.

What she said caught his ear and he furrowed his brow, glancing back at her.  He'd heard of kaadir.  Even seen them out by where he met his guide and he wondered why they didn't take some of those to travel across this dusty wasteland.  "A sirrush?  What is that?" he asked, gesturing his head to her. 

Kaya wasn't put off so easily. She loved that her aunt was so famous! Especially since she was determined to be better than Kheema was! She already could speak more easily with the Sirrush than Kheema, and she was onlly sixteen! So ignoring his question about 'what a Sirrush was' - and all that unpleasantness he mentioned about bandits - Kaya launched straight into asking, "Are you sure? Because my aunt, she travels in the north sometimes! She even sold a Sirrush to a wealthy merchant in Serendipity!" Her emphasis no the word belied the fact that she could hardly imagine somewhere so far away. "And she travels regularly to Adela!" Well, semi-regularly. She'd been a few times. "Maybe you met her there! Have you ever been to Adela?" 

Kaya was leaning forward towards Quinlan a bit now, eager to hear that yes, she reminded him of his aunt. Because, surely, that was a sign that she was going to be just as successful - more successful! - as Kheema was.

Quinlan blinked at her abrupt rapid fire questioning.  For one who'd been so wary before, she was now interested in this stranger that reminded him of her.  Quinlan pushed himself up into a sitting position and he held his arms out in an awkward angle out to the side.  "I have been to Adela, in fact, I came from there into the desert," he replied.

"But no, I've never met your aunt.  At least don't think she's your aunt.  I met someone else that bore a passing resemblance.  Her name was Zahi.  Look, it just goes to show how small this world is.  I'm sure there's someone else out there that looks like me."

He laughed a little and studied her face a little more.  "You really look up to this Kheema don't you?  She really the best Sirrush breeder in the world?"

"Oh." Kaya deflated, looking a little crestfallen. "I don't know any 'Zahi's." She was quietly disappointed for a moment. Rats. She'd wanted him to have met Kheema. She wanted him to think he was just like her! Then, she supposed, she wanted him to be impressed by how she was even better. Well. Oh well.

Collecting herself, she looked back up and shot him a sly grin. "I'm not sure if there's anyone right now who looks just like you. I've never even seen an abjad half so red as you are!"

Speaking of that... Kaya brushed back a few curls, self-consciously again. She was supposed to have made him that salve! "Sandworms! I forgot to make the salve for you!" she exclaimed half a second after she thought it, hitting her forehead with her palm. "Be back in a flash! Don't you move!"

With that, Kaya bounded out of the tent with all the alacrity of a puppy. She had, in fact, already half-prepared the salve. But she'd needed to wait until it was ready to be applied to do the last step. Grabbing the little jar of goat's milk salve, she half-bounded, half-skipped over to where she'd left Myshhussu, standing watch looking over the desert. He could, she knew, imbue the salve with healing properties that would greatly speed up the poor man's recovery. But the magic wouldn't last long, so she had to wait until he was awake and ready to apply it.

Once the Sirrush had done his part, Kaya half-bounded, half-tripped over herself, half-barrelling back into the tent. "Here!" she said breathlessly, thrusting the earthen jar of creamy white salve to Quinlan. "It'll help you heal. And help with the pain. Just... rub it into all the burns."

Quinlan made a face at the salve.  She expected him to put this on himself?  It smelled like cheese!  And looked like a certain body fluid.  He took th jar in hand, cringing at the movement.  "So I just put this on and I'm supposed to magically make my abjad red skin get better?"

Where else did this happen with another odd woman with curly hair?  Right.  But that was a long time ago and he was more or less still alive after that.  At least she hadn't asked him to put anything else on his body, but then again he didn't ask what else this stuff was made of.  He didn't ask permission to get naked this time, and just took off that mini dress.

Slowly because removing it over burnt red skin was just a tad uncomfortable.  Quinlan laid the clothing out over his lap and began applying the cream to his arms first.

"No, it won't make you magically get better, but it should help a lot!" Kaya told him. She decided she didn't want to disclose the Sirrush's part in making the salve. "A lot of times all a burn really needs is mois-"

Kaya's little medical lecture ended in something between a yelp and a gasp. He was naked! He didn't even warn her!

Before Quinlan would know it, the girl was tripping over herself flying out of her tent. "OKAY WELL LET ME KNOW WHEN  YOU'RE DONE!" she called over her shoulder (without looking back!) as she tumbled out of the tent.

Well she sure could skedaddle with smoke practically come up from her feet.  Quinlan actually grinned, though he couldn't imagine what all yelling was for.  He could hear her just fine.  And not to mention she never said just how much to put on!

He could figure that out himself, he supposed.  A healthy layer.  Don't cake it on.  Chances are he'd have to apply another layer again in maybe a few hours or...What have you.  He was able to move, thankful for small blessings and rubbed the salve all over the burns on his legs and arms and chest and ....oh he didn't think he'd been burned there.  So might as well get that too.

He didn't put the mini dress thing, but instead wrapped it around his waist and stepped daintily toward the tent flap.  "Kaya!" he hissed, as if he were hiding from anyone else that might be lingering around.  She never did mention if she was alone.  He'd just seen the dog.  And this mention of Sirrush.

"Kaya!  I'm not...completely naked anymore!"

Kaya bounded back to the tent when she heard Quinlan call, but stopped abruptly outside of the tent flap. She had the vague idea that they were only separated by the thin fabric of the tent - but tried not to think about it!

"What," she asked tenuously through the closed tent flap, "does not 'completely' naked mean?"

"You can't see anything don't worry.  Nothing's hanging around outside of anywhere,"  he said quickly.  He stuck his head out the tent flap and smiled.  "Do you have anything to eat?  I'm starving."

Kaya nearly leapt back when Quinlan stuck his head out of the tent! And then immediately felt silly about it. Even if he was still naked, that was only his head, after all! But she could see from his neck and shoulders that he certainly wasn't wearing the tunic anymore!

"Sure, I got food. But you have to get dressed properly first! The, uh, the salve won't work properly if you're not wearing anything on top of it! It, uh, dries out too quickly. Yeah. It dries out too quickly." She nodded emphatically to make her point.

Quinlan furrowed his brow.  "But won't that just run it off?" he asked.  He supposed however, she wouldn't let him come out, unless he was covered up.  So with a few winces, he shimmied back into the tunic and fixed it over his legs.  Or tried to.  "Hey this thing doesn't get any lower or what? It's very small."

"Uhh... it's traditional," Kaya lied, not sure what else to say. His own clothes had been torn to shreds; either by the bandits that had waylaid him, or by the elements. Who could say? And it was very important that he at least keep on the tunic! "All our men dress like that," Kaya added, to try to make it sound more convincing. Nevermind that she had linen trousers on beneath her own tunic.

She stayed hovering outside the tent, hoping desperately that the man would not get naked again!

"Ugh," he sighed.  "Fine."  He pulled it down a little more and hobbled out of the tent.  "There. Not naked.  Happy?  Of course you are."

Quinlan held his arms out, as they were still very tender.  But all that was momentarily forgotten when he saw the canyons around them.  "Wow.  We really are miles away from any other civilization aren't we.  Why are you out here alone?"

Kaya braced herself as the man came out of the tent, silently and desperately hoping that he would, in fact, be wearing the tunic. And when he emerged dressed, she could feel herself physically relax a little. She couldn't help but notice, though, that the tunic was very short on him now that he was out here standing up. It took her a moment to tear her shocked eyes away from his very bare thighs. Oh dear.

Thankfully the man commented on their surroundings, though, and Kaya snapped her attention away from his bare, very red legs. She glanced over her shoulder at the desolate desert landscape. From the shrubby hill the tent was perched on, topped with its strange rock hoodoos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodoo_(geology)), they could see the sea of sand, gentle dunes disappearing into dark canyons in the distance. It didn't look desolate to Kaya normally, but in that moment she saw it through the foreigner's eyes. Yes, she supposed, it would look far away from 'any civilization.' But Kaya knew better. The desert was full of life.

"Well, it's only a bit over an hour to the well where we found you," Kaya said, the 'we' of course, being her and the donkey. "I'm out here with the herd," she answered noncommittally. She still wasn't sure if she should tell him about the Sirrush. But she'd have to eventually, if he was going to stay until he was healed! Did he really have to stay that long? And where was he going to go?

"But what are you doing out of the tent!?" she asked suddenly, looking up at the sun. It was getting later, but he could still be burned more! "Back in the tent with you, or you'll never stop being a pigman, you red-skinned abjad!" She berated him, but jokingly, and with a grin. "I'll even find you something to eat."

[Getting an eyeful of his manly legs! bahahaha!]

"Wait a minute, I'd like to see more of your camp.  I've been passed out for who knows how long. You're not a very good hostess if you think you're going to keep your guest confined to a set of sleeping quarters.  We have a word where I'm from for that, 'rude'!" he protested, frowning a little.

That was until her dog had come barking excitedly toward Kaya, and pausing warily but a few feet way.  He barked again at Quinlan, though made no more aggressive motions.  Instead he focused his attention on Kaya and he barked again, tail wagging.  It seemed he was rather excited about someone familiar approaching Kaya's camp.

[Just assuming that maybe one of Kaya's cousins came to check up on her to see how she was doing?  If this wouldn't make sense, I can fix it no worries. xD]

"Hey! Where are you going?" Kaya squaked at Quinlan. "We have a definition for 'rude,' too - and it includes strangers snooping around other people's business! Especially red-skinned pig men who should be staying out of the sun before they become bacon!"

Kaya didn't have the chance to carry on, though, before the goat dog came to bark happily around her feet. "What's with you?" she asked the dog, still more distracted by the curiosity of her 'visitor.'

The answer came bellowing over the sand dunes, though. A young male voice calling, "Kaya!" And for a moment, the girl froze in place, her eyes large as saucers. Nasr! What was her cousin doing here?! Normally, Kaya would be thrilled! It could be lonely out here in the desert, and no doubt he'd come as a surprise. Especially since this was her first time out here alone with the Sirrush. And normally she would be surprised, and happy, and excited! But here was the abjad... and if Nasr found him...

"Quick, hide!" she hissed at Quinlan, not waiting for him to react before pushing him bodily towards the jagged rocks cropping out of the sand where he could hide unseen. Hopefully! She was stronger than she looked, and it wasn't long before she'd shooed him into the hoodoos. "Don't you dare come out of there until I come get you!" she warned him with a sudden fierceness that shone blazing in her eyes. She meant business!

Kaya shot Quinlan one more look that said, 'I'm warning you, pig man!' before traipsing back towards the camp, calling, "Nasr!" followed by a greeting in a language that would be foreign to Quinlan's ears.

Quinlan nodded to her fiercely and ushered her away.  For a tiny woman she was awfully bossy.  And he didn't really want to be caught by whoever was wandering toward her camp. Her very expression dictated it was someone she did not expect.  Quinlan ignored his stinging skin and instead crouched low within the shade of the rocks, waiting and listening.

But boy did it sound like someone was breathing awfully loud in his ear.

From Kaya's camp down the hill, a lively and animated conversation could be heard in a language Quinlan likely wouldn't recognize, as Kaya tried to hide her 'guilt' from her cousin. But up in the hoodoos, something else entirely was paying attention to Quinlan.

Close attention.

The hot breath on the back of his neck was not the desert wind. As Quinlan crouched hiding, Myshhusu crept up behind the red-skinned Connlaothian. His serpentine-line head was lowered close to Quinlan's, watching both the strange man and his field of view. And when he finally spoke, in a raspy and hissing voice, his dangerous mouth was only inches from Quinlan's ear.

"Bad abjad. Sssspying. Now Myshhusu eats him."

This was a real source of pride for Kaya: not only could Myshhusu speak Common, but she'd taught him how to joke! Though Quinlan might not appreciate that in the current moment.

[[Blegh post, sorry!]]

[Is it bad that I think if Gollum when Myshhusu speaks?]

Quinlan heard those words and that was all he needed to whirl around.  He screamed.  He wasn't going to kid himself! He'd never seen a weird golden scaled horse in his life!  Immediately he dropped to his ass, having lost his balance, and scrambling backwards.  "What the fuck are you?"  He didn't wait for an answer as he took off back toward the camp away from the strange talking horse.

"Kaya!  Kaya!  You! You  HAVE A THING IN YOUR CAMP!!!!"

Already the mini dress was having a hell of a time staying at his thighs.  Quinlan whirled around when Myshhusu followed him, peeking out from between rocks.  The sting of his roasted skin was secondary to his shock.  He kept on his feet however, though he scurried behind Kaya and stared down the curious strange animal.

"What is that!?"

Kaya was just getting into the swing of not telling her cousin the whole truth and edging the anxiety out of her voice. How was it going? Oh, it was going great! Did she get lonely? Sure, but who didn't? And at least, she boasted, she could talk so well with the Sirrush. Anything strange happen out here in the desert? Oh no! Nothing at all. Why would he even ask?

And that, of course, was when Quinlan came screaming down the hill.

Kaya winced, shielding her eyes from the liberally flapping tunic. Nasr, meanwhile, stared in shock, mouth agape, at the lollopping half-naked northerner hurtling towards them.

No one responded to Quinlan, but Nasr responded loudly, switching to Common, "Kaya, you have a MAN in your camp!!!"

Though Nasr was no older than she was, he already stood taller than Quinlan and had a curved blade belted at his waist. (He was also, Quinlan might notice, not wearing a minidress.) Though why Quinlan would worry about the teenager when the Sirrush was still eyeing him from the rocks, who could say.

Quinlan too was mesmerized by the Sirrush, just as the Sirrush was curious about him.  However, his panic would have to take a backseat to the voice that next caught his attention.  He looked at the man that had been speaking to Kaya.  Quinlan blinked at gim, but already he could see the indignance in his face, the horror and  Quinlan doubled backwards when Nasr pulled the sword from his belt.

"Name yourself, abjad.  Or I will shave off that red skin with edge of my blade.

Quinlan gave a smirk.  Surely this man couldn't be serious.  But then again he was the one with the sword in his hand and no wearing a mini-dress. 

"You smile abjad?!?!  Kneel, scum! Now!  What are you doing in my cousin's camp?  Did you touch her! Answer me!"

Those were a lot of demands to be met on short notice.  But Quinlan said nothing still and slowly went down to his knees, taking his time about it and seeing that such insolence was making Nasr impatient.  Quinlan watched him and for the split dug his hands abruptly into the sand and flung it up into Nasr's face.  Kaya's cousin threw his hands up and that was when Quinlan threw himself on Nasr, knocking him to the ground and pinning him with all his weight.  He then pressed the sword back against his throat.

He looked rather ridulous in that mini-dress, holding Nasr down.  At least he made no move to injure Nasr further.  "I'm sunned raw, a little dazed, and wearing a dress.  I was lucky for your cousin to have found me and helped.  But over all I'm not having the best of days."

Kaya had been prepared to defend the poor, stupid abjad to Nasr. She was going to explain that he'd been half dead and hadn't done anything inappropriate and he was just staying until he was better enough to carry on. She was going to say that Nasr should stay until then, then nothing inappropriate could happen, and Nasr could escort the man to the nearest village. But that was before Quinlan turned to dirty fighting and attacked her cousin!

Attack her cousin?! And expect to get away with it? Hell no!

Quinlan might think Kaya was just going to stand meekly by, like some helpless abjadi woman, but Kaya was an Awali. And Awali women are just as fierce as their men.

She threw herself at Quinlan, taking advantage of having the element of surprise and  tackling him off of Nasr. Once he was off Nasr, she scurried to her feet and kicked him AS HARD AS SHE COULD! in the ribs. And for a small thing, she could still kick pretty hard! Not unlike others of her bloodline, Kaya was stronger than she looked. "You STUPID ABJAD!" she yelled at him, as she kicked him again. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"

Nasr, in the meantime, scurried back to his feet and picked up the scimitar. But he didn't get in the way of his cousin's kicks. It was Myshhusu that appeared, silent as the wind, and nudged Kaya aside. His golden, taloned foot pinned Quinlan against the sand. Only has firm as he needed to be to keep Quinlan down. The Sirrush, it seemed, was more nuanced than the Awali.

"Now Myshhusu eats it? Roassssted pork. Myshhusu favorite."


[[Let me know if that's too much liberties taken on Quinlan. I'll change the post!]]

Quinlan laid prostrate beneath the Sirrush's claw - mostly because he was too tired to have his intestines spill out that day - and he just panted, a little exhausted from the scuffles and just stared up at Kaya.  "Can I have some water?  I'm awful thirsty.  I didn't mean to uh, hurt, your cousin.  But he said he was going to skin me.  He still might."

And at that thought Quinlan just laughed, staring up at Myshhusu.  "Hello.  Don't eat me until I've had some preparation please.  I'm not quite tender."

"YES YOU DID!" Kaya yelled, kicking Quinlan hard in the ribs again. "You could have just ANSWERED HIM, you IDIOT!" Like hell he didn't mean to hurt him! He put a blade to his throat! Did he think Kaya was stupid? That made her even angrier. That this man thought just because she was nice to him once, she'd let him do whatever he liked in her camp? Including threatening her family? Nuh-uh.

Kaya scowled, then spit on him. "There, there's your water, you filthy abjad. I saved your life!"

Myshhusu hissed something at Kaya in his own language, and she stalked off, scowling and muttering to herself in Awali.

Nasr, meanwhile, shook his head and glared daggers down at the man. "Now, will you state your business here, foreigner? What are you doing in my cousin's camp? And why are you wearing a woman's tunic if you haven't done anything to dishonor her?"

Quinlan just sighed.  He wasn't content to lay on this hot ground.  He felt like salami.  Yes, salami.  And all this work for nothing, only to be fried salami on the ground and eaten by a scaly golden horse.  This was definitely a Sirrush, Quinlan thoughtfully deducted.

He peered up at Nasr and then to Myshhusu.  "Tell him to get off me first. And you'll have your answers."

"Then we eatssssit?" the Sirrush asked.

"No, no eating.  Not yet."

"Weeee were not asssssking pink man."

"No, stand on the stupid abjad," Nasr snarled at Quinlan.  "Answer me.  Or you will be eaten!"

Quinlan just huffed and sighed.  Boy that horse thing was kind of heavy.

"She found me lying around.  Half-dead I guess.  She brought me back to life.  You should be grateful to know her.  As should I to have met her.  But nothing I offer is going to get me out of this.  She is very kind.  You should be happy to be related to such a person."

"OH, I DON'T THINK SO!" Kaya ran up, kicking Quinlan hard again (again!). "You can't just flatter your way out of this, stinkin' abjad! You think we're STUPID? You FILTHY HORRIBLE MA-"

She wheeled up to kick him again, but Nasr pulled her back by the shoulder. "Kaya, is he telling the truth? You brought him here... as a guest?"

"Yeah, but-" Kaya stared at Nasr, mouth agape. Like many desert peoples, and like many nomadic peoples, the Awali had a strict code of hospitality. It was core to their culture, and to their religion. It's what Nasr was reminding her of now. But no way! She'd brought him in and he'd TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF HER! Sort of. But he'd attacked Nasr! "Yeah, but, Nasr!" she protested.

What followed was a heated argument in their native language, with lots of shouting and arm waving. All the while, Myshhusu kept Quinlan under his claws, studying the man with his golden eyes. He lowered his head, sniffing Quinlan, then even flicked out a snake-like tongue against the salty burned skin. As if interpreting the cousins' argument for Quinlan, he explained, "No eating guestsss."

Finally, Nasr and Kaya emerged from their argument. Nasr looked unhappy, but moderately composed. While Kaya was clearly fuming! She looked like a spitting wildcat, ready to spring on Quinlan if only she had the chance.

"Myshhusu, let him up," Nasr told the Sirrush, who flicked his tongue at Quinlan again, then grudgingly stepped back, releasing Quinlan. Nasr turned to Quinlan once the Sirrush stepped aside. "It's dangerous for you outside in the sun, brother. Come into the tent and have some tea."

Nasr didn't look too happy about saying this, and it was clear he was speaking from rote. Kaya, meanwhile, was having to keep her mouth shut at risk of breaking every tenant of the ettiquette of hospitality and verbally, and perhaps physically, assaulting the man again.

Quinlan was very tempted to make small talk with the Sirrush, this fascinatingly strange golden horse with scales all over his body.  But that thought quickly went out of his mind when the sirrush proceeded to get a taste of him.  That tongue wasn't at all pleasant - and even less so on red raw skin.  Quinlan shuddered and made a sour face up at the creature, it's declaration to not eat guests not meaning much to him at all.

Maybe he had manners, but once he was all healed up and was no longer a guest surely it was no longer rude to make the abjad a tasty meal!

Quinlan got up when at last he was free, already feeling dizzy from the sun glaring down on him.  He huffed and leaned unsteadily against Nasr.  The dull pain that lingered in his ribs was slowly going away.  She kicked hard, but he didn't linger on it.  He did attack her cousin after all.

"I just need to lie down," was all Quinlan could say before staggering back into the tent and collapsing onto the soft bed of rugs he'd occupied before.

Kaya and Nasr just stared as Quinlan got straight to his feet, rudely rejected their offer of tea, and staggered on his own back into the tent. From the sound of it, he just went in and collapsed, too! He was not a very good guest. But then again, maybe they shouldn't have expected anything different from a northern barbarian.

Now, of course, Kaya had to explain why she'd hid the man in the first place. But Nasr knew how much the privilege of having her own Sirrush breeding was for Kaya, and believed his cousin when she said she just didn't want the whole thing ruined because she saved some stupid abjad. Of course, Nasr also knew his aunt, Kaya's mother, and how much it would ruin Kaya's chance if she found out about this! So grudgingly he agreed to keep it secret. But what to do with the man until he was better?

Kaya, whose temper was worse than Nasr's, was still fuming at what she saw as the man's betrayal. Attacking her cousin! After she took him in! So to cool her head, Kaya threw herself back into all the work she needed to do anyway, while Nasr cautiously went into the tent.

He looked curiously and cautiously at the man. In truth, he'd never seen a northerner before. While Kaya made extended trips in Essryn to visit her father, Nasr stayed with the tribe and had met few foreigners. Now that the man wasn't a threat, he was curious.

"Kaya said she made a salve for you," he said cautiously, "you should probably use it again. Sun sickness can be very serious." He brought the jar of the lotion over to Quinlan, then sat down not too far from him, frowning curiously at him. "You are lucky Kaya found you. You would have died."

Quinlan managed to shuffle onto his back, peering up to the man that had reluctantly come to his defense.  Not that Quinlan would ever admit to being thankful for that.  Those kicks had been starting to get in his nerves aftet a while.  He just stared up at Nasr.  "I must apologize," he mumbled.  Then repeated himself so that he was heard more clearly.  "Where I come from, someone holds a blade to you, its either you or them.  I'm sure that sniff you just did was out of disgust for all my barbarian mannerisms."

Quinlan didn't really care if he was being respectful, but he already knew what the pair of these desert dwellers thought of him.  All he could ask was that they didn't slash his throat open while he slept.  He'd prefer they do that while he was awake.  "What is your name, stranger?" Nasr asked.

Quinlan looked at him, tempted not to answer at all.  What did it matter anyway?  "Quinlan," he murmured, sitting up slowly to rub the salve back over his burns.

"You can rest easy, Quinlan," Nasr told him in his best attempt of a voice that said, I'm your courteous host and never ever threatened you with a sword. "No harm will come to any guest in an Awali tent, and you're a guest now. I'm sorry about before," Nasr rubbed his short curly hair, looking only a little sheepish. He didn't look entirely apologetic, however. "I thought you were an intruder, come to harm or dishonor Kaya. Especially since... well... you weren't dressed properly. Do you have a sister, or a girl cousin? If you do, then you understand."

Nasr did look a little sheepish when he looked out the tent. Because it occurred to him that Quinlan might not quite believe his promise that no harm would come to him in light of Kaya's assault of him. After all, Kaya had known he was a guest. "Kaya, well... She felt the same way when you attacked me. But she was wrong to harm a guest. I... reminded her of that." A polite way to characterize the loud and animated argument they'd had. Then, after a moment, he added, "She'll calm down. She has a temper. I'm Nasr, by the way."

He grunted, sitting up and pulling the dress off with some effort.  Avoiding raw skin wasn't easy and it certainly wasn't something Quinlan enjoyed doing.  Why couldn't Kaya had given him a skirt?  Some hostess she was.

"She said my clothes were in ruins.  She let me use what she had.  Which unfortunately was this lovely ceremonial skirt."

He kept the dress draped over his lap and shrugged a little, applying the salve thoughtfully.  "I don't think our customs are so different," Quinlan replied thoughtfully.  He ignored the question about having a sister or female relative.  "Guest or not, where I come from, Kaya would be justified in protecting a family member.  Temper or no.  But I am a long way from wherever Home used to be.  And,...I guess, I should say thanks?"

Quinlan studied Nasr.  "You came out all this way to see her.  She mentioned something about sirrush breeding.  She talked about her aunt.  Really that was all she could talk about the first bout of conversation we had.  I imagine that's what that golden horse was, yes?  She must be very far from where the rest of your...Awali was it? - come from."  Quinlan knew of course natives to these places all knew the nooks and crannies of these badlands. 

"'Golden horse?!' Don't let Kaya hear you say that!" Nasr warned Quinlan, looking a bit offended himself, though he tried gallantly to hide it. "Or Myshhusu, for that matter. You wouldn't last long with the pair of them mad at you! But yes," he answered with just the slightest hesitation, "Myshhusu is a Sirrush. And her aunt is my mother," he added, straightening up a little. Clearly proud.

All of Quinlan's questions gave Nasr pause. Why did he want to know about how far they were from the rest of their tribe? And how alone Kaya was? Did he mean to do her harm, after all? Or did he mean harm to the Sirrush clutch? Of course, asking those questions - accusing a guest of something so vile - would be very rude! It would certainly violate the rules of hospitality.

"Our tribe, the Awali, yes, come from everywhere in this land," he answered instead. "Our homes are the great sky and our tents, and we move with our flocks, and with the kaadir and Sirrush that we breed." Best to tell him that people weren't that far away (even though, in this case, it was a few days to where the rest of their tribe was) and at the same time remind him that they had several large, powerful, and dangerous animals. "Were you hoping to join the rest of our tribe?" A coded way of asking, Why do you want to know?

They did say the road to hell was paved with good intentions.  Not that Quinlan had any of those.  He had no doubt that these people saw him as odd as he saw them.  He never did consider himself a worldly man, but he could adapt to any situation as best he could.  He had no pride or pretense.  What good would that do in a situation like this?

Quinlan glanced at Nasr, finishing applying that weird salve and setting it aside.  He didn't really cake it on, especially since he wasn't sure how long it would last.  With any luck, his skin would start peeling tomorrow.

"I'm just making conversation," Quinlan answered with a small sigh.  The suspicion was clearly evident in Nasr's voice.  "I've never heard of your people before.  And I've been around.  But not much into the desert.  It leaves me...euphoric."  He probably thought Quinlan was being full of shit, but he could honestly say, other than the heat, this kind of setting was remarkably freeing.  Maybe Nasr didn't see it that way.

"'Euphoric?!' Tch! More like it makes you roast....phoric."

That, of course, was Kaya re-entering the tent. Nasr shot her a meaningful look that clearly said, Behave. But Kaya, at least, seemed to have simmered down somewhat. Instead of glaring, she was grinning at Quinlan. Well, maybe glaring a little at the same time.

"You can't have been around too much if you thought this was on the way to Essryn!" she continued, plopping down near Nasr.

"Kaya..."

She made a great show of rolling her eyes, then cleared her throat, and looked at Quinlan anew. "Oh, I'm sorry, brother," she parroted, "please, let me make you some tea."

Quinlan just eyed Kaya as he just about finished applying the salve.  Oh sue he'd finished applying it, but he'd needed to rub it in and he let his arms hang off to the side to remain comfortable.  Or as comfortable as he could possibly be in his skin.

"Thank you," was all he said in response to that offer of tea.  Even if it was in sheer mockery and she was probably going to spit in it anyway.

Kaya tried not to glare as she got up and set about preparing the tea. She'd fully expected him to reject it; he had before! And now she was quite certain he was doing it just to spite her. Obviously he was. Stupid abjad.

Well, if Kaya's sunny, chipper disposition had annoyed Quinlan before, he seemed to have fixed that problem pretty well. Maybe he'd like surly, grumpy Kaya better.

Nasr watched Kaya, looking a little nervous. Then he turned back to Quinlan. "Unfortunately, I can't stay here past tomorrow morning. I'll be expected back with the others," and if he stayed, everyone would think there was something wrong. And both Kaya and Nasr knew that if Khitam found her daughter alone with a foreign man, Kaya would never be let out of her sight again. And certainly not left alone so long, as was required by Sirrush breeding. So for now, it'd be their secret. "But Kaya will take care of you until you're able to travel again," he said this a little uncertainly, as though worried that Kaya might do no such thing. "Unfortunately, I didn't bring any more clothes, so..." Nasr looked meaningfully at the skirt-mini-dress-kilt, and gave a shrug.

Kaya came back over with a steaming kettle. She set out three metal cups and poured first for Quinlan - glaring at him - then Nasr, then herself. Then she sat to drink her tea, glaring at Quinlan.

He had to admit.  Seeing her throwing death-glares at Quinlan was rather amusing.  But he was a guest and it would not do to laugh at a time like this.  He was still very vulnerable.  So he simply sipped his tea quietly and looked to Nasr, giving a friendly bow of his head.

"Thank you anyway," Quinlan said and sipped the tea again.  It was really very good.  For a man that preferred a bit of brandy with it.  "I think I can make do.  I don't plan on sitting around that entire time.  But I guess going outside isn't that good of an idea.  And we've already seen just how good my ideas are."

And his eyes slowly drifted to Kaya.

"What are you looking at me for?" Kaya bit once she noticed Quinlan's gaze. Nasr shot her a look and Kaya heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I mean, is there something else I can get you, brother?"

Nasr frowned at his cousin. Perhaps wondering if Quinlan would survive her 'hospitality.'

"It's probably best if you do stay in the tent. You'll heal faster and Kaya will have a lot of work to do."

The implication, of course, being that Quinlan would only get in the way.

Oh Quinlan couldn't agree more, but he left it at that.  The fire was already hot enough, without him stirring the embers.  He only smiled between the cousins and set the tea gently on his lap.

"So what do your people do for...fun around here?  Or is there always work to do?"

"For fun?" Kaya repeated, raising her eyebrows at Quinlan. "We lure stupid foreigners in with tales of our famous 'hospitality,' then tie them up in their sleep and feed them to Myshhusu."

Describing this, Kaya looked in a much better mood.

Nasr, meanwhile, rolled his eyes, and answered noncommittally, "There's a lot of work to be done during breeding season."

"Oh?  Well, I certainly hope I don't give your Sirrush indigestion.  I'd hate for that to happen," Quinlan said with a small grin, watching Kaya's expression from the corner of his eye.  That seemed to brighten her up.  Good.  Humor at his own expense.  That was the usual way to go.

"Mating season?" Quinlan peered up, the topic having caught his interest.  "Ahh.  So that's why all this, seclusion of sorts.  I guess they raise better without interruption?"

That question seemed to perk Kaya up, her excitement and pride about the Sirrush momentarily overwhelming her grudge against Quinlan. Her face lit up and she opened her mouth to answer, but Nasr quickly cut in.

"We won't bore you with the tedium of our livestock," he said with an edge of firmness. While Kaya might still be angrier at Quinlan, Nasr was, perhaps, more suspicious. "Especially when we know so little of your story. Tell us, brother, where are you from? And what brings you so far away from your native land?"

It may have been a clumsily obvious way of changing the subject, the subtext of 'We don't ant to tell you about the Sirrush' loud and clear, but hey, they were only sixteen.

A hint well played.  And well-taken.  He wasn't going to press the issue, but it only confirmed what suspicions he had.  These were the animals he'd come all this way to look for.  Quinlan sipped the tea quietly until the questions were posed to him.  He looked between Nasr and Kaya, the cousin's sharing more resemblance than not.  He was an outsider to them after all.

"I am from the North.  You might know it as the nation of Serendipity.  It is very...green," he said, chuckling a little.  "Lush forests, rushing rivers, even great mountains covered with snow.  But a trader like myself cannot stick to one nation.  I've been interested in venturing to Essryn for months now.  And when I finally came this way...apparently, I got more than I bargained for."

"Well, you came the wrong way," Kaya said bluntly, the 'idiot' at the end of the sentence more than implied in her tone. "You'd have made it there fine if you'd gone on any of the standard routes."

Nasr sighed. He'd shoot her a look, but how many had he given her already? Instead he looked to Quinlan with polite curiosity.

"Trader? What do you trade? Our people are traders, and as nomads, we're always looking to extend our network and barter for new and rare goods."

Quinlan kept his eyes to Nasr.  Besides Kaya was just going to get on his nerves if he continued to focus on her.  "All manner of goods.  I have several connections from Adela and many in Serendipity.  I like to keep my prospects open. In fact I came here looking to purchase rare goods to sell North. Silks, furs, dyes, any thing that would fetch a good price back home."

Kaya looked at Quinlan with a knit brow. Something seemed funny. He hadn't said anything before about being a trader. Had he? If he was a trader, where was all his stuff? So, racking her memory for images of the site where she found Quinlan, she looked up and remarked casually,

"There was no sign of a trader's wagons or goods when I picked you up. Or signs that anything like that had been there."

Now she spoke.  Quinlan peered at her.  "When you found me, that was a long way from where I was attacked by brigands,"  he answered, because really it was mostly the truth.  "Then I had come a long way looking for anyone that would help.  I suppose that was when I passed out where you found me.  The uh, red abjad I believed you called me."

"To look for help you left the main road - I assume you were traveling on a main road - to wander down a little goat track? You're dumber than I thought."

"Kaya!" Nasr shot her a meaningful look, then turned back to Quinlan, trying to look composed, as though they were all having pleasant tea together. "I think, brother, that it will take a several days for you to heal properly. Unfortunately," he frowned, "I won't be able to stay here with you that entire time, like I said. But I can return in four days, then I can guide you back to the main caravan routes. Perhaps you can find passage there. There are always several caravans going to Essryn. In the meantime, please, stay in here and rest."

It was half request, half command. But couched very politely.

Then Kaya and Nasr left Quinlan to rest, disappearing to their own chores. Or, by the sounds of it, another heated 'discussion' in their own language from outside the tent. When Kaya finally returned, the sun had disappeared over the horizon, and she was alone. She handed Quinlan a bowl of chickpeas as graciously as she could manage (not very gracefully), with a gruff, "Please, eat."

Quinlan just smiled when they departed, finishing his tea.  "You assume much."  And just shook his head because a child's rebuffs meant very little to him.  Sure he was a guest in her home, but what did it matter in the end.  He was going to take one of those little Sirrush babies and be on with it.

He'd always been a fast healer.

When she returned, he looked up at her and stared at the chickpeas.  He hesitated.  "Thank you.  But...I'm not hungry.  The tea was enough.  I know I'm imposing already," he said, shaking his head.

"You have to eat," Kaya responded flatly. "Or you won't heal as quickly."

She watched him hawkishly. The bubbly, embarrassed girl she'd been the last time they were alone together replaced by a surly, suspicious one.

Finally, she blurted out, "What are you really doing here? I don't believe your 'trader' story for a minute. And I can still have Myshhusu eat you, you know. I'll say it was an accident," she added, just in case he had the gall to bring up all the hospitality arguments Nasr had.

Quinlan reluctantly took the bowl of chickpeas and laid them out beside him.  He didn't eat them however and just looked at her with a serious expression. "I told you.  I'm just a trader.  You don't have to believe me.  But I told you the truth."

"My ass you are!" Kaya snapped at Quinlan, glaring balefully at him. If Quinlan had wanted an easy time with the girl who only hours earlier had been cheerfully tending to him and chatting happily with him, he'd clearly made the wrong move in attacking Nasr. The way she eyed him now, it looked like not only did she still hold a grudge against him, but like she wouldn't mind getting a few more kicks in.

"You listen to me. You'll stay here until you're healed enough, fine. But you'll stay here" she pointed emphatically to the floor of the tent. "I don't want you stepping foot outside this tent, you filthy abjad." Any irony of the juxtaposition between caring for and tending to Quinlan and cursing and threatening him was, it seemed, lost on Kaya. "I mean it. And you'll do what you're told," she added, pointing to the chickpeas. The message clear: Eat the fucking chickpeas! "Nasr might be the one who insisted on keeping you as a guest - even though you've acted like a bloodthirsty barbarian - but Myshhusu listens to me. And he can eat you."

There was no joke in that threat, or in the hard stare Kaya gave him to drive it home. Even if he were armed, which he wasn't, Quinlan would stand a poor chance against the golden-scaled Sirrush.

Then Kaya turned to the tent flap and whistled. The short-furred, bat-eared appeared in the tent at her side. She said something to it in her own language, then pointed at Quinlan. The dog looked obediently at Kaya. Then at Quinlan. Then growled. Kaya said something that sounded like praise and patted the dog on the head.

"Now eat your dinner," she warned Quinlan, before turning and leaving the tent.

The dog planted himself firmly in front of the tent flap, keen eyes fixed on Quinlan.

The message was clear.  And he patiently waited for her to finish, just before setting her dog to watch him.  When she left, he stared at the hound, met his eyes for the longest time until the dog growled softly.  Quinlan smirked, eating a chickpea and nudging his head toward the bowl.  The dog kept staring, determined to be faithful to his owner.

Quinlan still kept his gaze, turning his face gently and putting a few chickpeas in his hand, but the dog just gave a chuff and another growl.  But there was a whining lilt to the end of it, one that got his attention.  The blood mage leaned up, looking toward the flap and rolling one of the soft chickpeas to the dog.  The animal gave a sniff and slurped it up, munching on it thoughtfully.

He ate some more and nudged his head again, the dog licking his chops and chuffing again.  "Come on, boy," he whispered and threw another chickpea on the ground.  He munched it up immediately, scooting a little closer one cooked chickpea at a time.  Quinlan kept eating them until the dog was close enough to pet.  And when he held out his hand with the last one, he carefully scratched fingers on top of the dog's head.  "There's a good boy."

He growled a little, indignant at being tricked by bland chickpeas, but otherwise made no complaints.

Kaya returned a few hours later to the tent to find Quinlan - and the dog! - fast asleep. As in, fast asleep together! The dog was curled up at Quinlan's side, head resting on the man's leg. Oh, this dog was the worst! She clucked her tongue and the dog's ears perked up and he looked guiltily at her. Tail tucked down, he skulked out of the tent. Back to the goats.

Well, if she couldn't trust the dog, Kaya would have to take more extreme measures. She considered Quinlan for awhile, then formulated a plan.

When Quinlan woke, he'd find his hands and feet fastened together with strong leather straps; taken from the mule. There was just enough length between his feet that he could hobble, and the half-foot of length between his hands would allow him to lift a bowl to his mouth, but not much more. And he wouldn't be hobbling far because the whole aparatus was fastened to the sturdy iron stove at the back of the tent. The leather straps around his hands and feet weren't tied in knots, but fastened with buckles that had been locked with solid bronze locks. That was the handy part of having metalsmiths in the family! The tunic was still wrapped kilt-like around his waist; Kaya decided she wasn't going to redress him again. Too much touching!

Kaya felt, truth be told, quite pleased with herself! Smug, even. So the stupid abjad thought he could charm her dog, huh? Well, Kaya Aram was smarter than that! In the morning, she drank her tea, watching the prone, tied up, half-naked man sleep feeling quite proud.

What the!  Quinlan blinked up at the tent ceiling.  Something was different.  And not in a good way.  He moved and found his hands couldn't move farther than a few inches.  "Hey!  Hey Kaya!"  To think that'd he'd done exactly as he was told and this was how she repaid him!  This was why he never did what he was told!

Quinlan saw her sitting smugly, and he was certain that she was quite satisfied with herself.  "What's this all about?" hehissed.

"What is this all about?" Kaya parroted back at him, sitting up straight and leaning a bit towards him now that he woke. She was glad to see that the contraption was working!

"Well," she explained happily, grinning a wide, open grin, "clearly I can't trust you, and I can't trust that dog of mine. So," she shrugged, her grin practically glowing at this point, and went back to leaning oh-so-casually back and sipping her tea, "I had to take matters into my own hands."

Quinlan blinked at her.  Clearly questioning whether or not she was serious would be stupid.  Because by her very words and glances, she was seriously serious.  And like it or not, he was stuck here.  Well, fine, if that was how she wanted to play it.  "I have to pee," he said, remember the tea he drank, and the chickpeas.

"Did you want me to pee in here?"

"I've thought of that," she replied proudly. Setting her tea down and springing to her feet, Kaya skipped over to where the straps binding Quinlan were lashed to the stove. Producing a key from inside her tunic, she unlocked the length of leather from the stove, resulting in her essentially having Quinlan on a leash... The leather lead in her hand leading to the leather thongs that bound his hands and feet.

"Come on, then!" she chirped, grinning from where she held the leather leash, as though Quinlan were a dog on a lead. "You should still be able to hobble out."

And just like a dog on a lead, Quinlan was jolted out of bed and rolled off unceremoniously.  Not that it mattered.  He was still quite clearly the fool in this.  For such a light sleeper, how could he not have felt the straps she used to wrap around him. He hissed, climbing to his feet with some difficulty.  "Does your cousin know you're into weird stuff?" he asked.

He kicked himself for asking such a dumb question, but nevertheless.  When he was in an area suitable for urination, he wasted no time.

"What do you mean, 'weird stuff?'" Kaya asked, oblivious to what Quinlan was hinting at. "This isn't weird, this is practical! Better yet, resourceful! You might've tricked me once, pig-man, but you're not tricking me again!"

She said all of this while, obviously, averting her eyes from Quinlan's business. But once he was done, she gave the lead a sharp tug. "Come on, then, back into the tent!"

Really, she thought, it was kind of fun, having this sort of power over the stupid foreigner who thought he could trick her! With that in mind, she gave the lead another sharp tug.

This was quickly going to get on his nerves.  The tugging and pulling, and her snide attitude.  Quinlan was certain, in better condition, he could give one good tug and run off.  Or hobble off.  He stumbled again in the dirt, catching himself on the side of the tent.

"Easy, crone," he hissed.  "I've only got two legs and unless you want to see my manhood flopping about, let me fix this  kilt yougave me.  Good gods."  He sstraightened and fixed the bottom of the kilt, before moving along again.  There was the dog again, curiously watching from his spot by the goats.  He wagged his tail and then he noticed Kaya, and his ears immediately went back.

Quinlan moved back inside the tent, flopping back on the pillows.  "Okay, now what?  You just expect to sit here until I heal?"

"That's exactly what I expect!" Kaya informed him brightly, ignoring his comment about his 'manhood.' Gross! "How else you gonna heal, anyway? You're supposed to just lay around and rest when you need to heal. You're just lucky you've got me to make you do it, since you're too dumb to do it on your own."

Once they were back in the tent and she'd shuffled Quinlan back to his 'bed' of carpets, she gave the lead another sharp tug in hopes of getting him to stumble back down to the ground. Was that too much? Maybe/ But only if he were a real guest! And Kaya was SURE he wasn't. He was a trickster. And she was getting the better of him!

Quinlan huffed, sitting down and crossing his legs, sorta, under him.  He quirked his brows at Kaya.  "And what makes you so sure that I wasn't just going to stay in here anyway?  You simply assumed that I was going to wander around your camp?  I'm malnourished and tired, and sunburnt.  Any more exposure to the sun and I'll be dead.  Oh, but I forgot.  I'm a stupid abjad."

He rolled his eyes and looked back to the bowl of salve that she'd made him.  He shifted down enough to reach for it, still quite uncomfortable in his skin.  He plucked it up and laid it out, able to rub part of it on his front, but he couldn't do anything to reach his back.

He looked to Kaya.  "You'll have to get that."

"I don't know what to assume you'll do. I thought you were just a poor, stupid traveler. And then you nearly killed my cousin! And then when I had the dog keep an eye on you because I'm busy, you charmed him, too. So, how do I know you'd just stay here and - "

Before she could say 'behave,' he brought up the problem of the salve. Oh no. She hadn't thought of that.

Crud.

Was he trying to trick her again? Embarrass her and make her undo his ties so we could do it himself? No way. Kaya could... she stared at his bare flesh... she could... no problem, she'd just... Oh dear.

It wasn't very much at all that Quinlan could reach. She'd have to do the rest. Oh boy. He might be a stinky abjad, but he was also a grown man. Kaya had never touched a grown man before! Not like that!

"Uh, yeah," she finally sputtered, after ample staring and obvious fretting. "Um, no.... problem. I can do... that."

What happened to that genius master plan?  Quinlan furrowed his brow.  What was the problem?  It wasn't like he was made of slime!  Or maybe to her eyes, he was.  He supposed he didn't blame her.  But his skin was getting rather irritated and he looked from her to the ointment again. 

"Is something the matter?"

Kaya picked up the salve, trying to be cool, but as soon as she looked up at Quinlan again, her cheeks immediately flushed red. "Maybe I can just... spoon it on you."

Quinlan made a face.  "Hands work better.  It's easier to tell if you need more with your hands.  Really, it's not that hard."  He was getting a little impatient and would really rather just do it himself, but that wasn't really an option at this particular point.

He just put his back to her, sitting as straight as possible.

"No... sure... you're right... that's... fine..."

Cautiously, as though she were approaching a feral dog, Kaya crept up to Quinlan's back. Cautiously, she smeared the salve onto her own hands. Cautiously, she forced herself to put her hands against his bare skin.

Then very haphazardly smeared it all over his back. Really, it should be rubbed in. But... but... he was a man! She couldn't rub it in!

Kaya was grateful Quinlan was facing away from her, so he couldn't so how flush her cheeks were!

"You want me to heal faster don't you?" he asked, feeling the stuff uncomfortably on his back.  "You got to rub it in.  I won't bite."

He carefully avoided the word 'Hard', and just smirked to himself.  Sure he was a man, but this was her idea!

"Errr.... Yeah. I do... Yeah, I want you out of here.... of course..."

And she did, but Kaya was too transfixed on the idea of rubbing it in. Of touching a man... that much! It had sucked all the bluster right out of her!

Cautiously, she approached him again. And put her hand on his back. On the bare skin of his back. Oh leaping lizards, her mother would kill her. Oh goodness, she was touching a topless, almost naked, strange, foreign, grown, adult man. Kaya gulped, eyes wide, and forced herself to rub the salve into his burnt skin.

See... This was fine... She was still totally the one in control. She just needed to rub in the salve so he would heal, then get him out of here!

But she was touching him! She could feel his bare skin. She could feel the muscles underneath his bare skin. She was touching the bare skin of a man. A real man. A stranger.

Leaping lizards.

If he couldn't see her bluster, he could certainly feel it in her touch.  He smirked, facing away from her and thankful for it.  But...would it be so bad to have a little fun?

Quinlan slowly leaned back against her touch.  And flexed the muscles of his back.  A soft escaped him, a little exaggerated, but that was the point.  "That feels so good," he hissed, leaning back against her hands even more.

Kaya jumped away from him so fast he could have been on fire. "It does not!" she countered loudly.

Then, realizing how childish the reaction might seem, added crossly, "You better just have meant, you know, the salve."

She peered at his back. It wasn't done done, but maybe it was done enough! She didn't even want to think about whether or not he'd been able to reach all of the front!

"Of course I meant the salve!  What did you think I meant, sicko?" he said, moving his back into a more comfortable posture.  His brow just quirked at her, looking innocent.

"I think that's good enough.  Thanks," he said and shrugged.  "I guess you can just leave me here now.  Unless you'd like to get my legs.  I can't really reach the back of my thighs."

"What? Er -! No, I mean, of course I meant- I didn't think!" Kaya sputtered, blushing so hard she thought there must be actual heat steaming off her face. "I didn't think anything!"

Unless she wanted to get his legs. He couldn't reach his thighs.

Despite herself, Kaya found herself staring at his bare thighs, mouth half open in silent protest.

Thank the gods she was looking at his thighs and not his face because he was smirking.  It vanished rather quickly and he recovered with grace.  He tilted his hips a little to expose the underside of his right thigh.  "Just right here.  You see the tether is a little tight, I can't get all the way underneath."

"But... but..." Kaya stared harder, looking very, very nervous. What had happened? Only minutes ago she'd been the one smirking! Feeling smug and in control. "But I can't touch you there!" she protested.

"Well, okay, but I'll just have to stay here and recover longer.  It's fine.  I know you have things to do," he said, shrugging and waving it off.

Kaya set her jaw. Why was she acting like such a scared child? He was just a stinky pig-man from the north. Who cared if she touched... if she... She blanched.

But he was right. He would have to stay longer if he didn't heal! Nasr would make him. Nasr had made it quite clear that he was only going to not tell on her if she treated the man like a guest. Well, she wasn't quite treating him like a 'guest', but she could make it look like she had by the time her cousin returned. But not if he still had burns...

"No, no," she said, a look of brave determination on her features. "You're a guest. You have to recover. I'll just... uh... um..."

Her cheeks colored again. So serious was this situation to Kaya, that it didn't even occur to her that Quinlan might be intentionally trying to embarrass her. She just thought he was trying to trick her into letting him out of the restraints!

"I'll just..." Kaya bit her lip, then nodded in determination, and put more salve on her hands. "Uh, can you, er... turn a bit more...?"

He turned obediently, just enough to get the underside of his leg.  He kept himself covered however, because really she was still just a baby-child, even if he did think she was a smug arrogant little shit.  She had her charms, he supposed, despite her determination to treat him like a dog.

Crud. He listened. That meant she would have to... touch his... Oh dear.

No. Come on, Kaya, pull yourself together. She handled Sirrush and Kaadir every day! Surely that was scarier than... Than a man's... Oh dear.

But Kaya wasn't going to let this stupid abjad get the better of her! Nope, no way, no how, not today she wasn't! So she moved in quick determination, slathering her hands with the salve and then thrusting them onto Quinlan's thighs.

Then she froze.

Because she was touching. a man's. thighs. Bare thighs. She'd never even touched a grown man's bare back before today! And this was, well, and he was only wearing, well, hardly anything! Certainly nothing that was between her hands and...

Oh dear.

Suddenly Kaya realized that she was frozen, swore something embarrassedly in her own language, then started to smooth her hands over his burnt skin. Trying very, very hard to be clinical and not to feel the muscles of his legs or... Or think about... Oh dear.

Quinlan was remarkably patient with her, despite her fidgeting and he wondered just how long he could play this out.  He waited until she was done before he realized he couldn't reach underneath his arms, and just along his ribs.  Because, well, this time he really couldn't.  Not that he could've reached his back any better.

He lifted up his arms and gestured to .  "Just this last one, I swear.  And I'll try to do the rest myself," he reassured her.

Kaya withdrew her hands quickly as soon as she was done. Starting at his thighs as though they were some great peril that she had miraculously survived.
So when he lifted up his arms, she balked. How was this not over yet?! But of course it was because of her plan, and she wouldn't back down. Determined as she was to be brave and not outdone by the stupid abjad, Kaya simply nodded and took the shortest route to reach his ribs and get this over with.

Which resulted in her half-straddling his lap and reaching under his arms to his ribs. It was all so embarrassing that she had forgotten that just reaching from behind him would be much less so!

As funny as this was, even Quinlan was starting to get a little weirded out by all this.  He was silent during the whole process, careful to maintain his composure.  He was after all still technically a guest in her care.  A tied and bound guest, but one all the same.  At least until he could get the hell out of here.

He just stared up at her, watching her face for a moment, looking for those similarities to someone else he had spotted so easily before.  Yup there they were.  And a flicker of a smile passed on his lips.

Kaya worked as quickly as she could, in focused determination and determinedly not looking Quinlan in the face! As soon as she was done, she got off of him so fast that she half-tripped herself on the bonds tangled around him.

She caught herself with a hop-skip, and turned, face scarlet. Whether from her clumsy retreat or the act of touching him, who knew.

"Wellokaynowyou'redoneandyousaidyoucouldgethterestsoI'mgoingtogonowIhavelotsofworktodo," she blurted out, stopping only long enough to sputter out that sentence before turning on her heel and literally running from the tent.

Quinlan did smirk at that!  And when she was gone, he clutched his hands over his mouth to keep his guffaws from echoing too loudly outside.  Because it was hilarious!  When he stopped huffing over it, he finished, sorta, what she started and rubbed in what she could before reclining back on that pile of pillows.

The worst part about being bound was the boredom.  There wasn't much to do in that tent.  And even if he did plan to stay in it without the need for bonds, he would've wanted to find ways to make himself useful.  Which was precisely what he wasn't able to be now.

After another whole day of this hole fiasco, Quinlan's skin was largely peeling, feeling a little tender, but much better than it had before and he was well enough to not need so much salve as before.  Except for certain parts of his back.

His stomach rumbled from not eating much of anything.  And from the dying of the day, he figured it must be sometime around dinner.  Or whatever they called supper in these parts.  He wondered if after the other day, she forgot to feed him on purpose!

When Kaya did finally return, she showed no concern for whether or not Quinlan had eaten. She simply flopped down in front of the unlit stove, completely ignoring him. Rather than produce stone and flint, however, Kaya simply crouched in front of the stove, rubbing her hands together. After half a minute, a flame appeared in her palms, with which she carefully lit the stove.

Then, still ignoring Quinlan, she set about making tea. Once the samovar was brewing, she took out a bowl of half fermented bread down and began kneading out a flat bread. Ignoring Quinlan!

She could ignore him all she wanted, but Quinlan wasn't going to stay put.  He slowly crawled closer to the stove, because the air was getting colder, and because he was tethered to the heavy stove anyway, so he could move closer to it.

And sat down beside Kaya, looking at the bread.  "Knead any help with that?" he said, smirking.  "Get it?  Knead...and need."

Kaya glared sideways at Quinlan, definitely noticing that he had moved closer to her! "No, I don't need your help. You wouldn't be able to do it properly, anyway. And I'm not about to release your hands. Nice try, abjad!"

He wasn't going to trick her! Secretly, though, Kaya was disappointed that Quinlan hadn't commented at all on her trick with the fire. Normally strangers were so impressed by it! And being young, she was always a sucker for praise, even if she didn't admit it to herself. But everything was always the WORST with this guy. So she was hardly surprised!

"I can still do it with the manacles on.  And I'm sure if you showed me the proper method, I could learn," he said with confidence.  "Could you always do that?  That trick with the fire?"

Kaya gave him the side-eye again. "What do you wanna help for, anyway? I thought all you northern men just sat on your asses while you let your women do all the work. That's what Ptalia the trader woman says, and she's from somewhere up where you're from." Realizing she was talking without insulting him, she added as an after thought, "Stupid abjad."

She didn't show him how to knead the bread, which she started to round into circles and pound into disks for the fire. But she did glance back at him again when he asked about the fire. She had to suppress an instinctual chipper smile. (In fact, though apparently she could keep a grudge, Kaya was finding it wearisome being grumpy all the time. It wasn't exactly her natural state).

"Sure, well, I mean, not always," she said, trying to sound like she didn't want to talk to him. But talking about things she was good at was a weakness of Kaya's. "Just like a baby couldn't always talk. But I've been able to do it since I was a kid. My grandfather," she wasn't able to suppress the proud smile at this, "is half djinn."

He watched her hands work with interest, quickly studying her method.  He didn't dig into the dough right away, because she looked like she could burn his hands off.  Quinlan smirked a little, watching her face and how she noticeably didn't make eye contact.

"It's a handy gift, I'm sure," he commented.  "I didn't know djinn could conjure fire.  It's fascinating.  Do you know a lot about them?  He grinned a little, carefully reaching into the dough and taking out a similar sized wad she was, and working his hands in the way he saw her do it.

"Your friend Ptalia is right.  About most northen men do that.  I never did.  I don't have a woman.  And neither did my father.  He couldn't afford to be lazy.  Had children to care for, mouths to feed."

Quinlan got a sharp smack! on his hands when he tried to take some of the dough to work for himself. Kaya snatched away again, moving the bowl to the other side of her. Further from Quinlan. And she might have punched the balls of dough flat with a bit more 'oomph.'

"Of course they can conjure fire," Kaya answered as though this were the most obvious thing in the world to ask, and wasn't Quinlan an idiot. "They're made of fire, aren't they? I mean, they can take human form, but they're fire spirits. How else could they survive in their glass castles in the desert?"

Kaya moved the stack of flattened dough next to the stove then fed the raw dough into the stove one at a time until they puffed up into a nice round flat bread. When one was done, she replaced it. Still managing to not look at Quinlan most of the time!

She clucked her tongue, "Tsch, I sure can believe you don't have a woman, though!"

He just watched her work.  Whether or not she wanted to watch him was irrelevant, but he was very content just seeing how she went about making her bread.  He sighed softly, his stomach growling at the sight of the bread.

He scooted in, because he could, sitting criss-cross and pulling the kilt down to maintain some sense of decency.

"Well, I think we can both agree with that, just maybe for different reasons," he chuckled.  "C'mon.  You really want to do all that yourself?  The only way I can feel better is do something useful.  Doing nothing is killing me.  Literally!"

"You're an idiot. You can't literally die doing nothing!"

Kaya shot him an annoyed look. Then she glanced down at the 'kilt' after he adjusted it and unconsciously scooted a little further away from him.

"It's your own fault, anyway. I was bein' nice to you before you went and tried to take off Nasr's head. So you've got no one to blame but yourself if you're bored."

"Well, yes.  And you to blame as well," he chuckled.  "But, I wasn't the one that tied me up.  That was all you.  I'm not going to excuse myself for what I did.  I said I was sorry.  And I'll leave as soon as I'm all healed up.  But in the meantime, you are wrong about one thing:

"You can so die of boredom."

"Through your actions you are the one responsible for tying you up," Kaya explained patronizingly. She finally looked at Quinlan, but only to make a face, crinkling her nose. "What, do you think I tie up strange men for fun?"

It didn't seem to occur to Kaya that anyone might answer 'yes' to that question! Gross.

Finishing the bread, Kaya piled it onto a big brass plate, then produced an earthen jar full of a humus-like mix of chickpeas, oil, and spices. Finally she poured two cups of tea, setting hers down carefully and pushing Quinlan's roughly to him.

She didn't say anything, just tore a piece of bread and scooped up some humus with it, sitting as far away from Quinlan as she could manage while sharing the same food.

"Very true.  But you acted as rashly as I did," he said, looking between her and the chickpeas and the flat bread.  He ate a bite quickly, lest it be taken from him, and when the dog came sniffing by the entrance, he tossed a piece of the bread covered hummus to the hound, which ate quietly and scurried away just as quickly.

"And while I've apologized, you haven't.  It is no matter however."  He quickly stuffed his face with the bread, swallowing it down with the tea, ignoring the scorching path it left down his throat.  "Until the end, I'm your prisoner, o great Fire Conjurer."

But in trying to swallow down that final bite, Quinlan sputtered suddenly and started to cough.  Or tried to cough as he was choking.

"What?!" Kaya gaped at him. "What've I got to apologize for?! I didn't do anything rash!"

She frowned grumpily at him. What was she supposed to have done that was rash? She'd put quite a bit of thought into tying him up like that! That wasn't rash. That was clever. That was it; he was just mad because he was rash and she was clever. Well, not her problem!

"And your'e not my 'prisoner,' you're my guest. I've just had to take some precautions with you. And-" she glared at the dog as it scampered away, "I have to insist that you stop charming my dog! And while we're at it -"

But Kaya stopped short. Because Quinlan had just choked on the bread. Serves him right, was the first thing she though. She stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to clear it himself. But he hadn't. Uh oh.

Jumping to her feet, Kaya hurried behind him and looped her arms around his waist, giving a strong compression against his stomach to dislodge the bread from his airway. She couldn't let him die! However much she might dislike him.

Letting guests unintentionally die was generally discouraged when it came to hosting.  And as foolish as Quinlanfor even choking on such a tiny thing, he was more than grateful Kaya had been there.  To send the food flying out into the stove and be coughed and hacked, collecting air into his lungs.

Laying back against Kaya, Quinlan calmed eventually, and found strength to sit up.  "Sorry," he croaked.  "Guess you've got the worst luck.  Saving my life twice n all."

Before Kaya could scurry away, the gasping Quinlan laid back against her! With his bare skin! Right against her! Kaya tried to swat away the fluster of confused feelings. She hated him! This was inappropriate! Bad abjad! But then... a grown man with almost no clothes was laying against her and, well, it made her a little dizzy. And warm. And, realizing that, she blushed deeply. Glad that at least Quinlan couldn't see her!

So when he finally sat up - what felt like a lifetime later! - Kaya quickly scurried away, and glared all the more balefully at him for making her blush. Even if he didn't know it. Well, he probably would know it. Kaya's cheeks were definitely still flushed.

"You're a handful, you know that?" she grumbled grumpily at him.

"You don't really have to do everything, y'know.  Obviously it's hard to tell in this state, but I'm pretty resourceful.  Ah well, it's not the worse thing that's happened.  Plant people come to mind."  And he bravely ate another bite of bread.

Kaya was still busy blushing and staring at, well, at Quinlan, but much more at all that bare skin that had just been flush against her than at anywhere as conventional as his face.

"What?" she asked, snapping out of it and, realizing she'd been staring, blushing again. "What do you mean, 'plant people?'"

And, just for good measure, she glared at him.

Shit.  He wasn't supposed to talk about that.  But there it was.

"They were called the Rootmen.  I had an encounter with a whole hoard of them in Serendipity during my travels.  Horrific things. Cut up human fleshy things to eat and feed their...mother.  the Root Mother, as they called it.  The desert ain't so bad compared to that."  He looked up at her blushed expression, curious all his own.

"Rootmen?" Kaya repeated, not hiding her interest in his 'plant people' story. Anything was better than thinking about how warm his skin had been against hers! (Only, she reminded herself fiercely, because it had been burnt to a crisp!) Though, in fact, Myshhusu's salve was already making a marked improvement on the poor burned abjad.

"Tch. You don't have to tell me the desert is better. I know that. Even I know that everything north of the Serha Plains is all uncivilized barbarians and cruel winters."

His skin was already peeling off the crusty useless flesh.  And the fresh flesh underneath was still just as warm, and slightly less red and irritated.  Unless Kaya's face.

Quinlan smirked at her unanimous statement.  "Not the verdant hills of Serendipity.  Snows are much harsher in the mountains and further north.  Serendipity is one of the oldest kingdoms in the world you know.  I wonder if it was ruled by plant people all those years ago," he mused, and chuckled at that finishing thought.    "I mean, other than encountering myself, do you have a lot of experience with barbarians?  Or are they collected from the stories your aunt tells you?

"Not just my aunt!" Kaya retorted quickly in a tone she realized only too late sounded rather childish. She sniffed. "Everybody knows. It's common knowledge. And you're proof enough, anyway!"

At that, she actually stuck her tongue out at him.

Very grown up.

She sat back down with a huff, already nostalgic for the morning when she'd been the smug one, she'd been the one with the upper hand, and the stupid abjad had been the one with his nerves all a-fluster. "Even," she added petulantly, "the Essrynis know that northerners are all barbarians." She said this as though it proved some great immutable point. Even Essrynis. "And they're a far older civilization than any of the northern 'kingdoms.' Feh. 'Oldest kingdom in the world.' I bet that's one big lie, and you bought it. Stupid abjad."

"No, I said one of the oldest," he corrected.  "Then again, you've eyes to listen, and not your ears.  Not all so-called barbarians are like me.  If you got out of this desert, of your village, you might be surprised.  But I'm sure a little ol thing like you wouldn't ever do that.  The world can be an intimidating thing."

Quinlan didn't really think of her this way.  She was braver than anyone might give her credit for. And far be it from him to write her off.  But he wasn't going to let her know that.  Surely she was wise enough to know when she was being baited..

"Pah! I'm not from a village!" Kaya laughed at him. Really! He acted like she was some little peasant girl who'd never been more than five miles from the place she was born. Finally regaining some more of her self confidence, Kaya informed him coolly, "I'll have you know that we travel from the borders of the Sehra Plains all the way past the Glass Desert and the Niafi Delta every year. Why do you think our homes are tents? Stupid abjad."

She huffed, taking a drink of her tea. "Just because I haven't seen your part of the world, doesn't mean I haven't seen anything of the world! That's very prejudiced of you," she said loftily. Big words from the girl who only referred to the man as either a barbarian or pig-man. "And," she added as though this really settled the matter, "I spend three months every year or so in Essryn with my dad. Which is a real city, with real civilization. Not like some northern city made up of pig barns and chicken coops and dirty taverns."

At that Quinlan smirked.  "Excuse me your Wileyness.  I forgot I was in the presence of such a worldly woman."  He chuckled, quickly sobering.  "But good, every step is an opportunity.  Every person a new chance to make am impression."  He made a snorting sound like a pig.  "Whoops!  Sorry that's the pig-man in me."

[[Kleine's shortest post ever!!!]]

Kaya glared sideways at him. She was onto him. He couldn't fool her. "You're making fun of me," she said flatly, frowning at him.

Quinlan frowned just a tad.  "Why do you say that?" he murmured.

[[It's not a competition!! D: ]]

"Because you are," Kaya countered, pouting a little grumpily despite herself. If she'd realized, she'd be beyond embarrassed. Though, since this man arrived, she'd basically been constantly beyond embarrassed. "I can tell."

She peered grumpily at him, clearing up the few dishes from their meal. "I think you can reach anywhere that still needs salve just fine," she said, firmly changing the subject and, at the same time, closing the new one. "You should go to sleep, abjad."

"Well, now that you mention it, I can't get one small spot on my lower back.  Most of the redness is healing well, thanks to you.  But, if you wouldn't mind helping, that one spot would be great," he said and turned to peer over his shoulder at the redness at the small of his back.  "Please."

Kaya frowned. She really didn't want to touch him again! But even as much as she disliked him, she couldn't refuse a guest who was being polite. Hospitality was so ingrained in her people that even Kaya wouldn't dream of it.

"Okay," she conceded, with a very put upon sigh. Just because she had to do it didn't mean he had to think she was happy about it!

Kaya rubbed the salve onto her hands and sat behind Quinlan. Placing her hands against his back, she worked the salve into his burnt skin. Her touch was already not quite as shy as it had been, and she didn't slop it on then run away. But she didn't try to make friendly chit chat either!

Quinlan too was quiet, and actually didn't make any attempt to embarrass dher.  Because really this was the nicest she'd been to him in a long time.  He didn't blame her.  As far as he was concerned she'd been startlingly nice compared to what he would have done if anyone laid a hand on his sister.

But as she reached his lower back, an involuntary shiver coursed up his spine.  His muscles tensed and relaxed a little.  He frowned a little at that reaction.  He refrained from commenting on it.  "Thanks," he said instead and straightened.  And gave a small wry grin.

Quinlan might not have said anything, but Kaya certainly noticed. Kaya froze for a moment, her heart inadvertantly fluttering for a moment to feel a man's - a grown man! - body react under her touch. She might not like him, but she was still a teenage girl. And as much as she might like to think otherwise, susceptible to all the same things any teenage girl was. Especially new things like this!

In fact, Kaya was trying so hard not to think about any of that, that she'd hardly noticed that her hands lingered on his back, still working against his skin after the salve had all been absorbed. Her eyes went a little wide realizing it, and she pulled her hands back, folding her arms against her chest as if to keep her hands behaving.

She frowned at Quinlan, looking grumpily at him. "What're you grinning about?" Or at least, she tried to look and sound grumpy. As much as he'd brought out her fiercer side, Kaya wasn't actually used to being so mean with people for so long, and now that he was behaving, her prickly outer layer was starting to crack.

It lingered.  He just couldn't help it.  For once a smile that didn't immediately sour since he'd been here.  "No reason.  I'm just grateful I guess.  It isn't often I give that to anybody.  But I, uh, I mean it.  You've done more than I would've done.  I'm just thanking you."

He reached for his tea, then remembering it was empty gave a soft laugh.  "All out of tea," he murmured.

Kaya frowned doubtfully at him. But it was clear she was drawn in a little. The World's Future Best Sirrush Breeder had, truth be told, a bit of an ego. And gratitude was a bit like praise. And Kaya was something of a sucker for either.

"I guess I did save you," Kaya agreed hesitantly. "And I think I've been nicer to you than you deserved after you attacked my cousin." She said this, even though she knew that no one else in her tribe would think so at all! Tying up a guest was not standard Awali practice. "I even suffered through applying the salve to your pig skin," she said, pulling a face that crinkled up her nose.

She regarded him, still suspicious for a long moment, then gave an exasperated sigh and, against all odds, got to her feet and poured more tea for him.

Maybe her people wouldn't exactly agree, bit Quinlan was content to not be dead yet.  He did nearly kill her cousin and would have been perfectly content to do so.  Y'know until he got his head separated from his shoulders.    Quinlan placated his grin, just long enough when she poured him a cup of tea.  A bow of his head in thanks and he took a sip.

"You're an excellent hostess, to touch my pig skin, thank you.  What men would call up north, a real lady."  And he closed by leaning up and giving her a kiss on the cheek, sitting back down quickly, and focusing on his tea.

What? WHAT?!

Kaya sputtered backwards, tripped over herself, and landed with a 'plop' on her butt and knocking over her own tea. She stared in open-mouthed disbelief at Quinlan as the spilt tea slowly seeped into her trousers. He had kissed her!

"You kissed me!" she stated the obvious, still staring agog at him. "What- what was- why did you- Are you trying to trick me again!?"

She finally collected herself enough, sort of, to glare suspiciously at him. That was it! He was trying to trick her! Again! Right?

Yes.  He slowly realized this.  He had kissed her.  Why did he kiss her?  Why would he do such a mindless action!?  He blinked at her however, as if clearly not seeing the big deal of it all.  Because, in a way, it was his way of affirming his appreciation of her hospitality, even after thanking her.

He shook his head, putting his hands up, chuckling.  "I'm not, I swear.  And I'm sure if I was you'd be able to see through it," he said.  Taking a short sip of tea to mull over his next words, he smacked his lips a little, not in any representation of what he did, but merely out of habit.  He wasn't much of a tea drinker either.

"I didn't mean nothing by it.  I...I just was uh showing my appreciation.  I wasn't...trying to fluster you.  I...apologize," he managed to get out.

Kaya frowned at him. She tried to look suspicious, but it lacked conviction. She was too distracted... He had kissed her! Kaya had never been kissed by a man she wasn't related to!

Quinlan was wrong about one thing: he probably could trick her like that. But she, of course, denied it.

"That's right. I would see through it," she agreed readily. "I'm not making the same mistake my mother did!" As soon as she said that, she thought she probably shouldn't have. But it was a good reminder for her: Not to be too curious about the near naked man in her tent who had kissed her!

She frowned. "I suppose that's just custom where you're from."

"In some circles, yes," he said with a small breath, averting his gaze and observing the oven.  It was a foolish action sure, but it'd already been done, there was no reason to linger on it.  Quinlan took another sip of his tea and coughed a little.

"How did you move this thing?" he said, gesturing to the iron monstrosity.  "All  by yourself?"

Kaya didn't answer his question. Instead she stayed where she was, watching him closely.

Finally, always the master of subtlety, she observed, "Now you look embarrassed."

At that Quinlan snickered, giving her a solemn headshake.  But his grin couldn't be held back.  "I hardly think there's anything really that embarrasses me," he said, quirking brows at her.  "I know if you gave me a kiss on the cheek, I wouldn't have gotten all flustered like you did."

"Ugh!" Kaya let out an indignant noise. She hadn't gotten all flustered! Not just because some stupid abjad kissed on her on the cheek! The cheek! And now he was- he was- was he challenging her?

Kaya set her jaw. She might be inexperienced and flustered and embarrassed, but more than she suffered from any of that, she suffered from a very serious (and possibly familial) competitive streak.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. Then before she could think about what she was doing, she pounced on him - an easy feat, considering he was still bound in place - and pressed her lips against his. His lips! Not his cheek. Take that, stupid abjad!

Andpleaseohgodpleasepleaseplease let it fluster him!

Now that surprised him.  And Quinlan reeled back from it, certainly taken aback that she had the gall to kiss him on the lips.  But when he pushed her away, just enough to break their lip connections, it did so with a loud smack.  He relaxed, however, sipping his tea.

"You call that a kiss?  Woman, please," he said, sniffing a little.  "If you really want to fluster me, you ought to try something like this."  He then calmly put the tea cup down, grabbed her face between his bound hands and pressed his lips to hers, softly at first then with increasing pressure.  His lips worked to part hers just so, patiently instructing her mouth to move with his until they were equally parted.  He didn't add any tongue, because heavens knew she wasn't ready for that.  And only when he figured she had enough did he pull away, casually returning to sipping his tea.

Forget Quinlan, Kaya couldn't believe she'd had the gall to kiss him! And worse yet, he was being so calm now! She hadn't even succeeded, and part of her wanted to split is lip for it!

"Something like wha-" she began to angrily question him before, oh dear, he showed her.

Oh dear.

Kaya felt very warm. And very... something. She didn't know what. It was like she was transfixed; she didn't even pull away from him! And when he released her and went back to drinking his tea, calm as he liked!, Kaya glowered at him. The stupid abjad wasn't going to get the better of her! She was going to fluster him! She was going to win.

She watched him grumpily for a second as he calmly drank his tea, still left half in shock and very flushed and blushing and... She would show him! This time, Kaya pounced on him properly, knocking the tea from his hands and pinning him on the ground beneath her. She held him in place firmly with her thighs and, pushing his arms out of the way, kissed him hard, mimicking what he had done to her.

Kaya wasn't about to just throw in the towel and lose the flustering contest!

Well, she just HAD to go and knock over his tea!  How rude!  Even Quinlan wouldn't have knocked over her tea!  He growled indignantly at her kiss and bit her lip.  He kissed her back, roughly and growling and shoving his tongue between her lips.  The kiss deepened, as Quinlan couldn't do much else but kiss back since his hands and feet were bound.

Stupid girl thinking she could fluster him.

He broke the kiss when he needed breath and when he realized his body was reacting much in the way it naturally would in a situation like this, he pushed her up with hands along her shoulders.  She was younger than him, much, and his face was red, if more from anger than being embarrassed. He had to think fast and gestured to the flap of the tent.  "Nasr!"

Of course her cousin wasn't really there.  He wouldn't be back for another day or so, but it was distraction enough and. Quinlan rolled to the side, throwing Kaya off him and he took a deep breath.  "Oh, whoops must be seeing things.  Goodness!"

Kaya didn't know what else to do but keep kissing him, mimicking whatever he did. That was how she would win, right? Also Kaya was surprised to find, well, she kind of liked it! But more importantly, she wasn't going to lose this competition!

Her fingers pressed hard into him, trying to keep him in place. And when, to her surprise, his tongue forced it's way into her mouth, she instinctually wrestled it with her own. She tried very hard to focus on one thing: winning!

And then Quinlan pushed her off. And better yet, made up an obviously fake story. Nasr was at the kaadir market today. Miles away!

"Ha!" She beamed triumphantly at him, panting a little. "Stupid abjad. Nasr is miles away today! You think I'm as dumb as you are?" She grinned broadly, smug . "See. Now you're flustered. I win!"

But if she already won, why did she want to try it again?

He snorted, because really anyone asking him that was just dying for him to agree with that.  Yes.  "No," he answered instead and sat up, pushing the rest of he off him.  "I think I have to pee again, just let me up.  Please."

Kaya looked at him with a predatory glint for a moment, as though she might jump on him again. A whole torrent of contradictory feelings coursing through her.  But she heaved a sigh.

"Alright, abjad. I'll take you out." She shuffled to her feet, looking at him with that glint again, then shrugged and took the luck from the stove, taking the lead in her hand. "Alright, let's go. But remember, I won."

"Sure, Miss'm Kaya," he sighed and got to his feet.  The relief of the cold night air on his flushed skin felt wonderful.  He wouldn't tell her if she really won or not, but letting her think so seemed harmless enough.  He stepped off to the side, hobbling as it were.

"Eyes averted," he griped and began relieving himself.

No need to tell her! Kaya's eyes were firmly set in the distance. Until, that was, he told her to look away. Then she peered at him through the corner of her eye. But she quickly looked away!

When he was done, she gave the lead a tug. "Come on, now will you go to sleep, stupid abjad?"

But her eyes lingered curiously on him. Part of her wanted to pounce on him again! Their little competition had caused some deep stirring in her. And she was curious! But, she reminded herself, the pig man was a dirty foreigner. She would be in Huge Trouble.

He smirked smugly at her.  Bowing his head, he turned back into the tent and sat down on the bed of rugs and pillows.  "Yes ma'am.  But only if you stop calling me stupid abjad.  What you keep in the confines of your thoughts is yours to keep, but I don't call you such rude names.  Apologize and then I can sleep peacefully."

He laid down still, but looked at her from the corner of his eye expectantly.

Kaya clucked. Once she locked the lead back to the stove, she regarded him with her hands on her hips.

"Or what? Nothing you can do to me all locked up. Too bad for you, little abjad."

She grinned at him, feeling pleased with herself for being 'in control' again.

He responded with laughter.  "Fine.  I'll accept that for now.  But only because you're such a sore loser."  And he laughed again, finishing with a snort.

Kaya looked down loftily at him, hands on hips, chin up superiorly in the air and - of course - she stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're just mad because I keep winning."

Then she stepped over Quinlan to the stove, lowering the glowing oven that illuminated the tent by passing her palm over it. With the light doused, Kaya flopped down as far away from Quinlan as the tent would allow. But Kaya found herself wide awake, peering through the darkness in the direction of Quinlan, thinking over again about the pressure of his kisses. Oh no. She shouldn't be thinking about that!

Especially since she didn't even like him!

These thoughts turned over in Kaya's head until she finally fell asleep. She slept fitfully until several hours later. A hissing sound was coming from outside the tent. It was a little similar to Myshhusu's hissing words, but they weren't words. At least, they wouldn't sound like it to Quinlan.

Kaya groaned softly, still half-asleep, "Mermph. I don't wanna get up. Too early."

But the hissing only got louder.

He'd let her have her mental victory.  Because of all things he wasn't going to argue with a teenager.  He was way too exhausted and full for that.  So sleep came easy for the bound blood mage, easy enough that he was even comfortable on that firm mattress of rugs and pillows and skins.

Something was making a very annoying sound.  And he stirred.  Turning and sitting up he found a very large snake making it's way toward Kaya.

Quinlan didn't stop to think, because any second later and she'd be toast.  Even if she did have djinn blood.  Whatever that meant.

He got up and lunged toward the serpent, immediately grabbing it by the tail and whipping it against the floor of the tent.  And doing so repeatedly until he was sure it was dead.

If the hissing hadn't woken her up yet, the commotion and the thrashing certainly did!

Kaya sat up with a groan, blinking sleepily at Quinlan. Like with any teenager, waking up didn't always come so naturally to her! She stared at him for a long time, crouched there with the limp snake, not quite able to make sense of what she was seeing through her sleepy goggles. She blinked again.

Did he...? Oh no. Thank goodness.

Wait, was that a SNAKE!?

Kaya rubbed her eyes, leaning forward. "Oh, you idiot," she groaned loudly, voice still a little thick. "That's a messenger snake. You stupid -"

But she stopped. A messenger snake.

The messenger snake!

That only meant one thing: It was time. Her Sirrushlings were ready. They were hatching!

"The messenger snake!" she exclaimed, sounding suddenly excited instead of angry. "BAH!" The happy exclamation was followed by Kaya jumping to her feet, half tripping over the blankets she'd slept on, then half-tripping over Quinlan, landing on her butt with her foot still caught in his bonds.

Well of course.  She sees a snake, it's a messenger saying something in it's hissing.  He saw a snake, killed it, and he was the fool.  What was he thinking?  Quinlan sighed and rolled his eyes, dropping the dead snake and couldn't even react to her sudden burst of excitement.

Her...Her hatchlings were ready?  Quinlan just stared at her until she tripped and she was still so bubbly.  He helped her up.  "Well, don't just stand here, idiot!  Go!  Go look!" he said, practically shoving her out the tent flaps.

"Don't tell me what to do, stinkin' abjad!" Kaya sputtered as she struggled to untangle herself from Quinlan's bonds and regain her footing. Once she did, she gave him a sharp kick to the ribs. Just to remind him just who was in charge here. But she didn't stick around after that. Kaya didn't so much as glance back at him before she shot out the tent, even faster than all the times she had before. The excitement of the messenger seemed to put more fire beneath her feet than the embarrassment of interacting with a strange, half-naked man!

Kaya was gone the rest of the night and much of the next day. Though, with his master's watchful eyes gone, the goatherd dog crept into the tent and lay beside Quinlan for awhile. When the sun was dipping down towards the horizon, the dog's ears suddenly shot up and he scurried out of the tent. Heralding the return of Kaya.

And boy was Kaya walking high! She couldn't believe her luck! Not luck, skill. She was the best. She was the very best. All six of the eggs had hatched! All six! Even Kheema usually didn't hatch one or two eggs. She'd hatched all six! Two oily black like their mother, one gold like Myshhusu, one midnight blue, one green... And even more impressive, with opal scales - one of the hatchlings was winged! Winged Sirrush were very, very rare. It was a recessive trait that only cropped up once in every so many generations. Kaya couldn't wait to tell Kheema. To tell everyone!

Except, of course, the stinkin' abjad.

But Kaya wasn't even cross with Quinlan when she returned. She could have been walking on clouds. She was so pleased, pleased with her Sirrush, and pleased with herself. When she came back, she gave a short dog-whistle for Quinlan.

"Sorry, boy!" she 'greeted' him happily, as though she were talking to a chained up dog. "Forgot to come back to take you out! Come along! Then I'll cook us something good. And," she grinned at him, throwing him an overdone wink as she undid his chain from the stove, "if you behave, I might even try to fluster you again!"

Frankly her kick had been like getting smacked by a broom.  There was the initial sting, but she'd yet to come into all her strength, Quinlan assumed.  Still, he was more than grateful to be to himself for once.  Because her presence while chained up, was a little overbearing.  In the day and a half when she was gone, his skin had finished peeling and it was nice to be able to touch his own skin again without having to wince.

That time was spent drawing things idly in the dirt patches between the rugs and sleeping with the dog and mostly just eating the rest of whatever was left inside that oven – mashing his own chickpeas for one.   Her return, however, was met with a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm okay," he said, licking his fingers of the mashed chickpeas that remained beneath his fingernails.  "I already peed outside the tent flap.  I hope you didn't step on any of it.  However, a bath would be nice."  A part of him was suspicious that she would just throw a bucket of water on him, which really, he wouldn't mind because any water on his flesh would bring relief from the itch his sweat brought.

Ew. Kaya looked back over her shoulder with clear disgust, but if he really had peed there, the sun had long ago dried it.

But when he asked for a bath she looked back at Quinlan with a bit of confusion. Was he teasing her again? She just looked at him for a moment, then finally deciding that he was not joking, she laughed.

"A bath?" she repeated. "What do you want to bathe in?"

He looked at her with a tilt in his posture.  "In your blood."

But even he couldn't keep a straight face at that.  "Water," he snorted, quickly sobering.  "Fresh, clean water, with soap and maybr a scrub brush."  He stood up and moved closer to her.  "Well, outside we go yes."

"Stupid abjad," she shook her head at him. Her laughter had been replaced (yet again) by a look as though he were beyond naive. "The nearest water is the well I picked you up at. That's more than an hour away with the donkey. And it's just a well! You can't bathe there. You're not up to that long of a trip, anyway."

In fact, Kaya did need to go back to the well. But she hadn't imagined taking the pig man with her! But a well was for drinking! Not bathing.

"You're just going to have to survive being dirty, little princess."

A quirked brow.  "I can bathe well enough with a bucket of water.  Can not even you with your little legs provide that for a guest in your care?" his tone was gentle, perhaps even patronizing.  "You most certainly are in need of a bad, Miss Kaya.  You smell worse than I do.  I know I stink.  But if I'm telling you that you're of a foul odor, that's saying something."

"Tch, even a 'bucket of water' has to be carried for more than an hour! What do you think -"

But she stopped mid-sentence and stared, gaping at him.

Did he say -?

Did he -?

Kaya still looked angry and defiant, but she also looked red. She didn't smell! She definitely didn't smell foul! She wasn't of a 'foul odor!'

And as much as she'd hate to admit it, his words left her worried. After all, she was still a teenager, and even though she wasn't usually self-conscious about her body, people didn't usually tell her that she smelled!

Her face was so hot, she was so mortified, that she felt like her head was going to explode. She tried to say something in response, but all that came out was sputtering. And finally she turned on her heel and stomped out of the tent, too annoyed and - more importantly - too self-conscious and far too deeply embarrassed to keep talking to Quinlan.

He watched as she hurried out of the tent, red in the face.  And a smug grin spread across his face.  "That's flustering for ya," he snickered and peered down at the undone chain.  He carefully picked it up and held it in his hands, hobbling out of the tent and at last into the fresh air.

"A surprising breeze out here."  He took in a deep breath and smiled.  "Goats and embarrassment galore."

"Oh, shut up, pig-man," she snapped grumpily back at him, still too embarrassed to actually look at him. She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at the desert - How had he managed to ruin her good mood?

Man, she hated this guy!

But suddenly she realized: he was standing out here with her. Out here. Outside the tent. She'd undone the bonds and then walked away! Kaya jumped suddenly backwards, rounding to face Quinlan. And it was clear from her expression that she expected him to attack her, the way he had Nasr, at any moment now that he was 'free.' Ish.

Quinlan glanced at her and then her expression.  Oh right.  The chains!  She'd momentarily forgotten about her little smug idea and to his own benefit.  But he just stood there, holding the bundle chain in his hands and made no move to strike at her - though she would most certainly have it coming with out she treated him.  What good did revenge do when he was just happy to finally get some fresh air.

"Is that your dog out there?" he asked, pointing to the hound that dutifully remained by the goats, but tried to make it appear as if he was excited at all to see Quinlan outside too.  "Mind if I go sit by him?  We can look after those goats together.  And you can...do whatever it was you were going to do, I guess."

He didn't wait for her to answer before hobbling off toward the dog, whistling loudly and the dog still trying to ignore him.  He reached the goats and took to sitting upon a rock in some nice shade, petting the dog gently, as they both looked on over those smelly goats. 

Kaya just stared at his audacity for a while, open-mouthed and gawking. Not only did he not attack her, like she'd expected him to, but he'd just sauntered off as though he belonged here!

Once she recovered from the shock, she ran quickly after him.

"Oh no, I don't think so!" she corrected him brusquely, coming to a stop in front of him, hands on her hips. "You don't get to just wander around here going wherever you want," she snipped at him, glaring authoritarianly. Maybe if she acted like she was still in charge, everyone would believe it. "You march yourself back into that tent, mister. You'll burn out here, anyway. You're barely dressed - you want all that new skin to turn into bacon again?"

Quinlan honestly didn't think it was that big a deal.  He was largely healed.  And he thought she'd be happy that he was out of her hair and could take care of himself - well, as much as he could being in chains as he was.  However unhappy he might in that regard, he wasn't about to give up this small bit of freedom.

"Relax, I'm not bothering anybody.  Not even the goats.  They're still roaming around, doing goat things.  And the dog is still watching them.  Besides, shouldn't you be happy to finally have your tent back?" he asked, quirking a brow at her.  He looked her over, up then down, and snickered.  "Why don't you sit with me instead of nagging me to death, Kaya?  You're getting awfully flustered."  And he snickered at that.

"Fine," Kaya said flatly, not bothering to tell him that his skin could always burn again if left exposed to the desert sun, "if you're feeling oh-so-much-better, then I think you may as well move along. I don't need you looking after my goats, or getting in my way. I'll take you back to the well," she needed to go anyway, "and you can go back along your way."

"Not quite," he said.  "I'm sure you'd want your bonds back, wouldn't you?"

[Tiny posts]

Kaya rolled her eyes, as if the answer to that was obvious. "I'll undo the bonds when we get to the well, obviously."

[Tiny post competition!]

"Then that means in the meantime, I'm still a guest within your camp.  And I'd like to sit here and watch the goats.  Besides your hound is lonely.  Look at that face.  He's a gem.  And he needs some company to help pass the time.  No need to get fussy, Kaya.  You're as pink as a peach.  Terrible saying, I know.  Most peaches aren't pink at all."

"You're the pink one, pig-man," she retorted lamely. "And anyway, I need to go to the well. So," she snatched the lead attached to Quinlan's bonds, "we can go now. Come along! And don't try to pull any more of that 'guest' business with me, abjad. I don't know what you're up to, but I'm onto you. "

Quinlan paused, staying put from where he was on the rock.  "When you found me...what happened to my clothes?  My belt?  Do you have them still?"

Kaya gave a shrug. "You mean what was left of them?" Seeing the way he paused, Kaya decided to lie and said, "I burned 'em, why? Nothing but rags, anyway."

He didn't believe her, but didn't push the matter further.  What good would that do after all.  She wanted to believe she had the upper hand.  He stood, with a great deal of reluctance, and plopped down gracefully from the rock.  And the dog followed.  But upon looking at Kaya, he stayed put and dutifully watched the goats.  At least when she was looking at him.

Quinlan itched at his bonds.  "So I'm just going to wear this skirt thing for a while?  Do you have any footwear I can borrow at least until I get to the well?"

Kaya gave the dog a grave threat in her own language, then turned to Quinlan. What was he doing sitting? Didn't he hear that they were going? Then she could really be rid of him. If he was skulking around out here, he'd be more trouble to her than he would in the tent. What if he found the Sirrush? That would be bad for everyone: the Sirrush would be stressed (bad for them), and probably kill Quinlan (bad for him). Both things would be bad for Kaya.

"No, I don't have things like that for you, and you'll just have to cope. Anyway, I'll put you on the donkey. You won't be walking the whole way, now come along," she gave the chain a sharp tug, pulling Quinlan up to his feet and marching him to the donkey. Once he was there, she scampered shortly into the tent, then reappeared with some water jugs attached to a harness that she slung over the donkey. With the jugs empty, he should be able to carry Quinlan as well. And she returned with a dark scarf.

"No point in you knowing how to get back here," she frowned, reaching up to tie the scarf around Quinlan's eyes.

Quinlan put his hands up in front of hers, blocking the cloth a minute. "Er, thanks, Kaya.  Y'know for...everything," he said.  "Maybe not the tying me up part but the, uh, putting up with me part.  And helping with the burns.  Thanks."  He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, brushing his against hers before pulling away, and taking the blindfold, strapping it securely over his eyes.

Well, as secure as it could be to block most of his vision and still be able to blink. He could see faint shapes, but the details were largely muddled.  Still he got on the donkey with some difficulty, holding onto the harness on the pack animal's back.

Uhhh...

Kaya stared. Her cheeks colored several shades. He kissed her! Why had he kissed her? They weren't, you know, trying to fluster each other! There was no reason to... uh... Kaya just stared, frozen on the spot for a minute. As angry as it made her, the contact left her feeling flush and fluttery in the stomach. Her heart was going ba-dump-ba-dump-ba-dump.

No, Kaya! she reprimanded herself. She needed to get him out of here! She needed to get back to work! She didn't need to think about what it felt like with his lips against hers. Or what it had felt like when she'd had him pinned and really kissed him...

Uh, wait. She was getting distracted! Returning to the moment, Kaya glared grumpily at Quinlan, giving him an extra shove onto the donkey. "Yeah, well, don't mention it, pig-man," she grumbled. Once he was on, Kaya took the donkey's lead, heading off towards the well. Maybe she'd throw him in it once they were there!

[Maybe she should throw herself in. Sounds like she needs a little cooling off.]

Kaya was right about the sun hitting him.  He did feel a little dizzy after a half hour.  But he wasn't going to tell her that!  Quinlan just kept quiet on the donkey.  Or quiet, as in not talking, but his mouth started to hum a soft tune he remembered from a Connlaothian tavern.  Then after a while he started to softly murmur the words.

"My Lady of Starlight,
Your eyes gleam in fire.
Drawing me toward
Heart's deepest desire

"You came to me then,
Crept into my dreams.
I kissed thee with passion
But ye vanished in a gleam.

"My Lady of Starlight,
Heart's dream within a dream.
You bade me come to you,
Departured by seams..."

Quinlan kept humming, mumbling the words softly as the donkey honked in tune, once or twice.

Oh brother. Was he going to keep that up the whole time? Not only did his singing or mumbling or whatever annoy Kaya, but the song itself was... embarrassing. Not in the way that the kissing had embarrassed her (well, okay, a little) but mostly in its gross treacly sentimentality. Who wanted to openly sing so openly about their emotions like that? It was weird.

"Knock it off, you," Kaya called up at him, annoyed. "I don't need you alerting every bandit within a mile of our presence. Save it for when you're on your own."

She let out a brusque 'hmph!', and carried on. But she couldn't stay too annoyed for long. Because at the back of her head, the images of the perfect little Sirrush kept swimming around. They were beautiful! They were perfect! She loved them so much already! And once she ditched this bozo, she'd be able to give them all her time and attention and she'd be able to send word back with Nasr and everything!

"I wasn't even singing loudly," Quinlan protested.  Gods, what was twisting her under-robes into a bunch?  Certainly he knew she was eager to be rid of him, and no doubt he was eager to be out of her hair.  It was a shame, however, that he would have to forfeit a job.  The opportunity however to get those Sirrush eggs would have been before they hatched.

Quinlan was never much for caution, not if the opportunity was narrow and would not present itself again.  He did, however, consider if the payout was even worth the risk.  The man seemed like a crazed egghead.  And frankly, Quinlan was tired of chasing after myths and legends.  Even if this legend in particular was in fact real.

Little to little, little too late.

Quinlan slowly stopped his murmuring.  He instead listened to the wind, and felt his ear twitch.  Maybe it was the way the sun was hitting him, or maybe it was the way the sand crunched beneath the hooves of the donkey.  He felt a shiver run down his back, and he pulled back on the bindings around his wrist.

"Stop," he said.  "Right now.  Stop."  He slipped his leg from over the donkey's back.  He kept his feet firmly in the ground and leaned his head down, slipping the blindfold from his head.  He pulled back again against the end that Kaya held.  "Stop.  Take these off me.  Now.  Something is wrong.  I'm not kidding."