Closed Heart of a Lion (Annalisa)

[Kalina]

*[

For a long time after the woman had spoken, Kalina was silent. The answer to her question registered, as did the woman’s own questions… but she acknowledged nothing. Admitting aloud that her Master was not with her made it all the more real, and the immature kelvic didn’t have the mechanisms in place to deal with, or even understand, loss. In the woman’s arms, an unparalleled sense of loneliness washed over her, and the naked girl’s following shiver was not from the cold as the pair ascended the steps into the citadel. Worse than just losing her Master, she had lost the comfort of the small green rag: the blanket that she had had for as long as forever, but had left behind.

The cool, grey walls blurred as the girl furiously blinked in an effort to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall, and she continued to blindly pick at the cuticle of one of her fingers, just to give herself something to do. She wanted Blankey back. And she wanted her Master to come with it. Her Master had, after all, come to an island to get her the very first day they had met… she didn’t see why he couldn’t come again and get her. Master knew everything; he would know what happened. He would fix it. He would make everything better.

With this assurance, she sniffed as she raised her hands to wipe her eyes and nose dry before dropping them back into her lap and wiping the mucus and salty tears on her thighs. "Blanky has been with me forever. He’s green and long and wide and warm and he keeps me safe and snuggly." Her voice was thick with emotion, her pronunciation even more flawed from the blocked nose. "My Master will look after him, right? Master looked after him when I was running around looking for food and I couldn’t carry him. So he'll look after him now."

"Master is… ‘Gent in… Black… Black…" Most of what she knew of Marcus Ahysen were things she had overheard and, just like the mention of her being a slave in Zeltiva, the man had never thought it necessary to keep her in check with what she might know, and what she shouldn’t share. The man’s job meant nothing to her; as did the word Rhysol; Marcus having deemed her too immature to be able to understand. To Kalina, then, this information was as guarded as what her favourite type of fish was. They were just words, and they were something she could share with the woman in an effort to please her, as she seemed interested. "...Black… I can’t remember."

Kalina returned to picking at her cuticles, this time slightly more aggressively; she was upset at not being able to remember the word that always followed the first. Though the normal significance of what she was trying to say escaped her, it was important to the kelvic purely because it was something to tell the woman, to keep her interested. Anna was nice. "Master likes fish. I really like fish, more than I like bucks... and lots more than I like rats... and he buyed them fish for me too. Just like he buyed me from a cage on an island with lots of cages with kelvics like me. I’m a kelvic, you know."

Glancing up at the woman, Kalina wiped away some tears which had fallen down one of her cheeks. Her red-rimmed eyes illuminated the green chatoyance as she smiled, proud of remembering the lesson of what she was. The little girl was oblivious to the interior of the citadel as Annalisa walked through; the walk had lulled her enough that she felt secure enough, moreover the answers were occupying her attentions, though she took a moment to examine her new surroundings. She whimpered at the sight and tucked herself a little tighter into the woman’s chest. "’Melia buyed me fish too, after she saved me from bad men in Ravok. She's really nice to me, like you. I was so happy when she was coming with Master and me away from Ravok, 'cause then I have more friends... I don’t like big water…" she finally uttered, repeating herself as she sniffed again, "but I miss Ravok. And I miss Blankey and ‘Melia… and Master."
*

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna needed to remind herself that while Kalina was indeed not human, she was mentally and physically still very much a child. As such her words and mannerisms would reflect those of a child in regards to conversation, so she could not afford to get terse or angry. It would dispel the illusion of good intent she had crafted around herself, so the sorceress merely kept her silence as the small Kelvic spoke. Mild distaste washed over her for the creature’s blubbering, it reminded her too much of Kouri when the ghostly child was crying and it reflected obvious weakness towards her. Pathetic really, though again she supposed her youth could forgive such a thing.

So her ‘Blanky’ was in fact an actual blanket, somehow Anna was not exactly surprised by this turn of events and merely sighed mentally. A child would no doubt impart humanizing qualities upon inanimate objects, so it was not overly surprising. The sorceress pondered if the Synchrograph office might have a blanket of some kind she could procure. Anna herself tended to just use her tattered cloak as a means to gain some form of comfort as she slept, hardly the most comfortable thing but the Sahovan Quarters were not designed for comfort.

Their steps took them out of the Vestibule as Kalina continued, Anna starting to feel a bit of a strain upon her arms and so she adjusted her hold on the small Kelvic. She was hardly the strongest of individuals upon Mizahar after all, it was only Kalina’s small size that allowed her to carry her for so long but the tall human was starting to get a bit tired of it. So she opted to head to the Quarters, she needed to get the kelvic there anyway and ensure that the child would stay close to her. Perhaps it would be a good idea to fill her head with some terrors.

The mist of the Courtyard was eerie and seemed to move of its own accord, a path laid out and marked by tombstones and cobblestone. In the distance one would hear voices, almost imperceptible as they walked through the place in the direction of the Quarters. Snatches of sentences, inarticulate noises made by those from beyond the grave and even piteous confessions made by those inhabitants. As a spiritist Anna was a little more sensitive to these things, the words a little more clear and the tugs upon her clothes occasionally sending shivers down her spine.

“This is the Courtyard, you should be careful to follow the path laid out. There are things beyond it that will try to hurt you otherwise.” The sorceress warned the ocelot.

After a bit more walking they would arrive at the entrance of the Quarters, the large doors swung wide open and the doorway looking like and open mouth of some manner of beast. In reality that was not exactly an inaccurate comparison, this place did tend to swallow people up and was the first stop for visitors and future denizens alike. The tall sorceress walked through the halls with practiced ease, knowing where she was going and why she was going there obviously. Immediately she mounted a flight of stairs that led up to the second level of the Quarters were her room was.

“Now Kalina, I might be rather nice towards an innocent little girl like you, however there are others here that are not so nice. Have you noticed the dead looking people that smell a bit funny? They are called Nuit, and if they found out what you are it would not end well for you. Keep what you are a secret and be very careful who you think you can trust. Not everyone would be so eager to help you as I am. The bad men in Ravok will look like good men compared to the bad Nuit here.” The woman warned, her tone hushed as she whispered into Kalina’s ear.

As she spoke Anna reached down to that chaotic power granted to her by Rhysol, that essence of his that existed within her. Her voice carried with it a seed of corruption, being planted within Kalina’s mind to be further nurtured. It was a simple curse, but it would hopefully serve to further isolate the kelvic from others in the days after it bloomed. It would twist at her senses; make her believe that others were out to get her in a form of irrational paranoia. It would take a few days to blossom, but once it did it would last a week before dissipating.

[Kalina]

*[

Though she was not particularly cold, the young kelvic child still shivered as if she were; even her delayed mental capacities could tell that there was something not quite right about the courtyard the pair were currently making their way through. Where her world was usually dominated with colour that Kalina loved to explore, this place seemed to offer only greys. It was dull, it was boring, and it was frightening. "Don’t like it here," the girl mumbled quietly as she nuzzled her bird’s nest of filthy hair into the older woman’s chest and squeezed her eyes closed, as if that might protect her, "Where are we? We can go away from here?"

The woman explained where they were, and the kelvic did not like the description given. She wondered if she might be able to avoid this place, get around it somehow. But she paid heed to Annalisa’s words, trusting the woman who had just saved her implicitly. She knew that the woman would protect her, and look out for her best interests. No harm would come to Kalina now. If she had obeyed her Master, she wouldn’t even be here, and her Master had always only asked her to do things to protect her, she was just now realising. She did not have the chance to obey Marcus anymore, but she could do her best to obey Annalisa… that way, she would be forever safe. As Anna would never hurt her.

She felt the woman shiver a few times, which only cemented the knowledge that this was a bad place… a very bad place. Kalina opened her eyes as the pair left the cold behind. Opening her eyes again and glancing around, Kalina realized that she had not paid any attention to where they were going – she had no idea of how they got here, or how to get out. The stone walls and passages all looked the same, much as the canals and buildings that made up Ravok had done when she first left the Kelvic Research Institute. Her most reliable method of navigating there was by scent. But here, everywhere smelt of rotting flesh, which overpowered any other distinguishing smells that there could have been.

She was drawn out of her reverie by Annalisa’s voice again, who spoke softly to her. She latched on to every word, gazing up into the woman’s eyes. Kalina didn’t realise it, but to anyone watching her, they might have noticed the unconditional trust that the moss green eyes conveyed as she listened. Annalisa was good, Annalisa was nice. Annalisa would look after her.

"Nuit…" that was what they were, the bad smell that she had first experienced in Zeltiva, and the stench that had not let her since she had arrived on the island. "Bad smell for bad people." That was the conclusion she drew from the tall woman’s words. She would avoid them… and she would make sure they never knew what she was. People in Ravok didn’t like her must either; was it because of what she was? For the first time, it occurred to her that that was the reason she had once lived in a cage with people just like her.

Maybe they would take her back, put her in another cage, leave her there. "I be good!" She quickly replied, desperate to make the woman believe her, and not send her back, "I be good, promise! Won’t be bad, will be good!"

*

[Annalisa Marin]

Anna had noted Kalina’s discomfort with the Courtyard; she didn’t exactly blame the Sub-Human girl as the ghosts of the place could be very dangerous to those without the protection of the Citadel. Fortunately Anna possessed that protection, she was a Wizard of the Sahovan Citadel and thus was unable to be attacked so without garnering the wrath of Mistress Wanda. Kalina on the other hand… she was not exactly protected in the same way, though she might very well if Anna could play her hand correctly. The gears of the tall woman’s mind were turning, thoughts and ideas breezing through her mind at a rapid pace.

The Kelvic seemed distressed by something and assured Anna that she would be good, drawing a smirk from the tall woman. Whoever her old Master had been she would need to compliment him on his excellent form of making such a dependent creature. Or perhaps that was a feature Ravokian slaves possessed in general, whatever they were forced to do within Rhysol’s holy city she doubted it could be so bad as this place. Slaves were worked until death or killed in the twisted research Sahova demanded of its wizards, not exactly a good life. Anna lightly stroked Kalina’s back, shushing her softly.

“Shhh… I know you will be good. If you are good then I’ll keep the bad men away from you. You’ll have to do everything I say, trust everything I say to you otherwise I won’t be able to protect as well.” Anna whispered, her tone smooth like honey as the lies slipped easily from her tongue.

As she spoke another little seed of a curse was slipped into Kalina, this one similar though a little bit different. The curse would bloom into another twisting of her senses, this one hopefully making her a bit obsessed with Anna herself. She needed to push aside others like her Master and any she might meet upon the island, isolate her completely and utterly. The sorceress felt another thrill of pleasure shoot through her body, radiating from the crimson scar over her heart erotically. Making use of Rhysol’s blessing could be addicting.

After a bit more walking through the Quarters they eventually came to Anna’s room in the Quarters, though the tall woman skipped past it to the one to its right. It was empty, and to look inside was too see basic comforts but little else. It was no bigger than the size of a broom closet, a thin mat upon the ground being the only thing to sleep upon. A small table tucked into one corner held a wash basin upon it and there was a single chamberpot as well. The room more closely resembled a cell, but this one unlike her own possessed a tiny window where Syna’s rays managed to beam down in through.

“Well, here we are. It’s not much but it should suffice temporarily. You’ll be staying here if you need sleep or just a place to put your things. My room is to the left, knock if you are in your human form or whine if in your animal, I’ll answer if I am there. I’d recommend being very careful if you intend to explore… after what happened in the Prairie I’m certain you know why.” Anna stated.

Anna would allow Kalina to detach herself from her embrace, gently of course and she’d stand in the doorway as the Kelvic got her bearings. The sorceress figured that she should have time to ponder just what to do with the Kelvic, selling her had already been discarded. Anna was certain she herself could take care of the girl, but not so much if she wanted to or not. She was not too certain of the uses of a Kelvic slave, especially of one so young. Anna was certainly a depraved individual but not quite that depraved.

[Kalina]

*[

It didn’t take much for Kalina to nod frantically at the woman’s other words; she would agree that the sky was green, had the woman told her so. She knew not how, or why – nor did her simplistic mind even question this – but she felt a pull from deep within her as the older woman’s soft words washed over her, a pull that told her how imperative it was that she obeyed the woman, and listened to all she had said. If she didn’t… she felt sure that something would strike her down, and Annalisa would not be there to protect her.

"I be good for you," she reiterated, and it was clear that she was keen to make the woman believe her. She was able to make the connection between Annalisa and her Master, where the consequence of not listening to him had been the loss of his protection. But, even as she thought of her Master, he seemed less important to her… distant, when compared to the almost overwhelming presence of Anna. And there was a ring of truth in what the woman was saying, and if she wasn’t lying now, why would Kalina have any reason not to believe the woman in the future? "Can be good, and listen, and be good, and not go bad places, and not tell people about me, and be good."

The stench of the… Nuits, as Anna had previously called them, had lessened slightly, but it still lingered in the air, an ever-present reminder that safety was relative on this island. Eventually, the pair entered a room, and the small kelvic examined it from her vantage point within the woman’s arms. Stone was the most prominent feature – covering the floor, walls and ceiling. She did not mind the cold, which is what stone often brought with it; her kelvic form well equipped to deal with any chill that her more frail human form might feel. But stone reminded her of her small enclosure at the Kelvic Research Institute, a time which was not inherently bad, but one that she preferred not to dwell on.

But a voice in the back of her mind told her that showing resistance now, so early on, would negate all of the promises she had just professed. The furniture in the room, though sparse and simple, was something that she had not had in her cell at the KRI, however. This was a room, "Room… for me?" Kalina had never had her own room, never a space that was exclusively hers, and the concept astounded her. Surprisingly, it also frightened her, and when Annalisa released her hold on the prepubescent girl, Kalina’s first reaction after slipping down to the ground was to shrink back into the woman’s robes and cling.

"Don’t go," she all but whined. Ocelot instinct insisted that hunting was a time for being alone, but childish notions dominated her very being now. It didn’t make sense to her why she was feeling what she was feeling, or why she was doing what she was doing… but she was.

OOCWell.. almost whiny Kalina. Never really seen this side of her. Feel free to round it off with a firm nudge or whatever, or we can continue, completely up to you! But I think we got the main gist
*

[Annalisa Marin]

On some level Anna loved dominating others, crushing their wills or forcing them to obey her but Kalina was far easier to do it towards. She was young, her mind still forming and was rather weak when all things were taken into accounting. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she valued this Kelvic as a possible future thing for her to own, for now she needed to work on the child. She had worked on frightening her; however now she needed to start to enforce that Anna was the only thing she could trust. Isolation was a good first step; the next ones would be a little more difficult.

As she moved to go she found Kalina was clinging to her robes, begging for her not to leave her alone. The sorceress did have other business to attend to though, business she could not very well have Kalina nipping at her heels during. She also would rather not have the child becoming too used to her company, she’d prefer for the kelvic to have to work for her approval and company. Kalina was also not an equal being; she was just above being an animal in Anna’s mind and was inferior to the sorceress by default.

“Enough, Kalina. Do you remember what I said? You have to do everything I say otherwise I won’t be able to protect you from the bad men. Now I am telling you to stay here for the moment, I’ll visit you later but for now I have business elsewhere.” Anna said, her tone a little more harsh than it had been before.

She nudged the child a bit with her leg to get her to let go and stay in the room while she was to leave, grey eyes looking down at the Kelvic with faint traces of disapproval. Anna was not violent with her treatment of the creature, simply trying to firmly distance herself from her. The tall dark haired woman moved herself towards the doorway and folded her arm under her breasts as she looked at Kalina. She’d probably need to arrange for food to reach her lest she starve, which would be rather unfortunate all things considered. An extra expenditure, but such was the way of things.

“Remember what I have said Kalina. We will speak again at a later date, for now I suggest you comfort yourself with these walls.” The tall woman stated, turning from the doorway and heading down the hallway.

This was going to be an interesting little thing for her to try and take care of, a Kelvic upon Sahova and one that had originated from Ravok. A sign was what this seemed like; Rhysol wished her to do something with this girl though what Anna was expected to do with her was still up in the air. So the sorceress would twist her into the perfect obedient pet, at least until she knew exactly what Kalina’s greater destiny was to be. Killing her would be a waste, and while she might fetch a nice price the sorceress was not fond of discarding omens.

The woman’s steps carried her through the halls of the Quarters, her eyes seeming to cloud over as she was drawn into her own mind. A place of plots and plans beyond counting, where she could freely ponder over what was best for her as a Chaon rather than a wizard. That was what she was first and foremost, a disciple of the dark god Rhysol. That simple truth was far more potent than any arcane secret that she could possibly learn, her faith in the Defiler absolute.

OOCThis should be my last post here, feel free to put yours up and I'll post it up for grading.

[Kalina]

*

The tight hand that was wrapped in the folds of the mage's robes loosened slightly as the woman rebuked her. She was used to that tone, having heard it often from her Master, and she recognised at as a sign that she was reaching the end of the speaker's patience. Marcus had never awed her in the same way that this woman had; bright flashes of lightning had never flown from the Agent's hands, but she had never crossed the line with her Master, and the knowledge of what the woman could do, even though she didn't completely understand it, was enough to keep her from crossing it now.

However, the frightened Kelvic was still high on emotion from the past day or so, particularly after the incident in the prairie with the large black beast. It took her a few ticks of hesitation, but she finally let go of the robes and pushed herself away from the woman without a second word. She had to obey the woman now, if only to prove that she was worth the protection from all the foul-smelling creatures that inhabited this island. She didn't turn around as she listened to footsteps of the retreating woman, or the door closing behind her, and she stared at the barren, grey room that was now her home.

Her bare feet padded along the stone floor towards the window, where she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and gripped the bottom of the window to peer outside. The bright light of the sun still shined bright; it couldn't have been many bells into the day yet, but the young Kelvic had not slept all night, having traversed randomly around the island in search of life. Her stomach growled and a sharp stab of pain reminded her that she was hungry, but she didn't dare leave the room, after Annalisa has explicitly told her to remain here... not that she even wanted to risk wandering into another Nuit like Volanaro, or, worse, another beast.

Turning to the mat that passed as a bed, she stared blankly at it for a chime or so before padding over to it, planning on sleeping off the hunger and exhaustion. With just enough energy to shift one final time, she crouched on the mat and morphed into her ocelot form, knowing that her sleep would be far more comfortable in this form. Turning on the mat a few times, the ocelot kitten finally slumped down into a tight ball. Chatoyant eyes fluttered closed and not long after, she was fast asleep.
*

[Ink]

Let me see what you have done with your ink. Kalina Skills Negotiation 1 Observation 2 Running 1 Socialization 2 Lores Annalisa: The Mage Rescuer Pushing Beyond Exhaustion Ocelot Insides Are Better For Running Missing Master Ahysen Mizahar, The Name of Our World Nuit: A Bad Smell for Bad People PC Two Skills Acting 1 Negotiation 1 Observation 1 Planning 1 Reimancy 1 Socialization 1 Lores Finding A Lost Kelvic on Sahova Kalina the Kelvic Rhysol’s Blessing: Addictive Between Black and White If there are any concerns or problems with my grading please feel free to toss me a PM. I am more than happy to explain my reasons or reevaluate them if you feel I've been unfair. Also please remember to edit your grade request as graded or delete it if possible. Thank you, Ink