• Solo • Wayward Child

[Virikai Talius]

90th Trial of Vhalar, 718

.
.
When Avaline blinked blearily into the land of the living, Virikai could tell that her head was pounding. ‘Good’ was his initial thought as he leaned in to touch her forehead with the back of his hand, checking her temperature. The slave flinched backward, gut twisting violently, though whether that was from fear or continued nausea, his gifts with Xypha was of little use in distinguishing the two in the girl’s still-addled mind. The girl twisted and abruptly shot up in bed, almost toppling out of it, as he feverishly scanned the room. “Calm yourself, Avaline,” the lordling’s voice was quiet but firm as he steadied her on the shoulder with his free hand.

Virikai had only a tick’s warning before the feeling of nausea hit his slave like a freight train. Avaline leaned over the side of the bed just as the aristocrat brought a bowl to her face and tucked her hair behind her ears. She didn’t actually throw up anything; she just retched a few times. This, in a way, was possibly worse, because you still went through the horrible feeling that your stomach was being ripped out of your lower body but didn’t have the satisfying feeling of achievement one has when one sees the vomit. ‘Good’, Virikai scathingly thought, again.

The girl looked up as Virikai handed her a glass of water. “Thank you, Master” she whispered meekly as she took a sip of the icy water. “Drink slowly,” was all the reply she received. After sitting still for a few minutes and doing as instructed the world stopped spinning on its axis for Avaline and the nausea subsided. Without dizziness and nausea to concentrate on, the girl considered the situation, and Virikai watched with mild fascination, entering her unprotected mind with ease, seeing all surface-level thoughts.

Taking the glass of water out of the child’s hand and placing it on the table beside the bed before turning, Virikai looked at her at me carefully. “How do you feel?” ‘On top of the world.” He was amused to hear her thinking hysterically. ‘Jim Dandy. Never better. Peachy.’ “Is there anything I can get you?” Avaline actually laughed. Well, she would have if her throat wasn’t so dry. It came out as a hoarse croak before she broke down into a coughing fit. The Talius scion patiently handed her the glass of water, which she attempted to drink in small sips again between coughs.

[Virikai Talius]

.
.
When the coughs abated, Kai attempted to take the glass off of her again but she shook my head. “No, leave it.” The tone was far from it, but the words were phrased like a command. The hand stilled upon the glass as he glared down at his slave, who still hadn’t had the courage to look up at him, so she had no idea of his ire, despite his caring efforts with regards to her wellbeing. “Tread carefully, Avaline.”

“What?”

“Pardon.”

“Huh?”

Virikai’s look intensified into a Look when the girl finally did look up. “’What’ is not polite in civilised conversation. Nor is ‘huh’. I suggest you use ‘pardon’ in future interactions.” Kai, still fascinated by the thoughts in her mind, watched the growing incredulity in her mind, as if the situation could not become more surreal with receiving elocution and diction lessons. He continued. “It is also not polite to gape like a fish at someone, Avaline.”

The girl ducked her head in embarrassment, and changed the subject, “Have you been siting there all night, Master?”

“Not all night, no” The slave began to smile in relief before her master continued, whereupon the smile disappeared. “No, the part of the night that I spent away from my vigil was spent chasing you into the Cliffs and bringing you home.” The girl grimaced, though nothing about her expression seemed nearly as genuine as Virikai would have liked. Light access to her thoughts confirmed his belief. “I’m sorry, Master,” she breathed out.

“You say that frequently.” Virikai wondered whether he was too outwardly lenient on the child. What had the Yalta family been training her for? She was nothing like any slave Virikai had ever met before, certainly not of the calibre Viden expected. “I am beginning to doubt whether you actually know the meaning of the word.”

“I do!” The slave grew more hysterical, eyes alight with panic for a moment as she tried to push herself up in bed more, halted only by Virikai pushing her back down. “I mean it! It was foolish for me to leave last night.”

“The understatement of the millennium I think,” Virikai sneered, releasing his grasp once he was sure the girl wasn’t going to move again. For her part, Avaline looked down at me hands and bit back a retort he saw swimming at the edge of her mind; it was pointless to fight against him like this. It was then that she noticed the royal blue bed linen and dark grey throw on the bed. A more thorough inspection of the room alerted her to the fact that it was not hers. Swallowing, she ventured, “Uh… what am I doing here, Master?”

[Virikai Talius]

.
.
“Oh, that is quite easy to explain, even for your small, if not non-existent, brain. When we returned last night, you got into bed and because you didn’t get out to snoop around or explore or sleepwalk, you woke up in the same place that you started in. Fascinating, no?” She didn’t question further, though Virikai could see very clearly how much Avaline wanted to know more. He pressed on. “Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know,” the slave whispered, not voicing the thoughts in her mind, which Virikai was fully privy to. Apparently she had had no good reason, other than wanting to experience the same things every other adolescent wanted to experience. “I am beginning to get the impression you are utterly disinterested in doing anything that doesn’t have a direct positive impact on your own life. In which case, I have a good number of other projects on which I can spend my time, rather than squandering it on an ungrateful little whelp like you.”

Avaline stared at the man in shock. Virikai had never been one to hold back on the barbs for other people, but his latest diatribe had never before been directed at her, and brought his threats to an all-new level. She couldn’t help but find it a bit impressive, if not a little disconcerting as well. “Sorry,” she murmured. He wanted to be kind to her. He wanted to see that she was well. She hadn’t consumed enough alcohol for it to be dangerous, but she was consuming far too much of his time. A Slave should alleviate pressure, not… this. Perhaps this approach would not work with her. Maybe he had given her a little too much leeway since bringing her home. However much he wanted to be kind to her, he also wanted to beat her senseless. Maybe then he would have a clean slate with which to create a slave he actually wanted.

Virikai stared at the back of her head, as she had fixed her gaze to a spot on the floor. “I never realised that you had such a penchant for apologising to people,” he drawled, “What are you sorry for this time? Breathing?” He received a shrug in response, unable to think of something to say. Virikai sighed, “Remain in bed today. Rest and recuperate.”

“I feel fine -” she began to protest.

“And I feel weary of your dishonesty,” the aristocrat interrupted, “Stay.”

[Mads]

IP

Knowledge.........

Intimidation: Emotional Manipulation
Intimidation: Exploit the Psychological Vulnerabilities
Intimidation: Have a Relationship with your Target
Intimidation: Know Your Target
Intimidation: Using Rank and Status
Persuasion: Emotional Manipulation

Loot....................

None

Consequence......

None

Renown..............

None

Experience...........

10

If you're going to use different colors for different people, just make sure to double check all the colors are right haha. There's been a few times now (just once here) where you've used the wrong color, and I'm unsure who is speaking what. Otherwise, good little interaction between master and slave. He really should just cut his losses, sell her for meat, and get a new one, but I guess he's being a little sentimental. How very... quaint. Teehee.

Please edit your grade request.

Code: Select all

[center][img]/gallery/image/15032/medium[/img][/center]