Completed How to get lost

[Wrenmae]

The youth’s explosion of words struck Wrenmae soundly across the face, the chest, and roiled past him, as if he were any ordinary rock in a stream. He let him finish, politely, and shrugged his shoulders dismissively. “By your admission, you know nothing of me. Your judgments are cowardly things, born of a simple distrust for everyone who isn’t you. That may help you, boy, but one day it will bury you. I do not know you, nor what others have done to you, but I’m not surprised if you’ve been tussled with…looking down on everyone, I’m sure you deserved it.” Turning to the crimson haired, Wrenmae bowed his head and stood aside.


“I do apologize if I and a fool on his horse have stopped your passage…Unless…” He glanced up at him, that same smile playing at the corner of his mouth, “You’d like to weigh in on the subject at hand.” Jutting his thumb back at Lance, he half turned to wink at Wyatti, “The man there claims he offers less harm than I, but freely admits he does not know me. Who, then, do you think intends the most harm for this girl…simply based upon your observation?”


This wasn’t a decision he wanted to necessarily influence. The man, Lance, would remember him in the future and it was all the work Wren had to do for the day. Hound was a fabrication, a morphed façade and a cobbled persona to do his dirty work. The more who had seen, spoken to, and confirmed the existence of him…the more that persona became real, a thing with clout on East street…and soon, greater Zeltiva.

The brute he’d put onto the ground stirred with a dull groan, rising to his feet and wheeling on them all in a stumbling gait. Wren quickly was at his side, helping the bigger man stand, albeit with a few stumbles.


“Fair is fair, my friend,” Wren reminded the brute, helping him past Valo to the mouth of the alley, “I’ll be in touch with our new direction.”


Unable to do more than nod, the huge man simply trudged away from them all, the weight of his shame pulling his entire form closer to the ground with each thunderous footstep. Wren turned back to them all, striding past Valo to stand where he had, in the center of the alley between the two. He turned back on Valo and shrugged.


“Well? What of your observations…who should this girl distrust more?”

[Valo]

And so it came to it, this Hound questioned Valo upon his observations of the dealings. And Valo prided him self greatly upon speaking his mind, perhaps in a controlled and eloquent way, but he would speak none the less. Waiting until the brute has left them in peace, he lifted his body from the position he was in and straightened his back. A perfect posture of a gentleman. And with a calm glance upon every one in turn, the Hound, the girl and the man in black, he then proceeded to run his palm across his face in a sleepy manner for a moment. Once again he had forgotten to sleep.

Valo once again cursed mother nature for gifting him with impeccable eye sight, for if that wasn't the case, he'd been able to prop up on the bridge of his nose a pair of glasses. But once again, a subtle habit of his, he reached for his face, only to find that the glasses were non existent. This is what the sleepy hand motion was.

Taking several more steps towards the group, Valo cleared his throat and spoke, a smooth, calm voice. He spoke every word so clearly. "I think she should distrust you both equally, for instead of behaving like the gentlemen I'm sure you are, you behave like children. Who am I to make such a decision for a woman who's clearly capable of making it her self. And perhaps all this energy spent quarrelling, would be better used to help her find her way back out of this horrid part of town. Both your intentions may be noble, but your manner is most shameful."

Valo was now among them all. His step as flamboyant as his dress,his voice with a slight accent as exotic as his hair. "Dear gentlemen." he carried on, gesturing with his slender hands as he spoke. " Why must you pressure this young lady to make a choice. Surely instead of war, your good intention could combine and you could work together. Perhaps then you may find that you can in fact trust one another, noble gentlemen such as your selfs."

He wasn't quite done yet. Now hovering on the other side of the group. Still relatively close to them, yet with the path to his home clear. Perhaps he shall soon make a hasty retreat, or perhaps he may stay and watch if his words make any difference. He was after all, just an artist in a quarrel of men unlikely to truly take him to heart. "War is an interesting concept." he added. "It starts when a man thinks him self better than the other. It is when all ability of empathy towards the other human being vanishes, and he begins to animalise the other. That is the seed of war. but we are all men here. And in all aspects of the word, men are for the most part, the same." he slowed down with the very final few words, putting an emphases on them, hoping in his heart that they would both at least think it over.

[Wyatti]

The young Kelvic's face turned into that of a frown as she tried to comprehend the words not only of the two men but also of the red haired man. One spoke as if suffering, the other lacking empathy. Distrust, lies, words bitter and sharp. She was far from stupid, but it was the tense air that made it difficult to tell. Her head darted between them all as they spoke, going between them as one started or cut the other one off.

Humans... no. Adults, they always seem to argue.

After a while she simply began to ignore them- it would be best to seeing as she did not really understand- and instead focused on each of their features, their voices, observing their mannerisms and quirks. She studied the red haired one carefully, mainly for he was the most recent to join the group. He was the most finely dressed out of all of them, followed by the liar, and then herself. She left the fighter out of it, his image and scent did not quiet seem to match up, after all; since when did a rogue smell of dust and books?

She sniffed at the red head as he went past, the faint scent of oils and paint. Wyatti gave a quick blink, and stared after him, wondering if curiosity really did kill the cat. She shuffled on the spot for a moment, and then her ears twitched at key phrase.

"It starts when a man thinks himself better than the other."

She quickly glanced up at the adults and swallowed, feeling that the rougher of the two men would perhaps not take too kindly to the words of the more sophisticated one. But there would still be issues, the first being that could they come to a conclusion and the second being could they allow themselves to work together. The problem at the moment, Wyatti sensed, was that both men did not care for each other both perhaps believing they are equally imbecilic in nature. She scratched at her head, and frowned, lips pursed together her eyes becoming narrow. The girl let out a long sigh, folding her arms and bringing them in close as the cold began to bite at her.

[Lance Tycan]

"All righty then, Mr. Hound. Our lovely friend here has spoken. Fancy anyway we could possibly find this girl's home?" He ran a hand through his ink black hair, his hazel eyes shifting across every one of them. Lance didn't think he was better than anybody. Far from it, at the least. As a matter of fact, he saw everyone as though they had their own worths, his being small. His mind categorized people not by their values but by their personalities and traits. The slavers were always on the very bottom though, no matter what they acted like in his mind. Lance chuckled slightly at the situation, finally leaning back up against Ancentrial and relaxing. Dystair seemed to follow in the same manner, however, she perched on Ancentrial's withers whom stood still and only looked back at the familiar bird on his shoulders only to return to his normal position, head raised slightly higher than usual; his ears were pinned back as well. Lance sighed, lowered his ever moving eyes then rubbed his temples, slowly stroking Ancentrial's midnight muzzle. His eyes shifted at the others once more then finally rested on the artist "Or, oh Wise One, what should we do?" The next part he directed at Wyatti "Shyke, do you even have a home, miss?" From what he had heard almost all of the resident's had homes. From rundown close to collapsing cottages to wonderful rooms at the University. Surely Wyatti had to have a home didn't she? Lance didn't hardly have a home itself, if you could even call a tent that. No not a home, but a house. And no, not even a tent could be considered a house could it? Just another one of the many thoughts that crossed his ever racing mind. His train of thought apparently seemed to run off course sometimes. It wasn't a good thing sometimes, nor had it ever been a good thing. Either way, he had trouble staying on course unless in a dire situation. Lance didn't seem to find this one of them. "Best be moving on and out of this weather shouldn't we? Before her appendages freeze off?" Lance took a deep breath, throwing Ancentrial's reins over the stallion's head so it was no longer in a riding position but rather a lead rope. The man patted his shoulder then sighed "Like I said before, I'm sure Ancentrial would let you ride so you wouldn't have walk on the cold ground." Lance looked down and lightly kicked at it with his shoe, then looked at Wyatti "Depending on the fact that you could trust me enough to the point where you think I'm not trying to what, kill you or something?" He chuckled at the end "Guess that's what I get for trying to be nice guy, eh?"

[Wyatti]

"Shyke, do you even have a home, miss?"

It took Wyatti a moment to realise that the question was being directed at her. She snapped her head up at him, eyes blinking, her mind searching for an answer. But as she found answers slipping away, she shrunk into herself. For a moment the girl looked embarrassed, but then her eyes turned away and faced the floor. She shuffled nervously on the spot, giving a quick glance up at the humans before returning her attention to the floor.

Should I answer? Should I not answer? They would get angry if I say. But they will also if I do not.

From behind her fringe she looked at them all, eyes darting from one to the other, weighing up options and answers. She gripped onto her coat sleeves and returned her focus to the floor. Wyatti swallowed, before trembling. Where was home? What was home to her? Where ever she curled up, where ever she could crawl into, where ever she fell. The word home, had no solid meaning to the Kelvic.

"No," she finally made herself speak.

She tilted her head slightly and pushed herself back the alley wall, watching the men with a sense of fear and worry. How will these adults react? What will they do? Are they going to be angry? Or just not care? The Liar moved back to his horse, and spoke his words. But Wyatti did not move nor answer, the choice was now out of her hands, and now in the hands of the others.

"Guess that's what I get for trying to be nice guy, eh?"

She stared at him, her eyes for a moment unwavering. Her nostrils flared, as she felt her jaw clench shut. She forgot about the other two, her full attention was now on him. She could feel her pulse quicken, her adrenal pumping, her mind focused on the same repeating phrase.

I am trying to be the nice guy! You stupid animal! You always test my patience! Why do you never play fair? I give you warmth! Care! And this is how you treat me! You stupid, ungrateful, animal! I should just chain you up an-

"Trying...?" she made herself speak, a tremble in her voice "A nice guy would not try, he would just do it, right? He would do all the right things, good things, not lie and..."

She drew her look away, and brought herself into a crouch. She had said too much, and speaking too much caused hurt and judgement. She hugged her knees and waited.

[Wrenmae]

Wrenmae was quiet as Valo spoke, nodding once to both he and Lance. It was never his job to stick his nose too far into business that did not concern him. In truth, this situation itself was rather abberant to his plans. The more people he conversed with, the more they might know of him and his mannerisms. Although it was elating to make sure that his alternate persona was spread around a bit, he held no desire to play the role of orphanage for a lost little girl. Besides, his room was too small at present and she'd only die anyways.

While she had enough will and strength to survive on the street without adequate shielding from the elements, that was no indication she held the kind of strength Vayt was looking for. She was an urchin, the man on the horse a fop, and the other an arrogant shyke. None of them would likely survive his touch were he to bestow it...and if they did...well, they would have earned his respect.

But now was not a time for testing, let the girl decide who she was most interested in following.

"I am not a citizen to Zeltiva, nor a man interested in gaining the trust of a man such as this," he indicated Lance, "Or you." He indicated Valo. "Trust is a commodity that cannot be mined but only given. Your own perceptions will determine your opinions. Personally, I have more pressing matters than finding a home for the girl...perhaps the two of you can be trusted to do so, although by my opinion...it doesn't seem she likes the fop all that much." Nodding to Lance, Wrenmae turned on his heels, striding toward the end of the alley.

"Come with me or go with them, girl, it makes little difference. The winter will only get colder and you'll need a home to call your own soon enough. Don't expect anything for free or from any sense of charity, I expect you to earn any gift of shelter I'll provide...perhaps those you stand with now will be more soft, but the world is a hard and bitter place. Learn to be stronger than its challenges and stand up for yourself or learn how to be a good slave to it...but don't expect strangers to care."

He paused at the edge of the alley, looking back at the three of them. To each his gaze lingered but a moment, finally settling on Wyatti. There was no lust there, no possessive thrill. He looked at her with something akin to challenge, then turned, and vanished from the alley.

[Valo]

Valo heart was set, he did not like this Hound person. As far as he could appreciate the strength and scepticism, he could not fathom the coldness that emanated from his words. Those words were like the frost, icing over everything he spoke to. And further still was the violence... a slave? It was what he said 'learn to be a good slave'. And this very phrase made Valo so angry he could spit. For a man with so much respect for life, so much love of free will and free spirit, savoury was a taboo. A cruel concept which no living being should taste.

Kelvics were people with minds and souls and bodies. They had personalities, likes and dislikes and all those other things which made a person truly human. The ability of empathy, joy and sadness alike. Upon his journey Valo had once met a lady who was a master of a Kelvic. This lady did not treat her mouse - for that was the animal form of said Kelvic man - like a slave. In fact she served the mouse and belonged to the mouse just as much as he served her and belonged to her. An equilibrium, if one should call it so. And that in Valo's mind was how a Kelvic should be treated, how they should be spoken to...

As the Hound disappeared, Valo locked eyes with the man in black for just a moment and flashed him a warm smile. A great weight had suddenly been lifted from the air, an ominous aura has diffused. But perhaps this was just his own imagination. "I'm Valo by the way. Lovely to meet you sir." he whispered before crouching down beside Wyatti. His earlier words weren't those of anger and he hoped within his heart, that this man did not understand him to be condescending. It was just an unfortunate habit of his to speak his mind in such a manner.

Valo did not find himself judging the man, despite him being called a liar and other things of such sort. In fact, more than anything Valo could relate to him. Perhaps not in manner or mechanism, but in the good intention behind the charade. If he had put his own honour on the life for this girl, he could not have been a bad person. Even more so, for honour was the most precious concept of a male existence it seemed, that he could sacrifice it for a complete strange and it led Valo to grow quite fond of him. Perhaps when all this was over, he'd have the pleasure of an orderly conversation.

But more pressing matters were at hand as he brought himself down to Wyatti's level, not too close to her so she'd feel threatened, but not too far away so she could seek him comfort with ease, should she need it. "Oh sweet heart, everything's ok now. You don't need to be worried or afraid." he spoke in the most soothing of voices his vocal chords could possibly produce. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to comfort her, but did not do so. In his experience, Kelvics such as she trusted no one and were easily spooked; and the last thing on his mind now was to cause her any sort of discomfort. But there was also the question of practicality of the situation and a gentleman like Valo could not possibly leave a homeless being out on the streets, in weather like this. "But none the less, with the shift of the seasons at hand, a warm house and good food is in order for you."

[Lance Tycan]

Lance nodded as he bid Wrenmae a farewell, more of less just out of one of the most polite things he could do at this time. As a matter of fact, it was the most he could do right now. Being called a fop was not one of his choice of words for himself nor neither did he particularly care for his appearance nor attire. The only choice he had was going to sleep and to pick the colors that appealed to him most... black. How was he such a dandy? How could one make that guess? He never once looked at himself the entire time! Another reason in which he didn't understand... another reason in which had in fact pissed him off... was the fact that he told the poor lost and apparently orphaned Kelvic to become a slave! First off, who does that? And why on Mizahar would anyone petching say that?!? Once the 'Hound' rounded the corner and left them alone Lance spat at the ground away from them all "Petchers need to learn some manners, I mean damn." This was more of a thought intended for himself but it slipped his lips in somewhat of a soft and quiet whisper. Lance looked at Wyatti "Anyways, don't listen to 'Hound' or whatever the Void his name is, he obviously don't know shyke about this and that 'cuz if he did he wouldn't have said that. That's why you piss someone off to the point you see their true colors and what they're hiding for the most part." He chuckled once more with a now friendly smirk on his face now that the immediate danger and threat was gone. He assumed the others felt the same for the air was much thinner now and their expressions seemed to had changed to slightly more at ease. Surely it wasn't just him. "Trust me, it works every time." He gave a friendly wink at Wyatti then directed Valo. It wasn't that he was ignoring Valo, in fact, if anything Valo seemed like a nice and decent guy. Something you wouldn't find on this street far too often. Lance nodded back at Valo with recognition "Nice to meet you, Valo. Name's Lance Tycan, or Lance. Unfortunate we had to meet on such a notice, eh?" Lance then cocked hs head sideways and looked at Wyatti "I could offer you shelter, but alas I sleep in a tent with my only heating sources being a fire and... well, clothing. If you find that would suit you, then great. But I'm not pushing you to make any decisions and I'm not so sure you want to be sleeping in a tent intended for one person along with the fact that there'd be a horse outside and an owl inside." Lance looked at Valo "I imagine it would more than likely be pretty crunched together so perhaps you, Valo, might could help?" Lance also crouched down slightly farther away than Valo to make sure he didn't scare her off "Also miss, I don't believe we ever properly met either." He gingerly but carefully held out his hand as his intention was to actually shake her hand "I'm Lance. And you have nothing, absolutely nothing, to worry about from my part. You saw who I am in the midst of dealing with those... well those people." He of course was not meaning Valo, Wyatti, nor himself. "The choice is yours as I am not one to speak for a young lady such as yourself. And another thing, don't listen to that man, Hound. Not all strangers care, as a matter of fact a lot of strangers don't care. But in this petching world, there are very few out there that do. Hence the reason I was trying to get you away from that man whom pretended in which he cared. Then he told you that. Who's the liar in this situation?" Lance nodded and flashed a warm and friendly smile towards her and Valo.

[Valo]

Lance spoke a lot. In fact hos mouth produced so many words that Valo had to keep a very close track of the statements he did say and those conjured up in Valo's imagination, for his train of thought was running full speed ahead. And once again he found him self not in the least annoyed by Lance's manner. In fact all those words filled the silence which would otherwise have hovered over them like a cloud of awkwardness.

For just a split second, Valo once again took a moment to observe his new acquaintance. And in that split second he had the chance to reply to the man's warm grin, with one of his own. His deep green eyes momentarily locking with the hazel ones which belonged to Lance. Eyes which seemed to hold somewhat a mystery to them. And then something else caught his attention, a barely noticeable thread of silver upon Lence's pare cheek, a scar. Something which would be perhaps invisible to any bystander, but did not escape the keen eyes of an artist. And all in the very same moment, Valo found him self wondering whether his body bore any more scars than this one and what is the story behind them. But all that was soon put aside for that is a different tale all together. A different story for another time.

"I could offer you shelter, but alas I sleep in a tent with my only heating sources being a fire and... well, clothing. If you find that would suit you, then great. But I'm not pushing you to make any decisions and I'm not so sure you want to be sleeping in a tent intended for one person along with the fact that there'd be a horse outside and an owl inside." spoke Lance.

Oh yes there was a horse with him, a great black beast with such a tremendous gothic charm to it's silhouette. As for the bread, Valo wasn't quite sure but he'd seen similarly shaped creatures upon his many travels and the owners had always claimed them to originate in Avanthal. The owl was of little interest to Valo who lived in Wind Reach all his life. He'd been learning falconry as a little boy and had the pleasure of working with much more impressive birds.

But then something occurred to him. "A tent?" he almost cried with outrage. Outrage that anyone should be living in such squalid conditions at this time of year. Especially with the illness roaming the streets like a deathly assassin, the bodies piling up like mounds of hair and flesh. "A gentlemen like your self should not be living in a tent during winter. Once snow falls, not even the fire will obey you. Come live with me at least for the time being for I simply cannot allow you to become another victim of the illness." then he looked at Wyatti. "In fact both of you are welcome in my house. It may be small but it's big enough and there is a hearth so the whole place is warm as if it was the middle of summer."

[Wyatti]

“Be a good slave.”

Wyatti could not help but flinch when she heard those words. She stared after Wrenmae, and met his look. She shook as she did her pulse quickening, her nostrils flared, and a glimmer of panic in her face.

Be a good slave, stop squirming; it will only hurt more if you move. You damned animal, I told you to be good!

But despite her thoughts her eyes did not move. She kept her focus, and pushed down the fears that were building up in her mind. Further she pushed it down, her eyes unwavering, until he turned and vanished from the alley. She let out a small gasp, letting the fear and panic return as he left. Her entire body shook as she held her head in her hands. Some humans are always going to be the same as before, cruel and perhaps black hearted. She heard Valo speak his name, and then crouch down next to her. She glanced at him through her fingers, her ears twitching as he spoke softly.

“Oh sweet heart, everything’s ok now. You don’t need to be worried or afraid.”

She could see he meant no harm, and so far his words were straight forward. She could see his want for giving attention and showing care, but hesitation hung about him and perhaps it was indeed for the best. She began listening to Lance the liar as he spoke, filling the silence with noise and perhaps ramble. Now that he had begun talking, Wyatti began to feel herself calm again, more so as his statements began to make more and more sense. At least he now was being honest, she mused as Lance continued to speak as he crouched to her height, and for a moment she felt a sense of equality among the three of them.

“Hence the reason I was trying to get you away from that man whom pretended in which he cared. Then he told you that. Who's the liar in this situation?"

Wyatti gave a questioning look, lips pursed and thinking. Like most of the time she was quiet, but then she looked up and met Lance’s eyes.

“But… two wrongs do not make a right…”

She sounded confused, as if questioning the logic herself. She turned her attention to Valo when he let out a near cry of outrage. Wyatti leapt into the air in fright, hearing the tone on the edge of his voice had startled her indeed. Flashes and memories raced through her mind, thoughts and feelings of a time ago reminding her of the past. She staggered back into Lance, her eyes briefly wide with fear, before she realised that the outburst was not directed at her. She blinked, and looked at the ground with a sense of embarrassment. She listened carefully to his words before looking up at Lance with a most curios look. He was after all, surprisingly warm. Wyatti looked back at Valo.

“Warm?” she questioned the word as her eyes grew wide.

Perhaps it was the cat like smile that appeared on her lips, or perhaps it was a bright look in her eyes that appeared, either away her thoughts were clearly given away.