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 Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:08 pm
“Mmm.” Talisia nodded as she listened to Katori, the older hybrid moving about the kitchen while her daughter spoke. “I suppose I could finally talk about it if you ever did want more information about your family.” She managed after a moment. “Your grandmother was a masterful manipulator who pulled strings and gained great wealth with her role on the council. This was her summer estate, actually.” Talisia frowned as she reached for some roati milk to mix into the ointment, helping to make it smoother and hopefully less irritating to Katori’s skin once the mixture settled.
[Talisia 8]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:08 pm
Surprise crossed Katori’s features as she settled down on her seat and tried to relax, the strain on her back starting to ache. She was more than ready for that medical ointment once it had settled more. The other medicine for sleeping she wanted to try to avoid since she actually could walk around now instead of being cooped up in the room. It gave her a headache because of the pain, but she could endure it for now. It was worth being able to spend some time with her mother after not being home for so long, after all. “So you weren’t actually raised here then? This place is already so big.” She breathed as she looked around at the giant stone kitchen, something that could be big enough for a smaller home in the nearby village. They had the upstairs with a washroom and five bedrooms as well and the downstairs with two additional guest rooms with another washroom, a library, study, sitting room and then the kitchen connected to a dining hall with the giant fireplace Katori loved to sit next to during the colder months. There was even a cellar which encompassed the whole manor and stored so many things! How much more space would the main house have had?
[Katori 9]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:08 pm
“Mmhmm. I was raised here as a child since my father preferred to be as warm as possible, but we had to live in the north by the capital whenever mother had business on the council.” Explained Talisai, her mouth twisting in disdain as she reflected upon the cold woman and her controlling tendencies. “When I was younger it was actually nice to be able to spend time with my brother and father. Even mother was not quite as bad while father was around ... .it was after his death that she completely closed away from the world and became twisted.” Her expression shifted as she sorted through the history that she had shied away from for so many years since leaving Zena as a teen. “You know the village where Zyphire lives now? That property was part of the main manor before it burned down.”
[Talisia 9]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Oh, I knew it was part of the family’s property but I never understood it.” Katori explained quietly, trying to process everything her mother was telling her. She had wondered why they had land by the capital but never realized it was her grandmother’s old estate! How big had that mansion been for them to own enough acres for an entire village?! “If this place is big then how much bigger was the capital mansion?”
[Katori 10]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Enormous.” Replied Talisia with a soft sigh. “We have about fifteen rooms here but the mansion had nearly thirty with cottages for groundskeepers and even a large stable.” Her mother always rode in style with winter horses and their shaggy coats carrying them around. Other than that they avoided mammu, had nothing to do with raptrix and chiavi, only keeping whatever was necessary for travel and maintaining the estate. “Surprisingly enough there weren’t too many animals, my mother abhorred most of them but we kept enough to keep up with the appearance of high society. She also enjoyed her privacy and basically took over a huge area of wilderness which helped with the establishment of the village.”
[Talisia 10]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“All that land for one family.” Breathed Katori with surprise. Then again they had plenty of land here, but it was further south and far away from the bustling city where the population was so much denser. Out here it was smaller villages and open terrain and forests for hunters. There was some farmland closer towards Sauti, but it was mostly wilderness which is why the animal sanctuary had worked out so nicely. The local village had been fine with them staying here since they helped out the villagers and her mother worked closely with others to help take care of any sick or injured animal. “I suppose then it makes sense. Zyphire was going to sell the lands, but then everything kind of fell into place. That’s crazy, I’m guessing grandmother would be very upset to see what happened with her property.”
[Katori 11]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Oh most definitely.” Replied Talisia with a small smirk, taking some joy in the fact that her mother’s spirit would indeed be upset at the use of her property. “It’s only fitting to share it considering all the blood she spilled in order to obtain all of that property in the first place.” She admitted, happy to have helped out by giving away the deed to the land. “I honestly didn’t want to come back here at first, but I had to overcome the bad memories and embrace the happier ones.”
[Talisia 11]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“That had to be tough.” Admitted Katori quietly, reaching out despite the pain to place a hand on top of her mother’s own. “I’m glad you managed to overcome things and settle here though. I loved growing up here. Was the manor exactly like this? I feel like it's too warm considering what you told me about grandmother.” She seemed like a harsher woman who would n’t have enjoyed the colorful tapestries of animals hanging around and the vibrant pottery and flowers constantly placed in windows and on tables throughout the manor.
[Katori 12]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
Talisia shook her head as she continued stirring at the ointment with a wooden stick, trying to smooth out the mixture and get the proper consistency. “It was a lot more dark with only tapestries depicting battle scenes or important historical events. They were dark and gray…” She trailed off glancing around as she tried to remember what it was like going through the great hall as a teen. “The dining hall was so long back then, the stained glasswork darker and not depicting the forest scenes we commissioned when I first came here. The fireplace was oppressive despite having a fire and there were hanging trophies from hunts that she hosted with fellow council members here.”
[Talisia 12]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Oh.” Katori made a face at the description. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like. You said that grandfather made things brighter though, right? Surely it wasn’t always that way.” She rubbed her thumb along her mother’s hand, watching as the other one continued stirring at the mixture. What if she had been raised by grandmother instead? Would she have been colder, far more reluctant to even work with others and instead more prone to using them for her own benefit? Was such a life even worth it? Katori’s expression fell at the thought. If someone was used by such a cruel and selfish person…no wonder he - no they would have issues trusting another.
[Katori 13]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“He did.” Talisia smiled warmly at the thought of her father, her hand squeezing Katori’s before she pulled away to grab some additional medical powder to make the mixture more consistent. Too much roati milk and it felt too liquidy, not thick enough to apply properly as a healing cream. “When my father was here there was always music since he loved to play and sing. We had a garden here and at the manor where we spent the warmer days, surrounded by flowers and birdsong. There were even tapestries and crystals from Jahaur to make him feel more at home even though I know it wasn’t the same for him…” She had enjoyed the depictions of the giant trees with their glowing crystals and the strange beasts that resided within the deeper jungles. Those tapestries actually had helped push her decision to run away to Jahaur when she escaped from her home so many years later as a teenager.
[Talisia 13]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“And once he was gone they went away as well.” Finished Katori, her expression solemn as she pondered her mother’s descriptions of the past. Her grandfather sounded like a lovely man and she truly wished that he had lived long enough for her to know him. Then again she supposed that things would have played out a lot differently had he survived. Her mother probably would have stayed in Zena and potentially never connected with her father and then…well talk about a question of her own existence. “You truly changed up things when you came back.” She managed after a moment, forcing a small smile towards her mother. This was just the surface of the horrible past concerning her grandmother and Katori could not blame anyone for not wanting to talk about it.
[Katori 14]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Mmhmm.” Talisia sighed as she stirred at the mixture some more and finally raised the spoon to look at the ointment. It looked smooth enough and smelled about right. Her nose twitched at the medical smell but thankfully the addition of mint helped to cover up the bitterness. “If I was going to raise a family here then I wanted to make it as homey as possible, how it should have been.” She expressed as she lowered the spoon and started moving it back and forth across the surface of the ointment to smooth it out.
[Talisia 14]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“Well you did a good job.” Acknowledged Katori as she settled back onto her seat. “Even if Taaru and I nearly ruined it on occasion with our antics, sorry about that.” They were just children after all and prone to causing mischief, just as all of the rest of her younger cousins did still today. Azreal wasn’t too bad because he was a goody-two shoes bookworm, but the others…they were a bit destructive whenever they visited the property for a time. Thankfully there were plenty of chores to do with the animals and so it kept things from getting too out of hand.
[Katori 15]
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Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 1:09 pm
“It’s just part of having a large and boisterous family.” Teased Talisia as she finished smoothing out the cream and picked up the jar. “Do you feel okay enough for me to apply this? We can head upstairs and you can lay down while we finish talking.” That way she could apply it to Katori’s back and change her bandages at the same time. Talisia’s expression flickered towards the injuries, her stomach still twisting at the memory of her daughter limping towards the sanctuary’s gates. She truly had been terrified in that moment which had only fueled her frustration and anger once she realized her daughter was going to survive.
[Talisia 15]
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