[Yael] By Its Cover [Jacline & Xelannis]

[LucidStreaming]

Jacline was rarely left alone.

In solitude, yes, but not alone. Theodall didn’t think it safe or proper for a young girl and she hadn’t the gall or desire to question it. She liked her quiet private spaces after all and saw little need to challenge that. The outside world was dangerous. People were untrustworthy. Everyone had ulterior motives. One simply couldn’t know what might happen, and it was better to be studious, careful, and unseen. Ever accompanied on the limited occasions she went out.

It wasn’t as though there was any lack of work to be done indoors. Beyond tending to the portions of the building used for living despite being conjoined with the business (the kitchen, back store rooms and bedrooms, and upper story living spaces) he also had her from time to time perform bookkeeping work, clerical and accounting tasks. More as she aged. She also aided on occasion in tending to the active business portion. Fetching things. Making deliveries. Giving the occasional explanation to customers. But ever and always in Theodall’s presence when it came to tending the shop in business hours.

All other reasons aside, he took particular angry concern with her being near to or about any men. Her own age, or a hundred years older, it hardly seemed to matter. Men were disastrously untrustworthy. Sin waiting to happen. His anxiety in this regard increased with every year she grew.

She was not clear on why. But, since she had no interest herself and only Theodall’s word for the most part as a source of reasonable concerns, she did not question that either. She was happy to cooperate in ignoring them. Welcomed it, even.

They might be difficult to avoid, though, when she was left to tend to the building herself. No amount anxiety on her part inspired him to change his mind after he had announced his intention. A ‘business’ trip, he told her, and not one he could put off or pass onto someone else. She would only need to see to the shop for a day. She was old enough. She understood the mechanics well enough.

She disagreed.

Anyone might break in and rob the place blind without him about, burn the building or kidnap her. Wouldn’t it be best if she accompanied him and they locked the place up behind them? Any such suggestion, though, had been quickly stifled, and as Jacline had learned from other endeavors, Theodall did not negotiate. So it was with no small amount of anxiety, on the first business day after sabbath, Jacline prepared shop as she usually might, but with the chilling knowledge that for this day, she was the only one there.

She tried not to pray that no one would arrive at all.  

[Indigo_Plateau]

LucidStreaming

Xelannis was frequently left to his own devices.

Though his earliest years within the Sanctum had been strict and regimented in regards to his schedule and which activities he would be permitted to perform at any given time, as he'd grown older there came chances for more personal, private study, as well as opportunities to prove that he could remain dedicated and on track without the constant need of watchful eyes on his back. Because he considered study and scripture to be among the easiest and most familiar tasks that could be taken on, Xelannis had no issue tending to them either in a full classroom setting or on his own.

So long as he continued to perform well in the few classes he was required to attend, showed himself capable of making progress without a teacher to guide him directly, and kept himself from missing any required sessions of prayer or communion, Xelannis was permitted time to himself to study wherever it pleased him to do so.

Or if he was feeling especially bold, to use the time to not tend to it at all, and instead run errands of a more personal nature.

Although, he hardly considered any trip outside of the Sanctum's walls to be of a 'personal nature,' so much as a necessity. It was a trial in itself, particularly when he made the journey unaided by any of his fellows. He was not afraid of common folk- He was not afraid of anyone who stood before him, face-to-face, one-on-one. Except being out alone on the streets was not any of that. Though he'd never had any reason to see it as such since being adopted by the Sanctum, the thought of having his back to more than a handful of strangers was unnerving. The sight of having so much more going on than his eyes could catch was disquieting. And the irrational fear that there was a far greater potential for something unpleasant to occur among so many bodies would not recede, regardless of how many time he made the excursion.

So Xelannis didn't necessarily agree with leaving the safety the Sanctum's walls provided, but he did so because he needed to do so. He needed paper, or a notebook. Something that he could write in, and he could hardly study properly without it.

When Xelannis eased his way off the street and into the bookshop nearest to his own home, he let out a soft sigh of relief at the newfound security, covered only by the tinkering of a bell as the door shut behind him. His gaze immediately lifted to the front desk, where he expected to see the familiarity of the store's owner. Instead, there was only a significantly less familiar girl.

She couldn't have been much younger than him, if at all, with light skin and hair and a small set of spectacles- Recognition hit him a moment later. "Zekiel's sister," he greeted her, though he knew it couldn't possibly be true.  

[LucidStreaming]

Indigo_Plateau

Jacline’s unsent prayers went (predictably) unanswered.

At the first tinkle of the store bell, she all but hopped in place in her startlement, glowing eyes darting with all the quick start of a frightened cat to the door, and-

That boy was a priest.

Or a prentice, or acolyte.

She couldn’t know his exact rank, but she remembered his face, having been one of those whose attention she had tried to catch in the event at the Sanctum’s steps, and her pulse stuttered all the heavier in her chest. On the one hand, it was a great honor and blessing, she thought, both to have his company and in the simple general sense of serving the church. On the other, if she did anything poorly…

Oh, she paled at the thought.

She opened her mouth on a dry throat. He spoke before her. Zekiel’s sister. It was confusing enough to give her full pause. “Par-” She cleared her throat; a small nervous cough of sound. “Pardon?”

Zekiel, Zekiel, Zekiel… She felt all but certain she had heard the name somehow, but could not for the life of her think where- Until she knew. This was a boy of the church and Zekiel’s name must have been on either Master Tallart’s tongue with regard to the Sanctum, or - perhaps more likely, since she couldn’t specifically recall - that of a client’s. Regardless: “I-I’m not related to any of the clergy, but I am certain he does honorable service. I am Jacline. Tallart. Of Pajore.” Her cheeks flushed, the latter part seeming increasingly unnecessary the longer it hung in the air. When she spoke again, her words were significantly more muted such that they may not have been audible to someone not already listening. “May I help you?”  

[Indigo_Plateau]

LucidStreaming

What an unnaturally timid specimen. The thought was the first to rise to the forefront of Xelannis' consciousness as he watched her twitch, pale, stammer, and all but recede from his entrance. Had she behaved like that when they were all gathered before the Sanctum's steps? Perhaps if she had, it hadn't seemed like a noteworthy event at the time, considering that many of those that had stood before the temple of their gods held anxious hearts over the unfolding events. The only thing he could say for sure that he remembered about her was the specific thought that she bore a resemblance to another priest.

Everything else would be new.

"Jacline. Tallart. Of Pajore," Xelannis repeated as he stepped nearer to the front counter. She was quiet, as compared to many of the more boisterous merchants in the market, trying to attract attention to their own wares, and he had to wonder if she was often left here seemingly alone. His gaze wandered the room, searching for the man who actually owned the shop and who Xel had a closer familiarity with. The girl was someone he'd never seen before, and Xel considered it strange that he wouldn't know of her existence and connection to a shop he frequented more than any other. "Do you work here?" He inquired skeptically. "On first impression, I would say you haven't the... zeal for someone working in any type of retail business."

He thrummed his fingers against the counter top and waited a sparse few seconds for someone more suited to dealing with him to appear.

None was forthcoming.

"But if you insist on trying, be grateful that I am not a difficult customer and perhaps next time someone enters the shop, look pleased to be garnering any business, Miss. Jacline. Tallart. Of Pajore." Without further needling of the young woman in front of him, Xelannis directed his attention elsewhere, since she clearly didn't want to be the recipient of any such thing. "I have come only for a new notebook: pocket sized, white paper, hard leather binding. Fetch it for me."  

[LucidStreaming]

Indigo_Plateau

Did he have to repeat it back to her as awkwardly as she’d delivered it?

Even as she felt her cheeks heat further, now in some combination of fluster and frustration, she set her shoulders a notch back and drew a breath, tilting her chin up and attempting to recover composure. Little as she liked it and startled as she’d been to receive a guest of such esteem as her first, the young man was right. It wouldn’t do to be trying to sell merchandise if she stammered at every customer.

Thus, in response to the first question, she began, “I am Master Tallart’s—” ‘Daughter’ wasn’t right, but neither was ‘employee’ precisely the fitting term, “—ward. I am keeping shop for him today as he is off on business. I’ve never done it before, but I—aim to do better. I apologize, sir.”

Once hadn’t been enough, but twice in repetition—really, she would have to practice her introductions. “I am very grateful, and pleased, to have you and your business. I think I can—”

Her gaze flit away from him and toward their selection.

Fetch it for me.

He at least knew what he wanted, she supposed. “One moment, yes.”

And with little more than that and a dip of her head in retreat, she moved back from the front desk, trying not to breath an audible exhale in the moment she had to herself as she ducked into the back storage. She was fairly certain, now that he had asked for it specifically, that she had heard Theodall speak of such a thing and its timeliness, as he had several valuable customers with specific want of it. Fortunately, they were not hard to locate.
 

[Indigo_Plateau]

LucidStreaming

"Ward?" Xelannis whispered the word to himself as soon as the girl had departed to retrieve his notebook. Though Xel didn't enjoy expeditions to the market and had managed on several occasions to find someone else willing to run his errands for him, that wasn't always the case. He'd made several appearances in this shop himself, and never once had he seen the young Yaeli woman here. Had there ever even been discussion of another shop employee? Certainly no one had ever mentioned continued care of another living being.

Although, it wasn't difficult to imagine that she simply didn't want to be seen, and just as likely that one unobtrusive girl wouldn't register as relevant enough in Xelannis' mind to remember if they ever had been in the same vicinity to begin with, until he'd caught her gaze before the Sanctum.

But it struck him frustratingly as though it were an oversight on his part to have not noticed her. As a boy who did like to speak and converse with others and considered himself quite curious and inquisitive, to have not known there was a whole person in Master Tallart's care, in the shop that was the only shop Xelannis made personal purchases from.

"Ward," Xel repeated as he tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him. What a peculiarly specific and somehow unhelpful word.

His glowing gaze lingered on the entryway through which Jacline had disappeared. Impatience wasn't generally one of his traits, particularly since Xelannis appreciated when things were done properly, and there was no reason to waste time on redoes. She wouldn't be gone more than a moment. Still, he had to assume that even though she wasn't within his line of sight, that the space between where each of them stood wasn't so great that she wouldn't hear him if he called to her. So he did. "Can you tell me how long you've been in the service of your Master Tallart?"

"I don't recall seeing you before now, and I'm fairly certain no one has ever mentioned you to me, but you must not be a new figure in his life or you wouldn't have been trusted to maintain the shop alone. Does that sound about accurate?"  

[LucidStreaming]

"Can you tell me how long you've been in the service of your Master Tallart?"

The question came to her while she was still away, but she hadn’t gone far, so as she pulled one of the carefully bound pocket notebooks requested to her, she answered, “I have lived with him all my life to my recollection…” As she emerged with what she’d come for, however, she clarified, returning to the front desk and placing his purchase there as she did. “I do not know if it would be called service then, when I was a small girl, but I have worked occasionally to help within the shop as I’ve come of an age to understand. But it had always been accounting or keeping ledgers, cataloguing shipments and the like…”

So, she nodded.

“That is, you are correct. You would’t likely have seen me as I’ve never managed the business portion and he has preferred that I do not engage with too many strangers, but Master Tallart has raised me and I am familiar with other aspects of his enterprise.”
 

[Indigo_Plateau]

LucidStreaming

"But why?" Xelannis prompted, curious.

What a peculiar situation for a poor, stuttering, awkward little girl, to be taken in as an old single man's 'ward' at such a young age. What could've prompted this development? Was she an orphan? Had Tallart wanted a child? Xelannis took note almost immediately that Jacline had avoided use of the word 'daughter,' and he couldn't help but wonder what that had been like for a young girl, to not have had parents nor anyone willing to take on that role specifically. Even he had had parents. So if her master had wanted a child, it was strange to not also adopt the title of the role that came with it.

And if he hadn't wanted to fill that position, there hardly seemed reason for her to be here at all. Though Xelannis had never physically entered a Yaeli orphanage, he'd been told they held more structure than their mainland counterparts. He'd also had opportunity to be about when groups of children were brought into the temple by their matron for sermon and prayer. They had, on a precursory glance, all seemed fine and at very least amicable to each other.

It was by no means the best or even a covetable position, but as far as Xelannis could tell it was better than living with someone who expressly didn't want a child, and if nothing else, it at very least provided ample opportunity for socialization, which Jacline seemed severely lacking in.

She didn't seem like a girl who had many friends or knowledge of how to make them.

"Is that what you prefer?" He asked easily, touching his fingers to the notebook he'd been offered and sliding it across the counter nearer to him. "To 'not engage' with strangers?" Even if he detested crowds, Xelannis still liked company. Being alone with little more than busy work sounded most unappealing.

Xelannis pulled his quill from his pocket and offered it to her. "Here." He flipped open the cover and prodded a finger to the top edge of the very first page. "Write your name." After another moment of thought he added, "And something about yourself. I'll think of you every time I open it."  

[LucidStreaming]

Why…?

Jacline blinked. It wasn’t actually a question she was accustomed to, not that she was especially accustomed to anyone inquiring into her life in general, and perhaps from most she might have thought it best to simply hold her tongue and wait for their curiosity to pass. But such couldn’t be the case with a customer, or certainly not a customer such as this one.

“Because he was kind,” Jacline said at length. “Kind, and good, and loyal to the gods, and he thought…” ‘…that I wouldn’t be taken in otherwise, my history was so foul…’ Theodall had never specified all the details, but he had assured her her ‘parents’ had been terrible people and the tale of her beginnings impure enough that no one would have touched her. Only he, being the generous man that he was, braved it because he knew he could make something better of her. All this, however, did not seem necessary or appropriate to try to explain to the boy before her. “He thought that it was what the gods bid him to do,” she finished. “And I am grateful.”

Is that what you prefer?

She glanced up again, though, at the latter question, and hesitated. “I…think I should do as he bids me,” she said. “But…” Admittedly, “…it isn’t so bad to be able to go about on occasion. And to meet with and see those who come into the shop. I don’t especially like to be among a great many people, but to see just one or a few at once is less lonel-”

She blinked again, downward at his quill this time. I’ll think of you every time I open it… The heat in her cheeks bloomed like a spring flower, and her mouth opened several times wordlessly with the thought that she ought to say something, but could not manage to discern what. Instead, she reached eventually, tentatively, for the quill.

A Chosen would think of her?

The thought that he might actually do so ever again after departing the shop seemed impossible, but at the same time peculiarly thrilling. It couldn’t be a bad thing, in any case. But it did mean she must write something worth remembering her by.

Jacline Tallart… she eventually scrawled in neat, precise loops and lines. I am… Unimportant. Irrelevant. Quiet. Loyal to the gods’ will. She drew a breath. …practiced in penmanship and transcription, organizing ledgers, and alphabetizing, and I enjoy most to sit by high windows which overlook the city and read whenever the gods grant me respite from the day’s work.