Open [Hospitality House] Hungry for Hospitality

[Iskessah]

Fall 1, 515 Iskessah blearily awoke sometime around noon. Even after an uncounted number of days, she still felt a bit like she was rocking about on that horrible boat. Maybe it was the permeating taste of salt in the air. She had no memories of ocean-based cities that she was particularly fond of, though admittedly, until recently she had only been near the seas a couple of times. And ending up on the voyage to this horrible rock had been an accident. Now she was trapped here, on a rock surrounded by the overpowering tang of salt. In theory she could just get on another boat, but...what would be the point? She was far away from any place she had ever called home, and she had not left on the best of terms. She just wanted to relax. Maybe sleep, indefinitely. Unfortunately, her body had other ideas. It had been a too long since she'd eaten, and even longer since she'd had a proper meal, and however little she was interested in her current life, her body was insistent that she continue to suffer through it as long as possible. Well fine, but that didn't mean she was going to put any effort into it. She did not bother to shift into a non-snake form. Iskessah had spent decades keeping to her human form to appease others. She was sick of it. Slowly, she made her way down from the cozy bed, shedding the comforting blankets that had shielded her from the brisk sea wind. With a dreary resignation, she slithered into the common room of the establishment that seemed to consider itself an inn of some sort. Now that she was here, she wasn't sure exactly what her plan was, but she was patient. For now she was content merely to settle into the warmest spot on the floor and frighten the other patrons of the establishment. At least she could reach the heels of everyone in here. Those fluttering mammals outside seemed to just be taunting her. Some days she thought the only thing sustaining her was the dream of seeing the looks on their faces when she finally had one for a snack.

[Philomena]

Dunpole Jarvits laughed a deep, barrel-chested laughand struck the table with his bad hand. He was an old salt, confined to acting as an officer of the customs house after the hand had been badly mangled in a slipped anchor chain - the hand was kidding a thumb and two fingers and bent at a peculiar angle. But the palm was still sound, and it made a loud smack against the plank surface.

“You, Dr. Lefting, are absolutely cracked! Look here… where is it,” he traced one of the two remaining fingers down the page of ebook opened between himself and Philomena Lefting, who wore the queer wrappings of the Akvatari around her breast and a long, blue skirt. Her skin was covered in swirling, dark brown markings, almost like a tattoo.

“You mean, ‘ere?” she reached a white gloved hand and pointed to the page.

“Let me see— yes! What is this nonsense? ‘The stores were low, and Charm Wright, for her many other gifts, was not a consummate fisherman.’ Aside from that University-snooty language, my fine doctor,” he said the words with playful sarcasm, “It’s nonsense! She was a Zeltivan sailor, of course she could fish!"

Minnie smiled drily, “Her journals, and this was written in 511, mind you, said, 'In spite of all, I never did figure out how to fish.'"

He waved his good hand dismissively, “Nonsense. She’s being humble, that’s all."

“Proof, Jarv. I dunny change it without proof to the contrary."

The captain waved expansively, “Proof, proof! Alright… 494, I was on a cruise to Sunberth with her, and weevils got in the biscuits. She cast a line—"

Minnie pshawwed and waved a hand dismissively, “494 is the year she took the Senior Member seat. Don’t tell me yarns, this is history."

“Yarns! Are you calling me a liar?"

She smiled blandly, used to the general bluster, “I think that if I hand stopped you, you’d be telling me Mussy Charm had caught a whale with a fish-hook and hung and tunned it with her bare hands."

He was silent a moment, then laughed hard, “Well, I won’t spar wits with you, but you’re tarring a heroine with a black brush!"

Minnie smiled more genuinely, “You know I loved her. Captain Wright would, I assure you, prefer the truth. The world will go on respecting her, even thou’ her biography proclaim she made a poor fishwife."

The man stood then, still laughing, smacked the table once more, “Well, just you remember the other things I told you! I’m not ALL fish-tales, humble sailor though I may be!"

She smiled, and nodded, “O’ course, I’m grateful to you for your help, Jarv."

He chuckled to himself as he went out toward the door. Minnie took up her kelp tea, then, and sipped it slowly - it tasted odd here, the warm-water kelp being, to her taste, a bit bland. She swept her eyes around the room, then, and stopped, visibly starting at the sight of Iskessah. She swallowed hard.

Well, she thought, That, one does not see every day at breakfast. I shall have to write this down.

x

[Iskessah]

Normally, the sound of humans bantering would not have stirred the Dhani's interest, but there was something familiar about the name they were bandying about. She rose her large head interestedly from her coils, so that when the woman turned to see Iskessah, the disturbing sight was enhanced by the snake staring directly back at her. If that wasn't unnerving enough, the head set forth from the coils and Iskessah began to slither slowly across the room, heading straight for Philomena. As she slithered however, she began to change. The considerable length of her tail seemed to shrink into her. Her sides rippled as appendages split off from the main part of her body. Her head melted into a rounder shape, and black hair sprouted from it. Her tan scales ran together and melted into pale flesh. She stumbled a bit as her tail split in two, but she managed to push herself upright with her now fully-developed arms, and continue toward the bar with a casual stride. The now human-looking Dhani sat, naked, in the seat next to Philomena. To the man behind the bar she ordered, "Meat." She sipped delicately at a cup of water for a moment, then mused idly, "Charm Wright...wassn't that the name of the woman who led the voyage to Darva?"

[Orin Fenix]

Well that’s something you don’t see every day. Orin’s brain was having a little bit of difficulty processing the sight before his eyes. After all, if wasn’t every day when a naked woman suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. Except, of course, for when Sylvette shifted from her cat form, but this woman had started off as a snake. His stunned mind supplied the word Dhani from somewhere in the depths of his memory and he put together the woman’s rather unpleasant shift from snake to human together with what he’d been told by Asen what felt like years ago.

Certainly if you’d asked him this morning Orin would never in his wildest dreams have assumed this would happen. Recently he’d been fooling around in the Hospitality House’s kitchen. He couldn’t in all honesty call it work. No one else seemed to care for the job and since the only people who wanted cooked fare were guests at the Hospitality House, Orin had taken it upon himself to provide that service. Since he was doing what he loved he didn’t mind much, especially since otherwise he’d be eating raw food. So after inventorying the small kitchen and the bar that came attached with it, Orin had settled into a role that felt familiar. All the same, he couldn’t help but contrast this with both The Rearing Stallion and the ship’s kitchen. It fell somewhere in between the two.

That day he’d be keeping up with the light orders as they came in from weary sailors and cleaning up some of the older cookware. When those had been set to soak or made spotless Orin had taken up one of the cloths under the wood of the bar and started polishing glasses. He’d seen Dr. Lefting enter and had wanted to greet her but she’d seemed deep in conversation and he hadn’t wanted to disturb her. He still wasn’t quite sure what to think of Philomena. She was an intriguing mystery and Orin had always been too curious for his own good. When he saw her companion get up and go, he’d started to come out to talk to her.

But then, it had happened. Whatever this Dhani wanted, it had obviously just been sitting there, as a snake, waiting. Waiting for what, Orin couldn’t tell you, but it appeared to have something to do with Dr. Lefting. Of course, he had also been adressed, and not in a particularly polite way. While Orin stood there, flabbergasted, his mouth took over. ”No clothes, no service.” He glared at this snake lady who acted as if she didn’t know how to hold a real conversation. For all he knew, she didn’t but that didn’t mean she couldn’t learn. Of course Asen, the only other person with Dhani blood he’d met, had also been belligerent so maybe it was a racial trait.

While he was still scrambling to catch up with the events unfolding before him, he quickly paced over to Dr. Lefting and crossed his arms against his chest. Careful to keep himself between the two woman, with an eye on both in case the situation became ugly, he spoke to Philomena. ”Dr. Lefting, is this woman bothering you?” Out of his peripheral vision, Orin studied the Dhani. She had dark hair and brown eyes, and appeared at least twice Orin’s age. And she was tall. Almost Orin’s own height, in fact, and he couldn’t help but compare the two women on either side of him. If the new arrival wanted a fight, Orin didn’t know if he could take her. His size obviously was no advantage, and he knew nothing about the capabilities of Dhani. At least while she looked human he could assume that her abilities were limited by her form. But sweat broke out on his brow and he came to the realization that he might’ve made an enormous mistake with this confrontation.

[Philomena]

The sheer brutal queerness of the situation was such that Minnie's mind lost track of how it might make sense of it, forcing her to retreat to her core skill of intuitive interpretation.

The cook and the serpent and I. That sounds like a nursery rhyme. The cook and the serpent and I fought over a gooseberry pie.

It felt an auspicious start to her, the sort of bouncing couplet that danced about concordantly with the gentle nonsense of the lyric. The words 'No Clothes No Service' as the young cook (what was it? Mister Fannicks? Mister Pheniss? Qalaya preserve us from foreign names!) pronounced were both silly-sounding and perilously close to the inner meter of a limerick.

She paused, realizing she'd been asked a question, "I'm sorry? Oh! Oh... no, no, I'm fine. I dunny feel borrowed Mr. Fannits, but you are kind to ask." She offered the boy (at least in her estimation) a little smile.

The cook and the serpent and I
Fought over over a gooseberry pie,
When the cook looking nervous,
Called, "No clothes, no service!"
--

She shook her head to focus on the situation at hand, "I'm sorry... Mrs. Wright, yes. That 's the last trip she took, t'Darva, um... mussy," she felt a slight perturbation - It was difficult to judge the proper social stratum of a naked, surly snake-woman, and she wondered if she should have used 'Goody' instead of 'Mussy', or even, perhaps 'Ma'am' in the other direction. "Is the lady a... a scholar of the Wright family, then?"

This last question was put with such a tentative hope that it practically oozed from its own pores.

The cook and the serpent and I
Fought over over a gooseberry pie,
When the cook looking nervous,
Called, "No clothes, no service!"
And he socked the bare snake in the eye

Could be better. The 'no clothes' line felt forced. PErhaps 'No clothes? 'en no service!', but then that would change the line before.

x

[Iskessah]

The man behind the bar was being dangerously insolent, Iskessah thought, as a peculiar gleam lit her eye. She was preoccupied almost entirely by his challenge that she only dimly hear the woman's question. "Hm?" she said distractedly, not taking her eyes off of Orin's. "Oh, no, I wass merely with her at the time." All of which took enough time to let Iskessah decide how she was going to respond to her more immediate concern. She stood up slowly, and leaned over the bar. "Maybe you are ssimple, so I will explain sslowly. I didn't not asssk, for sservisce," she hissed. "I demanded meat. If you cannot figure out how to provide it, I will be happy to inform you that ssome of it clingss to your bonesss." It occurred to her that her implied threat wasn't much good in her humanoid form, since she'd worked out long ago that eating decent meals was all but impossible with a jaw that refused to unhinge. So, as she continued her vague threats, she once more began to shift. (All right, so she was showing off, but no one here knew her well enough to suspect her of it.) "I don't know if you realize thisss, but I have not had a proper meal in...far too long." Her legs melted together and propelled her upward as they grew into a massively powerful tail. "Not that you could fixss that...You're a bit ssscrawny." Her hair was sucked back into her elongating head as scale patterns reemerged all over. "Sssso, what will it be? Will I be dining tonight on fissssh, or cook?" Opening her jaws wide, her eyes betrayed a gleam of malicious amusement as she made to swallow the man. She did not move nearly as fast as she was capable of; she was more than aware of what the potential consequences could be for actually killing someone where a number of other humans could see. But it was still potentially alarmingly quick by most human standards, and she was quite enjoying her little game of filling hearts with terror.

[Orin Fenix]

Thankfully, it appeared that Philomena was in no danger at all. Though she didn’t know this new arrival, Dr. Lefting wasn’t at all threatened by the Dhani’s actions. Though the professor did seem slightly bewildered by all the strange occurrences happening in the room. If he was being honest, Orin wasn’t quite following all the action, but the fact that the former snake didn’t seem to be listening to anything Orin was saying sparked suspicion deep in his belly. However, he didn’t dwell on it too long, since a familiar name came up in conversation. ”Wright? I feel like I’ve heard that recently.” Clearly, his brain wasn’t screwed on quite properly that day, since it took him a shameful amount of time to connect the dots. In fact, he was stumped until Dr. Lefting mentioned a trip to a place called Darva. Though the island didn’t ring any bells, Orin realized this was probably the same woman that Philomena had been shocked to discover Orin had never heard of. Though he’d been told some of her story, it really hadn’t stuck with him. In fact, he still wasn’t sure why she was so important to everyone present.

Not taking his eyes off the nude lady, Orin shifted his stance slightly so he could see the professor’s face out of the corner of his eye. In the background, he could see some sailors looking at the trio curiously. But they didn’t seem that concerned, being more interested in their mugs than the trio of people at a standstill. ”Just who was this woman that you people all keep bringing her up? I don’t get it!” Even though he was horribly uneducated, at least in the academic field, Orin couldn’t imagine that he wouldn’t have heard some stories of someone as famous as this Wright woman was shaping up to be. Frankly, Orin was getting tired of his ignorance, and wanted straight answers about this mystery lady. Maybe if this all settled down he’d get some.

Unfortunately, the aggressive woman seemed to have other ideas in mind. Orin narrowed his eyes as the Dhani stepped closer. Something strange seemed to be happening to the bones in her face as she first insulted his intelligence, then threatened to consume him in the same breath. Something deep inside him exploded and the world snapped into sharp focus. Concealing the motions beneath the apron he wore, Orin grasped a dagger in his right hand, while he surreptitiously scanned the area for anything that might help or hinder him if it came to a fight. There was a chair not too far away on his left, and if he needed to, he’d pick it up and slam it into his opponent. At worst it would distract her and at best it would take her down entirely. Placing his weight on the balls of his feet, Orin gathered himself to leap backwards if the quickly shifting snake woman struck at him. Then, he launched into motion.

He whipped out his blade and brought it up to the Dhani’s throat. She was probably having fun, attempting to bully Orin in his own place of work, acting as if she owned the place. And Orin hated bullies like he hated few other types of people in the world. So he wouldn’t feel at all bad about giving as good as he got. ”How about neither you freak of nature?” His voice came out icy cold. Keeping a tight rein on his emotions but channeling them to give himself energy, Orin cocked his head at her and smiled though it never reached his eyes. ”Now I might be dumb and you might be fast. But are you stupid enough to attack me and hope that I don’t get a lucky strike in? Imagine...all that blood pouring out. Messy, huh?”

Though Orin normally wasn’t a violent person, that was more because he was constantly holding himself back from it. He rarely let himself off his self-imposed leash, because he was afraid that once he started, he wouldn’t be able to stop. After all, his family had a history of insanity. And Orin had more than enough darkness in his heart to justify acting evil now and again. Actually, is was harder to make himself act cheerful and composed, requiring nearly all of his mental effort. But, occasionally, Orin let his other half out.

Not moving a muscle, Orin held the tableau between them for a tick, letting the silence stretch before he kept talking. ”I don’t particularly appreciate people making scenes in my presence. Especially people who show absolutely no manners or regard for others. I recognize maybe you think you’re all that, but in this building, I’m afraid that I’m in charge. And I don’t like people who try and get what they want by force or intimidation.” His breathing was steady and his eyes were glittering with rage barely checked. ”I’m willing to drop all this foolishness and start over with you, since I just scrubbed these floors and I hate making extra work for myself. But, on the other hand, I need to blow off some steam and I’ve been told that getting some exercise in is pretty good for that.” At this point, though he was pretty sure that fighting a Dhani was probably suicidal, Orin was at the end of his patience. Besides, it wasn’t as if he had a lot going for him in his life at this particular moment in time. Risking it to make a point was worth it. He tried to convey all that with his expression and his stance, though he wasn’t sure how successful he was at communicating it. ”So. What’s it gonna be?”

[Alexander Ross]

Alexander Ross Alexander's arm exploded with pain as Ranqor's blade collided with the armor that protectively covered it. The force of the blow nearly knocked the boy off balance for a moment, but luckily his feet were able to stay beneath him. He and his patron had been sparring for well over three hours, and it was only by sheer luck that the boy had been able to keep himself standing that long, especially with how heavy the armor had grown. At least he had gotten used to the extra weight, which was a start at least. Alexander bit his tongue as a string of curses and insults began to invade the most active sections of his mind, quickly working their way to his vocal chords. Suppressing the unpleasant comments as much as his self-control skills would allow, he began to plan a counter attack. If he attacked at Ranqor's midsection, then he would easily swipe it away with his own sword, considering how it was positioned... but, however... Leaping forward, Alex swung his blade, aiming to strike at Ranqor's left side. However, just when Ranqor moved to block, the boy switched his motive entirely. He grinned as his blade slammed into the armor covering the right side of his torso. Ranqor winced as the blade made contact, before grinning at him. "Yes! Perfect! Well... somewhat... the attack could have had a little more force behind it, but I can't say you haven't improved a bit." The older patron said, before planting the tip of his blade into the dirt. "Practice is done for today. Go back to the Hospitality House and get that armor off." "Oh, thank the gods..." Ross replied, panting heavily and returning his longsword back into its sheath at his side. "Anything else we'll be doing today?" "Not at the moment, lad. I have some matters of my own to attend to, so just do whatever you want. Explore the city, bother the Akvatari... It doesn't really matter." The older man shrugged, before returning his blade back into its scabbard and walking off. "Just don't get lost, because I really don't feel like searching the entirety of Abura for you." "Yes, sir." Alex replied, heading towards the rather well maintained path that lead to the Hospitality House. His walk carried a slight limp to it, mostly due to Ranqor's strikes at his legs. There was no doubt in the boy's mind that he would be excruciatingly sore by the time morning came, yet such was the "perks" of being in the Order... After a good twenty to thirty minutes, he came within view of the large structure, and quickly lengthened his stride. With a sigh, he opened the doors and prepared to make his greetings to the Akvatari at the information desk.... with all the good it would do. It seemed that almost every one on this gods-forsaken rock was carrying a depressed stature. Not even his polite "hellos" could make them crack a smile. It was honestly rather dull in his opinion. Then, the first thing the young man noticed once he walked in was a familiar-looking cook holding a dagger to a woman's neck... and the woman just so happened to be naked... Yaaay. More awkward. Alex thought, his face beginning to turn a shade of red. Despite his rather prudish reaction, he tried his best to ignore the woman and turned his attention to Orin. Seeing him in this state of mind seemed... strange. Then again, Alexander had only spent a little over a few bells with the cook, so there was no doubt that there were things about him that he did not know about. His heart thudding loudly within his chest, the young man approached, gripping the hilt of his longsword. "Um... Is... there a... problem?" He half-stammered, trying to keep his eyes off of the naked woman. He wanted nothing more than to run into his room and huddle in a dark corner while rocking back and forth, but unfortunately being a squire meant that situations like the one in front of him could not go ignored. He doubted that he would even look all that intimidating with his lean build and blushing face... not to mention the dents in his armor and the bruises on his skin from his sparring session with Ranqor.

[Philomena]

In a room full of threats, one must pick one's battles - a snake turning into a naked woman was one thing, sure, but on the other side there were two gentlemen. Both sides seemed to be 'talking big', so not much to differentiate there. And then, the woman had spoken about Charm Wright!

"Qalaya's dirty fingers, I hope not ALL these foreigners are like this," she muttered softly to herself, before standing and trundling herself on her small legs around the table.

"Please, please!" she put one hand up on Orin's chest, and one on... well, she judges to perhaps not put it on the woman's chest, she puts it on her belly, in both directions, softly, to soothe flared tempers rather than intimidate in any way (the thought of such a thing being more than a trifle ridiculous.

"Please... friends... the Lady 'ere, she startled everyone a bit, and 'en, we all got a bit toppered 'fore we could calm down. I dunny need a thing, but for us all to take a deep breath, eh?"

Her instinct, then was to follow up on the woman's comment - no, instinct is too small a word. Her urgent, childlike compulsion was to ask the woman about Charm, about... about being WITH her on Darva of all things! But, there were still knives drawn, and... well, a naked woman in the dining quarters.

x

[Iskessah]

Iskessah's tail twitched in response to Orin's threats, and if she'd had a normal face at the time, observers might have been able to note a malicious smile. She waited politely for the end of his little speech, using the time to consider how best to disable him. She was quite certain she was faster than him, though his knife was rather close, and it might not be prudent to risk it. However, the silly human seemed to be completely overlooking her tail... She became aware of another heat signature moving toward their location, and began to rethink her advantage. Thinking about it, the Dhani wasn't completely confident about coming out of the impending conflict unscathed. She began to recall the once-ingrained wisdom of keeping her head down, and while the whole point of being here out in the world was to stop having to hide her true nature, the harsh truth was that willy-nilly destruction is a quick path to getting oneself killed. Luckily, her fragile pride was somewhat salvaged by the funny little human woman. Keeping her malicious eyes fixed firmly on Orin's, Iskessah slowly slid backward, moving her neck out of range of the knife. She then turned her gaze deliberately to the woman. "I am perfectly calm," she hissed casually, before continuing with a note of resentment, "I remain, however, rather hungry. Which I have difficulty underssstanding, given the abundant prey all around me..." The dhani leaned back against her coils in what was undeniably a sulking position, gazing expectantly at the assembled humans. Living outside the Nest really was quite tiresome.