Closed New Year, Same Old Sunberth

[Caela Dorin]

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The man's response made a lot of sense but it was also slightly worrying. She didn't think she'd placed herself sitting up against a wall but it couldn't be good that she had zero recollection of being picked up and positioned there by a stranger. However, it did seem that he was trustworthy enough. Not only had he saved her but he also hadn't taken advantage of the situation while she was incapacitated. It was a little disconcerting that he could sound so blasé about the whole thing, including the cut on her neck, but then he wasn't her. Caela had had an ordeal and she couldn't speak about it quite so nonchalantly. Plus, this man looked like a fighter so while he might be used to getting cut by other people, it certainly wasn't something that the dancer to which she was accustomed.

When he caught and supported her, the blonde was stunned by the strength he possessed. He was muscular so of course she had expected him to be strong but to experience it was something else. It was also good that while he handled her, there was nothing inappropriate about his contact with her. It was a rare feeling, yet she could honestly admit that she felt safe in his strong grasp while she regained her balance. All the same as soon as she could stand unsupported, she would gently extricate herself from his grip and move away from him to maintain a little bit of distance between them. He might have been nice enough to save her, but they didn't know each other intimately so closeness wasn't appropriate in Caela's mind.

His blunt assessment of her fighting attempt was met with a snort. She didn't mind of course for she had already admitted as much herself. An eyebrow was raised at his offer however, a thoughtful expression settling upon her pretty features. She licked her bottom lip lightly before catching it softly between her teeth as she considered.

"I do fight badly, yes," she admitted, subtly correcting his grammar in her response. "You could teach me to fight well? At what cost? I am not made of money and while I'd like to be able to walk down the street and protect myself if I have to, I also have to eat." She placed both her hands out flat with the palms facing upwards, moving her hands up and down as she spoke. "Food, safety. Safety, food. They're both important but I need food to survive and to have energy to work. I don't work, I don't get money. If I don't get money then I don't eat. Do you see my problem?"

The young woman regarded him for a few moments through narrowed eyes, her arms crossing over her chest and her weight placed more on one foot so that the opposite hip jutted out. Every time she moved, the briefest glimmer of pain could be seen in her eyes or in a twitch at the corner of her mouth as she suppressed a wince. She'd been roughed up well, not enough to be incapacitated of course but certainly more than enough to leave her in quite a bit of pain when she moved in her accustomed manner. She did not look forward to working as it was sure to be a world of pain for her. There was nothing to be done though. As she'd explained, she needed to work if she wanted to keep being alive. What were a few aches and bruises compared to no longer breathing?

"Common is not your first language," she observed. "Am I speaking too fast for you? Can you understand everything I say?" she asked softly, cocking her head to the side a little so that a lock of hair swung down to cover one eye. Caela puffed at the strand but it merely swung back in to place a tick later. With a gesture of impatience, she pushed it back, sweeping it behind her ear as she looked at the man. Perhaps he might interpret her impatience as being directed towards him.

"Also your name is what? I'm Caela." She touched her chest with her fingertips as she stated her name, making an effort to ensure that there was nothing lost in translation or miscommunicated.
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[Ssafirsotibones]

Bones thoughts were clearly not distracted or focused on the woman in his arms. He held her firmly, but as one held a baby that had stumbled in its flailing attempt at standing, not in an intimate way. But then, human woman didn't innately appeal to Bones, or drive any fire in him as it would in a human male. And with his experience with female Dhani, romance in that department wasn't much better. If what Dhani had together could even be called romance. Bones twisted his head a bit, looking at the woman, puzzling over her words before responding in kind. His odd speech was less due to a lack of understanding, more so due to an attempt to avoid speaking in a manner that showed his pronounced lisp. “I too eat. If do for free, I not eat. And why get money, if cannot keep? I not cheap, but not too much. Only... Enough.” In response to her comment on his understanding and speech, Bones tapped at his ears and then mouth in turn. “I hear... I Know... But talk... Not good.” Perhaps she'd understand what he meant, that he more or less understood, but just had issues speaking the words he meant. Part of that was his Dhani upbringing, being raised among them for his first century at least, he'd learned mostly how to speak Snake-Tongue. He'd only learned common once he began to take on his dhani form, as before that he couldn't use the words, and he couldn't speak them easily until he took on his human form which was much more recent an event. When he did speak common tongue therefore it was both accented and twisted by his upbringing and being used to speaking with a different mouth. Something perhaps no other race but perhaps kelvic's to an extent could understand. Bones tapped his own chest as the woman had, before speaking his own name, which ironically was one word he had to say often which he couldn't avoid and so avoid showing his lisp. “Bonesss...”

[Caela Dorin]

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OOCI'm literally the absolute worst, my sincerest apologies for taking so long to get a reply to you. Feel free to beat me with a stick and/or do something awful to Caela

It was interesting that the man had touched her but yet showed no sign of lechery in his gaze. Typically, when men handled her they tended to let their hands wander--much to her chagrin--but even when they were perfect gentlemen, their eyes tended to give something away. Now, their gaze didn't necessarily have to convey unbridled lust but appreciation at the very least. This man's eyes were flat with disinterest. As far as he seemed to be concerned, she could be a sack of flour that he could manipulate. It was a peculiar thing for the dancer to deal with and she was almost offended by the way he looked at her. It was as if he saw through her rather than actually seeing her. She didn't like it at all, but she supposed that it could have been worse. As it was, she was left wondering if her rescuer was interested in women at all.

The notion that he was willing to treat her like a human being rather than as a piece of meat was refreshing though and she was attracted by his offer to teach her to defend herself. Of course, self-defense was something that she wanted to learn but the imagined cost of such a thing was very off-putting. Money was a difficult thing to come by in Sunberth and if she was honest with herself then she didn't have a particular desire to part with it if she had a choice in the matter. There was nothing else she could offer him however, and even if Caela wasn't against the idea of offering her body to someone in payment, it was clear that it was of no interest to him. It would have to be money but if she could afford it then wouldn't it be better to accept his offer? She'd quite like to be able to walk down the street and not risk dying in the process. She'd much rather have to kill someone to avoid ending up dead in an alleyway herself.

The response of her potential teacher didn't give her much information, the man purposely vague as he avoided naming an exact price. She waved away his explanation of needing to eat too. That was obviously a given and it wasn't what she cared to hear about in any case. She nodded her understanding in regard to his ability to grasp the Common language, glad that he could comprehend what she was saying, but his speech was going to be a bit difficult.

"How much though? You say it's not cheap but that it isn't too much. How much would it cost to train me? What's your price per lesson? And how many lessons would it take? I guess it would be a lot because I'm not very good at this. Do you have any idea though? Could you give me an estimate?" she asked, fine brows arching in question. How well could he understand what she said though? In comparison to his speech, his comprehension of the language was better but how much better? She could understand Fratava better than she could speak it but still most of it was gibberish to her. It was only that her speech was worse, not that her understanding was exceptional.

"Do you know the number of lessons I need to be better? Two? Five? Ten? One hundred?" she asked, waving her hands around as she talked, frustrated to be lacking the knowledge she needed to negotiate a deal with the man.

He announced his name, lisping the 's' sound in such a way that it drew out into a protracted hiss. The sound of it and the macabre name together made her shiver involuntarily, the blonde perturbed by it. She couldn't hide her reaction though as it had come across her so unexpectedly, operating on some primal level that connected that hissing with danger. Her rational consciousness knew that he wasn't dangerous. He had saved her after all and he had had ample opportunity to hurt her thus far if that was his intention and so she felt reasonably safe. It was silly really to be frightened by such a sound, especially as it only resulted from a speech impediment.

"Well, it's nice to meet you... Bones. Can you help me if we wok out a deal? Can you give me a discount if I get more people to go to you? Will you teach me for less money if I make sure word gets around that you have this... school, as you called it? You're not from here but I've been here all my life. I know how to get word to Sunberthians. I know how to get word out there the best. Does that sound fair? You'll make enough money to eat if you have more customers, I keep some of my money and get to protect myself and everyone is happy. Do we have a deal? Name your ordinary price and we can go from there."

She offered her hand for him to shake, tilting her head to the side as she regarded him. She had to see how well he'd take her offer. She'd dealt with sellers in the market, had some experience with bartering and this was the same sort of thing, wasn't it? It was a matter of knowing who you were dealing with and how to come to the best compromise. Caela hoped that her offer would be tempting to him and that his price wouldn't be too injurious to her pocket.
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[Ssafirsotibones]

As the girl drove onward, it was clear she wanted firm facts, not generalities. Bones wasn't an expert negotiator, but he knew giving a firm number wasn't in his best interest. But then, he did have a set price that he usually charged, so there was nothing wrong he supposed with stating it. “For beginner... Nine gold each time you learn alone. Sssix in group.” “And for how long... Don't know. Depend. Depend on you, and how long it take. One. Four. Nine time. Don't know.” Bones would shrug after giving the uncertain response on the number of lessons it'd take, but then in the case of that answer he truly didn't know. The woman might pick up on things quickly, or take time, might need regular lessons, or as some did take one or two and then strive out on their own taking risks to learn it on the streets. He had no idea which way she'd go, though he didn't doubt it'd take several lessons at least to become somewhat decent at a basic level considering her utter lack of skill. “Learning to defend good value. Better to learn to protect what you get, rather than have it taken anyway when you can't protect. Give money to learn now, to not have taken later maybe. Good value.” When she offered to bring in more customers in exchange for charging less, Bones pondered for a moment, before returning his focus to his eyes. Basically she was offering to advertise for him, to bring in referalls, in exchange for a lessened price. He could see why that might be helpful, but then he could also see it being an empty boast with no return and only costing him money up front in a discount. He supposed though if she did prove her worth, he could lower prices later. But not before. “Don't give away free for future pay. You bring in people to learn, I ponder price. Till then, price will be price. After, not before.” Bones would awkwardly stare at the offered hand for a moment, before recalling his expected response and taking and shaking it. He gave a firm shake, but not enough to break bones or hurt her or bring sharp pain.