Open Priorities 26 Summer 514

[Shoshana Re Menehat]

http://www.mizahar.com/forums/topic49227.html

She was weary to the depths of her poor, bedraggled soul. It had been quite a trek through the city. Shoshana had somehow completely missed the fact that some of the busiest stretches were East or West at some point, and had thus wandered straight into the Old Quarter from the docks.

On her way the city had done little to redeem the vision of shabbiness it'd painted in her mind. Everything seemed a run-down stone shack of what it was meant to be. Such disrepair. Had the humans so much to do they simply could not take the time to ensure a building did not topple over on top of them? It seemed foolish.

She was not accustomed to walking on such a hard surface for so long, and her sandals gave very little protection or support to her poor aching feet. The tall woman paused to admire the buildings which were the university, though she knew only 'of' universities, and not quite as much about what all went into one. Perhaps someone there could tell her why, in the name of everything, Yahal would be wasting his time on her. Clearly, she had none of the values of Benshira. Even her mother had given up on those. But could one just wander into those buildings and ask for such knowledge? She would ask someone to find out. Perhaps. Later. Her stomach was still feeling betrayed and she wished to find a place to rest after her journey, and find some real nourishment. So the journey continued a bit long, until she saw it!

The outside was unprepossessing, only the image of what might be inside could have tempted Shoshana to enter the Bath House when she finally saw it. Oh, praises be! It was the perfect ending to what had been the worst period of her life thus far, for so many reasons, as far as she knew! The half-Epharyian almost cried, and wondered whether there might be somewhere to restock on her face paints (they would most likely wash off in any water).

So it was the weary traveler finally made it into the bath house. She was tall for a female of most species, 5'9", with olive skin, and a graceful figure made shapely by muscles and the movements of dance.

"This is a bath house." It did not yet occur to her how heavily accented her common was. Perhaps just as interesting was the fact that everything about the phrase uttered had made it a statement, apart from a gesture of her hands that might have indicated a questioning mode in the language of the Eypharians.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow T he city was smaller than the first impression she'd had upon arrival. Compared to the vast, spacious Avanthal with its many individual holds, Zeltiva was dwarfed. Saraphina had spent the better part of the morning exploring the docks and West End. She now knew where most of the sales and business's were located should she need to buy anything. It was still quite a change for her to have any form of spare money. The bagful of gold that Augustine had given her for the journey was more money than she'd ever held in her life....and quite frankly Saraphina was at a lost of what to do with it. In Skyglow hold, every coin she'd ever earned or found went straight to her Mother to help her pay for food, cloth, shelter....anything that was needed. Now, with what seemed to Saraphina to be a small fortune, she wandered the streets aimlessly, taking in the sights and trying to get used to the smell of fish which seemed to come from everywhere. A s she walked, Saraphina took care to keep her senses sharp. She was still very new and inexperienced in this place and trouble always seemed to have a bad habit of finding her no matter how careful she was. The building around her were somewhat ramshackle, but looked sturdy and comfortable. Obviously they'd survived through many years. The mosaic tiles on some of the structures interested her, she made a note to come back when it was less crowded to have a closer look. Right now, the feline Kelvic was just trying to dodge around the majority of people and remain as inconspicuous as possible. Her movements were fluid and graceful as any professional dancer as she weaved around stalls selling fish, fruits and various other things. She was looking over the heads of a group of fishermen haggling to a stall keep when she overheard a conversation nearby, "Michael....take me to the bath house...please....I want a massage and spa day....." Turning to watch a young couple weave through the crowd and head towards a rather normal looking building for the area she was in. Sufficiently intrigued, Saraphina followed at a distance. S he paused outside the structure, tilting her head to the side and sniffing the air. There was a floral scent emitting from the building that was misplaced in the ocean city smells. Her acute hearing could also detect the muffled sound of harp music. Now very curious, Saraphina braved crossing the threshold and walked inside. The change in the air from the bustling outside was instantaneous. The soothing trickling sound of water almost instantly made Saraphina want to relax. She didn't, of course, but it was tempting. Sitting near a wall by the entrance, a baby faced man plucked at the strings of a harp, filling the air with a lovely melody. Looking upwards, Saraphina found the skylights a fascinating sight.....how had they manage to carve such a structure so high up? "Welcome to the Zastoska Bath House Madame, how can I help you today?" Saraphina turned towards the female voice that addressed her. A petite dark haired women smiled at her, setting down a tray laden with a teapot and cups. Saraphina shifted uncomfortably, unsure of what to say. The assistant seemed to pick up on her uneasiness and smiled warmly, waiting patiently for the Kelvics reply. After a moment or two, Saraphina answered, "What's a Bath House?" T he young women blinked at her and seemed a bit taken aback by the question. She recovered quite rapidly and answered in a pleasant and professional voice, "It's a place where we offer customers the opportunity to bath in warm water. Towels and soap are provided at a small cost and we have both public and private bathing chambers. We also have a number of skilled staff that offer spa treatments, such as massages and facials. Would you be interested in any of that Miss? Or perhaps you'd care for a cup of tea?" Saraphina found the idea of a place that offered bathing very odd and cocked her head to the side as the women explained. In Avanthal, if she got too dirty or her scent got strong enough that prey animals could detect her, Saraphina would just rub snow on her body till the grim was gone and dry off in her Mother's house. The feline Kelvic opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the entrance of a very strange looking women. S he paused to study the newcomer. Long straight dark brown hair that seemed slightly windblown, large eyes the color of budding spruce needles and a strange skin color Saraphina had never seen before. She wore a light robe in a design very alien to the Kelvic and when she addressed the assistant, her voice was heavily accented. "This is a bath house," the dark haired girl said. It sounded like a statement to Saraphina, but the waving hands and body language suggested that this new girl didn't understand Common very well. Saraphina continued to study the human, her golden eyes were dilated to a cat like slit in the bright light of the bath house and the stare she gave Shoshana would have been very unsettling to any not used to the gaze of a predator. Saraphina didn't intended any harm, she was merely curious about this odd looking women. Before she realized she'd spoken, words flowed from her mouth, "You're very pretty....why is your voice strange sounding?"

[Shoshana Re Menehat]

Shoshana was much more impressed by the edifice as it appeared on the inside, it was much more than its dingy outer layer had promised. This environment of luxury certainly felt more like home to her than the chaotic streets outside.

It was surprising to be addressed by another patron, mostly because she had not noticed the woman at first. The fact she had not noticed Saraphina was almost equally as surprising. Shoshana blinked at the outlandish female. Her current conversational partner was the embodiment, she decided, of a sunset (or a pale human new to laboring in the sun). If only she had taken the time to properly paint her eyes, she might have been a very great beauty indeed. Oh, the eyes... as the other went ever so slightly too long without blinking, Shoshana found herself freezing a little. Something about the stare made her feel as though she must stand very still....or run. Perhaps it was the stare accompanied by the almost-threatening looking teeth.

The...creature had complimented her, she gathered. Why? And called her strange? Why? She glanced at the woman who was obviously responsible for greeting. "Ah- thank you," a standard, modest response to being called beautiful, unless someone knew that the accompanying hand gesture signified 'yes'. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she came to address the topic of her voice. "Your language, it is strange." Obviously there was nothing wrong with her voice, it was this Common Language, which she had not had much use for until now.

Could she move, now? Shoshana wasn't sure how to interact with this cat-like female. Or would she be murdered right there in the bath house, before she could even draw a cup of tea?

"Tea?" she offered with a graceful hand gesture towards the set up. In her dealings with Eypharians, some of whom had stared at her with a similar (though not equal) intensity at some point or other, the best strategy had been to continue as though everything was normal. Even as the offer was made, her memory wandered to a dimly lit room, silks and gleaming gold, and her bracelets tinkled with her hand movement as she smiled and offered a tray of dates.....

"Who are you?"

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S araphina blinked at the dark haired women's wave, looking away towards the tray she'd gestured towards. In her somewhat feral mindset, her intimidating study of Shoshana had been completely normal. But that was to be expected from a predator Kelvic. Even though her Mother had tried very hard to educate Saraphina in social conduct, instincts still ruled her and always would. Any new figure was to be carefully examined before approaching. True, she often acted rather rashly in situations, but she always got a feel for the air before jumping in. Shoshana had the air and scent of a wealthy women. She moved with a grace that almost challenged Saraphina's and her scent was very odd, a mixture of exotic spices and something that reminded her of sand. Her scent was muffled under the smell of seawater and travel, but Saraphina had learned long ago how to distinguish between environment scents and the natural aroma unique to each human. W hen Shoshana explained in her accented voice that the language was strange, Saraphina understood after thinking over the way she'd worded the phase. That made more sense to the Kelvic. She herself could only speak her Mother's native tongue Vani somewhat competently. This new exotic women must not have been taught Common as her first speech. Quirking her lips a bit and relaxing her aura to one less overpowering, Saraphina nodded to the human girl, "I understand....you don't know Common very well.....I've just.....never met anyone with a voice that sounds....." Saraphina paused and tried to think of the word she was looking for. In Avanthal, everyone she'd ever bothered to meet had the same sounding voice, there were no accents so she was at a loss of how to explain it to Shoshana. "Your voice sounds strange to me.....I don't know how else to explain. I am Saraphina Skyglow. I'm from Avanthal....who are you?" Saraphina shrugged after she was done speaking. If she'd offended the women, she really didn't care. Everything to her right now was a learning experience and Saraphina was soaking up as much as she could. Social conduct didn't really matter much to her. T he attendant poured a steaming cup of tea for both of the patrons and carried them to the two women on a small saucer, smiling warmly to Shoshana, "I would be more than happy to help you with anything Madame, please don't hesitant to ask. I apologise for the delay." She gave both of them a small bow and stepped back to await any further needs of the two women. Saraphina took the cup and saucer carefully, she didn't want to drop it as it seemed to be made of a painted clay. She sniffed suspiciously at the liquid. The strong smell of mint, cinnamon and something with a fruity scent that she didn't recognise. But she could detect nothing that would suggest a toxin or poison. Taking a small sip, she thought about the assistants words from earlier. She was a bit dirty from the trip and had yet to bathe, but her scent was not so strong that she particularly cared. Still, her Mother had always said she should take the chances to experience new thing when she had the opportunity...now was as good a time as any. "I.....think I will try your Bath House....you said there was a public area." The dark haired women nodded and started to collect a towel and bar of soap, "Yes Madame, the public pool is quite spacious. One request we ask though....please refrain from bathing in your animal form. The Zastoska Bath House prides itself on our clean waters and we don't wish for large masses of fur or feathers to be removed from the pools." Saraphina nodded in understanding and continued to sip her tea. She wasn't really surprised that the assistant had pegged her as a Kelvic...most people she met could tell fairly quickly and from what she could tell, Zeltiva seemed to have an influx of people.

[Shoshana Re Menehat]

Once more, carrying on as though everything was perfectly normal proved to be the correct solution. Shoshana wondered why anyone would ever respond to anything in any different way. It saved so much trouble. No waves were made, no one was offended, and no one suspected that you knew what you knew, so there was a complete advantage. One could potentially act to correct whatever was wrong before anyone else realized what the problem was. Though, in this case, such logic did not quite apply.

She found herself releasing a breath as the intensity of the other's stare lessened. "Hmm," the half Eypharian could only muse on the alleged strangeness of her voice, and it occurred to her that perhaps this...cat person was not the best at expressing herself in Common Speech either.

Did everyone introduce themselves that way? In her city, one typically only gave a name and one's occupation. But Saraphina was quite blunt...or perhaps she didn't want Shoshana to know what her occupation was.

"I am Shoshana, the...." several problems popped up with her culture's way of introducing one's self at that moment. Firstly, the former desert dweller could not think of a word to describe what her position in society had been in the common language. Secondly, that was no longer her position, so it was no long an acceptable method of introducing herself, not that she owed this stranger any honesty, but she had nothing to gain by being dishonest. "One who wanders," she finished with a small smile, though the realization that she no longer knew what she was....unnerved her.

A refined smile down her nose at the attendant as she accepted the apology for the delay. Of course she would not hesitate to make her desires known to a person employed to serve. That, at least, was something she did know how to do, though perhaps she could use the tiniest bit of practice. "Thank you." She eagerly accepted the tea, already feeling more like herself.

When the attendant asked Saraphina not to bathe in her animal form, Shoshana was quite surprised. Having been quite sheltered, she knew little about the outside world, or the races to be found there. She regarded the other over the rim of her tea cup with a measure of disbelief. The acceptability of blunt questions had already been set by the other, but Shoshana was still unwilling to pry too deeply.

"I will bathe also," she added, finishing the sip and setting the tea cup upon its saucer, bursting with the desire to know what manner of being this Saraphina Skyglow could be.

"You have more than one form?" she inquired.

When they were shown the bathing area, Shoshana was both unabashed about disrobing before strangers, and eager to enter the soothing water. She immediately handed the attendant her pack, the possibility of the woman's taking anything from it did not once cross her mind. She had handed many things to many attendants over the years, and everything always came back.

A bath would be just the thing after her long journey. Her emerald colored cloak was the first to go, then she raised a leg up to begin the process of removing her sandals.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S araphina tilted her head as the dark haired women introduced herself. Shoshana pronounced her name with a roll of her tongue, "Sho-Shoshana? That's an unusual name." Her tone wasn't intended to sound degrading or insulting, Saraphina was simple speaking her mind, as was common with her. She finished her tea and accepted the towel and soap from the attendant. Following behind Shoshana, as even though she was beginning to feel more comfortable around the exotic women, she still wasn't even close to trusting her, the two entered into the public pool area. The sound of trickling water was coming from this vast room. Tall, white pillars with intricate carving decorated either side of the clear pool. Saraphina immediately went to the closest one and placed her hand on it. The detail, smoothness and craftsmanship was beyond anything she'd ever seen in Avanthal. Even some of the most skilled artisans would be hard pressed to mimic the work. She admired the pillars for a bit longer, running her hands over the stone before the sound of shifting cloth. Shoshana had lifted her leg and was removing her sandals. Deciding to join her, Saraphina also put down her towel and started to take off her clothes. M odesty at her nakedness never bothered Saraphina. As she needed to be bare to shift to her animal form, she was quite comfortable walk about without clothing. To her it was perfectly normal. Her Mother had often said women were suppose to be more discrete and shy about being unclothed in the presences of others....Saraphina never did understand that logic and still didn't. Shoshana's question about her having more than one form was surprising. The red haired women cocked her head at the comment, holding her shirt in one hand, shoes and pants already discarded. Placing her clothes on the side of the pool by one of the pillars, she removed her undergarments and stepped into the pool. T he warm heat made her gasp a bit in pleasurable shock. Unused to warm water as a bathing tool, she closed her golden eyes briefly and hummed in contentment. It was similar to basking in a warm, sunlight area....soaking up heat and making her muscles relax. After a moment Saraphina remembered that she hadn't answered Shoshana's question. "Oh.....sorry Shoshana.....I got distracted. Yes, I have two forms....I am Kelvic. I have a human form and an animal form. All Kelvic have two forms. Mother said it is how Marcus intended for us to be. Have you never met a Kelvic? There are many in Avanthal, they guard the Goddess Queen Morwen and keep the ice city safe...where are you from Shoshana....I thought all people knew about Kelvics." S araphina splashed some water on her face after she finished, sitting back in the warm water and feeling very content. Her comment was blunt and straightforward. Saraphina has heard of other races, some from her Mother some from others. She knew humans to be the most common race, she'd never actually met any other Kelvics but she knew a lot about her race from her Mother's teachings. The sailors on the ship she'd traveled on had told her about water races like the Charoda and the Konti, so she certainly knew other races existed. Granted she wasn't well educated, but she obviously had more knowledge than Shoshana, which surprised her quite a bit and made her more curious. Where was Shoshana from that she'd never heard of Kelvic's? Her race was apparently a wide spread species yet the dark haired beauty had never encountered a shifter. That was very interesting and bared justification for more investigation.

[Shoshana Re Menehat]

As the attendant held her pack, Shoshana rummaged through it momentarily for a comb, even as Saraphina was experiencing the joy of bathing in warm water instead of snow. For herself, Shoshana had never seen snow, though she had heard mention of it, and would never imagine herself using it for bathing. Victory! Her hand closed around her comb and drew it out. Shoshana traded the attendant her remaining clothes and her sandals for the object.

So it was that by the time Saraphina had finished reflecting on the luxury of warm water, Shoshana was wading into the bathing waters, though only to her shoulders. Her goal was to avoid washing the design painted on her neck and the paint on her eyes. She twisted up her dark hair and pinned it loosely with the comb so that it would not get wet trailing behind her in the water.

The, kelvic, as she called herself, presented Shoshana with many ideas all at once. An ice city, kelvics themselves, this Marcus person, a Goddess Queen. It was not the first time Shoshana had come to realize how very out of place she was out in the world. It had been stupid of her to come on the whim of a dream.

"I am of Ahnatep," she answered. "I never heard of kelvics, or a city made of ice." Her education, however, had been limited to what she needed to know to entertain guests, and she had not always cared what happened in the outside world. But she had to admit, this creature and her magical ice city grabbed her imagination. There were many questions.

"Are you able to choose when you change your form?" she asked with curiosity tinged by fear, remembering the rather predatory manner in which she'd been regarded before. What if the other just changed at random, whenever her nose tickled perhaps? And she was left bathing with whatever possessed that intense predatory stare? Such a thought made her very nervous indeed.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S araphina found Shoshana's question about her shape shifting abilities rather amusing and laughed lightly, the musical sound temporarily blocking out the trickling of water and soft steps of the attendants traveling back and forth. A moment later she realized that her laughter might be mistaken as a mock towards the painted women, so she gave Shoshana a gentle smile, "Can you choose when and where you place your feet? The clothes you wear or food you eat? It's a natural process for a Kelvic to shift forms....but completely controllable." Saraphina felt no need to hide any facts about herself. As far as she knew, Kelvics were welcome in most areas. Granted she had no clue what Ahnatep was or where it was located, but Saraphina was one who preferred to learn things by asking and doing. And Shoshana didn't scare her in the slightest bit....she was quite confident that if trouble came out of this encounter, that Saraphina could easily handle it. So she might as well try to expand her circle of contacts so she could learn as much as she could. T he warm water was differently something she could come to enjoy on a regular basis. Shoshana's comment on Avanthal made her correct herself. She hadn't thought much about how she'd worded her statement and that was perhaps her mistake in talking to the exotic women, "Avanthal is not actually made of ice, though ice is used a lot to make things. It's just an expression used to describe it because the snow never melts and there's always ice around. I should have been clearer, I forgot you didn't understand Common as good as others. That was my fault. You should visit Avanthal sometime.....its cold, but the night skies are always lit up with the Aurora all the time. Its beautiful....I miss it...but Zeltiva is interesting too. I've met some nice people....like you Shoshana. What Ahnatep like? Did you like it there?" S araphina tipped her head back into the warm water to wet her hair. The long red strands turned to a ruddy mud color and curled in the water like tiny snakes. She had been clean for a few bells, but wasn't quite ready to leave. A bit more time talking to Shoshana would be fine, she was an interesting women. The markings on her face and neck were strange and Saraphina decided to ask about it, "Why do you paint you face Shoshana? It is some kinda camouflage so you can hunt better? That doesn't seem like it would work well in the city."

[Shoshana Re Menehat]

Shoshana relaxed when she was satisfied that, if she was suddenly torn apart by a wild animal, it would at least be wilfully done. And how terrible if the change was a sort of reflex, then she would feel very sorry indeed for the kelvics. Why, just to be in the middle of an activity, like they were now, and to suddenly be forced to change forms. Why, she imagined quite a lot of furniture and fine dishes or worse, clothes, could come to be destroyed in such a way.

How must it feel, she wondered, to be able to be an animal whenever one wanted? It had to be liberating, unless one turned into a housecat or some such thing that was then a pet. But how thrilling. One could, theoretically, ignore any and all constraints of society and just go out and be perfectly savage. Of course, an animal living outside had no access to perfumes or fine foods, or jewelry. Perhaps she would not be so envious of Saraphina as her thoughts had first led her to be.

"Oh," she was a little disappointed, actually, to hear that Avanthal was not physically made of ice. Secretly, Shoshana persisted in imagining it as such. It made for a much more interesting mental picture. A mysterious ice goddess ruling over her ice city....the desert woman would not have enjoyed pondering on such a thing for long if she had not been surrounded by warm bath waters. The darkhaired woman did not ask about the Aurora, figuring it was just another word for 'moon', since Saraphina described it as being something that lit up the sky at night.

I am nice? she couldn't help but wonder. What had she done to demonstrate such a trait? Did people not usually openly converse with the kelvic, so by doing so she seemed kinder than others? For herself, Shoshana didn't really know whether she was 'nice' or not. She was certainly....'obedient'....but did that make her kind? There had never really been other children for her to interact with, and when there had been she had treated them with politeness, though no warmer term could really be used than that. Did a lack of cruelty define one as being 'nice'? Talking with people who seemed to view her more as their equal than some sort of pet was certainly inspiring many interesting internal debates.

"Ahnatep," finally, she could talk about something she knew! Well, she could talk about what she knew of it! But the words in Common were slightly elusive. "Ahnatep is beautiful, old. It is much more warm, and in my home we had a bath like this, with many fine things all around," Shoshana sighed. "You have heard of the Eypharians? It is their city. Ahnatep is..." she was not sure if the phrase would translate correctly in Common, "a jewel in the desert." Then she paused, looking at Saraphina to see whether what she had just said made any sense at all, "Yes? It is very beautiful." What Shoshana had seen of it, at least, had been very beautiful indeed.

It was Shoshana's turn to laugh when Saraphina seemed to think the face paint had something to do with hunting. Though....perhaps it had, she had no idea. "No," she explained patiently to the kelvic, whose animal instincts must not have allowed her to understand such things, "it is for beauty, like a bird with colorful feathers. No Eypharian woman will leave her house if her eyes, they are not painted." Perhaps it was not quite that dramatic, but it was very crucial to fashion there, more so in the upper classes where appearances were so important. But she was not really Eypharian, was she, so why did she paint her eyes? Again, the internal debate would have been too intense for the moment.

"I could paint your eyes," the desert lady offered then, realizing that yes, she must be a kind person to offer. But, as well, it sounded like fun, and the other really could stand to have her eyes painted a little. "They are gold, beautiful. I would outline them in black, and maybe some...ah," what was that color name? "red! Red, with gold dusting, or purple." Shoshana smiled benevolently upon the other.

[Saraphina Skyglow]

Saraphina Skyglow S hoshana took a bit to respond to her. It was a bit concerning as Saraphina wasn’t usually in the habit of insulting people on purpose. Accidently somtimes by being to blunt and forward with her words or action certainly, but she didn’t usually try to upset people. Despite her animal side, Saraphina was a rather easy going person. Troublesome, overly curious and sometimes a bit prickly, but all in all she considered herself to be a good person. So the hesitation in the Ahnatep women’s response was a bit worrisome. But when Shoshana finally did answer, describing her home with such passion and joy all concerns were lost. Clearly she had just been thinking about how to answer Saraphina, which was fine. The description of Ahnatep took hold as a Kingdom of blazing, endless sun and waterless barren wasteland. Saraphina knew what a desert was from her Mother’s teaching. It was a place where water was very limited and few plants and animal resided. It sounded horrible to Saraphina, who had a hard enough time dealing with Zeltiva’s heat, never mind a place where it hardly rained and never, ever snowed. But Shoshana seemed to think it was a beautiful place so Saraphina merely nodded politely in response, not trusting her socially inept voice to blurt out something offensive. It was a technique her Mother had installed in her. If she couldn’t trust what she might say in response to something, she should just nod. It usually worked….usually. T he laughter the young human girl produced was quite lovely. Shoshana had an even and smooth voice, even when she laughed. Saraphina wondered how she managed to keep it so steady and prevent any rises or falls in the pitch of her voice. Maybe she was a singer or storyteller….sometimes she’d listen to the Vantha in some of the family dwelling in Avanthal. Some could speak for hours, weaving tales and pictures with their voice without pauses or cracks breaking the spell those listening fell under. The thought of painting ones face for simple beauty and appearance was odd to Saraphina, as was the culture of these people Shoshana called the Eypharian. She’d never heard of that race before, but she was more interested in the offer to paint her eyes than learning about a new people. Saraphina assumed Eypharian’s were Shoshana’s people, another type of human. After all, she’d just said no one from her city would leave without painting their eyes and her eyes were painted. Therefore….logic dictated that Shoshana was Eypharian. S araphina tilted her head and smiled at the dark haired women. She supposed the paint around Shoshana’s eyes did draw more attention to the light green color and it did frame her face nicely. It still seemed a bit silly to Saraphina, but it would be a nice way to show trust to the newcomer. And she still being so new to the city, she could use a few friends. Nodding to Shoshana, Saraphina pulled herself out of the bath water, brushing wet hair off her shoulders, “You like my eyes? Thank you Shoshana. I think that painting my eyes would be very interesting. Do you have the paint with you? What do you use for it? I’ve seen artists use charcoal and oil to decorate pots and carvings. Do you use your fingers or brushes to apply it?” The technique and tools would be interesting to study. Perhaps if she paid close attention she might be able to learn some things that would help her to develop her artistic skill better. Saraphina was rather creative when she wanted to be. It was what first inspired her to learn the basics of carving and drawing. What better way to expand her knowledge then to practice on herself. G athering up her towel and drying off her body, she glanced over at Shoshana. Really, the darker skinned women was very pretty. Saraphina wondered what brought her to Zeltiva. She wasn’t sure if asking was being rude or not, but the burning curiosity was getting hard to hold back. Deciding to stay on topic for now, she picked up her clothes and turned to Shoshana, “Should I get dressed or will it be easier to paint my face while I’m bare? This isn't going to hurt right? And it will come off if I use some water? I like the idea.....but I still want to hunt and the colors might make me more visible.” The Kelvic girl was quite excited by the prospect of having her face painted. It was silly, but she found herself not caring. After all, she was here to get away from her old life and start a new one….no need to start slowly.