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Domestic Bliss?

Started by DragonSong, April 21, 2017, 04:24:46 PM

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DragonSong

Risa could practically feel the tension in the air, though to her surprise a good deal of it came from the man beside her, not her parents. She glanced up at him, then away again quickly. If she looked at him too much, her parents might think she was happy about this.

"Ori, take your sister and go help her pack her things," Yui said quietly. Ori nodded quickly and moved forward to take Risa's arm. His eyes flickered over her face, mouth drawn in a tight line. Sorry for being stupid.

The young mage sighed quietly and let her hand brush against her brother's arm in silent communication. It's okay, I forgive you. And honestly she did. When she thought about it, she realized what her brother had thought of as a well-meaning prank was really just that- they'd both overheard their parents talk about the ever encroaching possibility of marrying her off, he'd probably just wanted her to have a little fun with the process.

It wasn't his fault, really.

She glanced back over her shoulder as she heard her mother say stiffly, "Kenta, perhaps you should show him a place to sit? I'll bring some tea." She bustled away, brushing past her children, and her husband let out a long breath through his nose.

"It is more comfortable upstairs, but I'm afraid I must stay with the shop," he muttered, disappearing into the workroom for a moment and reappearing with a chair that he set down and gestured to vaguely. "I don't expect many customers on festival days, but there is always a possibility. Please, sit."

nephero

"Of course," Mali said, his tone dropping in temperature the longer he had to speak, "please, don't allow me to take up too much of your time."

He only barely chanced a glance at the siblings as they retreated out of the shop, before leveling his gaze right back onto Kenta himself. Mali moved over to the chair and sat down in it with an easy sort of grace, as if liquid hate weren't marching through his veins at that very moment. He didn't bother removing his satchel at all, simply adjusting it to be out of the way as he sat. After all, he didn't plan on staying long-- now even less so.

He hadn't wanted to remain attached to this family beyond a year. Right this very moment, he didn't want to be attached to them beyond another minute. Or rather, he corrected his thoughts, recategorizing them into a far truer statement: he didn't want to have to look at Kenta ever again.

He took a deep breath of his own, let his gaze move to where the rest of the little family had disappeared to, before snapping back to Kenta when it seemed the two men were truly alone. It was then that his smile took on an entirely different edge, harsh and angular and not friendly in the slightest.

"Out of curiousity, and please forgive me for the personal question, but is that how you treat all of your children or is Risa just special?"


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
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The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Kenta seemed to sense the shift in attitude and glanced almost warily at the other man. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, sir," he said, coolly polite, emotionless. "I have only two children, and I treat Risa as any eldest daughter is treated."

Above their heads, Ori was helping Risa pack up her room. It was strangely, and perhaps a little sadly, not that difficult of a task. The only things that she really wanted to keep with her were the few books she owned, as well as the first few pieces of jewelry she'd crafted and a handful of flawed stones that had been deemed unacceptable for the shop, but she still found pretty.

Aside from that was her garden, but she couldn't exactly pack that up and take it with her.

She wouldn't miss things. She'd miss her family. Granted, right now it was hard to remember why she'd miss her father, but she'd miss Ori, and her mother. Mostly Ori.

"You sure this is enough?" Her brother was holding two small bags and she clutched a larger one, a satchel slung over her shoulder. She nodded and tried for a smile.

"I'm sure. It's...probably not that far, right? I'm sure I'll be able to visit..." She bit her lip, then took a breath and shook her head. "Right. Let's head back downstairs, shall we?"

They were a few moments behind her mother, who seemed to have arrived quickly enough with a tray bearing a pot of tea and several cups. "Here." She moved forward and offered Mali a cup as Risa and Ori crept quietly into the room behind her.

nephero

Oh, that was entirely the wrong answer. Mali's eyes narrowed a bit, his blood spiking as that twisting thing came back with a vengeance. Whatever venom had been lingering on his tongue, however, he never quite got the chance to say, as Yui had returned at that precise (and well timed) moment bearing a tray of tea.

He allowed his gaze to soften a bit, as it had been the woman to intercede first on behalf of Risa. It wasn't exactly her fault that her husband was, and Mali was quoting someone long dead here, 'a pile of maggot-infested feculence given human form and the unfortunate ability to speak'.

Oh, Irdel. The memory alone was enough to pull a genuine smile to his lips, though the moment rapidly passed as he turned his attention back to the husband and wife before him.

"Thank you," Mali said, quietly, accepting the cup of tea and holding it in the palm of one beringed hand, feeling the heat seep out through the pottery and into his skin. It felt divine; he always had terrible circulation, and even in the heat of absolute rage he knew his touch was rather cold.

It was helpful in these more tropical climes, though, if he were being perfectly honest.

A careful blow across the fluid, and Mali took a slow sip of the tea, not really that terribly thirsty but also not willing to spit in his in-laws' faces. Not yet, at any rate. He had an entire year and half-a-day, after all.

"I am currently the guest of Xinyi, the matchmaker around these parts, but all things considered I'll be looking into a more permanent residence in the city." He said, after a moment, figuring the sooner he told them where they were going the sooner he could actually, well, leave. "It'll be far more feasible for two persons, in that regard. Unless you have any objections to this, of course."


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
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The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Risa and Ori exchanged a sharp glance. Xinyi's guest? Would she be staying...?

"I see." Kenta nodded, taking the cup of tea his wife offered with a small nod and a slight softening of his expression for her. His eyes flicked to his children and Risa quickly ducked her head, but when he beckoned her forward with a sharp gesture of his hand she shuffled closer.

Yui's eyes flickered over her face, then dropped quickly. She seemed worried. Risa could hardly blame her. Hardly raising her head, the older woman said quietly, "Risa's a good girl, sir. Despite...all this. I'm sure you'll be pleased with her."

The implication that he'd better be was clearly there, at least to Risa, who nodded subtly at her mother, biting her lip.

"It seems Inima works in...strange ways," Kenta murmured, eyes flicking from his daughter to her new husband. "But it is not our place to question them." He nodded again. "I would hope you choose to stay in contact in this time, but of course it is your choice. Risa, go to your husband."

Eyes downcast, she moved forward, quickly taking the bags from Ori and meeting his eyes breifly before she settled awkwardly into place beside Mali. "We, um...We can leave, if you like," she murmured quietly.

nephero

Mali watched the exchange between parents and children with rapidly accruing distaste. It was like watching someone sell a horse, or some other beast of burden. Again, he had to consider what it took to behave in this manner about your eldest daughter, and again he had to shake the thought out of his head before he completely lost it.

The second Risa commented that they could leave, Mali all but shot out of his chair. He set his cup onto the tea tray, only half drunk, and gave one final bow to Risa's parents, and then a slightly deeper one to Ori.

"We'll be in touch," Mali said, smiling at the younger brother before leveling a cold stare at Kenta himself.

Taking the larger and heavier of Risa's bags, Mali crossed the room in long-legged strides, and only breathed easy again once they were in the open air. At first he didn't know what to say. At first, he wasn't even sure it was physically possible for him to speak at all. All he could see was a tunnel of red, and it was only through deep, steady breathing that his vision cleared and he was able to regard the young woman trying to match his furious pace.

Better slow his roll there, just a bit. Sighing, he lessened his pace to a more manageable one, and looked down at Risa, who... honestly was putting on possibly the bravest face known to man right that moment. He knew, of course, that honor and politeness were second to none in Thanati culture, but not looking completely miserable about being married to a man--a stranger-- twice your age? That was just a goddamn feat.

It certainly said something about Thanati girls, as if Mali needed any more proof of how resilient they were.

"How, uh," he began, after a moment, trying to find what exactly were the words one used in this particular situation, "how are you... holding... up?"


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
Characters here!

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DragonSong

Risa hurried after him as best she could, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the shop before she ducked her head and just...kept walking.

She huffed a small breath of relief when he slowed down a bit. Why was he in such a hurry? There was definitely a sense of tension she got from him, but she couldn't quite place its origin.

Her eyes snapped up to him when he asked how she was holding up, surprised. What should she say? What could she say? "I'm...fine." She cleared her throat and dropped her eyes again. "Um...is there-? ...What about you?" she murmured after a few moments, chancing a glance up at him again.

nephero

Risa's response had been understandably stilted.

And honestly, Mali should have known that's exactly what the answer would be. Marriage or no, husband or no, he was still the stranger here, and giving anything other than the quiet affirmation of her well-being might have been...

Well.

A bit out of line, he supposed. Overstepping, at the very least, and while Mali's blood boiled at the thought of the man, Kenta was still Risa's father. Which leant to all manner of... decidedly complicated social rules. Stupid, stupid, useless social rules. But rules nonetheless.

He had no sooner taken a deep breath in order to settle himself down that the young woman then turned the question unto himself. For a moment, Mali was confused-- why on this entire earth would she need to ask how he was holding up? And then, just as quickly, he realized he'd been acting nothing short of a madman since they had left the shop. Right.

"I'm... very much unused to certain... cultural differences--" he began, carefully picking his words and feeling his pulse speed up; 'cultural differences' like threatening to sell off your only daughter-- no, now was not the time to revisit that, "--and admit several are... shocking, to say the least. I apologize, I must have been making it seem worse than it is."

He cleared his throat a bit, and did his best to give the younger woman a reassuring sort of smile.

"Ah, 'home', as it were, isn't much further," he gestured down the road, a little further along the main where other shops lay, "just behind the matchmaker's... it's... small, I'm afraid, but I'm sure a little maneuvering will help."

As if on cue, they turned down what seemed to be a minor "alley" between two raised stilted buildings, and stepped onto a small dock that led to a much smaller building settled on stilts just above the water. The dock wrapped around it, though there wasn't too much walking room, what with nearly every bit of available space on all three sides being taken up by barrels and pots of plants set on top of them. More pots hung from the roof's overhang, each one brimming with herbs in no apparent discernible order.

"Let me... get the door." Mali said, rushing ahead to unlock the storage shed's only door, stepping over more overgrown pots as he did so.


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
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DragonSong

A shed.

A shed?

Risa paused, eyes widened slightly as she looked from Mali to the door and back several times.

"You're...staying...here?"

It suddenly dawned on her how that must sound and she blanched, eyes going even wider. "I-I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't mean to- I wasn't trying- I didn't-" She swallowed thickly and snapped her mouth shut, not sure quite what she expected, but fairly sure it wouldn't be good.

He'd spoken of cultural differences; despite the fact that her family dealt with mainlanders more often than most, she didn't really know all that much about people not of Thanatos, what was appropriate for them.

Striking a mouthy wife? Entirely possible.

nephero

Halfway through Risa's stumbling attempts to apologize, Mali was laughing. He turned to regard her from where he had managed to reach the front door, and was in the process of trying to clear a better path for her when she had dropped that rather incredulous question.

"I know, it's... very... very cozy," he said, giving her a meaningful sort of look like he knew cozy was being exceptionally generous, "and it keeps out the rain, which... when I thought I would only be here a few months, seemed to be adequate."

He pulled out a thick key, and pressed that into the padlock that kept the door shut and potentially prying hands out of what might have once been stored there. Presently it was only Mali's belongings, but he had certainly liked the idea of added security and privacy. The last thing he needed was for some errant thief to make off with his books thinking they might be worth something. Which, to the right buyer, they absolutely were.

Also irreplaceable, which made the padlock all the more appealing.

"I have some netting, I can rig up something so you can have a space for your belongings, at least until I can negotiate a larger--" Mali stopped mid-sentence, his jaw going slack as he looked inside the shed.

Here was yet another discovery-- Mali had been unaware that he was capable of blushing as hard as he did right then, his coloring not sparing him in the slightest as every last inch of his face turned a deeper, redder shade.

And all because somehow, at some magical point, someone (his hostess) had managed to break into the shed. They (his hostess, that tiny little grandmother) had also managed to drag in several new layers of bedding, all a bright crimson red, and they (Xinyi the matchmaker may all the hellspawn of the outer realms come and steal her left damned shoe for this) had even taken the time to drape sheer cloth from the cieling to hang over the bed like a curtain.

Small buckets of water stood at the foot of the bed, which Mali had not remembered being that big and floating on the surface of the water were more vibrant red flowers, and Lord help him there were candles floating there too. Lit candles. Lit, lightly perfumed candles.

This was it. This was just it. This was how one, Mali Roue Grin, the great Shea Ru, absolutely died. Especially when he chose that moment to remember that he still had Risa behind him, and no explanation in the world would help him here.

Didn't mean he couldn't try to save some dignity, though.

"I-- I believe, that is-- it seems that I-- we-- I mean, my hostess has-- has been here. And um. With gifts?-- some... somehow. N-not that-- oh, hell."

Oh yes, perfect. Dignity utterly saved. Mali rested one hand over his face, silently willing the heat of his blush to simply melt his head off, right then and there.


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
Characters here!

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The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Netting? Well, it wasn't as though she really expected him to go to any real lengths for his unwanted house guest, so that seemed generous enough, especially for the small space that seemed to be provided.

She had to bite back a smile. Something about it was...strangely fitting.

The smile died quickly though when he opened the door and she peeked inside. Any color she might have regained immediately drained from her face.

Right. His hostess was Xinyi. And the matchmaker knew about these things. Which meant...she knew what was- well, expected.

Risa swallowed thickly and had to bite back a small whimper, glancing up at Mali. Did he-? Was he-? Dear gods. "I-I-" She swallowed thickly. "Do you want- should I-?" She cleared her throat, clutching her bags to her chest as her eyes flicked to the ground.

What the hell was she supposed to do?

nephero

As if this day couldn't possibly get any worse, what little rapport they might have begun to build was shattered. Now Risa was looking at him as if he wanted-- as if he might have planned-- like he was going to--

No.

No.

"No," he stated, quietly at first, and then firmly so.

"No," he repeated, in every single language he had ever known, which was a rather impressive catalogue all things considered. He wasn't even thinking anymore, all he knew was that everything needed to stop happening right that very minute before he lost the entirety of his mind.

Politeness be damned, appearances be damned, he was absolutely one hundred percent not going to even remotely humor this for one second longer. A quick, swiping gesture, and the candles that had been left out were summarily snuffed, leaving only the faintest wisps of smoke behind.

He continued muttering, in a low, gutteral sort of language, even as he lifted the buckets of petals and water and began fishing the plant matter out, stacking the soggy petals onto an improvised sort of work desk next to various jars and mortars and pestles. It was only when he turned back, bucket of water still in hand, that he remembered Risa was still standing there, looking understandably shaken.

So very, very understandably.

"Listen," Mali said, trying to keep his voice steady as he regarded the young woman, though it was clearly taking a very real amount of effort, "I... understand this is a very important festival. Certain things are... expected. It's supposed to be fate, Inima's grand plan, all that, I get it, I do. But that is not what I'm expecting of you."

He rubbed at the back of his neck, then, feeling remarkably worn out all of a sudden. It wasn't as if Risa wasn't pretty, that certainly wasn't the case, but she was so young and meek and HE was--

He took another breath, let it out as slowly as he dared.

"Let's just... consider this an... impromptu apprenticeship. Yes? We can... work on your stonecraft, some other studies and... go from there."


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
Characters here!

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The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Risa nearly collapsed as relief swamped through her, making her sway and clutch at the door frame for support. She watched rather distantly as Mali cleaned the flowers and candles- that was some of the most nonchalant magic she'd ever seen, and a small part of her was vaguely both fascinated and envious. If her own power weren't so closely tied to her element...

An apprenticeship?

She shook herself internally and looked up at his face, then away again quickly. "That...that seems fine, sir," she murmured.

Would she really love this man after a year? Granted, she was grateful he didn't seem to be...interested, but wasn't he supposed to be? For that matter, wasn't she?

Inima had a rather wicked sense of humor.

With a small breath, she straightened herself up and almost crept a little further into the shed. "If you...show me where to leave my things, I can- I can help tidy up a bit?" That was something a wife did. "And... I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this sort of thing, but I can cook a little, or..."

She cast about for something else she could do to earn her place here, if she was to be his apprentice more than his wife. Finally, she settled on, "I'll make some tea or...something," and glanced up at him again.

"Would- would that be alright? For...a first lesson?"

nephero

If Mali had been really paying attention to Risa rather than fervently destroying everything that spoke of amorous intent, he might have been just a little insulted at the sheer level of relief that had followed the announcement he had no interest in taking her to the marriage bed.

That being said, he himself was too ardently relieved that this was, apparently, not a grave insult to her honor and she herself would not be insisting on the matter either. That was not something he was sure he'd have been able to handle with any sort of grace, and it was too good a bit of luck to investigate much further.

At least Risa was sufficiently taken with the idea of learning. That was a good turn, and Mali hummed a bit in thought as she brought up the question of her luggage. Right, he had... considered something before the whole Bed Incident, what had that...

Right, right. He snapped his fingers, and abandoned the water buckets in favor of scrounging up what appeared to be a carefully coiled length of netting, thick and sturdy. Mali looked up at the rafters, already nearly full to the brim with impromptu shelving and stacked pots and plants. Still, he seemed to find a decent area, ironically over the headboard of the bed, and carefully strung up the netting to create a kind of hammock just low enough from the ceiling for easy reach.

"There, that should hold most of your things. There's a shelf just there, too, that you can use." Mali pointed, admittedly a little distractedly.

As for a first lesson, Mali had perked up considerably upon hearing the word "cook". He glanced around the shed, a mishmash of workshop and living space, and seemed a bit hesitant to put forth his next question.

It was with some measure of mild embarrassment, then, that he looked back over to Risa, tugging at his necklace as he asked:

"Do... you know how to make coconut soup?"


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
Characters here!

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The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Risa watched him with carefully controlled suspicion as he puttered about, eyes widening slightly when he used magic so casually but otherwise not reacting.

She nodded and smiled at his question, her first real smile since this whole thing stated. It made her look softer, and perhaps a little younger than she really was, dark eyes warming as they met his for a moment before flickering away.  "Yes, I do. I can make other Thanati dishes too, if you like, or I could try to learn some from the mainland."

She crept a little cautiously further into the shed and hefted her bags up onto the netting. She figured she could properly unpack later. "Is there, um..." She looked around and bit her lip absently. "Would you prefer I...cook outside?"

It really didn't seem like there was simply any space for a cooking fire in the little shed.

Then again, she didn't want to assume.

nephero

At Risa's nod, Mali's mouth quirked into a smile of his own. Feeling rather excited and also rather embarrassed at how excited he was getting over soup of all things, he rubbed his hands together and looked around at the cramped space.

Hm. Yes, she did have a point there. Even controlled as it would be, a fire in such limited quarters would be... very ill-advised. Very ill-advised indeed, considering it was his present goal to have at least ONE home not go up in flames. That and not being run out of a town with pitchforks, but that was kind of lumped in with the first goal. They tended to go hand in hand, after all.

"Hah, mainland dishes might rely more heavily on meat, which is... unfortunately a far more difficult thing to come by around these parts. But I'm a huge fan of local cuisine, as it were, so I'm sure whatever you know will be sufficient. As for the actual cooking though..."

He hummed a bit in thought, before, gesturing towards the one and only door. "Let's see if we can't make something happen for that. A... first lesson, I suppose."

He winked, which was a bit of a mixed effect all things considered, and pulled a pot down from somewhere in the mishmash of storage he had going on the ceiling.

He stepped back outside of the shed, then, with a little gesture for Risa to follow. He led her around the dock to the back portion of the shed, well out of sight of the main street or any passersby. The reason for this was soon apparent, as Mali set the pot down and turned to face Risa, his hands rubbing together faster before pulling apart, a small flame held in suspension between his palms.

He gave her another grin before just as quickly snuffing the flame, and gestured down at the dock at his feet.

"First lesson being: know thy elements. You work mostly with stones and earth, yes? We're going to start by making a fire pit out of this wood."


VIGILANCE WALKING THE TOAST
Characters here!

__guilds, yo__
The Territok Orcs // The Oratok Orcs // Fausteth // The Ashmen

DragonSong

Risa padded quietly after him, arms wrapped loosely around her body, hands clasping her elbows gently, and rocked up onto her toes just a bit in an effort to get a better look at what he was doing with his hands.

The spark of flame made her gasp and she jumped back a bit, eyes wide. "Th-that- you..." She blinked at him, then looked at her own hands.

"You want me to...make fire?" She shook her head quickly as she took a step back. "I- I can't. I can't do that..." Her bottom lip was clasped between her teeth, eyes blow wide open and pupils dilated.

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