Chaos And Healing, An Odd Encounter {SanctifiedSavage!}

[HeartOfFlame]

The meal passed in companionable conversation, the ebb and flow of voices keeping steady for the entirety of the meal. Kanimir kept a quiet eye on Keithia, as he was want to do with any new addition during the first introduction to the household in its entirety. He wasn't sure when the group living in the Chateau had gotten so big - Tyka's badly hidden looks of smug knowing were getting a little rankling - but he was aware they could be a little intimidating at times. Not because of aggression or suspicion, but simply because they were all learning and mostly young and curious. They wanted to know things, and sometimes that was painful.

To him, there was little change. They were all used to his spontaneous comings and goings, accepting him back into the fold just as readily now as they ever had, sharing conversation and food alike as thought he had never been gone. It was a strange comfort to know there would always be this strange little...settlement, to return to should he ever find himself in trouble he was not able to extract himself from personally. Not that he worried that would ever be the case. He was smarter than that.

Eventually, the food was gone and the conversation had, and the large group began to disperse, some leaving to perform other chores around the house, others collecting the empty plates and mugs and beginning to bustle out of the room at the opposite end to which he and Keithia had entered, hauling the cutlery back down to the kitchen. Tyka stood and started assisting, but Kanimir quickly rose and leaned across the table to still her hands, meeting her eyes with a boyish smile.

"Let the 'little tyke' help out. I won't be here for long." He offered, the smile turning a little lopsided. She simply regarded him for a moment, stormy eyes crinkling a little at the corners as she released the plate in her hand and settled back down into her chair.

"True. I'd best flog you while I have you."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

She was set in a sort of automation. These things she knew how to do. Pick up after a meal. Keithia might not know where to go, but she could figure that out by following the others that were likewise cleaning up, so she did just that. There were a couple that were eager to show her what to do and how to do it when they realized she was helping them. The new person.

Her practiced smile remained in place and she did as instructed, helping to clear the table and, eventually, helping to clean the dishes. Things she'd been taught during her time in various households. Such chores were generally universal, she found. It was just a matter of where, and that was easy enough with some observation.

When it was all done, a couple of those she'd been working alongside offered for her to sleep in their room. Wanting to learn more, to talk, so she'd have company, but Keithia ultimately, politely, declined and made her way back to the room where Kanimir and Tyka had remained with a now clean table. She didn't want to impose on whatever conversation they might be having, so she stepped just in the doorway then simply kneeled out of the way. A way to patiently wait without standing and seeming to be, well, impatiently waiting. 

It didn't bother her to do so and, as she knelt, she started to loosely braid her now mostly dry hair.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

It was all done in controlled speed, a Kanimir only making two trips down to the kitchen before being politely shoed out by a middle aged ginger he still remembered wearing wire manacles and barely able to speak. He left them to it, content to return to the dining room and lounge comfortably, seated on the table edge with his heels on the bench seat. Tyka snorted around the smoking pipe she had produced from somewhere in her skirts, but didn't admonish him. He grinned.

They sat in the warm silence, content in each other's company and with nothing needing to be said. They had known each other a long time, Tyka knew him perhaps better than any other he had met throughout his years, and he was comfortable in the knowledge that if anything was bothering her, she would speak of it.

Glancing towards the doorway, and the voices audible beyond, he blew a breath through his cheeks. "Alli's doing well. His hands seemed to have healed nicely."

Tyka didn't move aside from a slight twitch of her eyebrows, eyes closed and soft puffs of smoke escaping her mouth. "Yes. He has grown much more confident. What about Keithia, what will you do with her?"

Blunt as always. Yet, he would hardly have her any other way. He chuffed air, stretching his legs out and running a hand through the softly curled fuzz around his face, now mostly dry. "She's coming with me. Wants to travel."

Tyka made a harrumphing sound, but didn't elaborate, and after a moment, Kanimir looked over towards the door downstairs again, finding the subject of their brief conversation kneeling just inside, braiding her dark hair. He smiled again, almost unconsciously, and stood with a twist of his hips.

"Want to see you room for tonight, Keithia? I'm thinking one with a balcony."


@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia looked up from her hair, having braided it halfway, when her name was said. She didn't move from her kneeling position even though Kanimir had stood. At the mention of a room, she considered a moment. Normally, she would have accepted that and simply went along with whatever was handed to her.

But. That wasn't really how things were done here. The rules were a little different.

The nymph smoothed the tunic over her thighs before she stood and asked, soft and careful, "Would it be a bother if I just slept outside?" She could just sleep on the balcony, but that implied worked stone and wood beneath her. She hadn't slept outside, beneath the open sky, on natural soil in... Well. She couldn't remember the last time. They'd let her linger in the water for hours and pick out clothing that was comfortable, so she thought... maybe he would grant her this, too.

There certainly didn't seem to be any harm in asking. Her face was carefully neutral, mostly because she didn't want to reveal anything should the request be denied for whatever reason. Neither was she getting her hopes up should that be the case. It was just a timid question, a probe of what would be allowed. She wasn't expecting it but it was worth asking, building up on what she'd experienced thus far.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

He blinked at the request, not expecting it, but somehow not surprised either. He glanced briefly at Tyka, who shrugged, and let his brows lift in a so-so sort of expression. "Yea, sure. If you won't get cold."

He rocked back and forwards on his heels a little, digging his toes into the thready carpet underneath their feet. It made sense, he supposed. She had relished the chance to stay in the water and he hadn't missed the way she perked up while they were outside. It was natural for a creature of nature, torn from it, to wish to have the next closest thing. Offering Tyka a briefly raised hand in parting, two fingers curling in a wave of sorts, he turned towards the entrance and smothered a yawn with his other hand.

It had been another long day.

"I'll show you the garden," he offered Keithia without really turning around,"It's not big but it'll be better than sleeping in the courtyard."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia shook her head a little at the spoken concern about her getting cold. It'd have to be... well, really really cold for it to be a discomfort. Thus far, she hadn't experienced such temperature there. Though certainly warmblooded, the nymph's comfort wasn't tied expressly to the external temperature around her but more by her environment. Getting to actually sleep outside was about the best way to end the day.

She didn't know the difference between a garden or a courtyard, but so long as it was outside she didn't really mind. Keithia would've slept in the street if it were a choice between that and a bed. Stone, even the cobble of the road, was preferred over the enclosed space around a bed and oppressive blanket. Keithia wanted to feel the air move over her, the vast sky over her, and some sense of ground beneath her. That was real peace. She'd tolerate the smell of humans around her if it meant she could have those things.

Once they started walking, she murmured a soft, "Thank you. You've been very kind to me."

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

A thank you for being kind. Kanimir huffed a silent laugh, head shaking from side to side slightly in amusement. The world was truly strange. While he was certainly not bothered by the things he had done in his lifetime, there were definitely those who would take great offence to anyone implying that he knew kindness. And they'd probably be right; he didn't do it to be kind, he did it because...well,  he hadn't precisely figured out the why, but he had a feeling part of it was because it wasn't what people expected.

All the people he had 'shown kindness' too seemed to think of him as some kind of savour, a good man who wanted to do right by them. He didn't like to disappoint them - maybe that meant he was a slightly good man - but the truth he had come to believe was far more simple and far more shallow.

He shook off the thoughts, finding his mind had wandered and they were already back on the ground floor at the rear of the house. A single door led to the outside here, and he pushed it open with a quick glance at Keithia. As he had said, the garden was not large, barely twenty meters square, but it was green and colourful and had a decorative fountain in the middle. The place had been left to run a little wild, a path trodden through the grass and stretching flower bushes, leaves from the spreading trees covering the ground. He smiled. It looked just right for a nature nymph.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia followed him through the house, idly looking around so she could orientate herself should she need to walk through it. It was almost habit, now. Memorizing hallways and oppressive spaces. She was reasonably certain she could get back to the entry hall, the kitchen, and the bathing room. Definitely the bathing room.

Once he had opened the door, she peered around him to see what might be beyond. There was still the faint scent of the city, but it wasn't as oppressive. Rather, it was just over the sweet scent of flowers, shrubs, grasses, and some trees. Keithia actually made a small squeal of delight and dashed past him. She'd seen garden. Containered plants, cobbled pathways, trimmed bushes and flowered vines woven into ornate metal works. But this?

This was lovely. Untamed and fresh, green and vivid. It didn't even occur to Keithia to say anything to Kanimir because she was just gone. Wanting to feel the grass beneath her feet, leaves under her hands, and lose herself, if only for a little while, in something that wasn't manmade.

She'd spend the rest of the night idly wandering the small space, acquainting herself with the plants there, and eventually finding a tucked away place to curl up and go to sleep.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

She slipped past him into the overgrown garden with a sound of delight, the first sound he had heard from her that was not controlled, or slightly muted. He felt suddenly glad the garden had been let go, the fact it brought joy to the displaced nymph somehow enough to make him unbothered by the vines creeping closer to the door, bushes spreading their leaves up the stones walls of the Chateau. Keithia was lost in the comfort of the wilderness, and he stepped back into the house with a soft smile.

Satisfied that all was well within the household, Kanimir set his sights on rest for himself, an air of tiredness dogging his steps as he moved back upstairs and wandered through the halls to his own room. It was kept free of dust and cobwebs, a few candles burning on the nightstand already, and he didn't bother removing his clothing before falling into it, relaxing in the soft mattress and leaning over to blow out the softly glowing candles. Darkness descended, and he let it claim him wholly.

He slept easily, flickering images dancing behind his lids in fragments throughout the night, and woke to the sun in his face and sheets askew around him. His hair had escaped from its ponytail some time in the night, and he brushed it back out of his face as he sat up and smothered a yawn. The curtains and windows were both still open from the night before, and the scent of the city in early morning was carried in on the cold air. He wrinkled his nose, running a hand over his crumpled shirt idly, and squinted into the sun.

Keithia. Right. She was probably still in the garden. A smile pulled at his dry lips at the thought of the nymph, her sweet innocence somehow warming, even just thinking of it. There was something about her that made him want to smile, and not in the usual, mischievous way, or the sinister, toothy smile he had perfected for giving his clients shivers. She was different, maybe because she was inhuman, maybe something more. It didn't really matter, he had agreed to let her travel with her and so would have plenty of time to figure her out on the road. He snorted idly at the thought, remembering his thoughts from the day before.

'I hate puzzles' Well. Most of them, anyway.

Vaguely amused by his own fickle manner, he pushed himself off the soft, warm mattress and went about finding his boots. Unsurprisingly, they were tucked just inside the door, along with the clothes he had discarded in the Outfit Room the evening before. Smiling faintly in appreciation of Tyka - he knew it was her, it always was - he slipped his footwear on and tied his braces over the baggy sleeves of his shirt. Mostly put together, he headed for the garden to find his wayward nymph, tying the loose hair around his left cheek into its signature braid as he walked, the longer strands swaying behind his back with every step.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

It hadn't taken long for Keithia to find a place to rest. It was more she'd just wanted to explore and see it all before she eventually settled down. Eventually, the nymph had found a place amongst long stemmed flowers and overgrown shrubs that shaded her from the city. The smell of the night blossoms chased away the city and the grass was soft beneath her.

It wasn't cold at all.

She curled up on her side, head pillowed by one arm, and simply slept. Her hair, slick and black, didn't snag or tangle in the brush but fanned out and scattered around her. Like inky webbing that led to her small, pale form. Because she was shaded from the morning sun, she didn't wake as it rose. The chirping of birds and play of late rousing insects were a lullaby to her, keeping her in sweet sleep.

She'd discarded the tunic before she'd fallen asleep, not wishing to have any barrier between her and the rest of the garden. As she had with all the other clothes she'd taken off, she'd neatly folded it and left it by the door. Out there, she'd not seen the need for it and she'd certainly slept better without it.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

The garden smelt of damp leaves and grass, the smell of bark and tree blossoms washing over him as soon as he opened the creaking door out into the overgrown area. He took a breath, breathing in the smell of the outdoors, slightly amazed by how much it felt like the world outside, like a piece of the wilderness thrown into the middle of the city. It was....nice. He could see why Keithia had been so happy to find it. Speaking of the nymph...

He wandered for a bit before he found her, trailing his fingertips over the tops of the plants and sweeping leaves aside with his boots, plucking a half grown berry from one of the bushes and watching it disintegrate in his palm with a single, tiny spark of Rivening. His eyes spied the tunic she had chosen to wear the evening before through the cracks in his fingers, the tiny pile of ashes falling into the breeze as he dropped his hand and stepped forwards, suppressing a chuckle as his eyes fell on Keithia in her entirety.

She looked peaceful, curled up in the grass, her bare body pressed to the earth and her hair spread out around her in thin weaves. He approached quietly, not wanting to startle her, and crouched low over his heels, hands resting on his knees. The innocence he had sensed in her voice and eyes the night before was fully displayed in her sleep, her features smoothed into a look of sweet bliss. He almost felt guilty to wake her - almost - but he wanted to be on the road before the sun had finished rising, and she had seemed sincere in her wish to accompany him.

He lifted a hand to rest over her shoulder, her skin warm beneath his bare pale, and squeezed gently, rocking back a step to give her a little more space when she awoke.

"Keithia."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia woke instantly, but not startled. Rather, her gray eyes opened and were immediately on him. There wasn't a real transition between asleep and not for her. She sat up, stretched some, and idly gathered up her hair while she noted the time.

Early morning.

Given that Kanimir was fully dressed, she supposed that meant they would be leaving. Rather than ask, the nymph simply stood and started to idly braid her long, slightly damp hair. She slowly, reluctantly picked her way through the garden. Fingers brushing along leaves is quiet touches of good bye before she reached the tunic she'd worn before.

"I hope you slept well," she said while pulling it on, mindful of her small antlers while she did. Another reason she liked the tunic. The wide neckline made it easy to pull over her head. She stretched once more, looking out over he garden once more with a faint sigh, before turning her attention to him with a small smile. "We will be leaving, hm?"

[HeartOfFlame]

There he went again, smiling just because she turned that soft grey gaze on him. There was so much innocence in her. It should have irked him, rankled with his chaotic nature, but it didn't. He didn't know how he felt about that, but he brushed it aside for now. A problem for another time.

Standing, he followed a few steps behind as she crossed the garden, glancing up through the stretching branches of the trees, squinting as sunlight played across his face. It really was lovely out here. He'd have to mention something to Tyka about letting it grow, though he had a feeling she already was. Living a life on the tundras of Hyoite had taught her to cherish what nature could be found, and living in the city, caring for a household of rambunctious, troublesome riff raff didn't allow her much time to find her own sanctuary.

He lifted one shoulder in that same shrug to Keithia's words, stretching one arm behind his head, listening to the joints pop. "Yea, once we've eaten. I want to get out of the city before it wakes up." He affirmed.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia watched him as the stood just in front of the door. She was reluctant to leave the garden, to go inside, but they would need to. She couldn't very well live in the garden. It was lovely, and she'd quite enjoyed staying in it, but there was still the city. The walls.

Of all the places she'd been since leaving her home, it'd been the best. If, after traveling with Kanimir for a time, she found no where else to go, she would ask to stay in the garden.

What she really wanted, though, what she hoped to find, was a place with no walls. Where there wasn't the lingering press of humans everywhere, a place where her life wasn't always threatened, and she could be comfortable. It seemed like a lot of wants, and they were quite major...

So. Traveling would have to do it. "I'm ready whenever you are," she said before turning to open the door. Keithia didn't want to follow him, to seem like she wasn't ready. The nymph could learn, she could put herself in uncomfortable places, and she was going to try really hard to not get in the way. Just like she said when she'd asked to leave with him to begin with.

Her memory served her well and she found her way through the house and toward the kitchen and dining room.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Kanimir was happy to let her lead, wandering behind at his own pace and smiling a little at the display of confidence. She certainly did not want to appear weak, not that he would have imagined the lone survivor of a - basically - massacre to be in the first place. He could appreciate that, would encourage it too.

The majority of the household was still in slumber at this hour, the rooms that had been bustling with life and light the evening before decidedly quiet. Still, the smell of fresh bread and something vegetable-y wafted up from the kitchen and Kanimir took a deep inhale as they walked in, closing his eyes for a moment to savour the scent. Alli was bustling around the kitchen area, the furnace glowing red hot at the far end of the long room, and several pans of fresh bread were airing on a rack near the windows, while a large pot bubbled over the open fire.

"Oh!" The young man exclaimed, Kanimir's purposely heavy footfalls drawing his attention as soon as they entered. He flustered for a moment, a bread pan gripped between his two mittened hands, looking for a place to put it down. "Good morning Miss Keithia, Master Kanimir."

Kanimir smiled, waving a hand airily and leaning his hip against the counter Alli had scattered the utensils for his morning cooking over. "To you as well, Alli. Though, I'm sure I've told you before, just Kanimir is fine."

[SanctifiedSavage]

Any other house felt much the same to her, when it came to feeling cramped and uncomfortable, but it was something she could live with and easily tolerate. It was all just a manner of preference. While it was considerably quieter, that didn't change her feelings about it so much as make it just that – quieter. Abstractly, Keithia could recognize that there was an affection between the people here. For Kanimir.

She'd seen such things before too. Between the various servant groups in other households and other families she'd encountered. Could see when others cared for one another and the things they did to show it. There was a small bit of envy, a small part of her that missed her sisters. It wasn't painful to observe, it was only something she knew she'd lost... and could not get back.

It was only if she recalled the memory of their death that it became painful. Thinking of them alive, and the time they shared together, was sweet.

"Good morning," she echoed softly before moving to pick up a towel and taking the pan from him, setting it down in a cleared off space. It only seemed like the right thing to do. Keithia's general response when people became flustered was to do whatever she could to unfluster them, or help them. When they seemed nice, anyway.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Alli blinked slightly as Keithia took the pan from him, turning after it before his brain caught up with his body and his mouth moved in a small 'oh'. "Thank you, Miss Keithia." He stammered softly, folding his hands together before his chest.

Kanimir had to smile at the change he could see in the kid, where once he had been little but a bundling ball of nerves and fear, now he seemed much more confident in himself, even in the present moment of uncertainty. Once upon a time, he would not have had the courage to even be cooking in the large kitchen by himself, let alone interact with Kanimir and another stranger without hyperventilating. He dropped a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed slightly, flashing that smile in his direction and watching a little of the tension drain from him.

"We'll just be grabbing something to eat and then heading out, Alli." He explained, inhaling the scent of the freshly baked goods and feeling his stomach grumble. Rather than looking crestfallen, as might have been the case a few months ago, Alli simply smiled a surprisingly wise, accepting, smile.

"Of course, Ma- Kanimir. Help yourself to the kitchen, please."

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Keithia nodded a little at the mortal she'd helped, acknowledging that he'd said both her name and that he'd thanked her. Once she'd placed the pan, she'd simply stepped off to the side and watched the brief interaction between them. She didn't know what the plan was, but neither was Keithia in a rush.

At the invitation to help themselves, Keithia glanced idly around to see if there was something she might want to eat. Always preferring things that were fresh and raw. She pattered, bare foot, over to a bowl of fruit that had yet to be cut for the day and selected two apples and a pear. Seemingly content with that, she moved in a place that was out of the way and started eating one of the apples.

Her gray eyes tracked Kanimir's movements, quietly watching and waiting for him. She didn't know if he wanted to stay in the kitchen or if they should go to the table or... Well, she had no idea what starting a journey entailed, so she was patiently waiting. Eating an apple.

@HeartOfFlame

[HeartOfFlame]

Kanimir simply nodded to Alli's words, crossing to the opposite side of the room and lifting the small satchel from a hook on the wall. It was roughly as wide as his waist and would hang to his hips when hooked diagonally over his shoulder, and had clearly seen a lot of use over the years of its life, patches of mismatched fabric and stitching visible on its surface. Bag in hand, he proceeded to procure a few loaves of older, more hardened bread from the shelves opposite the furnace, as well as one of the fresher loaves. With this, he added a jar of flour, a few different jars of seasonings and spices, a small bottle of cooking oil, and a packet of dried vegetables. Anything else he could procure on the road or by hunting, so he turned away from the pantry and looked Keithia over for a moment.

Most likely, she would eat whatever was put in front of her, as she had so far, but if her current 'meal' was anything to go by, she preferred fruit, fresh and clean. That in mind, he selected a few miscellaneous fruits from the same bowl she had collected her breakfast, testing them all for softness and, when he was done, closing the now relatively full bag and placing it on the kitchen table. Supplies for the road acquired, he turned back to the pantry and grabbed what was left of a small bread roll; spiced and with a thin dusting of something sweet and crunchy over the top.

Breadroll stuffed unceremoniously in his mouth and satchel hooked back over his shoulder, Kanimir grunted in Keithia's direction and jerked his head towards the stairs. Offering Alli, who had eventually carried on with his baking, a loose wave with his free hand before using it to pull at the bread roll, he ascended back up the stairs into the dining room, plodding back through the halls to the Outfit Room as he chewed laboriously on the dry bread.

A few spare clothes for both himself and Keithia, a quick check of his weapons to ensure their condition after his last night's work, and they'd be able to hit the road.

@SanctifiedSavage

[SanctifiedSavage]

Her wide, charcoal gray eyes took in everything he was doing while she quietly consumed the apple. It was like creating a small check list. Food, first. A meal before they left. Things that might be obvious to someone who had been on a plethora of journeys before, but were not so to someone who had never willingly left their home before.

She could reason that eating before they left made sense, but not necessarily bringing food. Nature had always provided for her and she had no idea what the outside world was like. Perhaps food would be scarce? That was her assumption given he was packing so much.

Keithia finished the entirety of the apple, core and all, and started on her next as they approached the claustrophobic room full of hanging clothes. She stood just inside the doorway, tracking Kanimir until she realized she would need a change or so of clothes.

Unfortunately.

With a small sigh, Keithia wandered over to where she'd find the one she was wearing in the hopes she'd find something similar. Given that it was such a mundane shirt and style, she was able to and presented him with two more. They weren't as big as the one she was wearing,  but they were still long. Meant to be tucked in, but they'd serve as a dress on someone as short as she was.

@HeartOfFlame