A bad morning

[sythyry]

Slightly before I wanted to be awake this morning, an Orren child came knocking on our door. This meant that Dubaille came knocking on my door, saying, "Sythyry, there's a message come for you." Of course he would not tip the child himself, so I had to brush ashes out of my feathers and fly around my room looking for a few terch to give.

Here is the note. Imagine that the original is painted on a leaf, as if it were to go from city to city by the post. The letters are in red, and sloppier than Strenata's usual hand. Some letters are perfumed; this was dusted with the pollen of the flower known as stinking margay. (I know that because Havune said, "It smells as though Dubaille's wife gave him a bouquet of stinking margay as a measure of her esteem.")

From Seeks-Justice Strenata to Sythyry. Your behavior astounds me; I cannot approve of it; I despise it entirely; I deny anny [sic] suggestion of a connection between us forfurthermore. I am not a toy for your noble amusement; I am not a highborn libertine; I have great regard for chastity and fidelity. How can you date me and futter Spirshash on the side? With lying and deception, that is how! How can you distract Spirshash when his wife and husband should get his full attention? With greed and selfishness, that is how! I thought you had some sympathy for truth and good! Instead your only sympathy is for your own genitalia! Well, elaborate upon that sympathy with some stinking, lust-sodden baron's cousin or something. Leave me aside from it!

I certainly should have futtered Spirshash while I had the chance. There was, of course, no actual chance: no offer, no suggestion that any offer might be acceptable. We didn't even flirt! I rode on his shoulder because otherwise I have to fly (which is too fast unless he is jogging), or levitate (which is too slow, unless he is limping), or walk (in which case a dean will step on my paw and break it again).

I distinctly hope that Strenata will believe my explanation. For that matter, that Oostmarine and Tillissa will, too.

For that matter, I distinctly hope I get the chance to explain.

Comments

[bluedeer.livejournal.com]

That is quite horrid! I should hope some explanation shall be accepted. Perhaps a return letter? Matters such as this are often difficult to explain where the blood is hot, though waiting for it to cool often makes things more difficult. I hope this gets resolved as soon as possible! Perhaps Spirshash might help. After all, there seems to be a bit of jealousy there, indeed. Perhaps the object of Strenata's contentions can offer his side to the matter and cool Strenata's fiery temper, or else it might be a lost cause.

[rowyn]

Ouch, Sythyry.

Where did this wild rumor about you and Spirshash come from?

Perhaps you should point your accusers to your journal entry on the day in the question ... though maybe spreading Spirshah's comment about "while he had the chance" would be inadvisable.

Sigh.

Best wishes in resolving this. *hug*

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

I did flirt intensely with him last semester, though it never went anywhere. I did ride his shoulder yesterday.

Yet, if Rumor were an angel, Her attributes would be: a straw in her mouth for drinking-in, and two huge stinking pitchers in either hand for pouring-out.

And I thank you for the good wishes.

[rowyn]

Mmm.

Perhaps I am unduly paranoid for thinking that this particular Rumor has the face and name of a malicious person, not an angel. I suppose it could be just a conflation of unrelated past and present events, though.

Whatever's the case, I hope things improve for you -- and for Spirshash.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Sythyry, you should demand justice in this matter, and challenge Strenata to live up to her name in helping you get to the bottom of things. }:P

[aprivatefox.livejournal.com]

If it is, indeed, still her name by the time Sythyry next finds her. For all the consistency these Orren show, it may well be "Seeks-Cisaffectionate-Futtery Strenata" by that time, and then where will Sythyry be in asking her to live up to her name?

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

In the market buying a bound transformation spell?

[collie13.livejournal.com]

Um, not to call too much attention to the pot calling the kettle black, but isn't Strenata actually already seeing someone else on the side? How can she say she has "great regard for chastity and fidelity" when she's already had at least one lover? Or is she all hot air? ;)

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

[OOC - Did I say she was? She's going riding with Nestrune, of course, but, well, they're riding horses not each other, as far as Sythyry knows. Am I forgetting something? -bb]

[collie13.livejournal.com]

Oh, blarg! I'm sorry, Bard... I finished reading through the entire Sythyry logs last night very VERY late, and now I can't remember where I got that impression. I did get the implication she had had at least one lover already, not including Nestrune?

BTW, did you know your on-line synopsis has logs that are missing here in the LJ logs?

Returning to Strenata, I feel rather sorry for her. I've been in that position -- truthfully telling guys I'm really just interested in friendship, then going out to have adventures with them because they're more fun than the stay-at-home girls... but eventually realizing they don't believe me. It's like they think you must be lying or something -- like how could you possibly just want to be friends?

Worse, when you tell them AGAIN (because they're pushing) that you're STILL just interested in friendship rather than sex, they get mad at you -- for "leading them on"!? It's frustrating how often for guys it was either 'might get sex so act interested!' and 'not gonna get sex so don't bother -- not interested in knowing you.'

No fun. :(

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

No blame. I haven't reread it in a while, and I have forgotten a lot.

No, I thought that the Story So Far was exactly the stuff that had been posted on LJ, minus most of the quizzes. What's missing, do you know?

*nods about Strenata* Well, she was leading Sythyry on a bit, or so Sythyry thought -- there was a certain amount of kissing and cuddling, whenever Sythyry's interest started to flag. (She treats Nestrune the same way.) It probably has something to do with Strenata's half-a-horse: Sythyry hasn't figured that one out yet either.

But that's Sythyry's point of view. Nestrune seems to think Sythyry's to blame for things between zir and her. We don't have Strenata's opinion.

[collie13.livejournal.com]

Umm, let's see. The first Sythyry LJ entries I found started somewhat abruptly in 2003, with zir (?) talking about a quiz which zie could not seem to finish. I believe it is around the time of this entry: "A Questionnaire on Magic (trying to get this one right)" on the Story so far page.

There is a large section in the middle on the Story so far page which is missing from the LJs also, and some of the LJs are locked and can't be read. I believe the explanation of why Esory throws eggplants at a particular restaurant, and the sex party which Sythyry fled, are both in that missing section.

Also, on the Story so far page there are a few points where we're at 12 Hivvem 4260, then go to 12 Nivvem 4260, then back to 13 Hivvem 4260 -- as if journals were coded in out of order perhaps?

All nit-picking aside, I very much enjoyed reading all the adventures of Sythyry -- it looks like you've created a nifty, consistent culture and background, & I wish I knew someone running a World Tree game. BTW, are you still interested in art for pottery trades? ;)

[collie13.livejournal.com]

"*nods about Strenata* Well, she was leading Sythyry on a bit, or so Sythyry thought -- there was a certain amount of kissing and cuddling, whenever Sythyry's interest started to flag."

Mm, okay, I'll grant you that; perhaps irritating and confusing personal experience has caused me to cut her somewhat more slack than I should have. Still, if Sythyry were really interested in her, zie'd be interested in her as a friend as well as a potential lover, don't you think? ;)

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

*grin* Well, Sythyry's relationship with Strenata is irritating and confusing ... and, in general, I try to have morally ambiguous situations in Sythyry's Journal. Everybody's behaving about 5/6 sensibly, I hope.

And Sythyry and Strenata are still friends. Zie's stopped trying to see her seven or eight days a week now that they're definitively not dating, (and zie doesn't talk about her so much in the journal -- the journal is much more about what's on top of Sythyry's mind than a catalog of Sythyry's days) but they're definitely still friends. Unlike zir previous Orren not-a-lover Spirshash, whom I think Sythyry is still fairly annoyed at.

[shurhaian.livejournal.com]

[OOC - Looking in after the fact, the dog was right. http://sythyry.livejournal.com/32453.html Second section, point 2 - "she has a lover in Rusunder". So if Strenata was going to get so upset over something Sythyry might or might not have done with Spirshash, it's complete hypocrisy when she's utterly failed to mention this other connection of her own.]