[ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

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Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda stirred while she slept. Something woke her up. She groaned a little as if annoyed by nuisance that woke her up from her slumber. She turned without opening her eyes and her hand reached out for her pillow.

Her hand landed on the soft bed. She stretched her fingers and moved her hand sideways in search for the pillow. Her hand failed to find it. She curled on her bed and covered her ears with her hand. It was no use. Her hand made a second attempt to search for the pillow to cover her head and failed miserably. She sighed and covered her head with a blanket and hummed a tune to block the noise.

She removed her blanket and got out of the bed. Her suspicion was right as she looked for the mutt. There he was, curled comfortably under THE pillow. "Oreo, that pillow was given to me. So it's mine. Get it?" She was annoyed and grabbed a pillow to replace the one that Oreo claimed as his own.

She mumbled something and went back to bed. She used the special pillow to cover her ears and tried to get some sleep.

And all she was able to do was to try.
Oreo

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Oreo »

Oreo's paws were slightly shaking while he dreamed of running in the forest. He was playing tag with Grazilda in his sleep and he was almost able to reach her. He hopped into a huge rock and leaped high to catch up with her. He landed on the grass with a loud thud and rolled on the hard ground.

He opened his eyes and shook his head. He dreamed again and made slight nose. His ears twitched and perked up. He heard something.

The missing pillow was suddenly forgotten and the dog woke up fully. He was alert. He heard some noise from outside the tent. He lowered his body as if ready to attack an enemy. He growled. "Grrrr......" When the noise didn't stop, he growled again and barked loudly. "Grrrrr......Grrr.....Woof! Woof! Woooooof!!!!!!"
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda groaned loudly. As if the noise that she heard wasn't bad enough, the mutt joined in and barked excessively, which killed her hopes of ever having a long and wonderful sleep that night. "Stop it, mutt! Can't you figure out what it is?" She buried her head under the pillow. Her warning to the mutt was left unheeded as the dog continued to growl and bark.

She tightly shut her eyes and tried to control herself. Easy, Grazilda. The dog is not too familiar with the noise. He won't shut up and neither will the noise outside die down. So take a deep breath. Inhale....Exhale...Very good, she thought. She tried. The gods knew how hard she tried. She took a deep breath and tried to relax.

It worked. Or at least it helped to stop her from strangling the mutt and throwing an axe at the source of the noise. Normally, this would not have irritated her. However, she was extra tired that day and did not have patience for something as trivial. She gritted her teeth and took a deep breath.

She took the pillow from the mutt, got a blanket and left the tent to sleep in the tavern.



*god modding permitted by Oreo :D
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Lying on the bed trying to get some sleep, Grazilda's mind raced. She thought of the duel that she had with Cassandra and how she lost. She tried. Mages knew how hard she tried, but she was weaker than Cassandra. This made her frown and sigh. What happened to those times when she can kill a group of people with just a smite of her axe? Or how about those times when people cry in fear by merely hearing her name?

She sighed again. Those days were definitely gone. She could not deny it. She could not believe that she had gone so weak for such a short period of time. Of course, her definition of weak is unconventional. For her, physical weakness merely meant losing in a duel. It didn't matter if it was one lost duel with 99 victories. It was still a lost duel. And it was a disgrace for her people.

Her people...Who were they? They were the people who knelt on the very ground that she stepped on. Yet they were the very same people who killed her father.

She shook her head. Her people were part of her past. She belonged to a new group now; a group who tolerates imperfection yet expects excellence. This group did not count her victories nor the number of people that she killed. This group accepted her for who she is, was, and will become. This group is actually a family.

Family. What is a family? A family is composed of people bound by blood under one name. She was bound by blood with her previous family yet she was absolutely doubted the minute that her father died. And for what? For merely being true. For merely being real.

And yet there she was, in a family, not bound by blood, but by purpose, where the members trust each other and help each other unconditionally. And for once, she can be her true self and bare it all.

This made her smile. Gone were the days when she would pretend that she was strong when deep inside she was crumbling. Now, she can freely exist. And she would do so until her last breath.

And with that thought, Grazilda fell asleep.
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

There she stood tall and surveyed the surroundings. She pulled her cloak over her head and walked like a haggard lady, slowly inching her way as she walked away from her hiding place and mingled with the people in the town hall. She knelt near a market stall, her face hidden, and placed a tin can before her. “Alms…Alms…” She said and extended her weary hand out. While her appearance would pass for a typical beggar on that town, she was actually observing the movement of the guards under her hood.

A passer by dropped a coin in her tin can. “Thank you…” She said with a hoarse voice. By this time, she has mastered how to change her voice in every imaginable sound possible. She may be in her twenties, but her voice sounded like that of an elderly.

For days, she has been “begging” in different parts of the town. While this gave her ample coins to buy a meal, she actually took note of the schedule of the guards and the roaming army of the town. She took in every detail until their schedule was already imprinted in her memory.

This was her last day and she silently smiled. Every activity of the town’s army and guard was memorized to the letter. She was able to coerce a few people, without their knowledge of giving facts to her, about the situation of the town. At this point, she was merely checking if what she knew was correct.

She looked up at the shadows formed by the sun. In a few seconds, the guards will be making their way to the town square to do their daily rounds. She waited. And true enough, the guards walked and stationed where she expected them to be. And this made her glad.

Her observation lasted until nightfall. And she was the third to the last beggar to leave the town square. She proceeded to the stall where beggars devoured of what little bread they bought from the last morsels of bread, almost molded, but enough to satisfy their hungry stomachs. And like them, she did so and ate the bread as if she was eating in a feast. She did not gag with the despicable taste of the bread. She didn’t mind if the bread smelled inedible. She played the part of the beggar and even begged for free water for her parched throat. She fought for the single glass that all twenty of them tried to get. She could have fought with them all and won the prized water. But she didn’t. She pretended to be a weak lady with no strength.

And she left town by midnight, where no one would realize that she was there as she moved like a chameleon.

It was almost day break when she reached their camp. With a newer cloak yet still stinking from begging under the sun the previous day, she reported promptly to the tent of their General.

Because she was an important spy of the army, she was given permission to enter the General’s camp anytime since the information that she brought were always topmost priority of the camp. She got in his tent and pulled back her cloak. “Before you say something about how I stink, you have to know that I did not waste time bathing just to smell or look presentable so that I can deliver my information as soon as possible. “ She warned him as he would probably tease her on how gross she smelled when they were alone, just like in this situation. Without waiting for his reaction, she whispered to his what she observed in the enemy camp without leaving a single detail.


Grazilda woke up from yet another dream. She shuddered at how badly she smelled in that dream. She was glad that she did not have that life anymore. At one point, they did stink after days or weeks of war with her people. Yet they practically soaked themselves in the bathrooms every day to compensate for the physical and spiritual dirt from the war.

Every day, she learned more and more about her past life and understood why she currently behaved in such manners. Things were getting clearer for her. She was not as perplexed with her past and her present anymore. Things were getting better for her, not only because of her recently recall of a lifetime long forgotten, but also because of other things.

And this “other things” made her smile.
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda's hand held the knife hard and smashed it against the innocent life which sent feathers and blood splashing against her apron. "How dare he!!!" She breathes hard as another neck went between her knife and the chopping block. "How dare he question my cooking! That druchii sometimes have to be put in his place." She shakes her butcher knife in the air. She grabbed another frightened chicken and slaughtered it mercilessly, the impact of the blade against the chopping board sounded louder than ever. This continued until all of her chickens found themselves having a very quick reunion with their Maker.

She grabbed a huge bowl and filled it with boiling water and placed the chickens there to have them dressed. She squinted in disgust. "He even admitted that my fried chicken legs and steaks were good." She said to no one while she continued to put some more water to prepare the chickens. "And then he challenges me to a cooking contest????!!! How am I suppose to know that there will not be an ounce of bias when the judge would be the caravan?"

Anyone who would hear her would think that she's gone mad, but she wasn't. She merely vented out her anger---or at least her sentiments as anger seemed to be too strong of a word for this matter, with the chickens as the sacrificial lamb. This was a better way for her to release her energy than to destroy another table or two in the tavern. Such was the reason as to why she always has chickens ready to be sacrificed for the salvation of the tavern.

The chickens were ready so she removed them carefully from the pot and removed the feathers. "He wants a contest, huh? I won't back out on that. I never backed out from him in the arena, even if I was almost immobile the next day, and neither will I back out from a cooking contest from Rieron," she said as if vowing to seek revenge from an enemy.

"If he wants a contest, so be it," she said as her knife hit the chopping block.
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda watched Oreo leave the tent with the little basket of tart that she made for Devereaux. “Make sure that Dev gets that in one whole piece, Oreo.” She said before the mutt was out of sight. She smiled at the little puppy who seemed to be delighted at being sent to Dev's vardo. She knew that the little mutt was fond of him and she could see why.

She went back in the tent and sat on the bed. She made three strawberry tarts for Dev, but the poor puppy can only carry one.

She looked around her tent and grabbed a tart. She absentmindedly ate one and made a mental note to tell Oreo that eventually, they will leave their tent and settle in with Dev.

Oreo might just be a puppy, but she wanted the dog to be comfortable. She remembered that one cold winter night in the cave when the little puppy was freezing. He was so tiny at that time and so fragile. She wrapped him in her blanket and hugged him tight as she sat by the fire to keep him warm. She thought he would not make it yet he did. And now, he grew bigger and became more active.

She would joke around that she would sell the mutt for a huge amount of cash. What people didn't understand was that no matter how many gems or gold they would offer, she would never give him up. But then again, it was possible that everyone already noticed that she would not give nor sell the dog to anyone else.

They said that a dog is a man's best friend. She would not contest that. During the times when she felt lost and gave up on life, the relentless puppy served as her compass. The mutt might never understand it, but he was an instrument to her sanity. Just when she thought she was going crazy out of depression, little innocent Oreo brought her back to her senses. He was that little flint that kept that small flickering fire of sanity in her alive.

That thought made her forget that she was earlier angry at the mutt for eating the third tart that she made for Dev.
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda returned from the tavern after speaking to Rieron. Under normal circumstances, she would have gotten straight to bed. However, this night was different. She had a special mission and she would not waste time. She grabbed a cloak in her tent and quickly left. She pulled her hood over her head and tried to walk as quietly as she can away from the caravan so as not to disturb anyone.

After about an hour of walking, she found herself in front of a house. She tapped, not knocked, on the door five times. She waited. She would have been annoyed if there was no response after a full minute, yet it was in the wee hours of the night. Thus, she decided to wait.

She waited for ten minutes in the dark. There was still no response. She tapped the door five times and this time, she made sure it was loud enough for anyone in the house to hear it. "Go away!" A voice ordered from inside the house. She smiled. "I'll go away, all right. But I'll go away with your head, if you like," she replied. And within less than a minute, the door opened.

"Good riddance, Grazilda. Can't you wait until morning?" The man looking through the hole in the door grumbled. She rolled her eyes in exasperation. ”Believe me, if this could wait, I would be in my tent dreaming right at this moment. Now, let me in,” she said although she already pushed the door open.

The man obliged and let her in, although she already invited herself in the house and went straight to the kitchen. She opened a secret door. The man ran to the kitchen and tried to stop her. He grabbed her arm. ”You have no right to---“ He was angry and almost threatened her. She merely raised an eyebrow. ”Really? I don’t have a right?” She looked at him and smiled. ”You are forgetting who helped you become a successful merchant. Besides, I’m just taking what is mine.” She opened the door to the stockroom and smiled at what she saw. She took some pineapples and mangoes. ”Once upon a time, you told me that I can come back and take as many fruits as I can. You even said that it was a one-time offer for the favor that I did to you and your business. I’m now collecting that and when I leave, you won’t hear from me anymore.” She grabbed a sack and filled it with pineapples and mangoes. On her way out, she handed the man some cash. ”This is for waking you up in the middle of the night. You shall never hear from me again. And thank you for the fruits.” She took back a coin from the man’s hand. ”I’ll take this…It’s for making me wait for ten full minutes outside.” She carried the sack of fruits and left the man’s house with a vow never to be seen by that man again.

She walked for an hour back to the caravan and headed straight to her tent. Oreo did not even move when she returned. She shook her head and smiled. She placed the sack of fruits on the floor and started peeling, cutting and later baking.

She did not stop until it was already morning and the sun was up. It was almost noon time when she finished making 75 pineapple tarts and 25 mango tarts for Scarlet.
Oreo

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Oreo »

Oreo rolled on the floor and over the pillow several times then shook his head. He leaped away and bent backwards as if attacking an enemy. Then he leaped towards the defenseless pillow and bit on it while he tried to shake his little mouth. Since the pillow was twice as big as him, he fell to his side and rolled on the floor. He kept doing that over and over again while he waited for Grazilda.

Entertained with his little folly with the pillow, he forgot that he waited for a longer period of time than usual for her. She would usually be there now from helping Zane in building his vardo and they would play. That changed since yesterday. She came in later than usual. He didn’t mind as that meant that he would have more play time with the pillow and have the tent on his own.

Tired from the war game with the pillow, he laid on his back with all four paws up. He tried to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

He opened his eyes and heard a sound. He rolled over and shook his body. His ears perked up to listen further and his little snout raised up to sniff the air. He wagged his tail and barked gladly. Grazilda was finally here.

When she got in the tent, he ran to her but abruptly stopped before she could hug him, as what they usually did. He sniffed and smelled something unfamiliar. He growled at the smell of the colt which were particularly strong on her arms and hands.


*god modding allowed by Grazilda
Grazilda

Re: [ORP] The Shack - Grazilda's Home

Post by Grazilda »

Grazilda gave the colt one last wave of good-bye for the day after she stroked his neck. "Bye, Cheveyo. I'll come back again tomorrow around the same time. Be good," she said and slowly made her way back to her tent.

Her steps were tentative and she limped at little. It was one of those days when she lost another duel in the arena, the strong scent of the lemon liniment served as a warning to anyone who walked near her.

The tent was not too far away and she was thankful for the short walk. She was still in pain and groaned as got in the tent. "I'm back, Oreo. And no, I don't want to hear any of your jealous growls. Cheveyo's part of our lives now. And when I say our, I mean you and me. So deal with it," she scowled at the puppy.

She bent down winced as her body laid carefully on the soft bed. She looked up at the ceiling of her tent. "Grazilda, what are you doing?" She asked out loud. She had to. She was making herself suffer for something that was brought out of a misunderstanding. All parties had their valid reasons for the action, yet somehow, the sincere and good intentions were lost in the web of emotions and miscommunication.

She closed her eyes and soon realized that doing so was a mistake. Flashes of memories from the past came to her mind.

Little Grazilda was crying under a tree after hearing the news of her father's death. Her grandfather saw her and was angry. "Stop crying, weak girl! Your father was a stain in the family!" He shouted at her. But the young Grazilda, barely ten years old, sobbed more at the memory of her father, not minding if there were traders passing by. This angered her grandfather more and grabbed the nearest thing that he can hold and slapped the little girl's face with it. He kept on slapping her until she stopped crying. She finally stopped, her face wounded and bled. And it made a psychological impact on the little girl that took a decade to overcome.

Grazilda touched her face. Her fingers landed on the now red spot, which incidentally was the same spot that bled many moons ago because of her grandfather.
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