Escaping Salvation IC [M] (A PK and Koti Story)

[Koti~]

"Oh no. I'm fine. I'm just embarrassed that I treated your sister like a cat. I didn't mean to." Tanya waved off the woman's worries, getting her emotions back under control. Tanya was eventually able to get her blush under control. She finally noticed the woman had her boots back on. Already she was worried that the new friend would be leaving soon. Tanya wasn't ready to see her new friend leaving just after meeting, nor did she want to be left alone again.

"You know you can stay for awhile. I do enjoy having the odd guests now and again, and you should really rest that ankle of yours. I know, why not stay for lunch at least. I make a mean rabbit salad, and I just finished smoking the haunches this morning." Tanya offered, placing two cups and a shallow bowl for the two of them. Setting some tea bags by the side for their offers, she headed towards the clay oven near the back, already loading in the dried wood and stoking a fire inside. Once she had a flame growing, Tanya moved towards the small room off to the side, opening to to reveal several bundles of wrapped meat.

"I normally don't have guests over, so I never get a chance to really cook for more than myself." Tanya began as she moved the smoked rabbit into the growing heat of the oven, draping them in soaked cheesecloth. She headed to where the hanging produce she had set aside for taking to the market, now delighted to have another to cook for.

"While I do.. can you tell me what it's like on the other side of the wall?" Tanya asked, already chopping some celery and carrots for the salad.

[P.K.]

"Oh, well I'm sure Enivid is not to upset, are you?" She asked glancing at her sister who glanced up at her before responding. "No of coarse not." Enivid said cooly. "I must seem very strange." Trying to put their host at ease. It wouldn't do to have the women flustered for their sake. Cora once more pushed herself to stand even after the women suggested that she rest her ankle, far to curious to see what she was doing. "Oh yes! Enivid we should stay, lunch sounds wonderful!" Enivid would have frowned at her sister, she still had a bad feeling about this but Cora went on. "Much better then what we packed."

"Rabbit." Enivid murmured. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure of trying it." she said. Eyeing her sister who was eagerly grinning as she was watching Tanya work away. "I suppose it would be rude to refuse such hospitality, specially since you helped my Ida." She said finely. "Great!" Cora said. "Is There anything I can help with?" Cora asked excitedly as she hovered near by watching with interest.

Enivid watched from the other side of the table. As Tanya started to prepare them food. When she asked about the other side of the wall She was quite for a moment, mulling over what she should say. Or if anything should be said at all. After all she was not entirely sure what was going on here. Was this a space time thing? magic? or just a really old nation that was cut off from the rest of the world? Cora on the other hand didn't think of these things.

"Its a lot more advanced out there." Cora said observing Tanya as she spoke. "Most homes have pluming, Electricity is still new but there arn't as many homes that are as quaint as this one accept for the odd stead." She said. "There are great big cities connected by rail way, traveled by great steam engines. Making travel and trade much faster then horse and carriage, or walking." Cora chuckled.

[Koti~]

“So there are other lands out there!” Tanya let out a happy cheer as she paused a moment in chopping the last bits of the carrots up, setting them aside in a dish while moving to grab the lettuce she had started upon last night for her dinner. Pulling a much larger mixing bowl from the cupboards and starting tearing lettuce up into it. She kept imagining the world outside, the idea of a candle that never burnt out, or even the thought of water that didn’t need to be changed every time after cleaning up. It was a pleasant thought as she mixed together the lettuce and veggies into the same large bowl.


“For most of my life, I’ve known this farm, and after a while.. It gets rather lonely. It’s so rare to have visitors over, and even more the idea of someone from beyond the lands is just breath-taking.” Tanya spoke as she set the bowl aside and checked the rabbit meat, shaking her head slightly that it wasn’t done just yet. The simple salad was moved to the table with two plates and a bowl for Enivid, along with some wooden forks and a beaker that had a rich seasoning smell, a mixture of herbs and spices that paired up well with the scent of the slowly cooking rabbit.


“So, tell me more about the world out there? I’ve heard it’s full of demons and deformed creatures that are blind.” Tanya spoke as she finished off the table settings with two glasses of water and a half cut loaf of bread. Checking the rabbit one last time, she hummed to herself and pulled them out, careful to avoid burning herself as she set about cutting the meat up into pieces and sharing them evenly between the three of them.

[P.K.]

Cora chuckled. "Of coarse." She said she couldn't possibly imagen someone thinking that what was in this was was all there was, that was unthinkable! Silly really. But Enivid's eyes narrowed as she listened more closely to what the women said. Had no one from this side ventured to their side? And how big was this space from this point? how large was this land? She still had an uneasy feeling but she kept it to herself as Cora lowered herself back into the chair to think over what more she could say. How did you explain something to someone who didn't have much to compare it to?

She absently picked at a leaf of salad and pushed it past her lips. But sucked it in a little to fast in surprise at what their host said next and began to cough hard to dislodge the large peace of leaf.

Enivid glanced at her sister, but despite her red face she knew she'd be fine as she cleared her throat. "Are you saying that none of your people have ventured past the wall?" Enivid asked curiously. "You've have no relations past the walls? no trade negotiations, no alliances? No contact?" She asked.

"I mean." Cora said rasping a bit as she picked up a glass of water. "There are some fairly strange people beyond the wall." she said. "But I wouldn't call them.. demons? Mean maybe, sometimes but not demons. As for deformities, you come across the... occasional birth defect, or injury. Most of them look like you and I... most of them."

[Koti~]

“Well, until you came over… I didn’t know anything was over the wall.” Tanya spoke, letting out a small sigh of gratitude that Cora was just fine. She sat back and took a few bites of her salad as the woman mentioned humans born with birth defects and those injured. Was that the way things worked out there, just so flippant about people twisted by the shadows and changed into strange beings. Maybe there was a communication barrier, and her words meant something different in this human world. She would have to be more selective in her words. As for trade and alliances. Were not all allied with the Sinless one.

“I would guess… no? I mean, as far as I was raised on was outside the walls lie a dark pit full of demons and those twisted by the shadows into shapes no longer resembling humans. Those that have shunned the word of the Sinless One and needed to be bathed in the light of his son to return to the greatness of the world.” Tanya said with a pleasant smile upon her face.

“As he says himself, ‘And Lo, I have risen from the ashes, a fallen star, nestled in the pits of the bountiful earth. From there I shall place it upon high so that all who accept it may be bathed in its heavenly light, knowing nothing of suffering or strife so long as they follow the teachings I have handed down’” Tanya filled in her guest, holding that pleasing smile, though even her words felt cold, as though she herself was having doubt in them herself.

“But… I’m not sure his light reaches here as much as it did.” Tanya tacked on quietly at the end, her hand resting against the bowl and letting silence hang in the air.

[P.K.]

Cora and Enivid let the silence hang for a moment as they digested what they were being told."So..." Cora started slowly. "Your completely cut off from the outside world." Enivid said more bluntly. "Oh..." Cora muttered. So she really didn't think there had been anything beyond the wall... other then demons. "Well." Cora said scratching at the back of her head. "There are no pits that I know of, specially not with any... demons." She said. Enivids eyes were narrowed in a studying manor as she blinked slowly at Tanya. She did not miss the add on at the end.

"I'm not one to completely discount the idea of a higher being." Enivid said. "Surly there are higher powers at work for the intricate details of nature that we learn from. But surly a beneficial deity would not shut their people away and keep them ignorant of the truth of what lies beyond their sight." She said. "but I digress, it is not our job to sway you one way or the other. We have no place to tell you what you should or should not believe." she said eyeing her Ida who slowly closed her mouth. "And I have no intention in meddling in..." she paused for a moment before speaking more slowly. ".. spiritual affairs that I do not understand nor make sense to me." She had been about to say cult but even she knew that might be to blunt.

"I suppose... the biggest question would be... is are you happy with the way you live?" Cora asked slowly. "If you are then who are we to tell you there isn't?" She shrugged.

[Koti~]

“Well, of course I am happy. I get to live in the bounty of his ---” Tanya began, indignation flaring for the briefest of seconds as she stared at the girls, before closing her mouth as the flame flickered out. These two girls before her were completely unknown to her world, a stark and refreshing ideal outside the way of her life. These two would never truly interact with her family or her people, so why not tell them the truth? Let a burden roll off her shoulders for just the briefest of moments. So cut off from her world due to both pregnancy and distance, no one would ever hear her words.

“Well… in truth, that is a hard question to answer. So long have I spent under the service of the Sinless one that I know nothing else. Every day I live and follow his actions that I feel right and pleased by following his actions. Yet…. I do not believe we were meant to live alone. My world is split into two halves, a divide in my family.” Tanya began, placing the fork down on the table, a somber look obscuring her eyes as they stared past the grain in the table.

“Our people highly praise those with magic, those touched by the Sinless one, that they live in the cities, to be raised and trained how to use magic from an early age. All of my family has been touched with this gift, all but me.” Tanya spoke, resting her hand on the small bump of her stomach, knowing that this child would be no different.

“Yet.. I remain out here, isolated in the farm where each of my children have been born, their smiling faces more like ghosts that haunt me. Why … in a world where each family is to love each other, to follow in his path and walk arm in arm, am I left alone in this world? Why am I left behind, as though my life is just a sin I have committed against the Sinless one, while my family moves onwards, blessed by his light.” Tanya couldn’t help the tears that started to form in her eyes, fingers digging into her skin. She blamed mostly the hormones scrambling in her body for the torrent of emotions going through her. In truth though, it was much like a kettle that had finally boiled over, and having this woman here was just the release she needed.

“I don’t want to lose another child to magic again, to see his loving face beaming up at me as I hold him to my flesh, feeling that tiny heartbeat against my own. Hearing his voice crying out against the world for the first time, only to lose him. To have that being, that pure child ripped from my arms by the will of the Sinless one, as though he was pulling my heart out and shattered to pieces!” Tanya hunched over the table, her body shaking as she openly wept onto the table, hair falling to obscure her face. There was no stopping the run of tears pouring down her face, or the bitter hatred she had at herself and the world around her.

“I don’t want to lose this one as well! I want to leave these walls so I can hold onto my son, to help him grow into a fine young man and enjoy life on his own, not in service to a god who would abandon a faithful who has provided many in which to serve for his name.” Tanya finally broke down, her head against the table, unable and unwilling to stop the fear, hatred, and disappointment gripping her heart.

“I want to leave this place… but there isn’t any way out.” Tanya whispered out the last part, having fallen into weeping silently as she laid against the table.

[P.K.]

Both girls were a little taken back at the sudden change in the women. Both had steeled themselves for a bit of a talking to about questioning this women's faith and her positions in it. But it didn't come. Instead a flood of emotions, loneliness, loss and desperation washed over them. Even Enivids cat like eyes were wide with the onslaught of information. What place would separate mother and child at such an early place in life? even to teach magic?

Cora's brows furrowed a bit as she watched the women, her heart going out as she could feel the pain in her voice. Silence stretched for a moment as the two girls mulled over their own thoughts. "Maybe you should." Cora said quietly after a moment. "Cora! we don't have the right." Enivids barked the cats head whipped around to her sister. "She's clearly unhappy here." Cora said to her sister. "And everyone deserves to be happy. You and I should know that better then anyone." Enivid opened her mouth before shutting it for a moment. "But your right, Its Tanya's right to chose."

Cora slipped from her seat and came around the table, slowly crouching at the crying women's side, reaching out and taking one of her hands in a gentle clasp. "Maybe its time for a change of pace, A new point of view, A new scenery." She told her quietly. "If you want to leave then we can find a way out for you." Cora said. "There's a whole world beyond that wall. And if you want to come back after seeing it, then we can bring you back." She said and offered the older women a smile.

[Koti~]

“Are you sincere?” Tanya asked, wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked upon the woman in front of her. She studied Cora, seeing no doubt in them. Her eyes showed worry and doubt, but she could see a calmness in the other woman's eyes, a determination that she had long since abandoned looking for in others. She wanted so much to reach out for that hope, to grasp it and never let go, no matter how faint. Her mind waged with her, years of tradition warring with the desire to feel happiness. Hope battling with faith in her soul. Tanya parted her lips, words hanging on the edge of her tongue as she wished to speak.

“I … I shouldn’t impose.” Tanya said, her voice dropping a bit as faith won out in the end. Pulling her hand free gently, she wiped her face again, scrubbing it a bit to get the red from her eyes. Plastering a smile that never reached her eyes, she straightened her appearance and sat up just a little too upright.

“Oh just look at me, being such an unruly host. I didn’t mean to burden you with all that, just me being hormonal. Don’t worry about me, just enjoy your meal.” Tanya spoke, forcing her voice back to normal. She had lived her life as a strong woman, and she would not break now, not here. Sure this woman was an outsider just passing through, and would probably never tell another soul, but she wasn’t going to shove her sadness on another.

“Oh! I gotta go tend to the farm. You two just stay, enjoy the meal and relax. I have some books in the foyer if you wish to read, but I’ll be back in a while. Stay off that ankle now and relax.” Tanya spoke, excusing herself politely from the table as she moved to the entrance, her back set and her shoulders square, defiant to the weight resting upon them.

[P.K.]

Cora studied the women's face, watching the thoughts dance across her eyes as she came to her decision. Honestly she was a little crestfallen when the women turned it down, but it was her decision. She let out a sigh and stood up. "Alright." She said and offered a smile and set back down at her seat. "Your not a burden Tanya, you are a most gracious host." she said and spooned a bit of the rabbit salad into her mouth.

"Whoa, your right!" Cora said. "This really is one mean Salad!" She took another bite, looking up as Tanaya got up saying she needed to tend to the farm Cora was curious, and ready to devour her food so she could come with the women to observe but she insisted she needed to stay off her feet to rest her ankle. Cora pouted. "Oh alright." she said picking at her Salad for a moment but the mention of books perked her up a bit, as it did for Enivid.

The two watched the women leave, with her back straight and shoulders set. "She is a strong women." Cora said taking another bite as she watched her vanish. "Indeed." Enivid agreed before hopping down to the floor and padding over to foyer to check out the books they had, she wasn't expecting to see anything familier as she browsed. Once Cora was finished with her meal, she neatly stacked the dishes and took them to what passed as the sink. She would have cleaned them herself but this set up was unfamiliar to her and she was afraid of.. braking something or using it improperly so she decided to hold off till their host returned and so followed Enivid. Together they picked out a title of interest and carefully settled into a chair, Enivid curling around the top near Cora's head as they both began to read with some interest, reading into the evening.