A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

A place for the Learning Ranks to socialize and mingle.
Jack
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 470
Joined: May 25th, 2015, 9:01 pm
PC: Malcym Ashe

A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Jack » August 27th, 2020, 1:21 am

Drin Malcym Ashe Malcym wrinkled his nose as the stench of horse manure filled his nostrils. At first it had not gotten to him, but after four hours of mucking out of the stables as part of his chores, it definitely began having an impact.

It was just after midmorning, the weather was mild, and it would have been a nice day for a ride. Unfortunately, the only activity he got involving horses was cleaning up their excrement. It was a proper punishment for attitudes unjustly leveled at a certain Aes Sedai.

At least it was work he was familiar with; he’d done his fair share of this kind of duty was a young soldier his first year as a Murandian soldier.

Straw covered his now dingy white undershirt, a sheen of sweat covered his face, and he himself could use a bath. Or a bucket of cold water tossed at him.

Silver-blue eyes glittered in the stray beams of light that managed to pierce the stable rafters as he tossed a shovelful of manure into a nearby, half-full hand-pushed cart. Two such carts had already been hauled away to parts unknown by servants.

He heard grunts from two dozen paces away, where a Ji’val was also working a shovel into a cart near her. The slight young woman, about Malcym’s age of 23, was much shorter than he was, red hair done up in a single lengthy braid, sharp blue eyes hard with disdain for the work she was doing.

Like Malcym, she was dressed for the occasion and was perspiring from the same work. Jessa Sember bore all the stubbornness of someone born in the Caralain on the edge of Andor’s border. And it was that bloody stubborn streak that had landed her here for trying to rebuke a Gaidin. The wrong Gaidin, apparently.

“Light’s sake, but you need a bath, Mal” she sniped after a moment, her temper apparently flaring. “I think you stink worse than all this dung ...”

Malcym rolled his silver-blue eyes and heaped another shovelful into his wagon. “And you’re full of the manure you’re shoveling, Jessa,” he muttered, his Murandian accent very clear that day. He might have a slight Mayener accent mixed in influenced by his mother, but a life spent raised in and around Lugard showed. “And it’s not my fault you stepped on a particular Gaidin’s feet -- even I’m not a fool to go that far.”

Jessa stiffened slightly, and Malcym could see her grip tighten on her shovel shaft. “Right, you just pick fights with and insult the Captain-General of the Green Ajah,” she said sharply. “And you get off lightly with this duty --

“... for the next six months, Jessa. You only have to endure it for a flaming week. So get all that dung your filled with out of your system. And I’m not the only one who stinks.”

The next several seconds happened in a blur. The Ji was fast, a testament to her reflexes and training. The shovel of horse dung was raised, arched back and hurled forward. Fortunately, Malcym Ashe was just as quick, a result of six years in Murandy’s army. He quickly crouched down as the manure sailed past him .... and he heard a reaction. Oh flaming Light ...

He was on his feet and turning to see who’s day Jessa had just ruined ... "Are you okay?" he started to ask ...

... when the second barrage of manure hit him in the back of the head. The sheer force and surprise of the soiled missile propelled him forward and into the unfortunate victim of the first barrage, sending both to the straw-covered stable floor.

Only it wasn’t over ... he was barely aware of the sound of rapid footfalls -- and the creak of a wagon. A few seconds later and the cart’s contents were upended onto him and the poor bystander.

“Now who needs a bath, Malcym Ashe! And a Novice to boot!” a fading voice hooted.
Jerid Walker Asha'man
"We all suffer. It's how we move past it that defines us."

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Alianora » August 30th, 2020, 1:51 am

Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, Novice
Holding a heavy shovel, Catasina turned slowly towards the waiting cart beside her. Her arms shook, and she wrinkled her nose as she pointed the shovel downwards and let the contents of the shovel slide off to join the rest of the pile in the cart. It was less than half full, for all that she'd been here all morning. Stormy grey eyes glared at the cart, and she lowered the shovel to the floor, letting it rest against the cart's side. For a few moments, the novice just stood there and panted. Her arms, shoulders and back were all loudly protesting her treatment of them, and Catasina wasn't sure she'd be able to continue until she filled the cart. She just wasn't made for this sort of work! She wiped the sweat from her red face off on the inside of her work dress, then snatched up the shovel again.

As she stabbed it into the mess in front of her, Catasina wished it were Accepted Iralelle's head instead. There had been no reason the woman had needed to track her dirty footprints over the very tiles Catasina had nearly finished scrubbing, and even less for her to shrug and tell Catasina to clean them again. Really, when she thought about it.....she should have found something much worse than a bucket of soapy water to dump over the Accepted's head! Catasina could have used that bucket of water right now. The baggy dress she wore had started out a greyish color and was now stained with disgusting brown spots no matter how hard she'd tried to keep the stuff away from it. Its back and neck were wet from her sweat, and the braided bun she'd carefully arranged earlier was threatening to slide free from its pins.

Breathing hard, Catasina struggled to move the shovel from pile to cart and back again, angry and resentful that she had to do it at all. Not improving her mood in the least was the sound of two other people, apparently assigned to the same punishment as herself, bickering with each other. She turned towards the pair, intending to tell them to stop it, but didn't open her mouth before seeing a clump of manure arc through the air in her general direction. Catasina scrambled backwards through the straw, but didn't move nearly fast enough. It struck the front of her dress, dripping down her skirt and driving her into the wall behind her. She squealed a wordless protest before one of the pair who'd been arguing slammed against her, knocking her to the floor.

Laying there on her back, still half stunned, Catasina didn't see what was coming until it was much too late for her to do anything more than close her eyes against it. She ended up soaked in the filthy contents of one of the carts, gagging as the smell of it reached her nose. Sitting up, Catasina shook her head and made herself open her eyes. She huffed in frustration as she looked at herself. She was almost entirely covered, dress sticking to her skin and toes damp inside her sturdy shoes. It felt as if she'd never get clean again.

Jack
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 470
Joined: May 25th, 2015, 9:01 pm
PC: Malcym Ashe

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Jack » August 30th, 2020, 2:48 am

Malcym lay flat on his stomach, stunned. The filth covering him ... soaking into his clothes and skin, the stench of it all.

As a soldier, he’d been through his share of being covered in things. Mostly, it had been blood and gore, mud, dirt and water. Never once had he had any type of excrement completely cover him.

A thought popped into Malcym’s mind. He was going to hang. Or have his head chopped off. Because he was going to kill Jessa. The thought was powerful enough to overwhelm any urge to vomit.

Whatever punishment the Yards or the Tower might issue would be well worth wringing her neck.

He was vaguely aware of someone else moving ... more the rustling sound than anything else. Oh flaming Light, he thought.

The poor person caught between him and Jessa’s argument. Well, a very one-sided argument that turned very ugly.

Still shuddering at the moment, he pushed himself up into a kneeling position, realizing he couldn’t do much about cleaning the mess that streaked his face. Straw clung in splotches on his face and down his now stained shirt. At this very moment, he wished he were back in Murandy, on horseback, cleaving his way through flaming brigands.

“Oh flaming blood and ashes, I’m going to kill that goat-faced woman,” he growled, his silver-flecked azure eyes burning with anger. He shook his hands, as if to remove the dung from them and ... some flung directly at the young woman who had been the most unfortunate woman in this whole affair.

He winced. And it was yet another reason he was going to strangle Jessa. Or find some measure of revenge.

“I’m so sorry,” Malcym murmured, his Murandian accent coming to the fore. “That woman is a blasted menace.”

Malcym was quick to pick himself up. And before he even thought to ask if it was proper, he unceremoniously pulled the other victim in this whole scheme to her feet. She was a mess and couldn’t tell if her braided hair was naturally dark or ... artificially colored by the recent experience. The only thing he could tell was her eyes were grey and that she was slightly shorter than he was.

Whether it was instinct or simple misplaced attempt at chivalry, he initially tried to wipe away the manure from the young woman’s dress before he stopped.

And chuckled. “Light, I’m making it worse, aren’t I?” he said, still chuckling. He caught himself after several seconds, the moment once more setting back into him. “Drin Malcym Ashe,” he said by way of introduction. “Mal for short. I’m so sorry you got caught up in the argument ... and well everything else. The drin responsible for this will pay.”
Jerid Walker Asha'man
"We all suffer. It's how we move past it that defines us."

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Alianora » September 4th, 2020, 1:31 am

Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, Novice
Catasina groaned as she looked down at her skirt in despair. The fabric felt heavy against her legs, and it stank! She wrinkled her nose, trying to block the smell, as she overheard a nearby voice grumbling curses. She turned her head in the direction of the sound to see a man kneeling on the floor, and found her curiosity rewarded with a splatter of something wet and disgusting across her face. The novice yelped in surprise and glared at the man, but before she could complain, he apologized, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet.

Chunks of manure slid free from her dress and plopped onto the floor, but she was still so covered that the dress appeared to be brown instead of its former nearly white color. Catasina stomped her feet, trying to kick the mess off her shoes. She hated to be seen in such a state, but her efforts in moving her feet and shaking her skirt were almost entirely fruitless. Her cheeks were red from both embarrassment and exertion by the time she bothered to take a closer look at the man. He was as dirty as she was, and when he reached to try to clean off her dress, he only succeeded in smearing the stuff further into the cloth.

Catasina shook her head and muttered, "I don't think it's possible to make it any worse." The shock of what had just happened was fading, and she felt her temper flare. She'd never get the dress clean, or her shoes clean, and it was not even her fault! When she got her hands on that redheaded girl (and she would), Catasina swore to herself that she'd make her regret what she'd done.

When the man introduced himself to her, she offered her hand without thinking about it, then grimaced and let the dirty hand fall to her side. "I'm Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, a novice here," she told him. "I know she'll pay.....because I'm going to make sure she does." she commented. "Would you like to help?" She could always use a willing partner, and he deserved revenge as much as she did.

Jack
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 470
Joined: May 25th, 2015, 9:01 pm
PC: Malcym Ashe

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Jack » September 4th, 2020, 2:57 am

Mal cocked his head slightly at the young woman’s words -- or more precisely her accent. He could place it as well as the origin of her name. Both were Murandian.

The drin knew there were others from his own nation, had even sparred with a few on occasion, but it was rare to actually find a common connection.

Even if it ended in a mucked-up situation caused by an irritable Ji’val who couldn’t let well enough alone. Seriously, did she have to dump the entire cartload on the pair of them?

“A pleasure, Novice Catasina,” he said, his eyes suddenly dancing with mischief. “And it would be a welcome privilege to offer to repay our mutual -- acquaintance. Turning her into the Master of Training would not nearly as rewarding as repaying a debt. As it is, I’ll be late for drills with prickly Gaidin now.”

Mal had very little knowledge of what bumbling fool aristocrats called the Game of Houses, and he detested trying to play a game that treated people like him as pieces on a stones board. However, he was cautious enough not to overtly signal plans a possible prank.

He looked down at his own clothing, wondering if it was as bad as the Novice’s dress. It was -- and he was going to have a hard time explaining the situation to Yards quartermaster. What had been a dingy white was now just a sheer mess of dung-soaked cloth covered with straw; his back felt worse and he swore he could still feel stuff falling off in small chunks. At least he hadn’t worn his uniform coat.

“At least in the king’s army, I would’ve known what to do with ones like that, especially if the unit were away from Lugard,” he muttered, half to himself as he looked back in the direction their assailant had left. A sly grin touched his lips.

“If you’ve any suggestions on providing repayment for our acquaintance, I’d be happy to hear them --- she does have some very straight schedules,” he muttered. He wrinkled his nose at the continued stench. “Maybe after both of us have bathed, if you’re inclined.”
Jerid Walker Asha'man
"We all suffer. It's how we move past it that defines us."

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Alianora » September 7th, 2020, 1:00 am

Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, Novice
When he agreed to help her, Catasina smiled. She was perfectly capable of carrying out a prank alone, had pulled off plenty directed at her obnoxious older sisters, but given the choice, she much preferred to work with a capable ally. She clasped her hands together in front of her, fighting the desire to pick at the filth that was slowly drying on her dress.

"You're from Murandy?" she asked when he mentioned Lugard. Catasina had thought she'd detected the sound of that city in his speech, but having never been there, wasn't able to be sure. The nation meant nothing to her, and she sometimes forgot there was an entire nation outside the town where she'd been raised, but it was still an interesting piece of information. The novice tilted her head thoughtfully, thinking to herself that she should remember that for potential use later.

His suggestion that they continue their planning after bathing earned a vigorous nod from Catasina. "Yes, I think that would be best," she agree. "I've no desire to stand in here all afternoon smelling like a stable." She shook her head as she looked down at her dress. "I've been told I have to bathe before going to class because of this punishment, but somehow.....I don't think I was expected to get as dirty as I am." Before she'd gotten started, Catasina had even been looking forward to the bath, a rare luxury for a novice but now...she wasn't sure there was water enough in the world to get herself entirely clean.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I should probably get on with that, I'll need all the time I can get. Maybe we could meet again after dinner, at the entrance to the gardens?"

Jack
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 470
Joined: May 25th, 2015, 9:01 pm
PC: Malcym Ashe

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Jack » September 7th, 2020, 4:40 am

Malcym inclined his head slightly at the Novice’s question. “I grew up in the estates of Lord Ared do’Lai of Satein, who employed my mother and my stepfather was the captain of the lord’s guard,” he murmured. “But my mother and I are from Mayene, my little sister was born a few months after we re-located to Muranday.”

His silver-blue eyes danced as he flicked more filth onto the stable floor. “They, along with my half-brother, reside in Lugard now with a successful money-lender business,” he muttered. “My stepfather pointed me toward the army and service to the king ... as an example that Murandy is one nation, not just a bunch of squabbling nobles.”

He coughed ... “Meaning no offense, Novice Catasina,” he said respectfully. “Just that the service to the throne proves that can be true.”

Mal nodded slightly, “Agreed, Gardens after supper. I’ll be the one who looks ... much cleaner.”

With a slight bow he smiled mischievously, his silver-blue eyes flashing like he was about to rob a stagecoach.

“I look forward to this fair exchange in repaying said debt to the offending party,” he said.

---

Mal watched an owl take flight against the setting sun, his silver-blue eyes picking out the rust-colored wings as they flapped. But his mind was elsewhere ... thinking back to how glorious the bath had been to get all the filth off his body.

Light, but it had been a disgusting experience, what Jessa had done to him and the Novice. It had taken a thorough scrubbing to even get the remote traces of the stench from his body. Whatever ... was hijacking his sense of smell was enough to smell every little trace.

He stood now, clean and dressed in his grey trainee uniform, hair combed back and hand on the hilt of his longsword at his side. Silver-blue eyes picked up movement coming through the fading light.

The Novice was a different sight when not covered in horse dung. Black hair, grey eyes, perhaps only a few inches shorter than Mal ... and someone who liked she probably spent a little too much time indoors. He nodded respectfully as the young woman.

“Hello, partner,” he said simply.
Jerid Walker Asha'man
"We all suffer. It's how we move past it that defines us."

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Alianora » September 11th, 2020, 1:04 am

Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, Novice
Catasina walked slowly along the path that led to the gardens, taking care to keep her white slippers out of the dust and the dirt. After taking what had felt like the entire afternoon to bathe, she bore little resemblance to the filthy mess she'd been earlier in the day. Her white novice dress was spotless, and not one strand of hair was out of place in the braided bun she'd redone. It felt wonderful to be clean again, though she did wonder how long that would last out here in the gardens. What was I thinking when I suggested meeting here? She knew the answer; there simply weren't many places in the Tower where a novice and a Drin could meet, and none of them were as private as the gardens could be. Still, they weren't Catasina's favorite place, and she frowned as she walked, brushing a speck of dust off of her skirt.

At this hour, the gardens weren't terribly crowded, which made it easy for Catasina to pick out the Drin awaiting her as she approached the entrance. Like her, he looked much different than he had in the stables. She smiled at him and said, "Hello," then looked to either side of her to make sure there was nobody close enough to hear. After determining that they had sufficient privacy, Catasina decided it would be safe enough to proceed with their shared business.

The novice stepped closer and lowered her voice. "I've thought of two things so far," she said to Mal. "The first is that there's some itchweed that grows along the edges of the gardens where the gardeners rarely go. We could collect some of that and put it in her laundry. I have to do laundry duty enough that it wouldn't be hard to do, though there is the risk of getting it in others' clothing too." She shrugged, not especially bothered by the possibility. "There's also some mice that I've seen outside the kitchen walls. I think it would be great fun to put them in her bed. You'd have to do more of the work for that though, unless you can think of a good reason for a novice to be in her room."

Raising a hand, Catasina pushed back a piece of her hair that was trying to work free from her braid. "I would really like to pay her back for what she did to us by doing the same to her, maybe while she's sleeping," she commented, "but I haven't figured out how we could make that happen. Any ideas?"

Jack
"Lord of Chaos"
Posts: 470
Joined: May 25th, 2015, 9:01 pm
PC: Malcym Ashe

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Jack » September 12th, 2020, 11:41 pm

Malcym listened intently to the Novice’s proposed plans. Both were simple and easily executed, though nowhere by any means fair enough payback for what Jessa had done to them.

Even now he could still feel the proverbial boot lodged up his rear from the Gaidin he was supposed to have trained with. Extra time soaking in the baths and having to find new clothes had caused him to be a half-hour late -- and earned him to two extra hours in training time.

The itch weed would be the easiest caper to pull off by far. As for the mouses ...

“Jenna isn’t one who scares easy just because some mice are in her bed,” he muttered. “She once caught a rat eating her boot from the inside of after being forced to swim the lake for some ill-choice words to a cranky Gaidin ... and well, the poor thing made noises I never thought could come from a rat just as it was being crushed.”

Granted, Mal wasn’t fond of creatures that chewed holes in his boots, but he’d never been prone to inflict ... that much horror on an otherwise innocent creature. Worst case scenario, he would have just shooed it off with a smack of a branch.

“Besides, she’s a Ji’val and a woman, so they are barracked in different areas ... and some of the Ji’val patrolling the hallways at night for people breaking curfew have a mean whack with the crops they’re provided,” he said, wincing from the memory of one such encounter whilst trying to take a shortcut back to his barracks from a quiet night alone.

“The itch weed, on the other hand,” Mal’s lips curved in a devious grin. “You’re brilliant Catasina. Clothes are one step ... but trainees also need sheets for their bedding. In this particular Ji’s case, her linens would be placed in the same location as her clothes for pickup.”

He frowned slightly, very aware of Catasina’s comments on the itch weed infecting some other people’s clothing.

“There is no substitute for success, even if there’s a small risk like that,” he murmured, echoing his stepfather.
Jerid Walker Asha'man
"We all suffer. It's how we move past it that defines us."

Alianora
"The Path of Daggers"
Posts: 997
Joined: May 2nd, 2016, 8:32 pm
PC: Liaran Sedai, Blue Ajah
SC: Amaranie Sedai, Indigo Ajah
TC: Kalyan Rihera, Yellow Ajah

Re: A situation most foul (attn: Alianora)

Post by Alianora » September 13th, 2020, 9:37 pm

Catasina do Moerin a'Mathira, Novice
Almost immediately, Catasina had reason to regret her suggestion of mice in the woman's bed. The explanation Mal provided for why that wouldn't work left the novice feeling rather ill. Her face turned a color that almost matched the white of her dress, and she let out a gasp, covering her mouth with a hand. She crushed a rat? Who does that? After what she'd done to them already, Catasina already knew the Ji wasn't a very nice person, but she still hadn't expected to hear about that sort of casual cruelty. It left her with no doubt that the woman deserved what she was going to get, and Catasina only wished she'd been able to come up with something even worse.

As she continued to listen, she looked down at herself, making sure that her shoes and the hem of her dress hadn't picked up any dirt from the path. She lifted her head when that was done to look back at the man across from her, who was now speaking far more enthusiastically about her idea of using itchweed in the woman's clothes. Catasina returned his smile with a bright one of her own, thinking back to the time when, as a younger woman, she'd snuck some into her sisters' dresses. They hadn't stopped scratching for days, and she'd found it most satisfying to see them unable to ignore something she'd done.

Her smile grew wider when he called her brilliant. She knew she was smart, but it was always nice to hear it acknowledged. Mal seemed rather intelligent himself, offering an idea that Catasina hadn't even considered. She didn't think much about things like bedsheets, having always had maids to deal with that sort of thing, but as soon as he said it, knew those had to be included in their prank as well.

She nodded and said, "So, itchweed in the sheets and in the clothing....she won't even be able to guess where it's coming from!" It sounded nearly perfect. Catasina's smile faded, but the pleased light in her grey eyes remained. "I have laundry duty in four days, if you want to do it then," she said. "But I was thinking, would it be better to wait? If we do it right away, she may be able to guess we were behind it, even if she can't prove it. But if we wait....she shouldn't have any reason to think of us once a week or so goes by."

Post Reply
meble kuchenne na wymiar cennik

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 14 guests