A new beginning (Sam)

[Nyahna Sasin]

He let a rare, genuine smile grace his face. Truth be told, he didn't really need other tests to see if she was qualified. And her enthusiasm for working with someone who had been previously holding a knife to her throat impressed him. It worried him a little, but those two usually went hand in hand.

Glancing outside, he decided that there was still quite some time before the rush hour. "I suppose it does." He murmured softly, turning back to her.

[Samuel Blackwell]

For a split second Sam's eyes lit up with childlike excitement, but she quickly quelled it and replaced it with a small cool mature smile. In her head she cursed herself for such flimsy composure. She made a note to be more conscious of her facial expressions. After a moment Samantha spoke in a soft, decidedly dampened voice, "How would you prefer I address you Master Sasin?"

[Nyahna Sasin]

He smirked. "No need for that. Sasin will do just fine." He told her. This was going to be very interesting, very interesting indeed. Only time would tell just what he had gotten into, but he had a feeling that, whatever happened, this would be completely worth it.

"So," he began "Exactly how is it that a human comes to know snake? Even our kind find it hard to speak it in this form." He, personally, had never seen the need to speak his native tongue in this form.

[Samuel Blackwell]

She had not realized he would come to be so personable and informal to her. Especially considering not too long ago he was holding a blade to her throat, and she was pathetically begging to be spared. As such, Sam was a little taken aback by Sasin's sudden questioning. Although she couldn't blame him. It was a curious thing, a human knowing such a language. "My father taught me a little when I was very young - not enough to 'know' or speak the language you understand." Sam then paused, her eyes became slightly glassy at the mention of hr father.

Blinking away the tears she carried on, "A few years ago I began doing courier work and one of the first people I had to deliver to was this old Dhani matron who lived alone at the edge of my village. She was speaking to herself in your language and I understood a little. To her surprise I replied to her and told her not to dismay. Time passed and I had to deliver more messages and packages to her - my mother even jested that the old woman sent the packages to herself just for my company - and we eventually became friends. She spoke so often to me in her tongue that I picked up more and more. The old matron was even so kind as to tutor me a little on speaking it."

[Nyahna Sasin]

He frowned softly. A dhani matron? A male, he could understand, but a female should have stayed at the nest as a leader. And living among humans? He was still young, and exploring. He had no doubts that in several decades, he'd return to the nest for good. The idea of a dhani living in the outside world without killing was absurd. He had heard of a nest of peaceful dhani, but had dismissed it as rumor.

Still, all he said about it was "Interesting." He hesitated, then asked "What type was she? There could be language difficulties if she was a constrictor or a rattler." Siku knew how much the snake tongue would have been altered over the centuries.

Her talk of her father sparked interest in him. He knew at her age, she wouldn't be considered an adult. Not a child, certainly, but not fully grown. He had been of a somewhat equivalent age when he had left, but as a dhani, he liked to think he had been better equipped to be alone than she. "You have family around here?" He asked, curiously "or are they still in Zeltiva?"

[Baku]

Thou has written, and thou has completed, so I award thee the following.... Sasin: +3 Observation, +2 Intimidation, +2 Interrogation, +2 Negotiation, +4 Rhetoric, +1 Larceny, +1 Teaching, Lore: Picking a Mark Carefully in the Morning, Ducking Into A Back Alley, Waiting to Ambush, Death Threatening, Figuring Out If She’s Human, Finding Use For Sparing Someone, Setting up a Meeting, Doubt Over Letting Others Live, Preparing For A Meeting of Thieves, Presenting the Lockpick Test, Tips of the Larceny Trade, Taking on a Partner, Modesty in Titles, Sam’s Story, Samuel: +2 Observation, +1 Subterfuge, +3 Rhetoric, +1 Begging, +2 Negotiation, +1 Larceny, Lore: Feeling Overwhelmed in a New Place, Tailing a Thief, Making Quick With the Answers, Finding Courage Despite Being Threatened, Pleading for Life, Negotiating Your Skills, Excitement of New Prospects, Finding Annoyance in a Crowded Bar, Passing the Lockpick Test, Cutting to the Chase, Enthusiasm for Partnership, Etiquette in Addressing, Additional Awards: Samuel: Language - Dhani/Snake(Slightly Fair) Sasin: +1 Gold Mizas (for the pickpocket at the beginning) Additional Notes: Sasin in the future, if you’re laying in wait to ambush, make some sort of RP to detect her approaching first. The post where you held the knife to her throat when she peeked around makes an assumption that you knew she was following you. And with no RP towards that action of detection, it is considered Godmodding. Sam rolled with it without complaint, but please be mindful of that in the future. Samuel, your language level for Dhani is only at Poor, so you wouldn’t have been able to carry on a conversation of that level, you’d only be able to spout a few words here and there, but your use of it has warranted a slight increase in your ability to speak the language of the Dhani. Aside from that, this could have been a promising thread towards a partnership of thieves, which is normally only common in Sunberth of Ravok. A shame it ended Prematurely.