Closed When asking favours... (Chari)

[Brandon Blackwing]

Being picked up wasn’t really comfortable. Although the girl was careful, he couldn’t help but squeak in shock as her fingers enveloped his small frame. Then all of a sudden he could feel her hands pushing him upwards, casting him into the air. Not expecting to be thrown up without a countdown or warning the bat’s eyes popped open in terror. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Syna’s bright rays stabbed his orbs with blinding light. Shrieking in pain the bat closed them as fast as possible, pinching his eyelids to a shut. Flapping his spread-out digits and producing ultrasonic sound waves, he managed to not to fall down as fast as he’d come up. Barely avoiding a wall, he hurtled out of the alley, soaring above Lhavit’s rooftops. Flying with his eyes closed wasn’t something he found easy. For one or other reason it scared him more to fly like that than exposing his sensitive eyes to Syna’s rays. As such he decided to lift his eyelids and willingly let the sun blind him. Whiteness occupied his vision. Pain his nerve system. Cycling above the houses and the streets of Lhavit, he sent for the human ear undetectable waves of sound towards the ground. He could ‘hear’ one person. Probably Chari. The rest were rooftops and empty streets. Nothing unusual. They hadn’t been followed after all. Good. Now he could proceed to ask Chari a favour. Descending down, the bat headed towards the small alley the girl was waiting for him. He glided through the air, aiming for an opening between two roofs. Thanks to his sonar that was no problem. He now was gliding a few centimetres above the ground. Flapping his wings to reduce his speed, the bat came to a stop. Quickly shifting to human form, the silhouette of the small mammal was replaced by that of a human male. “Gods, I will never fly by day again!” he said, laying down on the cold street. He opened his eyes. Apparently he’d closed them as soon as he’d touched solid ground. At first he was unable to see anything. After a few ticks it got a little better. Though all he could see was a blur. An abstract mixture of colours and shapes. He grunted. Hoisting himself to his feet, he stumbled to the place Chari should be waiting for him. His steps were uncertain, his whole body was swaying from the right side to the left side of the alley, and reverse. He grunted in frustration and closed his damaged eyes. They weren’t useful anyway. For now he’d have to rely on his hearing. He just hoped his eyes would get back to normal soon, if they even would heal. Hopefully giving them enough rest would do the trick. Placing one hand on the nearest wall, the one on his left. He could trace the walls to keep him from bumping into too many things. According to his inner map, he’d landed somewhere not quite near the place they’d been hiding. He wanted to sigh, but remembered he had been sighing all day long already, so he decided not to. Pacing through the maze of deserted streets, the bat continued his way. He turned left, then right and walked straight ahead for a bit. He hoped he was walking in the right direction. Since his vision was messed up he couldn’t be sure, but he guessed where he was in relation to Chari’s assumed position. If he was right, she’d be waiting around the corner. If she wasn’t then there were two possibilities. The first was the one the bat found the most probable: he’d been walking in the wrong direction. Option two was less pleasant. He’d been walking the right way, but she’d run off with his stuff. He sincerely hoped she would be waiting around the corner. Placing his hand on said corner, the thief took a deep breath in and sighed deeply, calming his fears. Then, taking a determined step forward, Bran curbed to the left.

[Chari]

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The first thing that the Kelvic noticed when she threw Brandon in the air was the strange assault on her senses, or rather her aural sense. There was the impression of a high pitch bouncing in her ears. If she'd been purely human the sound would have gone unnoticed but her animal hearing transferred across somewhat to her human form.

The woman clapped her hands across her ears and leaned back against the wall of the alley. Her head moved from side to side as if trying to clear it but the shaking did nothing except make her feel slightly dizzy. The sound seemed to pierce her ears, not a loud sound but an invasive one. She was sure to get a headache after all of this. Chari assumed it had something to do with Brandon but she didn't know all that much about bats so she couldn't be sure.

The noise that irritated her so waxed and waned as if it was moving in and out of her hearing range. When the sound stopped totally, the dog assumed that it had been made by the bat and had stopped because of Brandon changing back. At least it was gone now and he'd be able to explain himself. Perhaps now an explanation for his strange behaviour would be given.

Rubbing her temples, the girl listened to the staggering sound coming from somewhere nearby. Was that Brandon or someone else? Could it be someone that had been following them? She peered cautiously around the corner and found a naked figure staggering towards her. She snorted with laughter.

"All right there, Brandon?" she called softly, her voice tinged with amusement. "You look drunk, do you know that? Staggering all over the place, can't walk in a straight line. I didn't steal your clothes though so it's not all bad for you."

It was nice to tease him, to make light of the otherwise serious situation. He still owed her an explanation for the blood and the paranoia. The Kelvic almost wondered if it hadn't all been an act, someway to allay suspicion from himself. Don't think like that! she told herself.

"So Brandon the Kelvic, you have some explaining to do. Now." Her hands went to her hips as she looked sternly at him.

x

[Brandon Blackwing]

Words came his way. A snort as well, he noticed. Amusement was lingering on the words, making fun of how he walked. That he looked drunk. The bat stopped and grunted. Then, he continued his way towards the dog, using the sound of her voice as his guide. Making sure he walked straight, the thief made an attempt to guess the position where the dog was waiting for him. It was, so he guessed, only a few meters away. Good. Although he didn’t like to be mocked, he saw it as a good sign. Chari hadn’t run of with his clothes and other stuff. That meant she was to be trusted, no? Also, it seemed she did trust him as well. Maybe not entirely, but she did her best anyway. It made him somewhat happier. When he reached the girl, he halted and placed the palm of the hand closest to it against the nearest wall. He carefully opened his dark orbs, but the images that came to him were still not recognizable. Everything was still blurry. The feeling occurred to him that he couldn’t quite focus his eyes. Narrowing his eyes didn’t help, neither did the other things he tried. He closed his eyelids quickly. “Yes and no. Yes, there is no one stalking us, and I have sustained no injuries. No, I can’t see a darned thing. Which also explains me stumbling through the streets like a drunk.” When he’d finished talking, he re-opened his eyes and tried again to make use of his damaged orbs. It was a wasted effort. Things were still blurry, as expected. The girl standing near him had no face, but was a vague mixture of colors. Only recognizable by the orange mane crowning her head . He imagined she had placed her hands on her hips. It fitted the tone on which she demanded an explanation. First things first. Putting my clothes on his my priority right now. He paced past the red-head obstructing his path with a wide arc, scraping against the outer wall and grabbed his scarf. Wrapping it around his neck, he came to the conclusion he should put his shirt on first. Or his pants. The problem however was that he had no other means to find out what was what than using touch. He grumbled. He dug through his memories from a few chimes ago, while stroking his fingertips on what he assumed was his belt. According to his mind, he’d placed the belt on top of his pants, which was laid on top of his shirt. He picked up the belt with one hand and the shirt with the other. Searching for the hole at the bottom, his fingers traced the fabric downwards. Ah! There it was. He placed his hands through the hole, they were tucked together snugly. He frowned. Wasn’t this the bottom of his shirt? It was big enough to place his body through though, so why were his arms so snuggling together? Maybe he’d placed them both in one sleeve? Sounded logically. But why was this sleeve so long? Then he realised he was trying to pull his pants over his head. The bat felt the heat peak on his cheeks. Highly embarrassed he wiggled his arms free and proceeded to put the thing on the right way. The temperature in his face still rising. He wanted to hide his face beneath his scarf and under his hood so badly right now. He coughed in an attempt to regain his composure. “You didn’t see that.” He closed the buttons of his pants with some effort and buckled his belt. The pleasant feeling of the somewhat heaviness of the tools he carried around made him feel a bit better. Now, his shirt. Picking it up, he searched the cloth for the right side to put it on. He didn’t want to make a fool out of himself again. When he’d finished clothing himself eventually, scarf wrapped around his neck, cloak on his back and hood pulled over his head, he turned to the place he presumed the girl was standing. He cleared his throat and sat down on the hard stones of the road. He sighed. Where do I begin? Will I tell her the details or just the basics? The thief pondered on the thought for a while. She does deserve to know what has happened. She’ll just keep asking me anyway. Better tell her. “So, this might become a long story, but maybe not. So it’s up to you if you’d like to sit down for a while or keep standing.” He paused for a brief moment, taking the time to breathe deeply. “This morning I was working, you know the line of work I do, so I don’t need to explain, when suddenly I step into something splashy. I think: ‘The hell?’ and take another step forward.” “There’s a stench hanging in the room, I recognise it. To confirm my thoughts, I crouch down and have a taste. As expected, it was blood. Unfortunately, I had forgotten I was wearing my cape, which was now lying in a puddle of blood. I searched for a candle, lit it and saw the horrible scene in from of me. My target was lying in a puddle of blood, face down. I dragged him out, turned him around, only to find a deep stab wound in his chest. His money and other valuables, like rings and stuff, were gone. I was pissed off, swore to get the man a proper burial and trace down his murderer and robber. They are probably the same guy anyway.” He took a small break to catch his breath. He shot Chari a questioning glance, one eyebrow lifted, his dark orbs still shut. “Do you follow?” Not waiting for her to respond he continued. “And that’s where you come in.”

[Chari]

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The Kelvic watched Brandon stagger around in puzzlement. She had no idea why he was acting that way. She couldn't see it being some form of disorientation because changing between forms shouldn't cause such a thing and so there was no explanation. It was as if he couldn't see. He leaned against the wall and opened his eyes but his gaze was unfocused as if he actually couldn't see anything in front of him. Chari frowned. When he confirmed her suspicion she couldn't believe it. Somehow he'd gone blind, how she didn't know but maybe it was caused by being a bat during the day. If the sun blinded him as a bat then he could be blinded in human from too. Gods she hoped that wasn't the case because what if it was permanent?

Biting her lip in worry, the woman watched as he moved around her and felt blindly for his clothes. She could have helped him but she didn't think that she'd get thanked for it. No, more likely that he'd just take offence at the action so she just stood and watched him. Despite the gravity of the situation, she watched with amusement as Brandon tried to put his pants on over his head, his arms in the pants' legs that he'd mistaken for sleeves. She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle but the flush in his cheeks and the way he tried to make out that nothing had happened made her snigger in spite of her best efforts.

"Sorry," she managed between giggles. "I didn't see anything funny, I was just laughing at... nothing!" The girl dissolved into unrestrained laughter, clutching her sides as she waited for the fit to pass. It did after a chime or so when she ran out of breath. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she found that the thief was now fully dressed and his expression made her remember the situation that they were in, or rather the one that he was in and had apparently dragged her into. Settling herself down beside him, the girl listened to what he had to say with a mixture of shock and horror. There was only one thing that really stuck in her mind from his little tale and it was something that she had to blurt out.

"You had a taste?" the horror and disgust in her voice was undeniable. She shuddered. "You tasted his blood? You're vile, do you know that? And you probably want me to track or something for you and the answer is no. I can't deal with that, Brandon, I'm sorry." The Kelvic woman got to her feet quickly, shaking her head vigorously. If that's what he wanted from her then she couldn't do it. She couldn't go somewhere and deal with blood. She had no idea how she'd react.

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[Brandon Blackwing]

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Instead of answering his question, because that would make things too easy, she had to reply by blurting something out. The bat was not very pleased with this. Especially so since her remark held hints of disgust and repulsion in it. Was it that such a terrible thing to do? It’s not like he drank blood. He just needed to confirm whether the liquid that had been lying at his feet had been blood or not. It had been dark, so he hadn’t been able to make out the color of the liquid. His nose had told him enough, true, but he liked double checking things. You could never be too sure.

So he was ‘vile’ now? Oh yeah, great. Why not call him a monster as well? Or a freak. Or whatever other word he could come up with. His brow furrowed in anger. Unvoiced disgust, prejudices, he could deal with them, those were rarely spoken out loud, but being called vile was something he did not like to hear coming from this girl. His upper lip curled up in barely contained anger. The red head rattled on and on, assuming he’d like her to track someone and that she didn’t want to do so. Did he say hat he needed her to track someone? No he didn’t. If she’d shut up he could continue his explanation.

Oh that was another thing. First she wants to know what is going on. Demanding answers and an explanation. Then, when he does as asked, she interrupts and starts insulting him. Being disgusted. Wrinkles appeared on the bridge of his nose. Fingers curled up in fists. Breaths steamed out his nostrils, creating a snorting sound. He had to make a lot of efforts not to lash out to her and begin to yell. He needed her to do a favour. He couldn’t start a fight with her. Calm down. Put it aside, put those feelings aside. He needed her help.

She scrambled to her feet, hastily apologizing for not wanting to cooperate with what she assumed was his plan. Gazing sternly to the wall in front of him, on the other side of the street, he did his best to stay calm. It did not prevent his words to roll out of his tongue as if each one was carefully given birth to for the sole purpose of killing the dog. “I was not finished yet,” he slowly spoke in an attempt to talk normally. Needless to say he failed miserably. “Let me finish.

“First, I am NOT vile. Second, I never said anything about needing you to track anyone. Don’t think I don’t know how to find someone. Third, you should listen when someone is trying to explain something. The thief paused to take a breath in and out. His rage had calmed down quite a bit, but instead of words loaded with anger, they were now dripping from the poisonous tone. Brandon continued: “If you had paid attention, you would have noticed I said something more important than tasting blood. I repeat: I swore to get the man a proper burial.”

“Since I will be charged with murder if I go back to that place and am spotted while carrying a body on my back, I cannot yet do so. So, I should go to the Shinya and report it, and then they will take care of the rest. Unfortunately, people with my profession and enforcers of the law don’t really like each other and the Shinya will likely be asking annoying questions if I go. So, you will go.” It wasn’t even a question anymore. It had become a demand. An order. “You still owe me a favour, and this is your chance to pay me back. By doing this.” He crossed his arms, e wouldn’t take no for an answer. And there was something else. “And fourth, be careful with your insults dog. Not all people can maintain their calm when angered. Someday that will get you in trouble. Mark my words.”

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[Chari]

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She should have just paid attention instead of jumping to conclusions but the Kelvic had been so edgy, so expectant after the long wait for an answer that her mind had been in overdrive, filling in things herself. She hadn't seen Brandon's expression, hadn't been paying attention to him again and so his tone of voice caught her by surprise. The anger in his voice staggered her. She found herself staring at him with an expression as if she'd been slapped. The thief listed off his points, his voice losing some of its anger but still remaining venomous.

The mention of the Shinya made her eyes widen. Of course it would have to be reported but why did it have to be her? Surely if Brandon tried to look respectable... no, it would still seem suspicious. Apparently it was better for her to be suspected of murder or whatever than him. Lovely. Chewing her lip, she tried to find a way out of doing it. She did owe him a favour that was true though she really wished she didn't. There was no way that she could persuade him not to make her do it. He was adamant and she had also upset him so things were definitely against her. She had no choice but to do it. How though?

"I suppose if I tell them what I am and told them that I was in animal form when I smelled something, that might work," she thought aloud, her teeth worrying at her lip as she considered it further. "I could say that I went to investigate and that I found him dead but... how do I explain how I got in? Or should I just say that I smelled blood and then went to the Shinya to report it for them to investigate it? I don't know if it'll work, Brandon. I'm not a very good liar and I can't get my facts straight so what do you expect me to do?" Chari threw at her fellow Kelvic, worry creasing her forehead as she tried to consider her options.

Sighing the girl leaned against the wall of the alley, her eyes closed as she wondered how she'd gotten into this situation. Was there a worse person that she could owe a favour to? "I'm sorry if I upset you, Brandon. I just- It's an Inarta thing, we're very outspoken. Well I'm not a real Inarta but still," she explained, a note of sadness in her voice

OOCSorry it's short. I just haven't got the will to write more right now

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[Brandon Blackwing]

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OOC“When your will to write is gone
And the child of love is lost
Time is your only friend and hope
When your will to write is gone
And the shadow carries on
Time will bring back the joy and the will to write”
~adjusted lyrics from “Will to live” by Altaria


The dog seemed to be thinking deeply about his demand. Her face displayed both worry and sadness. Hmpf. Worry about her own safety? Did going to the Shinya bother her? Why? She wasn’t a shady character or was she? And the sadness… probably because she had been taken aback by the rage in voice. Served her right. Insulting him like that. He had feelings too. It’s not because he was a thief that he was insensitive and didn’t feel anything at all. Emotions weren’t foreign to him. Arms still crossed, he squeezed them tighter to his chest.

Chari started speaking again, but not addressing him. Instead, she spoke her thoughts. Making plans out loud, leaving her words hanging in the air. The bat kept quiet. Still angry with her, he was, but most of his anger had been drained already. He wasn’t one to stay mad for a long time. He held grudges though. Even for trivial things he could pay the person that wronged him even in the slightest back many times more. Well, when talking about the persons he knew that is. Here, in this crystal city where many were strangers to him he usually extracted revenge by breaking and entering. And claiming their stuff as his own.

Listening to the complaints of the red-headed girl, he sensed that he should help her out with a plan. As she really was as bad at lying as she thought she was, then this would be quite a troublesome task for her. Usually he wouldn’t have cared, but seeing as he was deep into this mess himself, he had no choice. When suspecting something the Shinya would get the information they wanted out of her. Which would result in his head rolling in the most grand of squares. Not what he would call a pleasant happening. Not for him anyway.

His shoulders heaved as his lungs let out all their contained air in a sigh. Each and every thing that should relief him of his problems only brought twice as much back to him. Okay then. He could come up with a nice story… Given enough time. Bending one knee, he placed his foot closer to his body, the leg attached to him peaking up. Underarm resting on said knee, thumb supporting his bearded chin, he started digging for ideas. Brainstorming with all his mental capacity, he almost missed the apology directed to him.

His unconscious mind noticed it however and made him nod in acceptance. His conscious mind was still puzzling bits and pieces of both truth and lie together. If you mixed both, the lie became truth and the truth a lie. To a certain extent. They were harder to recognize to say the least. That was all he could do. He too wasn’t a splendid liar. He preferred leaving out facts or bending verity a little. But grotesque, massive lies, impossible to distinguish from the truth? No. he couldn’t make them up from scratch. They sounded like fantasies coming from his mouth.

In the meantime, he had come up with something. It wasn’t much, but it would do. It used an idea the dog had provided its foundation. “Say, I’ve got a story for you. You were walking down the street in animal form, because you like doing that from time to time. Until suddenly you smelled blood. Tracking it to a nearby house, you shifted in front of the door and knocked. You wanted to check if everything was alright in there. As your knuckles hit the door, it swings slightly open. Worried, you went inside and used your nose to follow it upstairs. There you saw a large puddle of blood in the bedroom.”

Thinking of what else there had to be included in the lie, a pause followed. “Oh yeah, you were standing in the hallway on the firstSecond (for Americans) floor and you could see it from there. Then.. er.. you got sick from the smell? Or the view? Or something? And you rushed out. You shifted and ran home to grab a dress and went to the nearest guard you could find. Which will probably the one you will tell this story too.”

Content with himself, the bat leaned back against the wall. The stone provided an excellent support for his back. Also he was getting tired. Stress and too much excitement were taking their toll no doubt. And he had been running around town for hours to find this girl as well. A sudden detail popped up in his mind. “Before I forget, if they should ask when you discovered the body, make sure to pick a decent time. It’s located somewhere in the outskirts of the Zintia peak. Take into account the time needed to get home, get dressed and find a guard. Success often hides within the details of a lie. Or so I have heard.”

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Chari]

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Brandon seemed to think that he could come up with a solution, something that she highly doubted. How could the thief give her anything to say that wasn't a lie? Any story he told her would be a fabrication. It might be partly his story but it wouldn't be in any way hers. Just because it was a truth, didn't mean that it was her truth.

Chari had a great respect for the Shinya. They kept everything in order in Lhavit and it seemed a terrible thing to her to lie to them even if it was for a good end. If it had to be done though then she'd just have to suck it up and get on with it. Besides, she owed Brandon and she couldn't leave a favour owed. She couldn't remember why she owed him but if he said she did then the Kelvic believed him. It was funny though, her having faith in someone others would see as dishonest and untrustworthy.

The girl watched him think, a look of deep concentration on his face and tried not to laugh at his expression. She schooled her expression to stop a smile appearing. When he told her her story, the Kelvic's brows creased and she found that it wasn't completely implausible. If she tried it and maybe acted a bit upset then maybe, just maybe, she might be able to sound convincing. It wasn't completely far fetched after all...

Sighing in a resigned way, the young woman nodded in assent. "All right, I'll do it. I'll... try to sound believable, I really will but I can't make any promises that they'll believe me, okay? I will try though. Really, I will and hopefully it'll work out. If things are sorted out then you'll know it worked out but... I doubt you'll see me again. I'll be leaving Lhavit soon. Things just aren't working out here but I'll even things out between us first," she explained.

Her gaze dropped as she said the last part. She hadn't been happy in Lhavit in awhile and so she couldn't stay. Wind Reach was out too so the girl had decided to travel around, maybe go to Alvadas. She didn't know where but hopefully she'd find somewhere that she could really fit in. It wasn't something that she could really explain to the thief and she wasn't going to try.

"Bye, Brandon," she whispered, turning her back on him. Walking away, the girl headed to do what she had to do.

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[Elysium]

Brandon Blackwing

XP:
Rhetoric +2
Persuasion +1
Observation +3
Tracking +1

Lore:
Chari: Cashing in a Favor
Tracking: How to Avoid Being Followed

Awards and Penalties:
Brandon has some trouble seeing for the following three days.

★

Chari

This grade will be available upon request, if and when the PC should return.

Notes: Chari notifies the local authorities and they go forth to investigate. Brandon however, quickly realizes that they've taken her into custody. After a heated period of investigation (roughly a week) she is released, though he does not hear from her again. The good news? It does not appear that she gave out his name.

and so, the journey continues...