Open Wandering

[Xavior Silhouette]

The man’s skin was like marble in the light as bits of the skin seemed to reflect light as if wet. But it was quite dry in the bath of orange light as he leaned back some and allowed the healer to do her work. “Your kindness is welcomed, I do not know how I will repay you for this, but I’m certain the debt will be repaid later in life. Rak’keli must be proud of you,” he smiled warmly sincerely meaning what he had said. He watched Nai’a as it seemed she began to concentrate and call on something within her. With great amazement he watched as an aurora soon seemed to blossom from around her digits and soon seemed to consume her entire hand like a flame. He gasped as her delicate palms touched his chest and a warmth began to sink into him. It was pleasing and relaxing, even though he wanted to watch the ritual his eyes closed as he laid flat on the bed. It felt like an eternity, an eternity of ease, of peace. Equilibrium, pleasant and serene he felt as if his body had fallen into a dream. The warmth of the sun on his body and the cool grass as it laid flat beneath his back. The soft palms, a woman’s hands, slid across his chest and gently wrapped around him. He felt a warm body cozy up to him, a feeling of bliss in his heart. A soft whisper, one like the sound of the stars caressed his ears, “I have a secret.” The voice continued as Xavior’s chest grew warmer, “you’re a father.” Xavior’s eyes slowly opened as he whispered, “Sarah?” He looked over at Nai’a and cleared his throat some, “ahem, that didn’t hurt at all.” He smiled wide while his thoughts drifted out of the room. “Sarah, that name sounds familiar, yet not at all. Congratulations,” he thought to himself before he was jolted from thought by pain. Gritty reality rushed back to him as Nai’a cleaned his wounds and bandaged them proper. “Ahh,” he complained, “who knew pain hurts?” He chuckled once more. His face however turned to a subtle seriousness, “you may come to my room only when the moon’s light fills the night sky. Promise me this please?” He stood from the bed and began to reach for his clothing but paused as he felt the new coton rub against his wounds. He soon knelt to his knee and picked up the clothing as he began to redress himself without his robe. “Something has been troubling you if I can bother you a few chimes more.” He straightened his frame and looked over at Nai’a. His almost seemed cobalt blue in the light, “What dye do you use, for your hair? Because I have seen much in my life, but not salmon.” He paused and then looked away from her and her pet. “If I can be frank, I’d think your natural hair color would look prettier.” He moved closer and boldly brought his hand out toward Nai’a. He moved his hand, with little regard as it gently touched the hair. A move that would seem to be mild flirtation, but Xavior’s mind wandered as his eyes studied the smooth hair. His brain attempted to study the almost unnaturalness of it. The hair fell through his fingers like sand in an hourglass. “Gotta be careful. You know hiding what you are inside, you may forget who you are.” He looked away with a look of distance in his eyes. “Oh,” he snickered a bit and moved away from her, “I’m sorry, please forgive me. Rambling on like a regular beggar or gypsy. I shouldn’t bother you further,” he began to head toward the door. His hands on the handle, “I’m two rooms up if you want to check on me, I’ll leave. I can tell you don’t want me here after my manner?”

[Nai'a]

The man’s words shocked her slightly, but made the warmth of happiness spread inside her. She hoped Rak’Keli was indeed proud of her, she worked not only to please the goddess, but herself as well. ”I am serious about not taking payment Xavior. Though one day I may need you, and you can be there if that day ever comes. You can repay me with kindness.” Nai’a said softly, working on the man’s body.

When she used her gnosis mark it seemed to put the man in a blissful mood, as he laid down on the bed he seemed to enter a happy trance like state. This of course made Nai’a happy, happy that she could make someone feel such with her mark. The man seem to come out of his trance, but he spoke a name, Sarah? Nai’a thought. She wondered who this woman was, but she would not pry into what was not her business and pretended that she did not hear him. Her sensitive ears sometimes picked up things that were best not heard, especially in the tavern. Some nights she was woken up to the sounds of lovers, it was very unpleasant, and made her slightly jealous on nights she felt lonelier then others.

”Yes, pain is all in the mind. Nerve impulses to the brain. Easily banished when you have felt it for so long.” Nai’a spoke softly in her feminine voice, standing up from her work.

The man’s next words made her frown though, and she looked at him, locked eyes with his, ”As you wish Xavior. But know if I hear you yelling in pain, even if it is light, I will be there. I can only promise that I will not enter your room during the time Syna reigns the sky, as long as you are not in obvious pain. And know that I have very sensitive ears, and I can hear you clearly.” Nai’a spoke boldly, sternly, a healer telling her patient how it was going to be. She did not want to be rude, or make the man think she was not to be trusted. But she would not stand back and ignore someone in pain, it was something she could not do, a force pushed her to help and she had to do the will of her goddess, or suffer the consequences.

Nai’a offered to help the man dress himself, it was not because she was being flirtatious or nothing, and she just did not want him to harm himself or mess up his bandages. But he looked to be handling it on his own, so she stood there and watched the man for a moment, then turned away to give him his privacy.

The man spoke of her hair, making her feel self-conscious once again. She would never forget the way the people of Zeltiva looked down upon of her that day because of the color of her hair, casting at rude remarks, belittling her, not caring how it made her felt. She also remembered how the slavers saw her as a monster, as a strange being, because of her hair and mark, calling her names that she did not even want to mention in the confines of her mind. He said her natural color would look prettier, not knowing that this indeed was her natural hair color, and it wasn’t salmon it was blushing pink. The color of a virgins blush, or so that was what she told herself to make herself feel better when looking at herself in the mirror. She should have been used to the comments about her hair, the oddity that was on her head, but it still hurt. It was a weakness of hers, a way to get an emotional response.

The man came closer, inspecting her hair, touching it softly with his hand. She flinched out of habit, her hair had been pulled many times, yanked to the point that some of it came out in the slavers hands. Her eyes instantly misted up with a sheen of tears. ”This is my natural hair color. I am sorry it offends you. That is why I walk around with it covered, so this oddity does not bother people.” Nai’a’s words came out softly, almost in a whisper as she looked down at the ground. ”I am a Kelvic, which is why my hair is the color it is.” Her words came out even softer, barely audible. She did not liked to be defined by her race, she was not like most kelvics and proud of that fact. Though she still held some childish tendencies at times, she was not an animal as most people thought Kelvics were.

”I only hide what I truly am, to avoid confrontation and remarks from those who does not understand who I am. People judge other’s harshly on outer appearances, not seeing what really lies within that person.” Her words were weaved into the air, as she kept her eyes at the floor.

It seemed the man thought he was being rude; he moved away from her and headed to the door, his hand already on the handle, saying that she probably did not want him here because of his manner. It wasn’t true, of course his words hurt but that was just the judgments of one who observed her, she already had forgave him for his words and actions.

”You do not have to leave Xavior. The night is still young and rather lonely to be spent alone. Come and join me, Nai’a gestured to the small table with two chairs and sat down, I would love to get to know my patient a little bit more, and of course keep an eye on you to see how you are doing. Come.” Vaspira smiled brightly, the mist still slightly in her eyes, but she brushed off how his words affected her, and motioned for the seat across from her, beckoning the man to sit.

[Xavior Silhouette]

“Hmm, you are a kelvic?” Xavior echoed as he was invited back into the room. “Thank you Nai’a, I was afraid I offended you not the other way around.” Bare feet moved across the warmed wood as he took the seat offered to him. He considered what the woman said as he watched her like a hawk. His mind wandered as he was curious to find out more. “It seems we both have much to hide in this city,” he continued after her, “but your opposition presented toward you is one common among man. You’re different and therefore we don’t like. I suppose I smell what you step in.” Xavior’s hand moved to rub his chin some as he rid his body of an itch. His hand moved to the wooden table as his finger nails tapped against it some. ”Time to experiment a little.” He thought for a moment, ”That slight shimmer in her eyes, she must of had it real tough. The way she spoke of pain, perhaps she has something related to me. A mark from a god, how precious, I could use this.” “Tell me, do you love what Rak’keli has gifted you?” Xavior’s fingers stopped their movements as he began to think about what he wanted to experiment with. “The sound of my fingers, I wonder if I can do what I did with those boys in the woods?” He began to focus on himself as he called to the energy within his body to flow through his veins and to the surface of his flesh. Directed to his mouth, his djed, warm in the mouth as he looked up at Nai’a focusing on her eyes once more. “I bet you felt tremendous joy.” Xavior tapped his fingers in a calculated pattern as he began to spin his web. The djed flowed with the sound of his voice subtly, “with every tap of my finger, the anchor grows deeper in the water. Each tap brings back such glorious memories. Every tap brings you closer to those memories that you can recall and make you feel truly happy.” It was a long suggestive force as he continued to talk casually with Nai’a all the while his fingers would tap seemingly randomly as he planted his suggestion into her mind. Her mind wasn’t willing, though the suggestion remained as it curled and became locked in her subconscious. Tap, tap, tap, the fingers continued, “tell me a bit more about this god?”

[Nai'a]

Nai’a was not sure what the man meant by him having something to hide in this city as well. Of course she wanted to know what he actually had to hide; he was a glorious creature, one that reminded of a God to be honest. There was something divine in his appearance, but why would he want to hide it? Nai’a wanted to question the man, but then he asked her a question about her mark, and whether or not she loved what Rak’Keli had gifted her with.

Nai’a gave the man a small smile, ”Of course I am happy with the mark. All I ever wanted to do is heal and help other people.” Nai’a watched the man’s finger drum the wooden table, it was rather hypnotizing watching them, and then she glanced back up to look into those mysterious eyes he had. He commented that she must have felt tremendous joy, and Nai’a shrugged her shoulders. She was born with the mark, but she supposed she was happy to have it of course.

Nai’a could not help but feel something different with in her, and she frowned slightly. She did not like this feeling, it was the same feeling she had with this man earlier that night. She could not help but notice the slight change, the difference with in herself that she felt not too long ago. She could not help but wonder if this man was using his Djed on her. She was not dumb, she herself used Djed, and of course she read about some of the different magic’s at the library, trying to learn more. Is he using magic on me to get the truth or something..? Nai’a wondered and physically shrugged her shoulders at her mental wonderings. She shook her head a little, shaking off the feeling the made her skin crawl slightly.

”I was born with this mark. I did feel tremendous joy I suppose, though I was a slave for the large portion of my short lived younger life. The mark was strange to the slavers, and of course my hair, so I was abused more for it. I did not regret having the mark though, for I knew Rak’Keli had better plans for me, happier ones. I am thankful that I did not stay in slavery for too long, a mage rescued me from that life before my mind started falling into the depths of insanity.” Nai’a cleared her throat, rubbing her temples slightly before continuing on at the man’s question of the Goddess Rak’Keli, ”She usually resides at the Opal Temple, where the Opal Order is. She demands my loyalty; she comes first and foremost in my life. She snatches back the living from Dira, bringing balance by getting rid of those who erode value or faith. I fight to heal those who are weak, as it is my duty to the goddess. There really isn’t much to say about Rak’Keli, she is a benevolent Goddess of healing and health. Maybe she will show up in Zeltiva after this plague has passed… I can only hope she does.” Nai’a cleared her throat, it was her turn to ask a question, one she hoped the man would answer, if not it was his own right not to.

Nai’a rolled her shoulders, ridding the kinks that formed there, ”So what is it that you have to hide from the city Xavior?” Nai’a asked the question in a pleasant voice, so the man would not think she was trying to pry, she was just genuinely curious of this man sitting before her.