SoS B1 C7 X2: Welcome
The gates of Gorshi were big mean metal things criss-crossed with wires. Lucius Crucius' platoon had dispersed, but a few wary eyes stayed behind, flanked by the narrow, stooped, hooded figures.
Beggars limped up to the crew, gripping at their arms.They delivered pleas in broken voices and fractured tongues. "Alms for the poor?" "Food, can you spare food?" "Have you a home and use for an old seamstress?"
Lucius Crucius pushed right through them, pushing them to the mud and cobblestone ground. "Begone, disperse. Need I phone a hearse?"
Allarah spotted a young boy among the beggars eyeing Immuena’s pockets. She shifted in front of the boy's mark as smoothly as she could to not raise the suspicion of Lucious. She found the boy's eyes and beckoned him with a finger and a small twitch of the head, making sure to give a small smile to show she meant no harm.
Armed with a poker face and spindly fingers, the urchin pushed through the crowd of beggars to come up next to Allarah. He held out his hands, and joined the chorus of begging. "Please miss, my grandmother is very ill and..."
"I'm an ill grandmother, piss off!" An old lady cried, trying to push him aside.
Lucius snarled at her. "You lot are filthy beasts, walking vermin, crow's feasts! We've no patience for your kind, forfeit your corpse for us to grind." He dashed the old lady to the cobbles with a swift backhand, then gripped a man by the throat and hurled him further. The rest backed away, save the boy lurking quietly at Allarah's side now.
Allarah wrapped a protective arm around the boy, keeping herself between him and the giant. "All is well, you need not fear, the beggars have caused no real harm here." She gave a light smile, turning her attention back to the boy. Leaning in as closely to the boy's ear as she could she whispered, barely over the sound of breath,"I've seen you, and I won't forget your face. Do me a favor and I'll reward you well before I leave. Do we have a deal?"
Lucius Crucius grunted as they walked. To where the party did not know, but it was hard to deny a figure like Lucius when he insisted you follow.
"Depends on what you want," the boy said. "I'm not ascared of you." His poker face reinforced his words, though there was a fear-tinge in his eyes.
"That's good, because you have no reason to fear me. You may refuse and go about your day, fighting over bread and keeping warm in the muck. I'll not chase after you, but you look smart. Keep our pockets safe, let us know if we are followed, tell me if someone means to kill one of us. You are small, and no one sees children. If you are as smart as you look, this should be an easy thing. If our pockets are safe, if we are unharmed, and unfollowed, you may ask for anything you could want from me, and I'll give it should I have it. Anything. Even to leave if that is your wish, you have my word."
Lucius Crucius guided them down a narrow street. It was more quiet here, and the boy started to look nervous. "I'm not welcome this way. I can't afford to wait. If you pay me now I'll protect you and I'll spread word that you're good people."
He broke off as Lucius Guided them to a gate. "Meet me here when the moon's at its highest?"
He didn't wait for an answer before dashing off.
Lucius Crucius knocked the gate. Someone opened a slit. The door was opened.
"Lucius..." a twisted man said, inclining his head in respect to the hulking figure.
"Lucius Crucius," he corrected.
They were in a courtyard walled in by makeshift walls. A dead tree was in the center. At the far end, illuminated by flame, a smiling figure lounged in the shade of the walls.
"Visitors, is it?" He asked, rising and walking from the shadows. He was a Faeo like Allarah, with white hair and white skin. His eyes were red, however. He was tinged with Sathiidism. "From where? Hm? One of you, speak!"
Immuena stayed her tongue, so not to appear a leader when Tyodor held that likeness. She even avoided locking gazes with the Sathiid Faeo, but she kept her eyes on Tyodor and left the Faeo within her immediate sight.
Allarah remained quiet, skin crawling. It had been a long time since she had seen one of her kind. She wasn't sure how to greet him exactly. Should it be as someone who had abandoned the Haimarchy long ago, or someone still within it's walls? Regardless, she held herself high and proud, waiting for him to address her directly, watching to find some hint of what he thought of her presence.
Tskhan kept suit with Alarah standing tall next to her but kept a keen awareness of what was going on around the group.
"I am Tyodor, and these are my companions," Tyodore announced, spreading his arms to beckon to his group.
The Sathiid inclined his head and let his eyes roam over them; his gaze deliberated on Allarah, appraising her with equally disturbing measures of unabashed lust and unadulterated hunger. "I am Sellinus, and these are mine!" His voice echoed back off of the bricks and planks of the courtyard wall and manor face. From all nooks and crannies came a chorus of cackles and woops, and within them the crew began to notice the glint of eyes and smiles fanged and not.
"We come from Karim," Tyodore said. Sellinus frowned. "But we're no longer certain our allegiance is with them. We're more interested in helping the people of Saumai now. It was our original mission, but we continue it of our own accord, and in our own way."
It was at about that moment that Immuena, from her particular vantage, noticed Lev's hand on Tyodore's back as he spoke. The gesture was so subtle she might have missed it from any other angle.
Immuena gave Allarah a look, glanced at Sellinus, and took a few steps closer to Tyodor. Then gave a slight touch to his arm for a divination link. <Plan? Yes or no?> she kept her words short and the link as guised as possible.
Allarah caught Immuena's hint and took a few steps forward to stand between Sellinus and her, meeting the Feao's eyes. "Greetings Sellinus," she bowed respectfully, as if greeting an older blood. As she rose, she flicked the hair from her shoulder, exposing a bare neck for the briefest of moments. "I am Allarah. If you don't mind my saying, it's strange to see another of my kind so far from home. What has brought you to this place?" She studied him from head to foot suggestively.
Sellinus' attention broke from Tyodor at first chance. He smiled a devilish smile at Allarah, and inclined his head at respect for her bow. Her showcase of her nape was not lost, the lascivious Sathiid licked his teeth at the sight. "I don't mind at all. For me it's a relief, I haven't seen another Faeo in years. I thought we all died in Abisk. I tried to keep Abisk up, but it was too much even for me, and so I moved here to spread the word of Marianiyah. I found the people here to be quite receptive."
<Plan is to get out of here without having to face down all these Sathiid> Tyodore said to Immuena over their link. Immuena was vaguely aware of another whisper in the link, here and gone almost a fast as she laid her hand on the Firstheart.
"I know of it, but very little truth be told." Allarah tugged all of her hair to one shoulder, combing it with her fingers as if to remove any tangles. The entire left side of her neck was exposed now. "Surely we aren't so much a bother that we must leave immediately? We truly mean to cause no trouble at all. We simply wish to trade. Besides, I would so love to speak more with you if you would permit it. It's been ages since I've had a decent conversation." She tilted her head in what would have otherwise been an innocent manner, had she not intended to appeal to his hunger further. "Perhaps, while my companions trade, we could speak of your time in Abisk, or even of Marianiyah, in private." Allarah looked to Synna, urging her to say something, be it, You can't do that. or, I would love to join you.
Synna mostly looked confused. There was an understanding that Allarah was inviting her, but an understanding of what gambit she was up to was lost on the Vodalkyn. Her mouth opened, full of words, but they were left on her tongue and she snapped her mouth shut and chewed them up.
"I would greatly enjoy that. Of course, you're all invited to dinner, I won't be held in any regard as a bad host!" Another round of laughter from the shadows. "Are you here long? We could prepare quarters for you and your friends?" He was addressing Allarah directly now.
Tyodor almost spoke again. Immuena heard a whispering over the div link she was holding with him. He stayed his tongue.
Immuena continued the discussion of the plan, <I don't think we refuse dinner, and Allarah seems inclined to go. How would you get out without a battle? And should I know what's being whispered?> she would've simply dug for what Tyodor was about to say, had she not thought Tyodor could earn some trust.
<I don't know what she's doing,> Tyodor said, <other than taking us into the lion's den and slathering us with seasoning. Vampir are cannibals!> His face ticked showing his distress. Sellinus did not seem to notice. <I'll go forward with her plan, however. I hope she's getting up to something and hasn't just caved to instinct>
As ever, a mindlink was hardly just words. Tyodor's thoughts were suddenly peppered by disarmingly erotic and gritty flickers of Sellinus upon Allarah, within Allarah, and then consuming her bite by bite.
"Dinner sounds wonderful!" She gave a small smile that soon turned to a frown. "Though, wish as I might to have the authority to answer how long we'll stay, that's up to our leader Tyodor here." Allarah stepped back to place a hand on Tyodor's shoulder. She gripped it, a bit too hard, with trembling fingers. The thought of actually being alone with Sellinus terrified her.
As Allarah stepped back, Tyodor's images hit Immuena in a very unattended area of her mind. He could feel the warmth of embarrassment and overwhelming urges surge through her when she broke the link with a short <I trust her.> Stepping back, Immuena half hid behind Allarah so less people could see her reddened face.
Tyodor did not even seem to notice the Faecha's reaction. Something else was distracting him for now. Perhaps it was Lev touching his back every few moments. The giant blond Ireheart was as serene as ever, though a sharp eye could pick out that there was an iota more weight on his brow than ever.
"We can stay a couple days. We could use some respite anyhow, and would appreciate a safe hearth and a warm meal."
Synna connected to Immuena. <You alright? You seem shaken.>
Her mind stuttered, <I-I-I can't say shaken. It's embarrassing...> letting her thoughts putter off, she showed Synna a replicate of Tyodor's thoughts. <That bastard got me. Speaking of, look at Lev.>
Synna couldn't veil her amusement, but to Immuena's benefit it was also mixed in with a little outrage and a good helping of concern. <I'm sorry he did that to you. Allarah's the one we should warn. I'm sure she's aware Sellinus is a threat but that's a bit of a surprise from Tyodor.
She craned to look while Sellinus beckoned them to the door.
"You'll have to excuse me. Some psychopath attacked one of my guards, so we'll be having another guest for dinner, a local doctor. Would you like a tour, or want to retire to your rooms for a few moments first?"
She allowed a small amount of her distress show before quickly replacing it with a smile at Sellinus. "A few moments to lighten our load would be most welcome. I do hope your guard recovers with haste." She took Synna's arm and patted it as if to sooth her. "Such a frightening thing."
Immuena agreed with Synna, broke the link, and waited for an opportunity to talk to Allarah.
Sellinus inclined his head. "Allarah, we can meet later. For now..." he brought them to a door into a hallway full of rooms, each poshly furnished. "I'll have someone come to collect you in a little while. Please, make yourselves comfortable.
He ushered them in and closed the door.
"What are we doing?" Tyodor hissed, turning on Allarah.
Allarah walked to the far corner of the room and dropped onto the floor. Curling her knees to her chest, she tucked her head between them, covering it with her arms. "Synna." She beckoned trying to compose herself. "We have to find what we came for. Gather supplies and the like. I'll entertain our host while that happens so he isn't tempted to consider the rest of you food." What noise she made came out strained.
"Allarah," Synna said, measuring her tone so as to not be too harsh. "Do you understand what you're saying. Do you think he'll settle for your words alone? He's going to want your body. I'd rather fight him than let him molest you. And what about his other hungers? He's a Sathiid, Allarah, and I bet you're the first Faeo he's seen in a very, very long time. You're a walking feast. Assuming he just goes for your blood... you're already low from helping Laemon!"
Tyodor walked over to a mirror and adjusted his hair. "She's made her bed. Let her lie in it. String him along, let him have his way with you, and we'll do what we can."
"Tyodor. Asshole." Ijin said. Dmitri chuckled.
Tyodor shrugged. "She's been rooming with Hedon. They've probably warmed her up plenty. Should be an easy chore."
Synna lunged at Tyodor, aiming a punch for his face. Dmitri's outstretched arm casually batted her to the floor.
"Synna, knocking his head in is pointless. If he wishes to see me as a whore so be it. Why should he care that I'm endangering myself for his people?" She scoffed. "It's been 25 years since I've met one of my kind, and I'd have died happy to never have seen another."
Allarah fixed her eyes on Tyodor. "If it were only sex, perhaps this would be as easy as you believe it to be. You assume sex works the same between the races, but you know nothing of my kind. Feao dive into the soul of their partner, feel one another out, and search through each other’s minds. They expose their partner’s fears and aspirations and strip one another bare without even fully intending to do so. Feao, we're..." She was quiet for a moment, allowing her words to fill the cracks of the room as she tried to find the words. Shaking her head, she asked "I'm sure this still doesn't affect you does it?"
Her frown petered out into steady indifference. “What a small existence you lead if it's only filled with such hate." Anger became pity. Pity became resignation as she turned from the trio.
"So yes, Synna, I know he won't settle for my words alone."
Taking a mental note, Immuena waltzed over to Allarah and sat beside her. "We'll make sure that doesn't happen." Immuena wrapped what little of her body she could around Allarah, whispering with complete resolution, "When you can't completely protect yourself, if no one else will or can help, Tskhan and I will. I'm going to think of a way to get you through this while the others work on the mission." Releasing her hug, Immuena stayed where she sat and brainstormed.
Following Allarah's scathing retort, Lev, Dmitri, and Tyodor drew off to one of the other rooms of the hall. Their quarters were silent save for the occasional shift of body weight causing the floor to creak.
"He makes my skin crawl," Ijin muttered, flopping down on the bed.
Synna snickered and rubbed her shoulder where Dmitri had knocked it.
There came a knock at the door from the hall to the rest of the estate. Synna sprang up to answer it, and after a moment of muffled conversation came back with a troubled expression and a folded crimson cloth.
"It's a gift..." she said, offering it to Allarah. "For you. They brought a crate of clean clothes for us all, but... nothing like this."
"Such a lovely color." She hesitantly ran a hand over the silk feeling it catch at her scar now and again. "He's still Feao." Synna's concern and Immuena's words settled her. Taking the dress, she flicked it out to its full length. A small laugh escaped her lips as she took in the design. "My mother had a dress like this. The neckline and sleeves were a bit different, but..."
Immuena tried to get Synna, Tskhan, and Iijin to a corner in order to quietly discuss how they can keep a trace on Allarah without Sellinus noticing. "Allarah, don't look over here, I'm changing and it's embarrassing." Immuena attempted to give off that she was lying by exaggerating the embarrassing bit, while convincing Allarah not to look.
"I'll go check the fit then. Synna, if you wouldn't mind helping me with my hair in a bit, I'd appreciate it." She sulked off, closing the door behind her quietly.
"I've got it!" Immuena grinned, and began addressing how they could trace Allarah, "Synna, could we weave a low level spell in Allarah's hair? Something traceable if you know what to look for, but hard to notice if you're not?"
Synna nodded. "We could, but I feel like they might notice. I've been hesitant to divine around here because I keep getting this feeling that we're getting divchecked ourselves, and looking would arouse suspicion."
"Ah. I trust your judgement on this. What about you two?" Immuena started actually changing while looking to Tskhan and Iijin.
Ijin didn't bat an eye, Synna seemed interested, then realized she ought be changing as well. Tskhan was suddenly caught between two pale bodies in varying state of undress and redress.
"Unless you wanna offer yourself up too I think she's gonna be going in alone. I say we track her and if he cares then he can eat my ass."
"If he doesn't..." Synna said, pulling on her shirt and leaving the room. "I'll go help Allarah while you two plan."
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