Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Bethany]

Bethany blushes a little, but otherwise maintains a professional demeanor. "I love you too, brother mine," she says softly, then looks at the two women. "I'm sorry-"

[Tethras Clan]

"Nonsense," Seli overrides the younger woman's apologies. "You look after your brother, we'll finish readying dinner and then clean up. Don't worry about a thing. Get him cleaned up and put to bed, I'll bring a plate up for you both."

[GamesMaster]

Brianne stood out in a crowd of catfolk and humans: she had grey fur with ghostly white stripes, something like a tabby but wilder, somehow more exotic, but she also had a mane of long white hair, cascading in ripples over her shoulders and down her back. Catfolk never had hair like a human, and humans never had fur and feline ears like she did. Even for a merikos, she was exotic because of her striped fur, her striking blue eyes. So when she showed up at the temple from time to time for routine infection-removal and a handout of meat to supplement her protein-deficient diet, Bethany couldn't help but take notice. 

Which means that today, she can't help but overhear the commotion. Brianne's whimpers and pleading turned to angry hisses: "How dare you judge me!" But the healer crossed her arms, shook her head.

"No. Clean means clean."

[Bethany]

Looks clean to me, Bethany can't help but think as her eyes skim down the back of the merikos catfolk's lower half, lingering an extra half second on those lean calves. I... might have a type. Crap. Focus girl. Drifting a little closer as she winds up what fills like fifty million yards of linen bandage that got dropped and thus loose, Bethany tries to catch back up on the conversation after, ah, spacing out for a moment.

[GamesMaster]

"What am I supposed to do," she hisses. "I thought you were about preventing disease!"

"You know better, Brianne. Come back when you're sober and we'd be glad to clear up your problem."

Brianne's ears droop backward, and her shoulders hunch with shame as she realizes she's not going to win this. For all that she can talk like a fancy sort, she's only a whore after all -- she has no power here, no leverage, nothing with which to bargain. She's just street trash, cast out, sent back to her pimp with empty hands and a burning she still needs taken care of. "Fine. Fine. Screw Bastion anyway." 

[Bethany]

Biting her lip, the human tries to quickly finish up her task while still keeping track of the... encounter happening in front of her. That... that doesn't seem right. What does it matter if she's had too much wine or whatever? That doesn't make her any less sick! I mean, sure, if she did something dumb (like fuck her sister?) because she was drunk, then yeah, give her a lecture, maybe hit her with a penalty fee or something but we shouldn't be... Bastion doesn't judge nor include people for their mistakes. Mercy and compassion don't have limits, not with Him. 

As Brianne steps back, Bethany tries to catch her eye, then signal her to wait outside.

[GamesMaster]

One of Brianne's ears twitches as she spies Bethany, a signal that she noticed. Then she is gone, escorted out by the priestess, out the back so as not to make a scene to those waiting in line. 

Ten minutes later, when Bethany goes on break, she's there, pacing, hands trembling a bit. "Hey," she says instantly, latching onto Bethany with laser focus. "You gonna yell at me some more or what?"

[Bethany]

"I rather dislike yelling," Bethany says wanely. "Ummm. I only caught half of that and- well, my Dad always says you shouldn't make a decision unless you know everything you can about something. So... tell me your story?" I don't want to go around the church's back but at the same time, it feels wrong to just abandon this poor woman to her fate. The catfolk in this city suffer so much, are cast aside and looked down on so often... I don't want to be apart of that.

[GamesMaster]

Brienne eyes her, seeming to take her measure. The merikos tilts her head to look at Bethany out of the corner of one eye, head tilted at an angle; her hands are on her hips, her chest stuck out a bit in an almost aggressive posture, but she doesn't make any move to attack. It's almost -- no, no almost about it, the posture reads as fearful on second thought, as though she's posing to avoid giving someone like Miki an opening rather than to attack herself.

"Tch," she says, after a moment, looking away with embarrassment. "It isn't even as if I did anything hard or nothing. Just a little dee-dubs, nothing too bad. I can't believe I got caught over dee-dubs. Now what am I going to do? Haven't had fish in days, and Jay's going to be so mad if I come back to him with cunt-pox."

[Bethany]

Dee-dubs? What on Aldis are- She flushes a little at the disease in question, but mostly keeps her expression even. "I assume you mean herpes? Burning sensation, itch, redness, tiny sores? Odd smelling, umm, discharge? Pee?"

[GamesMaster]

"That's the one," she says blandly. "I'm like to get beat if he doesn't think I'm useful." 

[Bethany]

Bethany scowls. "Women have more worth than from what's between their legs," she says darkly. "Or their wombs. You deserve better than a boyfriend that thinks that way."

[GamesMaster]

Brianne turns to stare at Bethany for a moment, incredulous. "Boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend. Jay's my pimp, that's all. Boyfriend. Tch."

[Bethany]

"Oh!" Bethany looks at the ground, mortified, stunned, disgusted and intrigued. "Oh. Umm. I- sorry?" She takes a deep breath. "I- no, focus. Doesn't matter what her... income is from or whatever," she mutters, mostly to herself. 

"Why did Ray Mercy," gods her parents were either diviners or overbearing, maybe lucky, "refuse you healing? Was it because..." She clears her throat. "Of your profession?"

[GamesMaster]

"Tch. Nah. Plenty of whores go to Bastion. Legal, illegal, they don't ask an' we don't tell." She studies Bethany for a moment. "Girlfriend, you really don't know nothin' 'bout the streets, do you?"