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 Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 5:59 pm
The sands were disappearing from sight. While the sun was the same brilliant sphere in the sky the girl was noticing a subtle difference in the heat of the wind. The further the duo walked through the area the less the wind scorched. Soon enough she could begin to imagine how the great waters must change the air. While others may have been exhausted at this point each step that brought her closer to freedom only served to energize her. How would the waves sound crashing against the shore? Would there be dancers there? She hoped she could learn a thing or two! And then as time passed perhaps she could learn enough to travel around the whole world! Maybe even she could venture into Oba once her face was forgotten...that would take a long time and a lot of hopes.
Still Shadiya had to glance over at her Matori companion. How was Dex holding up? The Oban bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. It would be a shame to wear my new friend down. The thought brought a playful grin to her face. While something about their situation amused her the girl decided it would be best to call it a stop for the night. Yet...nothing seemed like it would be comfortable. Every time she imagined stopping the girl would find something wrong. Too much sand there...not enough shelter...that ground seems hard... That is until they came upon a crossroads. Right at the border of the two lands where many trading paths crossed stood a building. It was obvious that travelers were attracted to the area and someone rightfully built a tavern at the busiest point.
A perfect home, right between the borders.
"Dex." Shadiya smiled and pointed wildly towards the building, "Let's stay there tonight! I'm sure they'll have room and food as well!" In agreement her stomach let out a faint rumble before the girl reached over to grab the Matori's hand. Tugging gently she innocently led him towards the entrance. Time to rest! They had a big day tomorrow after all since they would be finally arriving in Matori.
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Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:36 pm
As the temperature of the winds slowly cooled, Dexurns excitement slowly rose. The scent on the air was changing. Was it the smell of Matori? It seemed damp, but fresh at the same time. ..Before, the scent of dampness was stale and meant there had been a spill in the kitchen or a leak in the slave's quarters... This was a much nicer scent, and it made him all the more eager to reach the source.
And still, even his legs could feel weary. He wanted to push himself until he passed out, since that would likely be on Matori soil, but he had to consider his travel partner. As if knowing it was coming, Dex looked up at the sound of his name and looked where the young woman was pointing. Stop for the night when they were surely so close? ..This way though, they would get a fresh start and more light to get into Matori with. Made sense.
He readily followed alongside, but hesitated as they got closer to the building. "My la- Shade. You're tolerant of me, but others who live here might not be. ..I don't want you to be angry, but maybe you shouldn't be so friendly with me in there..? At least until we see what they think." They were on the border, but, just in case. They were still in Oba after all. Pulling his hand free, he smiled to Shadiya with what was actually a playful tilt as he reached to hold the door of the tavern open for her. "I promise to try to not act like I serve you."
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 1:51 pm
Shadiya frowned as Dex popped the bubble of excitement that she felt at seeing the tavern, "You think?" She sighed as her hand let go of his, "I still think it's silly. The Matori have been freed, so why do they still have to hold so much indifference?" Her fuschia gaze dimmed sorrowfully. She hated the pride her race held. What made them so superior? Honestly she believed the Matori to be very lovely people and that their unique traits made them stand out so much more.
As Dex smiled towards her, Shade did offer him a faint smile back. It was a bit defeated, but seeing that he could give her such an expression brought hope. "I hope not." She whispered with a faint laugh, "I wouldn't know what to do if you did. Unless I served you later to make up for such differences." While she was just innocently trying to be playful, her teasing wink perhaps altered the light statement. Still the girl moved forward through the open door and inside, "May we have a table?" She looked towards a server with a small smile and paid no mind to the group of people who pressed against them as they entered.
If only she had noticed the disappearance of the pouch at her side, but the next thing Shadiya knew she was ushered into a booth along with Dex. "Some sweetbread and fruit please. If you have soup that would be lovely as well." Shadiya looked towards Dex and tried to resist smiling, "I suppose you'll want something too?" There...that sounded harsh enough, right?
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 3:16 pm
Dex followed in an obedient manner. It was probably more difficult to not fall into the servant habit for him than pretending to be one would have been. As it was, He simply acted as himself, keeping his head down and following after Shadiya's steps. He did try to follow a little closer as the crowd pressed around him, but his own pockets held mostly lint, and any fingers reaching went unnoticed.
Being sat across from Shade, he wanted badly to revert back to his old habits; keeping his eyes down, not sitting at the table, not asking for food... Shadiya's nonchalant question sounded harsh coming from her, but Dex didn't see it as odd outside of who the question had come from.
The server smiled and shook her head. "Hey, miss. We're right next door to his home, ya know. We're all friends in here~"
Dex looked up at the server to make sure the woman wasn't kidding, and then smiled slightly at Shade. "It's okay here, then," he said reassuringly. Then, he looked up at the server, and paused. Requesting food... "I- uh- will have the same."
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 3:46 pm
Secretly, Shade was pretty nervous about being in a tavern. Still the girl had to keep reminding herself that surely her uncle's men wouldn't think to look towards Matori. He still probably expects me to be living with some other noble family or that I've been smuggled across the northern borders. At least that was her hope. Just in case she kept her scarf tight to hide most of her face.
"Oh thank goodness." Shadiya smiled with relief at the comment, "Then friends it is." She looked towards Dex happily as their meal started to come towards them. As she tore through the remnants of her bread, Shadiya paused. "Have you been to a place like this before?" Her gaze was shimmering as she ate the food, "I never really had the chance myself, but this is nice." Far different from the strict meals that had been delivered to her rooms and also much less than the extravagant buffets of the nobles.
Finishing her drink the girl looked around. Would the server come to them for the money or did she have to seek someone out to pay? Her hands went down into her cloak to look for the familiar feel of her pouch and the girl found herself frowning as she began to fumble through the folds. Now where was it?
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 4:13 pm
Sitting at the table as an equal... Dex shifted uncomfortably for a few minutes, but once the food came and he started to fill his belly, he relaxed. No one was going to yell at him for being forward or improper. What a change!
Stilled used to minimal eating, about half of what he'd ordered remained in front of him once he felt full. He hadn't expected it to be so much for him! Maybe he could use a cloth and save the rest for later? Tuck the bread and fruits away for later...? Would that be stealing? But they were paying for it, so surely not. Holding back his excitement, he took his remaining bread and fruits and tucked them into his pack.
Giving Shade a big smile, the grin fell when he noticed the search. "What are you looking for."
Meanwhile, the server returned with a piece of paper. "Your cost due, my dears~"
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 4:46 pm
Oh, no! Dex had noticed. The last thing Shadiya wanted was to ruin their night together. He had seemed so happy with the food as well. And she had gotten such a smile from him as well! She held up a finger as she thought, "Don't worry about it, please." When and where? Oh. Innocently she hadn't thought about the pat on her waist when the crowd had left, but now the pieces fell into place. So much for my gold.
Her thoughts halted to a stop when the server came back, "Oh...umm..." She glanced over towards Dex and bit the inside of her lip. There was no way she could ask him to pay! The girl sighed before pushing back away from the table to stand, "May I speak with you?? She fluttered her eyelashes innocently as she took the server by the arm away from their table and prying eyes.
A few moments later Shadiya came back to Dex with a sheepish grin, "So do you like this place?" She flushed lightly, "We actually have a bit of an extended stay, just by a day though!" Sighing the girl bowed her head towards the Matori boy, "I'm so sorry, Dex." Tears glistened in her eyes as she glanced back towards Dex, "We have to help out a bit since someone stole my money."
She took a deep breath, "But I can do all the work! I just..." She flushed even more so before apologizing again, "Forgive me?" Shadiya wanted nothing more than to track down those thieves! If we ever cross paths, I'll give them a good piece of my mind.
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 5:07 pm
His head cocked slightly, but Dex didn't say anything more. He just watched her curiously. Well, if she was telling him to not worry... She did look flustered though; especially when the server arrived.
Alone at the table, he idly started to tidy up; stacking plates and wiping up crumbs. ..Old habits...
When Shade returned, his brow rose curiously. Something was wrong... He opened his mouth to say he really didn't want to stay, but was shocked into silence when the young woman bowed to him. He sat with his mouth hanging open, too stunned to process what was being said to him. Someone stole her money?
After a moment, he inhaled a sharp breath. "D-d-don't do that!" he stammered, referring to both her bow and her watering eyes. "It's okay! Really! I can do whatever they need to help pay for the food! Don't worry!" Jumping to his feet, he nearly knocked the plates her'd stacked right off the table, grabbing them before they could fall. "W-what do they want us to do?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:24 pm
Her expression softened into a quiet plea at his reaction. Oh, I did ruin things. As she was about to turn away from her shame the girl was startled to hear Dex speak, "What?" She blinked as a tear rolled down her cheek, "You're not upset at me?" Her gaze instantly gleamed as she reached out to catch his hands after the plates settled back into position, "Thank you!"
Letting go she took a sheepish step backwards, "We uh...well first I suppose we help clean up our table. Then they wanted us to help clean in the kitchen." Her gaze lowered back towards the floor, "I'm not too experienced but I'm sure if you show me it'll be fine! I'm a fast learner!" What could be so wrong with cleaning after all? She just needed to help pick up plates and then they just threw them in water right? Surely that wasn't so hard.
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 8:23 pm
Dex gawked slightly. She was really that worried he'd be upset? "Y-you didn't lose it on purpose, right?" he replied with a tiny smile, eyes darting between their hands and her face. She really hand been worried... "Someone stole it. Not your fault, really."
Head lifting, thinking about doing chores nearly instantly put back into a servant mindset. Clear the table. Easy. Once he got back to the kitchen, he could figure out how things worked back there. "Cleaning's not too hard, depending on what's cooked. You'll wanna make sure your hair is out of the way. Maybe look around for some apron to cover your clothes." Picking up their dishes, he turned and headed for where he'd seen the tavern staff coming in and out of.
It was cozy within the kitchen, but each area had their own space. To one side was a large stonework sink with two big basins; one for washing the dishes and the other for rinsing them off. Walking over, he set the dishes near the stack waiting to be cleaned. Looking at the mess, he sighed softly. Master would have whipped him good for leaving the sink in such a state.
Looking back to Shadiya, he smiled comfortably, feeling much more relaxed being back in a position he was more used to. "First, we need to scrape what we can off the dishes here. Then we'll put them into the hot water in this part to wash them, and then rinse them off in the other part here. Looks like that's their drying rack along the wall. Which part do you want to do?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:34 am
"Alright then." Shadiya tried her hardest to put up a brave smile before she reached up to fiddle with her hair. Twisting the dark crimson locks into a tighter braid the girl quickly took the time to cover her face and hair back up with the scarf. Now for an apron? Was that what Dex called it? She looked around and shuddered at the sight of a grisly thing. I think I'll take my chances...
She had been in the kitchens before at home, but they were so different from this. The back areas had always been so clean and tidied by the time she managed to sneak past the guards...but this was how an active kitchen looked? It had been years since she had seen such a thing. Shadiya blinked and turned her attention to her companion once he began speaking. Gotta focus.
As Dex described the process to her Shadiya blinked, "Wait...how are we supposed to scrape these off?" She glanced warily at the growing pile of dishes, each covered with some reminder of the meal before, "Uh...I think I'll try rinsing." She hesitated before leaning in towards Dex to ask softly, "By that point is there food still on the plate?" Oh, but she didn't want Dex to do the dirty work alone, "But I mean I'll do whatever! Just tell me, Dex." A faint crease crossed her brow as she looked towards her dilemma. This definitely was a mess that she had not been expecting.
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Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 8:19 pm
Taking another quick glance around, he didn't see anyone in particular focusing on the dishes. It made him wonder if this was how the place usually worked, or if perhaps they were shorthanded today. Either way, considering the situation, it worked out better for them!
Shade's hesitation made him pause. She looked rather dismayed by the task at hand. Oh, of course! She probably had servants to do the cleaning for her! Smiling lightly, he gave a small shake of his head. "Don't worry. I'll scrape them off and wash them enough so that there's no more food by the time you rinse." Turning with an uncharacteristic confidence, he found a tool to scrape the food into the bucket, the scrub brush and soap for washing, and then handed the first cleaned plate to Shade. "Just rinse until the bubbles are cleared off, and stack it on the rack over there."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:56 pm
"Alright." Shadiya found herself nodding with a false bravado. Though she understood the concept the idea of placing her hands into such water caused a shiver to run down her spine. Dex is a hero compared to me. The thought brought a small laughter to her lips before she turned towards the dish, "Gotcha." Taking the plate she dipped it into the water, vigorously and a few more times than necessary, until she felt it appeared cleaned enough.
A few more plates and the girl felt like she was doing alright. That was until her mind was starting to drift away from her. What would Matori be like? How could she get her money back? Was it even possible at this rate? It's not like I can just yell at the guards in the market... Sighing Shadiya didn't even realize that the latest plate Dex was handing towards her slipped.Eyes widening the girl flailed after the plate, but her wet hands allowed the delicate dish to continue sailing towards the floor where it cracked into pieces. Not only that but she managed to wack her hips into the stack already placed losing at least three more of the dishes.
"Oh no!" Flushing Shadiya went to pick the pieces up from the floor, but another girl cut her off and insisted that she should leave it to the staff and Dex for the moment. Frowning Shadiya protested until she noticed the array of pieces sticking around on the floor and the water splashed everywhere, "I'm sorry."
Bowing her head she backed away, "I'll go talk to the owner!" Surely there had to be something that she could do! How can I be such a klutz? So much for that lady like grace, "I'll be right back, promise." Shadiya felt like her face would burn away and instead of looking towards Dex she hurried back towards the stairs.
A half hour later Shadiya peeked back in the kitchens with a smile on her face, "Dex?" Peering around she glanced towards her companion, "When you're done you should come to the main room. I'm going to get us some free rooms and we'll be able to leave in the morning as planned." With a mysterious wink the suddenly energetic girl disappeared from view once more.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:19 am
Dexurn was contently washing, easily finding a flow to the work. Perhaps he shouldn't have been happy working for their food, but he didn't mind it. It felt normal.
Seeing the flailing from the edge of his vision, he turned to reach out, but was too late. He winced as the plate shattered, feeling a cold shiver go down his spine. And then more plates were knocked down, and he lost his breath. They would be whipped for sure!
He was too frozen in place to help, just waiting for someone to come yelling. However, the fog of fear was just clear enough to see someone else talking to Shade. Just talking. Not yelling, not hitting, not dragging off... Right. This was different... This wasn't...
His breath escaped in a rush of air, the sudden adrenaline making his shake slightly. He wanted to say something encouraging to Shade, but she'd already run off, saying something about the owner. She.. wasn't leaving him here alone, was she? He looked around blankly at the remaining staff, who all went back to work. Sighing, he got to work carefully sweeping and picking up the broken plates.
By the time Shade slipped back in, he was back to washing the dishes. Hearing his name, he looked up with relief. She was still there! She seemed so excited considering what had happened... He was rather flabbergasted, and could only give a small nod before Shade ran back out. What...? Wait! When would he know he was done?!
It was a while before the dishes got caught up and someone finally told him to go on out. Washing his hands and face quickly, he headed for the main room as directed, looking around curiously for Shade.
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:21 pm
Life with Shadiya was like living in a whirlwind. Still the girl couldn't hold back her excitement as she finished putting on the clothing that the owner had provided her. Thankfully some dancers had left clothing in the place before and now Shade found herself adorned in traditional desert wear with deep crimson colors and gold embroidery. It had taken some convincing and even some demonstrations to get the owner to willingly agree, but since there were many patrons coming in for their nightly drinks surely this would catch some attention. Even through her excitement there was the knot of familiar fear. Would it be too soon to risk exposing herself so soon? I owe this to Dex, but I still should be careful...
That hesitation caused her to fix a scarf back around her face. Who said a dancer couldn't be mysterious? Smirking at her reflection in the faded glass, Shadiya darted from the room. The main tavern was opened now with an elevated stage like area was cleared. I was correct then. So many merchants must have come through that the tavern had gotten into the habit of allowing entertainment to attract higher patrons than just those weary souls desperate for a room. She could already imagine the coin...at least that was her hope.
The darkness of the evening outside was barely lit by the flickering candles set at the tables and the dimmed lamps along the walls as she walked forward. Faint music from another worker at the tavern began to play and with ease Shadiya began to dance. She had often sneaked away to dance in the markets while she was young and it showed. Working a crowd was easy as she began to move around the makeshift stage. A few slow steps that began to spin quickly as she reacted to the music...
It was amazing how Shadiya was lost to the music. A living embodiment of the rhythm itself as she moved. As she danced, the scarf around her head became loose and towards the end of her song the girl tilted her head back as it untangled from her hair and fell towards the floor. Still her expression only turned into a brighter smile as she spotted Dex and winked towards him. Twisting once more she stretched out along the floor and took a bow as the music ended and she too dropped to a halt.
In the back a bowl was passed around for tips as Shadiya pulled herself up and walked away from the stage, "I hope I did well." She whispered towards Dex before heading towards the back once more.
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