| Logs |
2009 February 24
| When The Bough Breaks |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Bough Logs |
Second Movement, Third Solo
The trip back to Thebes is pleasant enough, not taking terribly long but there is not a huge sense of urgency, though they carry some important information. It is during the trip that Mikal goes hunting in the early evening for Ataraxos, and Ghaniyah goes with her.
Ghaniyah al-Geburah -- her full name -- is quiet and reserved, and not given to volunteering information about herself. But it is for few moments, underneath the fuligin sky lit only by the glittering of distant lights, as the two take a breather in their hunting of small game, with Raphael curled up heavily beside Mikal, that there is a moment of quiet, and Ghaniyah says, quietly, "Tabari would have said I'd made the right decision. To go with you, I mean."
Mikal strokes Raphael's side with quiet affection, then smiles at the other woman, "Tabari is your former sweetie? I'm glad to hear that, then."
She nods, making a quiet sound. "Mmm. Yes. He was the one who gave me the shamshir."
Mikal's small voice is quietly interested, "Was he your admirer, or were you committed lovers -- or just occasional bedmates?" She adds a bit wistfully, "I've never had an admirer court me..."
Ghaniyah lets out a breath. "Admirer, courter, wooer... almost bedmates, once, but we decided that should come later. It... didn't, actally."
Mikal murmurs softly, "I'm so sorry to hear that, Ghaniyah." She goes back to silently stroking Raphael, letting her mind drift.
Ghaniyah lets her gaze drift down to Mikal, and she tilts her head to the side curiously. "You've never had any sort of admirer? I really find that hard to believe...."
Mikal looks up at Ghaniyah curiously, "Why? I mean, why is that hard to believe?"
Ghaniyah smiles a bit. "You're a very pretty girl, and you've... a certain strength about you. Most boys find either one attractive, and both almost irrisistable.
Mikal looks surprised, "I am?" A moment later she smiles ruefully, "Ah. You're being nice. Thank you, but really, most of the village boys were leery of me."
Ghaniyah deadpans, "I don't just 'be nice,' I have little patience for empty words. Why were they leery?"
Mikal smiles faintly and shrugs, "I don't know. I spent most of my time hunting in the forest with Raphael, though, because of it -- I was afraid of how they'd react to him." She shudders slightly, adding, "When they pointed at me and whispered it always made me nervous too. If they'd be willing to kill my half-brother, what would stop them from killing me too, you know?"
Ghaniyah is quiet for a moment. "Do you know what they were saying when they were whispering?"
Mikal shakes her head, "No, but they'd snicker and nudge each other like they were urging each other on." She shivers again, leaning to hug Raphael and lay her head against his side, "It was... creepy and scary. I didn't want to let them near enough to grab me, you know?"
Ghaniyah considers, then nods. "Mmm. Yeah, I think I can see where that'd be uncomfortable. Especially if you weren't sure what they were saying."
Mikal nods silently, still hugging Raphael. She clearly has absolutely no idea the young men might have been as intimidated by her as she was by them.
Ghaniyah says, "Still, for what it's worth, insecure people will always try to bolster themselves in the face of something -- or someone -- they kind of fear.
Mikal nods emphatically, sitting up again, "Oh, yes! I used to remind myself constantly, every time that I was forced to go into the village, that Raphael was near and in hearing of my shout if there was an emergency."
Ghaniyah considers, then glances around. She stands. "There's a small village nearby. Come on, we're going to stop in there for a bit."
Mikal blinks, rising slowly, "Uhh... all right... is there something you need there?" She adds generously, "I know how to harden the ends of your quarrels, if you need?"
Ghaniyah says easily, "Oh, thank you, but no, we need to stop in there for something else. It's been a while since I've been this way and we should get the lay of the land from someone more familiar with it. Especially if Chuckles decides to send another tracker after you."
Mikal blinks again, nodding and obediently shouldering her pack, then tying to her belt the two gutted rabbits they've caught so far. Shyly she asks, "Um... is his name really Chuckles? I mean... well, I can see how he'd be rather, um... unpleasant in reaction, you know?"
Ghaniyah snickers softly as she leads Mikal and Raphael through the woods. "No, his name is Arthur Durham. But he's so un-funny I tend to think of him as 'Chuckles.'"
Mikal says, "Oh." She sounds a bit surprised, but simply follows silently... utterly silently, in fact. Her voice comes from a slightly different direction several minutes later as she curiously adds, "So you just want to ask someone about the lay of the land, and what's up in the area? That makes sense."
Ghaniyah replies, "Yes, more or less. Ah, here we are." They round a hill, coming upon a small hovel of a village. It's almost little more than just a waystation and a couple of crop fields. And a tavern or pub, which appears to be the only source of light and (raucous) sound in the entire small community.
Ghaniyah studies it for a moment. "Yes, let's go. This is the place."
Mikal blinks a little startledly at the amount of noise coming from the pub. "Wow. Is it a festival night?"
Ghaniyah shakes her head. "Nope. It's always like this. These are a people who pretty much work hard and play hard." She pauses. "They're not mortals, but they're... echoes of some of the less exemplary sorts of mortal lives. Does that make sense?"
Mikal blinks at Ghaniyah this time, her eyes wide. After a moment of thought she just shakes her head, looking confused.
Ghaniyah pauses, considering. "Okay," she says. "You've already run into things in the Dreamtime that are... reminiscent of things in the Waking, right? Things you half-remember, little flashes of recognition, things like that?
Mikal considers a moment, then nods, "Yes. Like when I realized I could read runes." She looks up and smiles at Ghaniyah, her expression almost transcendant with happiness, "I can read!"
Ghaniyah grins. "Yes, exactly! There's a lot of things in the Dreamtime that are 'reflections' of what's in the Waking. They're not the exact same thing, but they're similar and they 'reflect' what there was in the Waking. With me so far?"
Mikal nods slowly, "I... think so? B-but... but the runes... how are they not real?"
"That's just it, Mikal. They are real. A reflection in a mirror is real -- it's a reflection of a real thing."
Mikal nods slowly again, "But... but it's not alive. Are you saying the people here aren't alive?!" She shivers slightly, looking down at the tiny village, "Th-that... that's creepy!"
"That's not quite it, either, really. They're alive, as alive as the alfar, or the satyrs, or... well, as anyone.
Mikal nods slowly again, "Um... okaaay. How can they be just reflections, then?" She turns and starts walking quietly down the path to the village as she adds, "And do they know they're not real?" She rests one hand on Raphael's mane -- he's a comfort when she's unsure.
Ghaniyah purses her lips. "You keep saying 'not real.' They're very much real, and most people in the Dreamtime would take offense at being called not-real."
Mikal glances over her shoulder at Ghaniyah, "I should say so! I'd be insulted to be called that too. But if what you're saying is correct, then how can a reflection be the real thing?"
"Well, that's where the metaphor breaks down, really. They're 'reflections' insofar as something in the Waking is similar to them, or the other way around."
Mikal thinks a bit, then nods slowly, "So I'm a reflection of my awake self, then... but who my awake self is, is different from who their awake selves are?"
"No, we mortals are different. We exist, not as reflections, but as sort of the same person, in both the Waking and the Dreamtime. The thing is, right now, you just don't remember what your Waking self is like."
Mikal thinks about that for a bit, then grins a bit helplessly at the other woman, "Um... okay, that makes no sense to me, but I guess it doesn't matter." She blinks startledly, flinching slightly at a sudden burst of raucous laughter from the small building, and adds a bit nervously, "Ah, is there, uhmmm... m-m-maybe a... er, a s-slightly quieter place t-to look for someone who kn-n-nows the lay of the land?"
Ghaniyah looks at MIkal for a few moments, then smiles. "You'll get it. It does take a bit of time to wrap your head around it." She looks at the tavern. "Nope, I'm afraid not...."
Mikal has unwittingly slowed her walk as she gets closer to the building, and she comes to a full halt slightly in front of the door. Her voice is faint, "...oh." A moment later she looks a bit desperately at Ghaniyah, "D-d-d-do we really n-n-need to kn-n-now the l-lay o-of the l-l-land? I'd, uh, I'd be w-w-willing to scout more, really?"
Ghaniyah turns to look at Mikal, arching a brow. "Is this the brave young lady who talked down a legate of Mordred's Army?"
Mikal blinks in surprise, "Me?! Oh, no -- I'm not brave!"
Ghaniyah smiles, "You could have fooled me. You put Chuckles in his place right quick."
Mikal hesitates, then leans to whisper nervously to Ghaniyah, "I -- I d-don't know how that happened, to be honest!"
Ghaniyah's smile widens. "I told you. You're strong. You just have to work on that. Come on, it's noisy, and some of the people are rude, but there's a whole lot worse out there, and besides, this won't take long.
Mikal blinks confusedly at Ghaniyah, wondering if she whispered too quietly to be heard, "B-b-buh, b-but...!"
When Mikal does not give a coherent reason 'why not," Ghaniyah gently cups her elbow and guides her inside. "Just be yourself, don't look at people funny, and keep to your own business, and things will be just fine."
Mikal gives a frightened squeak, nervously hunching up and needing to almost be dragged in. Raphael sighs amusedly and sort of bumps against her, helping Ghaniyah get the frozen girl through the door before he looks around interestedly.
Inside, it's just as much as it sounded outside: it's crowded, loud, and a bit oppressive. The air is thick with some sort of incense or smoke, and not just from the roaring fireplace which lends waves of heat to the already crowded room. Staunton didn't have any rough clientele, and neither have any of the pubs or taverns the group has been to. This seems to define it. Most of the entertainment seems to be mostly loud conversation amongst the score or so trappers and laborers and such who are here.
Mikal blinks, a shocked look on her face as she shrinks back against Ghaniyah, and her eyes darting back and forth like a trapped fox kit. Raphael, on the other hand, sniffs a bit, sneezes disdainfully once, then strolls forward towards a table no one is sitting at.
Ghaniyah nods in satisfaction. "Good, Raphael has the right idea. Come on, I'll get us somethign to drink, then we'll find a trapper or woodsman or someone who can tell us what we might miss about this area."
Mikal sticks very close to Ghaniyah until they get close to Raphael -- at which point she frightenedly latches onto him instead. She looks very much like she'd dearly love the ground to open up and swallow her utterly!
Ghaniyah -- with surprising gentleness -- sets Mikal into a seat, and a few moments later follows with a couple of mugs of something, some sort of light lager that is most assuredly not reminiscent of anything Staunton's brewer made. "You don't have to drink it," she murmurs to Mikal, "but it looks better to just have it."
Mikal accepts the mug pushed into her hands, her eyes still wide and shocked, and nods a bit blankly at whatever Ghaniyah said. Raphael grins, his tongue lolling out, then puts his rather hand-like paws on the table to rear up and sniff at the mug. A moment later he's neatly lapping up the lager. Mikal looks a bit startled -- then obligingly shifts the mug over and tilts it so the big raptor-wolf can more easily drink the lager. As she concentrates on that, her initial fear-frozen expression starts to thaw. She's still leaning against Raphael, but she's looking around in nervous wariness rather than barely reined in terror.
Ghaniyah takes a drink of her lager, then sets it down. "Ahh," she says, as if content. "Pure, undiluted yak piss. But we're a bit far from Thebes yet to get any of their really good beers. And far, far, too far from Tara for whiskey to come cheaply."
Mikal gives Ghaniyah a shocked look, "What?!" She hastily yanks the mug away from Raphael, who snorts startledly and spills a bit, licking his chops and giving her a slightly indignant look as she says, "Don't drink that, Raph! It's pee!"
Raphael blnks, looking at Mikal as he licks his chops, while Ghaniyah giggles softly. "it's not actually piss, Mikal. But it sure tastes like it sometime.
Mikal gives Ghaniyah an indignant look, "What is it, then?"
Ghaniyah says, "Oh, it's beer. Or lager, at least a type of lager. But it's just really poor quality lager.""
Mikal looks a bit bemusedly at Ghaniyah, then sniffs dubiously at the beer. Raphael snorts amusedly and nudges Mikal gently -- a sort of 'get your own beer!' nudge as he tries to get his nose back into the mug.
Mikal can definitely tell where Ghaniyah gives it the moniker 'yak piss' from based on the smell. But... if one focusses on it just being lager, then it's drinkable. Mostly. A Stauntonite beer afficionado would most definitely turn his nose up at this. For the people filling the tavern, it looks like it flows about as readily as water.
Mikal grimaces faintly, unwittingly sounding much like Raphael as she snorts to get the bad smell out of her nose. She looks away from the mug, holding it out for the raptor-wolf, and somewhat querulously says, "I don't know how you two can drink this stuff!" She sighs, adding, "But it's your choice, Raph," as the big raptor wolf cheerfully starts lapping it up again.
Ghaniyah grins merrily. "I drink it because I know that sometime soon I'll be able to drink beer fit for a king in Thebes." She stands. "Right. Let me go around a bit and see if I can't find a forester or such."
Mikal nods to Ghaniyah, her nose still wrinkled from the scent. Raphael finishes the beer and tells Mikal he's going outside to relieve himself -- he'll be right back. She nods to him too, stroking a hand along his thick mane before he heads for the door, carefully weaving his way between the close-packed tables.
Mikal sits at the table alone, looking around curiously.
Shortly after Ghaniyah goes to find a person knowledgable of the local are -- and not drunk -- Mikal is startled by a burly yet somewhat light-framed -- and not unattractive but for the droopy eyes, inebriated tone, and lack of a bath -- man who comes over, leaning on the edge of the table, and smiling rather crookedly at her. "H-hey there," he drawls. "Mind if I buy you... buy you a drink? Not any of this s-swill, but somethin' better?"
Mikal looks a bit startled when she turns her head and sees the man this close -- she's definitely uncomfortable that he's on the same side of the table as she is. She shakes her head several times, nervously replying, "N-n-no thank you. No thanks." She stares at the man, hoping he'll go away.
The man stands there, looking a little stricken, as if he couldn't understand why such a virile and healthy specimen of manlinesshood would be turned down. After a few moments, he murmurs something, shuffling back to a far table near the door, looking grumpy. Mikal may or may not notice the man's companion's there laughing and ribbing him of his failure.
Mikal's shoulders sag a little in relief once he's left. She's not sure what the group of men are laughing about, but it reminds her uncomfortably of the boys in Staunton. She looks around nervously for Ghaniyah, hoping the other woman will have collected the information she wants, and will return soon,
Ghaniyah is in a corner of the room talking quietly and a touch urgently with a somewhat older man, who at least looks like he's not nearly as drunk as the others. It's about then, a few minutes later, that Raphael pads back in, pausing near the dorrway to lick at his paw -- a thorn or burr or such is stuck in his paw and he starts to worry it out before it becomes a major annoyance and painful.
Meanwhile, in between Mikal and Ghaniyah, the man whom Mikal politely declined a drink from, has been drinking more, and his 'friends' apparently are teasing him still more. He half-turns in his seat, spotting Raphael, Mikal's companion, and with a snarl he swings his half-full wooden, brass-shod stein at the raptor-wolf, whacking him hard on the back of the head, snarling, "Bloody dog-mortal...!"
Mikal turns her gaze to the door, and she looks relieved at Raphael's entrance. Her eyes widen in horror, though, at sight of the incipient attack on Raph -- especially when he's not paying attention -- and she draws a deep breath as she bolts up to her feet, then reacts instinctively, shouting a commanding, "STOP!"
The man blinks, startled and stunned into inaction and some primal fear when he hears and sees Mikal. He doesn't quite topple over himself, but he does start to try to explain himself -- quickly and babbling and not being terribly coherent. This has already gotten the attention of the entire tavern, which goes quiet rather quickly.
Mikal is suddenly furious -- that man attacked her packbrother! Without provocation, even! She whips around the table, heading swiftly for Raphael to see if he's all right, and without thinking she snarls at the man, "Get out!"
There is a split-second pause, then not only the man, but his entire table is scrambling, crawling, clawing their way over the table to beat feet out of the tavern as quickly as possible. There's a few moments of interested-sounding noises from the rest of the tavern, then bit by bit people return to their drinks and conversations. Ghaniyah and the man, though, are staring wide-eyed at Mikal, though Ghaniyah's expression turns to one of glee.
Mikal is carefully checking Raphael's head, crooning in quiet worry, "Did that nasty man hurt you, big brother? Easy, easy, let me see..." She straightens up a few moments later, smiling down at him, "No blood, whew! Looks like he just clipped you." Raphael grumbles and groans melodramatically, and she laughs quietly, hugging him about the neck with real relief, "Aww, I'm sorry it hurts!" As she heads back to the table with him, affectionately trying to support part of his weight (which actually would likely knock her flat if Raphael really leaned on her), she happily adds, "Tell you what -- would you like some more of the, um... of the yak piss?"
Raphael thinks he'll be able to do without yak piss for a good long time. And could she get rid of the burr in his paw that started this whole mess?
Ghaniyah and the old man come up to the table, Ghaniyah grinning like a madwoman. "That was amazing, Mikal," she says. "See, I knew you had it in you!" More than a few interested -- and more sober -- glances had been directed at Mikal after the demonstration of sheer force of will from her.
Mikal settles on the bench with Raphael, taking his paw in her lap and carefully working out the burr with her nimble little fingers. She looks up a bit startledly as Ghaniyah returns, "Er, what?" then confusedly adds, "Had what in me, please? I didn't have any of your yak piss -- it's all still there in your mug!"
Mikal finally works the burr free with a quick yank, which causes Raphael to give a small, pained yodel. She apologizes again to him, hugging his neck, "It's all right, big brother -- you'll be fine! It was just a little burr."
Ghaniyah snickers softly. "Nothing... it's fine, we'll talk later about it. This is Ahmed al-Khwarizmi, a tracker who knows these parts. He's agreed to tell us what we might have missed travelling through here...."
Mikal nods politely to the older man; she was taught to respect her elders, after all. She's only half listening to the other two talking, though -- the rest of her rather startled focus is on the sudden realization of what she did. She scared off an entire tableful of men! Not Raphael, not Norris -- not even Jareth, but she -- little Mikal! All by herself! She knew she could handle animals well, from the monster hunting and from teaming with her half brother Raphael. Who knew, though, that humans reacted so much like animals too?! She's silent, her surprised gaze large-eyed with wonder as she considers this fascinating, startling new concept.
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