Sugarina's Tag

The Cast

Tasanakoe

Formal Name

Shpou’Shra-Lo Tasanakoe Zhu'Drahinuaw

Public Name

Nakoe Cereishya

Denevesugarina

Formal Name

Vyablie’Shra-Vna Denevesugarina Fa’Drahinuaw

Public Name

Sugarina Cereishya

Character Summaries

Nakoe is known as a ruthless Director / owner of several major financial institutions in Alqua. Cereishya's name is stamped on a lot of buildings in the Golden End. As far as both nobility and Shpacchad is concerned, the dude is just a wealthy, stuck up common vnou. Shpacchad frequently thinks he's being backed by some nobility, nobility thinks vice versa. No one knows anything. How Drahinuaw likes it. Was trained as Nuus but has “retired" as a wealthy business dude - I.E. all of his jobs are now white collar rather than running around the streets murdering people. Fully capable but he is a fair bit older now so he just… doesn't want to. He is far more apt to just put someone down mentally.

Plays the 'kept' housewife of Nakoe. It's played up that she's a socialite that drops money on events. Their relationship is also played up to be rocky, that she is easily bribed and that she's "open to affairs". It's always the "I knew a guy who knows a guy who spent the night in their pent house". An example of a "toxic" relationship. (( Dya'Shra-Zar Orasamier Zhu'Drahinuaw had a great home environment to grow up in )) She spoils the shit out of Osa - only child syndrome - and they never really wanted any more than the one. ( Hard enough to keep one child safe in the crazy shit-fest they live in ). Sugarina is very up in her son's business - very much loves him - while Nakoe feels incredibly responsible for him, which manifests in much the same way as love. Osa has never had to question whether or not his parents care about him.

Snippet

The file folder felt particularly heavy even though it contained nothing more than a slip of paper and small registration tag. It had little to do with the actual contents and more with the severity of what it all meant.
The narrow, dark hall felt even more claustrophobic while Tasanakoe slowed his steps. Giving his newly Connected Bya some additional time before his arrival to cool down. He could feel her irritation through their bond. A buzzing at the base of his skull that was foreign, certainly not his own. A heat without real warmth that had him rubbing at the back of his neck.
< Stalling won’t make me any less angry, > she snapped. The thought stung, like a quick zap of electricity. Nothing hurt, but the wealth of emotion conveyed in the thought hit fast. A flash of feeling forced into his mind before it was gone just as quick. The sound of it was her voice, too. Just as sharp as when she was mad.
With a sigh, Tasanakoe finished his trek down the dark hall. There were only a couple of doors in the dingy building they’d found themselves. It was one of the safe houses for his family, tucked away in the run down section of the city where no one paid attention to anyone else. Half the street lights didn’t work and he was pretty sure this particular building’s electricity wasn’t turned on. Everything was dark, felt damp, and smelt moldy. The thin door he pushed open got stuck in its frame, requiring a little more effort on his part.
Denevesugarina did not belong in the ratty room beyond. Dressed in a black gown that hit just above her pale knees, the moon light that struggled through the grimy window glinted off the silver jewelry draped over her like an artful web. Elegant and dangerous. Matching her silvery hair that had been pinned up by a red comb that matched her bright eyes. Her arms were crossed under her chest while she stared him down. “Of all the places, Nakoe. Here?”
Offering her a smile of chagrin, he shrugged a shoulder and nudged the door shut with his foot. It didn’t close entirely, the tattered carpet catching it. He took a step in the room and extended the envelop in her direction. “They wanted to be careful.”
“In case what?” she asked while reaching for the envelop, closing the space between them. Not entirely, just enough to grab it from him and tear off the top to peer inside. “They going to tie me up and stuff me inside one of these closets if I don’t agree? Honestly, Nakoe.”
He reflexively glanced over his shoulder. Even knowing that his brother had left, he couldn’t help the paranoid itch that someone might be listening. If they heard her… Normally not a concern for someone with as high a Shra as his, but Tasanakoe wasn’t the highest here. He could be rolled by his older brother. “Not quite,” he answered carefully, honestly. “Seroban was telling the truth when he said he could make you forget everything.”
She looked up from the envelop, slender brows pitching in irritated confusion. “I can’t forget that I’m Connected to you.”
Tasanakoe smiled at her, trying to be comforting, even as he delivered the news. “Yes, he can.”
Sugarina barked out a short laugh of disbelief. “That’s not possible.” It was almost a question, but she was so sure she knew. This was the problem with Connecting with someone who had no idea what they were really getting into, though. This was why his brother had called him an asshole. Tasanakoe hadn’t given her an option, not really.
“Yes. It is.” And depending on just how cruel his family wanted to be, depending on the reason for it, she’d either be released into the world none-the-wiser or kept contained somewhere where she’d be alive, so he would still be alive, but she’d be likely in a coma. Tasanakoe didn’t feel the need to share all of that, though, and carefully guarded the particulars of those thoughts from her perusal should she try to search for it.
Some sort of understanding, or realization, passed through her and Sugarina straightened. The tag and paperwork was still in the folder that now hung by her side. “You need to tell me everything.” Though her tone was guarded, Tasanakoe could feel her determination through their bond. She was not shying away from him but meeting whatever this was head on. Ready, if it meant they were going to do it together.
This time, his smile was genuine. “Put your tag on so my brother feels better and we can go back to my home. My real home.”

Location

Alqua

Plot / Story Type

Short Story

Rough History

Sugarina came from one of the smaller business families that is a Fa of Drahinuaw without really knowing that's what they are. She didn't know at least. They get mailed invitations to various corporate holiday events and the like, but it's always addressed to their family with a certain number expected to attend ( Drahinuaw is generally aware of how many in each Fa that is not Connected, so they hold these events with the invitation listing the number in the Fa that aren't Connected and thus expected to attend ). The red eyes and silvery-white hair runs in her family and a coveted trait of Drahinuaw, thus making her a highly desired match.

Tasanakoe attended said functions as was expected of him as a Shpou and he made an effort to circulate around the vnou who had the physical characteristics desired by his family. Though they noticed one another, their initial meeting wasn't all that great. He's a bit of a smug douche and she had no idea who he was or why he thought he was so important. When she dismissed him out of hand to talk to someone she knew, he pursued her, much to Sugarina's irritation. Their snappy interaction has long been played up and has become one of the family's more amusing "how did you meet?" stories.

Next social function. Tasanakoe pursued her again. This time their heated exchange, outwardly, seemed closer to a fight but both of them were actually having a fair bit of fun. They would bounce off one another for a couple more events, drawing a scene and playing it up as a joke between the two of them, until Tasanakoe would seek her out outside of a holiday gathering. He Connects with her without chatting to his family first - because fuck'em - and brings her home

Structure

Exposition / Context

Sugarina’s Tag is essentially a story about how Sugarina and Nakoe end up Connected and how their relationship is solidified. It’s a way to navigate the complexities of how Drahinuaw operates, given their high level of secrecy, showcase just how little someone from the outside knows, and feature Sugarina’s ability to rise to the occasion and prove to be the perfect match for Nakoe, despite his family’s reservations and his less-than-ideal method of bringing her in.

Nothing about the situation is exactly sweet and the dangerous world of Alqua helps drive them close as they work together to meet the expectations of Nakoe’s family. There’s a level of frustrated resentment on Sugarina’s behalf since she is brought into all of this blind though she comes to accept it when she realizes the scope of the secret the noble vnou are and just how dangerous it would have been for Nakoe not to keep it. That family means something very different in this new world.

Conflict

The immediate conflict of Sugarina’s Tag is the interpersonal drama between Sugarina and her newfound family – meeting them and learning about the noble vnou. Adjusting to this new life. This is an overarching conflict that she deals with while learning about Nakoe’s actual job, which is that of a Drahinuaw assassin and being given the part she has to play to maintain his cover. There is no backing out, at this point, and no room for mistakes.

Resolution

Given that present day has both of these two set much later in their life with an adult child, they are eventually wildly successful. Their life is not without its hurdles and the point of this particular short story is to show the initial rough start to their eventual comfortable life and the sharp, refined characters they become. It would be the true version of “this is how we met”, without any romanticized embellishments or skipping over the mistakes either of them might’ve made along the way.

Goals

At the time of the story, the goals are relatively immediate. Nakoe has selfishly brought Sugarina into this crazy world because he wants to be with her and the only way to do so, he believes, without scaring her off and without his family denying his request ( he isn’t sure if they will or not but Connecting beforehand removes any chance for them to ). It is a brash action he’s made as a high Shra used to getting his way, under the certainty that Sugarina is the Bya meant for him.

In that same vein, Sugarina is determined not to become a liability for Nakoe. Though she is initially upset that she was brought in without foreknowledge of what exactly his family was, her Connection to him is not something she ever regrets and – if this is what it takes to be with him, then so be it. There isn’t a question about whether or not they should be together, only what they must do together to overcome the challenges the city and his family presents.