Checking Progress (Flora)

[Zero]

Tatsu opened his eyes again to peer at her curiously. Had his clan not perished, he would probably have never traveled very far from their nesting grounds. There was a certain security in never roaming far beyond one's home. Still, the wonders he had seen in his years made the adventure well worth the sacrifice, so he thought. Scarcely could he even recall what it was like to have a home.

"I agree, there is plenty to see in Essyrn. One could probably spend a lifetime exploring these sands and still not know all there was to know about them. If you ever had the chance to explore beyond the desert, I would recommend the ocean. Quite a stark contrast. Blue waters as far as the eye can see. The forests of Adela are quite memorable as well, trees that climb so high they seem to touch the sky..." He had seen much of what there was to see in the world, but hearing about it was no substitue for seeing it for oneself.

[Passifloraceae]

"Someday, I'm sure..." She wanted to leave. Oh, did she want to leave. How many times had she wondered if being somewhere else would get her out of the social stigma she was in now? How many times had she wondered if she could make the money she needed to get her son back somewhere else? Aliyah would tell herself that she stayed because her son was here, but really, had she seen Khalil since she had been forced from her home? The answer was no, regardless of how many times she tried. If she came close to those premises, she'd be humiliated again and tossed out. She had tried again and again until it finally became clear that she wouldn't get him back that way without help. And where would she get help? Nobody would help the criminal that she was.

Criminal. She wasn't a criminal. Would she be treated as one outside of Essyrn? Part of her didn't want to find out. Aliyah knew she wouldn't be able to handle the thought that her crime would carry with her to every part of this world.

Aliyah's work had slowed to nothing as she dipped into thoughts, and she unconsciously put her tools down to fix the veil she kept secured to her face. "I feel that I would not be able to make much of myself out there..."

[Zero]

Tatsu sat tranquilly, hands lightly resting on his knees; palms turned upwards, legs crossed beneath him, eyes heavily-lidded, and expression passive. It was almost a meditation pose. He thought he detected some hesitation as she answered him. If one had the desire to see the world, or to leave a place, then the only reasons to stay were either fear or an emotional chain, or both. He wondered what so held her to this place if she really wanted to go. Then again, perhaps he was wrong and she had no desire to leave at all.

Patience was something Tatsu had mastered, and eventually she spoke again and he opened his eyes, peering at her with a strange, unreadable expression. Again she fidgeted with that veil, and again he wondered at what lay beneath it. The answer should have been obvious, considering what he knew of Essyrni customs.  Perhaps he simply did not want to acknowledge such a thing, even on a subconscious level, without her willingness to share such a burdensome truth.

"Why would you think such a thing? You obviously have talent. I cannot understand why you hold yourself in so little regard." It was true, he did not understand it, even if he knew of her tattoo he would not understand it, but there were many human customs that he just couldn't grasp. "If you really wished to leave and see the world, I have no doubt you would be able to sustain yourself."

[Passifloraceae]

Aliyah laughed a bit, shaking her head. "I long for such idealism. Talent. I know, hopefully without being self-obsessed, that I have it. But sometimes it's just not enough, and in my case, it is certainly not enough. Not here, anyways." She kept tapping away, scowling when she finally split one of the callouses on her hand open and quickly pulled it away to wrap it up and wash the blood away as well as she could. If she stained that statue, she would have to kill herself!

The distraction was well-enjoyed, however, and she quickly rested her hands in her lap before turning to face him. "Would you like breakfast, Sir? Nasib brought me a chicken last night to do with what I desired, and I can fry it up a bit with some garlic and jute leaves to make something you'll wish you could have every day!"

[Zero]

Tatsu tilted his head slightly, expression clearly puzzled. Humans were strange creatures indeed. Would he ever truly understand them? Shifting slightly before growing still again, his posture was still that of utter relaxation. "Forgive me, if I have been, or continue to be, overstepping my bounds, but if you find that talent is not enough in Essyrn, then why do you stay? If you are not appreciated properly, would it not be more logical to move on? I have seen much of the world, and can tell you, with absolute certainty, that your carvings would be appreciated and admired by many people."

It made sense to move on, pure logic. If she was not appreciated here, why did she not go somewhere she would be appreciated? Suddenly his thoughts were no longer on why she would stay. Her hand was bleeding, apparently she had harmed herself. Reaching into his cloak he pulled out a small vial. "Breakfast can wait. Please, may I see your hand?"

[Passifloraceae]

"Oh, it's nothing. Just a callous having split." She kept her hand in her lap with its makeshift wrapping and quickly moved back to the previous topic of conversation. "I don't fear that my work would be successful, but I do not think that I would be successful. It is difficult to make a name for yourself here." A partial lie. "And I think that it would probably be even harder elsewhere...I just can't risk failing and messing something up...it's a risk..."

[Zero]

Tatsu wasn't going to be dissuaded that easily. Honestly, why did some humans become so stubborn over injuries? There was no shame in taking proper care of oneself. "Madame Aliyah, please. Perhaps it is a small thing, but it would ease my mind if you let me see it. It would upset me greatly to know that you had harmed yourself, however slightly, working on a project at my bequest. Please."

[Passifloraceae]

"I didn't harm myself." Aliyah protested stubbornly, shaking her head. "It would have happened eventually anyways. And it happens all the time. I barely notice it anymore." Aliyah didn't see it as a particularly big deal, used to it from how rough her hands had become through work, regardless of how often she tried to lotion them or keep them from getting dried out. It just didn't work, and she had long gotten used to the fact that they cracked. She treated it almost as a 'No pain, no gain' sort of experience.

[Zero]

"You are being stubborn, Madame. That it would have happened eventually is inconsequential. It happened while I was present and while you were working on my statue. If you will not allow me to see it for yourself, will you not do it to appease a generously paying customer?" Tatsu's expression and tone were gentle, a rather stark contrast to his generally passive attitude. He held out his hand, the gesture was inviting, not demanding, but there was a hint of something. The expectation to be obeyed. He obviously wasn't taking no for an answer.

[Passifloraceae]

Aliyah raised an eyebrow at his actions and words. "Charming, believe you me." Stubborn? Yeah, maybe a little bit. Maybe a lotta bit. It felt almost like a game to her now, so she smiled sweetly and picked up her chisel and mallet again with her free hand. "If you aren't wishing to eat, then, I suppose I'll just get back to work!"

[Zero]

"And if I did not wish you to get back to work?" Tatsu's voice remained quiet and his hand remained extended. This was not a point he was going to relent upon. "Your hand, Madame, if you please."

[Passifloraceae]

"If you did not wish for me to get back to work, then you would accept the offer for food. That, or you wouldn't have paid me in the very beginning." Yeah, this wasn't something she was going to just lay down for! She spoke matter-of-factly, almost tartly, before turning back around to the statue and unwrapping her hand to get back to work. "Look, see? It's already done bleeding and everything."

[Zero]

"Paid you? Madame, I have not paid you for the statue yet. Do you speak of the gold coin? Merely a deposit, I assure you. If you will not allow me to see it will you not at least accept this?" He extended the vial to her, there was a silvery cream inside the small glass container. "I think if you rubbed it upon your hands you would be most pleased with the results."

[Passifloraceae]

"Gold is much more than I was expecting, I assure you." Aliyah looked curiously to the cream, though, her interest piqued. What was this, she wondered? "Is this some magical curiousity from another land or some such nonsense? It is quite pretty, isn't it." C:

[Zero]

"And if I said that the gold has no value to me anyway?" Tatsu honestly cared little for money. If he did not spend it on the statue, he would simply spend it on something else, but Aliyah could probably use the gold more than others he might spend it on. No, he would rather pay more to help the woman before him. Even if she might have been too stubborn to accept the help more directly.

"A magical curiosity..." He turned the words over on his tongue, as if trying to decide what, exactly, would constitue such a definition. "Perhaps you could call it that, but I made it myself. I am told it is good for just about everything, from dry hands to small cuts, scrapes, and bruises."

[Passifloraceae]

Aliyah extended her hand towards the vial, ignoring his first statement. Foreigners and their silly ways. "What do I do? Do I just rub it around in my hands like a lotion?"

[Zero]

Not caring for gold was not a foreigner thing so much as a non-human thing. Or perhaps he just had too much money and didn't know what to really do with it. Tatsu was a creature of fairly simple needs. He bought fine and beautiful things, but he could go without so many comforts others poured their gold into.

"Yes, treat it like a lotion. Although only a small amount should be used. It is not something you will be able to find anywhere else. Only I can make it, and I do not make much of it. Fortunately even small amounts can be most effective."

OOC: The salve is made from grounded dragon scales mixed with dragon blood. His scales. His blood. Kind of gross, when you think about it. However, it has healing and revitalizing properties.

[Passifloraceae]

Ooc: Ewww, dragon splooge~ x3 I could see why he tries not to make a whole lot of it, though! Lol

"If it will humor you, I will at least put it on my hand. But then will you answer me to whether or not you wish for food?" Aliyah watched him with an amused glimmer in her eyes, keeping her hand stretched out to him. Littered with callouses, cuts, and rough spots, but she was telling the truth in that the bleeding had stopped pretty quickly! Aliyah would never have dainty little hands again, poor lass.

[Zero]

Tatsu actually smiled a bit at her acceptance, and the way in which she gave it. "It would please me greatly if you would. I would not keep you from your breakfast, Madame Aliyah, however I do not find myself to be hungry."

OOC: It is not splooge! He would never offer someone THAT. Ewwwwwwwww. Also, I think she might be pleasantly surprised at how effective it is. Perhaps would not give her her smooth and girlish hands back, but would certainly be helpful.

[Passifloraceae]

Ooc: Huzzah!

"Right then!" She quickly leapt up from where she was sitting, abandoning the cream long enough to grab an apple. The chicken she had mentioned would for now go forsaken. "I'll try your strange salve after I've eaten this so that my hands are not all greasy feeling while I eat it and I won't get strange tastes in my apple!"