Flashback Of Slaves and Fish

[Shayna]

[indent]Time Stamp: 4 Summer 510

The night was starry and quiet, the light of Leth sending his silvery gaze onto the swamps with a hot humid air that settled over the land. Most of the Dynasties might be a sleep at this bell, and certainly most slaves whose days were filled with work and chores were. However there was one slave who was not. On a breeding farm near the plantation Riverwave, sitting beside a small inlet that ran through the breeding farm, sits fourteen year old Shayna. Her black hair pulled back into a ponytail by a ragged unbleached cloth that she had swiped from the sewing room floor, made from the same unbleached material her clothes were made of.

Her stature was still small, and by this time it was obvious to everyone that Shayna would not be the beauty that her Dame was in her prime, nor the big slave her Sire was in his prime. No she was a runt, and as such was taught agriculture and gardening. However, sitting on the banks of the inlet, her bare feet dragging in the water, but careful not to get too close for she didn't know how to swim, Shayna planned. She was not going to spend her life in the fields, and while thanks to her freckles and her short limbs she would not have to spend her life on her back..figuratively.. she was not cowed enough to just accept a field slave's life.

She would have to be crafty, and smart, and observant. She would have to learn her Master or Mistress as well as they knew themselves, if she proved to be useful and talented then she would rise to a power that a slave can wield. Of course this was some time off, until then she was trained and taught on this farm. Waiting until it was time to go to the auction house.

[Nyxie Nadira Draer]

Tears streaked Nyxie’s cheeks as she ran away from home. She didn’t care where she went; as long as she could get away from her father’s look of disappointment. The captain watched his daughter leave, knowing she’d be back before sunrise. She always comes back.

Nyxie willed her legs to move faster. Her breathing hitched as she wept, a sign that she’d be hyperventilating soon. At the pace she sprinted, Nyxie knew that she’d be outside of Riverwave in just a few chimes. She needed to calm down, and the inlet was the only place that could help her.

Tunnel vision prevented her from scanning the banks for strangers; she didn’t care how late it was. She didn’t care who saw her. Nyxie just ran straight until she reached the end of land at her feet and then dove in, submerging herself entirely. Thirty ticks passed by with no sign of her above the surface…

The light of Leth shone on a head of bright red hair, emerging out of the water. Nyxie wiped her eyes before looking up into the sky as she floated on her back. Serenity took over her unhappiness, her breathing now steady and deep. She pushed all thoughts of her father and Erich aside, focusing instead on the way her body felt underwater. Nyxie swam further, testing her speed. She’d gotten faster since the last time she came here. Knowing that she couldn’t swim all the way to the ports, Nyxie stopped. She would have to wait for him.

Kai would sense her presence, and come to find her in a few bells. Nyxie resolved to swim back up to the banks. As she got closer, she noticed a young girl who looked about her age, sitting near the edge of the water. It was peculiar to find someone here at this hour; Nyxie wondered whether she should acknowledge her. Had this girl been here the whole time? What if she was a slave-girl? She’d never spoken to one before; never been given permission to, that is. There weren’t many Draer girls her age for Nyxie to play with in Riverwave. Perhaps she was a Dynasty girl from another plantation. Nyxie sighed. In her fifteen years of life, she hadn’t been able to find any real friends. Erich was her only playmate, if she could even call him that at this point. Thinking of him made her scowl. Forget Erich; today, Nyxie was determined to make a friend.

Being careful not to startle her, Nyxie swam up slowly, wading in the water. Her gaze locked on wide green eyes, and for a moment, Nyxie was transfixed on their beauty. She scanned the girl’s appearance, noticing her ragged clothes. A flash of disgust crossed Nyxie’s face when she realized that she was about to try and befriend a slave. Stepping out of the water and onto the banks, Nyxie kept her eyes on the slave girl and waved. Her clothes stuck to her body, which were now soaking wet after never caring to take them off before diving into the inlet. Nyxie stripped out of her wet clothes and was left in her skivvies. Leaving them on a nearby rock to dry, she then walked towards the slave-girl and sat down cross-legged beside her---

“Hi! My name’s Nyxie. Nyxie Nadira Draer. I’ve never seen you around here before. It’s pretty late for someone like you to be awake at this hour. What are you doing here?”

Nyxie smiled at the girl as she spoke, not quite knowing the proper way to speak to a slave. She hoped the girl would be receptive to her show of friendliness. Waiting for a response, Nyxie wondered whether this was a mistake. Whether she’d ever regret fraternizing with this subservient being.

Only time will tell.

[Shayna]

Shayna's green eyes were drawn to movement, and then a splash though she didn't quite make out the figure or form. She immediately withdrew her foot from the water, alligators were common in this area and she couldn't swim. If one caught ahold of her even if she managed to get away she would certainly drown.

She was standing, getting ready to move to safer venues when a head popped up out of the water giving the slave child a start. It wasn't quite ingrained into her to look for a slave or freeborn mark, so she answered quickly, "I am up at many hours of the night. Sometimes the mind won't sleep though the body should." It was only after she spoke that her oddly colored eyes slid from the other girl's cheeks, neck and then arm and hand and realized this was a Dynasty.

Shayna stepped back, her eyes lowering almost slamming to the ground. "Forgive me M'Lady I didn't..I didn't see." Her hands clutch at her skirts, and she let her hair fall over one shoulder but was sure to keep her vision clear. "Is there anything I can do for you this evening?"

[Nyxie Nadira Draer]

"No no, please, call me Nyxie. I only want to talk. I haven’t really been able to speak to girls about my age in a long time. Will you please sit down with me? And yes, I realize that you know what sort of family I come from; but could you maybe try not to treat me like that? Okay look, I’ve never spoken to people like you before; but I know that you all tend to be extremely subservient---as is expected, of course. I ask you then, to…I guess, obey me? So please, I request you to speak your mind, freely. Could you do that?"

Nyxie couldn’t seem to contain herself. The more she spoke, the more she wanted to say. She seemed to be speaking faster, at a rate that would sound unnerving to most people, yet she just felt the need to keep going,

"Tell me a little about yourself. What’s your name? Why is your mind keeping your body awake? I must say, I do understand how you feel. I’d be asleep myself, if it weren’t for… never mind that. Go on, I’m sorry. I guess I’ve been quiet for so long with no one to speak to that I just can’t seem to shut up at this point. Maybe putting my mind on doing something else will make me less likely to be so rudely talkative. Want me to teach you how to fish? Gosh, I’ve asked you way too many questions. Okay, wait, I’ll be quiet now."

Nyxie’s face was flushed bright red, embarrassed by all that she’d said. Surely this girl must think that Nyxie was insane. The young Draer now looked down at her lap, twirling her thumbs. She hoped with all her heart that the slave-girl wasn’t frightened by her apparent lack of proper social skills. Waiting for a response, Nyxie could feel that her heartbeat had quickened significantly. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, willing herself to calm down. Nyxie had nothing to worry about… yet, why was she so nervous…?

[Shayna]

The onslaught of words that tumbled from the other girls mouth surprised the slave, her mind racing to try and keep up. What if she had a request -command- hidden in all those words and Shayna missed one? There was something about obeying, did she miss? No it was just the girl wanted Shayna to speak her mind. Speak her mind? She couldn't possibly do that, what if something in her mind was offensive to the Dynasty? The longer she stood there the more uncomfortable she became, her muscles stiff and her back straight, she was not quite fully trained yet and had yet mastered the art of being near Dynasty at the ready for an order without looking at the ready.

"I can try M'La.. Nyxie." She responded obediently, though she made a note to filter her thoughts, she couldn't ask this one to slow down so that she could understand her better. Nor could she question her on why a Dynasty was out swimming in waters that had alligators in it. She counted the questions the other had asked her, three that she could grasp with the free fall of words.

"My name is Shayna, it is quiet out here in the evening. It is too loud in the slave quarters until there are more asleep so I come out here." She didn't add that mostly other slaves disliked her, she was far too ambitious for friendships to form amongst the slave population and herself. Her eyes never raise from the ground, though she was practicing on seeing out of her peripheral vision so that she could watch without looking impertinent. It was still a work in progress.

"What would I do with fish if I caught them M'Lady....Nixie? I don't know who these fish belong to." In Shayna's mind everything had an owner unless it was freeborn or Dynasty, and fish couldn't be either of those so they had to belong to somebody.

[Nyxie Nadira Draer]

“Shayna… I like that name. Do you have a last… um, never mind. Shayna, I don’t believe that fish can belong to anyone at all. Fish are free when they are swimming in the waters. One can only own a fish if they can catch it; and then they are free to impose their will on the creature. I usually catch fish when I’m hungry, but there are times when I feel like I want release the fish back to into sea. You have to careful though, because you wouldn’t want to release a severely wounded fish to then die of long-endured suffering. If you catch a fish, you gotta either kill it and eat it immediately or set it free with no harm done. Hm… have you ever eaten fish before?”

Nyxie paused, noticing that the girl was still standing. Not once did the slave look her in the eyes. Nyxie frowned. She spoke softly now, a tone of hurt in her voice,

“Shayna, please don’t be afraid of me. I’m not going to hurt you, I just wanna be friends~”

She reached out to gently touch the girl’s arm,

“Come, sit. I have a plan, and I wanna know if you’d be willing to join me for some fun together.”

Nyxie grinned, trying her best to make the slave feel at ease. Tonight was going to be interesting…

[Shayna]

Shayna continued to stand docilely, listening to the words of the other, trying to find any undercurrents that maybe she was suppose to be catching. Dynasty children rarely ever just stopped and chatted to slaves..not if they were older then perhaps four or five. If they stopped you it was because they wanted something, or they wanted to play that atrocious game where they threw miza's at you to see who can get the closest. Fortunately she was getting old enough to have duties so the Dynasty children didn't interrupt her much for that game. This one only had the one so it wouldn't be a very fun game for her if she wanted to play it.

When the other reached out to touch her arm she didn't flinch or pull back, but her green eyes slid to the hand on her arm. Her eyes flicked upwards to Nixie's face, but not quite meeting her eyes. However she allowed herself to be led to sit by the bank once more, her feet curling beneath her easily enough. "What sort of fun ..Nyxie.. "The name still stammered on her tongue, but at least it hadn't been previewed by a M'Lady.

"I am not allowed to leave the farm. My owner said so." She added, slaves were subservient to all Dynasty but Kenashern law usurps owner's rules, and owner's rules come before Dynasty requests. So if the Dynasty requests her to do something her owner told her not to she couldn't do that. "I wouldn't mind learning to swim.. "

[Nyxie Nadira Draer]

Nyxie’s face lit up when the girl chose to sit beside her.

“What sort of fun… Nyxie… I am not allowed to leave the farm. My owner said so.”

Struck by disappointment, Nyxie frowned. Her plan wouldn’t work. It didn’t seem like her new friend was that interested in fish to begin with, seeing as how she’d avoided her question. It would be difficult to persuade the girl to help Nyxie steal fishing rods from a nearby Freeborn-owned boat. Besides, an act like that would’ve required a certain kind of audacity that could never come from a faithful slave-girl.

Nyxie would have to try something else.

“I wouldn't mind learning to swim…"

Ah, now THIS is certainly doable.

“Swimming, huh? Sure, I can teach you,” Nyxie chuckled when she’d thought about how foolish she was to even think that Shayna would ever agree to misbehaviour as a form of fun. “Seems like you’re not very fond of fish, anyways. We’ll have fun in the water together; you’ll see” She winked at Shayna before grabbing her hand to help her up.

“Come on, we’ll start with the easy stuff. Trust me, I’ve swum in this inlet plenty of times; you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. You should probably take your clothes off like I did, unless you’re okay with getting them wet. And oh yea, don’t worry about animals in the water,” Nyxie gave her a sly smile. “I’ve got that covered. You’re safe with me.”

Shayna couldn't see the intricate blue and white waves engraved on Nyxie's back. It was a gift from Laviku. The young Svefran girl was marked by the god when she was born, just like most other Svefrans do. It gave her the uncanny power of being able to control multiple small creatures, or one predator about her size, when underwater. Shayna truly could trust that she’d be safe around Nyxie.

“Alright, once you get into the water, we need to erase any fear you might have of it. Dunk your whole body into the water so that your face is under the surface, then open your eyes. Feel your fear slip away, washing off into the sea. Only then, will you be able to see the light of Leth shining through~”

[Shayna]

Shayna quirked a dark brow at the other's words, what did it matter to this one that she liked or not liked? If she wanted a fishing companion then Shayna supposed she would fish with her as long as it didn't take her off the farm's land. If she wanted a dancing partner, Shayna reckoned that she would find herself dancing. Did this Dynasty girl not understand about how slaves and Dynasty members worked? Or was she just one of those rare ones who didn't see class lines? The latter people kind of frightened Shayna, for they were wild cards, you never knew how they were going to think or react. At least Shayna couldn't tell.

When the other began to instruct her on swimming, Shayna stands and immediately began to unbutton the plain slave garment to slide it off her body. Then came the small clothes beneath. Slavery had not allowed any form of modesty to form in Shayna's mind, slave quarters being what they were. She had never learned what "private' was because nothing that a slave possessed was really their own, not even their body.

Shayna bit her lip and breathed a prayer to Nikali before she stepped her foot into the waters of the inlet. The mud squished between her toes unpleasantly, but the water itself wasn't that bad, as she moved she stirred up the mud with her steps muddying the already dark water. Her heart began to pound, and her breathing became a little quick as she imagined alligators crawling in the mud waiting to clamp onto her legs. That was almost more scary then the idea that Nixie had ordered her to continue into the water until she could put her head under the water.

She waded in until she was chest deep -though she being such a short slave that was not very deep at all- and turned back toward the bank to look at the Draer girl. Her wide green eyes a little fearful but she raised a hand to clamp her nose shut, and dropped to her knees in anything but a graceful sink. Water splashed from her descent, and she was found herself having to struggle to stay down and not pop back up above the surface. Her black hair floated up to lay along the surface of the water, since the shallows was so .. well shallow.

[Nyxie Nadira Draer]

Nyxie’s eyes widened. She knew that it wasn’t unusual for slaves to be comfortable with nudity, so she wasn’t surprised that the girl casually stripped down in front of her. Nyxie just happened to realize that she would need to touch the girl’s naked body in order to teach her how to swim.

Shrugging off her initial discomfort, Nyxie stepped in to join Shayna in the shallow waters. She tapped the slave on her head after her 10 ticks of being underwater, signaling her to stand.

“Alright, how do you feel?” She waited for a reassuring response. “Good, you’re doing great. Now, I’m going to be helping you learn to float both on your front, and on your back. First, just jump up and down a couple times, and feel how buoyant you are. Great! Remember to always relax any tension in your stomach, to prevent yourself from sinking; your body will naturally want to float, more than it wants to sink. Trust that Laviku will protect you.”

Nyxie gently held the slaves shoulders with both hands and looked into her eyes. “You’re going to have to trust me as well, ok…? We’ll start you on your back, so you can look at me.”

The young Svefra put her palm on the slave’s upper back and slipped her other arm under the girl’s knees, scooping her up like a baby, keeping Shayna’s head above the surface. She rocked her back and forth for fun, trying to make the girl laugh. Smiling at her new friend, Nyxie made sure to speak kindly, in order to make her feel at ease. “Shayna, don’t worry. This’ll be easy. I’m going to let you go soon, and you’re going to float on your back, all on your own. Breath in through your nose, not your mouth, and breathe deeply. When I let go, look up into the sky, tilting your chin back until you see Leth. Ready?”

Nyxie let go. Her hands stayed underneath Shayna; it’d be easy to quickly grab hold of her in case she panicked. Hopefully, the girl will find herself to be able to float comfortably.

“So? How do you feel? Take your time to enjoy your newfound ability~”