Closed Tentative Overtures (Seirei)

[Lian Windrunner]

Lian listened intently to Seirei's story. A string of bad luck causing the traders to turn against someone who was "different," was sadly a common thing. The captives weren't Drykas, and therefore they too were "different." Several of the people Lian knew were suspicious of them because of that. If one of their belongings turned up missing, their first thought was that one of the captives had stolen it...even if such a thing seemed very unlikely at best. As if their not being Drykas obviously had to mean that they were thieves. Lian hated that kind of thinking. But if he were honest with himself, he knew that his own thinking and actions were along the same line. The captives weren't Drykas, so that made it okay to take them from their family and friends, from the only home they had ever known...and force them to bear children for the Drykas. It was as if not being Drykas somehow meant that they weren't thinking, reasoning people, with feelings, and hopes, and dreams of their own. As if not being Drykas meant that they were little more than animals. Lian knew that that was not true. What about traders who married into his people, and were eventually chosen by striders of their own? Were they not human until they bonded? If that were true, then it could be said that the Drykas who had married them had married animals...which was just plain wrong. What about those who were born among the Drykas, but who had not yet bonded to a strider? Were they somehow less than human? No, of course not. Guilt tore at Lian. Raping Seirei as he had, and forcing her to bear his child...was wrong. He was quickly coming to realize that. But at the same time...were his people wrong for wanting to survive? In order to do that, they had to replenish their numbers. And that meant children. Which meant taking captives and breeding them. It was true that they could have asked for women to come and bear children for them...but what if they didn't find enough who were willing to come? Or what if those that did were the ones who were unwanted by their own people because something was wrong with them? It was a difficult question, and Lian wasn't certain that there was a right answer. His guilt intensified when he realized that even acknowledging that Seirei was human, and that he was wrong to breed her like an animal...he knew that he would continue to do so unless and until she became a true Drykas. He tried to justify it with the thought that she had been abandoned, and would have died had he not rescued her, but it didn't help much. He couldn't stop breeding her when his people had such a great need. Nor could he give her a choice in the matter now that he had treated her the way he had. But he could...be nicer about it. He would wait to try breeding her again for at least three seasons. Possibly more. And he would reward her for bearing his child after the baby came. He would find out what she liked, and give her something that..wouldn't make what he had done to her okay, but it might make it a little better. Maybe. At the very least, it would ease his conscious a little. Lian didn't like the way his thoughts were going, or the guilt twisting his gut, so he allowed himself to be distracted by Seirei's words. Her tone was filled with anger, grief, hurt, and betrayal. As she spoke, tears filled her eyes. Seirei scrubbed her eyes to try and get rid of them. Lian guessed that she didn't want seem weak in front of him. At least, it was how he would feel if their positions were reversed. Seirei's question caught Lian off guard. Why did he want to know? Or rather, what could he offer as a reason? Telling Seirei that Waisana suggested that he should get to know her didn't seem wise. But telling her that he suddenly wanted to get to know her for no particular reason was likely to make Seirei suspicious of his motives. Ticks turned into chimes as he struggled to put his thoughts into words that she might accept. "I don't quite know how to answer that." he admitted at last. "I'm not certain that I can explain it properly. Part of it is that you are going to be the mother of my child. Our child will be raised as a Drykas...but...we will be raising him or her together. Our child is going to want to know about who each of us are, and what made us who we are. It's only natural that this be so because our pasts have made us who we are today, and who we are will have an impact on our child." Lian fell silent, his hands making a sharp gesture of frustration. The sign signaled frustration with himself ans his inability to explain rather than with Seirei, or anything else. "What made you so different from the rest of your caravan?" he asked at last. "Or if that is too personal, would you be willing to tell me about your father?"

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Lian's awkward honesty startled Seirei. In all honesty, she had expected her question to end this little game of theirs. Or if he did answer, Lian would have a calm, ready answer that would be a blatant lie. Instead, his words were fumbled, and clearly unpracticed. This was no false answer meant to lull her suspicions, and make her think that he genuinely cared about her, or something ridiculous like that. His answer even made sense. His child...their child...was going to want to know about his or her parents. Well, of course the child would. What child wouldn't want to know about the most important people in their lives? His reason was obvious now that Seirei had heard it. So she could forgive him for asking such a sensitive, personal question...mostly, at least. The man's next question was just as personal as his last. But it was an obvious one, given her answer. Seirei could understand why he would want to know what made her different enough that her own people would turn on her...but that didn't mean that she had to like it. Seirei didn't want to answer the question. She really didn't. It was too raw, too painful. And Lian had already answered all of the questions she could think of at the moment. Seirei was about to refuse to answer, ending their game in the process, but she hesitated. What if she could get something else as "payment" for answering the question? Seirei desperately needed to learn how to ride. Even if she was planning to buy passage with a trade caravan when she was ready to leave, she was hesitant to go out into the Sea of Grass again without knowing such a vital skill. If she knew how to ride, then she might stand a chance of reaching the safety of another city if she was abandoned again, or if something should happen to the caravan she was traveling with. When the subject of learning how to ride had come up with Waisana a while back, the healer had hesitantly suggested she ask Lian to teach her. At the time, it had been an insane idea. Seirei simply hadn't trusted him enough to ask him for anything. If she were honest with herself, she had been too frightened of him to ask him anything much less ask him to teach her something. But he had started to treat her better than he had before. And he seemed to be taking a genuine interest in her as a person rather than just as an animal to be bred and used at his whim. Seirei still didn't trust him...but if the lessons were payment for something rather than her asking for them for nothing...then maybe it would work out. "The answers to your questions are one and the same. My father is what made me different than the others. Or rather it was what he was, and what I am as a result." Seirei said slowly, still reluctant to answer despite what she hoped to gain for doing so. She hesitated for several ticks before continuing. "My father is a Drykas. Which, of course makes me half Drykas. When things were going well, it didn't matter. I was one of them, and that's what was important. Even when things started to go wrong, no one blamed me for it. But when it began getting worse, and our bad luck went on for years...and when my own mother seemed to become a victim of it, that's when people turned on me. If my mother was a victim of the bad luck that plagued us, then it was striking the people closest to me. And I was...different. At least, that's what I think they must have thought." Seirei hesitated again. "I don't want to ask any more questions. Not right now, at least. Instead, I want you to teach me how to ride in exchange for the answer to your last question." she said boldly. Seirei belatedly realized that she should have gotten Lian to agree to teach her how to ride before answering the questions...but she couldn't do anything about it now. So she waited with bated breath to see how he would respond.

[Lian Windrunner]

Lian stared at Seirei in silence for several long chimes. His mind was reeling in shock. Her father was a Drykas? But...that meant that she was part Drykas. Or at least...she could have been. If she had been raised by his people. Would she have bonded to a strider? How did Seirei's being part Drykas affect their current situation? Did it affect their situation? Lian didn't know. He would never treat a Drykas woman the way he had treated Seirei. Nor would he allow anyone to do so in his presence. And yet...Seirei wasn't truly Drykas. Was she? She hadn't been raised among his people. Hadn't learned the way of the Drykas. Didn't speak pavi. So was she different than any other outsider when it came down to it? Drykas father or not, Seirei knew very little about his people from what Lian could tell. She was learning, and seemed to be trying to learn more. That pleased him greatly, but it didn't change their situation. She was an outsider, and his captive. She would spend the rest of her life bearing his children unless she proved to him that she had adopted the Drykas ways, and become Drykas herself. And the ultimate proof of that would be if she became Drykas enough to become acceptable to a strider. She would have to bond before Lian would free her. Lian found that he had a great deal more questions all of a sudden. Who was her father? What Clan was he from? What pavilion? Why hadn't he raised her rather than letting her outsider mother do so? Or was he dead? Was that why Seirei had been raised by outsiders? But if that were the case, why didn't her father's pavilion take her in? Lian wanted to ask all of these questions, and more. But Seirei didn't look as though she would be open to answering any more questions just now...assuming that she even knew the answers he wanted. Hadn't she said as much by saying that she didn't want to ask any more questions now? But her words implied that she might be open to another exchange of information in the future. Lian would have to consider his questions carefully in anticipation of that time. For now though...Seirei's request was an interesting one. Riding lessons had not been part of the deal. But at the same time, Lian was pleased that she wanted to learn. Riding was very important to his people. A desire to learn how to ride could be seen as a start towards adopting the ways of his people. Now that Lian knew that Seirei's father was a Drykas, it was even more important to him that Seirei adopt Drykas ways. They were her ways too...sort of. If Seirei did become a Drykas, and that thought suddenly seemed less impossible than it had been only a short time ago...he would have to fulfill his side of his promise, and free his captive. But that thought didn't bother him as much as he thought it would have. After all, he would lose a captive, but his people would gain another Drykas to fill the places left by the ones who died. And her children would still be born and raised as Drykas. So after considering Seirei's request for several ticks, he nodded slowly. "That sounds reasonable." he agreed. "But any lessons will have to wait until winter comes." Lian held up a hand, making a quick gesture signalling that he would explain himself further. "As you know, I am a hunter. The fall is a very busy time for hunters because we must bring in enough food to get us through the worst of the winter. I won't have the time to spare to teach you until then. Is that acceptable?"

[Seirei Dawnwhisper]

Seirei squirmed uneasily under Lian's intense gaze as he stared at her for several agonizingly long chimes. It felt like an eternity to her as she wondered what he was thinking. It was impossible to tell from his expression. Not because he was hiding his emotions too well. Seirei could see many emotions flickering across his face. Shock. Dismay. Anger. Curiosity. And many more. Too many for Seirei take a guess at the man's thoughts based on his expression. When he finally did speak, Lian agreed to give her riding lessons in exchange for the answer to his last question. Then he warned her that he wouldn't be able to give her any lessons until winter came. At first, Seirei was certain that Lian was looking for a way out of his agreement even as he made it. He was probably hoping that she would forget his promise before then. Anger rushed through Seirei. Her face flushed with it, and her eyes flashed even as she clenched her fists, and fought the urge to protest. But her anger faded as quickly as it came when Lian explained why she would have to wait. His reasons made a lot of sense when Seirei thought about it. Fall was a time of gathering much needed supplies for the onset of winter. Farmers would bring in their harvests, and preserve what they could so their families wouldn't starve in the long, cold months ahead. Hunters and trappers brought in as much game as they could find. These were things that Seirei had seen no matter where her caravan had been in any given fall. There was no reason to expect that it would be different here. And Lian was a hunter. Of course he would be too busy to teach her this season. So it was Seirei's turn to nod when Lian asked if she could accept the delay of the promised lessons. "Yes. That is acceptable." she said after a couple of ticks. Seirei could see the unasked questions in Lian's eyes. She guessed that he wanted to know more about her father, and possibly why she had grown up with her mother instead of him. They were questions that Seirei didn't have all the answers to herself. And even if she had, she didn't feel like discussing the matter with her captor. So she was relieved when he seemed to resist the urge to question her further about her father. Seirei needed to be alone to think. Lian had been honest when answering her questions as far as she could tell, and that suggested that he was genuine in his desire to get to know her better. Seirei didn't know what to think about that. She also needed some time to cope with the emotions that had risen within her when she told Lian about her father being Drykas. So she stood abruptly. She muttered something about going for a walk. Then she all but fled the tent before Lian could change his mind about questioning her further.

[Khida]

Lian Windrunner

Skill	Points
Intelligence	+2
Interrogation	+3
Intimidation	+2
Negotiation	+3
Persuasion	+2
Rhetoric	+3
Socialization	+5
Storytelling	+2
Teaching	+2

• Interrogation: easy questions to get a person talking
• Intimidation: a steady regard
• Negotiation: an even exchange
• Negotiation: balancing the value of information
• Negotiation: offering multiple options
• Persuasion: offering bait to go with the hook
• Seirei: abandoned by her family
• Seirei: fond of dark, cool colors
• Seirei: her relationship with her mother
• Seirei: sibling to Jared
• Storytelling: relating the emotion of personal experience
• Teaching: straightforward relation of knowledge

Seirei

Skill	Points
Intelligence	+3
Interrogation	+3
Negotiation	+3
Observation	+1
Persuasion	+1
Planning	+1
Rhetoric	+3
Socialization	+5
Storytelling	+3

• Drykas: the colors and reputations of the Clans
• Intelligence: checking information received against known facts
• Intelligence: setting aside opinions for sake of information
• Interrogation: setting aside a sensitive subject
• Lian Windrunner: his siblings and their relationships
• Lian Windrunner: of the Sapphire Clan
• Negotiation: balancing the value of information
• Negotiation: offering multiple options
• Persuasion: offering bait to go with the hook
• Planning: have an agreement before delivering the goods
• Storytelling: relating the emotion of personal experience

Notes

This was a great thread to read, both in premise and in execution. I was a little flabbergasted, when I got to the end and started tallying up lores, to realize how very little Seirei and Lian actually know about one another IC! Admittedly, I can see this thread's been in the works for a while, but it was still a surprise.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your award. Also, Lian, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.