Open [Riverwave Plantation] Just Another Day in Paradise

[Opal Draer]

Listening to Kat go on about the most stylish new colors and fashion trends, Opal groaned inwardly. What had she gotten herself into? Clothes, for Opal, were a non-issue. As long as her family wasn't offended by what she wore, she didn't really put much thought into wardrobe. When it came to selecting colors and materials, in fact, Opal generally just walked into the shop, chose some of the more expensive items that happened to be available on any given day and considered herself done. True, she had figured out a few colors that she absolutely hated wearing: pink, yellow, white. White was impossible for Opal to keep clean. But those discoveries had been made accidentally, and only influenced her buying habits minimally.

"Reptile skin? I don't know..." Kat's suggestion made Opal's stomach churn, and she was sure her tavan, Remi, would not love seeing her prance around in reptile skin boots. As she led the way to the family docks, she glanced around for her friend. Remi had been a near-constant shadow to her in the swamps since they had found each other years ago. She rarely went to town without his comforting presence; not that there was much danger in traveling the waterways between Riverwave and Kenash proper, but it had become habit, by now, and she felt as though something were missing when Remi wasn't skulking about in the water nearby.

"Has leather gone out of style? I do own leather boots; they're lovely. The shopkeep said so when she recommended them." Looking back as she walked, Opal noticed the small slave girl almost skipping along behind them. Too far behind them. Sharply, she corrected, "Keep up! And do try to walk in a more... Dignified manner. Less like a spring-loaded toy and more like a proper lady, if you can manage that. You are accompanying Dynasty, child, and if you embarrass either of us, you'll wish I'd left you in the fields!"

Opal rolled her eyes at Kat; honestly, first the foreman and now the slave. Did none of the family help have any sense of decency?

[Katherine Morealis]

“Oh, you shouldn’t really believe most of the shopkeeps we have in the city. They’d tell you all sorts of pretty lies to get you to buy their stocks, especially those Freeborn lot.” She shook her head dismissively at the woman’s protests. Right after Kat had said that, Opal looked back to the field slave and rebuked the tiny girl for forgetting that she was in the presence of Dynasty. Katherine only shrugged when she looked at Opal, knowing how frustrated she must be with her family’s servants and slaves. In her opinion, the Draer’s punishment for erring slaves is still lacking, hence their willful natures. However, she had enough sense to keep her lips closed in matters such as these. Another family’s method of discipline is none of her business, just as her family’s are none of theirs. As they waited by the river for a ride to the city, a passenger-less boat had come to them. Katherine carefully stepped on the small vessel, waited for her friend and the slave to hop in, and instructed the punter to bring them to the East bank of the city. Picking up on their earlier point of conversation, Katherine began, “Opal, would you not reconsider? Or do I have to buy you a lovely pair of alligator skin boots myself?” She sighed, head unconsciously tilting to the side. “You have to keep up with the trends, you know, or those jealous bitches from other families are going to comment on your style. At least have a reptile skin belt to show off or something.” She paused, a finger tapping her lips as she thought about her friend's hesitation to her suggestion. Could it be that she can't bear to wear a dead alligator's skin on her person because of her caiman... friend? “Well, if you don’t like alligator skin, would snake skin be alright with you? It’s just, I can’t imagine how it’d sit with the Rajor to see people wearing snake skin items, them being snakes themselves.”

[Lilou]

Lilou winced as Mistress Opal began yelling at her. She immediately slowed to a walk similar to the lady's, whilst babbling "Sorry sorry sorry!" When the attention wasn't on her anymore, she began staring at their boots and legs, trying, as the Drear had asked her to, walk like them. They held themselves... upright... and took big steps. Confident steps? She couldn't really tell. Still, she attempted to imitate them. Pulling herself up from her usual hunch, she began to take big slow steps like they were, at the same pace. Soon enough, however, she fell behind, having legs too short to keep up easily. Instead, she jogged forward, trying to stay quiet by letting her feet hit the ground softly. At least it wasn't a big noisy run... she didn't want to annoy the Dynasty ladies. Once at their pace, she slowed, but still tried to keep herself in that 'dignified' posture... but it was too hard. It looked almost... natural for them. Sighing, she resigned herself to a jog-walk-jog-walk. They reached, then waited, for a boat, Lilou's toe tapping the entire time. She'd never gone in one of these! Excited, she nearly jumped into the little wooden creation. Sure, the Riverwave plantation had boats, but nothing like this... and she didn't have to anything for this! The thing glided gracefully along the water, as the slave poled it along. She was glad she didn't work as a ferry slave...

[Opal Draer]

Considering that she had told Kat she'd truly shop this time, and asked for help, Opal gave in gracefully. "I suppose a belt would be fine. And perhaps some gloves? Are there reptile skin gloves? I can hide gloves and a belt from Remi," she nodded slowly. It had never actually come up, since she'd never owned or worn reptile skin; truthfully, she wasn't sure her tavan would or could care about fashion. Although he did seem to enjoy music, so who really knew?

"But now that you mention it - maybe snakeskin after all," a wicked gleam sparkled in her eye; there was no love lost between the Draer and Rajor Dynasties. "I wonder if we could find something in the same general color scheme as Kilissint?" A grin spread as she mentioned the current head of the Rajor family. A little planned mischief might be in order; being Dynasty, she was forced to interact with the members of the other families - even the Rajors, and she knew that a subtle dig like that would not escape the notice of the Rajor. Or anyone else, for that matter. Dynasty ladies were notoriously nitpicky when it came to fashion and the peerage.

Silence reigned for a moment, while the slave maneuvered the boat toward Kenash proper. The East bank was home to the most upscale of shops; Opal was at once relieved and resigned. The best quality could be found there, at prices that generally kept most of the freeborn away. But, since a large portion of the businesses were owned and operated by Dynasty members, there was sure to be just as much verbal sparring as there was shopping. If not more.

But Opal pushed the thought aside; it would be only a minor inconvenience, and there was always the possibility that she and Kat would learn a new bit of gossip - or start one.

Opal glanced pointedly at her slave, who was still managing to fidget conspicuously. "Stand still."

To Kat, she simply shrugged. "This one needs training, I think. I'm bored, though. Maybe I'll make a project of her?" It was said half in jest; Opal had been toying with the idea of training a personal slave. It would come in handy at the shop, anyway. If she had a slave to fetch and carry for the customers, Opal could focus entirely on playing music and socializing; the parts of the job that she enjoyed. Maybe a bit of painting, if the opportunity arose.

"Oh! You're going to the Askarade," it wasn't a question. Of course Kat would go. Everyone would go. "Have you given any thought to your costume yet?" Opal had been wavering between a Myrian-type - but an elegant one - and something to do with Caiyha. But scary. It was the 'scary' bit that she kept getting stuck on. Scary and beautiful and elegant and impressive was a tall order for a costume. But, for the Asakarade, she would have to come up with something spectacular.

OoCAck! I forgot it was my turn - so sorry!

[Katherine Morealis]

Katherine giggled at the reason behind Opal’s choice of wardrobe. To be honest, she’s quite scared of those scaly reptile human-wannabes. Her parents, especially her mother, had been warning her against angering a Dhani. Because of that, she had been steering clear of wearing the skin of the Rajor’s close relatives. Although it’d be a completely different matter if Opal’s going to wear snake skin as well. “Imagine the look on her face if she sees us strutting around wearing a skin that looked like hers.” The grin on her face dissolved for a moment as a question crossed her mind. ”But… I’m not sure I know how her scales looked like. Never saw it for myself, and I never really asked anyone about it. So… do you?” After a while, the child slave’s uncontrolled excitement took Opal’s notice, and her friend’s comment regarding training this one made Kat nod her head in approval. “Grooming a personal slave yourself, huh? She’s still young so I think you can still manage to drill some manners into that head of hers.” Come to think of it, maybe she can get a slave of her own as well. She had been perusing those her family owned, although finding none that were up to her standards. Iora had been a huge help in helping her manage the shop. She can’t say the same for her garden though. It’s currently in such a state that she’s finding herself mistaking it for a small forest. If she can’t find someone good enough to tend to her plants, she wouldn’t be that much surprised to find wild animals nesting in her backyard. She was broken out of her reverie when Opal mentioned the Annual Askarade ball hosted by the Askaras. “Of course I’d go.” Katherine smirked. “As the prettiest Dynasty ladies in the whole of Kenash, it is our duty to grace the event with our lovely presence.” Katherine stretched her long, stockinged legs in front of her and haughtily crossed her arms in front of her chest. “But that’s the problem. I still haven’t chosen a costume good enough to put the other Dynasties to shame.” She had been playing with the idea of wearing an extravagant feather gown to the ball, but she was worried that it’s not good enough. Or that it’s too good for the event. Her birthday’s on the 72nd too, and she was worried she won’t have a better gown for her important day. Which, by some cruel twist of fate, was Banjemin the Tenth’s date of birth as well. She had decided to attend the Head of Askara's party instead of throwing her own. It would save the family the cost of hosting a party that would rival the Askara's, and it would ensure that more people would be able to see her on that day. Of course, she's certainly going to steal that party from some older gay man. After all, it was his fault for being born on the same day as her. Katherine wondered though if her family would be too angry if she mess with the Askaras too much for this season. She can’t decide at all, and it was so damn frustrating! “How about you Opal? Have you already decided on what to wear?” Head slightly tilting to the side, she waited for a reply from the other woman. OOCSorry for the delay in my replies! Fresh out of finals right now. ^.^;

[Lilou]

OOCGah! I'm so sorry guys! I didn't seem to get an email about this, so I completely missed it... so sorry


Lilou winced as the conversation changed to her. The two woman spoke about training, and manners. Though she would love to learn things like that... was she suited? All she did was garden. She didn't know how to be a lady's maid... or something like that. She didn't exactly know what 'personal project' really meant, but it sounded like she would be getting personal training... which slightly worried the slave. Was she so bad that a Dynasty had to personally train her? No... they would never stoop to that work. But if she was really bad... but she couldn't remember doing anything that terrible... except bouncing a little.

But she had reason to bounce, right? She was excited! They were heading to the city! She was almost about to begin again, but stopped herself just in time. Mistress Opal didn't like it. She winced again, before staring down at the bottom of their boat.

However, she glanced up again when the conversation turned to dresses. Dresses! She knew those... she was wearing one. But... her's wasn't very nice. It was brown and scratchy and muddy. They were talking about nice dresses, fancy ones... probably with sparkles and lace. She'd seen one of those... one of the Drears on their way to a party. It had been big and poofy, sticking out quite far. It had been all white, with feathers and sparkly bits, and shiny fabric... it had been very pretty. The woman had carried something with feathers in her hand as well, and she'd had a big sparkly necklace around her throat as well.

"What if you had leaves?" she blurted out, mind moving to the first thing she thought of. It had been leaves... things to stick on... and leaves! She likes leaves! They were parts of plants. In Fall, sometimes they changed color and fell off... but it depended on the plant. If the plant died, they shriveled and fell as well... they also made plants pretty. If you covered that big poofy dress in leaves.. greens and stuff... it would look so pretty! You would look like a plant too, and that would be... simply amazing. Ignoring the warnings she'd been given, she fidgeted at the imagined dress, marveling at the image in her mind.