[IC] Devouring Light

[Owlriel]

Asran couldn’t stop the small laugh that came out of him. As Ayrie was just so adorable, “well the bath houses are very accommodating. If you got the Shigusa Bathhouse I can cover the cost for the full spa treatment. The servers there are very good at pampering. Even I go there from time to time.” He smiled brightly at Ayrie. But, his smile was hiding his rage.
More priests? Dammit, this is gonna be a problem. Maybe I can kill them before they can get here? No, it’d look suspicious.
“So who are these so called priests? I sincerely hope you tell them the rules when they get here. I’d hate for something terrible to happen. Then again they’re probably set in their ways. So chances are I suggest you get the money from them, and send them away quickly. I don’t want this city being the center for a holy war,” he said.

[Arreyis]

She smiled at him when he mentioned a spa treatment, it sounded lovely. Ayrie's smile faded quickly when he mentioned the other priests. His words scared her, and the concealed rage in his eyes was more frightening. "Mayor... I'll do what I can, but please, these are good men. My friends. They won't hurt anyone, they're coming more to provide me assistance and..."

She tried to muster some courage to say more in their defense, but couldn't think of anything that might assuage him. "If they don't listen I will send them home the first day, I do have the luxury of choosing my companions here. They won't allow me to stay here alone though, not for long and not without reason. If you send them a message... No, then they would simply become more skeptical of this place. I will do my best, but I cannot make guarantees. I'm a mid-level priestess at best, and there are many above me who do not think I am even ready to be away from the monastery."

[Owlriel]

“And there in lies the problem. What sort of assistance would be needed here? What in this city is not provided for? What do you possibly believe we need,” Asran asked shooting to his feet. He was growling with rage it was beastly. He soon realized his inhuman reaction, and took a deep calming breath in. Then slowly exhaled it out. “Look, I welcome everyone to this city. No matter who they are, or who they were. So long as they do not try to destroy the happiness of this place. I have no problem with them. So just be careful with what you, and your church does. As the last time missionaries came here it hurt a lot of people,” he said calmly.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie shot to her feet when he stood and growled, unsure what he might do. She had heard so many stories of what her mother had gone through with her father before she had arrived at the monastery. The level of anger fuming away from the mayor frightened her, but also made her angry.

"I didn't choose this place, believe you me. I was sent here by my elders, who you might know control most everything I do." She stopped, not wanting to sound like a child yelling back at a parent. "I'm not here to change anything, only to offer some light to people who may ask for it. I am not the brainwashed ninny you seem to think I am, and I am not here to harm anyone."

Ayrie immediately regretted yelling at him in this place and blushed bright red as she stared at him wide eyed. Her breath coming in gasps. Unable to think of anything else to do she left her things and ran from him, heading down the path to her building.

It was hard enough being away from home, but being alone and surrounded by strangers, one of whom hated what she stood for, made things much harder. By the time she was half way down the block she was fighting tears.

[Owlriel]

Asran watched Ayrie run. Feeling like a ginormous idiot, of course she didn’t have any say in coming here. Her elders said go so she came, because she wasn’t as strong as them. It was often that way with holy churches, or really any churches in general. He needed to apologize to her for being such an ass. But, how? He motioned Markus over to him quickly.
“I need you to do something for me. Teach her magic, don’t tell her I sent you. Tell her whatever reason you want,” Asran said quietly. Markus looked shocked at his lord. Only for Asran to shoot him a serious look. “As you wish,” he said. Markus was one of the very few that knew Asran was actually lord Gluttony.
Now that Asran had her teacher prepped to give her power. To ensure that she had more choices of her own. To allow her to truly protect this city from her church. He now needed to do something that looked like him actually apologizing. But, what? He doubted she wanted to see him right now.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie stopped running as she came to a small park. Taking a few deep breaths she calmed her nerves and looked around. The path here lead into a small and sparse wooded area, with benches and a few sandy pits for children to play in. She spotted an old tree with giant branches low to the ground and decided to go sit near it, but as she neared her inclination was to climb it in a way that she hadn't climbed a tree since she was a child.

She found a foothold near the base and made her way up into a branch that hung low enough she could jump out of it if she desired. There was a flat enough spot near the trunk that she could sit comfortably without fearing a fall.

'That was bad.' she thought to herself, wondering if he would find her and kick her out of his city for her behaviour. It was uncomfortable not knowing what would happen, but at least for the moment she didn't quite care. She just felt a longing for home, for the safety of the everyday and the well known. She sighed, 'It's the way he says things, as if I intend harm to the people here. I don't want to harm anyone, I want to do what I believe is right.'

She had never been a devout believer in any 'God' but she was a believer in the Church being a mostly good thing for people. Still, it was hard to dispute him when he said things about the Church harming people in some cases. She knew about the Holy Wars and the attacks perpetrated by the Church on some cities, specifically if the city was prosperous and didn't allow the Church any power. This city was a prime target for such an action, and other factions of the Church had tried in the past, but always failed here. This time she assumed they had decided to try a honey over vinegar course of action, and had sent her to try to open the doors. She didn't think her superiors had a particularly villainous motivation, but they certainly wouldn't balk at another war if something bad happened here. Ayrie had to tread lightly.

[Owlriel]

Several children came screaming and laughing out a building. Several very weak espers following after them. They were wearing little adorable uniforms. A woman was following behind she had a several scars on her face. Without them she’d be gorgeous to behold. But, the scars marred her beauty. “Children be careful. What would lord Gluttony think if he saw you nearly tripping over one another,” the woman called.
The children slowed slightly, but still giggled. They began playing in the park as the espers danced around them playfully. Several of the children were eating snacks. They looked up the tree at Ayrie, they smiled and waved at her.
The teacher walked over to the tree, and smiled at Ayrie. “Who are you,” she asked kindly. “I am Nadia, I run the summoning school.”

[Arreyis]

Roused from her thoughts Ayrie smiled at the children and waved back. When the teacher came up and introduced herself she jumped down, "I'm Ayrie. I just arrived a few days ago from Writvul."

She carefully avoided telling the woman what she did, not wanting to have another person angry at her for her place in life. The woman was pretty, the scars marking her face told Ayrie her story was more than a summoning school teacher.

"I'm just finding my way here, not having a great time of it I'm afraid. The Mayor and I don't quite get along." she sighed, watching the children play and eat their snacks.

[Owlriel]

“The mayor,” Nadia asked in complete confusion. As she didn’t know of any mayor just lord Gluttony who gave orders to his subordinates in the dark. There was no one with any sort of title like mayor. Then stopped quickly realizing what was going on. She quickly backpedaled saying, “oh yeah! That’s right the mayor. I’m sure he’s just worried. He tends to worry a lot about everyone he’s much like a mother hen protecting us all. He can often get lost in his protectiveness, and can sound meaner than he intends. However, I don’t know for what reason he’d have for not getting along with you. Care to talk to me about it? Don’t worry I’m very impartial I know what it’s like to be at odds with him. When I first came here he was none too trusting. As I can see things inside people.”

[Arreyis]

'So it's just me then.' Ayrie had wondered why he wouldn't give her a real name, now she knew it was because he didn't want her to know it.

"Well, at the risk of losing a friend before I've made one, I'm a priestess of the Church... I was sent here to provide services to those who would use them, and to try to bring people to the light of the Church." Ayrie said, wondering if this woman would gather the children and run. "I would never use force of course, I'm not that type of priestess. The Mayor seems to think that I will cause some sort of disturbance and that people will get hurt over it. I'm beginning to think I should just leave, as he'll likely kick me out anyway over what I said to him earlier today."

She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, again realizing she was unkempt in her travel clothes. She had seriously wanted that bath, but now she realized she wasn't likely to get it. She had left her chit where she was sitting when she had run off, and the mayor wasn't likely to extend his spa offer again now that she had spouted off at him the way she did.

[Owlriel]

“Jeeze that guy can be a complete idiot. But, I can understand why he’s so frightened. I mean churches and especially light aren’t exactly something he likes. Especially after what happened to him, what they did to him. But, that’s not something for me to say. That’s his story to tell or not tell,” Nadia said smiling sadly. She wasn’t afraid of Ayrie in the slightest. Because she could see she was a good, and decent person.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie breathed a sigh of relief to hear that not everyone viewed her the way he seemed to. Things were starting to make a little more sense though, if the church had hurt him or someone he loved in the past that would certainly make him view them the way he did.

"Anyway, I better get going. My original intention leaving the house this morning was to find a bath, and I'm afraid now I need to go make amends so I can get one." Ayrie said, beginning to feel a little better. "It was nice to meet you, Nadia. I hope I will see you at the festival later!"

She waved goodbye to Nadia and the children and trotted off in the direction of the Temple, hoping the mayor had already left. She wasn't sure she could face him, but she needed that chit. As she approached she saw that Markus was still there, tending to a bed of roses outside.

"Hello Markus!" she said. "I'm sorry for running off the way I did earlier, I didn't mean to cause a ruckus. I-is there any way I can get that chit back? I could really use a bath before the festival tonight."

Markus looked at her, wondering how on earth this girl had gained his Lord's attention. "Yes, my dear, I have it here." he handed it to her.

"Thank you." she looked at him, unsure what she might say to excuse her earlier behaviour.

"My dear, have you thought about getting more education in your elemental magic? I think you may be getting so anxious because you're not sheilded correctly." he eyed her with what appeared to be concern for her wellbeing, and in fact he was concerned. An explosion here, from a light element user, could be devastating.

"W-what? But I..." she felt her mental sheilds for a moment and noticed they were cracked. "You're right. I do need to resheild. Who could teach me the right way though? All of the teachers at home were old when I was born, I've been getting by on what I learned at 5 years old my whole life."

"Why, I will of course." Markus said cheerily. He wasn't exactly happy to be taking on a student, but for some reason he liked this girl, whether she was from the Church or not. "Meet me here after your bath and I will teach you proper sheilding."

"That's very generous, thank you." Ayrie said, still a bit dumbstruck at her luck in finding a teacher. She walked away feeling lighter, having made two new friends in a city that had seemed so dark only an hour ago.

[Owlriel]

Asran had made his way to the bathhouse. He needed to get clean it’d been a while since he had. He had attendants get him clothes as others tended set the bath for him then left. He got undressed he looked at his skin the tubes that lined his body some were faded and scars covered some. He took a deep shaky breath as he stepped into the bath water. His face tensed in pain as the water brushed against the markings, and scars. He took a deep breath in, and slowly breathed out. His head rested against the back of the tub.
“Damn priests,” he growled out. His teeth fangs from his rage.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie ran home, grabbed some nicer but still comfortable clothes, and made it back to the bath house as quickly as she could. She was excited to learn something new to do with her magic, and wanted to get her bath done quickly. As she entered she handed a woman attendant her chit.

"What scent would you like for your soap, miss? We have Lily, Rose, and if you like the more woody smells we have one that smells like the forest." A young girl was holding out three brown bottles filled with liquid.

"Smell? Uhm, I guess Lily?" She took the bottle from the girl and was handed a fluffy warm towel. "Thank you."

"You just go right on in, miss, and we'll take your clothes and wash em out while you're in there." the girl said. "You can come back in the mornin' and they'll be dry for you."

Ayrie entered the private bath stall, setting her clean clothing on a dresser. She undressed and the girl took her clothes. Sliding into the warm water Ayrie felt a gush of relief rush through her. It felt so good to clean off the last few days of stress. The soap smelled lovely, and she used it liberally, hoping that no one would mind. She washed her hair and wound it up above her head so she could lay back.

"This feels so good." she said aloud, as she relaxed in the warm water. She wanted to enjoy it for just a few minutes longer.

[Owlriel]

Asran washed slowly got up then went to the shower to wash himself better. Using the soap in the stall to cleanse his body with a special soap specially made for him. That helped soothe away the pain caused by the markings. When an imp entered his washroom he turned to look at it.
“She’s in the bath house m’lord. Should we slit her throat while she soaks,” the imp asked. Only to recoil from the death glare Asran gave the creature. “I’ll take that as a no. What shall we do then,” it asked. “Keep an eye on her. If possible try to guide her towards the restaurant next door. I’ve an idea up my sleeve,” he said smirking. The imp nodded, and took off to tell it’s brothers the masters wishes.

Asran finished getting clean feeling refreshed. Attendants brought him a warm Japanese style robe covering well past his knees while still conforming to his body. while his other clothes finished up being washed. Thanks to artificial magic crystals, and a bit of innovation. The bathhouse had a several washers and drying machines for clothes and towels. Right now the people working were looking at the priestesses clothes. Trying to figure out if she were hiding something. Seeing nothing the stuck her clothes in the washer to be taken care of.

Asran walked next door to the restaurant after getting dressed. The restaurant was very laid back with tables set low to the floor to allow people to sit on the floor on pillows. To allow them to recline into a comfortable position. The entrance had a step with a large base after the door. Before stepping up Asran removed his shoes. He turned to the woman tending the front counter.
“Prepare a lord Gluttony special. I’m going to be having company, a woman. Guide her to the back room to me.” She nodded bowing low to Asran. Who walked past into a private back room. The chest of his robe slightly opening which he promptly closed, and tightened his clothing.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie finished up her bath and dried off, enjoying the warm air in the bath house. In the monastery everything had been so cold, but here the humidity of the water was trapped inside, and it kept the room warm. She dressed herself in a knee length cotton dress in a pretty emerald green color that matched her eyes. This dress was her favorite, and she thought it would be fun to dance in... 'If I get to dance at all I'd rather it be in something comfortable.'

She brushed and braided her hair, looping a ribbon through it and tying it at the bottom. She sniffed her skin and was pleasantly surprised the smell of the soap was lingering. She then put on her simple flat shoes and gathered her things, heading for the door.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality," She said to the girls at the door. "That was much needed and very relaxing."

She stopped just outside the door to check her things and make sure she had everything she had come in with other than her dirty clothing.

[Owlriel]

Soon a parade of people started to pass through the street. There was loud music playing, and people in costume dancing all around. The imps began to push Ayrie around disguised as absent minded festival goers. While another rushed up to her. They were wearing a suit, and sunglasses. “This way mam the l... mayor wishes to see you,” the disguised imp said quickly. His voice almost being drowned out by the loud celebratory sounds.
The imp guided her inside the restaurant pushing her in before vanishing into the shadows.

The woman at the front desk smiled at Ayrie, “Welcome miss. Someone is waiting for you in the back VIP room. I believe with the crowd as rowdy as it is right now. You should take him up on the offer, and enjoy a meal with him. Our food is very good even the lord loves our cooking.”

[Arreyis]

As Ayrie stood outside the bath house a sudden crowd of people began pushing her away in the direction of a restarant next door. When a sunglasses wearing short person in a suit told her the mayor wanted to see her inside.

"Okay..." He pushed her not so gently through the door and another woman told her the mayor was waiting. "Thank you, I guess."

She was starting to feel as though she was going to go whether she wanted to or not, so she followed the woman's direction to the VIP room. There, she saw the mayor seated on some pillows at a table meant for sitting on the floor.

"Hello." She said simply, standing near the door and waiting for him to tell her why she was here.

[Owlriel]

Asran looked at Ayrie with a warm smile. “Hello to you as well. I wanted to apologize for my earlier outburst. I didn’t mean to snap like that, it’s just... I’m sorry,” Asran said. He wanted to say why he’d snapped. But, he didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. He then motioned to across the table. “Please, sit down.” He noticed his sleeve slip up revealing some of his runic markings. Then quickly pulled his hand back covering it up he was ashamed of the markings, of the pain they brought him.

[Arreyis]

Ayrie watched his face carefully as he spoke, looking for any sign of his previous anger. As he motioned to the other seat she saw more of the markings she had noticed before, but he quickly hid them. This only made her desire to see them and know what they were grow.

"It's okay... I take it that the Church must have done something horrific to you for you to feel so cross about them." she said, removing her shoes and settling herself on a pillow. "I know of the history, but I confess I was never a good book student."

He seemed to be trying very hard to apologize, and if she was being truthful it was working.