Closed By the Lakeshore (Kaie)

[Valerius Nitrozian]

„And what kind of stories have you heard?“ Valerius wanted to know. „What was so bad that you don’t want to be in the city?“ He knew what normal people thought of his beloved Ravok. They thought it was evil, that his god Rhysol that protected the city was evil, that the citizens of Ravok were bad people, corrupt, racist, slavers – but how did a barbarian like this woman see the city? Did she have the same prejudices, the same fears as everybody else?

„I don’t need a warning“, he replied curtly as she informed him that her eyes wouldn’t turn color to give him a warning of whatever she was feeling. If she attacked him, he would let the dog loose, and that would be it. He didn’t need a warning first so that he could prepare himself – but he hoped that she wouldn’t be foolish enough to really attack him. Fights were always so messy.

„My aunt pays well“, he informed her, although that wasn’t entirely true. She paid some people well, but for some reason she always gave him less money than he thought he should earn. „As for how we research Kelvic, that depends on the Kelvic and the research objective. Sometimes we will just sit with the Kelvic and observe them and talk to them. At other times it might be necessary to examine them or expose them to certain substances, but at no times do we cause them unecessary harm. The conditions under which they live are suitable for their kind.“

Valerius himself cared little about Kelvic and whether they suffered or not, but his aunt seemed to think that he underestimated them. She had made it clear to him that she expected a certain behaviour from him, and thus he found it unwise to share his real opinion on Kelvic, even with a stranger. He likewise found it unwise to reveal the exact nature of some of the experiments that were conducted at the Kelvic Research Institution.

The barbarian might disapprove.

[Kaie]

Kaie laughed quietly. eyeing the man as if waiting for him to tell her he was kidding; that he was well aware of why one such as herself would avoid entry. However the break never came. He was serious about his questions and she had a few of her own.

"I'm not stupid. I know what your people see when they look at my kind. Myrians are not meant for chains," She responded simply with a furrowed brow, trying to figure out where exactly the confusion was. Already had she felt appraised like an animal, which she was quite used to anyway. She supposed he might've had plenty of curiosity to begin with considering his profession. His confident return inspired a mirthful grin from the woman though.

"Unnecessary harm sounds...Relative. When you say you 'expose them to certain substances,' you mean poisons," She accused immediately, though her tone was more like someone poking holes in the innocence of a story rather than something of disgust or anger."What point is there in research?"

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Kaie said that Myrians were not meant for chains, Valerius arched an eyebrow, the only sign that he was surprised. „So you are a Myrian then“, he stated. „Not some strange kind of human. It would be better if you kept your real race to yourself while you are in Ravok. I do not mind associating with outsiders, but some people in this city are less than tolerant. But you obviously already know that“, he added in reference to her previous statement.

In some aspects Valerius was just as racist as the rest of his people, he just didn’t let his racism get in the way of his sense of business. If another race turned out to be useful, they were free to do whatever they wanted in Ravok in his opinion. He just had a problem with useless, violent non humans.

„I would never willingly poison another creature“, he replied as she asked him if he had meant poisons. He had only poisoned a Kelvic once as his superior, Doctor Alzelin had ordered it, and the creature had already been dying from something else anyway. Truth to be told, he didn’t have a problem with poisoning an animal and would do it again if Doctor Alzelin told him to, but this Myrian didn’t need to know that.

„But sometimes it is necessary to research the effects of poisons so that we can find out how to combat them“, he admitted. „As for what point there is in research …“ He looked a little shocked as he heard that question. „… without research we would still be living in caves and die from every little illness. Research is everything.“

[Kaie]

Kaie nodded her head sideways and quirked a brow in obvious agreement to his first statement. It was an easily made observation, especially since the individual in question was a native of Ravok. No doubt he had the seed of racism implanted deeply in his head already, the lake city watering and nurturing it throughout his life until it had rooted itself solidly within his mentality. Yet she couldn't dislike him for it. No, not really. For that would make her quite the hypocrite, to hate a person for so strongly believing their own race was the single most deserving one, when she herself called all other people but her own "barbarians."

"Force other creatures to suffer...Many of them...So you might learn something from it?" She rationalized with a clear hinting toward accusation, placing a hand on her hip opposite her sword. Her voice was even, almost monotone with the exception of her emphasis on "might." Yet she couldn't help but wonder if her people would do the same to a captured barbarian, if they knew there might be potential benefit. After all, they had no qualms with ritual sacrifice and torture. However, they certainly were a bit more welcoming to Kelvics that shared their home in the jungle over most other races. "Myrians survive fine in Falyndar. No research on others. Learn from experience, from past. Why pick Kelvics? Why not use one of your own?"

It was a fair question, really. It's not like all sorts of animals reacted to things the same way people did. Even if a bear Kelvic overcame a poison naturally, what would that say of Humans if anything at all? Why learn things they could not change? Why not let Dira take the lives Lhex grants her through these things they fight so desperately to reverse? The Goddess of Death would always reap the souls owed to her. There was no getting around that simple fact. So Kaie did not necessarily fear the end of her life. She knew Dira would return her rightfully back to Myri to begin again. But what of the others? Did they go anywhere when their last bell tolled? If not, it wasn't so hard to understand why they might try to evade their deaths when they could. The unknown was often the most feared element of all in life.