Closed See Snake Run! (Save)

[Savio]

8th of Fall - 6th Bell, 513AV

Savio yawned as he walked up to the Nykan Delivery Bureau. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky, and the city hadn’t started fully waking up yet but Savio was here to begin his job. He was always the first in so that he could leave sooner so he could return to the school to train.

Savio knocked on the front door before pushing it open, and like every morning Anđelko was sitting at his desk working on something. The older man looked and offered a tired smile at Savio. “Good morning, my boy. How goes it?”

“Good morning, Mister Anđelko. What’s on the agenda for today?” Savio asked as he stepped inside and headed over to the small bulletin board that the retired monk kept for his couriers. Sometimes, odd jobs were assigned to them that was out of the norm. Today, Savio had “Training” next to his name. The acrobat cocked his head to the side in confusion. “I am getting training today?”

Anđelko laughed from his desk and shook his head. “No, I got word from the employment office yesterday evening what we will have a new courier starting today. And since you are one of my best, I am making you responsible for teaching them.”

Savio blinked at his boss. He wasn’t sure if he should feel complimented or concerned for the new person’s wellbeing. After all of this time, Savio was still getting hurt and/or in trouble on his routes. “Well, I don’t know-“

“While you wait for them to show up, the Infiks need to be tended to. Go do that for me, will ya? Just fill up their food trough with feed, empty their watering trough, clean it out, and fill it with fresh water. That shouldn’t take too long.” Anđelko interrupted Savio, not even looking up from his paper work. Savio just sighed and moved to the back of the building to the backdoor.

Behind the Bureau was a small fenced in yard that held the other set of couriers. The Infiks were Anđelko’s pride and joy. He had hand trained them to deliver pre-paid packages around the city. And quite frankly, they were rather cute.

Savio opened the door and was welcomed by squeaky bleats that came from the little critters, they demanded food. Savio couldn’t help but chuckle as he walked over to the small shed off in the corner that held their feed and other tools. All the while, they were at his heels nipping at his pants legs and boots. They didn’t bite him directly, they just wanted to get his attention.

“Alright, alright! Gods, I getting it for you!” Savio playfully chided as he picked up a sack of mash and carried it over to their food trough. It only took about half of the sack to fill it. As soon as the food hit the wood, the animals rushed over to it and started eating. Savio was long forgotten except for one little Infik who continued to follow him. The courier put the bag back in the shed, grabbed a scrub brush and locked the door before bending over than petting the little deer. It seemed smaller than the others, and its fur was a lighter shade.

Savio scratched the little animal’s chin, and it leaned into his touch while closing its big, dark eyes in delight. “Well aren’t you a little cutie?” Savio chuckled before standing back up and going over to their water bin. It was only slightly dirty, but Savio still dumped it and proceeded the scrub out the gunk that lined the inside of it. The Infik didn’t leave his side once, even though he gestured to the food. The tiny deer was contented with leaning against Savio’s leg and making little mewling noises.

“Looks like Grozdana has taken quite the liking to you, boy.”

Savio looked up to see Anđelko leaning against the door frame, with his arms crossed but a small smile on his face. “Yeah, it seems like it.” He replied as he walked by to fetch a large bucket of water to refill the Infiks’ bin. Once the task was over, Savio petted Grozdana one last time before attempting to enter the Bureau but the heartbroken bleat the little deer made, made Savio stop and turned around. Anđelko only laughed and went inside. That petcher knew this would happen, didn’t he?

Savio sighed and kneeled back down and the deer all but jumped into his arms. He chuckled and petted her a little longer before sitting her back down on the ground. “I have work to do. I will visit you again when I am done. Okay?” The deer just looked at him with her huge eyes as Savio stood up once more. At least she didn’t call after him again when he went inside.

“Well… Is the new person here yet?” Savio asked as he dusted himself off.

“Pfft, no. Whoever they are, they are late and its putting us behind schedule. And you should know by now how I hate being behind schedule.” The man was frowning and glaring at the door, as though suddenly the person would step in at any moment. Savio couldn’t help but pity them.

[Erosynielissave]

Save burst through the door breathing heavily. She had a more than difficult time waking up today. The fall weather was taking its toll on her cold blooded body making it a constant struggle to stay awake.

"I'm sssorry I am late." She looked at the young man and the older man. Both years younger than her. "I am Sssave. I wasss told by the monkssss to report here at I believe 8 bellsss..."

She could tell from the look on the old man's face, he was clearly displeased by her arrival. She must have mistaken the time she was to arrive. Petch... She messed up. Big time. It was her first day at the job, she hadn't even started yet. By the gods this was going to be a very long day.

Doing the best she could to eliminate her lisp, she spoke slowly and carefully. "Sir, you are obviously aggravated at my short coming of being late, and I understand your frustration. All I ask is that you simply tell me how to begin so I can do the job the monks have assigned to me. I will do the best I can to be one of the best couriers under your employ."

Save` avoided eye contact. She braced herself for some sort of violent punishment. There was no telling how the humans would react. She had always heard such horrible things about them. They were unpredictable creatures.

Translation :

"I'm sorry I am late" I am Save. I was told by the monks to report here at I believe 8 bells."

[Savio]

Surprisingly enough, the new courier did walk in through the door at that very moment. She looked flustered and she was breathing heavy. She was a lovely young woman with black wind-mussed hair and vibrant green eyes. She smaller than Sayren when it came to height, but her body held a seductive curve that caught the young man’s eye but it was the tired look in her face that held his attention. Perhaps she was coming down sick? That might explain why she was late. Poor girl, she was going to be in for a horrible first day.

Savio’s employer cared not for her current medical condition as he stood up and limped over to the girl and thwacked her on the head with his walking cane. Since Savio first started working for Anđelko, he had only bared the brunt of the retired monk’s wrath a few times. The older man wielded his cane skillfully to punish those he saw that were in need of it but Savio saw that even though Anđelko hit his newest employee, he didn’t hit as hard. Perhaps he too saw the exhaustion in the girl’s features after all.

“It is twenty chimes after the 8th bell, foolish girl.” Anđelko growled before limping back over to his desk and taking a seat once more. “Anyways, I expect that you won’t be late again. Since this is your first day I am pairing you up with Savio, here. He is good at what he does and I hope that it can rub off on you. Now,” Anđelko looked to Savio then before talking. “Get her a bag and a Note of Passage while I gather your deliveries for the day.”

Savio nodded before walking over to the closet where he kept the messenger bags and fetched one before walking over to the make-shift cabinet to grab the note that had “Save” written on it in their Boss’s small and slanted handwriting. When he walked back, Anđelko had already gotten a small pile of packages, scrolls, and letters ready for them. Out of courtesy for Save, he put the lighter objects in her bag.

“Good, now get going. I have plenty more where that came from.”

Savio offered the girl a reassuring smile as he handed her the lighter bag and her Note before leading her outside into the crisp morning air. Once the door was closed, Savio offered her his hand for a handshake. Normally he was nervous around women, but the girl was so small and so small that he didn’t feel as pressured.

“Don’t take his words too hard, he is hard on everyone. More so on the new people. As he said, my name is Savio and I am going to help you today. I hope you are wearing comfortable shoes because we are going to be doing a lot of running today. Luckily, it looks like most of the packages are for his Quarter and the Celestial Quarter. Follow me and we can deliver the first package, it’s not too far from here.”

Savio then led her along through the sleepy streets in a light jog. The fog was still pretty heavy but not as bad as it was earlier. “The goal of the job is to get the packages to the recipient as quickly as possible. Most delivers have two sets: Those that are paid on delivery, and those that are pre-paid.” It was easy for Savio to talk and run at the same time, since his body was very much used to running constantly.

“Pre-paid deliveries are already paid for by the sender when they drop it off at the Bureau. The recipient doesn’t have to pay the delivery fee. On the other hand, those that were not paid by the sender are paid by the receiver upon delivery. The normal delivery fee is three gold mizas. You can tell them apart because there will be a symbol on the package stating if it was paid for or not.” Savio finished before looking back at Save, hoping that she was both keeping up and listening. It was a lot of information to take in but it was necessary for her to learn.

[Erosynielissave]

Save` hissed at the old man. No man had ever dared to treat her in such a manner. She took her supplies and followed Savio out the door quickly to begin her first day of work.

She listened intently to every word Savio spoke about the actions that needed to be done and everything else. It slowly became a struggle to keep up with Savio. She was even more tired and she hadn't eaten in a couple of days. She hated the fall. So much.

Translation :

Ero's thoughts.

NPC Speech

"Ero's Speech!"

[Savio]

The young man managed to look over his shoulder and saw just how hard it was for her to keep up. She really did need to pick up the pace but chances were that she was simply not used to such work and needed to build stamina. With a small sigh Savio slowed down even more until he was only walking briskly so that she could catch up.

“Well, since you seem to be a little ill I will go easy on you for today. But you need to understand that there is a certain quota we as couriers need to meet each day lest the mail starts to build up. And I am sure you saw that the Bureau isn’t too big on the inside. But on a higher note, whereabouts are you from? I recognize your slight lisp since one of my teachers back at the School I am staying at speaks like that as well. But I must say, his way of speaking is a bit harder to understand.” Savio pointed out in a friendly tone, though all the while he was keeping an eye open on the addresses of the places they passed.

[Erosynielissave]

Save stopped dead in her tracks, giving Savio a death glare that would scare Rhysol. She was not ill. And she hated when people brought up her lisp. She had been working on hiding it so that it was barely noticeable now. Unfortunately her temper had flared so at this moment her pupils became the obvious serpentine and her lisp became more pronounced.

"Lisssten here human. I have lived many lifetimesss compared to you. I am not ill. I am simply cold and have not fed for awhile. Under normal conditionsss I would easssily keep up with you and sssen some. And if you musst know, I am from Ahnatep"

Save took a package out of the satchel and tried to make sense of the letters and numbers. Not wanting to look like a fool, she ran up to the nearest building and knocked on the door rather harshly. She didn't care though. She simply wanted to finish with this horrific thing they called a job.

Translation :

"Listen here human. I have lived many lifetimes compared to you..." "Under normal conditions, I would easily keep up with you and then some. And if you must know, I am from Ahnatep."

Ero's thoughts.

NPC Speech

"Ero's Speech!"

[Savio]

Savio blinked in shock as the small young woman just stopped out of nowhere and gave him a death glare. What did he do or say that had upset her? He too stopped and faced her, his confusion evident on his face until he saw her pupils change right in front of him. What was she?? He raised an eyebrow at her as she literally hissed at him. As curious as he was about what she was, he was not in the least bit intimidated by her show of aggression. He had been glared at by Revy and Ximal; this little female had nothing on those two.

He listened to her rant for a moment and watched her take out of random package from her satchel from her bag, only to walk over to a building and just pound on the door. Savio knew that none of the packages she had was addressed to that house, since it was vacant. He bite his lower lip in an attempt to not chuckle at her little temper tantrum. “Um… What are you doing?” He asked lightly as he walked over to her and peeked over her shoulder easily. He saw the address on the package she held, seeing that the real owner of the parcel was on the other side of quarter. "No one lives here, and that address is no where close to this building."

[Erosynielissave]

Her blood rushed to her cheeks turning them a rosy light pink. In her aggravation, she failed to remember that she knew nothing about Nyka and that she couldn't read anything in the common language. Tears of rage slid down her face as she threw down the package and stormed off dropping her satchel.

"Petch this language, Petch this city, and petch humans! Nothing but...." she continued in horribly mangled snake, gesturing and hissing and humans that gave her strange looks as she stomped in a random direction away from Savio.

Translation :

Ero's thoughts.

NPC Speech

"Ero's Speech!"

[Savio]

Savio sighed loudly as the woman literally tossed the package down to the ground, something inside breaking loudly. He then watched in annoyance as Save tossed off her satchel and stomped on in the other direction while cursing loudly and earning hard glares from the cranky natives. Savio rubbed his hand over his face and groaned. “Too early for this shyke…” He murmured to himself as he picked up the package and discard bag. Anđelko was not going to be happy that she not only damaged someone else’s property but also tossed the bag down carelessly for someone to steal. People paid their hard earned laats or mizas for those packages to be delivered in confidence that they would be taken care of.

He was half tempted to just make the deliveries himself but as he looked up and saw the woman continue her warpath, he decided otherwise. She was going to get herself hurt or killed with an attitude like that in a city such as Nyka. The courier rolled his eyes with another groan and started after her. It didn’t take long for his rapid strides to catch up to the raging woman. He reached out and grabbed a tight hold of her arm to stop her short.

“That’s enough, Save!” Savio commanded, his irritation clear in his voice. “You could have just said that you didn’t understand common and I would have gladly helped you. But now someone’s belonging is broken and we are even more behind schedule. If you don’t want this job, then go home but as it stands now, your behavior is rude and childish! You claim to have lived longer than I have but your immature actions speak differently! You need to get your act together or else you are going to have a hard time here because native Nykans would rather beat you to a pulp than talk to you. Understand?”

He looked into her eyes to show her that he was serious and running out of patience. Hopefully, the young woman would concede to his reason and try to learn… If not…Well… Savio would not be able to help or protect her from the consequences of her actions.

[Erosynielissave]

Save stopped in her tracks. Her muscles tensing ready to lash out. This inferior being had not the slightest clue onwho he was dealing with.

"How dare you speak to me in such a manner. Where I am from, men worshipped the ground I walked on. Be thankful im not forcing you to do the same human. If not for the simple fact that I am trying to fit in with nykan society I would not have taken this dreadful job. I do not need your help."

Snatching the bag she had thrown down, Save turned to look for buildings thathad similar markings asthe packages in her satchel. Her pride prevented her from asking for any assistance. Not that anyone in nyka would offer to a stranger.