• Mature • Better Watch Your Back

As one approaches the City of Nashaki, trains of caravans lead through the sprawling outskirts to the numerous open city gates. The largest gate is on the west side and leads past the fortified walls into an octagon of eight districts. Each district features unique markets and is maintained by one of the eight Towers that rule Nashaki. In the city, heavily guarded, is the prized oasis that supports the Nashaki people to flourish in such an unforgiving land.
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Llyr Llywelyn
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Better Watch Your Back

11th Break
Ninth of Ymiden, Arc 720

Continued from Can You See Me Through Those Eyes
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In a clay-and-stone abode, the group had taken shelter from the sandstorm. It had ravaged across the hot lands, and blotted out the sun for a good break before it finally passed over. The winds followed it along, then faded, and also left a staleness that quickly rose in heat while the sun crawled to its apex.

Llyr Ezili sat next to the well-pump, after she'd checked on the horses in the neighboring stables and got them water. Only the four, with the stone horse returned to its smallest form and back in the domain bag along with her sword. The slaves were asleep (or trying to sleep) inside the main hut, a safe house meant for exact purposes such as to escape sandstorms and the like. She felt glad she'd marked the spots that her contact had given her while in Crescent Bay, otherwise they might have never found the isolated rural home set between the tall dunes of the desert lands west of Nashaki.

She had hoped to not reveal her relation to magic to the slaves, but... all of them had survived, more or less. There was still the matter of the wound on Bilise but the other slaves were caring for her the best they could. They were all still breathing, which was more than could be said for the caravan left behind.

Since arriving to the stone hut, after the threat of the sandstorm had passed, Ezili had gone quiet. Whether she chose to care for the horses to ease the burden of labor for the others... or if she only wanted some time alone and away from the others... it wasn't obvious. Her halo continued to flash at random times, sporadic and seemingly unrelated to anything else. Her wings continued to change shape as if uncertain what sort of insect she should be. The insectile legs continued to click against her shoulders while they scratched at thin-air in perpetual languid motions.

Acutely aware of how wary the slaves had gotten of her, Ezili didn't linger so they weren't disconcerted by her presence. Even the horses struggled to not freak out against her, though their thirst proved more demanding than their confusion for whatever it was that offered them the clean water.

The mage sat on the hard-packed sand around the sandstone well. Crystalline legs crossed wide, she traced one of the quartz-ridden scars on her shins. Her blonde hair hung long but matted with sweat and blood (silver and ruddy-black alike) and she had acquired a few bruises of golden shimmer in spots. Especially along her inner thighs where she'd controlled the stone horse. Ezili gathered the chiffon scarves of her skirt and traced her etherlit fingertips over the large span of fresh bruises.

A sigh escaped her. She closed her eyes, then felt along the back of her scalp and neck where she'd gotten hit by the rock. A scabbed gash had hardened over the spot but when she brought her hand back around, she saw droplets of fresh blood on the illuminated fingertips.

With another exhale, she lifted back to her feet and went to the pump. Ezili filled the bucket with the warm, but pure water. She started to undress from her layers, leaving behind just her undergarments, before she dumped the bucket of water over the top of her head to rinse the sand-encrusted filth of battle away.

She moved to pump a second bucket-full, then paused. Ezili glanced behind her, and caught sight of her new assistant. The irises of her eyes glittered a sapphire blue while she looked at Saza, then she said, "You have questions. Ask."
word count: 641
Please — consider me a dream.
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Saza Moshe
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break ‣ 9 Ymiden, 720
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When Ezili distanced herself from the group of scared, exhausted slaves, Saza stepped forward to assist them. He did feel for the poor souls that’d had the misfortune of being caught, born, or swayed into slavery, and he really did wish to help them when he could, but it wasn’t his sole intention when he stayed behind in the clay-and-stone abode with them. It was not his own moral sense of duty (even if that was there too) that compelled him to stay when Ezili left the house, but his desire to keep the slaves calm and controlled.

They might’ve been afraid of his employer, but there was nothing all that scary about him. Surely a few of them must’ve thought him guilty by association, for the mere fact that he was not Ezili’s slave, but that was alright – it was all the better, in fact, if it worked in her favor. Saza could understand their wariness in regards to the pale blonde outside, but if they just saw that she truly cared for them – enough to have her assistant stay back and help them – then he was sure that they’d all come around. It wasn’t a lie if he didn’t mention it outright.

Whether their willingness mattered or not, he didn’t know. He didn’t know if Ezili even cared if her slaves were afraid of her, but he thought that it’d make the journey far easier if they were complacent and calm.

Saza sat on the floor with his legs crossed underneath him. Most of the slaves had taken to the cool ground, lying with their eyes closed and their breaths not quite slow enough to be believably asleep. It was alright if they needed to pretend. He only focused on the tasks ahead of him, and didn’t bother with the things that didn’t matter.

Sitting across from him was Leyliqe, and Solihin beside her. They whispered low enough that Saza couldn’t hear what they were saying. His long fingers pulled thin strips of fabric (torn from Leyliqe’s skirt) around the slave girl’s swollen ankle, and his mind began to wander while he bound the twisted joint.

If Ezili had kept her magic a secret, what else was she hiding from him? Had she not thought that an important thing for him to know? When he had asked her what he needed to be aware of, she’d said nothing of such powers and mutations… and sure, it didn’t change his mind about his new position as her assistant, but he would’ve liked to know beforehand that he would be working for a mage.

He tucked the end of the fabric strip down and into the bindings to keep it in place. His hand smoothed over the hastily-bandaged ankle and Leyliqe turned her head in sudden remembrance that he was there. “Hopefully that’s okay,” said Saza, as he let go and let the slave inspect it for herself.

“Thank you,” she murmured. She dipped her head slightly, but didn’t meet his gaze.

“It’s no problem.” The biqaj shrugged one shoulder, and then pushed himself onto his knees. He straightened up all the way after that, standing up and beginning to step over the “sleeping” slaves. “Keep an eye on Bilise,” he requested, and then exited the little home.

It was hot and stuffy inside, but outside was worse. Saza moved quickly towards the stables, grimacing slightly as he walked through the direct sunlight to get there. He was just grateful for that map of Ezili’s – without it, they’d have been out wandering in this heat. There was no doubt that the slaves wouldn’t have made it through that, in his mind.

As he rounded the shadowed corner, golden eyes laid over the form of Ezili, moving nearby at the water pump. Gathering water in a bucket and stripped down to only her undergarments, Saza tried not to stare too long at anything in particular, as his gaze darkened and reddened in hue. What - what was he supposed to look at? The obvious effects magic had had on her body? Her body in general? He didn’t know! But he did his best not to show it, as he clicked his tongue and moved closer.

His wine-red eyes had settled on her crystalline legs when he heard the woman’s voice. It startled him, and his gaze snapped up to her face, wide and flecked with golden yellows.

“Uh - I didn’t mean to stare,” he offered first, but his accented voice was quiet. A little louder this time, Saza said, “I’ve never… well, I’ve never met a mage before. Is that what all of that’s–” he motioned towards the insectoid legs, the halo, the gossamer wings… before abruptly dropping his hand and shaking his head of frizzy hair.

“That’s rude; sorry, Mistress. I’m just a little…”

Frightened? No, not totally…

Confused? Yes, somewhat…

Doubtful? A bit… but that wasn’t quite right either.

“Uh,” Saza crossed his arms lightly over his chest. His head tilted a little to the side as his golden eyes looked over each of her mutations again, and he finished, “...awed.”

That didn’t sound rude too, did it? He didn’t mean for it to be rude, but really, he had no clue what mages were like. The only mages he’d ever even heard about were the ones that were found out and thrown to the Tower of Flesh. Looking away from Ezili and down to his shoes, Saza shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“...Is your head okay? Do you want me to take a look at it?”
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Llyr Llywelyn
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break | Ninth of Ymiden, Arc 720
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Uncaring for modesty, Ezili didn't try to cover herself up. It wasn't anything untoward. She even had her undergarments on! Sure, Saza would be able to see the inky-black tattoo that churned along her entire backside... and the rainbow-iridescent tattoos that mimicked the design of the veins in her wings, along her ribs and waist, down over her hips and pelvis and top of her thighs right before the line where flesh became crystallized stone. The crystalline continued like stockings to her very toes. In fact, there was very little of the biqaj's natural skin left bare. Her shoulders and biceps had the vibrant blues and yellows of the same many-eyed fans as spanned over the back of her neck. Even her face had a silver shimmer of a sharp design vertically over her right eye as if she'd been struck with an ethereal dagger at some point across the spot.

That was to say nothing about the bruises that seemed to find the spots where she was miraculously unmarked. Perhaps only the points of her ears seemed untouched, if not for the piercings. Ezili stood, seemingly confident despite all there was to reveal in the moment, and a small smile even twitched at the corner of her pale lips.

After all, the mage - just like her sparks - enjoyed showing off her mutations to those who had yet to see them.

She paused from the water-pump, and instead set one hand to her slender hip in what almost seemed like a pose for how she shimmied her shoulders. Her sapphire blue eyes glanced over Saza, the color gradually transforming into an indigo-hue. She looked back up to observe the wine-red flecked with golden yellows. Her smile strengthened, a welcome respite from the weariness of her solitude.

"Uh - I didn’t mean to stare,” he offered quietly.

"Of course not," she returned in a near-whisper.

Ezili considered the expression on Saza's face while he spoke and motioned toward... her. The oily-black insectoid legs skittered against the air, as if knowing they were referred to, and pleased for it. A bemused look wrinkled her brow when the other biqaj apologized so politely.

She waited for him to finish, rather than interjecting again.

When he looked over her mutations again, Ezili seemed to figure that out. She lifted one arm and then stepped around in a slow circle as if in presentation to him. As she turned back to where she began, she offered her polite smile - in slight hope that she might assuage any possible fright caused in the Nashaki native.

"My head?" she returned once he seemed finished. She seemed confused for a trill, then set her hand to the back and said, "Oh... no, that is quite alright, Saza Moshe. It will care for itself in time."

"I'm certain you've met a mage before, you just were never made aware of it," she mentioned while she lifted her dress. It had blood, sand, and ash on the chiffon. It wouldn't do. She bundled it up and set it aside, then knelt to dig into her domain bag. Ezili considered for a moment, then took out a simple powder blue folded dress. As she stood, she pulled the dress on and it fell with a short skirt just around the top of her thighs where skin turned crystalline. Ne'haer-fashion at its finest, she tightened a golden cord to fit the breezy fabric to her waist and then the sleeves with two golden beads that rested along her clavicle.

She fixed her damp hair, almost dried already with how hot it was. Ezili's halo flickered and brightened in a flash, then she gestured for them to move better into the shade of the stables.

The biqaj waved for Saza to approach closer to her, then set both hands on her hips while she looked him over.

"You did well, Saza," she said in her melodious voice. "Very well. Better than any of the other assistants..."

That she could even tell him such a thing was proof of the statement.

"Do not concern yourself with whether you are rude. Manners are not what I need from you right now. I need you to ask what is on your mind, regardless of how it might sound," she explained. "And yes, you are correct. All of this is because I am a mage."

"Almost all of it, that is." she ran a fingertip over the silvery scar along her right eye as her smile turned thin. She lowered her hand with a small sigh, then said, "When we arrive to Yaralon, remind me to offer you something of worth. Whatever that may be. I will acquire it for you."

"How do you fare?" she added in however many steps it took to approach her new assistant. The mage reached out to lightly touch her hand along the top of Saza's thigh. "Have you ever ridden like that before? It is not... gentle. I may have something that could help, if you need."

As if to prove what she just said, Llyr lifted up the skirt of her dress and rotated her leg to show Saza her inner thigh and the golden bruise that spanned the width. Along the crystalline line, thin cracks had showed where the quartz seemed to stick between the pale gaps. She traced the line, then an idea occurred to her and she looked at Saza with eyes still of indigo hue.

"Would you like to touch?" she offered. "I know you must have earlier, but... now that we are in a peaceful spot, without worry of an arrow stabbing through your neck or brain, maybe you would like to feel my awakenings? That's what they are. Awakenings. You can, it might help you understand perhaps. Please, I'd like you to. These were my very first awakening when I initiated into magic."

Llyr explained because she found that such stories helped non-mages understand. It took away some of the mystery, the awe but also the fear, and that could be a good thing in some cases she discovered. While she held her skirt up, with her slim leg posed for him to touch the crystalline texture if he wanted, she added, "It is due to my nature as an etherist. Do you know what that is? It is related to my spark of Transmutation... have you heard of any of these things before?"

She waited, then, to allow Saza to answer her questions and to ask his own that she felt certain he must have for her.
word count: 1125
Please — consider me a dream.
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break ‣ 9 Ymiden, 720
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Rather than shy away from his obvious curiosity, Ezili turned herself around in full display. Nervous though he was that it would still, somehow, be perceived as rude or inappropriate, Saza lifted his gaze to watch her, and let his eyes trail over the various magical additions to her form. There were so many things that should’ve been obvious… and he thought of the ring that she’d pulled from her finger, just before the halo had materialized over her head. The rest had followed suit, and he was left wondering if she’d have a few more additions the next time he looked away.

A quiet hum was his only response when she mentioned that he’d likely met a mage already. He supposed he couldn’t prove that he hadn’t, especially not if they could hide the physical effects of their magic like Ezili. Was that common, for mages to disguise themselves like that? Could all of them do it? The idea was concerning, and he didn’t let himself linger on it long. Worrying more about magic was the opposite of what he wanted to do right now.

Saza glanced away again while the pale blonde pulled a dress from her bag. How she managed to fit so many things in there, he didn’t know, but it sure seemed better than the bag currently slung over his own shoulder. There was a little hole in the bottom, torn through the canvas fabric when he’d shuffled over the sands to get away from an assailant’s blade, but a bag was a bag. As long as it carried his things, he wouldn’t complain.

It was the bright flash of light from Ezili’s halo that caught his attention, and he nodded to the other biqaj’s gesture towards the shade. He certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get out of the sun… it would’ve been best if they had travelled farther before the blazing heat of the trial had settled over them, but there was nothing to be done about that now. The curly-haired youth followed the other blonde to the stables and remained close, but maintained enough distance between himself and his employer. It was just a precaution… but he realized that it was a ridiculous one.

“You did well, Saza,” she said as she looked him over, and red eyes blinked back at her, confused. As she continued, offering further praise (at least, it felt like praise), the tips of his pointed ears burned a shimmering silver-blue. The deep ‘V’ shape that cut into his right ear was a deeper, darker hue as his blood collected beneath the scarred tissue. He looked to the ground between them and said, “I’m just happy to…”

Wait. Better than the other… assistants…?

Did that mean…

“...right. Thank you.”

He wasn’t going to read into it. Dark blue eyes lifted from the ground to meet Ezili’s gaze, and he nodded. If she didn’t want him to worry about niceties and manners, he would try to keep that in mind. It wouldn’t be that hard to disregard them when he was so godsdamned awful at it anyway, he figured, but he just didn’t want to screw things up. What was he supposed to do if Ezili changed her mind? If she decided that he wasn’t the right fit for this, or that he wasn’t good enough, or smart enough, or that he asked too many questions or worried too much, then what would he do? He didn’t want to go back to the city. Not now that he’d finally left, and he finally had a chance to see the world he’d only ever heard about.

He couldn’t ruin this opportunity. Not for anything.

Ezili’s finger directed his blue gaze to the mark across her pale, otherwise unblemished face. If the mark was not the result of some magic, then he didn’t know what she was implying it was from. It couldn’t be a true scar… it was far too deliberate and precise. Was she… blessed, as the slavers had tried to claim for the Lotharro? But, he’d never heard much about any other Immortal but his native city’s founder, and the father of the silver-blooded race he and Ezili shared.

The mention that she would acquire something for him – something of worth – went mostly unacknowledged. He nodded idly to show that he’d heard, but he didn’t know what Ezili could possibly mean to give him. This was all he wanted – to work, and to get farther away from his home until the sands were but a speck in the distance.

“How do you fare?”

“I’m alright,” answered Saza without a trill’s hesitation. His muscles ached, his tan skin was bruised, and he’d started to favor his left leg when he walked, but he was alive, and he was certain he’d felt worse. Ezili approached him regardless, with a hand set out to touch his thigh. The younger biqaj subtly furrowed his brow when she did, but didn’t shy away from the contact. The touch might not have been totally necessary, but Saza knew that he could be a rather touchy person himself. He had no room to talk.

He shook his head, “no, I haven’t. ...You have something that would help?”

As much as he hated showing weakness in front of the woman who had so recently hired him, he knew that he’d be of more use to her if he wasn’t decommissioned from the pain. The bruises and soreness were things that he could work through, but he knew that he’d overworked his leg, for how the burning in his knee had steadily worsened since they’d stopped.

Saza watched the mage’s fingers as they traced over the crystalline lines of her own leg. He looked up with a start when she spoke again, surprise proving obvious over his lightly freckled features. Touch? She was just offering to let him touch them? Some people didn’t mind how physical the young biqaj could be, but most people didn’t ask for him to just feel their legs either. There was a good reason for it now, but he couldn’t quite contain his surprise all the same.

“Are you… sure?” questioned Saza, as if he thought that she might have been playing some sort of trick on him. Was it some sort of test? Touch the leg, get fired? He didn’t know… but he didn’t hesitate for long.

While she explained the origins of her very first awakening, Saza set his hand against her lower thigh, just above her knee. His eyebrows raised slightly as he moved his hand downward, over the inner side of the joint to her calf, and then slowly back up again. It was so… “...cool,” was all he could think to say, as he felt the smooth, crystalline texture beneath his lightly calloused hand. But what a weak word it was. He could've cursed himself for his lacking vocabulary, compared to Ezili's fine words.

Saza clicked his tongue and shook his head again. “No. I don’t know anything about magic,” he confessed. Irises dappled with varying shades of pink, he tilted his head and smoothed his hand upward until he felt the point where pale skin met crystal, at her bruised inner thigh.

“So you’re an ether… ist? What does that mean? And – can you feel them? Your legs. Does it still feel like they’re flesh and blood, or… gold?”

He’d meant to take his hand away. Instead, his fingers gently brushed against a golden bruise. As if on cue, the various pinks in his eyes were adorned with golden flecks, and he glanced up to the etherist’s face. Saza quickly took his hand off of her thigh. “...Sorry. Um–”

Crossing his arms again, to make some sort of point that he wasn’t trying to touch her, the youth looked away from her face and to her hands instead.

“Is that why your fingers are like that, too?”
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break | Ninth of Ymiden, Arc 720
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Ezili observed the other biqaj with a sense of growing curiosity. He seemed rather jumpy. Was it because of the ambush on the caravan? The skirmish? The rapid escape from the sandstorm? That she was a mage? She supposed it could be any number of those things or perhaps something she hadn't even considered. She could hardly remember a time when she had acted so jumpy herself, far more than an arc's time... though she couldn't place an exact moment when her nerves had gone from easily frayed to numb.

Her smile twitched on her lips when Saza seemed uncertain about the offer to touch her mutated leg. Ezili answered, "Yes, I am sure."

What was he so worried about?

The best way to calm whatever it was, she believed, would be to have him touch and realize that her legs weren't anything to be afraid of. Not the crystalline ones, anyway. She kept hold of her skirt, while she felt the slight roughness of his touch. Not entirely smooth, but not horribly calloused either. A nice moderate blend between extremes in texture. The heat made everything warmer, and Ezili could feel the heat of the other man and could almost sense the pulse of his lifeforce through the silvery veins that pumped through his fingers while he touched along her inner calf and then up along the shape of her thigh.

While Ezili could feel the heat, she knew that the crystalline texture would feel as Saza said: cool.

The nature of the mutation gave different sensations to those who touched it than herself. She observed Saza while he continued to caress with innocent exploration, careful to watch the colors within his irises. She replied, "An Etherist has been used as a term to define that of - in modern parlance is now called a Transmuter. The term, in a generalized sense, suits my particular tendencies far more as it is ether which I specialize in. Ether is what allows magic to exist, Saza. It is what fuels everything beyond what the ordinary person on Idalos is capable of."

"Yes, I can feel them," she also answered. Her indigo-hued eyes glanced down as the new assistant brushed his fingers past the mutation and over the fresh bruise on her sensitive inner thigh. A silvery-blue blush rose to her cheeks, though she remained calm otherwise and didn't move away. "...or more accurately, I can feel you. They feel as any legs might, I suppose. I don't quite remember anymore but they feel just as my arms do or any other part of my body, though it takes a great deal more effort to bleed from my legs... but it is possible. It's underneath."

Ezili shook her head, and reached out. She gathered Saza's hand back in her's and guided it back to touch along her knee as she lifted her leg. The balance in her posture seemed easy, while she held still in the posture. She guided Saza's touch down to a thin crack along her shin where the quartz showed in incredibly thin layers. "Past that, if you cut inward more... if you flayed the stone right off... you would find that my legs are flesh and blood, just like you."

She let go of his hand, allowing his retreat now, with a slightly apologetic smile. Her leg returned down and she lowered her skirt.

"No need to be sorry," she mentioned with disinterest. She lifted one of her hands to look at the ether the brightened and speckled her fingertips with shimmers of light. "Ah, this is ether."

The indigo of her eyes vanished in an undulated wash of pale ocean blues. She held up a hand as if in admiration of her fingernails. She added, "Not... exactly. It is to do with it, but it is not the same."

The mage didn't elaborate on the vague answer. Instead, she looked at Saza again - in desire to see the colors of his eyes. Within the blue of her own, glimmers of purples and yellows danced through the round circles. A wistful sigh escaped her, and she seemed about to say something, but instead she shook her head as if in dismissal of her own unspoken thought.

"Normally, these are not..." she pointed to the insectoid legs that gently curled against the air. "...around like this."

"With hiding my nature, comes a few trials of... uncertain ether flow. It is like making use of a rusty water pump for the first time in arcs, and the ether is the water, and it has to spurt and force its way through before it can flow properly again," she attempted an explanation. "I do not know why they remain like this, but my guess is that due to the circumstances in which they manifested, the instincts remain heightened against potential threats."

Ezili glanced toward the stone abode, then returned her gaze to Saza. "Perhaps I owe you an apology, Saza Moshe. I could not tell you about what I am, while we remained within Nashaki's sphere of laws. I had planned to tell you once we crossed the bay and arrived to the Yari docks."

"Did you have any further questions before we return to the others?" she asked, and then she paused in wait to listen. Ezili wished to respond to whatever it was that he might want to know from her.

Once certain, she collected her domain bag with the discarded items and a bucket of the partly-filled water, then led the return from the stables to the main house.

Quiet, she entered the house from the side door and walked into the kitchen rather than the main room where the slaves were. She made a small gesture for Saza to sit at the square table, while she set her belongings on a chair. Ezili moved around the kitchen with ease while she opened a vented window, closed the door so the heat wouldn't enter the room where the slaves slept, and then struck a flame to a small stove. While it heated, she took down a teapot and prepared the water to boil over the iron coils.

Ezili dug around in the domain bag, and took out a small wooden box that she set down. She asked, "Do you have any welts or open wounds? What hurts the most, Saza Moshe?"
word count: 1085
Please — consider me a dream.
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Saza Moshe
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break ‣ 9 Ymiden, 720
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So Ezili was an etherist. And an etherist...

  • is also called a Transmuter
  • has a Transmutation spark
  • works with ether, which:
    • allows magic to exist
    • fuels everything mages are capable of
    • is what Ezili specializes in
  • is she blushing?

Golden eyes widened for a trill when his hand was pulled back to the etherist’s leg. His initial confusion showed through at first, plain on his lightly freckled features, but he didn’t move away again. Saza didn’t mind touching her, and he was certainly curious about her ‘awakenings,’ as she’d called them, he just… wasn’t sure what was okay and what wasn’t, and he didn’t want to fuck things up, and – and he needed to stop worrying about it. Ezili had already told him that it was alright, and it was easy enough to trust in her words.

So he appreciated the explanations given, and he followed the guiding hand along her knee to feel the cracks beneath her shin. Why anyone would ever even consider flaying the stone from her limbs, Saza didn’t know – he didn’t understand how such awakenings happened or why, but… he liked this one. Ezili’s leg was cool and mostly smooth beneath his warm touch, and he didn’t consider himself a good judge of appearances by any means, but they were pretty, he thought. Now that he knew they wouldn’t hurt him, anyway.

His hand returned to his side, and he listened to her speak of her etherlit fingertips next. Far less of an explanation was given for those, he noted – but he didn’t inquire into the matter further. Although she had kept the matter of her magic a secret from him, Saza trusted still that Ezili would inform him of all important matters, when they were relevant. So he nodded, half-lidded eyes colored in with golds and pinks, and he glanced over the dark, insectoid legs that had sprouted from his new employer’s back.

They weren’t typically there, said Ezili, which meant… were they retractable? Did they disappear completely on a normal trial, without the use of that ring? The Nashaki native had far too many questions for a subject that he’d never been allowed to learn about. He’d never wanted to learn about magic, in truth, and even now it scared him, but his fears wouldn’t stop him from doing the best he could for Ezili. What kind of assistant would he be, if he cowered in fear and shunned her for what she was?

“It’s alright,” mentioned the younger biqaj, when Ezili apologized for not having told him sooner. The petal-pink freckles in his eyes gave way to a swirl of dark blues laced with gold.

“I understand why. I still don’t totally get how all of this… works, but I’m not going to let any of it affect my work for you.”

That was all that mattered, at the end of the trial. Saza couldn’t imagine otherwise. When asked if he had any more questions, the curly-haired youth had plenty – what were awakenings? Why did they happen? What was Transmutation? – but he didn’t hold the woman up for long, both out of the desire not to pry too much and the need to get out of the rising mid-trial heat. He followed her back to the house, and when directed to the table, he seated himself carefully, holding his right leg up slightly as he did.

While Ezili lit the stove and found a teapot, Saza took his bag off of his shoulder and set it before him on the square table. The wide, canvas strap had scraped at his skin where his half-buttoned shirt left it bare. He straightened out his right leg, careful not to place it in the way of Ezili, and observed her with a calm blue gaze as she set a wooden box upon the table.

“Oh… uh,” he clicked his tongue. “My leg, but… I injured it last arc, so I don’t know if there’s anything to be done for it. It hurts in here,” Saza touched his right knee, “and it gives out on me sometimes, but – it’s not going to keep me from doing anything.”

The last part was mainly said out of the need to assure her that he was not a liability, than anything else. At home, the pain often did keep him from heavy activity, but he could push through it.

“Besides that, just a few scrapes and bruises, really.”

His hand was lifted to pull his shirt to the side, in a reveal of his scraped-up collarbone. Saza shrugged, letting the loose fabric fall over his tanned skin again. Looking back to Ezili, the younger biqaj inquired, “you’re okay? Truly?”
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Llyr Llywelyn
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

12th Break | Ninth of Ymiden, Arc 720
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Again, Saza proved his value as an assistant. Not just as a potential assistant, but in the role that he now filled. Yet Ezili kept in mind that it'd barely been even a trial since that agreement, and so much had already been thrown at the other biqaj. Still, he persisted with manners and a certain level of respect, and Ezili felt a little grateful that she'd made the choice to help save Saza rather than leave him behind in the ambush.

Back in the house, she prepared to make tea while Saza settled at the table. As she set up the medical aid box, she glanced at the blue scrapes along his skin where the strap of his bag had cut into his skin. Her own gaze turned blue, in similar shades. She looked to the knee while Saza pointed out the old injury.

"Ah, yes... unfortunately, I only know the most basic of medicine," she admitted, while not delving into whether or not she believed the assistant that his poor leg wouldn't diminish his work. She was happy to believe it, especially after his ability to keep the slaves safe while she found herself busy in battle. "I can tend to the scrapes and bruises, though."

"Don't concern yourself with me, not like that," she said simply. "You will discover, Saza Moshe, that I... have a strong constitution and unusual vitality."

"Now, let's see what we can do..." Ezili stood, walked over, and took hold of Saza's shirt. She carefully guided it, to pull it off, then glanced over how many scrapes and fresh bruises she could find. There were a couple old ones too, from the scuffle in the streets of Nashaki during the encounter when the two biqajs had first met. Or she assumed that's where they were from. Her etherlit fingertips gently traced near the scrapes along the collarbone, then she nodded and sat down at the table.

Looking through the box, she took out a small container and lifted the top to reveal a pale green salve. Made from Arnica leaves, she sniffed it to make sure it hadn't gone bad in the heat before returning the lid and setting it aside. Ezili lifted, pumped some of the water with the smaller house pump and wetted a handtowel. The biqaj returned and started to gently dab at Saza's tan skin to help clean it of dirt and sand. She said, "Have to clean it all before we can do anything to help these scrapes."

She stayed quiet, allowing the silence in case Saza had questions he wanted to ask. There had to be some, unspoken but there. Eventually the water boiled and she handed the towel for him to take over with the cleaning. Ezili grabbed a couple mugs and teabags, then carefully poured the water before she set it aside. Ezili set the mugs on the table and sat in the chair again.

"Needs to wait a little," she reminded, then took out a few swaths of bandages from the box to lay beside the salve. She glanced over him, eyes of light green-blue, and asked, "How did you injure your knee?"
word count: 546
Please — consider me a dream.
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Saza Moshe
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

11th Break ‣ 9 Ymiden, 720
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Ezili admitted that nothing could be done, in her power at least, for the old injury in his leg. It didn’t bother Saza too much to hear it. He’d known from the moment it happened that it wasn’t something he could just fix up and forget about forever, and he hadn’t put too much stock into the idea that his new employer could do anything about that… It would’ve been nice for her to whip out some all-powerful fix, but the younger biqaj nodded, and easily accepted that she didn’t.

It was a little harder for him to accept that he didn’t have to worry about her – physically, anyway. While she’d certainly proven herself to be extremely capable, and Saza was left with no doubts whatsoever that she didn’t need him there for any safety concerns, it was difficult for the assistant to dismiss his needless worries. As much as he’d learned to keep his emotions in check, it didn’t stop the caring youth from feeling them. And he might’ve only known Ezili for a handful of trials, but his attachments formed quickly. Quicker than he’d ever admit, anymore.

Saza sat up a little straighter in his seat. Ezili took hold of his shirt, and a faint silver blush rose to his cheeks when it was simply pulled off rather than pushed aside. He said nothing of it, and in the end it didn’t matter if the shirt was off or on – Ezili needed access to the various cuts and scrapes and bruises scattered across his skin. He was just… a little bit… insecure. Pale blue eyes glanced away to idly sweep the kitchen while his employer traced his scraped-up collarbone.

As soon as Ezili’s etherlit fingers pulled away, he released the breath he hadn’t known he was holding. Saza watched with a curious look as a little container was pulled from the box of medical supplies, and his half-lidded gaze colored gold. He knew nothing of salves and… ointments and whatever else, though it wasn’t for any lack of interest. The ex-soldier had always cared more for fixing things than breaking them, after all, but when it came to mending wounds… he knew little more than the very basics of: keep it clean, keep it closed. At least, that’s what he’d always assumed he was meant to do.

He leaned back and sat still while a dampened handtowel was brought to his skin. The cool moisture at least helped to distract from the feeling of light scratching over the scrapes, as they were cleaned of dust and dirt and sand, but the curly-haired youth kept the discomfort from souring his face. Such little pains were hardly worth complaining about. The assistant kept quiet and took the time to process all of the events that’d transpired since his first meeting with Ezili – until then, he hadn’t allowed himself much time to think about any of it. It was easier if he didn’t, he thought, because thinking meant overthinking, and that meant worrying, and that meant second-guessing, and he didn’t want to second guess this because what else did he have? When else would he receive such an incredible opportunity? Sure Ezili was a mage, and clearly led a life of dangerous travels, but he didn’t want to stay safe and bored and stuck in Nashaki forever–

– and there it was, the overthinking. He closed his eyes and clicked his tongue before it could progress.

The little towel was handed off to him so that he could finish the cleaning himself, and Saza took to the task with a nod. He was a little rougher with it than Ezili had been, but he didn’t rub so hard as to make the little wounds any worse. By the time the pale woman had seated herself again, with two cups of tea steeping on the table, he had stood up and twisted slightly to reach a slightly deeper scrape at his right shoulderblade.

“Oh, uh,” Saza looked back to Ezili, and moved to sit down again. The handtowel was set to the side, and he lifted a bony hand to run his fingers back through his curls.

“Nothing exciting,” he admitted, “a friend of mine pushed me down some stairs and I landed wrong. I was kicked from the Tower of Arms for it, but that’s when I got into… all of this.”

He motioned to his bag, to the journal and writings within. Saza was doubtful that he would’ve ever given any consideration to such things if he hadn't been incapable, physically, of doing much else – and while he’d recovered incredibly well since the incident, he had no desire to return to his trials of hard physical labor. He wanted more out of life than that.

With a shrug, he said, “it’s alright most of the time. And I can work through the pain when it isn’t.”

It was not something he enjoyed, of course, but the need was still there to assure Ezili that the injury would not be a problem. Saza reached for one of the mugs and pulled it closer, to breathe in the steam while it continued to steep. With a glance to the little container of pale, green salve, he asked, “what is that? And…”

He clicked his tongue again, as his golden gaze flicked back to Ezili. He could only hope that his questions didn’t make him sound too uneducated… but the truth was that he was. And when it came to healing, or magic, he was only more so, having never been truly exposed to such things.

“Your… strong constitution, and unusual vitality. Is that because of your magic?”
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Re: Better Watch Your Back

12th Break | Ninth of Ymiden, Arc 720
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Ezili observed Saza, simply because there was little else to do and it proved natural rather than requiring any conscious effort. She wondered what it was he thought about, though. Because while she cleaned out his scrapes, he'd clearly been thinking about something as quiet and focused that he seemed.

Such an injury from a simple push down the stairs? She wondered if it was true or not. Nothing about his tone of voice or body posture suggested a lie, though. She lifted slightly, with a nod. Of course, the mage had known that Saza had been in the Tower of Arms and got kicked out and the extra information clicked into place with what her contacts had gathered for her while back in Nashaki.

Her crystal-blue gaze flitted to glance at the bag when it was gestured to. Ezili hummed quietly, then checked the tea to see how the steep was coming along. She stood and retrieved a bowl, then poured some of the excess water in with the two used teabags. Ezili tore them open, her fingertips glimmered under the hot water to cast incandescent glints along the rippled surface. She spread out the herbs, then pinched at them to help dissolve it into the water while she glanced over Saza's attempt to seem casual about his troubled knee.

She smiled as he took one of the mugs, then asked about the salve.

"Oh, that's an Arnica salve. Arnica is a yellow wildflower, sunflower some call it, but I doubt you've seen it around Nashaki. It helps with a lot of things, it's a folk remedy from the northern areas, or at least that was what I was told, to help wounds and bruises and the like," she explained to answer the first question. "I haven't had much need for it myself, so it is good to have a chance to see..."

Ezili picked up the washcloth and set it in the bowl of herbal water. She held it down, the skin along her ether fractured fingers turning a shimmery golden color.

"As for my... vitality, some of it is due to my magic, yes," she answered simply with a glance at Saza. "My magic grants me certain capabilities when it comes to recovering from things. I cannot use my magic, as it is, though."

She moved closer to stand beside Saza. Wringing out the cloth, she allowed some excess water and started to dab the herbal water to soak into the deeper scratches and cuts she found on the other biqaj's upper body. The ends of Ezili's long blond hair swayed against Saza while she moved down to get at a scrape along his waist. She looked at his expression and asked, "We should check your legs, and rest your knee. The heat could do it good. There will be much walking and riding in the coming night, as soon as it seems safe to depart this place."

"Here, allow me," she offered while she set the cloth on the table. Ezili went to her knees, and the skirt of her short powder-blue dress flipped up from the momentum. The light fabric fell back down to cover the small part of her thighs that weren't of crystalline quality. Her hands went to the waistband on Saza's pants, and she loosened them to start in guidance for him to take them off. While she did so, she calmly spoke, "Once we arrive to the docks, and are on the Crescent Sea, then my magic should be returned and I will be able to show you some..."

"...when that occurs, I will be able to recover from any injuries or the like that I have. Other than that, though, I am simply used to... carrying on, regardless. Like you say, it’s alright most of the time. And I can work through the pain when it isn’t.” Ezili looked at him with a dark blue and a seafoam green to the irises of her eyes. She picked up the cloth and continued the work of steeping the scrapes in the herbal water before she moved to start applying the salve to lock in the herbal water.
word count: 717
Please — consider me a dream.
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