Master Kenner's Story

Selakir & Alexander

Kenner smirked back at what she said, the expression playing across his face that he was evidently enjoying the conversation. As he reached down and took hold of her right arm with a gentle touch, his other hand brought the ribbon up to meet it and laid the band across the top of her upper arm. "In time Selakir, you may understand my question more so than you do now, but that doesn't matter for the time being. For now I want you to get used to your new home and become more acquainted with those you'll be living with from now on." He released the ribbon at that point and the fabric moved with new life. Pulling itself along the side of her skin and tugging tight as it completely wrapped around her arm in one full band. Even as it finished wrapping around she could see no seam it is fabric, having now turned into one singular piece that alone encircled her arm.

Alia game a soft clapping from her gloved hands across the table, espousing a small wave of glee as she spoke.
"Welcome to the family Selakir." Kenner released her arm as she could feel the ribbon begin to grow warm on her skin, thumping with a low heat as if resonating with the beat of her heart and then nothing.. it had lost its warmth and the feeling of such a pulse. Just as quickly as she had noticed it starting to begin. "This ribbon will signify what place among the house you represent. From now on this is your claim into our home and will easily let you recognize those others among the house that share your place."

---

Purna nodded to Alexander before looking back passed him towards Masha. His question still hung there in the air as the boy looked back at her and gave his own nod of approval in response.

She pulled on the edge of his sleeve as she coaxed him in, leading him around the edge of the room.
Through the open door Alexander could see that the room was much larger once through the door. There were chairs placed around the room in the form of a circle with only a few of the seats being filled. Most of the people there were tuning their instruments, or talking among one another. Several of which were some that he had never seen before, or only read about at one time. Even some of the people in attendance weren't normal to his eyes. As they both passed by he could see strange skin tones and oddly colored eyes. Some giving the two of them a distant wave, or some other form of greeting as they moved through. It was obvious that this was more of a response for Purna than it was for him, but it was a nice happenstance all the same.

As they rounded a corner and moved down a short hallway, passed several private rooms and through one last door, they arrived in a large room. Three windows through which he could see the outside world, their view extending over the edge of the peninsula and encapsulating most of the wilderness prior to it. He could see that many instruments were kept here in their own little space along with his harp. Which had been set not far from the window, yet remained in a small shaded spot thanks to several pulled blinds. There were two other maids in the room, cleaning and moving instruments around as they worked. Alexander could see that their attire was not too far detached from that of the other maids in the house, but they did possess several articles that differed from the rest. Jacked tails instead of a long hemmed skirt and long sleeves with cuffs, as well as small embellishments.

Aside from his harp, there sat a small stool nearby with a pack of some sort sitting on it and an envelope with his name sat next to it.

Purna nudged him on the shoulder as she pointed. "Well, there she is.. go ahead and get reacquainted." She added with a smirk.

She did not move as he took her arm. Her head tilted slightly, inquisitively as the band was laid on her skin. Selakir's eyes met Kenner's just briefly. She was trying to understand his question. She thought she had answered well but perhaps she had not. She wanted to do nothing more than serve him. He seemed to imply she should want to do more.

What more could there be? What else could he possibly mean?

Selakir mulled the questions in her head over as the ribbon moved on its own accord. It tightened and formed a complete circle around her arm. She briefly inspected it. She had seen many wondrous things in her life. This was simply another. It was a pleasing colour on her pale skin.

Her eyes were soft as she looked up. A brief nod of thanks was given to both Kenner and Alia. "It pleases me to have a home and master once more."

Her gaze fell once more to the ribbon as it warmed. A marker. a sign of station. Selakir felt a sense of ease fall about her. She understood roles, stations within a house and now she understood.

"Are there rules I need to know? Places I should not venture? Does master have any particular desires? I wish to settle into my role."

Her voice was soft but there was a quiet confidence there. This was what she knew. Serve. To yield to the master's desires and to know her place. This was now no longer strange. The place was but the tasks were the same. A servant served their master no matter what the walls around them looked like or the other company kept.

Selakir
Kenner smiled back at her as she asked this small bevy of questions. He released her arm and stood back up before he began to explain on what she asked. "The rules are rather straight forward, no harming another house member, outside of certain situations at least. No stealing from another house member and when asked to help by a guard, you are to comply to the best of your ability." He grabs a small chocolate roll from the plate in front of his and slightly bites on the edge of it, giving a slight murmur of approval as he did.

"Relationships are fine so long as they do not interfere with your daily activities."
"You are also permitted to move about the upper floors, though if you wish to go above this floor you will need a guard to escort you. The same goes for all the floors below ground level, though the guards escort is for more your own protection. Many of the rules that apply up here are not wholly held true down below." Alia leans forward with a slight chuckle. "Yes, in case you like to visit the arena, then I suggest you just stay up here with the rest of us."

"Formal functions are much of the same. Tend to any duties that you are given, which can be anything from entertaining the guest, or even just serving them drinks and keeping them fed. Everyone chips in to help when such events come around, so it's really nothing new." Alia chimes in again as he finishes. "A note will be on the inside of your door every morning, that will detail your duties for the day, as in where you shall go and who you shall meet. Other than that, you are free to do as you like and to go see whomever you wish."

Alexander
The sound of the harp echoed out through the room as he played. Alexander could tell that these rooms were built with the idea of harmonizing sound in mind and that despite being full of unused instruments. This room might at one time have double as a small auditorium of sorts. Purna had already left by the time he managed to play the tenth note. Keeping a small smirk on her face all the while as she walked. There was a body there now however, after finding a seat. This person had began to watch him play, each pluck of the strings and each time he shifted the grip of his body against the instrument.

He could not see them in his view, but he could smell them. A pungent odor, like that of a wild yam wafting in from over his right shoulder. They watched as he continued, not wanting to disturb him as he did so.

Babble
As the girl looked down at Babble and continued to write, she kept her mind about her. Babble could tell that she was used to even strange guest and his actions did not bother in the least. Though she didn't know if he was doing so for any kind of purchase or not, only asking as such in her notes.

As she finished writing a nurse came walking through the far door and towards them. In her hands was a trey, more akin to silver platter, but on it sat three small jars. That she lightly sat on the side of the bed while Philippe thanked her and then ushered her off. Even laying there Babble could hear a small noise, almost like a solemn song coming from the direction of the jars. As they sat on the corner of the bed he could look down and see that the small jars contained a myriad of what appeared to be fluids. One being a dark and viscos ichor like substance, sloshing lightly as the tray was sat down. The second being sapphire colored gel that sat at the bottom of the container. Despite sitting still, the gel roiled in place, like a small storm bubbled under its depths. The last one, being the same that Babble could hear emitting the lite singing tone. Had a clear liquid with several small stones sitting at the bottom.

It sounded like the ocean, or what he could only guess was the ocean. Like two sea bound entities singing back to one another in a slight chorus.

Selakir listened intently but admittedly she didn't fully understand. How were those the only rules? Admittedly it was nice to know those were the basic rules, a house of harmony but what about for her, for her role? What was expected? What duties?

It all seemed so vague and it made the woman uneasy. She didn't like the unknown. She liked boundaries, guidelines and a firm hand to those who crossed them.

Selakir nodded, indicating that she understood about her daily tasks and would, of course comply.

The idea of a list was nice but strange. Was she not to serve her master? Was that not why she was brought here? Was it to serve other masters? Perhaps it was a slightly different role here than she was used to. It made Selakir nervous but not outside the realms of her talents. After all she was trained to mold and become whatever her master desired in the moment.

"I understand. Would I be able to rest now?"

Her large eyes glanced between the pair. "Unless there is a task which you would have me perform now. I am ready if master wishes it."

An unease settled in as she felt there was too much freedom here and she honestly didn't know where to begin. Was rest out of the question? Selakir felt that perhaps she had already asked for too much.

Selakir

Kenner looked down at the young elf and smiled at her request. giving her a small nod in response. "You may go to your room and rest if you'd like. Seeing as you've only just arrived, it would be unkind of me to just put you to work in such an unwarranted way." He rubbed her shoulder as he told her this and began to motion towards the door, as if to call someone over. An action that revealed to her a singular guard, one that had been standing at the main door the whole time she had been present. Though they had no time to act as Alia reached up and placed a hand on his "I'll take her, besides I think Peach may be strained for waiting at this point." she said as she began to stand. Kenner gave her proposition his own nod of agreement before releasing her hand. "Alright, I have a few more things to put in order for the time being. So I leave her in your hands for now." He added as he began to step back towards the table.

Alia steps up to Selakir and reaches out to take her hand, a motion that Kenner gives the young elf an assuring look over, enforcing the notion that such was fine with him. Even ash she was stuck looking at him, her hand was seized by Alia' gloved fingers and lightly tucked under her arm. Like she was going to lead her along the way. At full height she still slightly taller than Selakir, though the strange make of her garments did mask just how she actually looked. Selakir could tell just from her grip alone that this woman was much more thinner than even herself. However her grip betrayed a kind of strength that someone her size might actually possess.

She pulled lightly on Selakir' arm. "We're just going down the hall and then a small ride down the lift. Peach probably has your room all ready by now, seeing as how excited she was that you showed up. I'm somewhat surprised that she didn't come back up all giddy like she was before." She added, patting the back of Selakir' hand all along as they exited the room.

Alexander

The figure being Alexander stood and approached. It was one of the maids that he had seen before, one that was working in the room as he entered. Though to call her a maid was somewhat lacking, as her clothing indicated that she must belong to this section of the house and he could see that the leather pouches hanging from her waste, contained more than a few items meant for tuning and cleaning the various instruments strewn through-out the room. Her arms were covered in long sleeves and the skirt was more akin to a formal coat tale then that of a maids hem. Even the usual veil that many of the others wore, was replaced with some sort of dark blue fabric, matching the rest of her uniform. It also seemed thicker than the rest, an aspect he could imagine was protective. The memory of a rouge string snapping across the face, or neck was an ever present hazard with larger instruments.

Her stance was betrayer her nature, showing that she was nervous about saying something in response. She fidgeted with her hands, both clasped at her stomach as she stood there, one foot nudging into the side of the other, as if she were a child, caught doing something that she might be punished for. Her nerve shortly redoubled as she approached closer "You play beautifully... I, I was hoping to see who such an impressive instrument belonged to." There was a telltale stammer in her voice, an obvious indication of why she was occupying such a position.

"Not many here are interested in the harp, or even capable of playing one.. save for the twins.. and I don't think there even is an instrument that they can't play." She motions up towards the bow of the harp, allowing Alexander to make out the marks and stains of various oils and fraying cuts on her white, silken gloves.

Akhira

After some searching, Akhira found that the classroom actually consisted of three cloistered, individual rooms. The unique smells of inks and paints kept playing havoc with her senses however, it was almost like an assault on the senses as she continued to press through the first room. Had it not been for a singular person passing, a young man with the entirety of his right arm covered in intricate markings. She would have been somewhat lost for wander in this case.

Following his trail through the far back of the class, she caught sight of the same raven haired women from before. Purna, who had recently removed her dress and was now only wearing the only other article of clothing she was wearing on her upper body. A corset of some sort that tied in the front was perched on the edge of a seat wit another women sitting in front of her. She was in the middle of applying some sort of ink through a sheet of paper, almost like a stencil on one side of the girls bare back.

She was deep in though about her own work, as she didn't even see Akhira enter the room.

Selakir fought back tears as he agreed to let her go and rest. The tears weren't sadness. They weren't anything really except her being overwhelmed and admittedly a little frightened. She was being allowed to leave. Did he not like her? Was he disappointed in his new slave? Was he being patient and would call for her later?

Selakir hated feeling so unsure. She was used to knowing her place and having a confidence in that. Now, this place and her master sent her world upside down.

She was, however, grateful for the hand on her shoulder. It was comforting and gave her a small hope that he was just that kind. She wasn't sure what to make of that but at least it was something.

Selakir glanced at Kenner as Alia reached for her hand. Physical contact from one who was not her master still scared her. It was Kenner's look that assured Selakir that he was giving permission for the contact. Alia led her, hand in the woman's, arm tucked to hers, out of the room.

"Lift" Selakir nodded just slightly, once in acknowledgment.

The woman patted her hand and Selakir wondered if this was what a mother might do. It felt like something a mother figure might do based on stories Selakir had heard. She had never experienced that but it felt...nice. It helped to calm her, ease her fear.

"What does the master like in his slaves? I wish to be a good slave for him but I know nothing about what pleases him. Does he favour a crop or his hand for punishment for instance?" She looked at Alia, eyes pleading for answers.

Selakir

The last she could see of Kenner before the guard closed the door behind them was his back. Pouring a small glass of whine for himself, though she caught a look from him over his shoulder. The same warm smile he had given her before and then the door was closed. The guards emotionless mask replacing what she had seen before. Though that wasn't to say that the guards put off an air of ominous emotion. They seemed to be rather respectful to her despite her position, however if that was simply the fact of who she was currently walking with. Only remained as speculation for the time being.

After the second archway Selakir could tell more than she could make of the outside of this woman. She walked with a strange gate in her step, almost as if she had been hobbled in some fashion and her grip was stone hard. Probably having something to do with how weak she seemed be, because she was leaning into the young elf's side to keep her balance.

Her head turned to look at Selakir, the light of the lamps gleaming off of the polished surfaces of her mask. Her eyes could just be made out from behind the tinted glass. Turning in tune with her movements. "Punishment..." She added as if to question the meaning of Selakir's own question in turn."Why, do you intend on getting in trouble anytime soon?" She asked with a chuckle in the back of her voice. The metallic grill on the front of her mask, chiming with the tune of her laugh.

Selakir could take in as they walked, just how much of this woman was covered by her weird dress. It was sewn to be tight and concealing al around her form. Ending with gloves that snugly fit around each finger, in which she could tell through the fabric that Alia' hands were nearly bone thin. The woman returned as she looked over the elf. "He has never punished anyone for as long as I've known him and the only one I know to actually handle such things is his second.. Chlorra. It's going to be her that deals in such things and I'm sorry to say that she is not the kind to spare punishments of any sort." She looks forward just as the two walk into the lift at the end of the corridor and the attendant from before closes the grated door, before sending the lift down at the request of Alia.

"I cannot hold it against her though, as we're all slaves to our nature after all." She adds with a content sigh as the lift clicks past another floor.

Selakir could see that the back of Alia' dress, if that is what one could call it. Was bound in the back and extended from where her hair was at, all the way down to the base of her spine and in fact. It looked as through the outfit was incredibly tight upon the woman's frame. As she could make out a surprising amount of detail in her back through the dark, leather like fabric.

Akhira

Purna looked on across her arm as she worked. Seeing the display that the dragoness was putting on for her and several of the others. "That explains more than a few things at this point." She added. Though the banter was cut short as Akhira' band began to heat up once again and she could feel herself becoming less, than what she was. Which was a strange feeling, as it felt as though a well within her that she didn't even know about was being tampered with. The water being emptied without her approval to any contrary. "I should say that I'm surprised to see one such as yourself, but this is Raven home and you'll quickly find that there are many wondrous things here. Though I think we can give your assumption a try, if you ever have the inclination."

Purna returned to her work, a task that she greatly excelled at apparantly. As it could already be seen that she was over halfway done with laying down the groundwork for this piece she was currently working on. "Also; You may want to refrain from that in the future. Especially seeing as you're currently in hiding from the guards, as that will only serve to draw their attention. Because I doubt the master gave you full leave to wield such power without restraint." She began to stitch down the center of the original piece and framed the rest of its sides.

Several of the other members of the house began to talk amongst themselves again and slowly returned to their own business.
Purna still remained stuck into her work, even as she turned the tip of her tool to get within the edge of the piece. Earning a drawn hiss through the teeth of the woman she was working on. After witch she takes a clean, damp cloth and wipes down the image to clear away some of the excess ink. "Worse yet, that could lead to someone else finding you instead and many of the people on this floor don't have a easy time with someone like her around." She cleans her tool and starts again, only this time with a new ink color.

Babble

The nurse peered down over Babbles form as if to wait for an answer and it was that same silence that continued for some time. Until his vision caught her in the moment that he decided to look away. Holding a glass of water not far from his face as if to offer it. With no idea of where she could have acquired it from in the first place.

The glass was nudged forward slightly as if to emphasis the offering.

It was easy enough to tell now that she was incapable of talking, or she was not actually interested in ever doing so, in the very least. The glass was there, hung in front of Babbles face by only several inches of distance. It's contents unshaking, her arm steady and straight. With no indication that any movement had been take and despite the amount of noise this one room in the house contained. It was a sure thing that the silence between the two of them was far more palpable than most other instances that could be undertaken.