[The Rearing Stallion] Twists and turns {Qist Tiere}

by **Allison** on July 16th, 2012, 9:47 pm

46th day of Summer, 512

As soon as Allison stepped out onto one of the main streets of Syliras she was swept away by the raging river of humans. She was pushed and shoved, her feet catching in the gaps between the cobblestones. She couldn’t see anything past the thick blanket of people. She was gasping for air, desperate to find herself some space to breathe. Her head was spinning. She pushed her way to the side of the crowd and came upon a large wooden door, which she pushed open with a creak. Immediately she was hit with the smell of meat cooking and alcohol.

Allison appeared to be in some sort of tavern. There were tables and chairs, and a warm hearth near the back. It had a good few people in it, but not enough to be considered crowded. She took the closest seat to the door and rested her head down onto the table, her blond hair spilling onto it's wooded surface. She glanced out the door as another human entered the tavern. The crowd did not look as terrifying from the outside as it felt inside it. She left out a breath and closed her eyes for a couple seconds, then opening them sharply at the sound of someone approaching her table. It was a human female. “Hi, what can I get you?” the woman asked in a falsely cheerful tone. Allison bit her lip nervously and glanced around. She observed a man order a mug of ale. She turned back to the waitress and replied “A mug of ale, please.” The waitress nodded with a smile before turning around and heading back to the kitchen, to fetch the drink, Allison assumed.

It was then that she realized she would have to pay for the ale and she dug into her backpack, retrieving her pouch of mizas. She looked at the small, glittering disks in utter confusion. She considered pretending to be ill and leaving, but the thought of entering the crowded streets again sent a shiver down her spine. She did not particularly want to ask for anyone else’s help, though she felt that she may have to. Tentatively she decided to get the attention of a remarkably small red-headed girl. “Ah, excuse me” she said softly, with a faint smile. “Could you help me with something?”

by **Qist Tiere** on July 17th, 2012, 5:16 am

Qist waded her way through the thick waves of people in Syliras's streets. Her shoulders were dropped low, often jabbing passerbys in their lower extremeties. Following suit, her face glared intently at the ground. Occasionally, the youth would jerk her arms about to clear a stranger's leg from her path. Being a native from the city, these skills were nearly perfected, and the mixed blood had nothing against putting them to use to get where she needed to go.

Which, today, happened to be a delightful little tavern off the main street. Qist considered the dark, musty pub "delightful" because it was just that: musty, dark, and surprisingly secluded. Though there seemed to be an influx of people today. Hmm...perhaps there is something going on.

Shrugging the thought away, the petite young lady grumbled as she crossed to her normal spot. It was a small table wrapped around a structural post. It lingered in the middle of the room, with but only two stools near it. Qist favored this spot greatly, as it allowed for a strange sense of seclusion.

That is, up until a woman, who appeared no younger than Qist herself, approached. The girl had pale skin, and hair to match in shade. In fact, all of this stranger-- from her eye color right down to her clothing-- seemed rather drab and bleak.

Moreover, her mannerisms mirrored that of a mouse. She spoke softly, requesting assistance of sorts. Turning to face the woman, Qist looked over her once more, an expression of disinterest sifting slowly to the surface of her features. "Perhaps," Her tone was level, yet flicked at the end to signal the taller lady to continue.

by **Allison** on July 17th, 2012, 4:43 pm

Allison looked the strange girl over, taking in the obviously judgemental facial expression. “How do these work?” she asked bluntly, louder and with more confidence than before. She motion to the gold and silver rimmed mizas that rested in her pouch. The skittish aura she had given off a moment ago had changed once she realized it wasn’t doing anything in her favour.

While Allison waited for an answer she had a proper look at the tiny girl. She had striking red hair, and was so short she could have been a child if not for her mature features. It had been years since Allison had met someone her own age that was smaller than herself, though she may be a little biased considering she never met many people at all.

ooc :

by **Qist Tiere** on July 17th, 2012, 8:00 pm

It took nearly all Qist had to not laugh in this stranger's pale face. Could she truely be asking how Mizas worked? The main currency of all of Mizahar, and the youth--nay-- adult before her needed an explanation of there existence? The idea was unfathomable to the city-slicker.

But Qist was never one to outwardly express such negative thoughts to strangers. Perhaps if the two had known each other for but only a day or two more. Though Qist was beginning to reconsider this descision as the Konti-like girl began to speak more frankly, looping a bit of Syliras swagger into her tone. Rising an eyebrow to the taller female, the mixed blood began to speak. "The gold rimmed ones are the highest in value," She nodded towards the pouch between them. "Ten of the silver rimmed ones equal one gold Miza." Does she know what that is, a Miza? The question was valid. If the lady knew nothing of the operation of the currency system, then chances are she would have never been taught the proper names of said currency. Qist gave a mental shrug. Better to be on the safe side and tell her; don't want to leave anything up to chance, now do we?

"That is, these little guys," Pushing her mangled hair over her right shoulder, Qist picked up a gold Miza of her own. She spun the glittering item between her thumb and pointer finger. "Mizas." Qist dropped the money back into the pouch attatched at her side before finishing her explanation. "And one-hundred copper rimmed ones are the same as ten silver, or one gold."

Satisfied with her explanation, the young woman tilted her head to the right. Her eyes were not level with the stranger's, as that was a clear challenge of whatever authority, no matter how little or large, this female held. And, though fast and agile, the Cheetah-shifter held nearly no strength about her body, swaying a fight into this other one's favor.

After a brief pause, Qist spoke again. "Got it?" The red-headed youth slapped herself, mentally. Her she was attempting to not instigate a fight, and she goes and pulls one of the more blunt, harsh two-word phrases in her arsenal. Smooth. Clearly, the phrase wasn't her first pick, though it was the first to her tongue. Attempting to recover, she fired off a seemingly harmless question. "New to the city, hmm?"

OOC :

by **Allison** on July 18th, 2012, 2:41 pm

Allison nodded in understanding as the small redhead explained the workings of mizas. She found it strange, however, that they were needed at all. She didn’t really understand their purpose, so to speak. She understood that they were used to give in exchange for goods or services, but she didn’t understand why they had to be so complicated. She decided to brush away those thoughts – things were as they were and her silly little inner ramblings would not change anything. Besides, she did not know enough about this place to be making such judgements. Perhaps it was simply better than whatever other alternative she could think up.

She was ripped out of her mindless thoughts when the woman spoke again. “Yes, thanks” Allison replied, ignoring the slightly intimidating turn of phrase that was used. She was about to answer the second question when the waitress from earlier approached with a mug of ale. Allison took it and gave the waitress one silver miza, when it was requested. As soon as she left, Allison turned back to the red-haired woman. “Can I have a seat?” she asked, before sitting down on one of the chairs. She took a sip of the ale before recoiling at the taste. She glanced around the room, seeing so many people drinking it. She straightened out her features and placed the mug on the table, thoroughly regretting ordering the drink

“Yeah, I got here yesterday” she replied. “I don’t really know an awful lot about this place, or anything really. I was a little bit of a recluse…”. After waiting a moment or two she added, “My name’s Allison, by the way.”

OOC :

by **Qist Tiere** on July 19th, 2012, 5:19 pm

If the stranger noticed the brashness Qist had just presented, then she said nothing. Which was a switch from many a folk who took up residence in this tavern. Quarrels weren't uncommon, and rarely did a week go by without a bar fight. Thus when the girl had ignored such an opportunity, Qist gave an internal smile. Right now this blondy was doing fairly well in the Inarta's books.

When thanked, the redhead only nodded in response. She no longer trusted her sleep-deprived brain to put out words that were helpful. Instead, she allowed it do speak only when needed. As the foriegner introduced herself as Allison, Tiere took it as her turn to speak. "Ah, I see." Would it be rude to tell her that that was obvious? After a moment or two of pondering, the mixed blood decided it was, in fact, an offensive thing to say. Of course, this wasn't the wuestion Qist was really asking herself. No, no...that would be "Will this self-proclaimed 'recluse' take those words peacefully, or will I find myself flat on the ground before I can blink?"

Brushing away her thoughts, Tiere attempted to forward the conversation. "Well, I've lived here for as long as I can remember and although I do enjoy it here, I am having some trouble figuring out why you would choose to come here. What could a "recluse" find appealing in the most crowded places in all of Mizahar?" Her words, surprisingly, didn't fail her this time. They were, for the most part, pleasant and conversational. Figuring she was on something of a roll, she decided to follow suit and introduce herself. "Qist, pleasure meeting you."

by **Allison** on July 20th, 2012, 12:05 pm

Allison considered the question for a moment before answering, “Nothing, I came here because I didn’t know of anywhere else to go. I was told here would be more pleasant than the middle of the woods but I’m not entirely sure anymore…” She forced down another sip of the drink she’d ordered.

“It’s got an awful lot more scary looking knights than I’m used to.” She added. Then she began to wonder if she had done anything to break Syliran law. She hadn’t done anything within the city but did the knights patrol outside the gates as well. She thought about asking Qist, but then reconsidered. Q ist would more than likely go to the guards if Allison told her anything. Allison then glanced around the room, suddenly paranoid that one of them was in here. She mentally kicked herself. What the hell are you doing you idiot! she scolded herself. Allison wasn’t usually so paranoid, but something about this city made her constantly on her toes.

by **Qist Tiere** on July 24th, 2012, 2:31 am

Qist watched as Allison spoke. She was baffled by the fact that this newcomer actually thought that anywhere would be better than in the middle of the woods, for this was far from the truth. At least, it was for the mixed blood. Qist contemplated many times whether she should pick up and move out there, facing the wild on her own (not that she already wasn't, considering that city was something of its own wilderness). It wasn't unreasonable; the young girl could hunt and provide for herself. The trouble was the, well...trouble. These were dangerous times, and a petite little woman like herself wouldn't fare well against a band of, say, bandits or slavers.

"At least," She began, evenly voicing her thoughts. "The knights keep us relatively safe. I mean, they're terrible to conversationists, and there's no admiring their pretty little faces through that blessed armor, but for what they're worth..." Her voice trailed, hooking in a chuff of a giggle once or twice near the end. Qist eyed Allison. Originally, she was just looking to see if her quasi-humor had any effect on her. But as she watched the blonde's mannerisms, Qist wondered if there was something more to her; she appeared to be looking for something. The redhead shook the thought away, giving the newcomer the benifit of the doubt.

by **Allison** on July 24th, 2012, 7:53 pm

The comment made Allison grin, but her features soon changed when a large Syliran knight walked into the tavern. He walked over and sat down at a table on the other side of the room. He seemed tired yet somewhat relieved, leading Allison to believe that he was off duty, but had just been doing something strenuous. The strong, coppery smell of blood wafting off him reinforced Allison’s theory. He had probably been dealing with some criminal or other and had now come here for some relaxation.

Realizing that she had completely zoned out of her conversation with Qist, Allison turned back to face the small redhead. “Sorry, spaced out a bit. What were you saying?” she asked, hoping it was not obvious who she had been staring at. She did her best to look focused on the interaction with Qist, but she could not help glancing nervously at the off-duty knight, even though she had done nothing wrong within the city walls. But for all she knew they enforced the laws in the surrounding area as well. What would she do then? Then they wouldn't have let you through the gates she told herself firmly.

by **Qist Tiere** on August 8th, 2012, 1:19 am

OOC :

Qist casually leaned back into her chair. Rather, she attempted to look casual as she bent back into the wooden seat. Her muscles ached, her joints were stiff and she found her mind steadily moving towards a catatonic state. Originally, she had meandered into the tavern for the easy escape that the ale provided. She wanted so badly to be forced into dropping her inhibitions, or whatever little shynesses she had, and sleepwalk around. Yet, with her mind now drifting into this state naturally, Qist found that such a substance would provoke a black-out. The petite mixed blood laughed under her breath at the sudden remembrance of the last black-out she had. It had been a hard day of work for her. Five or six mugs, a barfight and an impromptu love flare later, her day hadn’t really gotten much better. Bearing this in mind, Qist waved the eager barmaid empty handed.

She rolled her neck back, paused then rotated it back in the other direction. Small cracks and creaks of protest were emitted from her stretching joints, but Qist just shooed them away. It’s not like I’m sprinting cross Mizahar; shut up. “Nothing, nothing,” Her voice trailed off as she responded to Allison. In unison, she shook her head. Watching the light newcomer, Qist’s suspicions flared up once more. What could she possibly be worried about? If the Syliran knights wanted to capture her for something, she wouldn’t be sitting here with her. “You know,” Her voice dropped a bit. Though not much to look at, it seemed the knights always had an innate ability to hear something they weren’t supposed to. “If you keep looking at them, they will eventually wander over here.” And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?