Closed I have to do WHAT?

[Fiachra]

44 Spring - 516 AV - Kenash

"I don't know what that man is teaching them! The little Master is certainly better spoken but.."

"And of course they won't listen to us, never mind we've been with them for years.."

"He's not even proper Dynasty, he's some foreigner."

"Huh. Foreigners!"

Oh yes sure, thought 'Chra from her perch on a nearby roof as the two women, both with similarly tattooed faces walked by carrying loads of laundry, foreigners are what you have to worry about.

She had seen one proper beating and four matter of fact hits doled out so far this morning. And quite frankly it was terrifying and hard to understand. She'd have just left except, here despite her distaste for the area a pleased noise escaped her all the same and she felt an intense surge of satisfaction, this was where her Bondmate was. Hers. Could not leave him. Which meant she had to figure this place out. Had to be able to function here. This was what Wikus required of her, even if he'd not said it.

At first she'd come to the conclusion that those with tattooed faces were the slaves. But then she'd seen one administer a particularly brutal whipping to another. And seen others ordering still more tattooed folks about. And she'd seen someone with no mark at all dragged away screaming. It didn't make sense! She didn't understand! And while a goodly number had marks on their faces, some had them on their hands or arms, and these people were treated in all different manners. Some deferentially, others dismissively.

She needed help to understand. She had to be able to ask someone questions. But she had absolutely no intention of switching to human and walking around asking people. She'd traveled more miles than many people did in their entire lives to make her Bond and she wasn't getting beaten to death or sold to someone who was not hers now, after all that! But maybe if she could find a foreigner to talk to.. Someone who'd lived here for long enough to understand what was happening and how to survive it but who maybe didn't think this was normal and was more likely to let her get on with her own life and leave her be. Someone at least semi-friendly and knowledgeable.

...hadn't those two ladies just been talking about a foreigner teaching someone?

'Chra was not particularly religious. She knew the Gods were real, they just didn't really affect her or play a part in her life. That said, she was a simple and opportunistic creature. She needed something, the world provided. You didn't ask why or how, you just took advantage. She flew back in the direction they'd come from. There was a long driveway leading to an estate. So wait and watch. Within the bell, a boy sauntered down the walk. His clothes said that whatever his place in life, he was fairly well off. Perhaps the Little Master? With further patience, impressive for her, she watched him, letting him get ahead before flying after him, unobtrusively following. Stopping on the occasional roof or tree, scratching at the ground. No one paid attention to birds anyway.

She reached a plaza with a rather nice fountain display, and watched the boy disappear into a building. She amused herself for awhile playing in the fountain. It had been raining lightly, misting really, most of the morning and she was damp anyway. Two bells later, during which time someone had thrown her some bread which was rather nice of them she thought, the boy wandered back out. Good! Her turn then!

Quick wing beats took her in the same door before it swung all the way closed. She followed the most likely path into a room. Desks, books, boring things she didn't care about, and a man with his back to her. Was this the foreign teacher? She thought yes, but wasn't certain. Not yet anyway. If he spoke and she could hear his accent though.. yes, that was smart!

"Kkkkrrr hello!"

She kept a fair amount of space away from him, just in case.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

“… our fields would lie dormant, and all the people in Kenash would starve. And that’s why slavery is a necessity”, the dark haired thirteen year old who was usually called “Little Master” by the servants and slaves of the family, but whose real name was Damian Morealis, concluded and looked at Valerius expectantly who looked back at him coolly for a moment before he answered, “Your speech was somewhat better than your last one – you used a lot of different words, but you did not greet your audience, you did not thank them, and your arguments were somewhat lacking. There are more reasons for why slavery is a good idea besides cheap labor. Use your imagination. For our next lesson I want you to rewrite the speech and research slavery in other cities.”

The boy wanted to rise from his chair and pack his things, but Valerius raised a hand, signaling him that they were not quite finished yet. “Your eyes were glued to that piece of paper in your hands almost all the time. You need to look at your audience more. Eye contact is a vital part of any speech. Please keep that in mind. You may go now. And please tell your mother thank you. Her pastries are always exquisite.” He gestured towards the small box that sat on his desk. Damian’s mother, a distant relative of the head of the Morealis family, fancied herself a baker and usually gifted Valerius with a few of her creations. Unfortunately they were inedible, and Valerius always threw them into the trash.

Ah, the sacrifices one had to make on the way to power …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the “Little Master” finally walked towards the door, the Ravokian breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. Playing the part of the well-educated and largely harmless foreign academic went against his nature in several different ways. He’d visit the Fountain Plaza, he decided and get something to drink before he would pursue some of his favorite activities that had nothing to do with teaching dynasty brats. Maybe he’d see what was going on at the Playhouse or visit the Den. He found that particularly relaxing. After a day of work he always needed a distraction so that he would not lose his mind.

He was just about to clean up his desk – orderliness was an absolute necessity as far as he was concerned – when he heard the sound.

He looked up abruptly, frowning slightly as he did so. A raven sat in his office and looked at him challengingly. He looked around to see if there was anything he could use to chase it away with, but unfortunately he didn’t have a broom, his books were too valuable to throw them at random birds, and he was not sure if a knife would work. It was probably stupid, like all animals were, and would not realize that weapons were dangerous.

So he did the best he could do, considering his lack of other options, opened the window, grabbed the box with Lady Morealis’ disgusting pastries and threw it at her. Hopefully she would get the hint. “Go away!” he ordered. “You are not welcome here. Why are you trying to speak Common anyway? You are a bird. Just leave me alone!”

[Fiachra]

44 Spring - 516 AV - Kenash

Skipping back and away from the box, Fiachra cocked her head examining the pastries that tumbled out. She was both pleased and amused by his response, certainly this was the best thing anyone had ever hurled at her and his accent did not sound like the ones she'd heard outside. Cocking her head at him she voiced a toc-toc-toc of raven laughter. Hopping forward again her head darted forward, beak snagging one of the pastries, before turning slightly to once more fix him with a dark eye.

Taller than her, though not a giant, her first impression of him was that he was clean. Well groomed, hair and clothes perfect, skin pale as if he spent most of his time indoors, he was in strict contrast with the tanned, disheveled Kelvic. He was the sort of man who looked as if he must have popped into the world gift-wrapped, for surely he'd not been born wrinkled and bloody and screaming like everyone else. This apart-ness was communicated in his stance as well. This was not a man who would go with you to a pub, who would lean in shoulder to shoulder to laugh over shared stories. But he also seemed to be doing well for himself, and that had been the requirement. Someone not from here, but who understood how to love and operate here. So he was perfect.

The usual trademark swirl of light and raven became woman. A somewhat scrawny woman, courtesy of the hard flight from Sunberth to Kenash, but not starving, just a few pounds shy of where she should be. She was mottled with a plethora of bruises, though most of them were fading, and many were mostly hidden by the unbroken tan that suggested naked was not unusual for her. There were a few fresh ones, including a particularly impressive on stretching across her ribs onto her back, rather like she'd been bit with a stick. Or a plate as a Raven. You know. Whatever. None of this seemed to concern or slow her down however, her posture was relaxed and her movements as fluid as the next Kelvics.

Hands raised to transfer pastry out of her mouth so she could speak.

"Dunno, treats normally mean you're pretty welcome."

She commented with a shrug before taking a bite. Almost immediately her face screwed up into an expression of distaste.

"These are terrible."

Not that that stopped her from taking another bite. Considering she was a scavenger and happy to eat carrion a good half the time, a bad pastry was not going to put her off.

"And I could speak Tawna for you instead if y'want. Or Nari but I'm not very good at it. Wind eagles are not very chatty."

[Valerius Nitrozian]

Unfortunately the strange bird didn’t seem to have gotten the hint, and his aim had been bad on top of it. Instead of hitting the bird, preferrably on the head, the box had just landed on the floor, and the pastries had tumbled out which it seemed to have found funny. Was it mocking him now? At least it would get rid of the pastries for him. He was always a little worried that somebody would search his trash and find out that he had lied about enjoying Lady Morealis’ exquisite creations. He hoped that the bird ate them all and died of food poisoning – but not until after it had flown out of the window.

He waited for Fiachra to do just that, but to his surprise something completely unexpected happened instead. There was light for a moment, her form seemed to shimmer, and then a naked woman, bruised, scrawny and rather unremarkable, sat on his clean floor. His eyes widened a fraction, but a moment later they hardened. He was familiar with her kind. In Ravok he had worked for his aunt at the Kelvic Research Institute. They had cut the creatures up, experimented on them and fed them poison to find out how they functioned and what the extent of their abilities was. He missed those times sometimes, although he would never admit it out loud. Sentimentality was not exactly a sign of strength.

This particular Kelvic likely belonged to somebody though – he doubted that they let such animals into the city if that was not the case - so he would have to tread more carefully, he decided. Her nudity certainly didn’t affect him. He didn’t stare at her for longer than a tick or two, he didn’t leer at her, and he didn’t constantly look at her chest. He just quietly searched his office until he had found his old cloak that he usually used as a cleaning rag and tossed it towards her, meeting her eyes for a moment as he did so.

“Cover yourself”, he ordered coldly. “And then get out.” Unfortunately she didn’t seem to have understood him this time either, for she started eating the pastry in her hand instead. He half expected her to start gagging, but instead she simply swallowed the disgusting thing as if it was in truth delicious. He doubted that she really spoke three languages. She barely seemed to be able to understand proper Common. Still, he could not keep himself from asking, “Where is your owner by the way? Does he know that you are flying around Kenash and bothering freeborn citizens?”

[Fiachra]

44 Spring - 516 AV - Kenash

"Tisn't cold, but if it concerns you."

She shrugged once, before accepting the cloak and tossing it nonchalantly around herself. This was not the first time someone had thrown a cloak at her. Really this was not a bad day so far. Tone aside, he'd given her food and clothes, which really was fairly nice. Plus for all that he said get out, he kept talking, which was also a positive. He might have just refused. 'Chra hated being ignored. Loathed it. If there was a discussion going on then who knew what might happen, and coldness or not, he might well tell her what she needed.

She did however look slightly affronted at his question.

"I do not have an owner."

She stressed that word, rising and raising her chin. For just a moment there was a flash of haughtiness that would have left a Dynasty brat jealous for the easy superiority it carried.

"I have a Bondmate, it is different. And I don't know, that way somewhere."

She waved vaguely off through the wall. That had been where she left him any way. He might have moved. She didn't really know his habits yet. She would though. She sensed however, that the information she needed, or the start of it at least, was contained within those few questions he'd asked her. It was like a string, and if she could pick at it enough, the mystery would unravel, leaving behind what she needed to know. So she examined his words and found what was unfamiliar, or what puzzled her. Haughtiness had long since disappeared, as except in the matter of her bondmate, 'Chra did not really think she was better than anyone. Nor did she think she was lesser however. She was simply herself. Why would she compare herself with anyone else? They were different.

"What is a freeborn citizen and why would I not fly where I please?"

Kenash was filed away as presumably the place where she was. She'd not actually known before now. Until permanently sidetracked, it had just been a place between her and Alvadas. Not even a planned stop as Zeltiva had been. In fact if she'd not eaten that bloody frog and wound up so lost..

It occured to her that given his words he likely thought she was stupid. Again, this didn't really worry her because she did not know him and so did not care what he thought, but she did not want a stupid answer. She wanted a smart answer. So she dug through the list of big words and ideas that flitted about in her head usually ignored in favour of slang and habits picked up in Sunberth.

"And do not say you are a freeborn citizen. This is implied. I do not understand what it means. All of these people walking around marked or not marked, and I do not understand. Like signs in a language I cannot read."

Here a note of frustration. To be perfectly honest, 'Chra did not read particularly well in any language. Most signs though, at least in Sunberth, were more like pictograms. A skull generally meant danger. Things like that. Here though, everyone was marked but the same mark seemed to mean different things or at least different treatment for different people.

"I see many slaves, and some not slaves. But I do not always know the difference. If I am to be stuck in this.. Kenash. I do not want people who are not-mine to think they can claim me. I do not know how to communicate this. I do not know what sign says this."

She eyed him again, and here more than a hint of stubbornness surfaced.

"You are a teacher yes? So teach."

[Valerius Nitrozian]

He had just asked her about her owner so that he could notify the man and possibly receive a reward for capturing his wayward Kelvic. He had not been friendly, he had not meant it as an invitation to stay and stain his precious office with her dirty, unwashed body, but apparently the creature had interpreted it this way. But then again, what else should he have expected from a mere animal?

Since she didn’t seem to know what was good for her and was not going to leave of her own volition, he would have to take matters into his own hands, he decided. He was not above resorting to physical violence and touching such a lowly being anymore. The times when he would have been disgusted were a thing of the past. He came closer. If it was necessary, he would drag her out of his office by her hair. She didn’t look like she would be able to put up a lot of resistance.

As she insisted that she didn’t have an owner though, but a bondmate, he stopped momentarily and focused her with his gaze. If she did indeed belong to somebody, it might be unwise to damage the man’s possession, as he had already concluded before. “I know what the bond is like. I’ve met your kind before”, he replied, somewhat condescendingly. His aunt had studied it, back in Ravok, with him by her side. She had studied the nature of the bond, she had tried to find out if it could be forced, how it could be broken and if its effects could be replicated. The very nature of it had seemed unappealing to him. “It’s just another kind of slavery, no matter what you say. You shackle yourself to another being and give up a part of yourself, you become less than what you are. Only a fool would do such a thing voluntarily.”

“I am a Freeborn”, he replied and showed her the mark upon his left palm. “This is proof of my status. If you do not bear such a mark, they can enslave you or even kill you, and they won’t be punished for it. In Kenash freedom is an exception, a gift, and not the norm. There’s more to it though, you have to go about it a certain way and do it within a certain timeframe …” He stopped here and considered his options for a moment. There were several ways to solve the problem at hand, but which one would be most beneficial to him? Should he talk to her, kick her out, refuse to help her or dampen his prejudices for a moment?

“I am a teacher yes”, he replied. “If I am to teach you what the different marks mean and what you have to do to keep your freedom, you will need to give me something in return though. My lessons are not free. Since I doubt that you have money, I’ll be content with information. I want your name and the identity of your owner for one so that I know that you aren’t just an unbound Kelvic that wants to escape slavery. And you will owe me a favour.”

[Fiachra]

44 Spring - 516 AV - Kenash

It was probably for the best Valerius kept most of his thoughts firmly in his own head. Had he in fact voiced his concerns about her personal hygiene, she probably would have gone out of her way to touch everything, lick his windows and the like. Childish yes, but in her defense, she wasn't even three yet and had been bonded for all of a day. As Kelvics went, she was actually quite intelligent, courtesy of her Raven nature. Perhaps if she'd spent more time in civilized places and less in, well, Sunberth, she'd have been a bit more polished. She had not and was not. Such was life.

She shrugged again at his insistence that bonding was the same as slavery. She didn't have the words to explain that it wasn't, and even if she did she wasn't certain a bondless non-Kelvic could understand anyway. It wasn't losing a piece of self, it was finding a missing part. It was a constant anxiety and fear assuaged. It was knowing that you were never alone and would not be again. It was purpose and reason. A set course when before you had been drifting aimless. It was all of that and more. A day. It had been a day and she could feel her thoughts starting to move in new ways. Could feel things slowly clicking into place. Like a great machine before ticking away without accomplishing anything and now a missing gear had been added and suddenly things were swinging into place, were coming into focus.

Besides, if you had one thing and you added another thing to it then you had.. well a bigger thing. or more thing. You didn't get less thing. Everyone knew that.

Regardless of what he thought of her bonding, he started in on an explanation all the same. Which was nice because between his approach and his tone she'd been momentarily concerned that he was going to hit her. She was largely of the opinion that enough things had hit her recently thanks all the same. She peered with interest at the mark on his hand, wincing slightly and reaching out to touch it lightly with a single finger before pulling back. That was what was required to be free here? She didn't want to do that at all! Plus would she even be able to? Some, many places, did not think of Kelvics as people at all. Even if she got this mark within the time limit or whatever, would it be respected?

She was temporarily distracted from this line of thought by the new tack he was taking. Head cocked and dark eyes fixed on him, glittering. This, she decided listening, was fair and to be expected. Very little was free unless you were tricky and took it. She had not been particularly tricky, opting for immediacy and straight-forwardness instead. So they would trade.

"Fair. I am Fiachra, my bondmate is Wikus, also Freeborn, but his mark is on the other hand."

She raised her right hand in demonstration.

"You say you know Kelvics, so then you know what favours I will give. Nothing to harm my Bondmate. Beyond that.. I value my freedom, even if you think I am chained. A favour is yours."

That was really her only concern as far as favours went. She couldn't think of anything he'd ask of her that would worry her otherwise. Anything really terrible she probably wasn't capable of. He might have been a lot of things, but he did not strike her as stupid. To get her killed failing to achieve what he wanted was wasteful, so she'd likely be fine.

"Can I even get the mark like you? Freeborn? If I am Kelvic?"

Some people saw only the animal side. A cow could be branded with the Freeborn mark, but somehow she doubted anyone would respect it's citizenship.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

As Fiachra reached out to touch the mark on his hand, he quickly pulled the hand in question away, as if he had not noticed that she wanted to inspect it more closely and looked at her coldly. He was fine with talking to such a creature as long as there was something that could be gained from it, but this gesture was a little inappropriate as far as he was concerned.

“The mark is not always on the same hand”, he replied. “Left handed people probably prefer to have it on the right hand as it can be slightly unpleasant, especially in the first couple of days after the procedure.” He shrugged his shoulders as if that had not been an issue for him, although the wound had in truth hurt a fair bit. He’d never admit to an animal in human form that he too felt pain sometimes though.

“Your bondmate though, this Wikus, does he have a last name and what does he do? I have to admit, I haven’t heard of him yet.” The name didn’t sound like much, he thought. Still, if the man could afford to keep a Kelvic, finding out more about him would probably be worth it. He remembered that his aunt had regularly sold her excess Kelvic. The creatures had not been inexpensive, and they’d needed much more care than normal animals.

“I do not intend to harm your bondmate nor any other people. I’m a teacher, a scholar”, he replied, somewhat indignantly as if he found her words offensive, although he did in truth have few problems with causing another being harm if it was necessary. “In the course of my research I may have need of somebody that can fly though, somebody that can reach places and see things that I with my two feet that never leave the ground can’t. I assume doing such work for me would be acceptable?”

He waited for a moment so that she could say yes or no before he deigned to answer her question. “I am certain that you will be able to receive your mark, especially if your bondmate vouches for you.” That was all he said on that matter. He would only tell her more and answer all her other questions after she had agreed to what he had suggested. “My name is Valerius Nitrozian, by the way”, he added. “Of the Nitrozian family of Ravok.” If the creature was to help him and owe him a favor, she ought to know his name, he decided.

[Fiachra]

44 Spring - 516 AV - Kenash

It was an exercise in control not to react to the withdrawal of the hand by grabbing. That was what instinct said. She'd wanted to see, to feel the difference between brand and not-brand and he'd pulled away with a look that said animal. Not person. Un person. Less than nothing. Dirty.

But he was giving her the information she wanted. Needed. For this she struggled to suppress instincts. In some ways finding Wikus gave her reign to be more wild than she had before. You behaved and followed The Rules, you fit in and you listened, because then maybe you would find your person and they would accept you. She'd already found her person, and while still trying to understand him, did not think he cared very much about the Rules.

"He is Wikus only."

Just Wikus had been on her tongue for a moment, but that sounded as though he was second prize. Fiachra would readily admit the gods were real. In many places they lived alongside the mortal races. She had only one God though. Wikus. There was no just. He simply needed only one name. He did not need to distinguish himself from many others of the same name. He did not need to depend on any legacy. He was Wikus. He was everything. When Valerius asked what he did she hesitated for a moment. Favour was owed from her. Was it good for this man to know details about her Bondmate? Could it backfire? Would Wikus be upset with her? Well, she was already thought an animal, she could be truthful while being untruthful. He would just think her stupider than her already did. She shrugged once more.

"He is my bondmate. He carves. He is not from here."

He did carve. He'd been carving when she found him.

"It is acceptable. I am a good flier. I have flown from Syliras to Sunberth, from Sunberth to Zeltiva, from Zeltiva to here. What flight you need, I can do."

Here her chin rose slightly again. Pride. She'd been told she couldn't. It was too far. She would die. But she'd flown it, and though it had been dangerous, and many times it had been close, she'd always made it to her destination. Perhaps some birds were faster, but which was as cunning as the Raven? She'd gone further in her short life, alone, with nothing, than most of the longer lived races managed in all their years.

"I do not know your family, but I have not been to Ravok. I know roughly where it is though. You have travelled very far too."

This was so. She'd spent more time looking at maps after being given the word cartographer. After her knowledge of maps had caused someone to treat her as a person. Would she want to fly to Ravok with only the knowledge of its location she had now? No. Not really at all, but she had some idea.

[Valerius Nitrozian]

"Just Wikus then", Valerius said and nodded as if he were perfectly content with the answer that the creature had given him. In truth he was somewhat irritated though. He was not sure whether the creature was simply stupid or whether she had insisted that her bondmate only had one name because the man had forbidden her to tell strangers his full name, but decided that the former was more likely to be the case. A bird’s brain seemed to be quite incapable of storing as much information as a human’s. She might just have forgotten what her bondmate’s last name was.

Fortunately "Wikus" was quite an unusual name. The man would be easy to find if he ever needed to find him. The Terraces where most Freeborn lived were not that big. And if all else failed, he’d pay the Magistrate’s Office a visit and give the woman that worked there his most charming smile. If she was anything like the other women he had met, she would not be averse to a handsome man’s attention, even if the man in question had no real interest in her and was only using her to further his own goals.

"Where is he from then?" he wanted to know. He pondered whether the creature had lied about her bondmate’s job, but decided that it might very well be true. A good artist could make a fair amount of money, enough to sustain himself and his bondmate. His grandfather had had a few carvings in his mansion in Ravok. They had been magnificent.

He noticed how her chin rose as she spoke about her journey. She was obviously proud and might even expect to be praised, but he did no such thing. She had probably taken countless breaks during her journey. A bird flying somewhere was nothing special.

She was nothing special. If it weren’t for that one ability she possessed and the mystery of her bondmate, he would have ignored her, but as it was he would honor their agreement. She had said she would do him a favor, and he would in turn answer her questions truthfully and help her avoid slavery in Kenash.

"Listen closely … Fiachra", he said, addressing her by her name for the first time. "I will only tell you these things once. I said that you needed to go about acquiring your mark a certain way. You need to present yourself at the Magistrate’s Office within thirty days of your arrival in Kenash and fill out a form. I assume you can read and write?" Probably not, he thought, but that was not his problem. He had not agreed to teach her how to read and write, but only to provide her with information in return for her services.

"Once you have filled out the form, you will be branded. After the wound has healed, you are not allowed to cover it. I don’t know what happens if you try to hide your mark, but it’s probably not pleasant." He gave her a moment to process that information before he spoke again. "You mentioned that you also find it hard to tell people that are slaves and people that aren’t apart. What exactly do you find hard about it?"