[ P ] friendship?

Through the whispers of others, as he’d passed them, Danya had gathered that the king had opened his ‘gardens’ to the public – relatively. What a ‘garden’ was, the man was uncertain, but he thought it a perfect opportunity to scout what types wandered the lands. What types he may wish to eventually try to claim as clients. More so, to get a reading on how the lands of this king felt, and if the man truly seemed as powerful as the whispers seemed to say. Aurelia seemed to be – at least in Danya’s opinion – under the impression that the woman thought the king powerful. But… was he truly? Danya had yet to see. So, he was curious of at least the man’s wealth – the knowledge of just how powerful the man was would come later. And so, Danya and his companion followed the path that he had heard was the path to follow. The scents of others that lead along the very same path told him – or at least seemed to confirm – that they were indeed on the right path to the gardens.

Danya walked slowly, tail swaying slightly as he meandered. He could hear the woman walking behind him, timid but sure in her steps from the sound of her footfalls. He did not look back to see what – or how – she was doing in the moment. The gardens opened up before them, with a variety of plants growing wild and free, but with an order and fashion to them, that spoke of someone tending to them, taking care of them, purposeful in their wildness. Trees dotted the area, providing shade amongst the purposeful, but wild plants. In the short distance, he could see a structure – crumbling, in ruins, but still standing well enough that it seemed to be of some use. He had heard on the wind that that was where the king and his court lived. A place called Castle Stuart. ’Interesting,’ Danya thought.

As they entered, he began to follow a winding path through the garden. He paused, angling his body towards a stone that protruded from the ground. ”Why don’t you sit there, on that stone, while I look around for a few moments.” He spoke as if she truly had a choice, but whether she knew he really meant it as a command was lost on the Imperatorian man. Granted, it would also take effort to really care. Whether she did it or not, he paid little attention too as he began to wander farther into the gardens. There were vines and branches curling about, but a small pop of color drew his attention.

A white petaled flower, its center yellow with pollen.

Danya twitched his ears slightly as the thought of whether to pluck it crossed his mind. He perhaps should. It seemed to be the only one along his path, the only oddity amongst the otherwise surprisingly green foliage – despite the winter hold. It seemed to not matter here, the season that is. Danya wondered slightly how they managed it. He had never seen such… luxuries in the tundra’s harsh and almost baren landscape that he had been used for the entirety of his life up to this point. With a shrug, the man leaned forward and plucked the flower at its base. He turned on his heels and trotted back towards Aurelia. Once he found her, he gave a quiet huff to let her know he was close. Despite the fact that he knew she could not see the flower he presented, he hoped that it would placate her enough to assume him to be kind, to assume that he considered her more than just a possible whore to be sold and passed about – in the future, surely. Perhaps she would assume he considered her a friend, his only at the moment in a land so new and foreign to him.

"Here," he said, laying the flower at her feet.




@Aurelia
670

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Aurelia Rose

When Danya had woken her this morning to tell her to get ready to go to the King’s Garden, she had done so without much coaxing. She wasn’t as agreeable to the idea as he might like her to be but she figured she might as well. A part of her wanted to keep him happy so that he would keep tending to her. She had filled out slightly since they had met and she hadn’t felt this good in what seemed like forever. Still his little… plan still hung in the back of her head and while nothing had happened yet she was not at all fond of the idea. He had a lot of ideas she didn’t care for it seemed. So why did she follow along behind him? Because she was scared, alone and hungry. He solved two of those problems, at least. She followed him into the garden, hoping that she’d be safe since she was with him and it was a pretty public place. She turned her head slightly as he spoke, ear twitching at the quasi command before she nodded and sat down to rest. It was still hard on her, all this travel, but she tried her best to keep up. Hopefully she would regain her strength soon.

Aurelia wondered what he was looking around for, but she didn’t ask. She instead looked around the place as if she were gazing at the flowers and scenery all around. She brushed her paw against the stone she sat upon absentmindedly and tilted her chin up to catch what little warmth the suns rays offered today. Her head shot back down when she heard a noise, Danya’s voice, and then he said ‘here’ and offered her something. "Oh?" she said, bending to check what he had laid before her. She sniffed it, brushing her black nose against the petals gently. A flower? She blinked, her silvery eyes seemingly focused on the flower, whose beauty she could only assume. "Thank you..." she said softly. "It smells lovely… what does it look like?" she asked. It had been so long since she had seen through another’s eyes, she almost longed for it and hoped he would oblige her with a description.


"I'll never be what I wanna be."

table made by soar

As the flower settled onto the ground at her feet, Danya watched as Aurelia bent her head. He could hear the air brush her nostrils, saw her nudge the petals with her nose. He forgot from time to time that she was blind, unable to tell anything wrong with her eyes. But, as they stared sightlessly, even in their appeared focus on the flower.

”Thank you… It smells lovely… what does it look like?” She asked.

Danya’s head tilted to the side, and for a moment he was quiet. He had never been asked to describe something in such a way before. Despite all of his harshness, he did remember his promise to protect her. And, with that, came some semblance of closeness. He, after all, could not expect either her or himself good at their jobs in their agreement if closeness did not exist. While he wouldn’t say ‘friend,’ he perhaps one day would. It would be a step in an interesting direction for him, certainly. Perhaps a step in a gentler direction. And, while he’d never lose some of the harshnesses that existed within him – living within the tundra’s harshness did not allow a complete melting of his heart – he could certainly gain some softness that would make him better at his job. Empathy could perhaps be a decent word for the action.

”It’s white, like snow’s coldness. The center is yellow like the sun’s heat. Maybe it tickles your nose a little if you sniff it too closely. The petals are long, and narrow, looking almost like the shape of a filed-down claw. The center bubbles up, with the petals curving down and away from it while they reach away from it. It looks… It looks like how the sun’s rays feel.” He said quietly. ”I’ve heard of something like it before – I think, if my memory doesn’t serve me wrong, I think it’s called Chamomile.” He settled onto his haunches, watching her features curiously. Had his description been good enough? He didn’t know how to make it better if it wasn’t.




@Aurelia
348

table ; bunny

Aurelia Rose

”it’s white, like snow’s coldness. the center is yellow like the sun’s heat. maybe it tickles your nose a little if you sniff it too closely. the petals are long, and narrow, looking almost like the shape of a filed-down claw. the center bubbles up, with the petals curving down and away from it while they reach away from it. it looks… it looks like how the sun’s rays feel. i’ve heard of something like it before – i think, if my memory doesn’t serve me wrong, i think it’s called chamomile.” "Chamomile, hmm?" she echoed as she layed down on her belly and traced the flower's soft petals with her nose. It sounded beautiful and she wished she could see it. She could vaugly remember what the sun looked like when she had been able to see but as time drew on her brain seemed to forget and what little imagry she had left was fragmented and distorted.

"Is the Garden full of them? Are there other flowers?" she asked curiously, tilting her chin up towards him and then glancing about at the other voices she heard in the distance. It was so quiet here aside form the hum of vocies; gardeners and commoners mulling about while they sat in thier own little world where they were. She wondered why had he brought her here? What was the reason?


"I'll never be what I wanna be."

table made by soar

While he spoke, he could tell she was listening. What must it be to be in a world of darkness? He wondered briefly before the thought passed. He couldn’t be bothered to care for long – there was no point in caring over what simply could not be. He could not fix her eyes, and even if he could… would he? He would lose his one and only to the start of his brothel, the basic building block of his very plan. He watched as she hummed, laying down to touch the petals with her nose. The petals stirred slightly beneath her breath, swaying. He wondered in passing if it tickled or if she was used to things touching her nose in such a way. He watched with a rather bored curiosity, letting her have her moment until she spoke again.

”Is the Garden full of them? Are there other flowers?” He glanced around slightly.

”There are some,” he responded. ”But none that are easily reachable. We weren’t the first ones here, it would seem. But there are some that are the color of the sun. Some that are the color of the sky, both day and night. Some that are still bundled up and green,” Danya stated. His head turned in the other direction, ears twitching slightly at the sound of voices. ”I have to wonder how they keep it like this in winter. It isn’t brown like the rest of the world.” He said.

”Is it the jobs of some to just tend to this?” He asked, moving to sit beside her, largely because it allowed him to not have his back at part of the path. He could hear others in the distance and hear them mulling about in the gardens. He didn’t want someone to have the opportunity to sneak up on them. ”What do wolves pay with, around here?” He mumbled, mostly to himself. Through a few breaks in the foliage, he could see the movement of pelts. Something seemed amiss in the air, but for the time being, the man was not particularly concerned.




@Aurelia
350

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Aurelia Rose

It sounded like a truly beautiful place and in that moment, Aurelia saddened slightly. She wished she could see it but she couldn't.

At his question she nodded. "Yes, it is someoen's job. I think... it would be a good one." she said. If she were one of the castle gardeners... oh what a life that might be. She let out an almost wistful chuckle. "Well they pay with whatever they have. Herbs, meat, gems, bones, pelts, rare treasures... anything really." We have more than just our bodies to sell...

She fell quiet for a moment then looked up at him. "Take me home, Danya. I'm ready to go." she said before plucking up the flower he'd offered and moved towards him till she stood beside him. She rested her shoulder against him so that he could lead the way back to where they'd been staying. They hadn't settled anywhere officially yet, but right now he was her only home. It felt nice to have that safety, but she knew what strings attached her to it.

exit

"I'll never be what I wanna be."

table made by soar

Danya could see the sadness swell in her eyes, see it grow and blossom like the flower he had brought her. Something within her seemed to whither, and he wondered what realization had crossed her mind if anything at all. Perhaps, he considered, it was a simple fact that she couldn’t see the petals before her, or the world around her. The man would be the first to admit that he had never considered what it must be like to be blind, what it must be like to live in whatever darkened or blurred world she may know. He wondered – only in passing – if she had ever been able to see at all. Did the memories fade with each passing day, if she had been able to as a child? He twitched an ear to throw the thought away like a bothersome fly, the semblance of compassion for the weaker sex gone as quickly as it had come to him.

”Yes, it is someone’s job. I think… it would be a good one.” Aurelia said. Danya nodded slightly, glancing around. ’What a strange, pointless job.’ The man thought to himself. It was… frivolous at best. But, with such luxuries that this culture, this society seemed to allot for those that had always lived within it, it seemed that they could afford such strange jobs. The primitivity of his previous life had never afforded such things in life – the tundra took all that wanted the frivolous portions in life, for they were simply not strong enough to make it through.

”Peculiar,” he mumbled to himself.

”Well they pay with whatever they have. Herbs, meat, gems, bones, pelts, rare treasures… anything really.” The woman continued.

”It will be interesting to see what clients try to pay with, then. Anything not worth it will not be accepted. I will get what is being sold is worth,” he commented quietly, thinking.

A silence blossomed between them, one that perhaps meant something to someone else but to him… meant little.

”Take me home, Danya. I’m ready to go.” Aurelia said, coming to her position at his side. He waited only a moment before flicking her with his tail and beginning to walk. He noted the flower clasped gently between her teeth.

It could be her first decoration, in wherever they settled, he decided. It was the next course of action, beyond trying to recruit a few more women. It would be a good business, whether she enjoyed it or not. But, he would always be there to remind her of the duty she had, and the payments she received for her work.

And so, they went.


exit




@Aurelia
444

table ; bunny