*-- sympathy for the devil. [open]

[• Jinx]

x. IT WAS a lovely day for a walk, that much Eri had deduced. She decided that the moment that she awoke to find warm sunlight streaming through the curtains and kissing her face gently to wake her, like a lover would. She smiled softly against the satin bed sheets and goose down feather pillows, sitting up and stretching luxuriously. Yes, she was a woman of wealth and taste, and particularly liked her mornings, days, and nights to be exactly the same; so swung her legs over the side of the bed, letting her feet hit the soft carpet with a quiet thump, and then just sat there, reveling in the warm sunlight, the silence of her house except for the shuffling of Dresden downstairs making the morning tea, of the way the light filtered through the opaque curtains that covered the wide, French windows-- windows that led to floating cypresses that hung against the sky, of the warm, humid swamp that made this most luxurious life style all the more precious to her.

xx. PERHAPS IT was so precious to her because she rarely lived like this. It was only a recent development through the last couple of years that she had gained this status. Eri drifted from her bed, pulling a multi-colored robe around her thin, narrow shoulders and then headed downstairs, greeted by Dresden. The little boy passed her her tea as she sat down, recieving an affectionate pat before she sipped at it petitely, delicately even, and then went on musing for a long, long time. Eventually, there came the moment that Eri stood, Dresden perking up from the novel he had been reading, and she announced, "I'm going for a walk today." It was that little announcement that made both of their days-- while Dresden was happy to serve Eri, because she was actually a rather kind person when she was your friend, he also liked the times when he had the wide, open house to himself, so read and think about things, to go out to the greenhouse or the oratory and think some more. It was all sort of peaceful for him when Mistress Eri decided she wanted to go out, and that was when he was most grateful she didn't drag him everywhere.

xxx. SO THAT day, Eri dressed lightly, not as flamboyantly as usual, but still charmingly, and heading out the front steps. She paused on the patio-like area out front, leaning against the pillars that supported the deck of the upper floor, and surveyed the land; a place that was near enough to society that she could just faintly hear the hustle and bustle of all of the city life. Oh, yes, she would go there some time today-- maybe tomorrow instead-- but it would be soon. Today, right now, she was going for a walk in the woods. First through the field she stepped, light and airy she moved, with a sort of slithering grace that was unique and different but beautiful nonetheless, the sides of her ebony tresses held back in a jewled clip that was neither expensive nor precious to her but she liked nonetheless. Her feet were bare now, no shoes; she liked the feel of the earth beneath her feet, and she could feel the pulse of life as the land thrummed with energy. Yes, these outings were some of the best.

xxxx. THE FOREST came next; trees as old and wintered as the beginning of time, always welcome to her long, slender fingers trailing along their rigid trunks caressingly, full lips twisting into a graceful, charming smile as she went. Yes, she rather liked these times; gave her time to think, which was not always a good think but most times was. She picked her way neatly through a small sea of ferns, turning around the trunk of a massive tree and peeking around the other side, before smiling lightly and thinking of a childhood she'd never had, when she was young again and she wasn't what she was, and her parents loved her, and her father would take her through the forests covered in silent kisses of snow and chase her until they were tired. After that, they would return home, where her mother would gently rock her to sleep close to the fire. The ideal childhood-- the childhood she had never gotten.

xxxxx. OF COURSE, Eri didn't linger on that subject for long. She liked to wear a smile always, whether fake or real, but preferred them real, so instead, she continued on her way and made herself think of happier things, such as how nice the forest smelled today, so clean, so fresh and new, and how it might even rain. Yes, how she would love to be caught in this sort of rain-- the rain here was warm, just the right temperature, and was always quiet and soft, never loud and thundering. She hoped it would rain, because it would make her feel like she could start all over again.

[Hunny]

It wasn't a particularly good morning for Aishe. She was sleeping peacefully with Gypsy, the small ashen gray kitten curled up against her pale cheek. Then 7 am hit and her mother was furious she wasn't already awake. A bucket of ice cold water was thrown on her and she shrieked, from the temperature of the water and also from the scratch on her face caused by Gypsy as she was also hit. Trembling the kitten ran from the room, a sleek gray blur running for the safety of the outside sun.

Her other cheek glowed red from the slap her mother had given her right after the bucket hit her head and she bowed her head, a hand to her torn cheek. getting up and changing her soaked clothes she tied her hair up into an intricate mess of tangles and curls. She bit her lip and quickly shuffled out, her golden bangles clinking on her bruised wrists. Quickly catering to her parents demands she finished her chores then grabbed her tambourine.

She had a bit of time before she'd be forced back onto the streets so she decided a walk through the forest might help calm her mind. She shook the instrument lightly, a small ringing tinkling sound playing in time with her soft humming. Her pale ankles brushed through the damp foliage of the morning plants and ferns and her dark, and slightly bruised gaze looked about in a dazed fashion.

Gypsies have 3 names. She once again said to herself. a name whispered in their ear at birth, but never spoken aloud, one given to them known legally, and their true gypsy name only used by other gypsies. These same thoughts had been running through her head ever since she asked her mother about them, who had replied sarcastically to her then smacked her for her insolence. Biting her lip she raised a slender finger to wipe off the drop of blood that had dripped from the slash on her right cheek.

Looking down she saw Gypsy leap by, stumbling toward...a person? The damp kitten meowed and curled around the person's legs, a purr vibrating from her throat. "Oh...I am terribly sorry." She said quietly, her foreign accent coating her words.

[• Jinx]

x. ERI WAS peering at the bark of a tree, interested by the strange texture, when she heard soft noises erupt around her; her eyes slanted slightly, her muscles tensed, and she had to force herself to relax. Someone was moving around in the brush, weren't they? She could feel it in the ground more than she could hear it, and that bothered her. Silently, her tongue flicked out and then back into her mouth, and she shook her head, taking a step away from the noises, almost like an animal about to flee. She was usually charming and charismatic, but in the forest, no one would hear her if someone jumped her. Almost as if to ready herself, her tongue flicked over her venom-coated canines, and she waited for the mystery person to come out.

xx. IN FACT, it turned out only to be a kitten that curled around her legs, and she laughed brightly, clapping her hands like a child and picking the kitten up in her hands. "Oh, you are so loveley," she cried, nuzzling the nape of the kitten's neck affectionately. "But all wet. What happened to you, moy lyubof? Mm, we'll see if we can get you warm." She gently rubbed the kitten's fur the opposite way to warm the little thing up. She was so intent on keeping the kitten dry and warm that she didn't notice when someone else got close-- or rather, didn't notice until a voice brought her out of her reverie and made her head snap up in that direction, snake eyes narrowing slightly until they saw it was just a young girl.

xxx. ERI BLINKED her eyes, and a radiant smile stole over her face. "Oh, no, do not worry!" she exclaimed, laughing again. "The little kitten, she is so wonderful." She kissed the kitten's muzzle and then stepped toward the girl, cupping the kitten in her slender fingers as she held it out to the gypsy. "She is still young, da? So adorable." She sighed affectionately, handing the kitten over and then placing her hands on her pockets as she observed the young girl. She tucked a strand of long, ebony hair behind her ear, maroon eyes looking almost amused as she viewed the other. "You are still young too, sistrichka," she commented. "What are you doing, out here, all alone? Is dangerous, da?"

***

moy lyubof = my love
da = yes.
sisitrichka = little sister.

[Hunny]

Aishe blushed upon seeing the beautiful woman smile at her and she looked away. She took Gypsy back and cuddled her, a soft smile gracing her face. "Yes still a kitten, as for myself....I'm 16." She looked away and sighed. "I'm trying to forget myself before my performance." She grimaced and shook her tambourine, knocking it against her thigh. "Not much fun for me but for my parents it seems they can't get enough of forcing me to dance all day."

After all, who didn't want to see a live gypsy girl? Nonetheless dancing. She was beginning to fear for her safety though seeing as how many men were interested in her, and the numbers seemed to keep growing daily. But oddly enough she had never felt any romantic feelings for a man ever. It was quite strange and she remembered the beating she got for mentioning it to her mother. Touching the cut on her right cheek, then the red hand print on her left cheek she sighed and looked down. "but my problems are not your problems."

She bowed to the woman. "Please forgive my speaking out of term." She was far to used to apologizing for things that in reality wasn't her fault or were beyond her control.

[• Jinx]

x. ERI WATCHED the young girl with a bout of curiousity coloring her expression. Her full lips curved upward in another radiant smile. She slipped around the side of a tree gracefully to get closer and view the girl better, her movements resembling that of a snake coiling. She tucked another hair behind her ear and continued to watch, listening to her speak, watching her lips formulate the words. Eri's smile faded softly, and she felt her brow furrow. The poor thing-- sounded like something that she should fix. Eri wanted to fix it, too; you could tell, because she suddenly got this look in her eyes that seemed distant and musing, as if she were trying to think up something utterly brilliant.

xx. OF COURSE, it didn't take long for Eri to come up with a solution. The young baroness smiled beautifully as the idea struck her, and she fluttered over the young girl, hands resting on Aishe's shoulders. "My poor sistrichka," she sighed, petting Aishe, even though they barely knew each other-- Eri was the kind of person to be like that even if she didn't know them. She smiled softly, a friendly, encouraging sort of smile. "Is your matiyra misunderstanding?" She sighed quietly, removing her hands from the girl's shoulders to place them on her slender, willowy hips. One of her hands reached up and a long, pale finger tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I am inclined to help you, of course," she began, then looked at her. "My name is Eri, by the way," she added, slipping it in before continuing with, "But do you want my help, sistrichka? I am willing to give it, if you will accept it."

xxx. ERI TILTED a brow in the young girl's direction. She had a mind to whisk the girl away and bring her into her life, and then see how she flourished under loving care. Eri liked the idea-- perhaps Aishe would even grow to adore her, like she wanted. She felt pleased at the thought that someone might adore her and looked at Aishe with a new sort of perspective, wondering how the young gypsy might become as a beloved daughter. Perhaps something would happen. "Out of term?" Eri blinked in surprise, smile disappearing, before she frowned. "When you are speaking to me, you will speak how you like, and you will speak your mind. That's the rules," she informed sternly, and then smiled in bemusement.

***

matiyra = mother

[Hunny]

Aishe's eyes fluttered closed for a moment as she was pet. A small purr vibrated in her throat. "Both...of my parents are misunderstanding. They don't.....like me...." She frowned and looked away, her eyes becoming glossy. She wiped her eyes quickly. "Oh no ma'am you're not inclined to anything." she shook her head. She thought for a moment. was she offering to get her away from her parents. "I would like your help...but uhmm..what kind of help are you offering exactly?"

she was willing to take what help she could get, as long as it got her away from the pain of her home. "O-oh rules" She nodded quickly. "Of course, I'm sorry." She apologized meekly. Gypsy jumped from her arms and mewed softly. aishe half expected to be punished for her insolence but in a way she knew this woman wouldn't hurt her at all. It comforted her to be able to stand in front of someone of her own free will. "M-my mother will be angry soon..." She was eager to hear of what help she would recieve but very well aware of the beating she would receive should she be later. Mother didn't enjoy having to take her place entertaining while she was gone.

[• Jinx]

x. ERI GAVE the young girl a charming smile, a smile that curled her full lips upward, and she tucked more hair away from her face. "I am inclined to do much, helping you, sistrichka, being among them," she explained in an airy tone, smiling liltingly. "Your have a bright soul, lyubof, and it breaks my heart to think that you are being restrained like this." She sighed and her lips pouted outward slightly. She petted Aishe gently again, and her smile returned as she tucked a strand of Aishe's hair affectionately behind her ear. "How could I help you?" she repeated, musingly, and then leaned back a bit, surveying the Gypsy girl.

xx. THERE WAS really only one thing that appealed to Eri, and she grinned radiantly at her might-be-adopted-daughter, Aishe. "Well, first, I would help you by telling you my name," she began. "Baroness Eri Kobayashi, but please call me Eri," she continued, smiling and releasing a charming purr. "And then, I would help you by telling you that... Well, if you wanted, I may be able to take you away from this place and have you stay with me at my house, so I may cherish you all to myself and show you off to my friends." She paused, still smiling. "And show you what a real family is like. So what do you say, lyubof?"

***

lyubof = love
sistrichka = little sister

[Hunny]

She smiled brightly but blushed darkly, she hadn't ever complimented so. She tilted her head, looking at the older woman with an affectionate gaze and pure happiness that someone finally understood what she was forced to go throguh every day. She didn't like being restrained, no gypsy did and being restrained by fellow gypsies themselves were even worse, it didn't matter if they were bitter at their previous bands. "Honestly....I'm not sure how you could help me." She looked down and sighed.

Looking back up at the beautiful woman as she spoke she nodded. "Eri." She repeated quietly. "It's a beautiful name." She raised her head quickly to stare at the woman wide eyed. Be taken away, by her? A real family...her heart swelled with an emotional mix of love and happiness and relief. "Köszönöm, is annyira." She smiled widely and hugged her tightly. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

Köszönöm, nem is annyira - thank you, so much

[• Jinx]

x. TO SAY that Eri was pleased was a large, large understatement. Half of her had expected to have the girl running away at the suggestion of leaving, because she knew what it was like to be rooted into an abusive place. When she had been a child, the hardest thing in her life was to leave her family and go to Victor's circus-- and then, when it was time to leave that place, it had grown easier for her, and she had just grown tired of it all. She had grown tired of being abused and used, so she simply set out to prove them wrong. And look where she had ended up today-- a baroness, and extremely successful, if she did say so herself.

xx. AND THE look Aishe had given her made her day better-- just like that. If there was one thing that Eri wanted most in the world was to be adored and loved, and she hoped that's what was happening here. A smile smoothed over her lips at the mention of her name, and she purred. Compliments were also a form of love, non? Or at least of adoration. Eri turned her warm gaze back to the gypsy girl and smiled brightly at the hug, wrapping her thin, slender arms around the girl in response. She, of course, suddenly felt a bit self-concious, because she was afraid the girl would feel how thin she really was beneath the clothing, and then might think that perhaps she didn't have enough food-- quite the contrary, she had plenty, but she just never seemed to gain much weight because of her metabolism. Perhaps because of her serpent genes, perhaps because that was how she was.

xxx. ERI TURNED her attention back to Aishe and released her from the hug. She didn't understand quite what the girl was saying-- she rarely spoke any language other than English and Russian, though knew French-- but she gathered what she meant by it. "It is no problem, lyubof. Come, we will leave now, if you wish," she added with a smile, kneeling down a bit so that she was eye level with the gypsy girl. "I would like to get you out of here, soon as possible," she explained, softly. "But if there are things you need to get from your previous home, I will gladly go with you to get them." In fact, she would probably enjoy it, seeing the looks on their faces when she told them that she, Baroness Eri Kobayashi, was taking their daughter as her own. And what would they do about it? Go to the law? They rarely paid attention to the law anyway, so they'd have no reason to ask for favors now, and the law rarely challenged her. It would be an interesting time, to be sure.

***

lyubof = love
sistrichka = little sister