xp_logs | Buzkashi: History Repeats Itself

Purchase made, Nate now has only to convince her of his good intentions - easier said than done.

"~And don't burn it this time!~"

Sooraya barely heard the trader's angry words as she moved methodically around the tent, collecting the things she would need to begin cooking the next meal. Still echoing in her head were the words of the man that had been there earlier, the tall, frightening-looking man who had stared at her in a strange way. Why did he look at her like that? What did he want with her? And was he really coming back for her?

It was only a few short minutes before she heard the man's voice again, talking to the trader, barely muffled by the barrier of the tent.

"~Two thousand,~" the deep, harsh voice said. "~As agreed.~"

"~I should have asked for three,~" the trader said with a laugh that sounded a little odd. There was a chilly silence, and then a covering cough from the trader. "~She is yours, then. I wish you joy of her. SOORAYA!~"

Her heart pounding, the girl made her way out of the tent obediantly, standing beside her captor and former owner. She dared lift her eyes once more to look at the tall man in front of her, though she dropped them again as she took in the intense expression on his face.

"~Go on,~" the trader said, giving her a small shove. Stumbling foward, Sooraya knew that his part in this was over. The transaction was completed, and she had been sold, just like any of the other goods he dealt in. Now she belonged to to someone else.

Her arm was caught, gently. Nathan steadied the girl, glaring thunderously at the trader for a moment before he turned and led her away. "~Do you speak Pashtun?~" he asked, then switched to the language he was more comfortable in. "~Or Dari?~" She didn't look like an easterner. Hopefully the answer was Dari.

Well, that was surprising. Sooraya nodded twice, not wanting to speak with this man any more than necessary. Not that she had much choice, but until she saw how he handled her minor disobediances she would continue to persist in them.

Nathan hesitated, then steered her to behind a handy tent. "~Look at me,~" he said in Dari. "~Sooraya, look at me.~" He waited until she did. "~I did not,~" he said, a sort of helpless anger in his voice, beneath the soothering overtones, "~buy you, just now. I didn't. I paid your price. There's a difference. One means you belong to me, that you're a thing that can be bought and sold.~" She had to understand this. She had to. "~The other means that I paid the fatherless son-~" He used the insult deliberately. "~-who took away your freedom to give up his claim on you.~"

All right, now she was really surprised. Blinking a bit, Sooraya tried to still the slight trembling of her limbs. "~Then what do you want of me?~" she asked, somewhat nervously. Truth be told, she couldn't imagine anyone doing something like this for her, and she was convinced there had to be a motive behind it. Particularly since he had seen her... change, before.

Nathan shook his head, almost violently. "~No,~" he said. "~Not 'what do I want'. What do you want?~" He gazed down at her, thankful beyond belief that she was willing to talk to him. That she could do that suggested to him that her experiences hadn't damaged her as much as they could have. "~Do you have a home?~" he asked, more gently, but his eyes almost fierce. "~If you do, and you want to return to it, I swear I'll take you back there. Myself.~"

He wanted to take her home? Sooraya shut her eyes tightly for a moment, taking in a deep breath. When she opened them again she was still there, standing behind the tent in the marketplace with this strange, sharp-eyed man. "~My home... I don't know how to get there,~" she replied, her brow furrowing slightly. "~They move often, and don't like to be found.~"

Damn. Nathan took a deep breath, looking over her head and off into the distance, at the mountains. "~There's another choice,~" he said finally. "~One you may want to make while we try and find your family, then. I saw what you did back at the tents.~" His expression was gentle, this time. "~You're not the only one of your kind, you know.~"

Despite his kind expression Sooraya flinched - if there was anything worse than being a woman here, it was being 'different'. "~I know,~" she said warily, drawing back a little from him. She had been friends for a brief time with another girl like her, except that she had had a beautiful pair of wings sprouting from her back. That hadn't helped her escape from the slavers, though, and she had disappeared not long after entering their camp, no doubt to even worse conditions.

"~No, I mean, you're not the only one of your kind standing right here.~" Nathan smiled a little, a bit helplessly. "~I can't show you, unfortunately. I'm... hurt,~" he said, touching the sling. "~But I have friends here. Others like us. A young woman just a couple of years older than you.~"

Sooraya couldn't tell if he was joking or not, though she didn't know what he would gain from it if he was. He already knew her secret, and had complete control over her... Eventually she nodded, not knowing what to say to this information.

Nathan looked around. "~We don't need to talk about it standing here,~" he muttered distractedly, then looking back down at her. "~Would you like to meet my friends? Are you hungry? We can get you something to eat.~"

"~Please... why are you doing this?~" Her voice was soft, hesistant, as if she couldn't quite bring herself to believe it was actually happening. That morning she had been a slave and an outcast, and now this man said he had bought her freedom, and was offering her food and kindness. It was enough to make her head spin, and a good part of her still couldn't believe it was true.

Nathan didn't answer for a moment as he drew her away from the tent and towards where the others were waiting. "~Because once upon a time I was in someone else's power, too. And no one helped me.~" His expression was distant for a moment. "~Not for a very long time, at least.~"

Sooraya followed him, glancing up to watch his face as he spoke. Though his words were veiled, there was something about the way he spoke them that made her believe him. Maybe he did truly want to help...