Aresan Clan pt 92

The Creature of Virtue was a frightening animal as she approached close to Roderick, who was unarmed and unprotected, but she lowered herself submissively when she saw him standing there waiting for her. She bent her forelegs to lower her head down to the ground while her tail still remained high in the air lilting slowly. The large feline waited, and Roderick tossed a large piece of meat in her direction. She snapped up the meat off the ground, exposing the sharp, white teeth as she chewed.

Roderick cautiously moved forward and touched his hand to the head of the cat. She was covered with a thick layer of gray, striped fur, and as he felt through her warm coat, the animal rumbled with an approving purr. He held out the garment which contained Mill’s scent before the nose of the animal and she gave it a sniff.

“He is banned from the city,” Roderick explained to the cat as he touched her head, “If you should smell him, kill him.”

Roderick then dropped another piece of meat for the animal, and she gobbled it up just as quickly. Then he clapped his hands twice and said,” Now off you go,” and the animal departed through the entryway from which she came.


Amida found her time of confinement to be something of a recreation. She was able to reestablish her schedule: sleeping when she wanted to sleep, exercising when she wanted to exercise, and eating when she wanted to eat. And with no duties or chores that she was bound to daily perform, as was the norm in the cloisters, she had more free time to relax and meditate.

The female Itinerant, Chrissina, who had been left to attend her, brought her food. The food, at least from Amida’s perspective, left something to be desired, since it mostly consisted of freshly caught meat. It was not the round and varied diet of the cloisters consisting of several carefully prepared and processed meals.

That being said, Amida liked this woman Chrissina: she was large, strong, tough and generous. Chrisssina provided bounteous plates of food for her: catching the game, cooking it over a fire and stuffing a hearty portion through the window for Amida as she called out sweetly to her, “The food is ready,” in her own language.

Chrissina didn’t know a word of Omnian so Amida would struggle to communicate to her with her limited command of the language. “Thank you for the food. It tastes wonderful,” Amida would tell her as she took the meat and would slowly gnaw at it with her hands.

The room itself was stocked with artifacts that the Itinerants had collected for trading: bits of ancient brickwork and cement, fragments of wood and bits of glass, metal tool, utensils and coins. The most valuable pieces were works that harkened back to the forgotten craftsmanship of their forebears: small statues, painted ceramics and fragments of design and lettering from the walls of buildings.

After being delivered her latest meal, Amida called out to Chrissina, “Hey beautiful. When am I getting out? You hear anything?”

“I am not beautiful,” Chrissina said, peaking a smiling face through the window. She was a young woman and had a vigorous liveliness in her face, “But they’re sure to take you back soon. We don’t want to hold you here forever. It’s a lot of work to look after you. I mean nothing bad. I like you. Just that I could be helping my tribe.”

Amida nodded in understanding when she heard this and replied, “No hurry.”


When Annsi showed up at Darma’s house and was led in to see her, Darma’s first reaction, when she saw Annsi, was, “Oh no! We can’t take you to Arianna’s house looking like that.”

Annsi was wearing the same outfit she’d worn when she’d dined with Darma and Salles and she looked down at herself self-consciously. Darma had to immediately explain herself when she saw the way that Annsi looked so hurt and dejected. “No dear. It’s not that you don’t look beautiful. You do look beautiful. It’s just that when you go to dinner with people like these, it’s not enough to just look beautiful. You have to have to look expensive. You have to make the men think that if you were a trinket they were buying off a shelf, they’d have to pay a high price for you. These men, you see, are not looking for a bargain. You’re already beautiful, but these men are looking for something beautiful and costly.”

“But I’m not costly!” Annsi objected, holding out the somewhat worn fabric of her toga.

“Oh, but when we dress you up, you will be,” Darma said.

<-- Go to Part 91         Go to Part 93 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

The Creature of Virtue was a frightening animal as she approached close to Roderick, who was unarmed and unprotected, but she lowered herself submissively when she saw him standing there waiting for her. She bent her forelegs to lower her head down to the ground while her tail still remained high in the air lilting slowly. The large feline waited, and Roderick tossed a large piece of meat in her direction. She snapped up the meat off the ground, exposing the sharp, white teeth as she chewed.

Roderick cautiously moved forward and touched his hand to the head of the cat. She was covered with a thick layer of gray, striped fur, and as he felt through her warm coat, the animal rumbled with an approving purr. He held out the garment which contained Mill’s scent before the nose of the animal and she gave it a sniff.

“He is banned from the city,” Roderick explained to the cat as he touched her head, “If you should smell him, kill him.”

Roderick then dropped another piece of meat for the animal, and she gobbled it up just as quickly. Then he clapped his hands twice and said,” Now off you go,” and the animal departed through the entryway from which she came.


Amida found her time of confinement to be something of a recreation. She was able to reestablish her schedule: sleeping when she wanted to sleep, exercising when she wanted to exercise, and eating when she wanted to eat. And with no duties or chores that she was bound to daily perform, as was the norm in the cloisters, she had more free time to relax and meditate.

The female Itinerant, Chrissina, who had been left to attend her, brought her food. The food, at least from Amida’s perspective, left something to be desired, since it mostly consisted of freshly caught meat. It was not the round and varied diet of the cloisters consisting of several carefully prepared and processed meals.

That being said, Amida liked this woman Chrissina: she was large, strong, tough and generous. Chrisssina provided bounteous plates of food for her: catching the game, cooking it over a fire and stuffing a hearty portion through the window for Amida as she called out sweetly to her, “The food is ready,” in her own language.

Chrissina didn’t know a word of Omnian so Amida would struggle to communicate to her with her limited command of the language. “Thank you for the food. It tastes wonderful,” Amida would tell her as she took the meat and would slowly gnaw at it with her hands.

The room itself was stocked with artifacts that the Itinerants had collected for trading: bits of ancient brickwork and cement, fragments of wood and bits of glass, metal tool, utensils and coins. The most valuable pieces were works that harkened back to the forgotten craftsmanship of their forebears: small statues, painted ceramics and fragments of design and lettering from the walls of buildings.

After being delivered her latest meal, Amida called out to Chrissina, “Hey beautiful. When am I getting out? You hear anything?”

“I am not beautiful,” Chrissina said, peaking a smiling face through the window. She was a young woman and had a vigorous liveliness in her face, “But they’re sure to take you back soon. We don’t want to hold you here forever. It’s a lot of work to look after you. I mean nothing bad. I like you. Just that I could be helping my tribe.”

Amida nodded in understanding when she heard this and replied, “No hurry.”


When Annsi showed up at Darma’s house and was led in to see her, Darma’s first reaction, when she saw Annsi, was, “Oh no! We can’t take you to Arianna’s house looking like that.”

Annsi was wearing the same outfit she’d worn when she’d dined with Darma and Salles and she looked down at herself self-consciously. Darma had to immediately explain herself when she saw the way that Annsi looked so hurt and dejected. “No dear. It’s not that you don’t look beautiful. You do look beautiful. It’s just that when you go to dinner with people like these, it’s not enough to just look beautiful. You have to have to look expensive. You have to make the men think that if you were a trinket they were buying off a shelf, they’d have to pay a high price for you. These men, you see, are not looking for a bargain. You’re already beautiful, but these men are looking for something beautiful and costly.”

“But I’m not costly!” Annsi objected, holding out the somewhat worn fabric of her toga.

“Oh, but when we dress you up, you will be,” Darma said.

<-- Go to Part 91         Go to Part 93 -->

You can see what's been written so far collected here.

Aresan Clan pt 92