Chaos And Healing, An Odd Encounter {SanctifiedSavage!}

[HeartOfFlame]

Hm, that was odd, but whatever. Kanimir shrugged, glancing down at his own boots and deciding he didn't need to stop in today. The shop front was looking a little sad, run down, business must've hit a rough spot. Another two mouths to feed probably wouldn't be appreciated, as much as they wouldn't turn away guests. He was tempted to knock anyway, impose, vex, but he retrained the urge. Instead, he fished around in his pocket for a moment, collecting the loose coins that had amassed there. A handful, not much, but better than a punch in the teeth.

He stepped up to the edge of the shop front, lifting the panel on the box set outside the closed shutters. The shoemaker let people toss their old footwear in there for repairs or revival, shoes they no longer wanted that would be recycled to the street urchins or poor people that lingered around the streets. Kanimir let his hand wander in the dark before he found a boot, deposited his handful of coins inside the opening, and slid the panel back down.

The night was quiet, compared to some. It was peaceful in a not-quite-irritating kind of way. Every now and then, he could stomach some silence, a little break. He'd spent a half hour slaughtering a group of men earlier in the night, that had quelled a little of his constant need for activity, motion, chaos.

He looked back to Keithia, slightly put out that he had come this way when she didn't even want shoes, but not really bothered either way. He hadn't asked her earlier, to be fair, and he didn't mind the walk. All roads led to home eventually. Well, not that he really called the Chateau 'home', but that sounded better than 'all road lead to place I own but don't really care for to be honest.'

He yawned, not bothering to lift a hand to cover the movement, and looked upwards, taking in the star filled sky for a moment. He wondered what the sky looked like in Yoreiq, out in the untainted air of the isles. He'd heard about the place here and there, from various sailors and travellers who'd visited the isles. They were supposed to be a nice place, welcoming, friendly. Boring. Still...he couldn't call himself a world traveler without actually travelling all over the world, could he?

He considered the nymph waiting patiently for him to make up his mind what he was doing. Hm. Maybe. He liked spur of the moment decisions. This would count. Then again, she might not want to go back. He'd see.

"Alright." He scrubbed a hand down his face, turning to continue walking down the side street. It came out somewhere near the Chateau, from memory. A couple streets over, maybe. "To the Chateau."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

It didn't occur to her, even then, that they'd walked this entire way just to get her shoes. Even though the place they stopped in front of had something to do with shoes. Or, she assumed, from the sign. He might've wanted to place an order or the like, but rarely would she be brought anywhere and handed anything at that moment in time.

But he'd asked and she'd answered.

Keithia watched him consider. He wasn't easy to read, per say, because she certainly had no idea what the man was thinking, but that didn't stop her from trying to figure out what was going on. As far as Keithia could tell, he would not need her. What purpose would she serve him?

She'd soon find out, she supposed.

This time, when they started walking, she didn't pay him nearly as much attention. Letting her eyes wander up and to the sky. He wasn't the needy sort who had demanded her sole focus and she'd take the risk to look at the stars. They were unfamiliar to her. Constellations she did not know and patterns she didn't recognize, but they were still stars. A vast tapestry that reminded her that there was a world outside of this grungy city.

What it might hold, she had no idea. But it comforted her to know that this was but one place and, out there, were places people were not. When he said they were going to the Chateau, she assumed it was his home. Or his place. Her new place.

So be it.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

They walked in silence, the atmosphere surprisingly pleasant, despite the lack of distractions. Nim found himself creating sparks in his palms several times, watching the not-quite flames of Rivening dance between his fingers like little wind fairies. He tried not to do that within Connloath, in its current state of extreme magic prejudice, but with a habit as old as that one, it was near impossible to stop himself when his mind wandered.

Soon enough, they came to the streets where the houses began too thin out, packed less like sardines and spread with space for privacy between each household. He didn't need to look to know the nymph was still behind him, both knowledge he had gained so far of her temperament and the steady patter of her bare feet on the cobbles enough to let him know of her continued presence.



The majority of the windows in the Chateau were lit, light pouring from the open doorway as they approached up the long path, the loose stone of the courtyard crunching underfoot. Figures came and went in the rectangle of light, some carrying baskets, others clothing and linen, and a quiet hubbub overflowed out through the doors to add a certain warmth to the air outside. Despite himself, Kanimir smiled. This ragtag group of ex-slaves and convicts, both human, half breeds, and other exotic species, had made this place much more of a home than he ever could have.

He did look to Keithia, then, gauging her reaction as they crossed the last few meters to the threshold, no doubt seen already, or going to be soon. There were so many sets of eyes in the large house it was always only a matter of time before one of them spotted his approach, especially when he brought a new addition to the household.

By the time they were within arm's reach of the door, a young, female voice had broken through the gentle chatter of those living within, and a few of those milling around the open entrance turned to greet him, surging forwards in a loose circle.

"Kanimir's back!" "Master Kanimir! So good to see you again." "Who's this young one? Will she be joining us?" "Oh! Look at her pretty horns, what a sweetie!"

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

The people around Keithia weren't much of a distraction as they walked down the street. She didn't care who they were, what they were, or what they did. If anything, they were quite out of her concern. The nymph's regard for humans was subpar, at best, so she only tended to pay attention to them when she was forced to.

Such as when one bought her. All the other species and races she might come into contact with were unknowns and unknowable, which didn't really sit well with her either. In that, she was apathetic. It wasn't that she was expecting to be excited, or pleased, to see anyone. The thought she might be happy to see another living creature never occurred to Keithia because it hadn't happened since she'd left her glen.

She was, however, happy to see the Chateau if only because there was space between it and the next place. Space meant actual ground. If she were able, that's where Keithia most wanted to be. Under a clean sky on natural ground.

The longing was real, writ across her face for a breath as they approached, before she schooled herself with hard neutrality. Afraid, for a moment, that it might have been seen and thus used against her. That didn't last long, however, as when the doors were open she was greeted with... well, she didn't know how to process the greeting. A myriad of people, their voices overlapping, hit her sensitive ears and she narrowed her eyes while she tried to hear it all without being overwhelmed.

Keithia stood her ground, though, and tried to take it all in. Looked at each in turn, trying to pin down who was what in regard to their place in the Chateau. What their open manner really meant and how she was to fit in all this. All it really boiled down to was a small frown of confusion playing itself on her face as she invariably looked to Kanimir.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Kanimir met them with open arms, so to speak, letting the younger ones push in around his legs and latch onto his frame, a chuckle breaking from him as one in particular, a satyr child he had found being used as a pack horse, firmly attached himself to Nim's arm. The group around them was varied in ages, species, ethnicities, but they were all the family they had found. No one had a specific standing in the Chateau, as strange as it might seem from the outside. He had drawn together a group of people who had been forced into specific work and chores, in was inevitable that the system they worked out for themselves was one decidedly less strict. Everyone did what they were comfortable with and happy to do, so long as everything was done and everyone did their part, it worked. He was glad for them.

He reached down to ruffle the hair of the twins stationed firmly at his waist with his free hand, a pair of hellions he had come across in a mercenary camp in the Valley a year or two back. They stuck to him like glue every time he came through, acting as his own personal retinue. It was kind of endearing, and apparently hadn't faded since his last visit. He let the words of all the gathered wash over him, not really listening to any of it, aware that if anything was actually important enough for him to have to deal with, they would come find him later and address it in a more controlled manner.

He felt eyes on him, and looked over to find Keithia, looking vaguely uncomfortable and more than slightly lost. He grinned, fingers entangled in the hair of the closest twin at his waist, that strangely welcome warmth engrossing him in its comfort. This wasn't his home, he had never really gone in for that kind of thing, preferred to live and travel light, but it was probably as close as he would ever get to making ties to one place. No, not the place, the people. This strange group he had adopted, they were his ties.

He freed his hand from the thoroughly ruffled hair and spread his arm, creating a little space towards the nymph. "This is Keithia, from Yoreiq." He introduced her warmly, eyes darting through the crowd in search of Tyka. She would be most offended if he passed Keithia's "induction" into the household onto someone else.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia wasn't sure what to think about it all. Neither did she know what anyone really was. She'd had limited exposure to things since leaving her island home, and what exposure she had been mostly human. Or what she thought was human. So all of this was just... There was a degree of shock that was still writ on her. Trying to process who they all were, what they were saying, and what was really happening in that moment.

Obviously, this was not going to be like the last place. But she didn't know what that meant. Keithia had been a nymph tethered to a glen, tending to the land that in turn, nourished her. Then, ripped from that, she'd been brought and sold to various people who made it quite clear what it was they wanted her to do and how she was to do it.

This? This was a chaos she didn't know how to deal with. A sense of constrained freedom that certainly had bounds and limitations, but because she didn't know what they were, or how to interact with any of these people, she just... didn't know what to do. Being told what was expected of her made things easy. Gave order to her broken life and, though it was painful and horrendous, at least made things clear cut.

This... She didn't know what to do with this. So she remained in place. Hands clasped in front of her. Her gray eyes moved from one person to the next, occasionally flicking back to Kanimir, as though waiting for some cue as to what it was she was supposed to do. What was her role in all this? Because the nymph had no idea.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

He found the woman at the edge of the crowd, her dark silver hair visible above the heads of most of those around him. She was a tall woman, originally hailing from the tundras of Hyoite, and his first 'acquisition'. He smiled upon meeting her gaze, beckoning her closer with his free hand. The group party to let her through and she moved into the space with a casual grace, every movement deliberate and calm. She came to stand at his side, towering over him and Keithia, both, yet exuding an air of soothing calm that washed over all in her presence.

Kanimir had never been able to truly decide if Tyka was magic or not. She claimed not, but he had his suspicions that she might have been something of an empath. Either way, all those he had slowly but surely placed under her care in the Chateau loved her, if not at first, than by the time they had broken through the bonds of their previous lives. He glanced back at Keithia, lifting his hand towards Tyka invitingly.

"Keithia, this is Tyka, she kind of runs things here, as much as one can." He glanced up at the tall woman, meeting her calm, dark eyes with a mischievous grin. "She'll look after you."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia remained where she'd stood initially. Letting the rest of it sort of exist around her. There but not really apart of what was going on. Closed off from it all. She didn't know how to really be a part of anything. Not since she'd been removed quite violently from the one thing she'd been connected to – her siblings and the glen.

Size didn't intimidate Keithia. It was always someone's bearing toward her. How they held themselves. A certain sense about them. She couldn't read expression, or intent behind it, but she could get a general feel for someone. At least when they approached her with intent to harm or violence. Tyka did not give her that impression, so she did not shy away. Rather, as she had with Kanimir when he'd met her in the entry hall, she peered up at the woman. Curious, and a little off kilter because of what was going on.

If anything, she was also faintly relieved. Having some direction, someone to look to for clarity, was nice. The chaos and confusion of her arrive had stunned her into stillness but this, having another she could expect to tell her what must be done next, helped clear things up. At least in regards to what she should do or what she shouldn't. Keithia wasn't one who needed rules to live by – she'd been born into a carefree life – but since she'd arrived at this city, rules had kept her from being hurt and it was all she knew to keep herself safe.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Tyka's face cracked in a thin smile, not really warm or threatening, just an expression on a face. She wasn't much for displaying emotions through gestures or words, but how one acted and lived. A big believer in 'actions speak louder than words'. Still, she was a woman who knew exactly how to carry herself and was perfectly confident in her life and her role. She looked Keithia up and down once, nose wrinkling slightly at the state of her attire. Compared to her own colourful attire - a form fitting vest dyed a light sky blue accompanied by a calf-length, deep plum skirt - the simple cream dress was clearly not up to snuff.

Kanimir chuckled slightly at the familiar look, he'd seen it many times before when bringing her new additions to the household. He could imagine by the morning Keithia would be dressed in far more personalised clothing, if she had the courage to make that decision, or else Tyka's own style. The group around them had quiet now, the initial rush of excitement from his return fading to quiet pleasure at his company - a strange thought any day - and he waved a hand loosely, shoving his shoulder gently into the nearest shoulder to get the gathering moving.

"Come on then, you lot of loitering bastards. Get inside." He chuckled, mirth in every word. They responded in kind, soft snickers and smiles the familiar reply, and they moved towards the doorway and the home beyond as a group. Tyka stuck close to Keithia's side, watching her master be swept inside by the tide of bodies and creating a little bubble of space around the decidedly jarred nymph. Kanimir was content to leave her in the older woman's care and knew she would probably respond better to a gradual integration into the group dynamic rather than suddenly being thrust into the maelstrom.

Tyka paused in the entrance hall, a wide open space decorated only with a few drapes around the windows and a plush, but worn, rug. Personal affects littered the place in a neat sort of mess, everything appearing to belong to someone and be well worn and loved. It made it feel homely, like living, breathing people actually lived there, rather than the stiff, stagnant atmosphere found in the homes of most nobles and owners who would find a creature like Keithia attractive as an ornament.

The Hyoite woman looked her over again, her lips tilting downwards though her aura remained the same. She looped her thumbs into the belt around the top of her skirt, posture sagging slightly as she relaxed, clearly at ease. "A bath and some fresh clothes." She said, the words neither a question nor an order, just a statement. These are things and they are available.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia did relax some. It was a natural reaction to being in a place where there wasn't any aggression or violence. There was no reason to be tense, no reason to expect anything bad to happen to her. The shock had been what had made her tense initially, but that was wearing off too. Her hands fell to her sides, as opposed to being clasped so in front of her, and she watched the others react without a sense of uptight confusion.

Just a sense of being adrift in a world she did not know. Which was precisely what she was.

Keithia gravitated toward Tyka and the solid, sturdy presence she represented. Someone who knew what was going on and would direct Keithia in kind. A calm in the presence of so much movement. She liked that, though she wouldn't be able to put into words why – or even that she did. Going inside was not something the nymph wanted, but she did anyway. It's what was expected, so she did without complaint.

One last, quick peek at the sky before she committed herself to another enclosed space. No building would ever be spacious enough, vast enough, with enough windows, for her. They all smelt of confined human, though this one smelt more of creatures. Not just human. It carried less the smell of stress and fear, too. Such things tainted fabrics and porous surfaces, where the reek of such things soaked in and lingered. An acidic, sharp smell that tainted the base scent of whatever creature it came from.

This place lacked such an acrid scent, and that too, helped. It didn't make the walls better, but it helped.

Keithia peered around once she was in. Décor choices didn't mean anything to her and where one place might be cluttered with priceless artifacts and expensive draperies, and another barren, she wouldn't have understood the difference. Human tastes were just that – human. To her, it was all crafted wood, shaped metal, and woven fabric put in places that must be pleasing to them but were forever foreign to her.

Once she had taken it in, she looked to Tyka. The statement lingered a moment before Keithia nodded a little. Fresh water was always a blessing, if it were indeed that, and she didn't mind clothes. The need for them around people had become rapidly apparent, so she appreciated the barrier. Besides, something as normal and routine as a bath would be welcome.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Tyka nodded and moved forwards, her skirts swishing with the long, confident pace of her stride. She did not adjust for the slighter woman, trusting her to keep up one way or another, and moved into the room through which the main mass of the household had disappeared with Kanimir a few moments earlier. A stairwell rose up on the right and she turned to follow it, not ascending but walking through another doorway attached to the wall of the stairs. This led into another hall with several doors, and she stepped into the first room there.

The room held a large sunken area, filled with water and holding a wet taste to the air. Condensation clung to the walls and made the cold tiles underfoot slightly slippery for bare feet. A few wooden benches lined the walls, a clearly hand carved rack of sorts settled in the corner and hanging several plain towels. Tyka moved over to the edge of the large, rectangular pool, kneeling on the raised lip and trailing her fingers through the water. She hummed in a considering way, her expression hardly shifting from the original one she had worn upon meeting the nymph, and glanced up.

"Hot, warm, or mild?" She asked, the first quest for a preference from the slight woman. It was a simple question, yet the Hyoite woman knew that, to one who had been oppressed and taught to simply take what was given, whatever that might be, it could actually be quite an ask.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia had no problem keeping up. She certainly looked slender and frail, but nymphs were by their nature hardy. If anything, she'd been a little revitalized just from the momentary stint outside. She'd have been a poor creature of nature's spirit indeed if she was slow and so easily bruised. Keithia did have to walk quicker, of course. The woman was taller than she was and her stride was easily three of Keithia's normal, but she didn't complain or mind.

Movement never bothered her.

The nymph was making idle note of the way they were going. Starting to commit to memory the layout. Not because she was planning some grand escape, but because it was frequently required of her to know where to go once she'd been shown a place. That and she didn't want to get lost in a box – a house – or whatever they liked to call it. So she tracked where they went and how they got there.

Upon arriving, she stepped in and took a moment to absorb this room too. How wet the air, the tiles, and her feet became upon entry was nice. A smile threatened, but didn't, extend across her face. She liked this room, Keithia decided. As much as any room in a human house could be, it was the nicest. The smell of water dominated and destroyed the scent of anything else. It was... well, it was a relief to her.

"Any," Keithia answered. It might have seemed an agreeable answer for one who had been in a life of servitude, but it was also the truth. The water temperature didn't really matter to the nymph. She loved it all. She experienced nearly the entire spectrum, from the hot waters of her island home, to the chill of the ocean, to the stark cold of water thrown on her upon arriving in human lands. She loved it all. Water was water and every temperature range had its merits to her. But, because she had been asked a specific question, she quickly corrected with a real answer, "Hot." Close to home, then.

It was an effort to remain in place, waiting. She wanted to shuck the cloth and just... climb in. Stay in the water, in the room where it smelt of just that and nothing else, but she waited. Expression carefully neutral and her hands clasped in front of her to stop her from fidgeting.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Tyka nodded, swishing the water for a moment more before standing and drying her fingers on the edge of her skirt. She beckoned the Nymph forwards, her eyes running over the plain dress she wore with that same look of mild dissatisfaction. It was there and gone in a moment, her attention refocused on stepping to the side and allowing Keithia closer to the pool. She moved over to the side of the room and pulled a small, wicker basket out from under one of the benches, placing it close to the smaller woman.

"Put your clothes in here and set it by the door, someone will collect it later." She stated softly, already heading for the door. "There are towels over there, take as long as you wish."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia moved forward when she was called for, feet firm on the wet tiles. It'd be a sad day when a nymph slipped on a wet surface. Her hair was fanitly damp, as though the water wanted to cling to her, which she didn't mind at all. She lightly gripped her own hand while she waited, patient but quietly excited.

Her dark gray eyes regarded Tyka when she gave her instruction. Clothes in the basket, by the door. Location of the towels, which was the expected way that Keithia would dry herself. But it was the last part that had her eyes widen just a little. Noticeable if someone were looking for it. Take as long as you wish.

Keithia remained where she was until Tyka left and she was alone. Then, smoothly, she pulled the shift of a dress off of her and put it in the basket. Folded neatly. The basket was put near the door, as she'd been instructed, before Keithia made for the bath. Though she'd been through a lot and ate as little as any servant might, she'd retained a healthy weight and shape. Not all of Keithia's nourishment came from physical sustenance. Being in the city certainly didn't help and feeling stifled in a boxed room never made her feel well, but unless someone was going to entomb her in a metal box, it would take a long time to starve her.

With a small, private smile, she eagerly slipped into the hot water. Near dunking herself and lingering there with her eyes partially closed. It was everything she'd wanted. A hot, sweet embrace that she did not wish to leave any time soon. The smell and press of water around her chased away the rest of the world for awhile and, as she situated herself against the edge of the tub comfortably, Keithia invariably fell asleep in the tub. Comfortable for the first time in so long and relaxed as much as she could be. Her head pillowed on her folded arms.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

By the time Kanimir managed to pull himself away from the eager members of the household, night had truly fallen. Darkness lingered outside the brightly lit windows, the chill of night's embrace creeping through the entrance halls as he moved through the Chateau. It was kind of pleasant, a breath of crisp, cool air washing over him, bringing with it the varied scents of the city and the lands beyond. It tasted slightly burnt in his mouth, like the aftertaste of an overcooked meal. The scent of ash was common on the winds these days.

He sighed, wriggling his fingers in response to that near constant itch racing beneath his skin, and refocused on his previous task. He hadn't seen Keithia or Tyka since arriving earlier, but he knew the Hyoite woman's first priority would have been getting Keithia new clothes and probably a bath. He smirked slightly at that thought, pulling at the collar of his own shirt. He'd been traipsing through the Connloathian wilds for nearly a week with no more water than he carried in his flask, it was well past time he looked to his own hygiene as well. Preferably before Tyka came after him with a bucket of ice water and soap.

That mildly amusing thought - and memory - in mind, Kanimir turned away from the darkness lingering beyond the Chateau doors and made his way towards the pool room, as the residents of the house were want to call it. He wasn't sure what it had been originally, just a pit in a room when he'd 'acquired' the Chateau and the land it sat on, but he had seen it, and the large kitchen furnaces directly beneath the floor boards, and taken an opportunity. How the furnaces were kept hot enough to heat the water to any desired temperature at any given time of the day, well...that was their little secret.

The door was shut when he arrived, and he felt a split-second's hesitation, hand raised to the door knob, as to whether he should enter unannounced. He paused, lower lip caught between his teeth, then shrugged and rapped the knuckles of his other hand on the wooden surface. He had a feeling Keithia would not be in any hurry to leave the water, but he wasn't exactly prepared to just leave her unchecked for such an extended period of time either. It was not that he thought the nymph would run, she seemed too docile for that, but she seemed to lack direction, a purpose, and leaving her alone for too long still seemed like an advanced move, rather than her current state of mind.

The door swung inwards almost silently, and he stepped in cautiously, glancing from wall to wall to ensure he wasn't going to catch the poor creature unawares. He wasn't by any means prudish, or for the most part respectful, but there was a thin line between disrespect and ignoring basic human decency, and as a general rule he tried to stay on the safe side.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia slept. Content and comfortable, warm and in a deep sleep. With no one to rouse her and not in an uncomfortable box or stuffy room. Rather, she was surrounded by the sweet smell of water and caressed by the warmth, she just slept. Like she hadn't in a long time. Dreamless.

Right up until there was a knock on the door. She resisted being roused, but her mind eventually connected to reality and reminded her where she was, what was going on, and that she should actually wake up.

It was to Keithia stretching in the center of the pool, arms over her head and back arched, that Kanimir entered. Her long black hair was fanned out around her waist and clung to the rest of her like inky webbing. Lazily, her dark gray eyes regarded him. Normally, she might be concerned about not having any clothes – not because she cared about nudity, but because she'd learned humans could be grabby – but he wasn't human. So she didn't care. It also helped that she was infinitely more relaxed now than when she'd arrived and couldn't think of a reason to be anything other than.

So, she asked softly, "Did you need something?" Expectant and attentive, she watched him as her arms settled in the water and idly played with her hair.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

She looked relaxed, floating idly in the middle of the pool with her hair spread out like a dark, inky puddle, body bared. A smile pulled at one corner of his lip, the door shutting softly behind him, and he shook his head, mildly amused. It was good to see she had taken the first step, clearly more comfortable in the water than the cold stone walls of some fancy mansion. Technically, she was still inside, but this was different. Kanimir got that, he felt the same many times.

There was, after all, a reason he wandered, a deeper one than just searching for work and wanting to see the world. It was often just as hard for him to contain his own chaotic soul as it was for others.

He let a chuckle slip through his lips, padding slowly into the room and lowering himself by the edge of the pool, one leg tucked under him, the other lifting his knee near his chin. He leaned forwards and ran his fingers through the water, hot against his skin, but not overbearingly. He liked the heat, the warmth of sun, fire, or anything hot, really, felt similar to the race of Rivening through his veins, but less destructive.

"No," He replied to her soft, expectant question, lifting his other hand to run through his hair. Greasy. 'Gross', "Just wanted to make sure you hadn't drowned or something."

He quirked a lopsided smile with the words, his voice echoing slightly in the large, empty room. Condensation had begun to settle on his skin, damp and warm, turning his earthy skin darker with the dirt hidden on his arms. He needed a bath too, but he wasn't going to impose on the nymph's enjoyment of the warm waters, a long needed comfort, he could see.

He frowned slightly, fingers drawing lazy ripples in the surface of the pool, and glanced over at Keithia again. She didn't seem to mind his gaze, whether from conditioning or just not caring that he could see, well, everything. Another muted smile, bland amusement.

"Where do you come from, Keithia? Nymph's normally have a specific area they watch over, right? Can you tell me about it?" He kept his voice gentle, trying to show that she had a choice as to how much, or how little, she imparted. Whatever the events that had led her to Connlaoth, in the manner he had found her, could not be pleasant.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

It didn't bother her, either, that he entered and it was just the two of them. Still now she didn't sense any manner of hostility or aggression in his movements, so she didn't tense and didn't worry. Instead, she just watched him with the same wide eyed curiosity she had when they'd first met. Keithia had nothing to hide, obviously, and so her own interest was writ across her face.

Not even once he was close to the water did she shy away or move from where she was. Not because she thought of the tub as his but because the proximity didn't bother her. There was no reason for it to. Clothes had been introduced to her upon her arrival and, initially, she had hated them as much as the humans that had caught her. The only reason for them, she'd learned, was to keep hands and unwanted attention away from her. Personal space was another thing that had never been an issue until she'd arrived.

It just wasn't a thing nymphs worried about. Relaxed and unconcerned as she was, he didn't bother her. She noted the hand he ran through his hair and even quirked a brow when he expressed some concern she might've drowned. Was that a joke?

"I had been created in a glen. I only knew its name as home." Her eyes remained on him as she spoke. No pain, no sense of loss. This was the past and it had already been writ. She could not change it. "I lived there with my sisters. Slavers came and tried to take us all, but when they did, my sisters died when they lost their connection to the glen. Only I survived." Talking about it was not painful.

The memory of their deaths certainly was, and she did not revisit it in her mind. Keithia didn't want to relive that particular event then, so she simply spoke of it. Quick and clean. To linger was to think on it, and she did not want to. "I suspect, now that we are all gone, the glen has faded as my own color has faded." The death of her sisters and her absence would mean whatever magic, whatever had made the glen home, would be gone too. She knew that as she knew she must breath and that the sun would rise.

There was nothing to go back to.

Idly, she pulled her hair to the side, collecting it to one place in the water, and gently offered, "Did you need to bathe? There is enough space for two of us." It had been the gesture through his hair that made her think as much and she did not want him to think she was lording over it. That was not how a nymph behaved.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

He listened in silence, let her speak at her own pace, watched the lack of emotions in her eyes. The events she spoke of didn't pain her, not now, but he could sense a lingering feeling of loss in the words, even through the neutral way she spoke. Kanimir had never really lost anything like that, he didn't make ties to have broken, never had. Even his father's death, those years ago when he was still just a boy, hadn't affected him as deeply as perhaps it should have. The man was a man, human, mortal. Kanimir was mortal too, one day he would die as his father had died, but that was the future, as his father's death was the past, and he would face it when it arrived. Most likely with silver tongue and sword.

He shook himself out of his thoughts, his hand momentarily stilled in its quiet movements through the water. Her words explained her colouring, at least, the bland, almost monochromatic tone to her eyes, hair, and skin all seeming slightly odd previously. He had been led to believe nymphs were creatures of life and nature, but if she had been cut off from her home, her source of magic, it would make sense.

A stifled sound, somewhere between a laugh and a chuff of air, broke from him as his gaze staggered between her and the water, a brief moment of consideration, then he shrugged. "Well, Mehan wouldn't approve, but yes."

The thought of the stiff, elven man brought another smirk to his face as he shifted his legs to sit cross-legged on the pool lip, untying his braces and removing his shirt before starting on the braids in his hair. The thin one beside his ear was tangled around the thin silver band he used to keep it tied, and a wince shot briefly across his face as he tugged at it with nimble fingers, the expression swiftly turning into a neutral frown, bordering on exasperated.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

With the story of her home told and no further questions, Keithia let the idea of it all go away. Previous owners had been curious too, thinking her some exotic thing to be colored so. But she was not. Just a nymph whose home had been ruined. It was a droll story, in all truth, and short in its telling. The only real weight to it were in her memories, and she did not wish to share those.

They haunted Keithia when she was alone.

Idly, the nymph watched him as he decided he would. Communal bathing was rather common, or had been, for her and her sisters. Here it was... odd. Some servants did so, others did not. Some valued the privacy, some wished for the company. Figuring out who was which was not Keithia's strong suit, so she simply offered when it was her choice to do so, and only when she felt comfortable to do so. Thus far, Kanimir had done nothing to her to make her think this was a bad idea.

She watched him fuss with his hair for a long breath before, unbidden, she thought of one of her sisters doing much the same. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth and she moved to him. Gently, she brushed his hands away and untangled the braid for him. Having hair as long as her own, and sisters much the same, it was an easy thing to do. Requiring some manner of patience.

When she was done, Keithia moved back to where she was, idly gathering up her own hair so it would not be in the way once he got in the water. Unbidden, she remarked, "You are odd." It wasn't meant as an insult and, given her tone, she meant it as a curious statement. Followed by, "Why did you request me as payment?"

@HeartOfFlame