Untamed, Unbroken, Unbound [Rhi-Rhi]

DragonSong · March 08, 2019, 10:05:08 AM

Oh fuck.

Lani blinked at her again, then closed her eyes and bit back a groan.

"O...Kay," she said slowly, forcing herself to just breathe evenly and think. "Do you think I could...talk to Nejem about this? Not-- not you, Bridget, you're lovely, I'm sure you're doing a great job!" she hastened to add. "I just...don't feel comfortable...having a servant?"

Rhindeer · March 08, 2019, 02:04:15 PM

Bridget's face colored, shame rising with the flush of heat, and her hands curled into balls at her sides. Oh, the girl had said she was doing a fine job, but that didn't lessen the sting of...of...dismissal. That's what this was, right? She didn't want her as a servant. Wasn't comfortable with her.

"I...did I...displease you in some way, Miss Lani?" she said quietly, speaking past the growing lump in her throat, the panic tightening in her chest. It had been a year since she'd last been beaten, a year since Prince Nejem had purchased her, but old anxieties died hard.

DragonSong · March 08, 2019, 02:14:57 PM

"What-- no! No no no no no no!"

Oh Horse Lords, she was just making a mess of this. What the fuck was she supposed to say!

Lani recognized that stance as surely as anyone who had been or lived around slaves. Carefully, she backed away, hands up peacefully. "Look, this isn't about you. It's me-- I don't want a servant, that's all!"

Rhindeer · March 10, 2019, 06:24:08 PM

"But...but Prince Nejem...he appointed me to you," Bridget said, a tremble in her voice. Not rage, but fear. She had never been sent away before. Never been told her service was unwanted. "I-it's my job. My duty. I can't...I can't fail him! Oh, please miss, I promise I'll do better!"

DragonSong · March 10, 2019, 07:50:42 PM

Oh gods I wish I'd died in that fucking circle.

"Okay, okay, it's okay," she babbled helplessly, reaching out and fluttering her hands around Bridget's shoulder. "Look, it's alright, you haven't done anything wrong, I promise!"

A little desperately, she tried, "Why don't we just talk to Prince Nejem about this! It-- it seems like this is just all a misunderstanding, he can probably help us sort this out, right?"

Rhindeer · March 12, 2019, 06:09:14 PM

"I-I don't want to make him mad! Or disappointed!" Bridget said miserably, unaware that she was probably painting a very negative picture of Prince Nejem, to be so hysterically upset about this whole situation, and terrified of talking to him. He had never given her a reason to be afraid, and had even reminded her that she was free to leave if she ever desired, but she had nowhere to go and had no other skills, and so she'd chosen to stay.

After a lifetime of slavery, she was stuck; she didn't know what else to be but a servant. And she was always worried that if she did a bad job, maybe he would kick her out, and then she would have nowhere to go.

She sniffed, fighting back tears, and took deep breaths to try to calm down. "You're really not displeased?" she said miserably. "If we talk to him, you won't tell him I did poorly?"

DragonSong · March 12, 2019, 06:57:19 PM

"Of course I won't!" Judging by Bridget's reactions, she would certainly have a few choice words with Prince Nejem, but she wasn't going to say anything bad about the poor girl for fuck's sake! "Look, let's just go talk to him. Really, I'm sure this will...all work out?"

Rhindeer · March 12, 2019, 07:00:07 PM

Bridget nodded slowly, cautiously, though she still looked nervous and twitchy. But she stepped back from the door to give Lani space to exit and stood there waiting for her to follow, wringing her hands. "Okay, Miss Lani...follow me."

DragonSong · March 12, 2019, 07:10:24 PM

"Right." Still feeling thoroughly at sea, Lani stepped out into the hall and nudged the door closed behind her, rubbing a little awkwardly at the back of her neck as she waited for Bridget to lead the way. She thought she might be able to get to the merchant's office on her own, but she wasn't sure-- not to mention that would defeat the purpose of this baffling little exercise.

Rhindeer · August 28, 2019, 09:33:33 PM

Bridget lead Lani through the lavish halls in silence, far too nervous to speak--and besides, she didn't really know what to say to the other woman. So, she focused on just doing her job and hoping for the best, her head down as she made herself small out of habit.

Before too long, they had reached the carved double doors to Prince Nejem's study. Bridget knocked twice and waited, darting an uneasy glance at Lani. They didn't have to wait long, however, as soon one door opened to reveal Qismat on the other side, dressed casually in a red and white shendyt but otherwise bare-chested.

His expression brightened when he saw that Bridget had brought his guest, oblivious to the tension in the air. "Ah, there you are. Good timing, too. The doctor should be here any minute, now."

DragonSong · September 02, 2019, 11:06:45 AM

Lani felt her jaw go tight the moment Nejem said "doctor", her shoulders tensing up toward her ears. She gave it her utmost not to be obvious about the tension that zapped through her body though, forcing a smile and a nod for Bridget.

"Thanks. Wouldn't have got here so quick on my own," she told the serving girl before looking back to the merchant prince. "Look, I...appreciate it. But I don't need a healer, really. Just give me a day or two taking it a little easy and I'll be fine, really."

She had a feeling he wouldn't take that argument any better today than he had the day before, but she gave it a shot anyway. She really had no interest in being tended to by whatever healer he employed.

Rhindeer · January 20, 2020, 07:08:14 PM

Qismat waved a finger through the air, as though flicking her protests away.

"Shh, I won't hear it!" he said, fixing her with a stern frown. "You do need a healer, even if you feel okay--which I don't see how you possibly could! I can only imagine what sort of medical care you received, if any. Oh, sure, a day or so of rest may heal you up, but why wait when you can just--" He snapped his fingers. "--be done with it? Besides, who knows what other conditions you may have? Parasites from dirty food and water, old hurts and discomforts you don't even realize hurt because you're so used to it..."

He steepled his fingers and peered at her curiously. "Or is it that doctors make you nervous?"

DragonSong · January 20, 2020, 09:37:04 PM

The tension in her shoulders ramped up a few degrees and she found herself glaring in his general direction—not at him, exactly, more at what he said.

"And if I don't?" she demanded rather belligerently, almost daring him to say something: call her silly, or hysterical, or tell her that if she didn't want his help she could just get out.

And honestly, if he forced her, she would submit to a healer's attentions. Her aversion was just as much due to her own pride as it was wariness, and she liked to think she was smart enough to recognize it. That didn't mean she had to like it.

Turning her eyes away, she bit out, "I earned my wounds in honorable combat." Well, mostly. "To accept a healer's aid in their recovery would diminish that honor."

Not the whole truth, but all she was willing to tell him just now.

Rhindeer · March 29, 2020, 01:22:15 PM

"Is that what they tell you?" Qismat asked with a gently arched brow. "That accepting treatment diminishes your accomplishments? Dear girl...they only tell you that to save themselves the expense of treatment. The richest people are often the stingiest, you know."

Turning to Bridget, he said, "Go and check if our doctor has arrived, won't you?" As she scurried away, he slid back into his seat at his desk, and motioned to a chair on the other side of it. "Feel free to have a sit, Lani. There's hummus and pita, if you'd like." He would be the first to admit he was a bit of a snackaholic; there was rarely a time he didn't have a snack of some sort within arm's reach.

DragonSong · March 29, 2020, 01:42:44 PM

Lani bared her teeth and snapped her head toward him. "They wouldn't bother giving me a reason not to see a healer. They just wouldn't let me. Why bother giving explanations to a slave?" she hissed. "My words are the words of my people."

Although she knew what she had done in the arena was nothing like what her father or even her uncle would have meant when they said them; scars were stories, marks of valor, and she would bear hers proudly--or at least, she would have, had they truly been earned in honorable combat.

The arena was many things...but it wasn't that.

Another low hiss and she glared at the chair he gestured toward, then relented and sank into it with a low grumble. She tried not to wince as she tugged at the slashes across her back. Damn, that lion had ripped in pretty deep.

She didn't say anything else about the doctor--what was the point, if she'd already admitted to herself that there was no honor in bearing the hurts with only the strength of her own body--but she eyed the proffered food as though afraid it might jump up and bite her nose before cautiously reaching out to pick at it.

Even after the night before, she was starving. But she knew if she still had a few days ahead of her where if she ate too much, too fast, she'd just make herself sick.

"...After the healer, what am I to do?" She looked up at him, considering. Trying to understand, to take his measure. She still felt like she didn't understand him, understand why. "If you want me to look at that plains pony, sooner is better than later."

Rhindeer · August 23, 2023, 05:42:40 PM

Sigh. Qismat rubbed his temples at Lani's baffling behavior. Never had he ever met someone so stubborn to receive medical care! He wanted to say that her people sounded quite foolish if they believed an infection was more honorable than receiving healing, but he bit his tongue. Cultural differences could make things rather sensitive, and he was trying to get her to work with him here!

He let the quiet stretch a little, steepling his fingers beneath his chin, and Lani soon filled the silence.

"We shall see what the healer has to say first," he said. "If she gives you a clean bill of health and determines no other precautions need taking, then you may play with my ponies until the sun goes down. She's the medical expert, not me!" he said quickly, trying to cut off any protests. "So we'll await her judgment. And after that...I'm thinking, if you have no objections, that we can make that your actual job. Caring for my animals, that is."

There was a knock at the door, and Qismat called for them to enter. In stepped an Essyrni woman, her skin leathery with sun and age.

DragonSong · September 10, 2023, 03:45:05 PM

Lani frowned, opening her mouth to protest anyway, but shut it when he barreled on. She quirk a dry eyebrow when he described what she could potentially be doing here as "playing with ponies", but decided not to comment on that. Not directly, anyway.

"I can do horses," she told him bluntly. "I'm good with horses. Don't know much about any other animals you might have in this place's menagerie or what-have-you."

She might have said more, but then the healer had entered the room and she clammed up abruptly. She eyed the woman like she was a venomous snake of some sort, but didn't give any further protests to her presence.

Rhindeer · September 12, 2023, 02:14:19 PM

Well, this wasn't awkward at all. Lani was eying the old woman like a predator, and the healer could only stare back, obviously unaccustomed to the hostility she saw there.

"Ira, my dear, this is Lani," Qismat said, motioning from the woman to Lani. "Lani, this is Ira. She's a fantastic healer and I trust her to take care of you, as she's taken care of me and mine for years. I daresay her skill is unparalleled."

"Oh, enough of that, you know that's not true," Ira said with a good-humored snort and a wave of her gnarled hand. She started toward Lani, a slight limp in her step. "Now, let's get to it, I've got other patients waiting. What are we dealing with here?"

"Cat scratch," Qismat said, and at Ira's perplexed expression, added, "Lion, to be specific. He tore her shoulder up good."

Ira let out a low curse under her breath. "And you lived to tell the tale? Oh, you poor dear. Come, come closer, now. Let me see your wound."

DragonSong · September 12, 2023, 02:30:16 PM

There was an almost imperceptible tremble in Lani's extremities as the old woman approached, but she managed to wrangle the urge to duck away under control before it became too noticeable. It wasn't the healer's fault that she didn't much care for the idea of people touching her.

Because that's what it was, she could admit that to herself. Yes, she did believe that wounds gained in honorable combat should be borne naturally, as her father had taught her--but she wasn't so stubborn as to deny that the arena wasn't honorable combat. It was a good excuse to keep people away from her though.

Ever since she'd been carted into this damned city, a healer had only meant that she was to be patched up just enough to enter her next match. And the healer's employed by the arena didn't exactly have the best bedside manner.

But again. That wasn't Ira. She had no reason to distrust this woman. So she gritted her teeth and nodded to the matron and shuffled a few steps closer, reaching up to tug the collar of her shirt aside so the gouges on her shoulder could be seen. It also inadvertently bared the older, longer scar that started at the back of her right shoulder and carried across the entirety of her back.

"I got lucky," she admitted in a low grumble, with a quick glance in Qismat's direction. "If he hadn't called off the fight when he did, I wouldn't be here."

Rhindeer · September 21, 2023, 09:40:10 PM

Ira lifted an eyebrow at Lani's statement, shooting a glance at Qismat. "Another rescue?" she asked, and he just gave a shrug. "You're going to get a reputation for being soft, Prince."

"I'm not concerned." Qismat lazily scooped a bit of hummus onto a piece of pita. "If anyone asks, it's because I saw the pretty foreign horse girl and wanted to add her to my collection. She's more useful in my bed than in a lion's stomach."

The healer snorted and shook her head, turning her full attention onto Lani then. "I'm going to touch your wound," she warned, and hen laid her hands over the nasty mess of shoulder, not in the least bit squeamish or shocked about the sight of it. It was clear she had been in the business a long time, and she had dealt with nastier, weeping, gangrenous injuries.

As she checked Lani over, she hummed in approval. "Kept it rather clean, that's good," she murmured. "That will make this easier. Brace yourself, girl. It's going to get rather warm, and then you'll likely feel quite tired. That's normal. I'll be using your own energy to patch you." That was the only warning Lani got before her fingertips took on a warm glow as though from within, the light gradually growing brighter until it shone through her skin enough to show every bone in her hand. But just like that, Lani's flesh began to knit back together as though traveling back in time, following the path of the lion's claws but in reverse.