[Oba] The Only Green For Miles [Mash'al/Seziah]

[Fluffesu]

There were a few things about living in a desert that Seziah hadn't quite been prepared for. First was the sun, which blazed hotter here on her skin than she could ever remember feeling it before. Likely in response to that came a startling under abundance of water. Jatine wasn't far from the ocean, and it even had a system of springs that those with enough money could pull from and directly into their homes. Unfortunately, only those with enough money had access to such things, and Seziah was not among them.

With water as limited a resource as it was, and with rain practically nonexistent as far as Seziah could tell, Jatine's most glaring inadequacy was its lack of greenery: grass.

This, at least, Seziah had been more prepared for. As a child, her father had gifted her bottles of sand from the Oban coast. She'd been told time and time again how the land across the sea was nothing but great golden waves of the stuff, with no green, shrubbery, or trees as far as the eye could see. She'd thought it sounded beautiful. She'd loved her little bottles of sand, with all the grains contained in a small, clear little bottle.

Then she'd stepped foot on the shores.

It had been beautiful, true. But it was everywhere. Sand was in her clothes, in her hair, in her ears, and with no access to a proper bath at her leisure, it stayed there. For the first time, Seziah wished for something she'd had at home. It was strange, she thought, that she could miss something so innocuous as grass. But considering what was in its place, she missed it all the same. It was an especially loud thought anytime she tried to maneuver through town and was reminded how everywhere sand get get.

She'd made it off the main streets, down a little path 'road' that most others seemed to be taking no note of. But since her exploration of the day was for purely academic reasons, and no one was around to remind her that she oughtn't stick her nose where it didn't belong, Seziah trailed down the little path.

It started slowly, at first: a spurt of green, a single frond, a little patch. But it grew steadily from there, and as it did, a sort of delighted anticipation swelled up in Sez's chest. The grass looked like it wanted to lead her to something especially special. And who was she not to follow it?  

[akuma_kessaku]

After another celebratory night on the town, Mash'al sat in the company of the gods in one of his favorite places in Jatine; 'his' garden. Now, theoretically it was through the care of many a matoran at the direction of his mother that this little oasis came to be, but with his successes, he purchased the property from his mother... therein - his garden.

With a cup of tea in hand, he crossed one leg over the other and sat back in the chair of his bistro set and looked around at the glory he had not only achieved but maintained through the years without the guidance of his father - or his precious wife for that matter. Yes, he went there... as his eyes drifted from one statuesque representation of his beloved gods to the next noted the empty pillar, a gaping hole surrounded by the most elegant of flowers. Fluidly moving to his feet, Mash'al crossed the yard to examine the pillar where the statue of Hetald once stood, "Beloved Hetald..." He sneered while looking over the placard that detailed her representation, "Goddess of Fertility, Marriage and Women..." he spat at the base of the pillar in disgust, "Remind me again how that worked out for me..."

Overwhelmed with the pent-up emotions pertaining to his history with a woman who was as good as dead to him, and a goddess whose main source of entertainment is to spite him at every turn, he placed a foot on the edge of the pillar and gave a shove - it didn't budge. As the rage built he pushed harder and harder, pivoting his grounded foot slightly for more leverage he felt himself losing traction as he strained against the weight of the solid structure. "Hetald be... damned!" he grunted from the strain as he pushed off from the pillar and walked across the grass, taking deep breaths to keep from passing out, "May you forever burn in the hellfire of Atun's wrath!" he shouted to the skies while turning and looking back at the pillar, "One of these days I will remember to remove you, you vi-"

Mash'al stopped mid-sentence and stared down the path that leads to the front of his estate; a woman? Clearly not from these lands... she had these pointed protrusions out either side of her head which he could only assume were supposed to be ears, wild curls of plum that was nearly the length of her body; had the locks been straight they would likely be twice her length. Her eyes were dark, similar to those hideous bug ladies from Jauhar, but as she crossed through the shadow of the home he noted the eerie glow.

A shiver assaulted his spine as the hair on his forearms raised, "What's... your game..." He murmured, shooting a sideways glance at Hetald's pillar. Attempting to compose himself from the minor tantrum he had just thrown he brushed his hair back into place and fought to encourage his legs to move and confront the strange sight, "E-Excuse me... This is Private Property... What are you doing?"

fluffesu

lolololol *^* Mash thinks Sez was sent by the goddess~ Let the Shenanigans commense~

 

[Fluffesu]

akuma_kessaku

Ever since she'd been small, Seziah had only been granted few opportunities to 'explore' the city she'd resided in. Her days had been spent almost exclusively within her residence, with only minimal excursions to the market and promptly back to retrieve necessities. She must've lived in Pajore for more than a decade, and still she knew very few of its wonders. She knew of things that could be on Yael, but had witnessed none of them.

As a volcanic island, essentially capable of brewing its own fertilizer, Seziah knew that Yael must have had many beautiful gardens. And as religious as her peers were, there were surely many shrines to their own deities. Gardens and shrines were not exclusive here, there, or anywhere, so there must have been something similar to her current locale somewhere.

But if there was, she'd never seen it.

Seziah swept her fingers up the length of a grass frond blooming at the base of a great cement pillar etched with markings she didn't recognize, and almost smiled. She'd been told gods had forsaken Oba, leaving it hot, barren, and inhospitable. But these green grasses and vibrant flowers spoke of something else. It was almost beautiful, she thought, for anything to grow here. And these shrines... Who could they be to, if not the Oban gods? Not that Seziah knew anything about them, either, but that surely must be what this place was.

The thought did tug at the corners of her lips, edging them up into a hesitant, but noticeably present smile. Flowers and grasses could bloom in the desert, so long as the gods gave their blessings. She wondered if she, too, could win favor with these more so than she had her own...

The sound of a voice came too abruptly and too unexpectedly for Seziah to do anything other than gasp softly and snatch her hand away from the greenery as if she'd been caught doing something she oughtn't. Which, if Obans treated outsiders as Yaeli did in regards to who was permitted to seek solace with their gods, she might have been. "I was- Oh, nothing. I only spotted this garden from the road and wanted to see it for myself. I am sorry if I am not permitted to be here, but... Private property?" Seziah repeated in question.  

[akuma_kessaku]

Cautiously advancing on the strange woman he murmured, "Yes... This is my home." indicating to the structure they now stood in the shadow of, "and you are in my yard, now making your way to my gardens..." His tone wasn't offended at all; more curious. Mash'al continued to eye the woman, trying to assess if she was at all a threat. It would seem as though she was merely curious, but he knew all too well what could happen if he was wrong.

"Are you... lost?" He looked around as though trying to reunite her with whatever clustering of immigrants she could have been traveling with. Only standing a few feet from her he continued, "Recently arrived or-" releasing a breath abruptly and offered a hand to shake in greetings, "Mash'al Tahan." Seeing no one in the area he decided she couldn't be too big a threat and there was an opportunity to learn where people like her come from. Letting his smug facade fall to the wayside, he asked "Care for a cup of tea?" offering her an opportunity to advance through the gardens.

Fluffesu

 

[Fluffesu]

akuma_kessaku

"No," Seziah informed the man on a quiet breath as she kept her gaze angled toward the stones beneath their feet, sparing her from the unfamiliarity of his eyes. "I am not lost." Even if she didn't know what this place was called or what it was, she knew where she'd come from and how to return. She was not lost. So hopefully he held no concern for her in that regard. It was just such a strange place to behold, in the middle of the desert. Did people not often wander here seeking any sort of break in the sandy golden hills?

More importantly, if she was on his property (as he'd said and she had no reason to disbelieve), would he be angry with her? Seziah's pale glowing orbs flicked up, briefly assessing, then away again. He did not appear to be angry in any way she was familiar with.

A good sign.

As the man's- Mash'al's- hand appeared in her vision, Sez wrung her fingers in the fabric of her dress. She'd never been expressly fond of touching others... Particularly strangers who could be quite filthy. Her mentor had never really managed to rid that fear of her. But she supposed it was rude not to, and she couldn't expect much better while trespassing. Seziah dusted her fingers against her clothes, then layered her palm very delicately over his. "I am Seziah, and I am honored at your invitation. Yes, please."

With that settled, she settled in to trail after him. Could one person really own all this land? There didn't seem to be any others here. And how? How had he come to possess such a unique area on Oban soil? It was the first she'd seen. "Excuse me," Seziah prompted. "If I may ask, for what reason would you work so hard to grow all these plants and grasses here, when it would likely be easier to do so elsewhere? And why would it be 'private?' I do not understand."