[Flashback] An unlikely alliance (Solo)

[Iskessah]

55 Autumn, 505 Iskessah walked quickly toward the NHC apartments, eager to be back home. She had only recently begun to leave the small apartment to explore the city, and at times it still felt overwhelming. Not to mention a bit cooler than she liked. But today's trip had been necessary; she needed more firewood to keep her apartment warm. She carried a decent haul of wood in a basket, handling comfortably a burden that a human might struggle with. As she neared her home, she sensed something wrong. Something stood between her and the door - tongue flick tastes the air - something human. She approached with caution; the human's back was still turned to her. What could he be after? Was it more people asking after Mattieu Kosun, the now dead man who used to live here? That thought reminded her of the role she now played; to the average Ravokian citizen, she was none other than Mattieu's long-lost niece, here to inherit his place. The human--barely more than a boy really, not much older then Mattieu's apprentice had been when she first arrived--was raising his hand to knock on her door as Iskessah approached. He was dressed well, not like a member of the nobility, more as if he was trying to make an impression. Iskessah watched him knock before approaching, noticing that he pulled at the neck of his shirt, as if the clothing made him uncomfortable. It was completely incomprehensible to her why anyone would wear clothing that made them uncomfortable, but she had more important things to worry about than the strange customs of humans. Such as, why he was here... She walked up behind him and said, "Can I help you?" The boy yelped in surprise (a rather amusing high-pitched squeal), nearly jumping out of his skin before turning around. Upon seeing Iskessah, he cleared his throat and straightened his clothing. When he spoke, it was obvious he was deliberately deepening his voice (she couldn't fathom why). "I'm sorry, ma'am, I'm looking for the residence of Mattieu Kosun. I was informed he lived here." His speech was awkward, as if he was trying to sound important, but hadn't quite mastered the skill... or practiced it much at all. Iskessah wasn't sure quite what to make of him. What was his game? In any case, she should stick to her role, to be safe. Perhaps she could find some use for him. "Have you not heard? Uncle Mattieu died not long ago. I have inherited thiss dwelling from him." She bit her tongue when she realized she had hissed one of her words. She was getting better about avoiding sibilant syllables altogether, but when one slipped out, she still risked revealing herself. She glanced anxiously at the boy, but he did not appear to have noticed anything unusual. The boy looked crestfallen at the news. Had they been close? But surely Iskessah would recognize the boy if he had ever been to this apartment before. Iskessah couldn't imagine anyone mourning Mattieu's passing. She stood awkwardly for a moment; he was still standing between her and the door. She tried to think, what would Kosun's niece do? It was still safest to play the role after all. "Would you like to come in? Perhapss I can help you insstead." He brightened perceptibly at the suggestion. "Don't mind if I do!" he answered, his voice losing it's affected deep tone, as if he had forgotten the role he was playing. His true voice was warm and playful, which struck Iskessah as rather out of place in a city like this. Of course, all she had seen of this city for the past several decades was a glimpse of its darker side. Still, it was as if this boy remained untouched by the intrigues in which Mattieu had been so thoroughly entrenched. It was curious, and Iskessah wished to know more. With something of a sly smile, she slid past the boy to open the door, gesturing for him to come inside.

[Iskessah]

Once inside, Iskessah went immediately to the hearth, where glowing embers were burning the last of the old firewood...firewood formerly known as her cage. She had kept the fire going hot continuously for several days now, but eventually there was nothing left of the shattered fragments of wood which had once been her prison. She set the basket down and fed a piece of wood into the hearth, smiling with relief as it caught fire, and basking in the warm glow. She missed the boy again tugging uncomfortably at his collar. "It, uh... it's a bit warm in here, don't you think?" She almost panicked then, fearing that she would be found out, but she an idea began developing in her head. She stood up smoothly, and turned to her guest with an unpracticed smile. She noticed that he had unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt, and she smiled as her idea took full form. In order to distract him from his observations, she said brightly, "May I offer you a cup of tea?" Without waiting for an answer, she took a pot containing crystal clear water from Ravok's own Rhysol-blessed lake, and set it atop the hearth. She had not tried to make tea before, but she had watched Mattieu do so many times. It had not seemed particularly complicated. While her back was turned, she followed the boy's lead and quickly unbuttoned her vest. She had been in captivity all her adult life, and had never known the intimate touch of another being. She found herself wanting to discover what it was like, as part of her new freedom. She knew very little of the art of seduction, but she had heard Mattieu discuss the subject with his apprentice often enough. Apparently she was taking too long, because the boy began speaking once more. He cleared his throat, and took on the deepened voice that he had been using before. "Eh, no thank you, ma'am. I'm here strictly for business. I'm investigating the disappearance of a woman named Angela-" Before he could finish saying her name, there was a loud clatter. In her surprise, Iskessah had knocked over the pot. She had expected people to ask after Mattieu, and so she had her story prepared, but she hadn't thought anyone even knew Angela was his apprentice. From what she had seen, they went to a great deal of effort to hide that fact from the city at large. She was not sure how to react to this. Angela was directly responsible for her freedom, possibly as a tool of Siku, and Iskessah would honor that... so long as it did not put her in unnecessary risk. Her startled reaction to Angela's name did not go unnoticed. A note of triumph lit the words thrown at her then. "Aha! That is the reaction of a guilty person! You had something to do with her disappearance, didn't you! Where is she, tied up in an unknown shack on the other side of the lake? She is isn't she! Admit it! Admit your guilt!" The boy's voice was starting to grate on her nerves, and his wild and pointless accusations just made her want to kill him for his blatant stupidity (until now she had not appreciated that Mattieu and Angela were among to more intelligent of humans). But these feelings were overshadowed by mental images painted for her only a few days before, and an overwhelming sense of self-preservation. She had NO desire to be sent to her death solely because of the lunatic ravings of a true idiot. Without any clear idea of what she planned to do, she spun around, a snarl half-formed on her features.

[Iskessah]

Iskessah had either forgotten or lost interest in the fact that she had unbuttoned her vest, but the boy certainly noticed. As he caught sight of her bare breasts, he stumbled mid-rant, and was only able to utter incoherent syllables. "Huh...buh wha..." His sudden transformation into a gibbering idiot startled Iskessah for a good few ticks before she realized that she had better take advantage of this apparent weakness before the boy recovered himself. She tried to remember any of the techniques Mattieu had taught Angela for seducing and controlling men, but in the shock of the moment, she could not recall a single one. In any case, she couldn't do anything from all the way across the room. She approached slowly, not wanting to startle him into lucidity, making sure to keep that which so distracted him in full view. Light physical contact, a touch on the shoulder, came Mattieu's voice from her memory, finally coming to her aid. She lifted a hand to his shoulder, and trailed it lightly across his suit, brushing he neck as she stepped around behind him. She just had to distract him long enough to get into a form that did not make her feel so vulnerable. But how was she going to do that if she took the objects of his distraction from his sight? She'd have to use other methods to keep him confused. She pressed herself against his back, and covered his eyes with a hand as she began rearranging her body into a more powerful form. He heard the crunching, squishing sounds of her shifting bones and organs, and asked nervously, "What's that noise?" She had to distract him somehow. "Ssssh," she hissed, "it'sss nothing." She used the hand that was not covering his eyes to trail down his neck toward his chest, and when it was blocked by his shirt, she fumbled with the buttons. It was difficult to concentrate on massing with clothing while she was changing, especially since she couldn't see what she was doing, and had never had to deal with buttons before. "S-so, I-I just came here to see if you knew anything about Angela," he said hesitantly. He was starting to regain his composure; she had failed to sufficiently distract him. But she was almost finished, only needing to grow her tail a little longer and larger before she fully in her Dhani shape. She only had to distract him a bit longer. She felt she was almost getting used to her seductress role. She merely said what she could to quell his thoughts with her hissy whisper, cancelling out anything he said in an attempt to keep him more focused on her hands. "Forget about Angela," she breathe into his ear. That had been the wrong thing to say. The boy instantly broke free of her light grasp and spun around with fire in his eyes. His expression quickly changed to one of shock when he saw what she really was. "Ho-ly..." And then he opened his mouth to scream. Iskessah's reaction was swift and instinctive; she raised her rattle-adorned tail and swung it at the boy's head. The rattle connected, though not solidly, glancing off of his skull. It had not snapped his neck, as her instincts had perhaps intended, but it did manage to knock him to the floor, and render him unconscious.

[Iskessah]

Seeing the unconscious man on the floor, Iskessah's mind flew into a state of panic. I should kill him, kill him now, eat the body, no one would ever know. But of course they would! People came asking after Mattieu without a body, if he goes missing at all it will only cause more problems! She didn't know what to do. But he had seen what she was. She had no way of knowing what he would do with the information; she couldn't let him go without knowing she would be safe. She cast her senses about for some way to keep the boy incapacitated, and noticed some old rope lying under the bed. It was one of the few items in the room that had survived her initial rampage several days earlier. She grabbed it hastily, and positioned the boy in such a way that she'd be able to get at his hands and feet. She wrapped the rope in a loop around his wrists several times, and then around his ankles. When she came to the end of the rope, she hesitated. She wasn't at all sure how to tie it tightly enough that he wouldn't be able to escape. In the end, she just wrapped it a few times around the length of rope going between his hands and feet, then tied a basic knot. Hopefully that would hold him long enough for her to decide what to do. She propped the unconscious body so that it was sitting on the floor with its back to a corner made by the bed and the wall. Feeling exhausted from the anxiety of being found out, she slithered over to the stove to make some tea. She set the water-filled pot on to of the hearth, and put a pinch of tea leaves into the not-yet-warm water. Drinking the stuff made her sick, she'd found out, but the smell relaxed her. Tea-drinking was an old habit of Mattieu's, and was just one more symbol of all Iskessah had taken from him. It was comforting to know that, no matter how long someone tried to cage her, she would always emerge victorious and take her rightful place. While Iskessah was busy reflecting over the soaking leaves, not realizing she may have put them in too early, her captive was waking up. He blinked a few times, trying to figure out where he was. That's right, he had come to Mattieu's house looking for news about Angela... and then... The sight of the giant snake-with-arms thing in front of him reminded him of what had happened. Shyke. He had to get out of here before that thing decided to make him her lunch! He wiggled his hands a little, testing his bonds. Luckily, it looked like the snake woman did not know how to tie a decent knot. The ropes were pretty loose. If he just wiggled his hands a little... almost...there! He managed to free one of his hands, after which it was a simple matter to untangle himself from the remaining ropes. "Ha!" he declared triumphantly, followed shortly by "Oops." Iskessah whipped around at the sound of her prisoner breaking free. Petch. Was keeping him unconscious the only way to keep him contained? If she accidentally killed him, well, at least she'd have another easy meal. She raised her tail for another blow... The boy curled up and raised his arms above his head, partly in at attempt to protect his vulnerable skull, but which also turned out to be one of the most submissive postures Iskessah had ever seen (granted, she hadn't seen much yet). "Whoa, wait, wait!" he cried out, desperately. Iskessah hesitated. This boy seemed to feel threatened by her. Perhaps he would be willing to be reasonable? She remained poised to strike, just in case, her rattle shaking slightly to reveal her agitation. Not getting knocked unconscious again only served to make the human more bold. Slowly peeking out from behind his hands, he spoke nervously, "Okay, easy now, no need to eat me, good, snakey thing..." Iskessah was disgusted. He was speaking as if she were a dumb beast. Annoyed, she whapped him on the head, much more lightly than before. "Ow! Okay, enough with the hitting!" he said, sounding more frustrated than scared, at least for that moment. Despite herself, Iskessah was amused. It turned out the quivering mass of meat had some bite after all, if you annoyed it enough. Her amusement was short-lived; she remembered why he was here, and the threat he posed to her continued comfortable existence. She hissed angrily and demanded, "Who are you? What purposssse do you have here?" The boy flinched, but managed to answer with something resembling composure. He still seemed unsure about whether he was in danger, but the longer she went without attacking him, the less he feared for his life. "M-my name is Joshry. Um, like I said before, I'm looking for Angela." As she'd feared. And yet... why would Angela be the one he came here to find? Mattieu is the one who went mysteriously missing, and the one who had all the contacts who knew of his existence. Angela was a nobody. Who in Ravok would know who she was, much less notice her absence? "Why do you ssseek Angela?" She loomed closer. She still owed Angela, and would allow no threat to reach her if she could help it. The boy, Joshry, pressed himself against the wall, trying futilely to put distance between himself and the Dhani. When he answered though, his voice was admirably steady. "I'm looking for Angela because, well, she's my mother."

[Iskessah]

This response gave Iskessah pause, and she considered it while the boy essentially waited for her to decide his fate. She recalled many years ago, Angela swollen with child, arguing with Mattieu. The poisoner thought the child a liability and warned Angela to be rid of it, but Angela stubbornly refused. Iskessah had heard little mention of the child since then, but she supposed it might just be possible that Joshry spoke the truth. Apparently, Iskessah was taking too long to respond, because Joshry decided to further prove his case. "Look, I have a letter from her; she left it to me right before she disappeared. I think she meant for me to find her!" Iskessah looked sharply at the boy and asked, "Then why not go to where the letter tellsss you sshe isss?. Why come here?" Nevertheless, she took the letter from the boy and examined it. Her expression faded to a mix of puzzlement and distaste. It was a jumble of Common letters, forming words that did not exist, or were even pronounceable. What sort of word was 'Abxobnpq' anyway? Joshry gave the Dhani a look that seemed to say, I'm not as stupid as I look. "Obviously she wouldn't write down where she went where anybody could read it, if she was really trying to hide. The letter's encrypted." Then his face lit up in enthusiasm, as he discussed the puzzle and his own ideas for what it meant. "But look, there's one plain bit that looks like a riddle, down there in the middle of the last paragraph." Iskessah looked, and indeed her eyes finally focused on a sentence that was in plain Common. "'The sssun holdsss the key,'" she read allowed, then gave Joshry a skeptical look. "Thisss meansss sssomething to you?" Joshry grinned fanatically like a child who had solved a particularly clever riddle. "That's the best part! Ya see, I think the reference to "sun" is a misdirect - someone who picked this up at random would think she was talking about the Black Sun. But she would have capitalized it if that's what she meant. I think the 'sun' refers to Kosun. It's clever because not many people even know that name, and even fewer knew that my mother had anything to do with him. She was a genius!" Iskessah couldn't help looking even more skeptical. She didn't know what Angela had to hide, but she had a hard time believing it was important enough to go to such lengths to leave cryptic clues that only specific people could follow. She looked dubiously at the boy, beginning again to wonder how to dispose of him most quietly.

[Iskessah]

The boy was not one to give up so easily, especially when he could sense that his life may depend on giving the monster before him a reason to keep him around. "Maybe we could work on it together!" he said eagerly. "You must have seen a side of mother that she never showed me. I'm sure there's a clue somewhere in the life she had here." Iskessah responded with a withering, "Why would I want to help you?" She tried not to think about what she might owe Angela, who had finally freed her from Mattieu's clutches (not that the Dhani could not have done so herself). But she had no desire to give this human any reason to think she might feel an obligation. Perhaps, if he was as clever as he thought he was, he could find a way to not force her to admit any such thing. With an angry hiss, she spat, "Your kind may find me a convenient tool, but I need not sssubmit to that role." The boy put up his hand in protest. "Hey, not everyone in Ravok is like that creep, Mattieu!" He was getting quite good at recognizing a Dhani look of skepticism. He had the sense too look embarrassed as he qualified, "Okay, yeah, most people are.” He shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I was raised not to take things like that for granted. Mother always told me that Rhysol values everyone, and that it’s just politicians and such who decided that only humans are important. Maybe she was talking about you?” Iskessah hissed, somehow doubting that assessment. “You mother treated me with the proper fear and ressspect, but even she sssaw me as little more than an animal.” Angela might have thought Iskessah useful for disposing of the evidence of her murder, but that wasn’t consistent with whatever Joshry was saying. Still, it was gratifying that the boy thought so. Joshry was so quick to reassure her, she almost believed he was being genuine. "I don't think you're an animal! I mean look at us, sitting here, having a civil conversation..." He glanced at her claws and fangs and tail and seemed to be reconsidering how long the 'civil' bit might last, but finally he gulped and said, "Look, I'll prove it to you. What's your name?" The seemed an odd request, and she wasn't sure what it was supposed to prove, but she saw no harm in telling him. He already knew enough to incriminate her if he so chose; knowing her name wasn't going to make that much worse. "I am properly called Ssrasshiskessah." Joshry tried his best to repeat it. "Shra- Rashishka- shiskakeshish-" Seeing it was hopeless, she took pity on him and said, "That wasss my full name. My individual name iss sssimply Iskessah." Joshry looked relieved, which caused Iskessah to have to stifle a laugh. Fortunately, this was much easier to do in her Dhani form, since her mouth did not form human expressions, and most sounds were indistinguishable hisses. "Iskessah--look, mind if I call you Kessi?" She hissed in annoyance, but he continued speaking right over her before she had a chance to really object. She took back her previous assessment; they boy had no respect for her at all. “Look Kessi, I know... I know I don't have anything to offer you, except my friendship. I'm not sure how much that means to you, but finding my mother means a lot to me, and you're the only one who can help me. Please, at least give me a chance." Iskessah gave the boy a long, measuring look as she considered his words. He wisely sat patiently and still, letting her take her time. Finally she spoke slowly, "My intention iss to passsss for a human in Ravok for a time. If your claim iss true and you need my help, you would not do anything to endanger me. And you may yet prove usssseful." If nothing else, he might prove amusing. Still, she was tense from the uncertainty that had wracked this whole encounter. If she agreed to help him now, he might want to start immediately. Best, then, to hold the bait just out of reach, learn more about him and his intentions before she committed herself to helping him. "I will think on all you have sssaid. Leave me now, and return another day." The boy seemed to have gotten the wrong message. He leaped up and wrapped his arms around the Dhani's scaly torso in a gleeful hug. "Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret this, I promise!" He then departed before Iskessah even had time to shove him off. As the door closed behind him, she was left slowly shaking her sewrpentine head back and forth, wondering just what she had gotten herself into.

[Verilian]

. . Thread Award . . Iskessah Kosun +1 Observation +1 Acting +1 Seduction +1 Unarmed Combat +1 Intimidation +1 Cryptography You Question My Logic? : I gave you what experience I could. The point in Cryptography was for spotting the message in the jumble. Lores: Visitors at the Door, Angela is Joshry's Mother, Encrypted messages from Angela, Agreeing to find Angela Notes: I liked the thread, and I can't wait to see where this plot ends up. Kess is an interesting character, and I like your stuff. Keep writing!