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A Rather Interesting Visitor [Demagogue]

Started by wispedheart, July 17, 2017, 07:47:43 PM

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wispedheart

Dropping another fish into the basket, Kainalu hauled herself into the boat, dripping wings outstretched for balance. She'd been out fishing since early morning, hoping to catch a few of the nocturnal varieties before they drifted away from the shoreline. Now the sun was high in the sky, and she was eager to get to shore and take advantage of the sunlight to help dry her wings. Crossing her legs, Kainalu balanced herself and picked up her paddle.

A movement along nearby caught her attention, forcing a pause before she'd even started her rowing home. A boat was headed in towards the port, close enough that she should have noticed it beforehand. A new batch of visitors, no doubt. The realization made her both excited, and worried. While she loved the visitors, it wasn't often they knew her language, and she, while not completely awful with the Common language, wasn't all that excellent at it either. Even so, Kainalu certainly wasn't eager to miss it. A lot of interesting individuals came on the boats, after all.

Luckily she had quite a bit of a headstart and found herself on the shoreline well before the boat.  Once the boat was hauled well onto the shore, she made her way to a rock, grabbing the second wrap of her skirt and the few ornaments she wore. Ignoring the water, she wrapped the second skirt around the first. The hyacinths that made up her current ornaments found themselves both draped around her neck and pinned into her hair.

By the time Kainalu had dropped off the fish with those who wanted it as well as her own small hut for later preparation, the boat had arrived. She'd grabbed a wrap at her home to cover her breasts, aware that some cultures didn't like them uncovered. Making her way to the dock, she leaned against a post, watching those milling about. It was just as interesting as usual; though some faces were familiar. One, however, was both far from and unlike anything Kainalu had ever seen. She'd never heard of skeletons that could still walk, let alone ones that traveled around. Curiously, she inched over, attempting to look nonchalant in her actions. By the time she'd reached the skeleton, however, she dropped all pretenses.

"Excuse me," she asked in the common tongue, accent heavy and her tongue fumbling over the words, despite that being one of her best phrases. "What you?" She was aware that wasn't quite how to say it, and that it was probably rude, but it was in her vocabulary, and that was all she needed.

@Salzem

Salzem

"-As I explained, you must drop this off at..." Demagogue was off to his old tricks, taking a minor vacation from his world-dominating ways and going about minor business deals, taking them as a form of recreation. It had been a LONG while since he had been here on these islands, at this port in particular... In fact, it might've been a hundred-plus years... The people here hadn't changed much at least, maintaining a sailor-like culture, revering the sea and begging it for fruitfulness as if it were a god. He thought it was kind of funny how they scampered around with their little fish-nets and fishing-boats.... Much more interesting than the smaller ports in larger cities.

The demon was discussing a business proposition with a rather... wide and drunken sailor, promising him a small reward in exchange for his services. This was how demons worked after all... manipulation was always the best part of being what he is... While the drunken man was more than eager for that reward, the alcohol in his body seemed to rot his brain almost as much as it put fat on his body, making it difficult for the demon to place his trust in him. Just as he was about to bash what he had to do into his brains, he heard a voice behind him, one that belonged to a girl... Demagogue turned his head in her direction, the glowing lights in his sockets, pointing down at her almost as if they were eyes. His spiked-tooth jaw curled into an unnatural smile before turning is attention away from the drunk, letting him wander off and succumb to poisoning. Oh well... So long as he wasn't rotting away, Demagogue would catch up with him later. He turned himself around to face she much smaller girl, crouching down just a bit so that he was eye-level with her, his eyes flicking down at her feet and working his way up. Oooo... and a beautiful one she was... When she asked "what-he", The demon had no trouble deciphering what exactly she was asking. He was ancient, after all and had enough experience muddling through accents that left comprehensible speech quite debilitated. He smiled warmly at the girl, a cold, boney hand resting on her shoulder.

"Why... I'm merely a skeleton business man, young lady..." He responded, an eye-socket shrinking and compressing almost in the same way an eye might wink. "My name is Demagogue and I'm... new to this place."

wispedheart

The skeleton turned around, and Kainalu's fascination only grew. She'd seen her fair share of skulls, between the small animals others brought back from hunting and the fish she skinned daily. She'd even cleaned the skull of a fish once, merely to see what it looked like. It sat in her house, now, sun-bleached and useful only in its decorative purpose. Human skulls were different, Kainalu knew this, but there were enough fundamental similarities that she could tell that this one was a bit... off.  Lights seemed to stare at her like eyes, and she could have sworn she saw the bones bend of their own intent. Then he crouched, and she became surer. Whatever the skeleton was, he could bend his bones like they were skin. It was fascinating in more than one way.

For a moment, it seemed that she was being sized up. The fisher allowed it, keeping still until he rested his hand on her shoulder, and curiosity required that she look at his fingers. They were just the same as the rest of him, though she was entirely unsure how the joints were staying together. It meant he was a magical being of some kind, in which case he was much more interesting than before.

He replied bare seconds after, and for a good moment her reply was silence as she deciphered what he'd said bit by bit. Kainalu had never heard the word "murly" before, so she decided to skip it over, hoping it wasn't important. She caught "skeleton", recognizing it from the day a little boy that was visiting had requested she give him the skeleton of the fish she'd been preparing. "Busy" was familar as well, though she wasn't sure what the sound he'd attacked to it was. "Man" and "Lady" were both familiar, thankfully. Though, a busy male skeleton hadn't been quite the answer she was expecting. Was he telling her he was busy to get her to leave? Though, he'd continued speaking, so she could assume that perhaps that was not the correct conclusion. The next phrase was easier, the name and the fact that he was new translating quite easily in her mind. 

"Demagogue," Kainalu replied, then nodded to show she'd understood. She chose not to greet him traditionally, for now. He seemed the type to be dangerous when angered. "My name is Kainalu," her hand came up to press to her chest. That was another one of the phrases she was quite proud of, especially since it was so useful. "New, yes?" she asked, then paused, unsure how to finish. "Demagogue... explore? Sell?" Her intent was to ask him why he'd come to Yoreiq, but she wasn't quite sure how to say such a thing. That would have to do, for now. 

Salzem

The demon smiled sweetly as the girl repeated his name back to him, adorable the way she spoke. "Yes! I'm Demagogue." He agree, placing a hand on his chest... or... ribs. "And you are...?" It was like those adorable talking monkeys those... circus performers had on their shoulders. ...Or the parrots... Yes... she was like one of those big red parrots that spoke words just enough to be cute... If this demon had a heart, it might've just melted as she struggled to complete a coherent sentence. It was, then, a pleasant surprise as she managed to complete a sentence introducing herself as Kainalu, a very graceful and exotic name if ever he heard one.

"Its a distinct pleasure to meet you, Kainalu... I must be a lucky... well... I'm not really a man anymore... more of a thing, really... but I am a lucky creature to have my first real conversation with such a beautiful little thing..." He held out his hand for Kai to shake if she knew what such a gesture meant and, if not, he'd merely fold his arms behind his spine in a way a butler might... still just as visible behind his spine. She asked if he was new, then his purpose, seeming to only manage 1 or 2 words at a time consistently. It was an adorable trait he intended to cherish for all of their future conversation.

"Well... Yes and no, Kainalu... I do go out to stretch my legs from time to time but... no, I am not here to sell things... not exactly." The demon took the rim of his wide pointed hat between his forefinger and thumb, fiddling with it as he looked out over one of the docks.

"I deal in... well... deals! You do me a favor and I do you one, see? Just small little things... Helps keep people happy." He smiled down at Kai once more, his eyes blazing bright with an unknown emotion.

"I don't normally do this but I'll give you this one for free... Do you have anything that you want...? A trinket of some kind...? Do you miss anyone...? You may find I am a... thing of may talents..."

wispedheart

The flurry of words that made up his reply surprised her momentarily. Kainalu scoured her mind in an attempt to fully understand what he was saying, or at least to partially do so. Between the word 'meet' and the happiness of his voice, at the very least that part was understandable. Then he called himself a lucky thing, not a man. Mentally, Kainalu edited her tag of 'busy skeleton man' to 'busy skeleton'. Though she had little idea what the first thing was that was so beautiful. What was a 'conversation'?

The water from her wings was starting to drip down her back, so Kainalu shifted them out and away slightly, letting them instead drip on the deck below her. Demagogue had continued on, and she listened more carefully this time, hoping not to miss more words. He'd mentioned legs, so she had to guess that meant 'walk' and 'walk' meant 'explore'. If he wasn't here to sell, either, that certainly made him different from the usual crowd. Typically when she spoke to foreigners, they either wanted to sell them things (or buy, though that was more of an extension of the same thing) or they asked one of the villagers to show them the island. But he'd said both yes and no, so perhaps he was both here to explore and not? It was a confusing sentiment, but Kainalu tried to not judge it. Perhaps she was confused and it was more of a cultural thing. She supposed only Hakile would truly know the answer.

He began to speak about deals, and Kainalu's mind whirled. Was he here to deal? She knew that was similar to sell, but did not know the exact meaning. A 'favor' was something completely new. Was it like a deal; a trade? Trying not to look entirely lost, she let her hands drift down to her skirt, fiddling at the edges of the fabric near her hips. Small things help keep people happy. The 'favor' keeps people happy? He smiled at her, and she smiled back brightly to cover her confusion.

More speaking, though this time she understood a bit more. Something was free, though that word itself was always strange. Did he mean the bird free, or the item free? Foreigners seemed to think that there was an item free more than birds. Thankfully though, Kainalu understood that he was asking what she wanted, as well as if she missed anybody. And that he was talented ("talented busy skeleton" she supposed).

"No miss," shaking her head, Kainalu gestured to the village. "Home, yes? All here." Certainly, some had gone over the course of her life, but death was nothing to be sad about, and those who left by boat always returned. "No want," she continued. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers along the hyacinth in her hair, then gestured out towards her boat, lying in the distance on the shore. "I have," she finished. Kainalu wasn't quite sure if he was offering, but she knew it was rude to deny it if he was. Should she make reparations? Was that what the foreigners did?

"Hungry?" she asked, reaching down to rub her belly as a form of illustration. Water droplets smeared on her hand as she did so, reminding her that she was still wet. "I have fish. New fish, yes?" Most people seemed to take food as a good apology, at least here, they did. Perhaps that would ease any anger the talented busy skeleton might have at her denial.

Salzem

Demagogue cocked his head to the side, confused by her statement. Oh no, he understood well enough to make a reasonable guess as to what she meant "No miss" and "I have" meaning she missed no one (enough to yearn for their company, he supposed) nor did she desire anything in particular... Apparently she was absolutely content with the life she lived. Demagogue, not once in the time of Humanity's entire existence did the demon ever find someone who didn't desire one thing or another. The desperate craved easy things like food and shelter, the rich demanded playthings and shallow pleasures, the soldiers needed weapons and armor and... company to put it nicely. Shopkeepers needed customers, entrepanuers needed to be successful, royal bastards craved the kingdom's throne but never once had he ever come across someone who whole-heartedly seemed to yearn for anything a desire-demon such as himself could provide. The lights in his sockets fizzled out as his smile, always forever present, curled downward into a thoughtful frown. Demagogue had been around... And he had been present since humanity's birth... He had seen and experienced wants and desired of all kinds and creeds... Fed of the completion of deals that satisfied both of them... It had become all he'd known so when this woman said she had everything she needed and MEANT IT, something in that demonic mind of his sparked to life... Something more... human...? It was some kind of understanding he had never needed until now... He had never wanted... A view that was both a little more complicated and a little more simple... Just enough to throw the demon's confidence through several loops.

The demon snapped to attention as the woman referred to him again, his eyes blazing back to life and his smile returning if it was a bit shaky. He bent his head down just a bit so the rim of his hat hid the uncertainty in his eyes. She asked if he was hungry, stating that she had some fresh fish, apparently offering some to him.

"I... yeah... okay..." The demon managed to stutter out, uncharacteristically doubtful of his own motivations. He wasn't mad just... thrown so far off his norm he might as well have entered a completely new plain of existence. The demon felt... displaced... He wasn't enraged... but alone in this new world where some people were actually happy with their lives. Everyone wanted something... They HAD to want something... HAD TOO! Nobody wants for nothing. It's not in mortal nature! He laughed off his uncertainty as a baseless emotion brought on by his close work with the mortal species. This revived a bit of his confidence.... but not much. Not much at all. Not nearly as much as he wanted.

wispedheart

The skeleton seemed surprised at her, and Kainalu promptly began racing through her reply. Her hands slipped behind her back, fiddling incessantly with the bottom edge of her wings. Had she said something wrong? Something strange? She'd only spoken the truth... perhaps it had been rude to offer food? Mentally, she began scrambling for a reparation of some sort, any sort. While she may not be close to the skeleton, Kainalu had no desire to leave them with a bad idea of Yoreiq.

Her panic subsided, even if only slightly when the smile reappeared on his face. It seemed less wide than before, however, so perhaps she'd still made a faux pas, it simply wasn't major. She kept her own smile wide, unsure if it had the same deterioration she'd seen in his.

A few tense moments passed, part of which Kainalu held her breath, fearful that perhaps her fault had been worse than she'd feared. Just like any other moment of time, however, they soon passed, and the talented busy skeleton let out an affirmative, even if it seemed less... excitable than his previous words. A heavy sigh left her frame, and she brought her hands out from behind her back to grab one of his own. Her grip was gentle, easily breakable if he pleased to do so.

"Come," she said, pulling carefully as she led him in the direction of the village. "Fish home. I cook, yes?"

The village was busy, as it usually was when a boat had arrived. People rushed back and forth, a few of them faces she knew. All were in a hurry, so the only greetings they crossed were the shouts of each other's names. Covertly, Kainalu checked the haul-ins of other fishers, wondering if perhaps she'd have to go on another trip tonight. It seemed they had enough, but she'd ask around just to be sure.

The walk to her hut was short, barely more than a few minutes. Once there, she gestured between Demagogue and the wooden structure, smiling brightly. It wasn't large, and the ceiling was constructed of fronds and leaves. "Home. Welcome!" The door opened with a simple shove. Its frame was wider and taller than most doors, built to accommodate the width and height of her wings as well as her own body. The inside was clean, with what seemed to be two large circles pushed together making the entirety of the home. Several paddles lined the walls and a couple large bins. One, carved out of a trunk to make it watertight, stood with a lid atop it. In the second circle, a bedding area sat.

Salzem

Demagogue, bewildered, followed the girl back to her home, a small hut (if you could call it that), mainly constructed out of sticks and leaves of various sizes. The demon stared at what she apparently considered her home, glancing from her to her stove to her "home", trying to figure out where exactly her happiness came from.

"You live in complete poverty...." The demon whispered, taking his chin-bone between his fingers, his eyes glowing inquisitively. "...And you're happy...? How can this be?" The girl either didn't hear his musings or ignored them, welcoming her to "house" before going right to her stove and began setting it up to cook the fish. He looked around, unimpressed being a very obvious understatement of how he felt about the setting. It was all so dull and small, most likely her biggest trinket here being the one she lived in! She couldn't have been comfortable...

"I could give you so much more." He offered again, watching as the girl set up her stove. "I could give you a big house... more food, a comfortable bed to sleep on at least! You say you're happy here...?"

wispedheart

Moving over to the bin, Kainalu lifted the lid and looked inside. The bin was watertight, so she often kept fish inside it until she'd had time to properly prepare it. She picked out one that looked large enough to adequately feed two people and lifted it free, holding it high while she shut the bin with her other hand. She missed much of Demagogue's apparent confusion and/or appalment at her situation as she moved to a counter, slapping the fish down.

Her house guest began to speak again, giving her reason to pause. Brushing her hands off on her skirt, Kainalu turned to look at him. Even so, his statement was confusing. Give her more? If she'd understood correctly, he seemed to be offering such, though Kainalu wasn't sure what more she needed. His examples made sense, house, bed, and food being words she was familiar with. But why would she need more than what she had now? Her sleeping area was visible, and lined well enough that it was comfortable. She wasn't starving, and her hut was perfectly sized to handle what she had now, especially considering it was just herself. If she ever needed more room, she could always build another attachment and adjust the size that way. Most of those ideas, however, led to many words that she didn't know in the common tongue, so she dumbed it down as best she could. "I have good home. One person home, yes? Fish, fruit, food. Bed!" Kainalu punctuated the last sentence by pointing to her sleeping area in the second circle of the hut. She frowned slightly, confused at what more she'd need. She understood what he was offering, but any things she'd need were things easily found. Even if they weren't, the journey of getting them was half of the joy of having it. "You want?" she asked, hoping he might describe to her what it is he was truly getting at. Why would anybody want more than they needed? It made little sense. Having more than what you needed would be wasteful.

Just to occupy her hands, she motioned for him to make himself comfortable, gesturing both to a chair and her bedding area, if he preferred to sit on the floor. Then she began the process of preparing the fish, grabbing one of the stone knives from the edge of the table. Holding the tail, she began to scale it, working carefully and quickly with movements that portrayed an ease that could only come with a lot of practice.

Salzem

"Yes!" Demagogue expressed a little too enthusiastically. "Yes, I want! Everyone wants things... Look beyond what you need and think of something you might desire..." The girl motioned for him to make himself comfortable in an area that was apparently supposed to be her bed... He looked at it, squinting his sockets before setting himself down in politeness of course but not giving up his debate.

"You could live in a world much bigger than this one... I could give you objects that would make your eyes water with beauty. I could give you a home that would make this one look like a pale shadow with no cost to you or anyone else.... The contentment you feel now would only be a mere shadow compared to the wonders I could bestow upon you... All of this..." The demon waved his boney hand at the hut the two sat beneath. "...you wouldn't miss it in the least."

The demon let out a sigh, somewhat exasperated, tugging on the rim of his hat. Never before did he need to work so hard to tempt someone.... Never before had he met someone who's contentment was so pure... It was almost inhuman the amount of control she had over her desires.

"At least... let me make life better for you here. You needn't live in a hut... Let me at least give you a home that won't fall over under bad weather..."

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