[Kulkukan Tavern and Inn] Time for a meal (Iredeth)

[Nisana Curare]

While Nisana didn't quite believe Iredeth's explanation as to her apparent interest in the harvest, but now was not the time to bring such a thing up. Nisana was trying to charm her after all, and calling someone a liar was not a way to win favor. So she simply gave a small, understanding, nod in response.

The pleasant tone of the conversation so far left Nisana completely unprepared for Iredeth's following intensity, and the fierceness she saw in Iredeth's eyes caused Nisana's fingers to tense slightly with the desire to grab her bow and ready an arrow to defend herself. In that moment Iredeth reminded Nisana of some of the more dangerous animals she had hunted, but it was gone just as quickly and Nisana forced herself to relax.

She supposed she could understand why Iredeth would have such anger for the Symenestra. There were those who were very outspoken in their dislike of half bloods and then there was the fact that Iredeth said she had been abandoned by her mother. It felt extreme to call the Symenestra her enemy though, as obviously Nisana didn't despise her presence, and there were plenty others. Nisana would have to see about correcting Iredeth's point of view as they spoke further.

In response to Iredeth's question Nisana gave another small nod and smiled, "Of course, it is only polite to do so. I am both actually," there was no small amount of pride in Nisana's reply, "Oldest and the most competent hunter. Not that my siblings are poorly skilled, but they are younger, and my Mother focused most on me because she knew my potential, and wished me to fulfill my dutiful role. As such I was trained from a young age to hunt, and have proven myself many times in preparation of this journey."

[Iredeth]

A smirk tugged at Iredeth’s lips. Pride is so typical of a Symenestra. Not that she doesn’t have anything to be proud of. Hunters are respected. Perhaps the only reason Mother’s little indiscretion was allowed to slide was her status as a hunter. Iredeth didn’t want to think about her mother, but Nisana brought up unbidden images of Valvessa in her mind. There was just that lingering similarity between the two that she couldn’t let go of…and the name! To have the same family name as Valvessa Curare. Surely, there must have been a connection, but Iredeth shied away from the idea.

“Must’ve been nice. Being taught how to hunt that is, especially by your mother,” Iredeth mused, inspecting her fingernails with sudden interest. She looked up to meet Nisana’s eyes with a jerky movement of her head. “Was your mother a good hunter, then? Was she well-known among the people?”

Iredeth hated herself for asking these questions, but she had to find out if the connection she kept imagining was real or not.

[Nisana Curare]

Nisana almost burst into laughter at Iredeth's words, but settled for an amused grin instead. Even with the other woman being a half blood it was still surprising that she did not seem to know of Valvessa Curare. As small as Kalinor was it had seemed that everyone had at least heard of Nisana's Mother. Perhaps Iredeth's ignorance was feigned? A poorly laid trap by a half blood who held anger for all the Symenestra. Nisana would not rise to the bait though, she would show Iredeth that the Symenestra were not as she portrayed them.

"It was nice," Nisana said as she kept eye contact with Iredeth, putting soft, sympathetic tones in her voice, "I am sorry that your Mother did not do the same for you," she briefly contemplated not answering the questions, but it would be rude not to answer, "My Mother is an excellent hunter, and very well known. I am a bit surprised that you did not know of her. I thought everyone in Kalinor had heard of Valvessa Curare," she did her best to have nothing but simple curiosity and surprise in her voice as she finished speaking.

Confident that she had easily avoided the bait Nisana waited with a pleasant smile and watched Iredeth's face so that she could enjoy the shocked look when she comprehended that she could not bait Nisana to anger so easily.

[Iredeth]

For a second, Iredeth stopped breathing altogether, a lump forming in her throat. She had hoped –oh, how she had hoped – that her suspicions were incorrect. But there was no denying it now. She had heard it from the woman’s own lips.

Her first instinct was to jump up and run out the inn’s door. She didn’t want to have to look at Nisana anymore. She didn’t want to be in a room full of people. She wanted to be alone with her dolls, fingers nimbly threading a needle through cloth. She realized with a hysterical sort of amusement that she had been sitting with a frozen expression on her face for a little less than a chime now. Is she my half-sister, then? We share blood. Somehow, the entire situation suddenly became absurdly funny to Iredeth. She had left Kalinor to get away from the Symenestra, and here she was, sitting in front of her Symenestra half-sister. It was all just too much.

She burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking with each laugh that burst out from her throat. She covered her mouth with her hand to muffle the sound, trying to calm herself. But even as she laughed, her eyes looked glassy and dead. She tried to speak past the hysteria which was overcoming her, “Valvessa Curare! You’re her daughter-” She clapped her hand back over her lips, taking a few deep breaths before she continued speaking. “Of course, I’ve heard of her. Seen her quite a few times, too, when she still had enough maternal instinct left over to visit me.” All traces of laughter had disappeared from Iredeth’s voice, leaving behind the solemn vacancy that matched her eyes. “Valvessa Curare is your mother? Well, she’s my mother too.”

[Nisana Curare]

Nisana barely contained a smirk when she saw Iredeth's stunned silence. Apparently the half blood had deeply underestimated her. Perhaps it would be easier than she had thought to change the half bloods opinion of the Symenestra.

When Iredeth continued to sit there Nisana started to grow concerned. While she was confident in her skill with the spoken word, she had never heard of someone breaking the mind of another with just a few clever words. Nor had she ever heard that half bloods were exceptionally fragile in the mind either. If Iredeth was broken in the mind that could make her dangerous, especially if Nisana had angered her.

Before her thoughts could continue further down that path the half blood across the table burst into laughter, causing Nisana to jump slightly in her chair. Even laughing there was something disconcerting about Iredeth's look, the way her apparent mirth didn't touch her eyes. There was definitely something wrong with the half blood's mind, and Nisana was not going to take the chance of being attacked unprepared.

As she cautiously began to reach for her bow though, Iredeth started speaking. At first there was little sense in her words, but that quickly changed. Anger flashed in Nisana's eyes and she slapped her hands on the table as she snarled, "You lie!" she could feel her fangs extending in her mouth, pressing against her lips as if eager to sink into the filthy half blood across from her.

She fought back the urge though, forcing herself to sit back and calm down. She had underestimated Iredeth, and had risen to the bait by lashing out. At least she hadn't struck at the woman, which Nisana could only assume was Iredeth's desire. If Nisana struck, then Iredeth would be the innocent victim. She would not be portrayed in such a light.

Forcing her lips into a tight smile that was just short of a grimace she spoke softly, her speech impeded slightly by her extended fangs, "You must excuse my outburst. Surely you understand the importance we Symenestra place upon family. Your... misunderstanding was not something I was expecting to hear. You look to be younger than I, so clearly you could not be birthed from my Mother, or I would know of you."

Even as she spoke there was doubt in her eyes, as she could hear the rumors of her childhood in the back of her mind, and she found that she couldn't deny that the familiarity she had noticed at first was similar to Valvessa...

[Iredeth]

Iredeth jerked back from Nisana, shoulder blades pressing into the back of her chair. Underneath the table, her fingers twitched toward the throwing knives concealed at her belt. She doubted that she would have enough time to launch a knife at Nisana if the woman lunged for her, but she could at least try. As the Symenestra appeared to reign in her anger, Iredeth’s fingers stilled. She glared at the woman across from her until Nisana had gotten over her obvious desire to react violently.

She resented the older woman’s dismissal of her words, but she could understand it. Just as Iredeth often wished that she did not have to associate herself with the Symenestra race, she imagined Nisana would not want to be associated with a half-blood. But this wasn’t about what either of them wanted. This was about the truth, and Iredeth had been a proponent of truth ever since she has had to face the realities of her heritage.

Iredeth bared her teeth in response – a reflexive action rather than a calculated retort – showing shorter, and much less impressive fangs than those of the Symenestra. “I do not lie. Why would I? Do you think I’m enjoying this?” Iredeth hissed, her amethyst eyes boring into Nisana’s. “There is no misunderstanding. Valvessa Curare is my mother, no matter how much I wish that not to be the case. Yes, I am younger than you. But do you really believe Valvessa would have advertised her illegitimate, half-breed child?” Iredeth spat out, cold anger lacing every word.

“She went on many harvests, did she not? She was famous for it; famous for her skill in the hunt. I was conceived during one of those harvests, in a Benshiran camp. Valvessa had been generous enough to share that fact with me, along with the fact that she murdered my father in cold blood.” Her eyes glinted with a cold rage. “Of course, she would not share my existence with her family. Certainly, she would not have told you about me. Valvessa was concerned with her reputation and rightly so.”

Underneath the table, Iredeth’s hands had tightened into fists, her black nails digging sharply into her palms.

[Nisana Curare]

Every word from Iredeth brought Nisana's anger a little bit closer to the surface, and she glared balefully the entire time the half blood spoke. She was still fighting for control, but the things being said were not only aggravating, but bringing up unpleasant memories for her past. Even though, she would not give the half blood the satisfaction of striking at her, letting her be the innocent victim while dirtying the Symenestra's reputation.

"Why lie?" Nisana hissed back at Iredeth, "There are many reasons you could be lying. Your dislike of the Symenestra has been clear from the start. You could be simply trying to distress me, or you could be hoping that I attack you in anger. What else could you be hoping to achieve with this? If you truly do not enjoy this revelation then why tell me of it?"

Even as she spoke of disproving Iredeth though, a part of her could not help but think what it would mean if this woman was indeed her half-sister. Viratas taught of the sacredness of blood, especially of the blood of family. If the half blood spoke the truth, then that would mean that Valvessa, Nisana's Mother and the one she wished most to be like, had abandoned the closest relation she had. Nisana could not believe such a thing was possible.

[Iredeth]

OOCSorry for taking so long to post. Exams have been eating up entirely too much of my time. I should be back to a more regular posting rate now.

“Hoping you attack me?” Iredeth echoed with a sneer, “Believe me when I say that I have no desire to be poisoned, neither by your fangs, nor by your words.”

“It’s what you would do, isn’t it? You would suppress information just because it is unpleasant to you, paying no heed to the consequences. I, unlike you, happen to value truth. Besides, I will not sew up my lips in silence because of Valvessa’s mistakes. Nor, will I do so to preserve your delicate sensibilities. If I wish to speak, I will speak. And I could care less how you feel about it,” she spat.

In truth, Iredeth wasn’t sure why she had decided to divulge this information in the first place. Certainly, she could not hope for any sisterly affection from Nisana. Neither, did she wish for a fight to break out. While her skill with throwing knives could protect her well enough against untrained attackers, she knew that she would not stand much of a chance against a trained hunter.

“Or are you in denial now? Don’t want to believe that your mother would taint Symenestra blood so?”

[Nisana Curare]

OOCNo worries, life happens. Glad to have ya back.

Nisana's pale lips trembled with anger as she listened to Iredeth speak, but she refused to interrupt. She would be civil in action at least, if not in thought or completely in words. Now that she had come so far, regardless of Iredeth's intentions, she was not going to fail now. Perhaps it was time to try and turn this battle of words around...

"Believe me," Nisana said slowly with a voice of cold anger, "If I wished you silent and did not care of the consequences then you would already have an arrow in your throat," sitting back she closed her eyes and took several slow breaths, making a bit of a show of calming herself down, "I do not wish such a thing though. You said you have read the Viratassa, yes? Then you should know the teachings of VIratas, of the importance of blood. No matter who your Mother is, you have the blood of the Symenestra in you, and I would not shed such blood carelessly."

Her voice calmer, she turned a less angry gaze back to Iredeth, "I am not angry for the reason you think. Though it is... unfortunate that you are not a full blood Symenestra you still are more Symenenstra than anyone else here," she gestured about the room, "And if you speak the truth then you would be my half-sister, and that would make the bond of our blood even stronger."

Giving a soft sigh and turning her eyes down to the table she lowered her voice, as if in shame, "What angers me is that if you speak the truth Valvessa... my Mother gave up a rare and sacred bond among the Symenestra... all to save some face."

She'd been told that a lie was best supported by the truth, and if she could convince Iredeth of what she was saying, get her to trust her, maybe then she could find out the true reason the half blood was trying to taint her family's name.

[Iredeth]

Iredeth exhaled sharply, her brow furrowing slightly at Nisana’s words. Had she really misjudged the woman’s source of anger? She had been convinced that Nisana was simply annoyed at having her mother’s mistake thrown in her face. Now, the woman was saying that she did not approve of Valvessa’s handling of the situation after Iredeth’s birth… Iredeth had wanted to goad her into something, though she couldn’t exactly understand what that something might be. She didn’t want a fight, and she didn’t want acceptance. The very idea of being so confused about her own intentions irritated her.

Somehow, she wanted to believe that the woman was saying. After all, Nisana was practically siding with Iredeth, even accusing Valvessa of disregarding the bonds of blood.

Iredeth chewed on her bottom lip, a habit that had rarely resurfaced since her childhood days. She had appeared to calm herself somewhat, perhaps unconsciously responding to Nisana’s change in demeanor. She now sat with her hands clasped in front of her on the table, no longer clutched in fists and itching to get to her knives.

“I can understand why she did give me up,” Iredeth said with a shrug that could almost be termed careless. “And I don’t resent her for it as much as you might think. She had a reputation to uphold, and a real family of her own to care for.”

“But what I wonder is… Do you really believe me? I have met Symenestra who chose to interpret the Viratessa in different ways. Some may not think the sacredness of blood relates to half-bloods. If anything, I would have pegged you for that sort.” Iredeth titled her head to the side, examining Nisana with an intense, sincere gaze. “Are you really ready to have your perception of your mother change because of something I say, with no proof with which to back up my words?”