A Big Bear & A Not So Big Man (Bob Barton)

[Bartal]

40th Day of Summer, 512 AV Late Evening A Mile From the Main Gates Bartal churned the decomposing leaves littering the ground with his snout, snuffling for a scent he could follow. The Kabrin Road was at his back, but not too close. If a traveler happened to see him, a massive brown bear searching around in the ditch, there was bound to be some alarm. Prey seemed to be scarce today, there weren't many fresh scents; let alone the scent of an animal he'd be able to catch and eat. He'd caught a whiff of elk, the watered down smell of rabbit and squirrel, and found some deer tracks. Everything would be long gone though. A sound rustled to his left and he turned his head sharply. A squirrel was rummaging through the leaves just as he was, probably looking for seeds. It wasn't very fat, but it would have to do. He snarled and launched himself at the little rodent. It squealed and darted away, and he struggled to get it hit on it. They scrabbled with each other for a moment, him trying to swat it while it zipped between his legs, circled around, then clambered lightly up a tree. Bartal stood on his hind legs and threw his weight against the tree. The leaves quivered but the squirrel was safe now. It chattered down at him, flicking its tail in an irritatingly confident sort of way. It was clearly saying something along the lines of... "Na-na-na-na-boo-boo". He roared up at the little cretin, raking his long claws down the tree's side. Bark and wood tore away, leaving naked gouges and jagged furrows. The leaves danced erratically on the little tree's branches and the whole thing creaked ominously. He wasn't going to rip this tree down just for a squirrel though, he'd made his point so he dropped back to all fours and with a last growl in the rodent's direction, meandered off back toward the road. A cart rumbled by filled with produce of all sorts; the smell made his mouth water. Maybe I could just... The thought didn't seem right though. If the driver saw him running toward the cart, there were bound to be consequences. So with a huff he quickly crossed the road into another corpse of trees bordering the worn old cobbles. There were wild onions here, and he followed the scent to a thick cluster growing at the base of an oak. Digging up the earth with his massive and powerful paws, he quickly unearthed the bulbs growing under the soil. He gorged on a few mouthfuls of these, but didn't particularly like the snack. Onions had never been a favorite. Now what? It was late, and even though the bulbs wouldn't fill up his large gut, it would have to do. With nothing better to do, he shifted skins. Bartal stretched, feeling the bones pop up his now human spine. Dirt was caked on his hands and under his nails so he washed them in a nearby puddle, scrubbing vigorously and wiping them off on his legs. Then he took a much needed drink, dipping his face in the water and wetting his hair in the process. He swept it back and shook his head, spattering droplets in the grass. He crouched there on the balls of his feet, toes sinking into the soft dirt.

[Bob Barton]

Despite his best efforts in training Jinsen to properly do its doo doo, the dog was still set in its old ways. The one which unless Bob took it out when it wanted to before it gets dark, it will just do it wherever it was. As Bob had no house in Syliras and would not allow it even if he had. He was forced to take the dog outside with him as he did not want to incur any extra charges for the temporary room. Seeing so many knights patrolling the street's Bob found himself going further and further along the walls until he reached the gates. "Sigh..." It would have been easier to just let Jinsen do it in the streets but when he tried a few days ago, he barely got away with a stern warning from the knights. Fortunately it was dark and he was slightly under dressed than the usual so they believed that he was a child than some travelling gambler. Even if he was successful then, he did not want to try his luck again. Not all knights were that nice.

"I'm just taking the dog for a walk and making sure it doesn't soil the city" Bob said when they asked why is he going out the gates when it was going to get dark in a bell or so. it was obviously dangerous but "I'm not going too far and I can take care of myself." He knew that these very concerned knights thought he was a kid when they asked him to go back to his parents but Bob took out his hat, showed them his facial features and assured them before going out ignoring their further warnings. At least these knights were good enough. Bob walked ahead telling Jinsen to "hurry up" while it tried to sniff out a spot it wanted. It wanted to get off the road but "no! You stay on the path" Bob told it pulling it back and kicking it back to the middle everytime it strayed to the side. He was not stupid enough to get lost in the wild at night, without anyone else to help him should he get into trouble.

Even if the road at the time was not much better. So far, Bob barely met anyone and the only thing that could scare off a wild beast was the cart. Well hopefully it could because Jinsen was either curious or hungry when it kept trying to break off from Bob to get to it. "Stay there Jinsen. Stay! Right! There!" Bob said sternly while he jerked the leash back. While it is possible that nothing might happen, it was also possible that the horse would get spooked by the dog and go wild which would get Bob...into trouble. "You know what? Lets just find you your spot" Bob told the dog while he pulled it away from the path towards a copse of trees. At least one of the trees there should be to the dog's liking and even if there was none, Jinsen would not be able to mess with the cart. Already it was barking and Bob could see the horses slowing down. As he did not know what he could do to control the dog he decided it would be better off if he just took it away from the source of its excitement.

Even if it got more excited. The closer they got to the copse of trees, Jinsen started barking again while it tried to go away. Not thinking much about it Bob pulled it back asking "whats wrong with you? You don't even know if you can do it there" before continuing on, pulling the dog behind him whether it likes it or not. He was its master and was not supposed to be following its whims. Jinsen was going to have to find that out sooner or later. "Ok..." Bob told himself when he saw the nude man at the trees. If he was Jinsen he would not want to be here either. Not too fun to see a man doing the same things you would in the privy. Of course Jinsen was not going to feel comfortable doing it here but the sooner they could finish, the sooner they could get back. Bob went to the trees opposite the man and set his dog there with a cold glare, forcing it to finish up soon. It was feeling rather awkward as he leaned on the tree even while he looked up to the darkening sky.

Being so uncomfortable, Bob finally found himself asking "isn't it safe to be outside just to..." uhhhh...yup. He was not going to say something like that out straight since it would be really rude.

[Bartal]

That dog needed to be quiet. Its incessant barking was loud against the silent background of the evening, shattering the relaxing moment he'd just been trying to enjoy. Then the human; he wasn't all that quiet either. More amusing though, since Bartal could understand the angry mutterings and commands that were falling on the unwilling dog's ears. They were quite the pair. He turned and watched them approach along the road, fighting the whole way. They were both tugging and pulling on each other, vying for control of which direction to move. He found himself laughing, a loud and gruff chortle that shook his shoulders violently. The voice of the human made it obvious that he wasn't a child, though he was the size of one. How curious. He wondered why that happened; some men and women stopped growing while others towered above them. It made it more humorous, seeing that the man was having trouble heeling his hound both because he was small and it was a stubborn. He guessed the man must have been fed up with the dog's antics because he laid down the law directly across the road, not allowing the hound to relieve itself anywhere but under the tree they'd stopped at. Bartal approached a few steps but stopped at the edge of his side of the road, calling a reply when the miniature man spoke up. "Just to what?" he asked with the hint of leftover laughter warping his voice. It had been a while since he'd laughed like that, and it didn't matter to him that it was at someone rather than at something like a joke.

[Bob Barton]

The man who was doing Jinseney stuff suddenly came towards Bob. It was a little bit creepy but he tried to ignore that because he did not want to excite the dog he was with when he makes his reaction. Was he being punked somehow outside of the city? Perhaps it was because Syliras had some sort of decency laws? Someone must be a really elaborate and motivated prankster to go to this extent. He was even laughing about it. Whatever the reason of doing this, it must have worked somehow but Bob could not think of the reason and result the man was looking for. Ignoring the joke and choosing to look at the man's face instead, a pretty old man to be making jokes like this Bob answered "just to do what it is you're doing?" not wanting to directly state he was doing what Jinsen is now and hoping that the vague question might bring to light some of his questions.

"I mean being outside the walls without anything" since the man was practically naked unless that was some very well made bodysuit that hid things like weapons in it, "on your own is dangerous even if there are knight patrols" though Bob would not know how effective those knights are in the night. Yeah now that he mentioned it he doubted that this man would be out here just for a joke. There had to be a proper reason and Bob intended to find out. "Did something happen to you?" Maybe something bad like "were you mugged by someone?" which would mean Bob would have to go back screaming so that the knight patrols can find him. He was close enough that he would be still a lot safer than anywhere else and the people, if the man confirmed it would not be able to get the drop on him. Not if Jinsen did its job to keep him safe and alert about the dangers but was it really doing its job? All it was doing was acting strange with the man but Bob would not blame it since he felt weird staying near the naked man too.

But it was still not in good manners to show it like that. Bob gave a quick tug at Jinsen getting it to stop its hostilities while he asked it "are you done already?" which would explain why it had nothing better to do. However neither Bob nor the man actually had to entertain it and Bob laid down the law yet again when he told it to "sit" so that it will be able to "make sure you don't need to go again today" as Bob will have better things to do than to get out of Syliras after dark. It tried to protest in whimpers that Bob firmly ignored when he gave Jinsen, 'The Look" hoping for it to just stop and listen to what he asked for if the stern tone of his voice did not clue it in already. Who was the idiot that told Bob that dogs, like Jinsen were smart? It was treating this other man like some kind of danger. Like...like some sort of wild animal! Of course the only thing that Bob could see was some exposed man that was down on his luck.

"You should tell the knights what happened you know? So you can get back your things" and his decency as well as "help them ensure that the men responsible for this won't be able to repeat it again?" Or if it sounded easy enough Bob could do it himself and extort a bounty as well as play finders keepers with their ill gotten gains. Maybe he should just sneak on them and do the latter which will be less trouble than anything else but first he needed to know the details which he tried to get by offering "unless you want me to report to the knights for you?

[Bartal]

Confusion contorted his features, knitting his brows together and giving him a deep frown. "I don't think I understand," he said slowly and uncertainly. Did Bartal look as though he'd been attacked? Humans never walked around the woods, day or night, without clothes on though, so this must appear odd. It was always a wonder to him how others could bare to be constricted all the time by tight and itchy fabrics. He only did it out of necessity, and the few garments he owned were loose so he never felt too overwhelmingly uncomfortable. Of course he wasn't human, he was a bear, so he thought differently. He snorted with amusement as the realization finally dawned on him. "Nothing was stolen." Motioning at his bare chest he continued, "I'm just not wearing clothes." His smile broadened into something a little more vicious. "I would like to see a human try to take something from me. They could have the garments though, I don't like them. Why would I wear them out in the woods anyway?" Again he was confused. Never in his entire life had he wore clothes out in the forest. Even when Rosemary was alive. Of course she knew he was not human so she understood, and it had never made her uncomfortable like it seemed to make this little man. "Does my lack of covering bother you?" he decided to go ahead and ask. That seemed to be the whole issue now that he thought about it. OOCSorry for such a late post, and it's not very long at that. Suffering from some writer's block.