Walk About -- Murat

[Guest]

Following the lead of Maharrem, Murat listened closely to what the boy had to tell, as they walked through the maze that wee the backstreets of Abu Sahir. The half giant tried to remember the turns they took, but he would not be surprised if this did not work. What the boy had begun to talk about was interesting enough to weaken his attention towards the route they had taken. Calmly the half giant spoke as Mar had finished. "I can imagine that you wanted to get out of there. The role of a compagnion would certainly have been more damaging to your street reputation then being able to read, write and probably speak in two languages."

Murat pondered for a moment and grinned as he addressed the boy again. "We can learn from eachother, Maharrem. I can teach you my language and some basics of our martial arts and you could teach me the basics of writing in adhiel. I know how to write in common." He gave Mar a pat on the back and not before long he spotted what seemed to be the tavern. "Interesting things may happen if we stay together for a while and bundle our forces. For starters, we get to go to the Barsanke estate in the morning to begin our new employ. Remind me to try and win Sahid's trust as quickly as possible, so we can look for a way to help Fatima."

[Ashari]

"My reputation wasn't much of a concern then." If Murat had been paying attention he might've noted the change in the way that the youth spoke since he had first met him. In the beginning he talked like a street rat, with short words and colloqialisms taking up much of his speech, as he got to know the half-giant better his language had improve dramatically. "I didn't worry about that until it was the only thing keeping me alive." He smiled.

"Can you write well in common?" He asked. "Because I'm fully literate, in both. But I would love to learn to half-giant language. Can you write in that as well?" They reached the tavern and Maha was quiet as they passed through the main room and went upstairs to their private quarters.

The room was small, but it housed two beds, one of which was large enough for Murat to sleep in comfortably. "Not bad." Maha said before sitting down on the bigger of the beds. "Yeah, I think I call dibs on this one..." He grinned and stretched his arms above his head.

[Guest]

Murat smiled at Maharrem and shook his head at the boy, not afriad of what he was about to say next. "I can write my name and make a list of what I need, but not exactly adequate to write down the stories I can tell. I limited myself to the human language as far as writing goes, as this is used more often. Keep in mind that where I come from, there is little use in learning things that are not practical." He followed the young man to their room and began taking off his armor, then broke into a laughter as Mar sat on the largest of the two beds.

Calmly he took off his swordbelt and shook his head again. "I'd like to get some sleep myself, Mar. Where you can sleep in a cot that is twice your size, I can hardly do the same in a cot half my size." He winked and playfully patted him on the shoulder, being careful not to hurt him. "But look on the bright side, Mar. The smaller cot is behind the door when it is opened, so it is the safest of the two."

Slowly he took the falchion out of the sheath and placed it against the large bed, so it would be within reach if he needed it, then pulled out the dagger and handed it to the youngster. "Put that under your pillow, Mar. You can return it to me in the morning. In case we get unexpected company at night, I don't want you without a means of defense."

[Ashari]

Maha laughed at what Murat said. "I suppose that wouldn't help you write stories much." He replied. "But you could tell them to me and I could easily write them. I was taught dictation, though I will admit that my penmanship isn't as good as it could be, but it can be if I practice a bit."

The young man looked up at the half-giant and grinned as he gave him a friendly pat on the back. "You could sleep fine! It wouldn't be the most comfortable place in all of Tazlure, but give it a few flickers, I bet you'd pass out like the dead on the ground after tonight." He stood from his sitting position and moved over to the smaller of the two cots. "Safer, eh?" He looked at his friend. "Are we worried about getting attacked tonight?"

His brows knotted. "You didn't do something to anger Helena, did you?" There was a bit of desperation in that. "Because if you did, I'm outta here. I'd ratha be in the streets." His nerves pulled at his city dialect. "I can't go back to that, Murat." His golden eyes gleamed with something akin to fear.

"I don't want a weapon. I'm not a fighter," he said. "Keep it. I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway."

[Guest]

Murat glanced at Maharrem and winked, then broke out in a chuckle. "No, I didn't do anything to anger Helena, I was too worried that I might not get treated and more concerned for Fatima's safety. Taking precaution of being attacked at night is a warriors habit, Mar. Nothing more, so you can relax and i'll keep the knife with me then. One day however, I will teach you to defend yourself with a weapon. It is something every man should know." He motioned the lad closer and his voice got more serious, speaking with what could be considered a warrior's honor to a given promise.

"I have told you that you would not have to go back to that life, didn't I? You have my word that you never will do so, unless by your express wish. We're going to make a life for ourselves, starting tomorrow and in a place of high standing." Calmly he sat down on the bed, slid the dagger underneath the pillow and looked patiently at the young man. "We made a deal and I am going to propose an extension to that. As long as we are together, you will have me watching your back, just as a larger brother would in our clans. You do what you can and we learn from eachother in the meantime." He extended his right hand to Mar and grinned. "Good enough?"

[Ashari]

Maharrem swallowed at Murat's words. He knew the half-giant said he didn't have to worry about that life, but it was still a concern. He nodded silently as he spoke, and leaned in when his companion's words drew in hushed.

"Good enough." He shook his hand with as much strength as he could muster from his much smaller fingers. "I'm thinking I'm sure as anything a lot better off than I would be on my own." Maha let go of Murat's hand and then sat on his own smaller bed.

"It's about time for some sleep, I say." The youth said around a yawn as he stretched his arms high above his head, his hands pulling into tight fists and then releasing as he loosened the muscles. His shoulders relaxed and then he grabbed the blanket that was tight over the mattress and gave it a tug before sliding his body beneath. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor exposing intricate tattoos winding across his shoulders. Snakes. They coiled among eachother and slithered over his spine, crossing his midsection onto his chest where more waited.

He rubbed his hand over his shoulder absently and yawned again. "Sorry, long day." Maharrem's other hand wiped yawn-inspired tears from his eyes. "So tomorrow, we'll try to go to Barsanke, they might not let us in, thanks to the execution, though. It might take a few days for things to simmer down after the riot."

[Guest]

As Maharrem let go of his hand, Murat smiled and nodded to the young man. "We'll see when we get there, Mar. For now some rest would seem like a good idea." The half giant stretched himself out on the bed and pulled the blanket over his body. He reminded himself to discuss those tattoed snakes with his young friend sometime. Whatever duties they gave him, he would have to keep his upper body covered at all times. One could never know what might come of it, if someone spotted them.

Calmly Murat turned on his side, one hand beneath the pillow where his knife was, the other close to the sword standing against the bed. Normally, the smallest amount of sound would wake him and sent him reaching for his weapons, something that had become second nature while living in the desert. Only a few sounds would not cause such to happen. "If they will not let us in tomorrow, then we'll go do something else. Sleep well, Mar."