Open [The Docks] A Quick Swim (Kechaiya)

[Lianel Lighthand Terras]

A Quick Swim
3rd of Fall, 514 A.V.


"Going to buy anything, Nitai or are you just going to sit there and eyeball us all day?" The slave said casually, a skinny thing with ebony locks and a fake smile, her tone was friendly, but Nitai knew all she wanted was for the Konti to spend some money. She had found her usual spot on the lower floor of the Drunken Fish, a secluded table where she could, as the slave said, observe the goings on of the seedy bar, rarely buying anything. Though her home was in the Sunset Quarter, she preferred the atmosphere of the docks, and if one got over the ill intention leers towards her person, it wasn't all that bad. She rather enjoyed the smell of fish, rotting or otherwise, and she had to admit that it was hard to resist the temptation to slip into the ocean and utilize her gills. Over the years after such swims she'd find herself here at the fish, and since then it had become a sort of second home.

If it was a home Father Manowar presented a twisted image of a 'father' figure for Nitai, but he was always kind and stopped and chatted with her when he had the time, and it only kept her coming back.

Lost in thought, Nitai glanced up with eyes hazy with memories at the slave who was chewing her lip with impatience at being left to wait. "Sure, I'll take a half loaf of bread and whatever fish you have on hand." She leaned back, sensing the rolling eyes of the slave as she retreated to place her order, then set her attention back to her surroundings.

She found to goings on in the docks always fascinating. There were the negotiation of fish prices, changing daily, men and women picking up jobs, angry fratava thrown around when common just didn't seem enough, and the strange function of the Fish as a hiring ground for all sorts of shady workers. Nitai's lavender eyes darted to and fro, focusing in on a relatively young sailor who looked fresh off his Casinor, barely able to grow facial hair. He was gripped around his shoulders by the massive arm of a muscled and scarred man she had seen about the place on more than one occasion. Though he laughed when he entered the bar, and the younger man with him, she could hear that the muscled man's laughter seemed so hearty and loud it was probably forced, while the other man seemed to emit more of a chuckle, the smile on his face never reaching his eyes. The Konti's head cocked to the side, leaning forward as the two took a table fairly close to her. The both of them waited until one of the slave bar maids took their order before the larger one began talking, his intent clear by a singular clenched fist resting on the table, the other beneath his jacket.

Nitai rose slowly, casually, pulling out her chair and replacing it, throwing her cloak around her shoulders in one elegant motion. She then waltzed around one empty table and swept by the two of them, slowing down to try to catch what they were saying.

"...don't take kindly to you thinking you can waltz in here getting a piece of our smugglin' business. You and your Pod best shove off-"

A smile curled upon Nitai's features as she approached the doorway.

"Nitai! Don't you want your petching food?"

Her smile froze, then broadened, almost having forgotten about her food, mind absorbing this new tidbit of information. "Ach, sorry." She flashed a smile that suggested she was not sorry in the slightest, then pulled out the 3 SM, and 1 CM that would cover her meal, trading the slave for her hunk of bread, sliced down the middle and stuffed with haddock. She gave a demeaning inclination of her head then stepped outdoors, leaning against the side of the building and inhaling the sweet scent of the ocean as she enjoyed her meal observing the ocean before her.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kech plopped her butt down on a wooden crate sitting on the docks happily, ready to eat the meal she carried. It was a paper cone filled with fried potatoes, with a large hunk of breaded fish nestled within, drizzled with a spicy sauce that Kech didn't recognize but liked the smell of as it made her mouth water. She often enjoyed eating down by the docks, under the grace of Syna, the warm air on her skin. While she wasn't particularly fond, or familiar with, the water itself, she did enjoy being near it. This was a particularly favorite spot, as it was the first place she'd eaten a meal when she finally settled down in Sunberth after years of stowing away on ships.

Looking down the dock, she watched the men and women hard at work loading an absolute monster of a ship. It was easily the biggest one in the port and appeared to be stocking up for some journey, likely for trade. There was a ship opposite it though, on the same dock, that was much smaller that was unloading its cargo. They walked in chains, heads down, dirty, ribs exposed from hunger, broken shells of people. It was the latest shipment of slaves. Kech always watched, wondering if one day she'd see her parents arrive in chains, traded away from Ahnatep. But that was a fool's dream. If they were still alive, they would forever be in Ahnatep.

Biting into the fish, the sauce heated her mouth quickly, the white flesh of the fish cooked perfectly. It was delicate, slightly moist, and pulled away with ease. The breading was crunchy, and a little bit nutty, and added a nice smokey touch to it. She plucked out a few slices of potatoes and popped them in her voracious gullet. She had never been one for dining manners, but who in Sunberth was? Grabbing her wineskin, she took a long swig, before letting out a massive belch that caused several heads to turn, followed by surprised chuckles when they saw it had come from such a small woman.

Watching as the slaves moved closer, she knew instantly they weren't desert peoples. Even with the dirt and grime, their skins were all light and pale, probably kidnapped from around Sylira. There weren't many profitable looking ones in the bunch. The men were small and scrawny, the woman downright hideous. Their futures would probably be quite unpleasant. Taking another bite of her food, Kechaiya took some solace in the fact that her parents weren't on this boat. They would at least be happy that she had escaped that life before it had broken her.

[Lianel Lighthand Terras]

Gulls circled lazily in the clear blue sky, a good day for shipping out on a journey if Nitai was any judge. She relaxed against the wall, enjoying her sandwich, her attention was drawn from the natural scenery when she heard the tell tale clinking of chains, and her eyes were drawn to a long line of slaves emerging from a boat. Gaze narrowing she observed them, trying to distinguish the race. She found it hard to tell the difference between the types of humans, strange minor things discerning one kind from another. Whatever these one's were, they were not destined for a life of ease, since they weren't pretty, and it seemed no care had gone into their condition during their voyage, they were probably simply here for labor, a life of grueling hard work with just enough food and rest to keep them alive for a little longer.

She watched as the clanked past, her thoughts interrupted by a large belch. She looked over the hunched forms to see a female assessing them with eyes of purest coal much in the same way she was, and apparently eating her own lunch as well. Looking at the wine skin made Nitai regret not buying her own, and once the line of slaves passed she crossed the quay.

"Mind company?" She began, giving only a moment of consideration before sitting down regardless of what the reply would have been on a nearby crate, staring after the receding line of slaves. "It's hard to complain about your lot in life when you could be one of those poor sods." She took another large bite of her bread and fish, glancing over at the female to try to get a read on her. If she didn't know better it seemed as though she had paid more mind to those slaves than they warranted, and Nitai had to admit her curiosity was piqued with her skin and eyes.

"Ach, sorry, so rude of me. Name's Nitai." She offered a scaled hand, examined the crumbs upon it, rubbed it off on her cloak and put it out once more.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya looked over at the women who addressed her, instantly taking in her blonde hair and sandwich in hand. Another woman who preferred to not eat inside the confines of the taverns. Kechaiya answered, mouth half full of potatoes, "Mmfm.." Swallowing before continuing, "Yes, sit." Her thick Tawna accent likely giving away her foreign birth, as if the rest of her hadn't. The woman commented on the slaves going past, and Kechaiya agreed with her. She'd been a slave herself for a while, and knew that even the worst of the free living in the shykehole of Sunberth was better than being a slave. Unconsciously she set down her wine skin, and rubbed at her right wrist, where the chains used to be. There was no scarring on her body, no markings, no indication of her time in slavery, but when the thought came up, it brought her comfort to not feel iron on her skin.

The woman's introduction brought her world back into focus, "Nice meet you Nitai. I Kechaiya." Her own small hand extended and met the woman's only now noticing the scales. A Konti woman, probably a foreigner like herself, albeit not from as far as Kech. She'd not met any personally in her travels, only hearing of them or having them indicated from afar. But scales weren't so bad she supposed, and much less noticeable than her own eyes. She saw the woman had no drink of her own, and Chaktawe custom forced her to share her water with a neighbor in need, or in this case, her wine. "Want wine?"

She held the skin out for the woman, eyes turning back to the docks as the start of a commotion along a gangplank. A slave's restraints were apparently not secured properly, and it led to a struggle. The slave and sailor were thrown from the gangplank and fell into the water with a loud splash, many onlookers now looking in that direction. The sailor surfaced and swam back to the dock, pulled out with some assistance. The slave, however, had no such luxury. He was left to his own flailing, apparently unable to swim. Everyone just watched as he sank beneath the water for a bit, only to return after a short time, back upturned, Dira having already taken him.

"Is just like Eyktol. Slaves no can swim, we no have chains on boat."

Kechaiya never normally talked about her time as a slave, but a slip of the tongue had revealed it. She hadn't even noticed it, continuing to munch on her food, waiting for the wineskin to be handed back to quench the spiciness in her mouth.

[Lianel Lighthand Terras]

"Kechaiya, what a beautiful name." For a lot of people, that compliment might have been laced with something, a bit too much emotion to be genuine, or a sly smile, but Nitai simply took another bite of her sandwich, enjoying the name rolled off the tongue. She picked up the accent and the clearly not so fluent Common right away, explaining why she had never seen such vivid eyes before. Part of her imagined them being some sort of curse, her imagination dashing off to exotic magics and strange worlds she had never been too.

To the offer of wine Nitai's smile broadened and she accepted the skin gratefully. "Thank you." She took a measured sip, not too long but not too deep and handed it back, exhaling a sigh as the dryness of the bread and fish was washed down with the fruity liquor. As she was passing it back to Kechaiya she noticed the scuffle, watching with a thoughtful gaze as the slave slipped into the water, the weight of the chains too much to struggle with for one that wasn't used to the water in the first place. Her eyebrows drew together somewhat, a silence opening between the two as they waited to see the floating body reappear above the water. Nitai could imagine a lot of horrors, but not one where she was worth so little it wasn't even worth the effort to pull her out of the water. The good and bad thing about her being a Konti was that if she was ever enslaved such a fate would not be hers, but she wasn't sure if that was necessarily better or worse, and the thought sent a shiver down her back.

A stray breeze and the woman's words brought her back to the present as she spoke of the slaves in Ekytol. The words were said in a way that implied experience. If she had been a slave from another city far away, it would explain most everything about her, she was free now, but that didn't mean she wasn't starkly aware of her past.

"I suppose that's one advantage of being part fish." Nitai chuckled a little, then quickly finished her sandwich, wiping the crumbs upon her pants. "How long have you lived in Sunberth?" She paused, about to leave it at that, but decided some information given out was a fair trade for some about to be received. "I was born and raised here, never left. Most people take me for the foreigner, but that's not really the case." She smirked and stole another sip of wine.
.

[Kechaiya]

The wineskin returned, Kechaiya took a healthy swig before setting it down between them. As she was nearing finishing her food, the comment on being part fish intrigued her. Were Konti somehow born from the mating of human and fish? Clearly the joke had passed well above her head. Her mind was now trying to figure out the logistics of such a strange concept. She wasn't even sure how fish mated with one another. Did they lay eggs like birds, or mate like people do? Perhaps it was something else entirely. But it might be offensive to ask if this woman was descended from the coupling of a woman and a fish.

Thankfully, she had been saved from such an inquiry by a question of time in Sunberth. It was not a particularly dangerous question to answer, considering there was no way Kechaiya was not mistaken for a foreigner. "I come Sunberth six years past, that dock," Her tanned arm pointed to another busy dock three rows down. It was there she had escaped her life as a stowaway, where she had been saved from Sunberth's first act of violence against her by Calyn, where she had become a Sunberthian.

Kechaiya was a bit surprised as the woman admitted to being born a Sunberthian. She didn't sound like many of the other natives Kechaiya had come to know over the years. She spoke so... well. If this were Eyktol, the way she spoke would be more like the Eypharian highborns rather than the wild Chaktawe. This woman didn't seem at all like the secretive, distrusting nature that most Sunberthians had ingrained in them from birth. Kechaiya didn't often get to have a proper conversation that wasn't about work, and wasn't about to delve into that now, especially with someone who seemed genuine and interesting. "I surprise you no foreign. Is what I get thinking rock no have scorpion under." Just as people who used idioms that Kechaiya didn't understand, she still used them without thinking that others might not understand. "You say you part fish? What part?" This was her inquisitive nature as a doctor coming forth, for she'd never healed a fish before. If she could learn something useful about them, perhaps she could save one's life later.

[Lianel Lighthand Terras]

Six years was a long time in Sunberth, more than many people could handle, so when Kechaiya mentioned this Nitai inclined her head slightly. It meant the woman had the will to survive in conditions less than ideal, and as far she could tell managed a healthy existence. She at least seemed fit and capable, and Nitai had found over the years that not all women of the city could say that.

"Do you mind me asking what you do here in the city?" She folded one leg over the other, leaning slightly in towards the woman to show her interest. It wasn't that Nitai was not interested in Kechaiya's story because she most certainly was. She was assumed as foreign, and here she got to learn the story of an actual foreigner. Everything from her accent to her tale were of quite the fascination to her, knowledge she could store and perhaps use at a later date, and if she got to test out her acting a bit in this friendly exchange, attempting to make this individual even friendlier? Well all the better.

She nodded slightly in understanding at Kechaiya assuming she was a foreigner. "I get that quite a lot, sometimes it can help me get by, other times its a bit of a nuisance, since people assume I'm easy to steal from. Generally I try to cover up so people don't notice me for what I am right away." Her mouth pressed together at the phrase the woman uttered, unsure of what it meant or what a 'scorpion' was. She was about to ask her to clarify, in order to gain a bit more cultural knowledge to boot when her next question sent the Konti into a gale of light hearted laughter. "Ah, not fish exactly...it was a joke, some people like to insult us Konti by calling us fish." She twisted the back of her hand in the light to display her scales, then brushed back her loose ringlets over her right shoulder, craning her neck so Kechaiya could get a solid glimpse of the gills in her neck, flaring them for show. "We can breath underwater and swim quite fabulously I might ad, hence the fish part. My mother often proudly told me of our creation, for our Mother is Avalis and our Father is Laviku, they created our fine race, and I suppose we are a bit fishy." She shrugged and leaned back. "And that's the short story. Any God or Goddess give you your eyes?" She realized that this could be construed as more than a little rude, but she also realized there wasn't a precisely tactful way of putting it. Nitai's lavender pupils may have been uncommon, perhaps even rare, but she had never in her half century of life seen eyes like those.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya smiled as this woman seemed to be genuinely interested in her, and she wasn't feeling a vibe that indicated an ulterior motive. She had always heard that Konti were the best of people, inherently good of heart and intention. When she'd first heard that, Kechaiya had dismissed it as yet another tall tale about a race she knew little about. But perhaps it really was a trait of them. After all, you don't find too many honest and nice people in Sunberth. "No mind. I doctor. Fix people hurt, Sunset Quarter. Do no miza work for orphanages." She normally didn't spread around that last little bit of info, but thought that perhaps a decent person wouldn't try to take advantage of it. Treating the children for free was one of the few things in her life that she felt wasn't purely selfish. She knew being selfish wasn't bad, especially in Sunberth. It kept you alive, kept your priorities straight. But the occasional charity helped balance her out. "What do you?"

She now listened as Nitai spoke some more. Kechaiya knew the feeling of being easily robbed, it seemed to happen a few times a season. Perseverance and luck had served her well thus far. At her clarification, Kechaiya initially felt a bit sheepish for having accidentally insulted the woman. But the mirthful laugh she emitted comforted her worry. When she revealed her gills, Kech found herself leaning in close to get a better look at them. She found it fascinating, she could breathe air and water. That was certainly an amazing trait to have, much like the many traits the pureblood Chaktawe had for surviving the desert. She wondered if this meant the Konti race was from a coastal area or island. She doubted they'd be purely underwater because of the addition of the lungs.

She knew of Laviku, but really didn't know anything about Avalis aside from having heard the name once or twice. When she asked about her eyes, Kechaiya, like always when asked that, couldn't hide her smile. She'd developed the habit of never telling the truth about her eyes, which was rather mundane since they had always been that way for her people. So, she made up stories about them, both as entertainment, and occasionally to make people think twice about petching with her. Most people just assumed that because she struggled to tell a story at all in her broken Common that she must be speaking the truth.

Nodding once more, "Yes, gift of Eywaat. When young, Eywaat come village. Look for girls to be wifes. Father offer me. Many girl offer. He pick four. We say vows, eyes go black. When time, I carry child of Eywaat. While eye black, he protect me from men. I only carry child of Eywaat, no child of man." This one she found particularly funny, for if it were true, it would be quite useful. Sunberth was full to the brim with rapists and the like, and Kechaiya had had several close calls. She considered asking about Avalis, but to be frank, she didn't care a lot about gods she wasn't raised on. "Is good you swim. I no swim ever. Is scary."

[Lianel Lighthand Terras]

"A doctor that works for free? Were you sent by the Ukalas themselves?" Nitai smiled, but some surprise was evident in her voice, it was not often you met such a charitable soul in the depths of Sunberth. She wondered if such work made her well liked or her race and foreign nature still made Sunberthians ostracize her. At the very least those she tended to must revere her work and charity, and if anything, it was the one way Nitai could see to easily make friends and allies within the city. Part of her mind realized that it wasn't for the inherent gains that this woman must do her work for free, but it was the only way she could wrap her thoughts around doing such work.

Which of course led to the inevitable question. What did she do? Well, Nitai enjoyed creating fabrications to this story probably as much as Kechaiya enjoyed making up stories about how she got her eye color. It would do no good to simply tell the woman that she worked for the Night Eyes, spying, gathering intelligence, and stealing when she had the chance, and something gave Nitai the impression the good doctor would take it harder if she was as generous as she seemed. "I'm a clerk at the Drunken Fish." She said waving toward the bar entrance. "I handle the books there, do some of the hiring, and manage behind the scenes stuff, not as wonderful or as helpful as being a doctor, but it keeps my stomach full and a roof over my head." She smiled. This story she wanted to keep simple and sweet, if she got to know this woman better, she was constantly in the Drunken Fish, and without some in depth investigation it would be hard to discover it for a lie. Boring, but safe, Nitai liked it.

She leaned forward again, eager to hear the story of her eyes. She was fairly unfamiliar with the name of Eywaat, other than of course his name. She listened, her mouth slowly opening to show her growing disbelief. She wasn't one to argue that this woman hadn't been marked as the bride of some God, everything she had seen and heard from her thus far sounded true and genuine, but it was a bit too ridiculous of a story to fathom. Regardless Nitai was able to close her mouth, and wasn't going to ask if Kechaiya trying to pull a hood over her eyes, for if it was true, she'd feel more than a bit rude. As it was, all she was able to manage was an, "Oh..."

Then her attention was focused quite glaringly on the woman's fear of the water. "I know I am part fish, and thus, slightly biased, but the water is an absolutely fabulous place. It holds you tight, it can cool or warm you, and holds so much life." She looked out towards the bay thoughtfully, then turned her gaze to focus back on Kechaiya.

"This won't do, you not swimming, how about I show you a little bit about swimming, it doesn't have to be today if you don't want to, but we can meet here, maybe once, maybe more, and I'll teach how not to drown like that slave did." She nodded, liking this plan. She did not ask for anything in payment for her lessons if Kechaiya chose to accept them, but that was because she thought she had her little mark sized up quite well, making friends with this one would be payment with her healing skills, which was worth more in the right situation than any number of mizas.
.

[Kechaiya]

Kechaiya felt a pang of jealousy as the woman told her about her job. Not because she was a clerk or anything, but because she could handle the books. Which meant that she could read. Kechaiya had never learned, seeing as she learned her meager Common on ships snippets at a time, and it was all heard. She wasn't close enough with anyone that could teach, and it was an incredibly rare occasion when it was needed. But it was always one of those things she wished she would learn. She made a mental note of the woman's employment, in case she ever needed someone who could read.

As the woman talked about the sea, all Kechaiya could remember was the various boats she'd stowed away on. Often times she'd have to hide in areas that leaked, or when it stormed, the lower decks would sometimes flood a little. As much as she enjoyed storms when on land, they were frightful things when hidden between a sack of potatoes and a crate of gods know what, hoping you managed to go unseen for another day.

Then the woman's enthusiasm shifted toward her, offering to teach her how to swim. Kechaiya was a bit puzzled, it was rare to do get anything for free. Sure, she gave free treatment to the kids, but she felt that was an ongoing debt toward Calyn, Dira rest her soul. But seeing that slave drown with no one even considering to help made her think twice about this deal. Would it be the same for her? Odds were likely. Sunberth had no heroes. Pulling out her coinpurse, "Now good. How much mizas want?"