Dockin [L'kya]

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

5th Fall 511AV Serrif was walking the docks. They were quiet in the morning save for the people loading on and off of them. But there was only one ship coming in today. He saw it coming up and dropping anchor now. He was watching. Mostly to see what was going on. And well because he couldn’t sleep either. It was a curse of kinds but he would sometimes just thrash in his sleep and well his nightmares would just wake him from his slumbers. He would then just do whatever he could to rid himself of the feeling. And tonight that was walking the feeling off. But he had been walking most of the late night hours and into the morning. And well now he was here. At the docks. There really wasn’t anyone here except him. Well save for a few dockhands and all. But really they were here just to load and unload things. He was here…well because he had nowhere else to really be. He had just resolved himself to that for right now. The night was like one big nightmare to him for now. The way the darkness enveloped him reminded him of those dark cold nights in the slave camp. Sitting in the cage sometimes with a light snow or frost forming on his body. He remembered that darkness…so thick it would almost be palpable. He swore he could taste it. But all he tasted really was despair…suffering and hopelessness. He remembered that taste well. And sometimes when he woke up at night it was still on his tongue. Still there sitting in his mouth. He couldn’t get rid of it. He tried but he never could seem to shake it off. It was like he could never get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. It always found a way of painfully reminding him that he was a runaway. No matter how hard he wanted to be anything else he was a runaway. And always would be. He tried to shake it, he had devoted his life to healing. But even then he was still a slave. Even if he wanted to be his own man he bore the scars of his past. Always reminding him he was someone else’s property. He would always be Number Seven. The moon was beginning to sink in the distance as the boat came in and dropped anchor. Morning would be here soon. Very soon. He saw two of the women struggling with a platform they would use to span to the boat. And well who would be to not lend a hand. He walked over and assisted setting the platform ramp on the boat. Almost immediately some of the crew walked over and began arranging trade and all. They said they had a passenger on board to…she was Konti. That wasn’t uncommon something about the Isle always brought the Konti back to it. They also explained how they were tied up due to some rougher seas and were arriving a little off schedule. They had planned to be here during the daylight…but got her late that night. It wasn’t uncommon but they had been planning to unload all the cargo tonight. And well they would be doing so now. Serrif walked back some not wanting really to be drafted into anything. He was tired, and really hadn’t had much sleep…and he was in need of some right about now. And he could get about a good…4 hours if he really tried now. But that was only if he left soon. But for some reason he wanted to see the newest addition to Mura. Maybe meet this Konti if he so felt inclined. Maybe she would be interesting…maybe not. He didn’t know for sure. But there was one way to find out. So he stayed on the dock almost like some six foot tall unofficial greeting party. He knew Mura though so if he wanted to he could aid her. Since everyone else on the dock was pretty busy.

[L'kya Avaltia]

The thumping of heavy boots woke L'kya from her sleep. She sat up and her head swam slightly. She felt determined for some reason. No, That wasn't her. They must have docked, and the sailors were unloading. She was glad they were busy. Their boisterous attitude were wearing on her. She stood slowly, her head was pounding. It wasn't because there were a lot of people around, it was because she had spent the day inebriated beyond belief. She grabbed her water skin from her hip and took a sip to get rid of the fuzzy feeling in her mouth and walked towards the steps. She stepped out onto the deck, surprised to see darkness. She had been out longer than she thought. Sailors walked back and forth with heavy loads of various things. She caught feelings of annoyance from some of them, probably because of their late arrival... they were supposed to have docked in the afternoon. She stepped onto the ramp, ignoring the offered hand of the captain. She could feel his lust, she new it well enough. She must be quite a sight she thought, stepping on to the isle of the Konti carrying a gallon of rum, but she didn't care. She needed it. A man stood on the dock, the only one not moving. She walked down the dock, wishing she had some strong tea. She could handle the pain though. She had dealt with it her whole life. She wished she had some idea of where to go too. All she knew of Mura was what her mother had told her, which wasn't much. There was a feeling of apprehension mixed with a bit of sorrow in the air, and with nowhere else to come from, she identified the stranger as the source. I wonder if he could tell me where I need to go.. With a small amount of trepidation, she approached the stranger "Excuse me," She said in Kontinese, assuming the the stranger spoke the native language of Mura "Could you possibly tell me where I can get some lodging?" She waited for his response, carefully weighing his feelings, glad that there was no one else around.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He was the only one not bust here at the dock. He stood just barely on the long wooden pathway as he watched the people work like ants. It was curious to him how much life imitated itself. How characteristics and systems mimicked and imprinted in ways never thought possible. Noticing these patterns was what give one great strength. These systems when noticed gave an advantage to those who saw them. He had stepped away from the docks. Far enough to not easily be noticed by people too busy to care, but not so close as to have them immediately ask for his assistance. He wasn’t honestly sure he would be of any good anyway. He was tired and very much beginning to feel that weight on his body. The weight of sleep was indeed heavy on him right now. It was true he could shake off a few days of this torture, but not many more than that. The moon was beginning to dip…The sun would be up shortly. He had to see himself off and get this weight at the very least partially removed from his body. That was when he saw her descend the ship. The Konti he had heard the men on the ship speak about. And he laughed internally at how they looked at her like mad dogs. She was a beauty, but all Konti were. But it seemed these men were here to offload what they had then reload new cargo. Then off they would go again. Not really enjoying the isle. Such was the direction of the harbor hands guiding them. He could see that they were almost annoyed with her; possibly because none of them would be able to tell the tale of how they spend the night in bed with a ‘lady of the sea’. He shook his head some. Sailors were best avoided, because when they made port they usually also made trouble as well. Or maybe they were just annoyed because they hadn’t made port when they hoped. That was also very possible. But as the woman descended the steps she would see the fabled Mura laid out before her. The wondrous streets, as well as the beautiful buildings adorned with colored sea glass and shells. There were also pumpkins decorating almost everywhere. One of the Konti hands whispered “Welcome back sister.” as she passed the new arrival…For a Konti who had never heard of the Isle she was sure being treated well. She approached him and he immediately noticed her gallon or rum in her hand and her Suvai at her side. A truly interesting characteristic for a Konti. But she had been on a ship for a time…so maybe all they had to drink was rum. But here on the island they had something far more different. Pure clean water…vision water. All Konti were immune to its inherently strange effects on their bodies. They did all have gifts though, and these gifts came from the waters themselves. But he…well he only had nightmares. And he half considered blaming the vision water for them. She asked him something in Kontinese. And for all his time on the isle he still only understood some of what she said. He had never taken formal lessons but he had a feeling he needed to. And that would come eventually he supposed. “…..lodging.” Was all he caught from her. He nodded and then spoke to her calmly. “Do you speak common…my Kontinese is spotty at best.” He said as he then would wait for a response before he took her into town to a lodging establishment of some kind. Either the Pearl Divers Inn, the Bountiful Sea, or the Forest Meridian House. But all of them were pretty busy right now with the festival going on. Konti seemed to flock back to the Isle during this time. As did other visitors. “Could you explain to me what you are looking for?” He asked hoping she would enlighten him.

[L'kya Avaltia]

L'kya caught a flash of confusion as she presented her request in Kontinese, then the stranger replied to her in common. Of course,Thought L'kya, he would speak common. She worked out briefly how to ask her question in common and repeated her question, adding an introduction "Hello, I am called L'kya, would you be able to help me in finding somewhere to stay? I am new in Mura, I have spent most of my life in Sunberth, so I know little of the Island." She stated. "Anywhere is good, I just need a roof over my head. She hadn't spoken much on the long ride, nor much before that, so her Common was a little off, Some shoddy pronunciation here and there, but she thought she got the message through. L'kya waited for a reply, nervously fingering the cork on her jug, resisting the urge to take a sip. That's all she needed to get rid of her headache. Just a sip. She didn't really need it, and a poor first impression was never a good thing, so she pushed the thought out of her mind Mura was truly beautiful, and she didn't want to mar that with her habits. She was glad for the tame emotional atmosphere. It was nothing like Sunberth. The memories of that pace still brought chills to her spine. She didn't know what was worse, The slavery or the streets.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He could see the little light go on in her head when she realized he didn’t speak good Kontinese. It was fun to see because while most would just be embarrassed to death this woman just used the opportunity. She then seized another route and took it without missing a beat. She wasn’t a normal Konti. The Konti he had met were all caught up in feelings. She however was slightly more practical. She saw her wrong admitted it without killing herself over it and then well seized the opportunity again. An admirable characteristic to be sure. He listened to her intently, her common wasn’t bad. While she wasn’t fluent she speech at the same time wasn’t marred like a bear got hold of it. And having just come from a ship he could imagine she wouldn’t want to talk to anyone on board. Especially seeing how they viewed her…just another woman to bed. He smiled and then spoke to her again, his words calm and soothing. “There are really three options here. The Pearl Divers Inn, the Bountiful Sea, and the Forest Meridian House. Although the city is dead now that will change in only a few choice hours. People come all over for the Pumpkin Festival honoring the Gods and Goddesses. So the Inns may be mostly full…” He laughed a little. “It is times like this that I am glad I have my own place to live on a secluded beach, only me and the waves.” He said as he walked her toward the center of town. The path from the docks to the city center was a longer one, giving them plenty of time to talk if she wished it. So he started conversation with her. “You’ll find Mura is nothing like Sunberth.” He said…well wasn’t that the truth they were walking without a care in the world through the center of town. He wasn’t even armed!! She hadn’t seen any beggars nor any drunkards starting fights…no Mura was indeed a different city than Sunberth.

[L'kya Avaltia]

L'kya was calm as she walked through the streets of Mura towards the center of the Isle. She felt a greater sense of belonging then she had since her mother died. Mura was peaceful, too. Especially at this hour. The scenery was beautiful, even in the moonlight. The gentle hues of the Island seemed to glitter under the stars. The whole place was truly a wonder. They passed very few people walking along the road. Eventually L'kya decided to speak up. "You mentioned Mura being not like Sunberth, have you been there?" She asked, wondering how much he knew about what the city was like. She had caught flashes of emotion when he mentioned the city, but she couldn't quite identify them. She decided to bring it up, hoping he wouldn't be freaked out. "I could feel your emotions flare a little when the city was mentioned, but I couldn't quite identify why. I assume you have history there?" She added. She definitely had history. Memories of her time in that dreadful place flooded her mind, fresh as the day they were created, The beatings and maltreatment under Saul, The death, the pain. Alot of it was a bit of a blur, she had spent alot of the time gone to the world, but she had had lucid moments, and they were so bad she wished she hadn't.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

Serrif continued to lead her through the street toward the center of Mura. Again the walk would take a little time so they could talk. And it seemed that was exactly what this woman wanted to do. She was new to Mura. He knew exactly what that felt like. And since she had come from Sunberth he knew the kind of life she had likely come from, especially being as beautiful as she was. He felt a deep sorrow for her all the sudden, it wasn’t crippling but it was definitely pronounced. He knew that she could feel this as well. But he couldn’t help it. It was part of who he was. As far as he knew his entire life had been spent in a slave camp as women got sold off to Sunberth as part of a brothel. And as men got sold to the same place as fighters in the Blood Pits. He remembered enough to know that Sunberth was no place for beauty; it was no place for anyone as apparently delicate as she was. That comment about him having a history in Sunberth was a real mood killer, she would feel that. His heart would drop as he remembered his past, but he tried to fight it and eventually he sort of shook it off.

“Not me…but I know many who do…If they are still alive.”He knew the live expectancy of a harem girl or Blood Pit brawler was short. And likely many of them had been killed or committed suicide by now. Again another horrible thought.

He pushed it away and then spoke. “I hail from outside Ravok. Never been in the city myself.” He said truthfully as he sighed.

There was more to this man than she thought. If she observed him closely she would indeed see hints. A bit of skin here and there, skin told the truth of the past. One could lie about emotions and history. But skin…it always told the truth. She would see markings around his wrists when the sleeves of his long sleeved shirt rode up a little on him as they walked. They were circular around his wrists, horrible radial scarring. These markings were on both wrists. Were they on his ankles too? He was wearing boots so she wouldn’t be able to tell there. As she looked up to his face she saw something she hadn’t noticed before, the scarring on his wrists it was on his neck as well. What were they from? But as she put together the pieces she would know. Even without him saying anything she would indeed know the truth. It was startling…but it seemed that they both likely had something in common. Would she press him for information?

[L'kya Avaltia]

L'kya could feel the sorrow emanating from Serrif when she brought up Sunberth. It made her wonder about his past. She glanced towards his hands, more to look down then anything else, and the sleeve of his shirt slid up just a slight amount, revealing horrible scarring that went around the circumference of his wrist. She was suddenly tugged harshly into past memories. Her mom, chained to the wall, blood running down her wrists, her mind in turmoil. L'kya could almost feel the waves of emotion washing over her again. A tear fell down her cheek and she raised her bottle to her lips, holding back a grimace at the taste of the alcohol. It still got to her sometimes. "Slavers" She muttered in Kontinese, briefly forgetting Serrif couldn't speak Konti. She continued, reaching a hand out towards Serrif's "Your scars, they remind me of... my past.." She said hesitantly. She took another swig of rum before coninuing "If it's not too personal, may I ask how you got them?" She carefully paid attention to his changes in emotion, testing to make sure she didn't go too far, though her senses were slowly going to dull because she had started drinking.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

At first Serrif didn’t want to say anything. He was feeling pretty good as he brushed his past away. He knew little of it even though he had lived it himself he still felt like it was a blur. And everything before the camp…he couldn’t remember. He sighed and well she reached out to touch him. He would lay a hand in hers and expose the scarring again. But as she looked she would notice that these were only the beginning of the scars he had…his body was a mural for them. Each one detailing his horrible past to hers. Each one had a story to tell, however horrible they were. He knew she would ask about them, everyone did. But this time what would he say? After having the past push so many away? After having it cause terrors and pain in people could he really go through all this again? Did he want to?

She spoke something in Kontinese that he didn’t understand but she then spoke again. His scars remind her of her past? Yes he supposed they could do that, but he didn’t see any such scarring on her. No, she seemed calm and collected…well seemed. But at the same time she seemed dismayed. Like there were a thousand things going on inside her head all at once. He gently smiled as he laid his wrist in her hand for her to inspect. Little did he know of the effects it would have on her. Immediately almost anything she was feeling was gently washed away. She would feel a sensation, a gentle calming sensation come over her emanating at the place of contact with Serrif’s hand on her. She would feel her muscles relax, slightly as the wave gently passed through her. Her mind then finally was silenced. The longer his hand remained on her the deeper the sensation became…How was this possible?

Serrif then spoke to her. “I doubt our pasts were the same L’kya.” He said letting her examine the scarring. If she looked she would see that there were scars that trailed up his arm as well front and back. Was this why he wore long sleeves?

[L'kya Avaltia]

An amazing calm swept over L'kya that she hadn't felt since she was young enough to be carried around by her mother. her eyes glazed over as she drank in the feeling. her hand fell away and a measure of sorrow hit her from Serrif, jerking her back to reality. She stopped briefly, dumbfounded. They had been talking about something.. what was it? Her eyes dropped to his hand where she had touched him and she again saw the scars. "I don't know about the same, but I was a slave in Sunberth for most of my life, Usually used for... favors.. because I was useless in public, Because of that, they kept the physical scarring to a minimum." She hesitantly reached out for his hand again, letting her fingers brush it gently, and again feeling the wave of calm hit her. "Sorry, I haven't felt calm like this in a long time, how do you do that? I get a completely different emotion when I'm not touching you."