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[Ennisa]

9th Autumn 519 AV
"speech"

"I mean, really? Could it get any worse than that? Still drunk out of my skull, lying in the shabbiest bed with a complete stranger. To top it off, when I got home, Senith knew everything, and..-" The elegant woman who was telling her unfortunate tale stopped talking her friend's ears off when she spotted Ennisa, who was twiddling the quill backwards and forwards whilst she eavesdropped. She narrowed her beautifully kholled eyes, but Ennisa had already taken the hint and dropped her head down.

Work was ticking along. So far, she had compiled a few lists, copied a few things that a colleague had asked her to, doodled a tad bit in the margins of a practice sheet, and earwigged on the conversations of a few of the visitors to the Cosmos Centre. The last had been a bit juicy, so she was quite disappointed that she wouldn't learn the rest of the story. Even so, she strained her ears even as she set back to work, but the woman had turned away and lowered her voice, which made it difficult to hear anything except soft suserrations.

The Cosmos Centre was also filled with the sound of scritching, scratching, and scribbling of nibs on paper. The air was dry and clear; Ennisa assumed this was because of the books and papers stored further inside causing the air to take on a paper-like quality, but in reality it was probably more likely that the air needed to be dry for the sake of the books. It was filled with the gentle scent of parchment too, and sometimes a whiff of ink, bitter and strong. It was the air of studious industry.

Ennisa wasn't so studious that morning. Her mind was filled with distractions. A bird was singing, just outside the door. The song seemed oddly familiar, as if she'd heard it somewhere else, but that also meant that she had been trying to figure out the tune, much to the annoyance of the people nearest to her. She was also thinking about Itzi, who had seemed a little.. off.. that morning. Most of all, she had been trying to understand why there had been a donkey standing outside all day.

The donkey was a puzzler for sure. Nobody seemed to own it, yet there was a halter around its neck. It was a strange creature to see in Lhavit too. Ennisa could only assume that some foolhardy person had transported it from somewhere else, whether by boat or by foot. It would explain why it looked so malnourished and sickly. She half-wished she knew something about caring for livestock, if only so she could make it feel a bit better. Yet she didn't, and whoever owned the donkey hadn't come back yet.

It didn't move much either. Every time Ennisa caught a glimpse of it, when the door opened, or she got up to stretch her legs a little, it was stood stock-still in the same place. Occasionally its tail flapped in a desultory manner, as if it only semi-cared about sweeping away the flies that bothered it. She was forced to admit that the donkey was more fascinating than the filing that awaited her in the afternoon. It astounded her that no-one else seemed to care. Could they not see the poor creature?

The filing came, and with it, she was taken away from the front part of the Cosmos Centre to the back rooms where all the folders and files resided. She could no longer see the donkey, which was fine. It was fine, really. She wasn't worried about it, not at all!

Ennisa might be able to fool some, but she wasn't kidding herself. Curiosity burned at her. She sorted folders, moved one stack to another stack, took orders from the lady who she was assisting, but her heart just wasn't in it. After one too many mistakes (like tripping over a footstool, which sent her and an armful of loose sheets flying), the irritated woman sent her out just before the noon rest. Gleefully, Ennisa set her things down and walked as speedily as she could to the front of the elaborately decorated building, in the hopes of finding the lovely donkey.

[Ennisa]

Date
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To her dismay, the donkey was nowhere to be seen. Curiously, the halter that had been looped around its neck was lying on the ground. She crouched down and picked the item up, and looked at it a little closer. Upon further investigation, the halter didn't give away much in the way of secrets. The leather appeared to be old and well-worn. Cracks had appeared at stress points in the dark brown material. The metal buckle looked cheap to Ennisa's eyes, and the pin was slightly bent. She thoughtfully coiled the halter up and placed it in her backpack.

There were a couple of people around and about. When she went and asked, none of them seemed all that interested or indeed knowledgeable about the donkey and its whereabouts, but Ennisa didn't have anything to do, she wasn't tired, and she had a few bells in which to have a look for the donkey. Maybe some child had decided to let it loose, or it had worked free of the halter all by itself.

She walked back to the spot where the halter had been lying and crouched down to the floor to have a good look at the ground, trying to see if there were any hoof marks. It was greatly disappointing to see that there was a muddle of footprints, with so much traffic and disturbance that if there had been a trail, it was completely incomprehensible. She scratched her head and wondered. If she were a donkey in Lhavit, where would she go?

Ennisa's first thought was, of course, the outskirts where the city blended into the wilderness. If that was where her donkey had gone to, (and she was now thinking of it being hers, even though she had no claim on the poor animal), then she would sadly be unable to follow. Everyone knew the wilderness was just that - wild. Ennisa was fairly confident in herself, but not so much as to wander into the Unforgiving without some kind of guide.

The next thought was the Trail of Waterfalls, as this was where there was a decent amount of greenery for the starving animal to munch on. She stood, and had almost resolved to go down there and have a look, when she noticed a young man looking at her from a distance. The reason she noticed him, and really, everybody on the street noticed him too, was that he was naked. Starkers. Huh? Her eyes almost came out on stalks.

As it was, the man was almost naked. The young man had wrapped a faded, striped blanket around his waist to protect his modesty, and from the nip of the fresh air. His hair was unkempt, streaked with grey that didn't match his age, and his face and arms betrayed his health in their gauntness. Ennisa wasn't the politest, so she found herself gawking in a quite unladylike manner.

She was minded to see if he was alright, so she began walking over to him. However, to her surprise, as soon as she started to approach him, he startled. His eyes opened wide and he gasped audibly. Before she could say anything or offer reassurance, the man turned on his heel and began to run in the most awkward fashion, the blanket clutched to his waist whilst his bare feet tangled with the drapes. Ennisa couldn't help herself; instead of letting him be, she set to chase him down and began running after him.

[Ennisa]

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"Hey!" She yelped. The man was not very fast, but Ennisa had started running from a dead-stop, so she was slightly short of breath as she ran after him. Pedestrians on the street didn't have time to register the almost-naked man before Ennisa came barging past. She was forced to stop a couple of times when careening around a sharp corner or two, so as not to send strangers sprawling. However, she did her level best to keep an eye on the running, blanket-clutching man. Every so often, she caught a glimpse of his face as he turned to look at her. She noticed more than his greying hair; she took in the fright in his eyes, and his pale skin, and the jerky movements that he made to take any opportunity to speed away.

"I'm not here to hurt you!", she panted. She was gaining on him step by step, but now she almost felt bad for driving him into the state that he was in. Yet, like a stubborn child, she had him fixed in her sights, and she wasn't going to relent. Outside a sunny neighbourhood square, the be-blanketed man doubled over, and the chase was at an end.

Ennisa jogged the remaining distance and slowed to a walk as she approached him. She came to stand in front of the man, half indignant and half apologetic over his terror. At a loss for what to say, she folded her arms across her chest. The man kept panting, and the ribs in his skinny chest rose and fell with each sharp gust of breath. "Hey, look I'm not gonna hurt you... ?" She absently reached to offer him her cloak, then remembered she'd left it at home.

After a while, the man seemed to mellow. He stood there silently, his head bowed, though he took a couple of glances from under his lashes. Ennisa was dumbfounded. It appeared as though he was waiting for a reaction from her, but all she had wanted to ask was if he was okay. She ran an exasperated hand through her hair, and decided she would at least see if he needed some help.

"I'm sorry I chased you, but I saw you standing there. You must be freezing, surely? I only came to offer help. I work at the Cosmos Centre. That building you were stood near, earlier. The big one?" She was surprised, but pleased, to see a reaction to this. The man raised his head somewhat, and looked at her more fully. His eyes were dark, slightly grey-ish blue, and captivating in their intensity. She instinctively looked away.

"Are you okay?" Her voice had tailed off from its usual bright, cheerfulness, down to a muted, questioning tone. This was due to a number of reasons. Firstly, she had never really had to help someone before. Never really wanted to help someone. Had never needed to. That she was attempting to do so now was mildly confusing to the young woman. Secondly, faced with the man's seemingly unyielding quietness, her usual chatty nature seemed odd and abrasive. Her own voice sounded loud and nasal, so she didn't talk.

Instead, she slowly rummaged inside her backpack and withdrew her lunch for the day. The bread was nothing special, and the small bundle of dried deer was chewy and tough, but the man seemed to brighten at the sight. She could see he was hungry; she could see the glint in his eye that lit at the food. Carefully, as if she was trying not to startle the man, she ripped off half of the bread roll, and held it out to the naked man.

[Ennisa]

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He took the food cautiously, and startled Ennisa by saying, "Thank you", in a clear, calm tone of voice. She had been in the process of convincing herself that he was a mute.
"You're welcome." She considered the man as he munched. That what she was doing would be considered rude to most people didn't pass through her mind. Anyway, the man didn't seem phased by Ennisa's gaze. He probably didn't even notice. Once he had finished the bread, she offered him a little of the dried jerky, which he chewed meticulously. She had some herself, and when they had both finished she put the scant remaining jerky away in her bag.

As she opened the backpack, the simple halter she had picked up earlier partially slipped out. She began to stuff it back in, but then the man spoke, which stopped her in her tracks. "What are you doing with that." Ennisa turned and took the worn leather from her bag. Confused, she held it forward to him. "What, this? I found it earlier. I was looking for the animal that was wearing it."

The man stood stock still. The scenario would look strange to a stranger's eyes. There Ennisa stood, holding the most inconsequential item out, bewilderment spreading across her features. Then the partially naked guy, stood as if threatened, eyes wild, as if that very same inconsequential leather strip would bite him.

"Leave me alone." The man took a couple of steps back. Ennisa thought he might be trying to run again, but why? "Wait, what? Just, stay still. What is the petching matter? Lhavit's not going to be very pleasant for you if you're going to be running around like that. Are you an idiot?" Now she was getting frustrated; it showed in her voice. However, as much as she was annoyed with the stranger, she felt it would be a bit of a waste of her time to let him go now. Not after she'd already fed him and sought after him.

(Selfish girl).

Some expression played across the man's face, but her little outburst seemed to have caught his attention in a way she didn't understand, but appreciated nonetheless. "Okay, good. Now, I think I need to know. Where are you from? Why are you so alarmed of me? I told you, I'm not going to hurt you. Why in all of Mizahar would I ever want to do that? That would be of no benefit to me at all."

[Ennisa]

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His lips parted as if he wished to speak, but the harrowed feelings that flitted across his face pushed Ennisa to frustration once again. She burst out, "What the petch is your problem? Just answer the gods-damned question, would you? I think I have a right to know." The man cautiously folded his arms. Ennisa shifted on her feet, impatient, and was about to write him off as a lost cause and flounce away, when he decided to speak.

"I don't trust you. That strap, in your bag. The master that brought me here to this city tied that around my neck, but I think you know that, don't you? He's gone with your city's authorities, but you... You're the woman he was going to meet, aren't you? Please stop with the games, I'm not stupid, and I'm free now. It.. it took me a while to realise, but I'm free here. You can't stop me."

The man stood staunchly; his outburst had bolstered him. Ennisa, meanwhile, was utterly lost. "What in... What are you going on about? I have no idea who your master is, and wait." She registered the implication behind his words. "Are you telling me you're the donkey that was stood outside this morning?"

It was the Kelvic's turn to wear a look of confusion. "What's going on - who are you?"
"That's my bloody question!", she exclaimed with an outburst of exasperation. "I already told you, I work at the Cosmos Centre, I got bored and went on my break looking for the donkey I saw out my window, then I saw you and you ran away and I had to follow you because, no offence, you look so pitiful." She took a deep breath. "And now it turns out you are the donkey, but I still don't understand why you were running away from me, because I have absolutely no petching idea who your master is, who this woman is that you're talking about, and who you are. I don't even know what I'm supposed to call you."

She huffed, her eyebrows furrowed, her arms crossed across her chest defensively. The half-naked man, obviously at a loss of what to do or say, loitered until Ennisa had enough. "C'mon, you're coming with me. I'll get you something else to wear at least, so you're not wearing that disgusting blanket. But, understand this, you're explaining on the way. I won't get you clothes if you're not going to talk."

Firmly, she pushed her hand onto the flat of his back. His skin was cold to the touch, having been exposed to the air for quite some time now. Her bossy attitude seemed to have mollified him a little, because he began to walk alongside her well enough. Yet, after a few chimes of silence and light footsteps, Ennisa coughed purposefully and cleared her throat. "About that explanation that you're going to give me, then."

The Kelvic paused for a moment, but when he finally spoke, Ennisa listened carefully to his story.

"We came from far away. The journey from Sunberth took a long, long time, so long that I can't remember now. I was only small back then. My mother sold me to my master. At first, he was kind enough, but it was hard work. He pissed-off someone and managed to leave the city with some Svefra, but he took me with him. We travelled all over the place." The man shuddered. "It was horrible, the things that he did. The things he made me do."

"Then, recently, we hit some trouble. Mizas ran dry. He had been talking with some person in a bar, who described a lady my master wanted to meet, very much. She lives here. I think she was someone he used to know. My master journeyed here with me, and I think he's trying to find her now and bleed her of her mizas, but he forgot that I don't want to be his slave, not any more. When I finally opened my eyes and realised there are no slaves here, I ran away."

[Ennisa]

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As she listened to his story, her eyebrows raised then lowered, each surprised emotion readily displayed across her face. It seemed to extreme to be true. She rarely spoke to someone who was as pathetic as he, but nevertheless she was impressed with the clarity of his voice as he spoke. He didn't go into the awful things his master had made him do, and Ennisa wouldn't ask. Even she knew her limits, most of the time. Instead, she pondered his words carefully, and thought about what they might mean.

He was, or at least had been a slave, she presumed. She couldn't imagine what that must be like. To be without one's freedom - well, she couldn't fathom it. She could therefore completely sympathise with him at the spark of defiant bravery in his voice as he spoke of running away. She smiled encouragingly at him.

"So, your master. Your ex-master now. Will he want to get you back? If things are, or were, that difficult between you, I mean. And once we've got you something to wear, what are you going to do? I suppose you could go to the Cosmos Centre, see if there are any jobs going. That way you could earn your kina. I don't know what the rules are when it comes to slaves, though we don't have any slaves here in Lhavit, not that I know of."

The donkey-man nodded and continued walking. As they spoke, he began to relax, though it was clear that as long as he was within anyone's company, he would always be a bit tense. Ennisa's frustration began to ebb away, and she listened intently as they walked together. " I don't have a plan. I don't have any kina, or mizas. My master has that. He will probably want to find me again, but I'm free now." The man's expression darkened, but he said no more.

Eventually, they reached Zintia Peak. There, Ennisa had a decision to make. She needed to decide whether to buy the man some clothes, which would be generous beyond belief for her, or to find something old of hers to give him at her flat. They waited for a moment whilst she dithered about, but as the man began to get a bit restless, she realised she actually didn't have any old clothes to give him anyway. Silently she groaned to herself at the cost to her person, but she had promised him. Besides, he was in a tough place. If she helped him now, and they struck up some kind of friendship, perhaps he'd help her in return later.

With a low chuckle that the man thankfully didn't pick up on, she guided him towards the Azure Market, on the way to the best (and only) clothing shop in Lhavit - the Silk Palace. "C'mon, let's get you some new clothes." The pair walked through the streets. Ennisa began to feel quite protective of the man, as people turned to stare as they walked past. The looks, however, didn't seem to bother him at all, so she shrugged it off and pushed open the door of the Silk Palace.

The welcome they received was not the usual. "Good grief! You've obviously come to the right place - what can we do for you today?" The ginger shop attendants goggled at the man, but Ennisa cleared her throat loudly and said, "He's looking for something very simple. Do you have any clothes for sale?"

Ginger Mae looked side-long at equally ginger Lae, and the two hmm'ed at the same time. "Not really, though if you're looking for something simple we could take some measurements?" The other sister added, "We don't have ready-made garments. Sorry." Ennisa frowned, took a look at the man, whose skin was positively frigid, and shared a look with him. He looked back, passively. Ennisa sighed. "If he got some measurements taken, how long would it take?"

WC : 654

[Ennisa]

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"Ooh, if we worked hard, the best part of the day, depending on what item or items you're both looking for." Lae chimed in. "As it's a rush job, we would charge extra as well. I'll consult with Mistress Hai." She bobbed out of the room, leaving Mae standing awkwardly trying not to look at the man's exposed torso. Ennisa huffed. The prospect of all this coin going to a man she might not meet again really wound her up. She was majorly regretting her decision now, but what could she do? The ginger girls would only think she was cheap if she left now, and she didn't really have any other options.

Instead, she doubled down on her promise to herself to make some use of the man. The Kelvic. Yes, he was a mystery at the moment, and that wasn't much good, but if she could get him to trust her then perhaps she could figure out a way that he could become useful to her in the future.

Now that she'd worked out how to turn the situation to her advantage, she looked over at the remaining ginger woman. They were probably roughly the same age. Ennisa smiled, though the movement was tight, and Mae tilted her head as Ennisa posed a question to her. "I think we would only want a really simple pair of trousers and a top of some kind? Nothing fashionable. Just, to keep the elements off. He can't walk around with that ratty rug the whole time he's here in Lhavit."

At this, Mae perked up and she turned her attention to the man. "Are you a newcomer to Lhavit then, sir? How fascinating! Have you come from far away? How'd you get here?" The Kelvic levelled his cool gaze at the two women who had both turned to listen to his reply. "I arrived on a boat. I've been to many different places in Mizahar, but I originally came from a city named Sunberth." Mae ooh'ed. Travel seemed to interest her. "What's Sunberth like? I've heard it's a terrible place. No offence meant, of course."

Ennisa tossed that new piece of information into the pile. When the Kelvic replied, she felt a pang of disembodied sadness for the man, who had obviously had a much harder life than herself. "Yes, it is not a pleasant city. Gangs roam the streets. There's the constant stink, the fear, and plenty of killing." He cast his eyes down. When he looked up again, there was a touch of brightness in his gaze, a sense of hopefulness. "Lhavit is... beautiful. You are both very lucky to live here."

Ennisa smiled at Mae, and the two nodded. It was true. Lhavit was beautiful. Before they could continue the conversation, a sweet voice spoke from the doorway. "Oh, I absolutely agree. Lhavit, city of stars and city of elegance. I'm glad to see you feel the same way I do!" The woman whose voice it was came into the room, accompanied by Lae, who was carrying a strip of material marked with little black lines.

"I'm Shilo Hai, the owner of the Silk Palace. You can both call me Shilo. What kind of items are you looking for today? Anything for you, madam, or are we looking for something for this gentleman?" She beamed and smoothed her already pristine clothes down. Ennisa nodded a greeting, and then launched straight into the answer.

"Hello Shilo. Well, my friend here, he's looking for something a little warmer than what he has currently," at this she couldn't help but grin with amusement as she indicated the blanket, "but we're only looking for something very simple that will be ready before the day is ended. Preferably a lot shorter than that. You shop assistant mentioned there would also be some kind of price mark up as well, because it's a rush job. If that's correct, I'd need to know the cost before we go any further," she asserted. It seemed best to state the items she thought he'd need as well, so she added in, "He needs a pair of trousers and some kind of shirt or top."

WC : 697

[Ennisa]

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The Kelvic shuffled on his feet and the two women discussed backwards and forwards. He was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable, if only because the discussion reminded him of the bartering and haggling of traders and slavers. Ennisa gradually picked up on his discomfort in the middle of the haggling, so she was in the middle of a sentence when she heard the Kelvic's soft, sad sigh through his nose. "If I helped with some of the construction of the clothes, could we get a price reduction, Shilo?" "No, but if you had the skill, it could hasten the completion of the items I suppose." "Good, then I'll..-"

"What is it?" The Kelvic stared at her for a tick. Shilo obviously realised that they would be buying some clothes today, and began organising the Tsang twins into the back room, where the measuring and fitting would take place. This left Ennisa and the man virtually alone together. She noticed his thin lips were downturned. Again, she ground down her irritation at the sight of his unhappy face. He had a right to feel put-out by the whole situation, she told herself. Stop getting so annoyed with him.

"I'm very grateful that you would help me like this. I didn't and don't expect it, and I'm perfectly happy to walk away now and fend for myself." "Oh gods petch it!", she burst out. "No, you're not walking away now, not after I put the time in to get all this arranged for you. You can't go walking around Lhavit, willy-nilly, nary a care in the world. Look at you! Who would employ such a scrawny person, especially one who's virtually naked. I mean," here she lowered her voice, suddenly aware of listening ears from the other room.

"I mean, I'm sure you'll do very well here in Lhavit, if you decide to stay. If your master hurt you previously, I'm sure the Shinya would protect you if he was searching for you and you're scared. But, gods damn it, let's just deal with the here and now. You need cloth on your skin, so that you don't eventually freeze to death." Outburst over, she placed both hands on her hips, and stared him down.

The man frowned, but a smile formed on his lips slowly. "I'm a Kelvic, remember? As long as I have somewhere to graze, I can get my strength up. We donkeys can cope with a bit of winter chill, when it comes." Ennisa mused for a moment, and conceded. "You're right. I had forgotten." She ushered him into the room with a sweep of her hands. "However! You look like a human to me at the moment, and humans don't tend to walk around without any clothes on. In you go, and we'll get this over and done with."

The man trudged into the room, and the fitting process began. Ennisa did her best to pay attention as the three women conversed back and forth, discussing fit, form and function, but she soon lost interest in the measuring. When it came to the material, she did bring her attention back to the man to make sure he didn't accidentally pick anything too expensive, but she was pleased to see that he must have been paying attention to her discussion previously as he picked the simplest of cloths - linen.

Eventually, the women began cutting some material. They had temporarily given the man a scrap of fabric to drape over his chest, and he sat in the corner of the back room. Ennisa stood nearby. Shilo had gone to attend to some other customers who came and went. Little to no attention was paid to the industry in the room they were in, and that suited her. Ennisa was growing restless, however. She was stuck in a room with a man who didn't seem that keen on conversation, yet she still wanted to wrangle more information out of him, without seeming too nosy or intrusive.

She carefully trod over to him and slumped herself down beside him. "So, I don't think I got your name. I don't know if I told you mine, either. I'm Ennisa." The man replied with what she was fast understanding was his usual, one word reply, "Aleth." Finally! She linked the name to the face. "Aleth, what do you want to do, now that you're technically free? Where will you go after this?"

WC : 740

[Ennisa]

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Shutters fell over Aleth's eyes. He shrugged, non-committally. "I don't know." Ennisa rolled her eyes dramatically. "Petch you, then." The Kelvic shot her a glance, but she had already turned her head away to watch a short man idling over the selection of some fabric, whilst Shilo watched on, a serene picture of effortless elegance. Maybe I need some new clothes... She quashed that particular thought for another time.

To her surprise, she felt Aleth's touch on her arm briefly. She turned to look at him again, and scanned his expression. His eyes softened as he dropped his hand. "I really don't know, Ennisa. I will go to the Cosmos Centre, as you suggested. That was where my master went to find out where the woman lives, so I was..." He tapped his chin in thought. Ennisa briefly wondered how he would look once he'd got a bit more food in his belly. Nicer, probably. He continued softly, "I was worried, I suppose. You seem nice though. The Cosmos Centre - what is it?"

It was her turn to ponder. "Well, the Cosmos Centre is where you go when you're a newcomer, like yourself. We sort people out with homes, with jobs, with other various little tasks like that. Sometimes, people can get tours of the city organised from the Cosmos Centre. The last tour I took someone on didn't go particularly well. If you are looking to stay here, then how would you like it if I took you on a tour of Lhavit?"

The offer sprung from her lips faster than she'd meant it to, but it was out there now. She was glad to see the man carefully considering her request. At least she had sown the seeds to find out more from him. "Yes, I think I would like that." She beamed. "How about I meet you outside this shop the day after tomorrow then. I can take you around. You'll be more decent then."

He seemed pleased with the proposition, though he only replied with a soft, "Yes, okay," which Ennisa took as a positive. Perhaps she could work a little more of a sense of familiarity into him tomorrow. Get him to trust her a little more. She pushed herself upwards to stand, and stretched loudly. "Right, I'll go pay for the clothes. You'll be alright, here? I can't stay, I need to get going now." She glanced down at him, but Aleth looked at her with a totally unreadable expression, and merely nodded his head once.

"Right! I think Shilo's finished with that customer now." Ennisa dismissed herself from the fitting room, away from the casual chatter of Mae and Lae, and went to look for Mistress Hai. The woman was sat on a chair, comparing some swatches of cloth against the daylight streaming in through the window. Ennisa approached her and rummaged for her kina. "How much do I owe you? I can't stay any more, nor help though I would have only hindered the process I think!"

Shilo looked up and set the fabric aside. She walked over to the till and Ennisa followed her. The business woman looked over the receipt that the Tsang twins had drawn up previously, and read out the number written there in Mae's neat script. "That'll be six kina, nine topaz. Is your friend staying here whilst the clothes are made? I didn't want to ask before, but he seems awfully quiet. What's his story?"

Ennisa blanched at the price, but handed the coins over anyway. They jangled cheerfully as they passed from her hand to Shilo's. The woman smiled and deposited the kina in the till. Ennisa considered what to say for a moment. Eventually, she decided it would probably be better if she kept the fact that he was an ex-slave to herself. She was an honest as she could be in her reply. "I don't know. I found him like that. I think he's a Kelvic, and he lost his clothes? Anyway, he'll probably be staying here. I don't know if he has anywhere else to go. Hope that's okay."

It wasn't a question, but it seemed like it would be okay anyway. Ennisa was glad of that, as she certainly wasn't going to parade him around the streets of Lhavit again. "Thanks for being so quick with the production. I'll make sure to come again at some point!" With a cheery grin, she waved and almost left the shop. With an audible oh!, she turned on her heel. Aleth looked up with surprise from his nook on the floor, but Ennisa withdrew the leather harness from within the realms of her backpack. "This is yours. Do with it whatever you want, Aleth. I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

With that, and before she could catch his reaction, she was gone.

[-0.8 ki linen trousers, undyed
-0.1 ki linen shirt, undyed
-6 ki rush job charge
total = -6.9 ki]

WC : 803

[Madeira Dusk]

Grades Awarded!

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Ennisa

Skills

• Intelligence: 1xp
• Observation: 4xp
• Investigation: 2xp
• Logic: 3xp
• Running: 2xp
• Socialization: 4xp
• Planning: 3xp
• Persuasion: 3xp
• Interrogation: 1xp
• Rhetoric: 2xp
• Leadership: 3xp
• Negotiation: 2xp

Lores

• Intelligence: eavesdropping
• Lore of the mysterious donkey
• Investigation: examining clues
• Running: starting from a dead stop is exhausting
• Lore of selflessly helping a stranger
• Persuasion: sound reasoning
• Lore of the identity of the mysterious donkey
• Leadership: clear demands
• Donkey Man: a big investment with an even greater return?
• Donkey Man: from Sunberth
• Sunberth: brief overview
• Shilo Hai: owner of the Silk Palace
• Donkey Man: Aleth

Awards & Retribution
+linen trousers, undyed: -8tk
+linen shirt, undyed: -1tk
+Silk Palace rush job: -6ki

Notes
I hope to see Aleth back in a future thread! He seems to bring out the best (and very worst) in Ennisa, though she doesn't seem to appreciate it.