"A Discussion on Trust"

Log Date:
	8/20, 8/23/00

Log Cast:
	Sumai, Kaiulani

Log Intro:
	Sarojin, Decemvir of the Pandion nation, has issued an ultimatum to
his impetuous young cousin Kaiulani: that he will capture and question her
mysterious guardian to determine once and for all why he has insisted on
dogging her every movement and yet refused to reveal himself to her kin. And
Kaiulani, aghast and furious at her cousin's intentions, nevertheless cannot
deny a truth she has sensed in Sarojin's thoughts: that he is genuinely
anxious for her, and does not want her to be threatened by the nameless one
who has time and again seemed to save her from danger.
	Kaiulani trusts the presence that has lurked on the edge of her 
awareness all her life, for all that she has never touched his mind. And yet
her cousin has instilled within her a glimmer of doubt -- for she has in
fact never touched her guardian's mind, and she cannot help but wonder if 
she can trust her own instincts. Especially when a chance encounter with a
Warlord of the Varati brings her further advice on the matter....

*===========================< In Character Time >===========================*
             Time of day:  Morning
          Date on Aether:  Thursday, December 19, 3906.
           Year on Earth:  1506 A.D. 
       Phase of the Moon:  Waning Crescent
                  Season:  Winter
                 Weather:  Snow
             Temperature:  Freezing
*==========================================================================*

City Park - Haven
     A large, well-manicured lawn covered with soft green grass provides some 
  respite from the daily hustle-and-bustle of the city. Along its perimeter, 
  beds of blue myrtle grow underneath a row of willow trees to the northwest, 
  with a small path leading back streetside. A hedgerow delineates the 
  southern boundary some hundred feet away, and a break in the hedge allows a 
  view into a smaller, more private garden.
     This area is generally used for large public gatherings and social 
  events, such as public performances or the huge festivals of cairds that 
  flock to Haven throughout the year. At more quiet times, it is frequented by 
  common folk and aristocrats alike, and most notably, the Sylvans seeking 
  brief escape from the confining streets of Haven.
Contents:
Sumai
Obvious exits:
Street <O>  Garden <G>

Its a curious morning for most here in Haven, perhaps not most but many, as 
  this is one the few times some of them have seen snow. The first in a few 
  cases. Sumai is one such on this day, having seen snow only a few times in 
  his days in the Varati kingdoms he has opted to take a walk in the park. 
  However, immediately around him, it is notably not chilly at all and the air 
  holds a certain warmth to its tint in his presence. Following him are his 
  five guardsmen, bearing crossbows and weapons as they walk through. Mostly 
  they look uncomfortable, but very stoic indeed, though the Warlord himself 
  seems impassive and calm as he usually does. The snow crunches beneath their 
  shod boots and powerful strides.

Rather far less formal of progression than the Varati are the trio of 
  Atlanteans who make their way into the park. Kaiulani's hood is down, 
  letting her pearlescent hair spill out in a bright tumble over her shoulders 
  and the drape of green cloth that is her cloak. And although her older 
  guardsman Akane is trailing after her with stiff-faced formality, although 
  his brother Ronan follows her with nervous and worried eyes and a brisk 
  businesslike pace to match his sibling's, the Atlantean maiden quite 
  deliberately rambles. Her sea-green gaze is sweeping everything in sight, 
  from the flakes of white coming down from the sky to the snow-dusted, 
  leafless branches of the surrounding trees. So _this_ is what a lander 
  winter looks like. And like the Varati Warlord, she seems unbothered by the 
  cold for all that there is no envelope of warmth surrounding her; the cloak 
  she wears seems to be her only concession to the weather. Beneath it, she is 
  quite scantily clad. She's also very deliberately ignoring her two escorts, 
  creases of irritation in the delicate, near-white cream of her features. The 
  Varati some distance away don't require much to catch her eye, as well, and 
  Kai starts as she spies them; then, with a frank curiosity, she peers over 
  in their direction without trying to look overly inquisitive. But she _is_ 
  Atlantean, and expressions of the face are not quite under her control as of 
  yet; thus, she can't quite help but stare like an awestruck child.

Of course, the chill itself wouldn't be much of a problem for Atlanteans, 
  they're used to the cold ocean's depths where they live, and without fires 
  to warm them they obviously would develop a healthy immunity to all but the 
  most biting cold. For Sumai's parts he seems, primarily, interested in the 
  trees and the manner in which they act in regards to the weather's changes. 
  One of his guardsmen speaks in a quiet, grunting voice as he almost 
  immediately takes note of the curious Atlanteans. The response which comes 
  in a powerful, though conversational rumble, "Just watch them, they are 
  harmless. Their kind are not the type to go attacking anyone unless the feel 
  it is absolutely necessary." Sumai speaks and looks over his shoulder at you 
  for just a moment, "And she's no graisha or I'm an Empyrean." he says. For 
  all taht matters the Warlord glimmers in his silver armor, sun flashing off 
  the sun and his armor equally to make a fairly dazzling display of the man's 
  figure and physique.

Oh to be sure, Akane and Ronan _are_ both armed -- but not nearly so heavily 
  as the warriors whose task it is to see to the safety of their Clan Warlord. 
  The two young Sons of Water have a knife and a spear apiece, the former in 
  sheaths on their dark-skinned arms, the latter slung across their backs. And 
  there must assuredly be nowhere Kaiulani could be hiding a weapon, despite 
  that cloak she's got draped over her shoulders. When she moves it billows 
  openly about her, leaving little of her slim form to the imagination; 
  anything she's carrying on her must surely be sown into the inner pockets of 
  that cloak. Quirking her pale-haired head at the glances flashed in her 
  direction, she calls out affably, "Greetings..." Now what was that word, for 
  the proper address of Varati men? Oh yes. "Imphadis. A fine day, is it not?" 
  By contrast to the Warlord's thrumming rumble of a voice, hers is high and 
  pure and clear and carries surprisingly well; apparently, unlike many of her 
  kind, this maiden is not unaccustomed to speech.

Slowly the hulking man turns his body, in a manner that may make him appear 
  lumbering or uneasy with his burdensome armament. Sumai's eyes look at the 
  far small womaner and her two men who are equally dwarfed by him, if not all 
  his guardsmen, olive-brown and cast of steel. His lips set in a neutral 
  position as the heavy boots begin to crush snow beneath their soles as the 
  Warlord of Messala moves. "Namaste." his voice says as he begins to slowly 
  cross the distance, his entourage following shortly behind him. "Curious 
  that you are here, a bit far inland by your people's standards isn't it?" he 
  says in a curious manner as his gauntlet slowly brushes to the side.

Surely the girl is of noble lineage -- or at least familiar enough with the 
  ways of guards and those they protect that she does not try to come too 
  close to the Warlord, until the man opts to lessen the space between him 
  himself. Her own guards hang back behind her, straightening up a bit as the 
  significantly larger Varati men draw nearer, though both of them are 
  maintaining politely neutral expresisons. "Namaste? Ah!" Kaiulani's 
  sea-green eyes brighten at the acaquisition of this new lander word. "This 
  is a greeting? And we're exploring," the maiden continues, as she gestures 
  skyward with one delicately webbed hand. "I wished to examine the look of 
  snow upon the trees -- and to see more of the city in general." A small 
  rueful smile curls her mouth; evidently, again unlike many of her kind, this 
  young woman changes expressions seemingly at whim. "This is my first winter 
  upon the land."

Grunting at your words with a deep, throaty voice that seems to mingle with 
  the cavernous chest to echo forth. Sumai's huge form halts about seven feet 
  away from you as looks down at you as he lifts the barbed, spiked panzerhand 
  to scratch absently as his dark skin absently. "It is a Varati greeting, you 
  will get nothing but sneers if you use it with Empyreans. They are rather 
  narrow mind in that manner, though I must confess I have no idea whether 
  they even have a manner of cultural verbal custom." the great, mighty voice 
  comes down on your from Sumai's height. "Ah, winter is a curious thing. 
  Rarely come to most of my nation as well, are you not cold? You were less 
  than some of my dancers." he notes to you in an absent manner, olive-brown 
  eyes looking you over briefly.

"Duly noted, and thank you, I shall remember," the girl answers easily, even 
  as she cranes her neck back slightly to take in this massive figure of a man 
  who towers nearly two full feet above her. Waters, but Varati are _large_! 
  Then she casts a slightly bemused glance down at herself; the green cloak 
  has settled in velvet waves about her, though her legs are quite bare save 
  for the delicate sandals she wears, and her arms appear bare as well 
  whenever they emerge from the cloak's protection. Someone else might be 
  positively blue with the temperature, but not this girl; she is quite pale, 
  but that seems her natural, comfortable hue. "Cold?" she echoes, with a 
  slightly furrowed brow, before comprehension brings a larger and swifter 
  smile across her countenance. "No, Imphadi. My people are rarely bothered by 
  cold."

Nodding his head slowly, his bullish neck carrying his huge head back and 
  forth in a nodding gesture, "You are welcomed." Sumai says to you in a 
  polite manner, if not a friendly one to be truthful. However Varati are 
  traditionally portrayed this man is both that and something entirely 
  different, "I suppose that is fairly obvious. My people hate cold weather, 
  though no mean number of us have our own defenses against the chilled 
  weather. I have heard that your people have little modesty and bare 
  yourselves to anyone, is that true?" he continues to speak for the moment, 
  polite and sounding effectively unoffensive but he is not warm and friendly 
  by any means.

Akane's impassive face is the first to alter, as the two guards can't quite 
  help but overhear the commentary exchanged between the massive Varati and 
  their young mistress. The blue-haired Pandion guardsman might be noted to 
  scowl ever so slightly, while his brother shoots him a swift and possibly 
  pleading glance -- but these two men, unlike Kaiulani, seem either far 
  better at controlling their expressions, or else possessed of far less 
  knowledge of how to express themselves through their features. Neither of 
  them comment, though, leaving that up to Kaiulani herself. The maiden's fine 
  pearl-hued brows crook up over her eyes, and then she grins, slightly 
  sheepishly; a faint hint of coral brightens her cheeks for a moment, 
  suggesting that that grin of hers is not quite as immoedest as it might 
  appear. Ah yes. Lander attitudes about lack of clothing. "Well-l," she says 
  thoughtfully, nibbling momentarily at her lower lip and twirling a lock of 
  her hair around her fingers, "cloth is not particularly practical in the 
  ocean's depths, Imphadi; it gets very heavy when it's wet!" By way of visual 
  aid she takes up a fold of her velvet cloak. "Or at least, so I'm told. Fine 
  things like this velvet don't like the water much either. I suppose this may 
  mean we're immodest, but then again, it's a shame to ruin good velvet, don't 
  you think?"

Moving a hand in a dismissal nature to your words, "It is of no consequence to 
  me, I do not view you as a potential wife or concubine, or whatever manner 
  your people say such things. I believe many of the other races have similar 
  tendencies, none the less. I am told Empyreans share baths with one another 
  irregardless of sex and I have, personally, had Sylvans of both gender 
  present themselves to me naked without a hint of modesty. I oft think the 
  Varati are the only folk who consider the bond between a man and his woman a 
  sacred, private thing." Sumai says to you in a thrumming, deep voiced manner 
  as he turns slightly and begins to walk down the the path with a crunching 
  of the ice and snow beneath the huge boots, "Walk with me." he says in a 
  voice that is niether command nor request, but simply is, "I am known as 
  Sumai of Messala, I am the greatest of Messala and their Warlord. I would 
  know whom I speak who bears such importance to a people renowned for their 
  peaceful tendencies to have guardsmen at her rear."

She came out into Haven for distraction -- and conversing with a Varati 
  Warlord will suit Kaiulani's purpose just as well as the study of 
  snow-covered branches and flakes born on the winter breeze would have done, 
  she impulsively decides. Not quite as assured as the land-dweller on earth 
  covered with frozen water, the maiden steps cautiously over, half of her 
  attention upon making sure she doesn't do something entirely undignified and 
  slip on her rear. It'd be bad enough to do it in front of Akane and Ronan -- 
  worse still, to do it in front of half a dozen Varati strangers. Sea-green 
  eyes do, however, glance up again as the little Atlantean matches her steps 
  with your far heavier ones. "I am Pandion Kaiulani," she replies, chin 
  lifting up with a pride she feels despite her current strained relations 
  with her kinfolk. "Cousin to Sarojin, Decemvir of the Pandion people." It's 
  difficult to look regal when one's conversational partner so overwhelmingly 
  dwarfs oneself in height; still, though, this maiden does a credible job of 
  it. What she lacks in perfect polish of manner may well be attributable to 
  her comparatively youthful age. Leaving it to Akane and Ronan to debate 
  amongst themselves how to follow her without encroaching too closely on the 
  men that trail the Warlord, she goes on, making a small moue of annoyance as 
  she does so, "I am guarded, because my cousin has ordered it." Never mind 
  that there's another guard whose company she'd greatly prefer, but she won't 
  get into that, here. Instead she goes on, "I must admit to no personal 
  experience in the matter, and certainly no knowledge yet of how the 
  Empyreans and Sylvans do such things, but at least among my people the union 
  of husband and wife is a thing to be treasured."

His hand moves in a thoughtful manner as it adjusts the mighty, steel girth 
  that guards his fleshy abdomen. Sumai's huge feet carry him at a very 
  moderate pace, not one that he feels is difficult for your tiny frame to 
  maintain without undue haste. "I believe that Empyreans have little value 
  for their partners, as they customarily have affairs with others or even, 
  I'm told, their slaves. Sylvans mate freely with one another with little 
  regard to formal ritual or relationship, quite demeaning in my mind. I have 
  heard that many Atlanteans frequently partake of other who are not their 
  formal wives or husbands. I have even heard other cultures make a frequent 
  habit of bedding those of the same gender." Sumai claims to you in an absent 
  manner, "Amongst Varati it is forbidden for a woman to lay with one who 
  isn't her formal mate unless she is ganika or an approved houri." he 
  explains to you as he shakes his head a little, "I am uncertain what to 
  think of other nation's practices, but what I have heard I find distasteful 
  to my sense of self and morality." he says as he turns his head to look down 
  at you in an inquiring manner, not judging or malicious. Merely interested.

This Warlord, it seems to the maiden, is far more versed in matters of 
  intimacy among the races than she is. Young as she is, even with the noble 
  upbringing she has received, Kai can't quite help but get a little more 
  wide-eyed with every offered syllable. Such fascinating tidbits of hearsay, 
  these, even if mere hearsay they be rather than confirmed fact. But once the 
  dark gaze of the massive man with whom she walks turns back down to her, the 
  Pandion maiden swiftly composes herself. She doesn't bother to turn to 
  glance at her guardsmen, nor does she send any questing tendril of thought 
  their way, but she inwardly revels in the delicious suspicion that Akane 
  must now be about to spit shell-shards at this topic being introduced in her 
  hearing. Especially since it must inevitably bring to mind her _other_ 
  guard, her self-appointed protector now so vigorously sought by her 
  cousin... "Well," she says again, blowing out a breath and idly noting with 
  interest how it frosts upon the air, "I expect you are in a better position 
  than I to know of the ways of folk who dwell on the land, Imphadi. But among 
  my people, no, it is not unheard of for joinings to occur outside the union 
  of marriage; what joins the husband and wife is the bonding of their minds." 
  Try not to blush _too_ hard, eh, girl? The tinge of coral is back in her 
  otherwise cream-pale complexion. Try as she might to look worldly and 
  knowledgeable, an astute eye can nevertheless discern her to be plumbing 
  into conversational depths beyond her normal ken.

Listening to you, and yes he truly does listen to what you are saying, Sumai 
  considers all the very minimal facts that you offer him. "Then do not speak 
  on the otehr peoples, speak on your own. I do not expect one so young as 
  you, nor so cloistered in the sea, to understand what other cultures entail. 
  By way of fact I know SYlvans mate liberally and affairs are something of a 
  game amongst the Empyreans. I know, also, that Atlanteans have something 
  much resembling a true institution of marriage. So, tell me of your people 
  and their mating customs and I will tell you, for fact, what you wish to 
  know of my own people's." he expounds to you in a simple manner so as to 
  explain to you how he intends for the conversation to work, "Judging from 
  your face, I may be lead to believe that your people are often secluded in 
  their views on their relationships? Or, is it, simply that you are shy about 
  revealing your own?" his olive-brown eyes are observant and carefu; las they 
  watch you for a moment and then watch the path.

Ah! A direct hit; Kaiulani colors rather more vividly for a moment, turning 
  practically pink of cheek. "I have... ah... no relations to reveal, 
  Imphadi," she admits with as much as aplomb as she can muster. "Nor am I 
  likely to, in the foreseeable future. But I would be pleased to tell you 
  what little I can on the topic at hand, and I have been curious about your 
  own people for some time. Where would you like me to begin?"

A deep rumbling hrmph comes from the back of his throat as he listens to you 
  speak and the look on your face, "Indeed, none of your own. You Atlanteans 
  are poor politickers, you know. Too easy to read." Sumai says to you in his 
  deep, vibrato voice as he eases his pace just a little and shrugs up the 
  massive shoulders, thick as a bull's and like containing almost as much 
  muscle as you have in your whole torso. "However, I shan't press, that would 
  be impolite of me." he adds to you and then folds his hands behind his back, 
  clasping them with a faint metallic *tink* as steel touches steel. "Begin at 
  the beginning, where your people's relations begin. Feel free to ask 
  questions if you so desire to ask them of me. I am not see easy to embarass, 
  but seeing a man's entrails a few hundred times tends to make one so."

Kaiulani makes a small rueful face at your opinion of Atlantean ability to 
  politick; she does not, however, deny it. Instead, loathe to try to think 
  too heavily about the implications of her current lack of... experience in 
  such matters, not to mention her own personal apparent lack of ability to 
  conduct herself like a proper Pandion, she instead plunges ahead impulsively 
  with the conversational topic at hand, unthinkingly fidgeting with a stray 
  lock of her hair as she does so. "Well... to begin, then," she answers, "my 
  parents are assuredly husband and wife, and certainly were long before I was 
  born; they have many children, aside from myself."

Lifting a soot black eyebrow beneath the plated helm that covers the upper 
  portion of his head, Sumai considers this. "I meant the mating ritual, I 
  have read good bit on your culture to know ist overall merits and flaws." he 
  explains to you in a deep and powerful voice while he speaks in a tone that 
  is not harsh or chiding, merely informing you of the points which he wishes 
  to know, "Of interest in your statement, however, is whether your parents 
  were faithful to one another? And, were they pure when they made their 
  arrangment formal?" he says to you specifically, "I expect you wouldn't 
  know, as most parents don't share such things with children."

There is that. And Kai makes another little face, though her voice is quite 
  unhesitant as she replies, "Mother and Father are quite devoted to one 
  another, and have been ever since I was small enough to notice" -- well, at 
  least, when she wasn't out chasing passing dolphins or riding storm-tossed 
  waves. "As for their purity... I assume you mean, had they had other lovers, 
  when they wed?" To this, the girl makes a rather more noticeable face, 
  though she tries valiantly to conceal it. "I haven't... discussed it with 
  them. Mother and Father and I are... not exactly on the best of terms at the 
  moment. But I know that the people of my acquaintance who have married, at 
  least back home, certainly appear to be faithful to one another as well."

Nodding his head at your words a little bit as he considers your words once 
  more, thinking on them with that same set to his lips, which is all you can 
  see of his face. Serious and stoic as he thinks to himself thoughtfully, 
  "That leads me to believe that it is, indeed, this city that has lead some 
  of your folk astray. It is quite the den of inequity, I pray taht you do not 
  fall into its trap as well." and with such he says no more but to ask 
  furtehr questions, "What of your mating rituals? Is virginity required? Is 
  it even favorable amongst your people? Certainly it can't be easy to 
  maintain with your genitals so proudly displayed to everyoen and 
  everything." he says to you in a speculative manner, "That is why our women 
  are clad so well, no others but their proper lovers are deserving of what 
  beauty they may have to offer."

Once again Kaiulani blushes, trying to maintain as adult an expression as 
  possible -- but the sheer presence of the pink in her otherwise pale cheeks 
  suggests that despite her attempts to behave otherwise, this maiden is still 
  _quite_, quite young in many ways. "I... expect to remain safe enough," she 
  manages with only a bit of awkwardness in her piping soprano. "Akane and 
  Ronan guard me well..." And so does someone else. For a moment, her 
  sea-green gaze drifts off, a hint of something that might be wistfulness 
  coloring her expression as she stares distractedly at a snow-limned tree not 
  far away. Then she shakes herself as if rousing from a dream, smiling a bit. 
  No expert at reading the nuances of voice or phrasing of lander words, 
  Kaiulani seems to have no particular reaction to the mention of genitalia; 
  in fact, her brow crinkles in a touch of uncomprehension, as if she doesn't 
  even know the word. But the gist of it is certainly gleanable, and she goes 
  on with sudden slightly over-bright cheerfulness, "The ways of such things 
  will vary among us, Warlord. The Decemvirates have their own customs, each 
  to their own... and from what I have seen thus far, there are differences as 
  well between those who pray to Pasiphae and those worship the water." With 
  that, Kaiulani tosses her head for a moment, in what might have been 
  intended to be a shrug, but the use of her shoulders in that gesture seems 
  to have eluded her. "But. Some will join, without concern for who one's 
  partner might have joined with in the past. Some will not."

"You are not very good at answering questions, you know." Sumai says to you 
  with a chiding tone to his voice, unconcerned with the factor of age that 
  may seem to be involved in your innocence or awareness. "Are your people so 
  flighty that there is no set custom between the genders? Or, at least 
  regarding standards in practice of relationships?" he says with a faint 
  lowering of his brows in a thoughtful manner beneath the helm that he wears, 
  not that you can see. "When I mentioned the city, I did not mean that you 
  would be assaulted in an aggressive manner. The city has certain lures, a 
  lenient lifestyle that people are oft drawn to... it encourages them to act 
  in manners they wouldn't otherwise act in." he looks over his shoulder at 
  the pair of guardsmen, "Though I'm certain your guards are well trained, two 
  men fighting ten will almost always be defeated unless there is favorable 
  luck on their side. Leave alone, two men could not protect you from a 
  pack... while they fight it would be no chore for someone to drag you away. 
  You are not a large woman and there is no shortage of large men in this 
  city, disregarding even Varati."

"I'll be safe," Kaiulani mutters with what may either be a youthful 
  stubbornness, deep conviction in something she hasn't chosen to relay, or 
  both; the focused intensity of her expression manages to suggest the latter, 
  more than the former. Then she smiles, small and crooked, up into the face 
  of the massive Varati. "But I do thank you for your concern. And I _am_ 
  trying to answer your questions, Imphadi; forgive me, if I go awry. There 
  are some things I am not sure I have the proper words for, and I have to 
  think of how to phrase them out loud." Not to mention that the only 
  individual quickening her blood is a man she hasn't even seen clearly, whose 
  name she does not know, whose mind she has never touched. Lifting a hand to 
  her brow, tapping it with one finger, she attempts to clarify, "The set 
  custom is _here_. What is cherised, what is important... is the joining of 
  our minds." Then she makes another face. "Or at least, so everyone older 
  than I keeps telling me!"

"Oh, I am not worried for you in the least Pandion." Sumai explains to you in 
  a simple manner as his feet continue to crush the snow and ice beneath what 
  must surely be a grand total of nearly four hundred pounds in weight on him. 
  "I am merely telling you the truth. Even if it were myself and my best 
  guardsmen I am certain that we would be overwhelmed by enough men who had 
  only middling levels of skill. Do not be overproud, regardless of training 
  or magic you may possess." he explains to you in a deep and powerful voice 
  while he shakes his head, "It only takes on lucky dagger and then your life 
  is forfeit." he pauses and reaches up to a tree branch to tap at the snow 
  and watch it fall to the ground, "Telepathy is something I do not 
  understand, nor will I ever understand. I doubt any of your kind, or any 
  other, has tried to touch my mind."

It is no use, really, to try to explain to this huge lander man _why_ she 
  thinks she'll be safe -- Kaiulani doesn't want to talk about her nameless 
  guardian in front of Akane and Ronan, much less in front of this Warlord. 
  Jealously clinging to her scraps of memory and daydream about that unseen 
  shadow that's guarded her for so long, she tells herself that to speak of 
  him may well jeopardize him, somehow. Instead she seizes at the bait offered 
  by a different topic of conversation, saying with considerable more poise, 
  "You're probably right. It is not our way to touch someone's mind without 
  permission, even amongst ourselves. But I haven't heard of anyone besides us 
  who have the true-speech, Imphadi...!"

Looking at you from teh corner of hsi eye absently the man shakes his head 
  slowly and thoughtfully, but says nothing as to his thoughts aloud. The girl 
  is quite naive to think her people so noble and above such invasions, the 
  Warlord is certain such things happen. Especially to those weak of mind and 
  easily invaded and associate with Atlanteans closely enough, "I call it mind 
  speak, rather than true speak. That is a hair arrogant, don't you think 
  child?" he's also fairly certain that there are half breeds who have 
  telepathy and likely quarterbreeds and maybe even further ancestry beyond 
  that. Yet, that comes with a learned mind who has read extensively on other 
  cultures and studied what he can of live specimens. Know thy enemy.

Naive, indeed, this girl may well be. But not unintelligent, and not unafraid 
  of debate, for she meets the dark gaze upon her quite evenly; there's a 
  spark in Kaiulani's sea-green eyes now, but one of returning cheer and 
  curiosity, rather than any resentment at having her statement questioned. 
  "By whose standards?" she replies, chin coming up again, a smile readily 
  brightening her visage. "The speech of the mind is far clearer and purer 
  than clumsy words; it is truer. It is how we know our mates, it is how we 
  form the bonds of blood and family... is it arrogance, to call it what it 
  _is_?"

"It is, indeed, arrogant. To claim such as true is to insinuate that others 
  are less because they are incapable of commanding such a power. I should 
  warn that many will take offense to such a suggestion, including myself." 
  Sumai explains to you in a simple, even voice which he has used through out 
  the entire conversation. Olive-brown eyes look down at you as he continues 
  to move easily enough across the paths of breaken, dead grass and hardened 
  earth. "Voices can tell a number of things, merely because you are unskilled 
  in using the voice as a gauge as you are in schooling your features does not 
  make it any less 'true'. I know the voices of my women, I can also tell the 
  voices of anyone I speak with regularly including family. Your speech, in 
  truth, bears only one advantage that vocalization does not and that is 
  privacy, however... I am even uncertain of that for I do not know how your 
  mind speaking works."

Seven, count them, seven guards and one massive Warlord make for much noisier 
  passage than the dainty Atlantean maiden does, but Kaiulani steps along 
  gamely enough beside you, casting only the occasional glance downward to see 
  if she's about to step on anything that might prove unpleasant to sandaled 
  feet unskilled at treading upon the earth. Thoughtfully, she says then, 
  "Certainly I do not intend offense, and I can see your point in that 
  respect, good Warlord; my apologies. I'll also concede that I'm not skilled 
  yet at judging voices and words; I only speak as well as I do because my 
  parents had a tutor to teach me to do so. Though I must point out in reply 
  that you are not entirely faultless of such unintentional arrogance...!" 
  She's still smiling, but engagingly so, without any trace of hostility in 
  her expression. "I _assume_ you do not mind-speak, yet you speak of 
  advantages and disadvantages despite your lack of personal experience. And 
  you speak as if your people are the only ones who have the truly _proper_ 
  mating customs... as if mine are flighty, if we take lovers before 
  committing our hearts and souls to our chosen mates at last."

Tching at you he holds out a hand as though to catch your words and then 
  brushes them off to the side, "I said no such thing, I said that such things 
  offended my sense of morality and my code of right. To have a mate before 
  one is married is shameful to my mind, unless one was an approved houri and 
  makes this known beforehand. To presume upon my words in anotehr manner is 
  unfair to both myself and you, you must hear what I say and not read your 
  own thoughts into what it may seem." Sumai explains to you in a simple 
  manner, his logic unforgiving though his voice is not at all harsh, "Your 
  point as to my experience, however, is valid. Though the traits that you 
  have named as most valuable about your mind speaking are also born in vocal 
  speaking. Hence, what is superior about it other than its silence? Did you 
  know that most warrior bands use hand gestures to speak silently and convey 
  messages? Nothing complicated or in depth, but to explain what is needed to 
  survive."

Kaiulani's smile grows more broad, now. For all that Sumai of Messala has a 
  mien about him not at all unlike her cousin and Decemvir, stern and dour and 
  apparently prone to pointing out her defiencies (or at least so it seems to 
  her), there is an important difference here; she's never had such a vigorous 
  exchange of ideas with Sarojin. "I did not know that," she concedes, not 
  only graciously, but with a vivid interest as well. "But I do not know much 
  about the practices of war." Lifting one of her own hands for a moment, she 
  spreads her finned fingers and considers the kinds of gestures she might be 
  able to make with them. As she plays at this, she goes on, "As to how 
  telepathy is superior..." Once again, a hint of wistfulness comes across her 
  countenance. "It is... not just as if you say the words in your head instead 
  of with your mouth. Much more is conveyed, in the mind-speech. Images. 
  Memories. Emotions." Her voice grows softer, then. Is that yearning sneaking 
  into her gaze, as she stares out across the snowy vista of the park? "When 
  you link your mind with someone... you trust them. They trust you." Her gaze 
  comes back then, the smile gone from her visage, replaced by a far more 
  intent set to her features. "They say among my people that the land-dwellers 
  do not know such trust because they do not join their minds as we do. Are we 
  wrong?"

Shaking his head a little bit at you words, secretly Sumai takes some small 
  measure of amusement at the hand gesture you make though it doesn't show in 
  any physical or verbal manner. The panzerhand once again scratches at his 
  chin's tip while he considers you for a moment as he listens to your words 
  and ideas, "That sounds more hindrance to me. There are emotions and ideas 
  that can get one killed in a blink of an eye in my culture. In my world, 
  justice is swift and brutal for those who violate the laws. Few escape it, 
  even for a short while." he thinks for several long moments while he answers 
  your latter question, "I would say that it is both true and untrue. It is 
  true that we do not have that level of trust commonly or share it frequently 
  with any person, but it is untrue in that often many of us find one or two 
  folk we feel safe with sharing any manner of thought or idea." he leaves 
  unsaid whetehr he feels that manner of trust for any person in the world.

Kaiulani is still walking, her much smaller and slenderer legs carrying her 
  along with plucky determination over the snow and slush even if her sandaled 
  feet seem ill-suited to such efforts. But her face goes very still at your 
  first words, and she says nothing else until you've finished speaking. _I do 
  not think I would fit very well in his culture,_ she tells herself -- but in 
  what for her is a rare glimmer of thought before speaking, she tactfully 
  remains from saying so. Instead, she asks, her piping voice dropping in 
  volume yet somehow gaining intensity, "Then let me ask you this, if I may, 
  Imphadi... how do your people know when they can trust one another?"

Shrugging his huge shoulders upwards so that it creates a faint rasping and 
  creaking of the mail which claps about his mighty musculature, Sumai 
  considers your words for a few moments. "It is hard to explain, I suppose, 
  to one who has never dealt with such concepts before. Yet, I shall try. We 
  Varati must take our time and think out every move that we make and we speak 
  to others, cautiously and we say things that others react to and we try to 
  judge those reactions. We are very careful folk, because ours is a hard 
  world. In the end it simply boils down to taking a chance." Sumai's rumbling 
  voice reverberates to you as he explains and walks along the now crushed 
  snow and slush, "That must be a dreadfully horrifying concept for you."

The maiden's sea-green gaze lifts up again, and though her ready smile once 
  again curls her mouth, it doesn't quite touch the intensity of her stare. 
  "Taking a chance?" she asks, archly. "You'd be surprised."

"No. No, I don't think that much of anything surprises me anymore." Sumai says 
  to you in a simple reply as his pauses his stride for a moment and reaches 
  up once huge hand to tap another tree branch, causing snow to fall from its 
  once leafy boughs. His olive-brown eyes stoic and hard as he looks down on 
  you for a moment andt hen shakes his head a little bit before he moves a 
  hand dismissally and speaks no further at the moment.

"Let me ask you this..." Kaiulani pulls in a breath, pausing for a moment as 
  if unsure how to proceed, especially with seven other men possibly in 
  earshot. Or possibly not. The girl isn't entirely accustomed yet to judging 
  exactly how far away someone has to be before they can no longer hear her... 
  but then again, she _has_ lowered her voice, now. A frown marring her 
  near-white brow, her eyes turned pensive and thoughtful, she goes on, 
  "You've said that you have... women, Imphadi... do you have any daughters?"

Shaking his head in response to your question, which he listens to absently, 
  "No. I have no children yet, a rarity for my people. Most men have several 
  by this point in their life." Sumai says to you, his volume lowering in 
  response to your own, presuming you wish to remain slightly quieter and 
  perhaps more private. "I have women, however, yes." he says to you in a 
  thoughtful manner, though it is clear from his tone that he doesn't 
  understand the purpose of the question. Looking back at you for a moment 
  while he looks back at the men following the pair of you, niether appearing 
  like the other very much, Sumai's armor sparkles brilliantly with the 
  reflection of the snow shimmering and washing across him.

"Well... suppose you had a daughter. Or a sister. And suppose... all her life, 
  someone -- someone you don't know, and someone even _she_ doesn't know -- 
  has been... watching over her." Kaiulani's expression turns distant again, 
  even a little dreamy, but her tone remains solemn and soft as she 
  unthinkingly draws her arms about herself beneath her velvet cloak. 
  "Protecting her. Keeping her out of trouble. Would you... trust this person?"

Considering this for a moment the man says, "I have sisters, many in fact. I 
  was the only male from my father's first wife, though I was the first 
  child." Sumai explains to you thoughtfully and then lowers his brow, "No, I 
  would not trust this man if he was not one of my men. I would fear that he 
  would seek to dishonor her or take her from my command unlawfully. No, it is 
  a man's duty to keep his women safe and away from anything that could harm 
  her in my culture." he explains to you for a moment, "That said, I tend to 
  be more lenient with the women I command and allow them more freedom than 
  many other men do in our society."

Kai is not at all sure she likes the notion of 'his women', as if he might 
  also be saying 'his spear' or 'his armor' -- and she can't entirely hide a 
  darkening of her expression. But, again, tact wins out. And at any rate she 
  hasn't finished her questioning. "You wouldn't trust him -- even if he'd 
  saved her life?" Unthinkingly, she waves one hand about for a moment as if 
  trying to pull words out of the very air, as her education fails her for a 
  moment in bringing up a suitably large and frightening land equivalent for a 
  shark. "If she'd been attacked by... I don't know, a big fierce animal. And 
  he'd brought her back and put her where your healers could find her?"

Women are property in Varati society. Well treated property, but property none 
  the less. Though it doesn't show in the way Sumai treats his women really, 
  he still refers to them in the proper manner of the Varati culture. His eyes 
  look at you, "I would not trust him then especially. I would wonder what 
  reward he wanted or what purpose he had for saving one of the women I was 
  charged with protection if he wasn't one of my men." the rumbling voice says 
  to you in a firm manner, "I would also wonder what he was doing on my lands 
  when he was uninvited and likely kill him for it." the man says to you, a 
  type of curious Varati amusement coming into his voice as he speaks to you 
  furtehr and further on. His panzerhand shows as he lifts it for a moment, 
  "Why do you ask me these things?"

It occurs to Kaiulani that she might say 'no reason' or 'I was just curious' 
  -- but like just about all of her people, Kaiulani is a very bad liar. And 
  thus she reluctantly adheres to truth, even as she shudders at the 
  unflinching pronouncement this Warlord of the Sons of Fire makes of his 
  response to this not-so-hypothetical question. She looks away, too, farther 
  ahead on the path as she makes her answer. "Because there is... a matter of 
  trust I am trying to pursue, Imphadi," she answers lowly, "and I thought 
  perhaps the perspective of one who is not of my people... might help."

"Intriguing." Sumai pronounces his judgement for a moment as he considers this 
  thoughtfully and slowly shrugs up those massive shoulders again, bringing 
  that creaking and chinking of mail armor he wears about his torso and body. 
  "In your culture, since there is no taboo against being involved with 
  someone before you marry and, seemingly, little fault for being involved 
  when you are married... I don't think that you will be strictly punished. If 
  you were in Varati lands, your fatehr would send you somewhere to foster 
  away from the man in question if he did not liekh im. If you ever touched 
  him or spoke to him he would be killed for dishonoring you and you would be 
  made a ganika and stricken from yoru family role." he grunst to you in an 
  explanatory manner.

The Atlantean maiden's pale features tauten and her eyes darken further as she 
  absorbs this. And she stops right there in the path, needing to do so to be 
  able to figure out exactly how she feels about this -- to her -- brutally 
  blunt statement. Without raising her gaze up the two feet of height required 
  to meet that of her current companion, she asks in hollow tones, "You would 
  not... try to determine if the man was trustworthy, at all? If perhaps he... 
  cared for your kinswoman, but was afraid to reveal himself, for some reason?"

His brows knit tightly against one another beneath the thick, plated help that 
  is intended to deflect the blows of maces and swords easily with its shape. 
  "Such things are not entirely foreign to my people, but love is not the most 
  important factor in a mating or coupling of people. Except, perhaps, amongst 
  the common folk of our nations where there is no politicking and tehre is 
  little to be gained between these matches. Amongst nobility, a woman is a 
  weapon we use to ensure certain things happen safely between clans. They 
  understand this from birth, their role is probably the most important in 
  binding certain deals." he explains to you in a thoughtful manner, "However, 
  your people are not like mine. You seem to marry for heartsickness and 
  freely offer your bodies and... minds?... to one another when you feel like 
  it. At least, up until you are wed."

"The joining of minds is not done... lightly," Kaiulani murmurs, but now her 
  tone is almost absent, her gaze still locked on some distant point far ahead 
  of her in the snow-blanketed park. "There are different levels of sharing 
  and trust..." Trust; that's what this is all about. How well _can_ she trust 
  a man who's little more than a shadow to her, even if he is leaving her 
  gifts? Then she shakes herself as if rousing from a dream, and finally looks 
  up again; her brow is still furrowed, her gaze dark and clear. "What is a 
  ganika, Imphadi? I do not know that word."

Shrugging his shoulders upwards, "No joining should be, in my mind, and should 
  never occur outside of proper mating rituals." Sumai's deep voice explains 
  in a thoughtless manner of detachment while he looks where you looks, "I see 
  your mind is elsewhere, I think your mysterious man occupies much of your 
  mindset at this point. You have heartsickness for him? Or fear?" the huge 
  man asks you in response before he answers your questions, "Ganika is a 
  Varati woman who is not a woman any longer. She has fallen from grace and is 
  now a non-person... the term is synonomous with whore to us."

She is a poor liar -- and very poor at concealing her emotions in general, for 
  all that her kind seem generally more inclined not to display their 
  sentiments upon their faces. Kaiulani's fine-sculpted pale features are set 
  now in stark lines of profound disquiet, and it doesn't appear to take much 
  for her gaze to wander off again. "I see," she murmurs, though her only 
  immediate reaction to this definition she is given is to think in a brief 
  fervent flash that she is glad she is not a woman of the Varati. A second 
  flash follows hard on the heel of that, however: wondering whether her 
  Decemvir would banish _her_ if he saw fit, if she displeased him over this 
  matter of her nameless protector. Then your questions sink in, and she 
  swallows hard, once again fidgeting with a lock of her pearlescent hair. 
  "Yes," she whispers swiftly, "no..." And then she concludes in 
  embarrassment, hoping against hope that her own two guardsmen aren't paying 
  as much attention to _her_ as they should be doing to her surroundings, 
  "Both."

Listening to your words, "The women have it easy when they are dishonored. We 
  men, when dishonored, are tortured to death." Sumai notes to you in an 
  absent tone, utterly unafraid of what he has just said to you. These are the 
  facts of his life and they seem not to worry him. One wrong phrase or words 
  and he would be mauled by the Amir-al's pet shape shifters. Or, perhaps, 
  they may try but find him a bit more capable of defending himself than some 
  others. "Fear is healthy. We were built with it for a reason." he says to 
  you in a simple manner. "I had heart sickness once, I still do in fact. 
  Sometimes it never goes away, you know. You learn to live with it, though." 
  he says with a brief, quick shrug.

"'Heart sickness,'" Kaiulani echoes bemusedly, once more looking up at your 
  visage, though the helm and the height difference make it difficult to read. 
  "What is it you call 'heart sickness', Imphadi? Attraction? Longing?"

Its brief and barking sound, rough and you might think painful but a chuckle 
  coems from his lips. "Most call it love." Sumai says to you in a faint 
  shaking of his head as he looks back to you, "Your curiosity will serve you 
  well, I think."

"You make it sound like I need a healer." Kaiulani makes a face at this, but 
  the low rocky laughter coaxes another wisp of a smile out of her. "Or 
  perhaps that both of us do. Is it possible to love someone you do not know? 
  Does it happen, among the landers?"

"Perhaps you do need a healer, perhaps I need one as well." Sumai says as he 
  shrugs his huge shoulders upwards once more to create that strange rasping 
  and clinking sound that emanates from his armored frame sometimes. "It is 
  not always a pleasant feeling, I will warn you of that before you go far 
  into the debacle." he shakes his head a little bit once again when you ask a 
  second question, "I do not know if it is possible to love someone that you 
  do not know. I do not think it is possible for me to do something like that, 
  love is a hard concept for Varati people in any case... so rarely does it 
  coem to one of us." he says in a neutral tone of voice, "I have many 
  answers, I think, but not all. Perhaps not even most. I also think that 
  answers are different for every person. Perhaps that is the secret to life, 
  eh? Difference."

Once again the maiden listens in silence, idly noting the dichotomy between a 
  cold breeze that tickles at the back of her bared head and calves -- and the 
  warmth of the air between herself and the massive man before her. Most of 
  her mind is occupied with your words, however, and at last she lets out a 
  long breath. "You have... given me much to consider, Imphadi. I thank you 
  for taking the time to talk to me," she says earnestly. "I will have to 
  think about what to do next."

To your words, Sumai only nods and continues walking along the path as he 
  watches it before him. "Thinking is the most important thing you can ever 
  do, remember that and remember who taught it to you." his deep, baritone 
  voice comes from within the cavernous chest as he moves along with his hands 
  moving once more to clasp behind his back once more, a slight metal on metal 
  sounding. From your manner of speech he presumes that you have the intent of 
  departing from him now and he allows you to go as readily as you wish, but 
  no manner of parting words will he offer you for there are none for him to 
  say.

"I will remember, Sumai of Messala," Kaiulani pledges, achieving a formal tone 
  this time, and even a suitably regal inclination of her pale-maned head. 
  With that, the Atlantean girl does indeed step away from you, turning her 
  head to cast her gaze back the way she'd come, seeking the figures of her 
  two guardsmen. Akane and Ronan do not look like much compared to your 
  retinue... but for once, she's almost relieved to see them. Since she can 
  see them, she can send to them, and at her unheard -- and for once, subdued 
  -- request, the two dark-skinned young Pandion guards move to close the 
  distance between themselves and their mistress. Before they get too close to 
  you and perhaps risk disgruntling your own guardsmen, she moves off to 
  intercept them instead; as she does, however, she casts a look back at you 
  and calls soberly, "And again, I thank you...!"
And then she takes her leave, pulling her velvet hood up over her hair, 
  picking a cautious and pensive track through the more open field of the park 
  until at last she and her two escorts have vanished into the swirling snow.

[End log.]