3rd day of Summer, 519 AV
Rohka needed a better place to think. To reflect on what her father had asked of her the night before. She’d refused his request to come back home, to the Calico Lumber Company on the Lakeshore near the Southern Outpost. She was sure there was more to the story, her father had been so vague about his reasons for departing towards Zeltiva. As the primary architect for the company, Meer was surely needed for the ever expanding business locations and upgrades to the city structures. How could her father possibly be able to leave the family? What exactly would he be doing for work in Zeltiva? Who would do his work here, in Ravok? There were too many questions and she needed to find answers, either within herself or from grasping at threads of information around the city.
Luckily, she knew exactly where to go.
The sybil had her pack in her hands, her few gold mizas, and her silk headscarf wrapped around her dark, voluminous, uncombed hair that flowed over her shoulder and down to her mid-back. She skipped down the wooden steps of the Malt House, waved her usual hello & goodbye to Grayson who nodded in return, and rushed out the door towards the first ravosala in sight.
“Hello!” Rohka stopped a portly young man rowing along an empty one with plush, colourful seating. “One trip to the House of Immortal Pleasures please!” The young man blinked and paused for a moment before answering monotonously,
“Sure, that’s four gold mizas.”
“Four?!” Rohka was surprised but then noticed the large, dirty blue seating with simple geometric carvings on the side. “Oh come on, look at your upholstery, will you? I can’t pay four mizas for that!” She huffed, her brows twisted in disbelief at the man trying to swindle her.
“Standard fare, ma’am.” He gave her a once over without skipping a tick, “Try the next pilot,” and with that, he turned his head and pushed along.
“No! Wait!” The sybil was frustrated with herself, more than she already was, knowing she’d done a poor job of negotiating with the man. She tapped her foot on the walkway with her hands on her hips, waiting for the next one to come along. Sure enough, one did, a couple chimes later.
“Hey! You! Two gold mizas for a ride to the House of Immortal Pleasures please!” Rohka yelled out to the older woman rowing her ravosala towards her. The sides were engraved with multiple birds, and as the craft got closer, she noticed the simple dark green seats and smiled, happy to see her favourite colour and secretly hoping the ravosalawoman would take her coin, purely to have her headscarf match the interior.
The ravosala woman had short grey hair, braided to one side, with a plain wide-rimmed black hat atop her head. She came forward with a warm smile, the strength in her wiry veined arms evident and the experience in her lovely hazel eyes bringing an ounce of joy to her heart. Roh loved seeing smile lines on women. It showed a history of laughter.
The ravosala approached and centred itself in front of her. The woman wiped the sweat off her forehead and flashed a grin.
“The House of Immortal Pleasure, eh? Young lady, I think you must be new to the city. There’s a curfew out, and its getting late! Not only that, but two mizas is hardly enough dear. Now what’s a girl like you heading to the house for?” The genuine smile stayed on her face, the curiosity seemingly sincere.
“So here’s the thing,” Roh began, excited to able to ask questions of her own. “I totally know about the curfew. But it couldn’t be that bad, right? I’ve lived in this city my whole life okay, and Rhysol has been so good to us! Honestly seems impossible that anything seriously dangerous could happen, and we always have guards around, right? If they see me coming from the House, I’ll take my chances and bat some eyelashes and they’ll take me home, won’t they?” The sybil laughed as she spoke, seeing the ravosalawoman’s eyes sparkle. “And okay, so this is serious. I really need to think. I have, like, things I need to figure out. I do that best after a good petching session.” The woman began to chuckle, and it grew into a laugh as Roh joined in. “I’m serious! I’m really good at thinking after I’m thoroughly petched. And there’s things that I think I can find out from the slaves there,”
“Sexy things?” The woman asked, completely enjoying the revelation being told.
“No, work-related!” Rohka responded, adjusting the pack on her back. “See, so, I work at the Mystic Eye and it’s been a dream of mine to continue learning and growing and doing things on my own instead of always having to be needed by my family, but my family actually seems like they need me this time! And I have to choose, ya know? I have to choose what matters more to me. And the slaves there, they…” Rohka paused, wondering if she should say the next part. She looked into the lovely woman’s gaze again and decided at once that she trusted her. “The slaves, they’re from far away places sometimes! And I can figure things out about my family from them.”
The ravosalawoman shook her head in disbelief, still smiling. “What’s your name, dear?”
“Rohka,” the sybil responded, hesitating.
“You don’t have a last name?” A hint of a smirk played at the woman’s lips. Ravok was known for their famous family trees. She wondered who this young sociable woman would be aligned with.
“Um,” Roh looked away for a tick, almost as if looking around to make sure people wouldn’t hear her. Like an instinctual reflex that the sybil wasn’t even aware of doing. “Calico. Rohka Calico.”
“Aaah,” a couple brief memories clicked in the woman’s mind. “Well Rohka, I’m Ambro. Ambro Wright. Come, get in. For five mizas and I’ll tell you a story you’ll want to hear.”
A sudden warmth filled the sybil’s heart. She took Ambro’s outstretched hand and hopped in. “Ambro, can we do four please?” Roh asked with a tone that sounded like a playful whine, yet the smile still stayed on her face.
“Alright sweetie, just for your arse,” they both laughed “Four mizas.”
And off they went.
WC = 1068
Rohka needed a better place to think. To reflect on what her father had asked of her the night before. She’d refused his request to come back home, to the Calico Lumber Company on the Lakeshore near the Southern Outpost. She was sure there was more to the story, her father had been so vague about his reasons for departing towards Zeltiva. As the primary architect for the company, Meer was surely needed for the ever expanding business locations and upgrades to the city structures. How could her father possibly be able to leave the family? What exactly would he be doing for work in Zeltiva? Who would do his work here, in Ravok? There were too many questions and she needed to find answers, either within herself or from grasping at threads of information around the city.
Luckily, she knew exactly where to go.
The sybil had her pack in her hands, her few gold mizas, and her silk headscarf wrapped around her dark, voluminous, uncombed hair that flowed over her shoulder and down to her mid-back. She skipped down the wooden steps of the Malt House, waved her usual hello & goodbye to Grayson who nodded in return, and rushed out the door towards the first ravosala in sight.
“Hello!” Rohka stopped a portly young man rowing along an empty one with plush, colourful seating. “One trip to the House of Immortal Pleasures please!” The young man blinked and paused for a moment before answering monotonously,
“Sure, that’s four gold mizas.”
“Four?!” Rohka was surprised but then noticed the large, dirty blue seating with simple geometric carvings on the side. “Oh come on, look at your upholstery, will you? I can’t pay four mizas for that!” She huffed, her brows twisted in disbelief at the man trying to swindle her.
“Standard fare, ma’am.” He gave her a once over without skipping a tick, “Try the next pilot,” and with that, he turned his head and pushed along.
“No! Wait!” The sybil was frustrated with herself, more than she already was, knowing she’d done a poor job of negotiating with the man. She tapped her foot on the walkway with her hands on her hips, waiting for the next one to come along. Sure enough, one did, a couple chimes later.
“Hey! You! Two gold mizas for a ride to the House of Immortal Pleasures please!” Rohka yelled out to the older woman rowing her ravosala towards her. The sides were engraved with multiple birds, and as the craft got closer, she noticed the simple dark green seats and smiled, happy to see her favourite colour and secretly hoping the ravosalawoman would take her coin, purely to have her headscarf match the interior.
The ravosala woman had short grey hair, braided to one side, with a plain wide-rimmed black hat atop her head. She came forward with a warm smile, the strength in her wiry veined arms evident and the experience in her lovely hazel eyes bringing an ounce of joy to her heart. Roh loved seeing smile lines on women. It showed a history of laughter.
The ravosala approached and centred itself in front of her. The woman wiped the sweat off her forehead and flashed a grin.
“The House of Immortal Pleasure, eh? Young lady, I think you must be new to the city. There’s a curfew out, and its getting late! Not only that, but two mizas is hardly enough dear. Now what’s a girl like you heading to the house for?” The genuine smile stayed on her face, the curiosity seemingly sincere.
“So here’s the thing,” Roh began, excited to able to ask questions of her own. “I totally know about the curfew. But it couldn’t be that bad, right? I’ve lived in this city my whole life okay, and Rhysol has been so good to us! Honestly seems impossible that anything seriously dangerous could happen, and we always have guards around, right? If they see me coming from the House, I’ll take my chances and bat some eyelashes and they’ll take me home, won’t they?” The sybil laughed as she spoke, seeing the ravosalawoman’s eyes sparkle. “And okay, so this is serious. I really need to think. I have, like, things I need to figure out. I do that best after a good petching session.” The woman began to chuckle, and it grew into a laugh as Roh joined in. “I’m serious! I’m really good at thinking after I’m thoroughly petched. And there’s things that I think I can find out from the slaves there,”
“Sexy things?” The woman asked, completely enjoying the revelation being told.
“No, work-related!” Rohka responded, adjusting the pack on her back. “See, so, I work at the Mystic Eye and it’s been a dream of mine to continue learning and growing and doing things on my own instead of always having to be needed by my family, but my family actually seems like they need me this time! And I have to choose, ya know? I have to choose what matters more to me. And the slaves there, they…” Rohka paused, wondering if she should say the next part. She looked into the lovely woman’s gaze again and decided at once that she trusted her. “The slaves, they’re from far away places sometimes! And I can figure things out about my family from them.”
The ravosalawoman shook her head in disbelief, still smiling. “What’s your name, dear?”
“Rohka,” the sybil responded, hesitating.
“You don’t have a last name?” A hint of a smirk played at the woman’s lips. Ravok was known for their famous family trees. She wondered who this young sociable woman would be aligned with.
“Um,” Roh looked away for a tick, almost as if looking around to make sure people wouldn’t hear her. Like an instinctual reflex that the sybil wasn’t even aware of doing. “Calico. Rohka Calico.”
“Aaah,” a couple brief memories clicked in the woman’s mind. “Well Rohka, I’m Ambro. Ambro Wright. Come, get in. For five mizas and I’ll tell you a story you’ll want to hear.”
A sudden warmth filled the sybil’s heart. She took Ambro’s outstretched hand and hopped in. “Ambro, can we do four please?” Roh asked with a tone that sounded like a playful whine, yet the smile still stayed on her face.
“Alright sweetie, just for your arse,” they both laughed “Four mizas.”
And off they went.
WC = 1068
Boxcode credit to Antipodes