The Soundless Voice [Valerius]

[Keyta]

42nd Day of Fall, 512 AV The days started growing shorter and shorter, the weather shifted to slightly chilling breezes, it was evident of the season changes now, and this was the weather this bat enjoyed the most. During the days like these, the kelvic could enjoy walking around during the day and not feel as though the sun was beating upon her back and head. The wind would pick up often to play with her hair and kiss her bare skin, the sun would either hide behind some clouds or simply dull its own light making it even easier to see. It was apparent though that she needed new clothing as her clothes were old, torn, stretched, and no longer appropriate for shifting with the seasons like so many others she had seen before. But where would someone like her find clothing? There was that shop her mother had taken her to when she was younger, but it didn't exactly seem like a place of more complicated clothing. Besides the belief that nothing of use will be found, she found it in her heart that she didn't want to return to something so familiar and filled with memories. The child continued to wander about in the day till she found a series of shops, all of which were extremely complex with designs covering the exterior as well as the interior. People in this block of the city were dressed very nicely, even those that she could tell were slaves to the people they walked next to, their heads bowed and some still chained. Her heart felt heavy, feeling the pain of the slaves and wishing there was more she could do, but her size and experiences would offer so little in aid. Keyta did her best to ignore them for now as her current goal was to obtain new clothing, surely something in such a nice block of this city would be more than enough to last for years after today. The little girls eyes were brought to a building that held a sign on the outside with a picture of a tunic on it, clearly a symbol of clothing within. Her excitement surfaced slightly as she entered the large building, the smell of the inside was wonderful, it actually smelled like a variety of fruits. The people inside, on the other hand, merely looked at her with mocking eyes, others with hatred, as she was obviously in clothes that needed changing. Keyta did her best to ignore the people as she was focused mostly on the clothing inside anyway, each of the items made from far softer and far nicer looking materials than her own. She saw a large number of items in black but found it more difficult to find orange colors which she felt would match better than most other colors. With some time spent looking around, Keyta managed to find a new tunic with mostly black made from velvet with highlights of orange made around the shape of the top. After finding that, she found a dark orange skirt that made her heart jump, the colors matched and she immediately fell in love with the incomplete outfit. As she turned to look for more she realized the people inside stopped giving her strange looks and were more surprised that this little girl even knew what to look for that matched as well as they did. With that Keyta found a short cloak made from silk with a hood that would be wonderful for bright days or when she needed just a little more warmth. Along with those, a new pair of stockings, shoes, and skin-tight arm warmers that all had a similar color scheme to one another. The new outfit reminded her of her current, but with new patterns and much softer materials that she couldn't keep her hands off of. Keyta quickly tossed the clothes on the desk where all of the people dressed in complicated black clothing stood, and dropped 50 golden coins. They knew this was still more than the cost but the girl didn't so they quickly took them and thanked her for the visit. Excited about her new clothes and finding they fit wonderfully, Keyta felt like going into a place with several people to see if anyone else might like it too. So without truly thinking about it, Keyta entered a building right across the street with the smell of several strong foods blended together as well as some unique drinks. So she figured that even though she had spent almost a third of her coins today, she could spare a few more just to have a little fun enjoying her new clothes even just a little bit. As she entered, a bell jingled and several eyes moved across the room to look at the front door. In its place was a small girl, dressed in her new clothes and her hair glowing from the sun setting behind her. Keyta smiled and walked carefully across the floor, and to a table in a corner where she could enjoy some time of her own and play with her hair for a moment. As Keyta sat there, a man approached the table, he was large but seemed to have a kind voice as he asked her "Would you like anything today ma'am?" Keyta looked at him and nodded her head, taking her hand to her mouth and tilting her head back. The man simply looked at the girl and couldn't understand what she was doing, so he tried again, "I'm sorry, did you want anything today?" Keyta was slightly confused, she thought she had made it simple enough that she would enjoy a drink, but tried the same motion again attempt to establish some kind of communication with the man. He shook his head with a lack of understanding and said "Well I'll give you a moment to figure out what you would like." And with those words, the man left and Keyta was left alone at her table nearly frowning with disbelief that he couldn't understand something so simple. OOCIm so sorry for the extremely large starting post, but I couldn't figure out a way to shorten it without having a reason for Keyta to enter the cafe

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Normally Valerius preferred to spend the evening at home, but that day he felt strangely energetic, so he decided to visit his favourite cafe a second time. Since he had been unable to find a ravosala, he had actually walked there. The slave that accompagnied him – he never went anywhere without a slave to protect him and keep all those disgusting people away – was given orders to wait for him outside. Since Valerius was in a good mood, he threw a silver miza at him and allowed him to buy a drink for himself at a nearby store. He even allowed him to sit down afterwards. The slave smiled all over his face and thanked him profoundly, but Valerius had already opened the door and thus didn’t see the man’s reaction to his small gift anymore. He walked straight to his favourite table that was fortunately still unoccupied and sat down, waiting for a waiter or a waitress to notice him. It never took very long. Valerius belonged to an influential family, he was well known and his elegant clothes made him stand out as well. In the meantime he took a look around. There were a few people in the cafe he didn’t know this time, and he prided himself on knowing almost all of Ravok. The girl that sat at the table next to his especially attracted his attention. Her clothes were a little bit too orange, but still of rather fine quality, and the color of her hair briefly made him wonder if she was a bastard of his father’s. As the waiter adressed her, and she didn’t say anything, he arched an eyebrow, and then, as he realized why she hadn’t said anything, he made a face. Apparently she was mute - and the waiter retarded and half blind. It was unfortunate, really. She was such a pretty girl. He briefly contemplated asking somebody to remove the mute so that he wouldn’t have to watch her attempts at communication anymore – they were rather distracting - but then he decided not to. He just ordered a cup of coffee and gave the waiter who had stopped at his table next a small, folded note that he was ordered to hand to the owner of the cafe. In it he pointed out that there was apparently something wrong with his brain and that he should be dismissed. He tolerated mutes to a certain extent – as long as they were good looking, and there was no outward sign of their disability - but he absolutely couldn’t stand stupidity. „You know, you could have just written your order down“, he suggested once the waiter was out of sight. „You can write, can’t you? Although I’m not sure if that man can read …“

[Keyta]

The small girl was surprised when the voice of the man next to her own table spoke out. He had a voice of someone young but reaching their older half of age, he was dressed in simple yet elegant clothing. The fact that there was a shine she could see from his clothing must have meant it was expensive, therefore, he was either wealthy or an exceptional theft. Either way, he spoke to her, this was odd for most people she didn't attempt to make contact with first. While thinking this over, she snapped out of a trance to realize she had stared at him briefly and blushed at the very thought that someone as good looking and well dressed as him spoke to her, much less noticed her. The young man had a point, she knew the basics to writing, it may not have been the cleanest, but she could still have writing the word "drink" and "please" in common. But as that thought filled her head, she realized she had nothing to write with and nothing to write on, so even if she did think about it, there would have been nothing to do about it still. So with a quick thought, she turned to him showing her left palm, then taking her thumb and index finger, scribbled across her hand. Once that simple motion was finished, a small shrug made its was across her body before she finally turned back to her table and tried to focus on the blushing she was still doing. A moment or two passed and Keyta couldn't help but watch the new man from the corner of her eye. Something about him was different from most she had met, he was intelligent, that was easy to pick up on, but there was something else about him that she couldn't pick up on. It was like trying to find a fruit in a tree when the sun is out and fog is thick, no matter how hard you looked, you saw nothing but that which was right in front of you. She thought that for a moment and wondered if she could make him open up to her, if he did that, she could see easier, and maybe understand this person. She assumed from his scent that he was human, but it was masked by several other smells. So she tried to think of a way to gain his attention without annoying him or upsetting him. But what could she possibly do? Trying to show him she was kelvic could turn disastrous, drawing for him may not humor him at all, and her writing was even worse off. For the moment at hand, all Keyta could think of doing was watching him closely, maybe he would reveal something that he enjoys and she could go on that, but there was no guarantee, she worried she could already be annoying him by watching to begin with. As the new thought entered her mind, she turned her eyes away from him, trying to give him space while thinking of a way to get closer at the same time. She decided to get up and get the drink she had originally desired, walking with her light feet all of the way to the bar that reached across the wall. A tall man stood there, almost completely ignoring her, but when he turned to check the crowd, she jumped a little and waved her arm as high as she could. He looked down and first noticed the odd amount of orange on her body, making a face before finally asking "What can I do for you?" Perhaps this man would be easier to deal with, but she played it safe anyway, first she did the same motion she did for the cute boy that now sat behind her. The man at the bar nearly instantly understood and grabbed a small piece of paper and a pencil he had handy. First on one side she wrote "Drink please" in writing that was obviously not practiced. He ignored its messy appearance and asked "What type of drink do you have in mind young miss?" The kelvic took a moment to think about it, but suddenly remembered a drink she once had with her best friend in Mura, "Mint tea". The man looked surprised, but offered a "Yes ma'am, I'll have one of the men bring it to you when it's finished." With that, Keyta happily returned to her table and waited patiently for her drink. Only then did she begin to think of her past, hoping to remember something about the fortune telling Blythe had taught her once long ago. OOCNot gonna lie, I love the mood he gives in that post! <3

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As the girl pretended to scribble at her hand and then proceeded to shrug, Valerius furrowed his brow, but then he nodded, understanding. “I can borrow you a bit of paper if you want to”, he informed her, pleased to note that, while she was unfortunately mute, she seemed to be reasonably intelligent – quite unlike the waiter who he hoped had been sent to the owner of the café for a talk by now. “As well as something to write with”, he added. He always had a pencil and a notebook with him in case he had an idea. He would often take notes about the things he observed during the day. You never knew whether a certain information couldn’t become valuable at a later date. He already possessed quite detailed accounts of the habits of the members of the most important families in the city. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, but by the time he had produced pencil and paper, the redhaired girl was already on her way to the bar. He made a face. She was impatient – or she simply hadn’t heard him. That was a trait he didn’t appreciate, and he began to wonder whether he should really bother. So far she had one thing going for her and two against her. She probably wasn’t a Nitrozian bastard or anybody else of importance anyway. He watched Keyta for a while as she ‘talked’ to the waiter, but eventually turned to his coffee and drank from it – slowly. As she returned to her table he briefly raised his head though. “What’s the reason for your disability?” he wanted to know. He had decided that he would wait a bit longer before he passed his final judgement on her, until he had more information about her. “If you don’t mind the question.” Most of the time mutes had other problems, but she looked surprisingly normal. Besides, there was the color of her hair.

[Keyta]

As the girl sat at her table patiently awaiting her tea, Keyta noticed an expression of annoyance glowing from the nicely dressed boy. She wasn't sure if it was because of something she had done or maybe the fact that he actually didn't like her clothing. Snapping out of her thought however, Keyta looked confused at the boy's question when he asked for a reason to her disability. Disability, she thought to herself, pondering the words with every focus of her thoughts, Could he possibly mean my voice? Keyta tilted her head at the idea, but she tried her best to answer it as she thought anyway. The girl touched her throat twice with her left hand, the area she knew her voice would have been, then used the same hand and made a circular motion in the air with one finger, trying to show she had never had a voice. Wondering if she had actually gotten her message through, she continued to watch his expressions when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The dark skinned man behind the counter of the bar was walking toward her table, holding his hands together with steam rising from the center. As he approached the table, she noticed the white tea cup with small elegant designs covering it. He laid the cup on her table and said to her "Please enjoy young miss," and walked away. Keyta took up the cup and brought it to her lips and carefully blew on it, being careful not to burn her mouth like she had done the last time.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

If Valerius had known that the mute thought of him as a nicely dressed and quite possibly cute boy something awful would have happened, but as it was he just continued to sip from his cup of coffee that frankly tasted delicious while he waited for her to explain why she was the way she was. As she touched her throat, he put his cup down and furrowed his brow. “Do you mean to tell me that you’ve always been like that?” he asked. “How can one be born without a voice?” He had never heard of such a case. Most of the time people lost their voice because of an illness or an accident, and in some cases they were just too stupid to talk like some of the creatures that his aunt kept in her cages. She didn’t look as if she suffered from a terrible illness either though. That was probably a good thing. Valerius absolutely couldn’t stand people with health problems and was afraid that they might infect him.

[Keyta]

Keyta enjoyed her first sip or her tea, the flavor swimming through her mouth, bringing memories of Blythe from Mura back to her thoughts. Of course the first sip was still hot, but the next sip was soothing, urging her to take more. The girl, however, found it best to make the tea last and set the cup back on the table, a small smile forming on her face. Only then did Keyta nod to the boy, acknowledging that she had been born without a voice and therefor, knew nothing of how should would have sounded. This was not an odd occurrence to her but when she thought back on, she had not met another person like her anywhere. Humans could speak, other kelvic could speak, even other, stranger creatures had the ability to speak, but regardless of what form Keyta was in, she could not make a vocal sound. The thought was definitely different to her, she had not had to think about how she was the only one like herself, but it made her feel special, in its own way. The tea within Keyta's cup was still swirling, the tea leaves inside making several different shapes. Only then did the kelvic girl remember, she was going to read her fortune again, or at least try. Happily, she took another sip, this time a much longer sip, but mostly for the unique flavor of this tea, it was hot, but it was slightly sweet, and left a wonderful, chilling feeling in her mouth. At this point, the tea was low, just like the first time she had this same tea, and she remembered to not drink it all, but to leave a small amount in the bottom to hold the leaves. Keyta stirred the cup slightly in her hand, letting the leaves come together in the bottom of the cup. This shape, it was exactly the same as before, the shape of a bat, it looked no different than the first, each leave making the same bat. She couldn't remember what this shape meant, but she could only remember that it reminded her of her being a kelvic bat, but there had to be a bigger importance for her to receive this shape twice.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As the girl began to drink her tea rather than explaining why she had been born without a voice, Valerius was frustrated at first – how dare she refuse to answer his question! - and then he gradually began to lose interest in her. Even the fact that one of his relatives might have shared a bed (or something else) with one her relatives at one point couldn’t hold his interest forever. Maybe he’d eventually send an agent to investigate, but for now he concentrated on his coffee again – and even ordered some cake because he was getiting hungry. Once he had finished coffee and cake, he gestured for a waitress to come and take his cup, his plate (and his money). As he got ready to leave, he cast another glance at the mute girl. He was about to rise from his chair, but then he abruptly sat down again, furrowing his brow. What was she doing now? Why was she staring into her cup like that? Maybe there was something wrong with her brain after all. Maybe it was just less obvious. Normal people didn’t stare into a cup as if it held all the secrets of Mizahar. “You do realize that there is nothing valuable in your cup, do you?” he asked her because he wanted to be sure. “Why are you staring at the leftovers of your tea like that?”

[Keyta]

Why was she staring into her cup the was she was? Even she did not know why as she did not truly understand the meaning of the shape. But still, she picked her cup up and brought it to the table with the boy, setting it in front of him and standing right beside him. She used her left hand to map out the design, showing the shape she had seen in it, and hoping maybe he'll see the same. Something did seem off with this boy however, even though he was incredibly cute, he seemed to have a hatred for most other beings. Even more so, he never looked at anything that wasn't human, except for her, but she was in her "human" form. Even as she was in her human self, she was still fairly simply to distinguish as none human, from her slightly elongated teeth to the abnormally bright orange hair. The only other factor that could no longer be seen was her accelerated growth, but as that is behind her now, she hoped that for most times, she could blend in. Blending in is for those who could speak though, as not answering anybody tends to either make them extremely curious or extremely upset.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As the girl came over to his table, Valerius moved a little and made a face. He couldn’t stand being so close to another person, especially a person he had not invited. What in Rhysol’s name had made her think that he wanted her to come to his table? Couldn’t she have explained why she was staring into an empty cup like an idiot from further away? He briefly glanced into the cup as she moved her hand, and then he looked at her and frowned. „Am I supposed to see anything in it?“ he wanted to know. He was not impressed so far. Valerius had very little understanding for things that could not be scientifically explained. „What are you? Some kind of fortune teller that looks into empty tea and coffee cups, reads palms and throws bones that she’s probably stolen from a butcher onto the table?“ „Well, what does the empty cup say about you and me?“