“Whoever said money cannot bring happiness must not know where to shop.” ________________________________absalomᎷᎪᏞᏦᏌᎢᎻlevite
INDENT A little more would have been welcome but her reaction was still satisfactory. Malkuth would taken her - that is, if the rest of the people on his list were no better. He straightened and shuffled aside to escape the tangle of furniture that was the area they were sitting in.
INDENT"Excellent," he responded. "I am pleased to have met you, miss Rowena. I will remember your answer and your enthusiasm. It's about time to move on, but I may see you later."
INDENT Without giving much of a definitive answer - in fact, it was more foreboding and negative than anything else - Malkuth made his way to the door of the room without trouble. He knocked upon it to summon a guard and left without another word to see the rest of girls the Hotel had to offer.
----------------
INDENT Number three was far too energetic and number four was too demure and coy. Number two it was. Malkuth made arrangements in the hotel lobby, filling out the proper forms and surrendering payment where payment was due. He inquired what she would come with, and it was little more than the clothes on her back and her paint/canvas/easel set. She would need more than that. He inquired what shops they had nearby and a clothing store happened to be one of them. He deemed it time to pick up his new slave from her room.
INDENT A guard led him back to the lower east block. The door was unlocked and thrust open for him. Malkuth took a few steps and stood in the open doorway, doll cradled in one hand and cane in the other. He stood tall and confident and proud, which communicated the reason for him being there without having to say it. Like a parent to collect his child after school he announced, "Come along, miss Rowena, get your things together. We have a little shopping to do. You'll need some clothes and things for the trip home."
INDENT Had he an available hand he probably would have extended it to her to truly be guided around, but Malkuth deemed it was too early to fully trust her yet. It would be more helpful to let her act according to her own will and judge her based on that. Their little excursion into the stores nearby would provide a great opportunity to carefully observe it. Perhaps it was also time to assert his chosen title, as she now would have no choice but to tolerate it.
Color Me Fubar
Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 10:53 pm
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
May...see her...Her heart sank as he left without another word and she silently went back over to the chair she'd been in before he had come. Sitting down, Rowena looked at the painting and wondered what she'd done wrong. Had she been too enthusiastic? Not enough? Was her voice annoying, had she said something wrong? Chewing on the inside of her cheek, the girl let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through her hair. "So it seems I'll be here a while longer now," she told herself softly, looking at the canvas, but not really seeing it. Instead she was thinking of life outside being a slave, of outside this room. Even though she hadn't been here all that long, all things considered, it sometimes felt like years. And with the promise of leaving so close and then taken away...
...well, it hurt. Especially thinking she had screwed it up for herself. Swallowing hard, Roo went back to painting halfheartedly, not really in the mood, but not having much else to do, either. It seemed she'd be here for a while. Didn't she feel like a little fool now. Getting so excited over a pipe dream
-----------------------------------------
The young woman remained like that for a few more hours, occasionally looking at the clock and wondering if she should just go to bed yet or not. She wasn't very tired, but it wasn't as if anyone else was going to come to see her today, she reasoned with a sigh. This was a bit pathetic, she knew, but really. How many people came in to see a slave and then left without them? It had to be something wrong with her, she just wished she knew what so maybe she could...fix it, or something. Whatever would get her out of here. When she heard footsteps again, she didn't bother to look up, expecting them to go past her door as they always did. Well, always save for a few hours ago, but that had been a lost chance, she believed. She'd had it and she'd screwed it up magnificently.
When she heard her door open, Rowena whirled around in her seat, green-blue eyes wide in shock when she saw that Malkuth had actually come back after all. He stood there as if it was expected he was to be there, and his tone implied the same thing. That there would be no delay, no dilly-dallying, but she was to get up and come with him as if that had been the plan all along. She scrambled to her feet, almost knocking her canvas over in her haste, and grabbed at it. Catching it before it fell, she righted it with a sigh of relief and looked back over to him. "O-of course! I'll just - I'll just be a minute!" she exclaimed, obviously shocked and frazzled, even more so than when he'd kissed the back of her hand.
It only took her a minute to right herself, brushing her hair out quickly and cleaning up her art supplies with practiced haste. Her fingers were trembling and fumbled a few paint brushes as she put them away into the canvas bag she'd brought with her. The paint supplies were all she had, no change of clothes, no brush, nothing belonged to her. It was all part of the room and had to remain. Running a finger between the velvet collar and her skin, Rowena wondered briefly if he would take it off. It didn't serve any purpose, as she couldn't use magic, other than to mark her as what she was - a slave. And if he couldn't see it...was there a point?
"I'm ready, Ma - Mis - Malkuth," she told him breathlessly a minute later, moving over quickly to his side. Out of habit she went to call him Master, then Mister - but he hadn't told her to call him that and now that she was his, even if she didn't want to call him by his name, it was what he'd requested. "Um, I've never done this before, should I - should I take your arm or something? Or are you all right with the cane?" she asked, sounding embarrassed that she had to. But usually asking was better than assuming, despite the old saying about asking forgiveness.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
INDENT Humans were amazing creatures. There were so many variations. The humans in this structure were very different from the ones at the borders of his homelands and they were very different from the ones at the jichang - a new word he had learned, along with so many more.
INDENT It had been painful to leave his people many nights ago. Not that he had never been separated from them, of course; each of the Huang were more than adept at independent survival. What hurt and filled him with so much unease was the distance apart. There was part of him that felt as if he may never be able to find his way home again. Just how big was the world beyond the forest? That was something he could not answer but would soon get a glimpse of. After assuming a new more human form, the leader of the proud band of shapeshifters, Suji, departed from his people and his homeland to venture into the world he had never seen before.
INDENT He was outright attacked as he passed through the nearby human settlements. Suji had no issue evading any and all attacks and passed through with little time lost. By the time he had travelled at least three night-times, the humans had stopped being so hostile. They started becoming fascinated. It appeared that they did not know of his people - the people he thought were so proud, powerful, renown, feared, and admired. They thought he was a foreigner. They offered him gifts and a place to stay - all which he politely refused. In broken language he tried to communicate with them what he sought: a human companion who would be obedient and help his people seek peace with the neighboring peoples. Unfortunately, he lacked the native words to communicate such a message. Whatever they interpreted his intentions as, they pointed him in another direction. This repeated several times until quaint, rural little settlements became larger, more unnatural, and more foul. Stares of curiosity and fascination became disgust and unease. He did not understand how one species could have such behavioural variation. Communication with the people of the larger settlements became more difficult. They avoided him completely, brushed him off, or spoke too quickly. They angered easily. Suji couldn't understand it. He considered kidnapping for only a moment before realizing that would be a fruitless endeavour. He needed one that wouldn't try to escape. He needed someone to be willing.
INDENT Suji wasn't sure where he was by the time he found someone willing to communicate with him. It was a group of men in matching clothes and matching weapons. They escorted him into one of their synthetic human buildings. It was in that building where they found someone who knew one of languages he could understood better.
INDENT Are you lost?
INDENT Yes.
INDENT Where are you going?
INDENT I don't know.
INDENT You don't know where you are going?
INDENT Find a person.
INDENT You're looking for someone?
INDENT Find... someone... distant.
INDENT You're looking for someone far away? Do you know where they live?
INDENT I don't know. I want find... many person.
INDENT Where are you from?
INDENT Loei.
INDENT And then that human just stood up and left. He called another human in who spoke a language he understood better. After much struggling, the humans decided to take him somewhere else. The rest of the humans disagreed with the one who decided it, but it seemed that the one whose idea to move him was above the others. So humans had a hierarchy too. The human showed him to a peculiar artifical box. It had flaps along the flanks of the box for people to enter and exit. It had strange things inside it. When the human fiddled with the things there was a strange noise and the box began to shake and vibrate. Then the box began moving. It was the strangest thing he had ever experienced. This thing was a qiche or roht, the human explained with a laugh. He seemed to think Suji's bewilderment was funny.
INDENT The uniformed man's moving box was only the beginning of the strange inventions of humans. He was deposited on the side of the bustling street of another settlement. This one was massive with buildings so tall they eclipsed the sun. There were so many people and so many vehicles. The air was foul, loud noises were everywhere, and the natural world seemed to be blocked out. After some more wandering he finally decided to rest. He scaled one of the thin, small-leafed trees sprouted from the roadside and sat in the branches. The passing humans looked at him uncomfortably. Suji could assume that this was not normal human behavior, though it did make him question why there would be trees planted at regular intervals along the road if they were not meant to be places for the humans to rest. Despite the stares he allowed himself to doze off for a bit; along his short travels humans had proven to not be as violent nor aggressive as he thought.
INDENT It was a commotion that awoke him. The sky was already dark and he could hear humans nearby. Adjusting his eyes to the darkness, he could see three of them. Two were attacking the other. The other was not fighting back. He was trying to soften the blows with his arms. Suji decided to intervene. He leapt from the tree to a nearby building, clinging to the wall with the thick, hooked claws of any tree-climbing animal. With deadly silence he climbed around the building until he was directly above the skirmish. He then dropped in on the battle - literally. He landed on one of the assailant's shoulders, bringing them to the ground. As he fell he swept at the legs of the other assailant to bring him down as well. With the two aggressors momentarily stunned, the leader of the human-hating Huang tribe seized the victim's hands, pulled them over his shoulders, and ran off with the human safely on his back and just as stunned at his attackers.
INDENT When they had finally retreated to a safe distance he was thanked profusely. As a token of thanks (Suji assumed), the man wanted to show him something. Suji followed obediently. He was taken to a building with many rooms. There was a strange smell in the air. A few female humans came out and the man seemed to want him to pick one. Suji did as he was told. The one he selected guided him to a room. Things got real strange real fast. She started moving her body strangely like some sort of dance, then danced her way over to him and started running her hands all over him and rubbing her buttocks against his hips. It was very confusing. This was a human custom he had not seen before. Was this some sort of ritual of thanks? When she tried to peel down his skin-hugging pants he finally realized what this ritual was a precursor for. He quickly learned how to operate the wooden plank that barred the entrance and exit of the room and ran from the woman. However, he quickly became lost in the building. Eventually he found the man that he had saved whom seemed disappointed that Suji was dissatisfied with his form of thanks.
INDENT After some very choppy, broken discussion, the man wrote something down on a piece of paper for him. It was a dizhi - like a location. If he showed it to other people they would be able to tell him where to go. At that location - at that dizhi - he would be able to find what he was looking for. Suji thanked the man and was shown to the door. With enough asking he found his way to a large, complex structure with massive machines that looked somewhat like birds. This was the jichang, he was told, and here he could find a way to carry him close to the address. Upon entering the facility many men in uniforms grabbed him. They were hostile. They did not want him there. Suji fought back enough to run away. He quickly became lost in the building with the uniformed men never too far away - and more popped out at every corner. He ducked through some doors. Inside this much smaller room were many women who were startled to see him. It smelled strange in here, too. There were thin metal sheets along one side of the room, like dividers, and he ducked under one of them There was a woman in this smaller divided area. She screamed. He could hear the uniformed men just outside the room. He quickly shifted into the woman's likeness - clothing included, thankfully she was smaller and thus he could spare the loss of mass for clothes - and exited the divided section. The other women were panicking as uniformed men stormed the room. Suji mimicked the women, shrieking and running for the door. He was allowed to leave, along with the other women. Disguised as the woman from the room, the uniformed men ran right past him. It was clear that these humans had never encountered a shapeshifter before.
INDENT Suji wandered through the building until he saw a cluster of humans waiting in front of strange machines and more uniformed men. The humans were presenting paper to the uniformed men and then walking through the machines. Suji joined the crowd, following as the queue snaked through flimsy rope dividers. When he came to the front of the line the uniformed man asked for something he did not understand. Suji showed the paper with the location he was given. Another uniformed man was called to walk him out of the line and to another strange contraption of human design. There began the struggle to communicate again. He needed a special paper in order to get past the machines, but in order to get the special paper he needed to give them something else - judging by what the other humans were doing, either colored paper or a small, colorful rectangle. Suji lacked either and so had no choice but to leave the area. He followed another human to the small, funny-smelling rooms and, making sure no one was around to see, ambushed them. He took their belongings, their form, and their clothes. Now in a male body once more, Suji exited the room and entered the line by the machines again. He had the special paper to get past the machines this time! He was asked for one more thing, and glancing over at what the other humans were doing told him what he was looking for. After rummaging around in the man's bag for a bit he found the things he needed. He was finally allowed through the rectangular machines. From there, it was just a matter of showing one paper or the other until he was pointed in the proper direction. Suji was on his way to the mysterious dizhi the human he saved told him.
INDENT Yes... the humans were very different. In this strange, spacious building the humans seemed very helpful and accommodating in contrast to the humans from the jichang. He was able to safely assume the form he had chosen for this journey - a green-haired, adult human. No more boring black-haired human, that was for sure. He was also able to remove the stolen clothes and stuff them in the stolen bag. After a little wandering around this brightly-lit building, someone had politely called over to him. She then tried to speak to him in a language he had never heard before. When he tried to speak back to her, she called someone else in to speak to him. He was given some paper and a plastic stick, and did not know what to do with either. The one who spoke to him then took back both objects and began writing for him.
INDENT "Given name?"
INDENT"Suji."
INDENT "Surname?"
INDENT"What?"
INDENT "Surname. Last name. Family name."
INDENT"Huang."
INDENT "Age?"
INDENT"I don't know."
INDENT "You don't know?"
INDENT"I don't."
INDENT "Okay... dizhi?"
INDENT"Loei?"
INDENT "Is that country or town?"
INDENT"I don't know."
INDENT "...Okay. Well, what are you looking for here at the Hôtel des Esclaves?"
INDENT"What?"
INDENT "What do you want? What kind of nuli do you want?"
INDENT"Nuli?"
INDENT "Slave."
INDENT"Slave?"
INDENT "What person do you want?"
INDENT"A human. A kind human."
INDENT "Okay. Please wait."
INDENT Suji waited patiently. The man he was talking to seemed annoyed at him. He felt guilty for not understanding. Aside from his own language - with which he was fluent in, of course - he only knew a handful of words or phrases from four others (the fourth or which he had only started picking up since he arrived in the new land). Even combined, they were not enough to communicate something as complex as what he was looking to do with the human he wanted. At least this seemed like it was finally the place to connect him with a human that would be willing to return with him! The people of this place hustled and bustled about, talking to each other, pointing, and finally someone approached him. They spoke a language he was not too familiar with, but he understood the gesture. He was to follow the person. Suji walked behind this person and looked around as he walked through the unfamiliar building. Even after having wandered through human territory for many day-times and night-times he still was not used to human dwellings let alone human dwelling apparatuses. The planks of wood at each rectangular cutout in the room sides seemed like a redundant idea.
INDENT Suji's journey came to a close at one of those planks. The man he was following was specific about this one. How he picked this one out of all the other identical ones was behind his comprehension. The protrusion of the plank was fiddled with and then pushed open, then the man gestured for him to enter. Suji did. In the bright white room was just one human female, staring at him warily over her shoulder. She seemed to distrust him, though he didn't blame her for it. Humans were like that, he was told. Though he was also told that all humans had dark eyes and dark hair; the humans he had seen since the feiji landed had different hair, skin, and eye colors. It was clear that he had much still to learn about these creatures.
INDENT"H-hi," the green-haired man greeted awkwardly. It seemed the word had difficulty rolling off his tongue. "I am... Suji."
*Italics is used to denote when he doesn't exactly understand a word and is simply repeating the sounds.
Color Me Fubar
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 2:27 pm
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
It hadn't lasted long at all. She had such high hopes, wanting to be helpful, wanting to have a home - wanting to be more than just a slave. And Malkuth hadn't seemed so horrible at first. Charming, even. Maybe a bit stiff and standoffish, but nothing that had made her frightened very much of him. Rather, she wanted to please him and prove that he hadn't made a mistake in taking her from the hotel to his home. It had been a lovely place, enough to take her breath away, and Rowena had never been in such a beautiful place of luxury. Her wide-eyed awe and praise of it had seemed to please the man and she had hoped that was a good sign. The young woman didn't mind giving someone else amusement, as long as it wasn't for a bad reason. It was hardly as if she were used to luxury and such things, so why shouldn't she be honest about it instead of pretending to be cool and collected and unimpressed? It had made sense to her.
Routine...it had taken a few days to sort that out, but she had believed they were managing. He hadn't been pleased when she had moved his suit and the girl hadn't realized how important it was not to touch or move anything around a blind person. She had take the lecture to heart and didn't shift anything even an inch unless told to. They went out a few times, mostly to get the both of them used to having someone else there, and it had seemed to be going well. Of course it would take time to grow used to someone else, Rowena had told herself, trying to sound reassuring as she thought to herself late at night.
And then things had grown...confusing. And frightening. Malkuth had wanted her to wear something to a party for him, something that was a lot more revealing than anything the young woman had worn before. Rowena hadn't wanted to, but she'd done it anyway, knowing better than to argue. But she was clearly hesitant about it and that had seemed to displease him. He'd been annoyed, about what she hadn't been certain, and had stepped towards her with a frown on his blindfolded face. The man had tugged on the neckline of her dress, as if he could see when her breasts fell out, and she'd shrieked and ran away from him. That had been the end of that and she hadn't been given a second chance, not that she wanted it anyway. As if punishing her for wasting his time and money and effort, Malkuth had continued to touch her on the trip back to the hotel. Nothing overtly sexual, but it was clearly meant to make her uncomfortable and fearful, which she was, feeling ashamed and not knowing why. By the time they had arrived at the hotel, Rowena had never thought to be glad to see the place and practically ran inside away from him.
After that, Rowena wasn't eager at all to leave the hotel. She had been here another month and had certainly grown more wary about having another master. Before she hadn't had any bad experiences and had thought it wasn't so awful. After Malkuth, though...she wasn't sure she ever would want to go with anyone else. Maybe a woman would be kinder? It was all she could hope for, since it wasn't as if she had much of a choice. Especially if someone like Malkuth came again - then they wouldn't even ask if she wanted to go with them or not, he'd simply take her and she'd be trapped. It was a horrifying idea and she shuddered. Not even painting was much of a comfort and she hadn't touched the supplies they had given her, not feeling like putting any of her emotions down when she felt like this. So she just sort of...sulked was too strong a word. Moped, maybe. Depressing hit her hard and she was afraid of that door opening again and someone else coming in.
So when someone did, she turned abruptly, her eyes wide with both fear and suspicion. Her body stayed turned towards the window, as she was perched on the window seat, while only her head was moved to look at him. It was obvious she was guarded against him, unlike the other ones when she'd been shy and happy and accommodating. There wasn't anything that suggested she was pleased to have him there and the young woman didn't move. His demeanor or manner of speaking did nothing to ease her worries as he came inside and stammered like that, sounding as if he wasn't used to speaking English at all. Malkuth had acted like he was kind and caring and she had completely believed him, after all. So she didn't trust herself to judge anyone now. When he introduced himself, Rowena almost told him that she didn't care what his name was, since it made no difference to her. She didn't want to go.
Besides, he could just read it all on the paper he had. She knew her name and information was all on there.
"Hi," she finally said, her tone flat and hardly welcoming. Rowena didn't move, watching him warily, as if afraid he'd move closer to her. She wanted him to go away. It wasn't as if she hated him for being a man or anything like that - but her trust had been broken and it was such a fragile thing. It died a small, quiet death, hardly noticeable as no one here knew her.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
`MaliceMizer
I feel like this is so inadequate next to that massive post. @_@
INDENT Suji didn't know what to make of this human girl's tone. It was certainly not a pleased nor welcoming tone, in stark contrast to how chipper many of the other humans were when pointing him in the right direction. But why was she so standoffish? Wasn't it normal human behavior to introduce oneself in response? The shapeshifter looked over his shoulder at the uniformed man to ask if this was normal, but realized after turning that he lacked the words to voice his question. Instead, the man nudged him forward into the room and shut the wood. Suji caught his balance easily and looked back towards the human girl. He did not move more than the guard had pushed him. She still looked at him as if he was going to attack her when she wasn't looking. This distrust... Perhaps she did know who he was and what he had participated in against her people?
INDENT"...Your name?" He asked, though with the incorrect tone; it sounded more like a statement than a question. It was true that he had received a paper from the man who brought him to the room but it did nothing for him because Suji was illiterate. His own language lacked a written form, let alone knowing the written form of other languages. The paper was nothing but something to keep his hand occupied. The other sat atop the tie that secured his short sword sheaths to his hips.
INDENT He had more questions than just that but there was no way to ask them. Not unless she could understand broken Chinese or Thai or even better - his own language. Things like, Can you read and write? Are you willing to help me? Do you hold prejudices against my kind? Are you willing to leave this place and come to my homeland? and most importantly Do you even like the natural world? He could probably combine gestures and an occasional word. He was directed here after telling someone he wanted a person who would come with him willingly and fully expected that was the situation. He didn't question why humans would have a giant building full of people wanting to leave with someone else because he figured humans were just strange like that.
Color Me Fubar
Hahaha that post was mostly useless info anyway...
*Italics is used to denote when he doesn't exactly understand a word and is simply repeating the sounds.
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:47 pm
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
Seeing that he didn't immediately leave, Roo stiffened a bit more, swallowing the rising panic in her throat. She saw the guard give him a push to go inside and wondered then if he even knew what he was really doing here, or anything like that. He didn't seem as...calculating as Malkuth, and...no, she couldn't think like that. She shook herself a bit, shuddering quietly at the memory of what the man had done to her. He'd enjoyed tormenting her, screwing with her mind, taking advantage of her. It made her feel dirty and stupid. Forcing herself to stop thinking about that, the young woman turned her attention back to the man with the strange hair watching her. Of course she had no idea what he was or what he wanted from her and couldn't have guessed if she had tried. Not that she had any real inclination to, her natural curiosity dampened considerably after the last place it had gotten her. So she folded her arms protectively over her stomach, a defensive gesture anyone would notice, and curled her shoulders a bit towards herself.
At the statement, she bit her lip. It didn't come across as a question, it sounded like he was demanding it and made her feel like it was Malkuth all over again. He had to know what it was and he was ordering her to repeat it, like a parrot. "My name is Rowena," she replied curtly, not going to give him her full name, and certainly not her nickname. It would have been much easier if they could communicate, if he'd been able to explain himself and ask her the questions he had in his mind. Perhaps it would have relaxed her a bit, shown her he was different. But life wasn't meant to be easy and the young woman had no intention of going home with him if she could help it. She wanted to ask what he wanted her for, but didn't expect him to tell her the truth, if he answered at all, so she swallowed down her questions and didn't pull her gaze from his, as disconcerting as it was to be staring at him like she was. Honestly, she was afraid to take her eyes off of him, as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword or near it, and while she knew he wasn't supposed to hurt her, nothing was actually preventing him from doing so. The collar felt like it was choking her and she reached up, trying to tug it loose a bit. The hated thing had been put back on, same charms and all, and it made it hard to sleep after her short time of freedom.
Rowena let out a breath, wanting desperately to tell him to go away. Or demand he tell her what he wanted. But she knew she'd be punished if she started to act out and was almost grateful there wasn't a painting for him to see, maybe something to give him incentive to buy her. Instead there was just a blank canvas, her paints on the ground by the easel's leg in a basket. She planned to leave it when she had to go again, not doubting she'd have to go with someone at some point, no matter how unwilling she was. His silence was beginning to irritate her as she wondered what he was doing, trying to psych her out? "What do you want?" she finally asked despite herself.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
INDENT Without a doubt in his mind, this girl was troubled by something. It wasn't just him that was causing it. Though she was looking right at him, Suji recognized the look in her eyes. She was thinking of something else, a million thoughts so distracting that he dared to believe she really wasn't looking at him. Whatever haunted her so much made her feel vulnerable; it didn't take the eyes of a skilled hunter to notice her symbolically shielding her weak points.
INDENT"My name is Rowena."
INDENT Of those words/syllables he knew one and swore he had heard the other two before. That left the final three syllables: row en ah. He assumed that was her name. He quietly repeated it to himself to get the sounds off his lips properly. It wasn't too hard, though he wasn't sure about the tone. Perhaps this language didn't implement tones to distinguish different words? He watched her fiddle with the band of cloth around her neck, adorned with little dangling things. It was the most interesting part of her otherwise banal appearance. In fact, it seemed most humans of the large settlements used color and texture of clothes in a very unappealing, understated way. That also contradicted with what he had been taught: that humans flaunt material wealth with silk and shining minerals. He felt just a little out of place even though his chosen form (and attire) was meant to help him look presentable as the clan leader. While she tugged at her neck adornment, Suji pondered how to communicate his next question. He had seen human children reading on occasion. They would draw their finger along the surface and follow it with their eyes. Then for writing, they held the little sticks in their fist and moved it around. He could imitate that. He could at least ask that question!
INDENT"What do you want?"
INDENT Ah! Suji was sidetracked by her question. He understood it, too! Simply, he answered, "You, help." Immediately, he held up the paper he was given wi her information. With a finger of his other hand he traced it along the paper in random criss-crossing lines, following his finger with his head in an exaggerated manner. The pointing hand then became a fist and he rubbed it against the paper. After a quick few seconds of each he looked back over to Rowena with an intent gaze. To polish off his turn at charades he added, "You do?" Spying the vase of flowers across the room - and relatively close to the windows - Suji approached them and plucked it from the mantle. He tilted them towards her and asked, "You good?"
INDENT He was a pro at communication! He really had pronouns down well! All he had to do was figure out verbs and things would go swimmingly. He was confident that his two questions were adequately conveyed.
Color Me Fubar
So much pity for both of them! But this is kind of funny...
*Weird s**t in italics is used to denote when he doesn't exactly understand a word and is simply repeating the sounds. Or maybe not. It's a guessing game!
Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2013 9:54 am
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
O-kay? Rowena hadn't expected that sort of reaction. She had thought he'd tell her what she was expected to do and then she would lie and say she couldn't and he'd go and leave her alone. To have him start pantomining things made her blink and the wariness faded from her eyes just a touch as surprise and curiosity overtook them. It wasn't enough to make her move from her guarded position, but her eyes followed him as she moved around the room, wondering what on earth he was doing. If he couldn't speak English...why didn't he have a translator or something to make this easier? She couldn't speak any other languages at all.
Tucking some hair behind her ear, the young woman could guess what he meant by the odd motions of the window. Could she clean? Following the 'you help', she had to assume that was what he meant and she nodded slightly when he looked over at her when his charades were done. It was an involuntary gesture, one she hadn't meant to do, and she bit her lip when she realized she'd given him any sort of information at all. Chewing on it as he went over to the flowers...he lost her. Rowena blinked and tilted her head in confusion, a slight frown on her face. "I...good? Do I like flowers?" she asked in confusion. Or did he mean, did she...know flowers? Work with them? Was a florist? Something entirely different? "I have no idea what you mean," she confessed, shrugging a bit.
In the end, it didn't really matter to her. She still had no intention of going home with him, whatever the reason he wanted her. Malkuth had been the first person to really betray her trust since she'd been a slave and the experience had rattled her more than she had thought it might. Logically she knew there were bad masters out there, but the young woman had adopted the mentally that 'they happened to other people' when nothing had ever happened to her. The previous man had shattered that comfortable lie and now she felt even more lost than she had ever before.
It was obvious he thought he was communicating well, from the grin on his face. She found herself wondering what he was, or where he was from, with that odd sort of getup and that hair. And the sword. The sword was definitely not helping her nerves as she eyed it warily, more nervous about that than the man carrying it at this point. That was foolish, but she didn't think about that. Did he want a maid? A housekeeper? The hell did the flowers mean?
"I don't know what you want," she told him, shrugging a bit. Maybe before she would have spread her hands out, in the universal gesture for I have no idea, but now they remained firmly around her torso as she looked over at him.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
INDENT It became apparent that he was not as adept at talking this land's language as he thought. Slightly discouraged, Suji turned his attention to the flowers to think about what to do or say next. He felt one in his hand, absently, rubbing a petal between his thumb and forefinger, and was surprised that it felt strange. The strange, green-haired man was now completely distracted. He pulled it from the vase and was surprised that it offered no resistence; had the flower been pulled from its mother plant and placed in the long-necked jar for decoration? Examining the tip of the stem, he found that it was completely round - neither broken nor cut - and there were two strange ridges along the stem's relatively uniform shaft, about equidistant from each other. It was no natural. He lifted the stem to his mouth and nibbled on it. This was a completely natural thing for him to investigate something by eating it; he could analyze what the substance was and learn to replicate it. Through that, he could gain the ability to transform his body in part or wholly into that substance. Once the chewy, sharp substance had been swallowed he discovered that it was synthetic - human made. It wasn't real. The humans had made synthetic flowers. There wasn't anything natural about this whole place!
INDENT Disgusted, he put the vase back on the mantle. Perhaps it was a good thing that they hadn't understood each other when he asked, vaguely, if she liked nature. Now, with the synthetic flower stem in his belly, he felt sick (though it was mostly in his mind); however, he could wait until later to remove it. Pale lavender eyes turned back up to look at Rowena again. He would try again.
INDENT"I want help. You help I?" He asked, adding more words this time in case that would help. He also tried an upward inflection at the end of the question, like some of the sentences she had said. From this new position in the room he could see the blank canvas - though he didn't know what it was called in their language, a cloth stretched over a frame wasn't completely alient to him - and a small basket on the ground holding something colorful. Maybe...? He nodded his head towards the easel and canvas and asked, in a mix of two languages, "You do? You... xihuan bu xihuan hua?"
INDENT Would she even know that language? Probably not. No one since he left the jichang understood that language. But least he knew he was actually saying the right words this time, even if she didn't know what the heck he was talking about. He was confident that they could learn to understand each other soon enough; he was a quick learner.
Color Me Fubar
*Weird s**t in italics is used to denote when he uses a word he doesn't exactly understand. Or maybe it's just for emphasis. Or maybe it's in another language entirely. It's a guessing game! :D
Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:40 am
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
Watching as he turned to the fake flowers and fingered them, she almost was amused by how completely absorbed he grew in examining the false petals and the plastic stem. Hadn't he ever seen fake flowers before? The human girl remained silent as he pulled one of the flowers from the vase, uncertain what on earth he was doing. Her mouth opened, perhaps in an attempt to stop him when he actually ate part of it, and she looked at him in dismay. That was...that had to be disgusting. Making a bit of a face, she watched his own expression and his gesture as he put the vase away again. Clearly he was disturbed by it, though why she wasn't entirely certain.
Rowena smoothed out her face as he turned back to her. His eyes were so odd...she almost wanted to go over to her canvas and paint them, try to capture the color with her meager supplies. Ones she intended to leave behind whenever she left this place again, if she was so unfortunate to. They hadn't brought her anything but bad luck, she felt like, and she had no desire to bring them and the memories they had back with her. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she met his gaze with her own bright green eyes curiously. His display had served one purpose, at least - she was far more relaxed now, finding herself more curious than frightened of him, at least at the moment.
He wanted...oh. He wanted her to help clean? Like a housekeeper, then. Had he been miming writing or washing windows or something? The context became clearer and her face relaxed a bit when he pointed to the canvas. That was easy enough to understand, even when he began to speak in a strange language. "Yes. I paint," Rowena said, enunciating the words clearly. Getting to her feet on instinct, she went over carefully to a sketchbook on the table. Picking it up, the young woman had a pencil in her hand and sketched a quick, messy portrait of the man in front of her - people weren't her ideal subjects. "I draw," she added, holding it out and pointing to it, to show him an example, hopefully.
What was he doing here if he didn't understand English? Or any other language? She had no idea, since she had never learned anything other than her native tongue. It wasn't as if she had any opportunities to do such a thing and the girl frowned, a bit frustrated. Setting the sketchbook down, she went back and sat down on the edge of the bed again, clasping her hands on her lap and biting her lower lip nervously. How was she supposed to help him if she couldn't understand what he even wanted? And after Malkuth...Rowena was afraid to go with anyone at all, to be honest, not wanting to find such a nasty surprise waiting for her again.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
INDENT The girl was watching him intently - and he watched her as well. When she confirmed something, using a new word in the process, his face was aglow with an almost childlike triumph. She moved to one side of the room and he followed her part of the way. Suji watched her pick up a book and one of those writing sticks and watched with much amusement as she portrayed a human like figure that, if it had the proper color, could very well have been a representation of him. This turn in their communication took a very engaging route.
INDENT Suji moved forward and stood beside her. He carefully touched a finger to the paper, smearing some of the darker lines. He then licked the smudged graphite off his finger. The components were, basically, a mix of two natural components: graphite and clay. He could work with that in small quantities. A minuscule area on the very tip of his middle finger darkened to a lead-like look and then he touched that finger to the paper. In the wake of that hardened, steely-black spot was a line like one a blunt pencil would leave. He began to quickly sketch a somewhat abstract representation of 16 people. They were then surrounded by roughly vertical lines, like rain or sticks or uncooked spaghetti. Then more little people were drawn beyond the sticks - but this time the people held what looked uncannily like weapons. Behind the armed people were a few rectangles and what was unmistakably a cow. When he had finished his sketch - something he had put much concentration into - Suji moved to the opposite side of the draw book and pointed first to the people within the cluster of lines. "Huang," he stated. His other hand tapped a finger to his nose a few times to indicate, "I am Huang. My people is Huang. We live here." Now he indicated the ring of lines then quickly shifted to indicate the people with weapons. "Huang and your people not good. We fight many. You, I want help. Speak to your people. Stop fight. Please teach me. Help us."
INDENT Would she understand? Suji was sure that his other words would have made his message clear and he had been wrong. Though he was introducing a new medium of communication - thanks to the girl's initiative - he was unsure whether or not his message was accurately conveyed. Pictures probably helped but those, too, were up for interpretation. Her drawing was so different than the ones the other humans did, and those pictures were way different than all the pictures he say in the jichang and feiji.
Color Me Fubar
Sorry this took so long. I've been distracted recently...
*Weird s**t in italics is used to denote when he uses a word he doesn't exactly understand. Or maybe it's just for emphasis. Or maybe it's in another language entirely. It's a guessing game! :D
Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 8:26 am
x x x
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
Rowena hadn't the faintest idea what he was doing as he touched the paper, smudging the sketch a little bit and then licking his finger. She opened her mouth to tell him that wasn't really a healthy thing to do, then remembered that she'd seen him eat the end of a plastic flower stem and he seemed fine at the moment. He obviously wasn't human - and that was only confirmed when he turned to a new page and began to draw using the tip of his finger. The girl had no experience with the supernatural and hadn't the faintest clue what Suji was, but was honestly a bit fascinated by it. She'd never seen anything like it, of course, and anything new was interesting to her. Despite her fear of going somewhere else with someone new, she was finding herself more intrigued by him than frightened, despite his odd appearance. Watching the movements on his finger intently as he drew, her eyes flicked up to his when he began to speak, then back to the paper to see what he was pointing at.
Blinking, she was surprised that she was beginning to understand it. Brightening a bit, the young woman looked from the paper to him and smiled, just a tiny one, but more than she had since Malkuth had brought her. "Huang. Your family is Huang," she guessed. It could have been his first name, but since he was indicating the group of people, she guessed that was what his clan was called, or family surname. Seeing his expression changed, she was pleased with herself for guessing correctly. Rowena was - had been - innocent and naive, but she was not a stupid girl. Looking back at the paper as she thought, she murmured, more to herself than to him since he didn't understand what she said anyway. "So, your people...live somewhere remote," she said thoughtfully, her voice soft. Maybe a rainforest or something? Somewhere. "And then you met us and now you're fighting. And you...want me to act as an interpreter," she guessed. Or something along those lines. He needed someone who was...human, who understand how they thought and worked, to help him and his family. The enormity of that responsibility was a physical weight on her chest as she thought it over. The question wasn't 'could she do it' - the question was 'could she not'. How could she refuse and be responsible for more fighting, for possible genocide? Rowena had no idea what the actual situation was between the people, and how much violence was involved and who had the upper hand. But she guessed that they didn't, if he was coming to a place like this and looking for someone to help him.
Rowena let out a breath. Looking back up at him with a small, hesitant sort of smile, she tucked some hair behind her ear. "I will help," she said, enunciating her words clearly so he would understand. "I will teach you," she added with a nod of confirmation. Before he could say anything, she raised a hand. "This is touch," she told him, moving her hand to his arm, back again, and then touching his forearm once more. Waiting until she saw him acknowledge it somehow, she continued. "You, Huang," the girl said, pointing at him. "Do not touch me." The words were accompanied by a shaking of her head. She took his wrist and brought his hand over to her, as if going to touch her other arm. Rowena shook her head and pulled it away. She didn't want him to touch her, or think he could, or anything of the sort. He probably didn't understand why she said that, or what sort of touch she meant, but it didn't matter. As long as he knew not to touch her, then she would go with him. "I will go with you, if you do not touch me," the young woman explained, looking up at him and waiting to see if he was all right with that.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
`MaliceMizer
ooc: It's fine, I'm sure you saw the hiatus notice. So much stress. @_@ I think my brain is letting me write again, though, sorry if this sucks.
INDENT She did understand! Suji also brightened as she seemed to reiterate, in better words, what he had tried to explain. Little nods and a repeating of some of her words punctuated Rowena's words between every pause. Weremote - that was a new word - that seemed to be the word for his homeland, the forest. Whatever she was saying it was with some gusto and Suji was also wrapped up in it and just kept nodding.
INDENT When the human girl stated she would help his smile widened with childlike excitement. He knew his people would be wary of her at first - in fact, they would probably try to kill her and he would have to intercept the attack. But once the situation with the humans would improve with this girl's help... that was all that mattered. That would change how they thought of her and how they would think of other humans. If peace could be achieved this was definitely the right first step. He was so sure. Suji dumbly nodded along until she patted his arm twice. He was momentarily confused until he recalled her statement from a moment ago: I will teach you. She was teaching him right from the start. Excellent! She was a proactive human! He compliantly allowed her to manipulate his arm as she indicated that she did want to be touched.
INDENT"Why?" Suji asked with unabashed curiosity - what would be the first of many times he would utter that single English word. With his hand reclaimed, he was able to pick the little dot of graphite out of his finger. Flesh filled in the hole flawlessly as if there had never been anything there in the first place. He started to wander off - talking while doing other activities was acceptable, wasn't it? - pausing only after a few steps to look back at her and beckon with an upward tilt of his head, "Follow. We go home to weremote."
INDENT And that was also the first of many times to come he would come up with a nonsensical amalgamation of words. He made his way to the door, expecting to simply leave the place with his new human company. He would quickly learn that she was not free to do whatever she wanted nor was he free to take her. They would want something in exchange for her departure from this place as if she was an article of clothing or weaponry - not a sentient, independent being.
Color Me Fubar
Take your time.
*Weird s**t in italics is used to denote when he uses a word he doesn't exactly understand. Or maybe it's just for emphasis. Or maybe it's in another language entirely. It's a guessing game! :D
Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 6:24 pm
Warm drops of water slowly slid down the woman's pale skin, making their way down every available curve and dip until they leapt down to kiss the satin blanket carefully pulled over the bed. Little snakes that slithered down cold flesh and into a disappearing abyss. The woman found that description to be much more accurate these days. Every shower left her wondering if someone was watching her, video cameras hidden in this room so some unseen stranger could watch her. She had only found solace in the thought that she was boring, nothing of interest, except when she showered. She spent a good amount of time trying to remain boring, sitting, or lying in one place for great deals of time, until she thought the hour was odd enough to take a shower. Her eyes still darted about the room, and every little crack, and space was a possible camera watching, waiting, and recording. Whatever it expected to see, she didn't think it would ever be given the opportunity. She hardly spoke, and her thoughts were never obscene, so her actions and dress were modest and conservative.
Florence sat with her knees pulled to her chest, the two towels wrapped around her so that no personal part of her body could be seen from any angle. Legs, arms, shoulders, and head was all that was visible, and even her exposed shoulders were making her a bit uncomfortable. She had no idea what people wanted, thought about, or craved. All she could hope was that she wasn't giving anyone anything to ogle at. People had thought like that, that she knew. When one such as her, who only knew a few months of life without guidance, lived, there were only two choices; one could wear little to nothing, unaware of carnal needs, or one could do their best to cover nearly every inch of their body in an effort to keep others from thinking of her in less. For some unknown reason, Florence had been lucky enough to think to cover herself, from what information, she had not known. If someone were to come into her room to consider purchasing her, she was afraid she might give the wrong impression, or they might try to take advantage of her memory loss.
All she wanted to do was to remember. She had no idea as to what it was there was to remember, but she knew there had to be something, anything. Florence had been her name for the past few months, but she didn't know if it was her real name or if it was simply a name she had come up with on the spot when the man had been asking her all those questions. She had been so afraid of what he was writing, what he was asking her to write. Who wanted to know where she came from, and what sort of things she liked? What kind of person kept a human being in a room to be sold to whomever wished to take her to their home, to do God only knows what? Her eyes watered at the thought, and she held her head between her hands, wishing something would come back to her. Even now, she felt as if she was forgetting the memory of waking up on March second. "You were in this room, on the floor, with a blue dress on and the ring in your nightstand. You woke up and you thought your ankle was broken, but it was only twisted. Come on, don't forget. You can't forget." Florence whispered to herself, in hopes that she could keep the memory from disappearing. Could her brain only hold so much that it started to delete things when it became too full? She hugged her knees closer and began to silently cry.
All she wanted to do was to remember, but it seemed that even if she could, there might not be anything there to stop her from forgetting. If only she could recall what happened on March first, maybe she could find out what had caused her amnesia. None of the men who came to bring her food spoke to her, even when she begged and pleaded for them to tell her why she couldn't remember. Weren't there doctors and scientists who could help her? Florence felt as if she was going crazy. She was talking to herself, rocking back and forth, with her hands covering her temples as if there was something trying to get in. No one would want to buy her, to take her away from her own prison.
"To share your weakness is to make yourself vulnerable..."
x x x
When he used that odd word - weremote - it took the young woman a minute to figure out what he was talking about. When she realized he'd combined her words, she couldn't help but giggle a little bit, hiding her mouth behind her hand. She wasn't laughing at him, but just how silly it all seemed. And then she was surprised for a moment, realizing she had laughed and hadn't even meant to. when he asked why she didn't want to be touched...honestly, Rowena wasn't sure how to explain, or that she even could explain to him with such a massive language barrier. She sighed a bit and watched in fascination when he pushed the piece of lead from his finger. What on earth was he? She wished she could ask and just hoped one day she'd be able to get an answer. He wasn't stupid, that much was clear, so she doubted it was going to be very hard to teach him. As for serving as an interpreter...well, understanding Suji was her first problem, she reminded herself.
Hearing she was to follow him home, her lips quirked up a bit. She didn't have anything to bring with her and realized she was going to have to get him to go the Markets so she could get some things. Rowena snatched up the pad and paper and dogged the man's heels as he left the room. The guard was waiting and raised an eyebrow when Suji strode past him, no longer needing his help, apparently. "Um, he's buying me," she told the man, having to almost jog to keep up with Suji's long strides. The guard nodded, following them back to the elevator, and Rowena reached out to grab onto the man's sleeve. "Slow down," she said, then tugged again and gestured to her feet. Taking slow steps, she repeated the phrase. Speeding up for a moment, she pointed at her feet. "Hurry up," she told. All the way to the elevator she did, to make sure he understand, the guard watching them as if they were both insane. Once they were inside the elevator she sighed a little bit, keeping a grip on his sleeve as they went down to the lobby.
The bellboy nodded at them as they reached the ground floor, the door sliding open for them. As they walked out, the young woman expected Suji to actually stop at the desk and, you know, pay. When he just kept walking, her eyes widened and she tugged hard on his sleeve as a few guards came up and blocked his way. "You can't take her without paying," the man said flatly, standing in front of Suji with one hand holding the opposite wrist over his stomach. He looked at them, clearly not understanding, and Rowena wondered if they had the concept of slavery in his culture, or if he simply didn't get it. Biting her lip, she tugged again on his sleeve to get his attention. "You have to pay," she told him. "Exchange money. Uhh...does anyone have a bill?" she asked, desperate to get out of this place. The guards just looked, but someone came over, an older man. "Here you are, miss," he said, handing her dollar bill. Thanking him in relief, Rowena showed it to Suji. "This. You have to pay with this. Lots of them," she added quickly.
He looked like he was thinking for a moment before nodding and reaching into his armor, or whatever he was wearing. After a moment, he handed her a thick envelope, saying a word she didn't understand. Taking it, Rowena looked into it and her eyes grew wide, seeing how much was in there. "Um, I don't know how much..." she stammered, handing the man back his dollar bill before giving the envelope to a receptionist that had come over to help the commotion. She nodded, taking the money and counting it silently. Taking the proper amount, she handed Rowena the rest with a smile and nod to Suji. Relieved that nothing had happened, she handed the envelope back to Suji, but he shook his head and handed it to her, saying something else she didn't understand. Staring up at him as he began to walk again, she skipped to catch up to him and wondered what they were going to do now. "Um, Suji, I need..." Trailing off, she tugged at her shirt. "Clothing," she told him. And some books, she wanted to use them to teach him.
x x x x x x x x
"...to make yourself vulnerable is to show your strength."
`MaliceMizer
ooc: Sorry for puppeting him so much! I hope it's okay.
