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 Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 1:37 pm
 Not many hounds witnessed Haqikah's triumphant return to Babylon, and those that did couldn't have realised how significant this day seemed to her. She had slaves now, unlike the day she slunk out of Babylon with her tail between her legs (figuratively speaking, she liked to think that she had more control over her appendages than that). They were her slaves and her slaves alone; not something she shared with her parents or mate. For the first time ever she knew what it was like to buy something for stones she had earned herself (sort of) and she liked the feeling. She wanted that feeling again, but a very small and boring part of her told her she needed to hold on to her stones until she found a reliable way to make more.
If only work wasn't so much hard work. She saw hounds running businesses, selling wares and services, rolling in stones by the look of it. The trouble was that many good ideas were already taken... Either that or they required lots of effort and hard work for the business to take off. Her slaves were her servants first and foremost and it would be a terrible waste to wear them out with too much manual labour. Especially since she had paid for them herself! She could buy a new trinket if it broke or she got bored with it, but she did not want to deal with Hyde again in a very long time.
"Nearly there," she said to her new possessions. It had been a very long walk and a good test of her new slaves' condition. Luckily for them she was not in the best shape, but since her legs were longer than theirs the cats still had to maintain a good pace to keep up. The fancy streets of Babylon were getting slummier as they drew near to the home she had bought for herself. Her simple hut would have to do for now since she didn't have the stones or the slave power required to renovate it, and the slaves could hardly complain after their last residence. Just one more street down and they would see it around the corner. She slowed her pace somewhat, making sure all neighbours would see that she had slaves now. She knew for a fact that several hounds in this area had none, or just one.((OOC: her slaves are free to jump in if they feel like it. Others - please ask first.))
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:55 pm
 Though he would never admit it to his mistress, Akil was really tired. Not only had they been walking for a rather long time but the brown and white slave had been a servant all his life and he wasn’t used to tiring tasks in the least - no matter how much he tried to convince himself that he could and would do anything that was required of him. It was a relief when Haqikah told the two slaves they were close to her their new home and slowed down. He tried to keep up with the hound though never quite touching his mistress and always positioning himself one respectful step behind Haqikah.
Occasionally he’d look at the other cat that followed the patched hound and smiled at her. He still wasn’t sure he’d made the best decision regarding the dark slave girl and he hoped Haqikah was pleased with his choice. Actually, he hoped his mistress would reassure him on this matter soon even if she might be waiting to see how the two slaves fared at the tasks the hound had in store for them. He was becoming secretly anxious, constantly doubting his decisions and in desperate need of a small hint of approval.
“Yes, miss.”
He suddenly realized Haqikah might’ve slowed down to greet some of her neighbors so he raised his head a little, trying to look as composed as possible as to avoid reflecting poorly on his new mistress. Tired paws kept propelling him forward, eyes lowered and at least one ear always directed at the patched hound, waiting for a command.
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:51 am
Haqikah's hut was an unremarkable mud hut that looked much like the other huts along that street. A few wooden crates were piled haphazardly along one wall, and the small yard contained mostly dry earth and weeds. A pot of flowers might be nice to have beside the door now when she had slaves that could water and keep them fresh, she mused. It needed something to differentiate her home from the others. Otherwise they might get the idea that she was just like the other poor hounds on this street.
"This is it," she said and stopped, "I've been told those crates are where the last owner let his slave sleep, but you'll sleep inside until we know everything is clean."
The mere thought of what kind of nasty vermin that slave might have left behind in the dirty blankets made her skin crawl. Haqikah had very strong feelings about the filth left behind by other hounds and cats but she seemed less concerned about what she left behind in her own home. When the hound and her servants entered the cramped room in the hut they had to step over various items strewn across the dirt floor. Trinkets and various items of clothing lay where she had dropped them, and something smelled slightly off, as if she had forgot to throw away something perishable before leaving. Judging from the dirty dishes and gnawed bones in the corners it was highly plausible that she had.
"Ah," she said and moved a few items from a pile of blankets before settling on them, "No place like home. You can start tidying up a little. There should be some old blankets for you somewhere."
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Posted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 10:14 pm
He was deeply moved when the hound told the two slaves they’d been sleeping inside even if it was only temporary. Although he had to admit… for a lady that carried herself with so much dignity, Haqikah sure was messy. Not that he was judging, of course. It was feline’s job to clean and keep things organized but he had to wonder how she’d managed to live without slaves before her trip to Hyde’s market. It was very clear she’d just moved to the hut but Akil would’ve expected a little more hygiene based on his mistress’ looks and manners.
His mind was already at work. They (and by they he meant himself and Nuri, obviously) would have to make sure those crates looked a little better. Washing the blankets was a definite priority but they should also get rid of what looked broken or chipped and maybe even get a coat of paint on the wood. He’d love to paint the outside of his mistress’ hut as well but paint was expensive, he could never manage to do it properly and he recalled that the last time he’d attempted to surprise his master things hadn’t ended too well. It was his fault of course, Akil shouldn’t have tried to do something he’d never been properly taught.
Back to business. His eyes scanned the room looking for a place to start. First things first: get everything that looked out of place away from Haqikah’s sight. Then organize, then clean EVERYTHING. He nudged Nuri gently and whispered his plan to her before he started uncluttering the ground. He took a quick detour to remove some seriously nasty smelling stuff before he started washing the dishes. Everywhere he looked he found new things to clean and he couldn’t help to smile a little. He did love to feel useful and needed. Akil was always happier when he had a job to do.
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Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2010 1:19 am
Watching the two slaves work felt right and Haqkah's bushy tail wagged slowly as she supervised the action. The crates or "slave bed" outside that had been part of the purchase still worried her. She knew nothing about the last tenant and for all she knew his or her slaves were full of fleas or diseased or... or worse. She wasn't sure what could be worse than fleas and disease, but she didn't trust the kind of people who lived in this part of Babylon. She was different of course, since this was just a phase while she got back on her feet. It was just a matter of time before she moved up in life, to a place better suited for a lady.
"You there," she said, and then decided she needed to be a bit more specific, "Dark one! Go out and see if someone sells flea powder or some herbs for cleaning. Pick the herbs yourself if you have to. Don't come back without it!"
She put a few pebbles in a pouch and tossed it to the dark slave. Hopefully it'd be enough, and if it wasn't the slave would have to be creative. Haqikah hated "poor people"-problems like this, and she was glad that she had two slaves that could deal with it now.
"And don't tell anyone it's for this house," she said with a pained expression, "I don't want anyone to think we've got vermin."
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Posted: Mon Dec 27, 2010 10:47 pm
Haqikah’s little tail wag did not go unnoticed and the young slave smiled happily as he finished his first objective after Nuri left. Akil now had three small piles of misplaced things that he had found all over the small home: things to throw away, things to clean and things who needed to be put on their right place… whichever that may be.
“Miss?” he started tentatively pointing his nose at the small pile of leftovers and what he had defined as “smelly-stuff”. “I’ll be throwing these bones away if you’re done with them. And I’ll leave anything of fabric outside for Nuri to wash when she returns. Is there anything specific you’d like us to do today?”
If Akil could get the dishes cleaned next, he would then proceed to wash the floors as Nuri would probably be too busy working on the outside of their new home after she had completed her first errand. It was all very exciting really! So much to do, so much to learn. The slave really couldn’t wait to figure out his new mistress’ traits and quirks as well as what she expected from her new slaves. So far, he couldn’t help but to love her ladylike manners (almost as much as they seemed to lighten up now that she was alone with her slaves in the privacy of their home) as well as find her worry concerning the “flea subject” rather endearing.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:09 am
Haqikah rose and sniffed over the pile of trash her lighter coloured slave had collected. To her delight she had been able to pay a few stones to have both slaves washed in Zanzibar, and this one had indeed turned out white and brown instead of yellowish and brown. He had worked quickly, and she had nothing to complain about in the trash pile. However, it was always nice to have an old bone to clean the teeth with, even if it was rather unladylike to do so. But as long as she only used a chewing bone in the privacy of her own home and her slaves didn't talk... She fished out a likely looking old bone that was gnawed clean and didn't smell.
"I'll keep this one," she said after tucking it away near her blanket pile, "The rest can go."
She liked her servant's way of structuring the work, but still felt that she should say something since she was the lady of the house and should be in charge. In a way she could take the credit already, since she had picked him out, but she needed to be firm the first days at least. Letting slaves think they ran the show was dangerous, she knew that.
"I want her to wash everything separated by colour," she said, "There should be clean blankets somewhere so you can make my bed later while she cleans these blankets."
She settled in again, gnawing thoughtfully on the bone she had saved from the trash.
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 1:17 pm
“Yes, miss.” Akil said at once, happy to oblige. He gave the blankets under Haqikah one brief glance before he started throwing the leftovers away leaving only the mistress’ chosen bone behind. Yes, he’d get those later. The slave tried to be as quick as possible to make sure the place looked presentable before he moved on to details. It suddenly occurred to the young cat that had to slowly get to know Haqikah and the prospect was both exciting and daunting.
Akil looked around for signs of his new mistress’ occupation but found none. No portraits of family members either and no mural with the family history or a patron God in sight. Mmm. He wasn’t sure how he could find out more about the Hound that seemed to be a little short in stones despite her obvious good breeding.
“Were you born in the city, miss?” Akil started tentatively in a light but polite tone, as he began washing the dishes in a stone basin.
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Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2011 1:56 am
She stopped cleaning her teeth and tucked the bone away in a fold of the blankets. Her new slave didn't know it, but this was a dangerous question. Innocent enough, but the mental distance between "birthplace" and "parents" was short. And Haqikah spoke only rarely and carefully about her parents. Still, she decided to humour her new slave, and not berate him for being nosy right away. Besides, others would surely ask the same question and it might be prudent to practice on someone unimportant.
"I was born in Cairo," she said, without allowing her voice or body to betray any feelings (good or bad) she might have for the city she had grown up in, "I moved to Babylon recently to get back on my paws after some unfortunate times."
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2011 5:02 pm
Unfortunate times? What did one say to that…? Asking for any further would probably be considered prying or downright nagging so against the fervent desire to know everything about his new mistress, Akil remained quiet as the dishes slid through his paws. He tried to not to make too much noise but he still wasn’t skilled enough to get the task done without the occasional sound of plates clacking together.
The slave’s ears were pulled backwards every time his clumsiness was particularly noticeable but he seemed to be in high spirits for most of it even if slightly distracted. Actually, in spite of his silence Akil kept looking back to his mistress, orange eyes almost willing her to keep talking.
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Posted: Fri Jan 07, 2011 10:58 am
It was interesting to try to read this young creature, and right now Haqikah had no trouble seeing that he was trying very hard not to say more. She observed him for a while, pleased that her slave was trained enough not to bother her with questions. Her ears twitched slightly at every clink of china, but she supposed she couldn't get everything in the same package. This was a fairly young slave after all, and unfortunately they didn't all come with the innate ability to wash dishes silently.
"Hmmm," she said, deciding to break the silence with a very generous offer, "You may ask one more question if you think you can do so without breaking my plates."
It was interesting to hear what he would ask, and if he could keep up his end of a conversation while still keeping his paws busy. Her mother always liked testing new slaves by asking them to do several things at once, or asking complicated questions while they did their chores. The ones who started dropping silverware usually didn't move past menial tasks while the multi-talented ones were slowly allowed more advanced duties. However, since she rather liked those plates she would try to keep the test simple enough.
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:48 am
Akil looked a little confused as he stopped washing the plates and eyed his mistress curiously. One question? They seemed to be having a true conversation now with the hound staring him down rather keenly. The slave seemed to hear a hint of a test in her words and struggled to find the right answer.
What to ask? If Haqikah’s parents were still alive…? If she had siblings? Perhaps he should inquire about the unfortunate circumstances had brought her here. What she did for a living. If she had a suitor… How could he just choose one question?
“Well, miss.” He said slowly as he resumed his task - albeit a little slower than before. “I was wondering why you’d chosen to live in Babylon? If you had friends or family here…” that Akil would have to entertain should they visit Haqikah’s humble home. “…or if it was a job opportunity that brought you here…?”
The slave raised his eyes expectantly far more interested in receiving a hint of approval for his choice than the actual answer to the question. He finally placed the last cleaned plate in the neat little pile that had been steadily growing taller before he looked around in search o his next task.
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Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:15 am
Interesting question, or questions really if she should be picky, but Haqikah decided to be generous and not point that out. He had finished washing up without breaking anything after all. Might just be a keeper.
"I have wanted to live in Babylon almost as long as I can remember," she said honestly, "It's the city of dreams, a city of great opportunity if you want to be someone."
She hoped her break would come soon, but she wasn't going to take just any unqualified job a slave could do for her. It seemed popular to open up businesses in order to make the big stones, but her neighbours were almost without exception too poor or too unskilled to do it. It would be nice if she managed to open a successful establishment on this street and be the first one to do it. It would also be hard work, so Haqikah would probably need more slaves, and more stones in order to get them. The snake was biting its tail again. From what she heard you also needed to show proof of your skills before getting a business permit and that was a problem.
"Sadly, I have no family to speak of anymore," she said, looking through the hole in the wall that was her window, "So in that regard I'm alone in this town."
It wasn't an outright lie, but it was the kind of half-truth meant to mislead. Her mother, father and some of her extended family were alive and well in Giza as far as she knew, they just didn't talk. And consequently she had no family that she wanted to talk about or that wanted to talk about her. Suited her just fine. Her ears moved forward slightly as she waited for the cat's reaction. Hopefully he'd take her subtle show of interest as an invitation to keep up the conversation. If his reaction pleased her she might even share more... There were some things she would need her slaves to do for her.
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Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:38 pm
His eyes might’ve been deceiving him but it did seem the new mistress was interested in continuing this little conversation with her new slave. Perhaps it was important to her to know more about the cat she’d just bough with her hard-earned stones. Asking more questions wasn’t an option, of course, not when Akil had already been allowed the final one.
The patched slave looked everywhere for what appeared to be a worn rag before he started scrubbing the floor. A little closer to his mistress now (something he felt it necessary in order to have a proper conversation), Akil kept talking as he scrubbed vigorously.
“Well I’m sure you won’t be alone for long, miss. Soon you’ll have many friends in this city so Nuri and I will make the house nice and welcoming for you and your guests.”
It was sad that she didn’t have a family anymore but Akil had been taken from his parents at birth never to see them again so the young slave couldn’t even pretend to relate to someone like Haqikah who had lost her family... or so he assumed. He felt it was best to avoid such a sad subject altogether. He was also slowly realizing how hard it was to maintain a conversation without asking questions though.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:26 pm
Haqikah was pleased to see that her new slave didn't take the little chat as an excuse to slack off. She had met her fair share of those slaves and she wasn't going to tolerate that kind of behaviour in her house.
"That sounds lovely," she said and wagged her tail slowly. Nuri... Right, the dark one. If this one kept being useful she might even bother to learn his name. Perhaps she could ask... Nuri. Dark girl. Whatever. That way she could use it as a reward of sorts, if he performed well.
The talk about her family, or lack thereof, had sparked an idea. Now she just needed to figure out the best way to execute it. Haqikah was confident that she'd be able to deflect most questions about her family unless she had the misfortune of running into someone that happened to know them and recognise her. Her mother wouldn't talk about their little falling out or the reasons behind it. Probably. She was reasonably sure she wouldn't. But that cur Omari... That was a different bone to chew.
"There is one favour I need to ask," she began, arranging her features in a worried expression, "Did you ever meet a hound named Omari in Zanzibar?"
She would have wagged her tail unless she had been in the middle of an important act. This was the best idea she had got all day.
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