[ussbansheec] The Bonds pf Honor
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 03 May 2006 10:30:18 -0400
_ The Bonds of Honor_
by Chihnyih S'Aehallh'Nveni, Nacilme & Iruvande S'Akhiy'Rhienn, & Aylin
t'Sen
/'Here honor binds me and I wish to satisfy it.'--Pierre Corneille/
Chihnyih was not accustomed to sleeping in so late or, at least, he
perceived it as late. His eyes flew open with a start and he was half
way out of bed before he remembered he wasn't at home. The warmth next
to him truly grounded him then and he sat back down, leaning to kiss
Nacilme's cheek.
"I'm sorry, e'lev," he said with a shrug. "I am not used to not being
home though..." and then he smiled softly, "I can get used to being with
you in the morning like this."
"Mmm," Nacilme murmured as she snuggled back down from being startled by
his sudden movement. "No need to apologise, just stay and cuddle a
while. No need to get up yet."
"Silly woman, the hunt is afoot," he said as he hugged her to his bare
chest. "We need to find the hru'Airifvir and have her explain what goes
on here. The early bird gets the worm, e'lev."
"The early bird also gets stomped on by the commuters trying to get to
work early," she laughed, tickling him just slightly.
"Nacilme," he said in a teasing tone, "I have to warn you. It may not
be very clear, since I've never seen you before the midday hour, but I
am most assuredly a morning person. Come, e'lev. I would say let's
greet Eisn's rising but...."
"Mornings are fine as long as they're used properly," she said as she
pulled him close to her and kissed him deeply. "I'm going to distract
you from being a morning person."
His response a throaty purr followed by a look of absolute mischief.
"You know, Nacilme, I cannot hope to ask the hru'Airifvir to bring you
to the house we will build if we don't find her. If you truly want to
delay...."
A dramatic sigh was her response as she flung the covers wide. "Fine,
let's be up. You're too persistent to let me distract you anyway."
Giving him a mock hurt look, she pushed him out of the bed. "Go on and
have a shower. A lady needs time to prepare herself for the day, you know."
His face was a mask of absolute mock Vulcan sternness as he headed in
the direction he was bidden. "Elements fore fend," he said
mildly, "especially after said lady was tied to a chair for three days."
Picking up a pillow, she threw it straight at his back. "Don't be mean,
Chihnyih, it doesn't suit you."
"Only teasing, Nacilme. I'll hurry up," he said with a softer smile,
whistling some old tune as he ducked into the bathroom. I wonder, he
said to himself as he stepped into the shower, if the Hru'hfirh has half
as much fun with his lady. Didn't seem so...
Nacilme laughed brightly as she watched her man disappear and pulled the
covers back over herself to keep from being too cold. Her eyes drooped
a little as she drifted off back to sleep. It didn't take long before
her mind wandered into cold, dark places. Small cupboards under stairs
and little holes in walls... Letting out a faint yelp, she dashed to
her feet and bolted for the bathroom, coming to a skidding halt in the
shower unit where Chihnyih was still washing.
"Want some company, e'lev?" she asked, trying to cover the panic in her
face. "Couldn't bear the thought of you being lonely."
A slow smile spread across his face and he held a hand out to her.
"Water is a poor substitute for your warmth," he said with a wink.
"Trying to distract me are you?"
"But of course," she purred, running her hands over his chest.
"Besides, why waste water when it's just as easy to clean two people at
once?"
"You don't seem a Water child to me, e'lev, but who am I to argue
against the Elements' wishes. Besides, thee are beautiful," he said,
ignoring the water dripping in his eyes as one finger gently traced her
scars.
"More Water than anything else," she replied, leaning close to him as
she kissed him through the veil of water. "You like touching those,
don't you?"
"I like touching you, Nacilme. You deserve a gentle touch from someone
who loves you." He smiled then, realizing what he'd said. He kissed
her deeply. "I did just say that, too. I mean it."
"So you keep saying," she laughed brightly, wrapping her arms around his
waist. "You love me and I love you, even if you were a bit slow on the
up take."
"Mmm, faulting a man for his nature is wrong, my dear. I prefer to look
at the matter as one of contemplation. I am not the Fire that flares
but rather Earth that moves slowly," he said with an easy shrug. "I
like to observe, to watch and think. Shall I tell you what I observe?"
"What do you observe?" she asked, flicking her hair and trying to
smother the slowly growing nervousness in her belly.
"That your face was very flushed when you came here," he said as he
pulled her closed. Elements but she felt good pressed to him like that
but he would have sworn he could feel her shaking. "You seem...afraid.
Surely, not of me, Nacilme."
Letting out a small whimper, she shook her head so hard that she felt
the world spin. "I'm not scared of you, I swear I'm not. Please
believe me. I fell asleep again and the bed was so closed in with the
bunk above me, it was like I was suffocating. I'm sorry... I'm so
sorry for disappointing you."
He made yet another mental note to see to it that her father was
properly addressed. That wort. For the moment, though, he reached to
shut the water off then lifted her chin slightly. "You have not done
anything of the sort, Nacilme. It's not your fault."
She clung to him as if he'd run away from her but she knew,
intellectually, he wouldn't. "Elements, I'm a wreck. Just a scared
little girl still hiding from the monsters."
"It's a hard thing when the monsters are real," he replied. He reached
for one of the towels and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You are no
little girl, though. Thee are Lore Keeper to your House and the
Intended Lady of mine."
"I was Lore Keeper even back there," she said softly, not willing to let
him go. "What if she doesn't want you in our House? What if she's so
angry with me that she forces me to marry Jennad? I'll never see you
again."
"Nacilme, no one can force that choice upon you. I will not allow it to
happen," he said firmly. "I don't think the hru'Airifvir is that spiteful."
"I'm scared of losing you. I never thought I'd have you but now I do,
something's going to happen to take you away, I just know it," she
almost whimpered.
"Nacilme," he said firmly, sitting her in his lap on the bed, towel and
all, "relax. Calm yourself. No one is taking me anywhere. I swear I
will do whatever it takes to bring you home to ch'Rihan, build our home,
and make all those children we talked about."
"I'm sorry, so sorry." Leaning her head on the side of his, she
steadied her breathing and tried to relax. "I scare easily and I'm
weak. Forgive me?"
"I cannot forgive something that I don't find a fault, Nacilme. I know
you all these years after all. I've seen you afraid before. It is
certainly more personal now--that's all." He kissed her soundly then
smiled. "Why do you think I want to find the hru'Airifvir any way? To
get this small thing settled."
"Small?" Huffing loudly, relieved to have something to tease about, she
glared at him as she tickled him again. "I am a small thing to you?"
Chihnyih twisted to escape her tickling and offered her a smirk. "You
are not. Asking the hru'Airifvir will be. How could she refuse me
after all?"
"By saying no," she rolled her eyes, pushing him back against the bed
and tickling harder. "She says no very well. She's firm and gruff.
She's also deeply scary when she wants to be."
"I've dealt with equally obnoxious people, e'lev," he said breezily.
"Oooo, you're hard to rattle," she said, sitting back from him and
folding her arms inside her towel. "If you want to deal with her then
let's go and deal with her."
"Cool, calm, and collected I get from Di'nanov and Ri'nanov both,"
Chihnyih stated, "but I think by now you also know that I'm no Vulcan
who rules my passion either. Might I make one request before we find
the hru'Airifvir, Nacilme?"
"What's that?" she asked as she rummaged around in her messy case to
find something even remotely suitable.
He chuckled at her then stood up. "Already seen to," he said as he went
to his own luggage, resisting the urge to straighten her things. "I was
not about to search the lady out undressed."
"Vulcan I may not be but I'm also a bit more private than wanting to
wander around nude, e'lev," she said seriously as she pulled out an only
slightly rumpled dress and slipped it on. "Better?"
Chihnyih pulled a fresh tunic over his head then looked at her with an
appraising eye. "Beautiful," he pronounced. He tied on a sash belt
then sat to pull on his boots. Looking up at her, he asked, "Do we
trust the chip or do we go again to the Hru'hfirh?"
"We could try the chip and if it doesn't work then we go back and annoy
the Hru'hfirh." She shrugged as she fished it out of the pocket of her
cloak. "I doubt it's misleading, especially if we believe it really did
come from Iruvande."
"It isn't her who I mistrust," Chihnyih said carefully. He didn't want
to upset her with thoughts of Jennad but he was the one who gave him the
chip, though. "but we'll try the chip first. I do not relish the idea
of annoying the Hru'hfirh."
"Why would you mistrust the chip?" she asked breezily, pulling on her
cloak and offering him her hand as she plugged said chip into her ISD.
"Consider the secondary source," he said, "and the fact that said source
was na too very happy."
"Jennad wouldn't lie." Giving him a funny look, she pulled him out of
the door. "He's annoyed at me but he'd want us to find Iruvande, if
only to make sure she forces me to marry him."
Chihnyih muttered something under his breath but kept any further
comments to himself. He never liked the older man to begin with and
their encounter hadn't done anything to improve his standing in
Chihnyih's eyes. He allowed himself to be pulled along but he kept a
wary eye out, too. It wasn't just Jennad. It was all the oddly colored
beings. That many non-Rihannsu made his skin want to crawl.
"The chip says she's staying with someone called t'Sen, I don't
recognise the name," she said softly as she followed the instructions on
the screen. "But then I don't know all of Iruvande's contacts so it's
not exactly surprising."
Chihnyih shrugged. "It's not a name from Mhiessan or one of our
customers but, as you said, that does not mean much."
The room was a small one, lost somewhere at the back of the civilian
quarter. Clearly not the richest of places, there were even a few
people sleeping in the hallway, either because of homelessness or
because of lack of space anywhere else. The door itself was clean
though with a small sign on it announcing it to be the home of a
mystic. 'Come have your palm read' the sign declared.
Raising her eyebrows, Nacilme shrugged as she glanced over her shoulder
at Chihnyih. "Seems as unlikely a place as I can imagine."
"'Palm read'? How very...my ri'nanov does such things," Chihnyih said,
shaking his head. He stepped to stand slightly in front of her. "Would
you prefer I be the one to knock?"
"Please, e'lev," she said softly, hiding just a little.
Less well traveled and from a different financial class he might have
been, but Chihnyih was used to dealing with the general public, at least
on ch'Rihan. How bad, he wondered, can this be? Especially if the
hru'Airifvir is really here. He pressed the chime and waited.
There was a bright tinkling from inside the cabin and a slow rhythmed
beat started up as the door hissed open. A tall woman dressed in dark
red robes stepped into the dim light, her face hidden by a hood.
"Aefvadh," came a soft throated whisper.
One of Chihnyih's brows rose slowly. Well, alright then. Na the
hru'Airifvir but Rihannsu in any case. "Lhhei," he said with a polite
nod, "we seek the hru'Airifvir."
"Oh..." the voice said, now decidedly less mystic and more peeved.
Pushing back the hood, the woman appeared as someone of fairly young age
for a Rihannsu with various very un-Rihannsu piercings, one in her lip
and one in each ear tip. "She's not here. Um... I think she's coming
back. Want some tea or something?"
"I beg your pardon, lhhei, but you 'think' so? She was here then. Did
she say when she would return?" Chihnyih asked, hardly batting a lash at
her appearance. Aie but Ri'nanov would make a face....
"She disappeared to find someone called... um..." Pushing her hair back
from her eyes, the woman sucked on her lip ring. "Janad, Jenad,
Janed... Janet... something like that. Said he'd be waiting for her.
You friends of hers? Oh Elements," she laughed as a slight green tinge
started to grow on the tips of her cheeks, "you're not Nacilme, are you?"
Chihnyih forced back a growl at the sound of Jennad's name. "She is,
lhhei. Has Etre tr'Hahdee been here too then?"
"Who?" The feeling of anger ebbing off of the man gave her a headache
so she pinched her nose. "And, y'know, would you mind not being so
annoyed in here? You're unsettling the flow of energy. Too much Fire,"
she muttered under her breath.
"Begging your pardon, lhhei, but according to my ri'nanov, what I lack
most is Water and even that is sufficient," he said with a straight
face. "And one needs the right kind of Fire to create in any case.
Come, Nacilme, shall we sit?"
"Please," the woman made a face as she shuddered, "you're so full of
distrust and worry, it's like a palpable field around you."
Nacilme eyed the woman carefully, sitting so close to Chihnyih that she
was almost in his lap. "Begging you pardon, Lhhei, but how do you know
what he's feeling?"
The woman gave her a sour look and padded away through a beaded
curtain. "Tea for everyone?" she called.
Chihnyih looked around without moving his eyes, observing as he usually
did when he was in public. The place almost reminded him of his
mother's study in the temple at Mhiessan, except it wasn't made of
stone. And the woman? Definitely Rihannsu no matter that she seemed so
unlike one of them. "Fhaen," was all he said.
"If my manners are off," the woman called, "you're going to have to
forgive me. I've been away from ch'Rihan a long time." Smiling, she
brought through three mugs of steaming tea. The violet one she set in
front of Nacilme, the blue one in front of Chihnyih and she kept the red
one to herself.
Nacilme sniffed the mug tentatively then frowned. "Rosehip," she said
in mild shock. "It's my favourite."
"Is it?" the woman said airily. "Prefer something more earthy myself.
I've found a taste for lapsang souchong since I left."
Chihnyih lifted the mug and cautiously sniffed the contents. She had
best not take offense to that, he told himself. No smart man drinks
from a stranger's cup without testing the contents first. Mint, he
realized with a start. He took a cautious sip and found it to be
sweetened just right. "Hann'yyo," he said simply, still watching her
carefully.
"You're welcome," the woman said easily, taking a deep draught of her
own tea. "Don't suppose either of you waifs have any money for a palm
reading do you? Business has been more than a little slow of late."
"Ri'nanov prefers the cards," Chihnyih said as he reached into his
pocket for a credit slip, "but be my guest." He held out his hand with
the slip.
Beaming brightly, the woman sat forward, her tea forgotten on a table.
She took the work worn hand in hers and peered over it, turning it this
way and that. With a hmph, she nodded to herself as if confirming
something she had already suspected. "She would, being High Priestess.
Impressive lady. Influences you greatly. Here," she traced a line on
his palm, "you have a lot of female influences but you chose your
father's path, not your mother's." Smirking, she lifted her eyes, "But
then, knowing who you are, it's hard to not know that. You're going to
lead a long and interesting life, my friend. It's going to be... rocky
at times but never truly unhappy. That one," she pointed her chin at
Nacilme, "will be with you for a long time but one day, you'll walk
alone again." Her eyes were apologetic when she said that though.
"Unless you count the children. Want to know how many? Or would you
prefer the surprise?"
Nacilme shivered slightly at the woman's pronouncement and held tightly
to Chihnyih again. "Do I die?"
"That I can't tell unless I look at your hand," the woman said softly.
"The plural is enough for me," Chihnyih murmured. The woman hadn't
mentioned bonding but simply that they'd be together for a long while.
He preferred the bonding but, at the end, her presence was all that
mattered. He gripped Nacilme's hand tightly for a moment. "I have
another slip if you want, e'lev."
"No," Nacilme said quickly. "I don't want to know. I don't want to
know if I'm unfaithful or if I die young."
"Not young," the woman corrected. "But it ends before it should. It
was abrupt and left wounds. I'm so sorry. Elements, I hate that kind
of reading." Pinching her nose, she sighed and sat back. "Since I'm
such a bearer of bad tidings you may as well know my name: Aylin t'Sen.
Mystic of the Elements here on DSVP."
Chihnyih kept his hand around Nacilme's. "But the future changes with
each second that passes. Nothing is set in Earth."
"Lines change as you grow," Aylin agreed easily. "There are some things
that are set but this isn't. Just think, you've got a long time to see
it coming."
"I have every intention of doing what I set out to do this morning,
Nacilme," Chihnyih finally said. "This changes nothing."
Nacilme shot Aylin a worried look. "You know what he's come to do?"
"Ask the hru'Airifvir if he can bond with you. I'd maybe wait until
she's had her first cup of tea before you broach the subject. She's not
too terribly happy about now. Especially with the pair of you."
"But my Hru'hfirh is," Chihnyih stated. "The hru'Airifvir can be cranky
all she wants but it cannot be denied that my own connections are
nothing to be sneezed at."
"That's a fair statement," Aylin. "But she's still a very dominating
woman. I can't do any readings at all while she's in the cabin."
"So is my ri'nanov," Chihnyih said mildly, totally unfazed by Iruvande's
seeming temper.
"That's a certainty," she laughed rich and deep. "Scary lady, saw her
once. One of the people who managed to convince me to leave ch'Rihan.
No place for someone like me in that world."
"She did? She never mentioned it," he mused.
"Oh, I never met her, I saw her in temple one day not long after my own
ri'nanov died. I watched all the ceremony and felt nothing. No one
left to help me. So I left."
"Now that is a shame but I can understand," Chihnyih said soberly. "The
nail that sticks up gets hammered down."
"The child that grieves is ignored and tossed aside," Aylin said softly,
suddenly standing and disappearing back into her kitchen.
Nacilme watched her go and shuddered. "I understand her," she said softly.
"Shhh..." he murmured, trying to soothe the shudders. "I cannot imagine
that sort of grief except to lose family or ch'Rihan."
"She lost both." Iruvande stood tall in the doorway, her pale,
unknowable eyes fixed on the man sitting with her ward. "Who are thee
to judge that?"
"I passed no judgement, lhhei," Chihnyih said steadily. "I made a
statement. In fact, I would probably agree with her."
The tall woman nodded with respect. She pointed her chin at Nacilme.
"I have been told stories of thy behaviour, child."
"Did you hear the one how she is no escape artist?" Chihnyih asked.
"And yet here she sits," Iruvande replied, one eyebrow arching. "With
thee and not with tr'Hahdee."
"I let her loose--not him. Lhhei, she made a choice but it is hers to
speak. I stand by her decision," Chihnyih replied.
Iruvande turned those pale eyes on her ward.
"I'jol'Chihnyih," she said softly. "I'm sorry for Jennad."
"I want her for my bondmate and wife," Chihnyih said as he stood to face
Iruvande, his dark eyes looking directly into her green ones. "I want
her to be the mother of my children and the first lady of
S'Aehallh'Nveni in over one hundred years. It could be done without
your grace but we would prefer to have it."
"What is thy intention toward certain members of her family, rekkhai?"
Iruvande asked softly, staring hard at the boy. "Are thee going to
simply bond to her and pretend those scars are from accidents?"
"That io will get just what is deserved," Chihnyih said, his voice
dripping with acid. Work roughened or not, the hand that held Nacilme's
was very gentle. "I am Rihannsu, my lady, and I cannot allow such a
slap in the face to all that is proper of a Rihanha man to stay so
untouched."
Nacilme rose, wrapped her arms around his waist and laying her head
against his back but peering around at Iruvande. "You've known?"
"Ie, for a long time." Her eyes softened as she watched the pair of
them. "About a great many things. I waited to see what thy bondmate's
response would be. If 'twas nothing then I would have dealt with the
creature and thy mate with equal justice."
"Believe me, lhhei, it will not go unseen to," Chihnyih said steadily.
"No father should treat his child so. I would have seen to it long
before now if I had known."
"She did not tell thee?" Iruvande looked between the boy and her ward.
"Na, lhhei, she said nothing until we spoke of bonding and love. Until
then, she showed no sign and gave no clue." He gave a half smile
though. Maybe she did and he hadn't realized. Why else be so distant
from Di'nanov and Hru'diranov when she visited the one time? As open
and approachable as they both were, Nacilme, he now realized, had been
afraid of them and not simply shy. "She was, and will still be, my friend."
Nacilme cuddled Chihnyih tightly from behind, still using him as a
shield. "But more than that now," she insisted.
"That much's clear," Aylin snorted from the kitchen doorway. "I mean
please, he practically worships you. Why else would he draw only you as
his muse?" Offering the pale Rihannsu a dark green mug of steaming hot
Vulcan spice tea, she narrowed her eyes at her. "You'd better've
brought food back with you or we won't be eating t'night. "This
rekkhai's the only one who's paid for my services all day. And a palm
reading's not exactly going to pay the rent."
"Ie, Nacilme, most certainly more than that," Chihnyih said. He reached
around back to feel for her hand so that he could draw her to his side.
With a gentle touch, he rested his fingers under her chin. "If I am
your lord, thee are my Intended and soon to be the lady of
S'Aehallh'Nveni. Equals, e'lev."
"Don't fall off that pedestal," Aylin teased as she took the package
Iruvande held out to her. "It's one hell of a way down."
Nacilme shot the woman a dark look then smiled shyly at Chihnyih.
"Equals? You're still sure about this?"
"I certainly am, Nacilme. Equals, my lady," he said simply.
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- » [ussbansheec] The Bonds pf Honor
