The Collar That Never Comes Off [Caerina]

[Scythe-Nova]

Coming to La'marri was not something Timea would have done if she knew the vast number of mages that lived there, But nobody knew about her body in these lands and she could hide if she went somewhere else when she were about to overload. It was the middle of the day in the city and most people were out on their daily chores and work so the streets were crowded.

-"..."

She looked up from the road in front of her and looked to her side where she sat on the street against one of the houses, Many people walked about on the streets and none would pay her any attention as she was just another homeless to them. She had gotten hold of a larger piece of cloth that she used as a blanket to keep her warm and to hide the collar on her neck, The reason she came here was that she had heard of someone who could work around magical wards and locks and she hoped she could find this person to remove the collar from her.

[Caerina]

Khanna was on vacation! Well, not quite, she was only in La'marri because she had no immediate business to take care of. The jobs were very rare and she didn't see enough gold in them. So, basically it was a forced vacation. Better that than nothing, she guessed, but still hoped that someone will actually offer her a job. Calm cities with no trouble were the ones Khanna usually avoided. No gold there.

She was walking down the streets of La'marri, surprised by the number of people on the streets. They were everywhere and there was barely enough space for her to move freely. It was probably the market day since merchants and shop owners advertised their stuff loudly through the streets, people bargained and yelled their prices. The day was quite sunny, but far from warm, yet it didn't seem to bother them.

Khanna continued her way through the wide street, hoping that she would find something or someone interesting enough to keep her attention. Also, she hoped the slavers will avoid this city at least for today...

[Scythe-Nova]

Timea removed the cloth she had around herself and scooted a bit foward before placing a hat that she had found the other day in front of her so that passersby's could drop a coin or two into it for her, It was not allways she got any money from her begging but she got a few coins once in a while.

-"..."

She used a trick she had learned some months ago in Adela that pretending to have a disability others would take more pity on you and be more likely to give you money, So she simply pretended to be mute and using her hands to try and get attention from the ones passing by. One could now see the metal collar around her neck but from afar it would simply look like a normal collar, but as the collar had neither a leash nor a keyhole it could be a strange sight to others.

[Caerina]

Khanna rarely felt bad for anyone, because she believed most people deserved their destiny. But, seeing that petite girl in the corner of her eye, made her stop for a moment and look. It was obvious she was a beggar, probably parentless with no one to rely on. Khanna was surprised by the feeling that made her walk over to her and crouch so that she could take a better look at her. Khanna's own appearance was hidden beneath her dark cloak.

She almost gritted her teeth when she saw a collar around her neck. Khanna wore enough of those to know how uncomfortable they were, and how they marked you as a possession, a thing. She still bore a few scars around her neck from the heavy collars she used to wear.

"Here." she said quietly, taking a golden coin and dropping it into the hat "You should escape before you lose yourself." Khanna rose up and glanced once more towards her incredible eyes, before slowly walking away, hoping the girl would escape, like she did.

[Scythe-Nova]

Timea looked up at the woman who crouched down in front of her with a curious gaze, She observed how the woman looked upon her and she felt a peculiar kinship with the woman but she did not know why. When she saw the gold coin her eyes widened but she looked up at the woman as she spoke to her and now she could see why this woman felt so familliar to her she had also been a slave once.

-"... Wait..."

She rose and grabbed hold of the womans wrist with both hands looking up at her with pleading eyes that almost screamed for help, But she lightened her grip around the womans wrist to not freak the woman out.

-"How did you remove your collar?"

She asked but it was more of a whisper as she did not want to inflict problems for the woman who had given her more than any other had ever before. Timea had never met another slave and thought that all slaves wore the same type of collar like she did, but not every slave wore a magically sealed and protected collar.

[Caerina]

Khanna was surprised by the little girl's gesture. Her fingers were situated around her wrist, and if she wanted to, Khanna could easily just push her away easily and leave. But, because of something in the words of the young girl, she stopped herself and looked at her.

"I found the key."

Khanna spoke lightly, not wanting to scare the girl. It was the truth though. When she escaped she had a collar, but she killed one of the main guards and stole it. Not that she was too keen on explaining a little girl that she staked the man with a broom, because that would be just too much for many people too take. Plus, Khanna was not so proud on her first murder. Too messy, but at least she got what she wanted.

[Scythe-Nova]

-"The key? but there's no keyhole.."

She said as she let go with one of her hands and traced her fingers along her collar feeling after a keyhole but finding none, Since her collar was locked magically it did not need a key to lock or unlock. Her eyes focused onto the womans eyes almost begging for help to get the collar off.

-"There's no keyhole..."

She said with a whisper as she looked down towards the ground as if her hope just had vanished from her very being.

[Caerina]

Khanna looked a bit better at the collar. The girl was speaking the truth, there was no collar. Slowly, she tried to reach for the collar, and as her fingers touched it she felt electricity that made her jump a bit. The collar was reacting to her. It was magic.

"For every collar there is a key." she said, reassuringly "But, some keys aren't physical."

This touched Khanna's curiosity. She was a sucker for mysteries and this seemed an interesting one.

[Scythe-Nova]

-"Ah..."

Even Timea felt the shock that ran through the woman when she touched her collar, at the instant the shock came small markings on the collar appeared but slowly vanished as the magic energy dispersed.

-"Not physical? Do you know how to find the key?"

She looked up at the woman with hope in her eyes as she again took light hold of the woman's hand, Could this be it could this woman be the one to help her be rid of her collar forever?

[Caerina]

Khanna could only asssume that the collar had something to do with magic. It wasn't a hundred percent certain fact, but she did suppose that people with no magic probably couldn't make the collar react in that way. This meaned that Khanna was one of the rare people in La'marri who could actually help the girl. She waged the decision in her head.

"I am not sure." she said honestly "I've never seen a thing like this." Khanna shook her head with a deep frown.

[Scythe-Nova]

-"Oh... sorry.."

She looked away from the woman with a crestfallen expression before looking back at the place she had sat and begged for money when she saw someone picking up her hat.

-"No!"

She sprung towards the seedy looking man who in turn took to running away, Timea would never catch up with the man but she gave it all trying to at least but after some time of running she tripped over a loose rock, She tumbled along the street for just a few feet before skidding to a stop for some moments she just lied still on the street before she stirred and tried to get up in an unsteady manner.

-"..."

She were covered in dirt now and her hair hung in front of her hair but one could easily tell that tears had allready began rolling down her cheeks and she sniffled pathetically as she wrapped her arms around herself as she really felt cold now, Not anyone in the crowd minded her of course since there were many beggars and homeless in this city.

[Caerina]

Khanna couldn't follow everything that happened at that speed, and she probably shouldn't have cared what was happening, anyway. But, for some reason before she could stop herself she sprung forward, following the girl through the large crowds on the streets of the city.

She saw the girl on the ground, covered in dirt and tears. It didn't really surprise her that no one ever stopped and asked her something or helped her. That small girl somehow reminded Khanna of herself when she first escaped her slavehood. Nobody ever turned around towards her, to help her. She only ever could rely on herself.

"Come here, don't cry." Khanna told her, wrappinh her cloak around the girl's back.

[Scythe-Nova]

Timea raised her hands to in front of her chest and looked upon her hands and seeing the scrapes along the surface of her hands, She could begin to feel the pain from the scrapes and she instictively clenched her hands which only made it hurt more. She almost swallowed her breath as she heard the woman from before talk to her, She looked back to be met with the embrace of the cloak and it was like a floodgate just burst.

She did cry but it was a silent cry as she rose from her position and simply grabbed at the cloak loosely and leaned at the woman while desperately trying to stop her tears, But feeling the warmth of the woman she simply could not stop it. Her breathing got a bit ragged as the tears finally stopped and she timidly held herself close to the woman though it was as if she were scared of her pushing her away.

-"Please don't leave me..."

Her voice was soft as a bell but very silent and it just emphasized the feeling of fear this little girl lived in, She looked up at the woman with her strange eyes now redder from the crying.