Revelations in Tenement Halls

Claudias Tannaras

Character
Independent
Rank
Ambassador, Brentaal

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Tom
Joined
Aug 18, 2021
Messages
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58
OOC: this happens offscreen in this post right here





Even with such a short lead, Saura was already through the door of apartment by the time Claudias made his way out of Anna’s. “M-ma’am? We still have m-much to discuss.” He called. There was a brief pause, and the door next to Anna’s slowly cracked open. “The girl’s taken care of. Mae part in it’s finished. Feck off.” She declared, closing it. “M-my dear, please. We b-both want what’s b-b-best for Anna, and I think th-that what’s in her b-b-best interest can also be in y-yours.” He explained. After a moment, the door opened again, wider this time.

“Ai don’t want yer ‘elp. Ai don’t need yer ‘elp. Now feck off before Ai shove th’at cane where it don’t shine.” She said, but as she moved to close the door, Claudias stepped forward, keeping it open with his cane. “Ma’am, please. I’m offering you a way out of this t-t-terrible slum! Anna will be m-moving to a completely new world, with strangers she d-doesn’t know. She’ll n-need friends who she can-”

“Ai’m NOT ‘er FRIEND!” The woman hissed, stepping out from the door and closing the distance between them in a huff. “Tha girl didn’t ‘ave a fair shake! Ai offered ta ‘elp ‘er if she paid me back so th’at Ai don’t gotta worry about bills fer awhile!” She declared, whispering to avoid anyone hearing. Claudias, in spite of the otherwise intimidating display, didn’t relent. This anger she displayed was unlike the righteous fury she’d shown just minutes earlier. No, this was something manufactured– a performance.

“S-surely, you can’t expect a recently p-pregnant woman to be able to p-pay her rent and months of back-p-pay! No such j-jobs exist that could p-pay that much down here.” Claudias declared, not as a way of impuning the woman for “Selfishness,” but to show what an obvious lie Saura was peddling. “Anna will n-never be able to repay you for what you’ve d-done for her– surely, you know that.”

“I… uh, th’at’s tha point ya limped dick, purple clad stutterin’ prick! Feck off!” She stammered. “No, I d-don’t think that’s your p-point at all. I think you care as m-much about her debt to you as you do making sure others can understand you.” The man quipped back. “You’re n-not doing this to keep her in your d-debt– you’re doing it because you feel sorry for her.”

“Are ya… are ya callin’ me a liar? A soft liar?! Ai’ve kicked tha teeth out’ve pricks way more important than you fer less!” Saura declared, trying her best to intimidate the man-- and failing. “No, I’m calling you a decent, kindhearted woman– a vulgar, crass, and barely c-c-comprehensible one, but a g-good person, one who’d g-give anything to help someone who n-needs it, even when you have barely anything to give.”

Saura remained quiet for a few seconds, closing her eyes. Slowly, her expression relaxed, before almond eyes opened again, slowly. “Even thirty kriffin’ years later, yer still an annoyin’ little shite.” She declared. Claudias’ expression, confident and triumphant, immediately twisted into surprise. “Ai mean, ya’v definitely got a thicker spine… literally… but Deus allbein’, if Ai knew ya wouldn’t get me arrested fer it Ai’d ‘ave already kicked yer bollocks so ‘ard they ‘it yer chin.”

“I-I…” Claudias stammered, taking a few steps back. “You… remember me?” He whispered. ‘The entire t-t-time in there, you-”

“Ai never fergot ya. None of ya.” She replied. “Ai remember yer ma, as pretty as she was a bitch. Ai remember yer sister, little Carman,” she hissed, a serious insult, even by her standards. “And Ai mean, ‘ow could Ai ferget ya? Even as a snotty, skinny kid barely able ta walk ya were still ‘alf as pretty as yer brother… and th’at night Ai accidentally slipped inta yer room thinkin’ ya were ‘im’s still tha most embarrassin’ thing Ai’ve ever done.”

Were Claudias not still reeling from Saura's recognition, he would've struck the woman where she stood for insulting his mother... but the truthfulness of her statement and the desire for an explanation kept things civil. “Wha… but, And-d-dronikas t-told me you never m-met anyone else! He said that y-you and him had t-tried keeping things a secret until... until father found out.” Claudias said. Even though the woman standing before him was enough to prove that his brother’s word couldn’t be trusted, he still clung to them. “Oh, Ai never met ‘em properly. Yer brother managed ta pass me off as servin’ staff on a couple occasions when we wanted ta try and break ‘is bedframe instead of a motel’s.” She casually reported, her immodesty causing the noble’s face to flush red.

“I… I’d… I’d th-thought to t-t-tell you I r-recognized you… I just f-f-figured you wouldn’t remember me of all people.” He explained. “B-but this isn’t about you, or me, or the rest of my family– it’s about Anna. You… you obviously underst-stand what she must be going through right now. You’ve helped her s-so much, and you d-don’t deserve to be left here, after-”

“After yer brother left me and mae son ta rot?”

“Mae son”

“Son”


Son.

No, that… could it? Reaching up, Claudias put a hand to his temple- right as his legs turned to jelly beneath him. Saura’s expression shifted from embittered calm to shock within seconds. “Claud?!” she exclaimed, dropping to his side. “...your…” Claudias muttered, “Your… son?” He repeated, not even looking up at Saura as he said it. “...yer brother–” she said, stammering a little, before correcting herself, “Yer brother’s. He’s yer brother’s son.”

“I’d… I’d thought that the t-two of you… he said that f-father had m-made you…” He went on, stumbling over his words. Saura’s expression darkened at the mention of Claudias’ father, but she nodded– just as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder to help him to his feet, pulling him through the doorway of her apartment and locking the door behind them.

“Yer father… when ‘e found out ‘e threatened me, sure. Told me ‘e could tolerate ‘is son’s… Ai dunno tha word… degenrasee?” She said, Claudias cringing slightly at the butchering of a word he heard thrown around nonstop in the Commerce hall. “Well, ‘e threatened me if Ai gave Andy a child; wouldn’t tolerate me “sullyin’ ‘is line with tha blood of a common whore.” She said, repeating the words he’d told her verbatim… and in spite of her tone, playing it off like he was just a pompous, arrogant monster… there was something resting beneath the almonds of her eyes that Claudias knew was there before he even looked at them.

But when he did… there was… something else.

Before he could read any further, Saura picked up again, saying, “Ai ignored ‘im, and than Ai shagged ‘is son fer four hours straight.” She finished. “Ai… Ai think th’at’s what did it. We spent a lot’f night’s t’gether th’at summer, but th’at one… th’at one was different.” The woman declared, taking a few seconds, before letting out a long, sad sigh. “Ai’m tired of this; what’s tha point in mae tellin’ ya anythin’ anyways?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “What, ya think Ai’m laike th’at girl in there? Think Ai need ya ta come and rescue me and mae son from this oh so terrible tenement?” Saura asked, leaning forward.

Claudias had been absorbing the information slowly, trying his best to gauge all Saura said. He’d gotten exceptionally well at telling if someone was a liar, and everything seemed right– almost everything. That his father would just… let her go, it was entirely unlike him. In spite of that, he didn’t press the issue– this was his brother’s former lover, and in spite of her seemingly selfish and inconsiderate persona, as well as her vulgar and downright manic behavior, the woman hadn’t given him any red flags to suggest what her words said were untrue.

“I just… well… you seem a g-good woman, Sau-”

“And what, th’at suddenly means Ai don’t ‘ave ta live ‘ere anymore? Was Ai a bad woman when Ai was yer brother’s?” She asked, spitting the words out like tobacco. “Ai’d ‘ave appreciated tha offer when mae boy was still in diapers, not after thirty fuckin’ years of waitin’ tables, workin’ tha ports or debasin’ maeself just ta scrape enough t’gether fer rent, formula, or a couple gallons of nutri-paste every week.” The Brentaalan went on.

“Ai wish Ai’d been lucky enough ta bump inta ya in the middle of traffic back than; maybe Ai wouldn’t ‘ave ‘ad ta teach mae boy ‘ow ta steal wallets without gettin’ caught just so Ai could keep tha lights on.” She spat, choking up a little on the last one. “He might’ve been able ta go ta school instead of sell death sticks. Guess Ai can’t blame ya fer not drivin’ down ‘ere though– not th’at ya could've.” She finished, before putting a hand to her lips.

"Ai... th'at was..."

Claudias sucked in a bit of air at the insult, glancing down at his cane before turning his gaze back up to the woman. “...I’ve spent every d-day wishing I didn’t need this.” The aristocrat muttered. “Not b-because I would’ve won my f-father’s love– he had none to give. Not b-because I’d have the respect of my p-peers; the r-respect of c-criminals would m-matter more.” He said, before leaning forward.

“But if I didn’t s-suffer this ailment, and I h-had those things… I might have b-been able to help you.” He said. “I m-might have been able to help s-so many more p-people.” He went on. “B-but instead, every bill I p-put before the assembly either g-gets tabled, or eroded l-like a rock in a st-st-stream. Every d-deal I make I h-have to c-compromise… nobody t-takes me as s-seriously. They th-think just b-because I cannot c-carry myself on two legs, I c-could not possibly have all my wits about me– as if I’m only th-there because of my n-name… and th-that might be true, but so are ALL of them!” He suddenly shouted, banging his cane against the floor.

“M-maybe I could’ve… deus, I could’ve t-tried to see where you’d gone; Sol knows h-how many hours me and Andy sp-sp-spent trying.” He went on, crossing his arms. “I m-might’ve been able t-to pool something together f-for you and your boy, I could’ve… Eire, I could’ve done so much…” Claudias muttered. Saura, for her part, had watched, almonds wide, lips parted just a little. Something else twinkled behind her eyes, but only for a moment.

After taking a few minutes to compose himself, Claudias turned his gaze up once more. “I… I c-cannot undo what has already come to p-pass… But I c-can try and repay you. You, and your b-boy.” He promised. “I c-can find you an apartment, just a f-few blocks away from the palatial d-d-districts. I’ll f-find one for your b-boy as well, n-next to each other if you’d prefer.” He elaborated, smiling wide.

“Or p-perhaps you’d p-prefer to travel with Anna? Y-your boy is old, b-but I can see about getting him into a v-vocational academy on Ch-chandrila… f-from what you’ve said, he’s a, uh… resourceful s-sort.” The man went on. “And sh-should the t-time come, you and him could meet Andro-”

“It can’t ‘appen, Claud.”

“...what?”
He asked, blinking a few times. “I… I mean, wh-why? Why not?”

“Ai ‘aven’t got any contact with ‘im.” Saura said. “‘E only barely managed ta find me last time around; th’at was a year er two ago.” She explained. “Wh– he travels? That’s all? M-my dear, I h-have c-contacts on two hundred different w-worlds; it’d be d-difficult, sure, but a T-tannaras isn’t s-so hard to spot if you look for the right f-features. Human, p-pale as a b-bedsheet, red hai-”

“Black.”

“...excuse me?”

“‘E’s got mae ‘air, not ‘is da’s,” she corrected, before sighing. “And ya’d never find ‘im laike th’at. If ‘e got stopped in a port and people started askin’ fer ‘is name, ‘e’d assume ‘e was about ta get arrested.” She said, before sighing. “And Ai wouldn’t want ya putin’ word out laike th’at.”

“...why?” Claudias asked, bewildered… and frustrated. He’d spent the past 15 minutes trying to help this woman, and he’d gotten nothing but disrespect and refusal. “Why in Deus’ salted s-s-soil would you not want him to kn-know that-”

Before the words left his lips, Saura had practically leapt across the coffee table between them, her face inches from his own.

And than, with pointed, enunciated precision, Saura spoke words that shattered any of the notions he once had about his family.

“Because your father wasn’t the only one that threatened me.”





@LouJoVi
 
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