[b][h2][color=3a0600]Torin Hellsong[/color][/h2][/b][color=green]Raya T'mivus[/color] [color=ed1c24]Kasari Liesma[/color]

[b][color=3a0600]"You're welcome."[/color][/b] As the words rolled off his tongue, Torin chuckled at her comment about the food but the lighthearted moment quickly went south. At her inquiry about Gem gods and temples his expression darkened, the smile vanished and his mouth hardened into a thin line. He was about to chastise her when Raya, sitting between them, quickly interceded on her sister bride's behalf, begging him to overlook Kasari's blunder. He said nothing for a long moment, face unreadable aside from the initial reaction of obvious displeasure. He considered his options while the women waited in tense silence. Kasari's bold question could easily be attributed to her naivety, it was more than apparent she knew very little about the Drakken, and what little she had heard probably bore the Gemminian bias that his people were uncivilized brutes who drank the blood of their enemies. A narrow-minded though not-always-inaccurate picture. Not only that but her wagging tongue could prove to be problematic in the future if he indulged her habit of blurting out whatever it was she happened to be thinking.

Torin gently pushed Raya back in her seat a little and rested his elbow on the table as he turned to face Kasari. Even though his eyes were covered it seemed as though he were looking straight at her, or through her. At last he spoke and his tone did not mask his anger, the kind that can only be expressed by speaking in a low, clear voice. [b][color=3a0600]"Kasari,"[/color][/b] he said slowly, [b][color=3a0600]"I thought it would be made clear to you before now, but you and every other Gem in this room are expressly forbidden from practicing your native religion. To do so,"[/color][/b] he continued, [b][color=3a0600]"would bring shame not only upon you, but your husband, and his entire house as well. In this instance, your husband happens to be myself, and I would like to relieve you of your ignorance immediately lest you anger me in the future with such a blasphemous request."[/color][/b] He sat back, once more facing forward. [b][color=3a0600]"I will forgive your naiveté this once. You are young and uneducated in such matters, but that will soon be remedied. In the coming months you shall learn the names and purposes of our gods and grow accustomed to worshipping them. I'm sure it will take time for you to adjust, but soon you will find it easy to embrace them of your own accord."[/color][/b] Torin took another sip from the goblet before continuing. [b][color=3a0600]"I hope someday you are able to harbor the same passion for the gods as I. In the event that--"[/color][/b]

He trailed off suddenly and raised his head as something unseen suddenly captured his attention. He licked his lips, then breathed deeply through his nose and exhaled with a sigh. The seriousness about him melted away. Others near him didn't seem to notice, but of course, they weren't carefully monitoring the air in the room as he was. A lot of varying scents had reached Torin's nose over the course of the evening, not all of them pleasant. But this one, this one was very pleasant indeed. It was Tirza, of course, though he couldn't have named her, and he hadn't the slightest idea why the woman would be so [i]excited[/i] especially at a time like this. It confused him, and he could only conclude that it must be some sort of game or trick put on by whomever had claimed her. It had set his normally organized train of thought running in all sorts of wild directions and he had to resist the urge to act, to maintain the image of self-control. Still, he allowed himself to inhale once more, only this time the aroma was tainted by the metallic scent of blood. Less than a minute later a good portion of the room near the hall's entrance fell silent. The gore overwhelmed any trace of sexual vivification, but that smell was almost more interesting to Torin. Something had happened. Someone had come in, a girl was his impression, someone's Gem. Was she completely covered in blood? And Drakken blood no less. She must have killed someone. The question was "who" and "how" not so much "why" as there were probably a number of understandable reasons a Gem might assault a Drakken, though the fact she was the one standing in the doorway and not him was the most puzzling part of the equation.

Still in a rather venereal state, Torin leaned in closer to Raya, running a hand along her thigh and then slipping his arm around her waist in case she tried to move away as he pressed his lips to her ear and said, [b][color=3a0600]"You're looking over there right now, aren't you? There's a young Gem girl painted red with someone else's blood. Ah, she's walking now. I wonder what she's trying to accomplish. What do you think, Raya?"[/color][/b]

[h2][color=fff79a]Tyrai Hellsong[/color][/h2]
In the silence that fell after the bloodied Gem entered the banquet hall and so boldly returned to a man who could only be her husband, the voice of another woman rang out, mockingly. Tyrai would have taken no notice of it at all had the speaker not risen from the seat right next to her and audaciously looked Tyrai in the eye as she spoke. At first she was indignant, but then realized the whole spectacle was quite ridiculous, considering the position this girl was in. After glancing at Torin who seemed too preoccupied to bother with the issue, she resigned herself not to say anything, but when the Gem did not sit down and kept throwing defiant glances at her, she felt that this woman with her petty grudge ought to be put in her place.

Tyrai met her gaze with an unwavering stare as she too slowly stood to her full height, which was more than a head taller than her challenger. The Drakken woman raised her chin slightly so that her eyes were cast downward haughtily in the girl's direction. It was a perfect picture, she thought, how her height so concisely embodied just how much more important she was than this little harlot. Torin had wanted her to act demure for the warlords, but when it came to other women there was no question of the extent of her authority.

[color=fff79a]"Such reckless words from so small a mouth. It's a shame you're so uneducated. The truth is, we Drakken women go to war as often as our husbands, and we have such high standards for them that we can't be bothered with any man who falls short of our expectations. That's why [i]you're[/i] here of course. Cheap to acquire and keep, beaten without consequence, bedded on your husband's whim. Men don't like to wait around for me, so they settle instead for you, because they don't mind that you're cheap, or vulgar, so long as you spread your legs, and give birth. You said it yourself."[/color]

Tyrai cast her glance around the room as well, though she did it more as a show of pride than an effort to gain attention. She remained standing and would do so until the girl either backed down or was pulled down by her husband. She might be able to get away with such careless speech among women of her own race, but she ought to be whipped for such blatant disrespect toward Tyrai, or worse. And Tyrai hoped her punishment [i]was[/i] worse. Someone as established as Krone couldn't be seen in public with this whore's outburst and refuse to act, it would make him look very bad, to say the least.