Solo Out for Delivery

[Shakune]

Out for Delivery, 8th Fall, 514AV

An astoundingly loud knock boomed Shakune out of her slumber, and set the wiggling form of her little dog bouncing at the wooden door. Squidgle yapped and growled, twisting his front end to stare at his mistress, alarmed. When three more knocks erupted from the other side of the door, he leapt upwards again, bouncing desperately. Intruder intruder intruder intruder intruder!

Shakune was horribly hung over, and though she had no clue what time of day it was, she knew for certain it was far too early for her to be awake. "Go away." She wailed quietly, her head buried amongst pillows in a desperate attempt to silence the booms from the door and barks from the dog. "Squidgel! Quiet!"

"Shakune? I've got a job for you."

The words must have been magic, for Shakune was out of bed and staggering towards the door before the rough voice had even finished speaking. Squidgel jumped up at her legs, his claws dragging down her bare skin and making the half-breed wince and swear. She opened the door, and the little dog instantly began sniffing the feet of his visitor.

"You look like shit." The gruff voice laughed, and Shakune opened one eye to regard the man standing in front of her. When she realised who it was, she grunted and walked away from the door, leaving it open for guest and dog to follow her inside.

She collapsed back on the bed. "What do you want, Jeff?"

The huge man loomed over her, watching Shakune writhe and groan painfully amongst her bed covers. "I want you deliver something for me."

Another grunt from Shakune. Her brain pulsated with each heartbeat, and her ears felt as if they were on fire. "Don't be stupid. You can't write you own name, let alone an entire letter." She flashed a grin, which instantly died when her face erupted in pain. What the shake happened last night?

Jeff mumbled something incoherent, and shuffled his feet awkwardly. Squidgle took this as a threat, and instantly began gnawing on the tall man's wide shoes. Jeff shook the dog away. "It's not a letter. It- petch off you little demon!" Squidgle, satisfied that he had demonstrated his authority, settled back down at the foot of Shakune's bed. "It's a parcel. For Sarah."

Shakune sat bolt upright, and instantly regretted the decision when her organs thrashed against her abdomen. She swallowed a mouthful of vomit back down into her stomach. "Sarah?" For as long as she had known the giant Jeffery - who was really quite a sweetheart - he had been absolutely besotted with a woman called Sarah, who was the daughter of a baker, candlestick maker, or some sort of merchant. Shakune had only seen the woman once, and thought she looked like a hog.

[Shakune]

Jeff nodded slowly, humiliated. In his hands was a small brown package, which he now toyed with self-consciously. "It was her birthday the other day. I completely forgot, and apparently she was really upset. So I've bought her something special, so she'll forgive me."

Why can't you see that she's just using you? Demanded Shakune's conscience, though she said nothing of the sort. Instead, she simply shook her head at her hopeless friend. Jeff was a kind man, and longed for a wife and children. Unfortunately, the Gods had not granted him beauty, class or intelligence. He was usually regarded as 'one of my closest friends' by whichever woman he was infatuated with at the time, and Shakune truly pitied him. The idea of marriage and children did not appeal to her, but she knew from her mother's own history that the heart was a delicate instrument.

"What have you bought her?" She asked eventually, and began the painful process of clambering out of bed, this time more delicately. With each movement Shakune felt the urgent desire to vomit, but as of yet she had managed to suppress the need.

"A scarf." The man said proudly, and turned away quickly when Shakune dropped her night attire off her body. Sarah would not appreciate him ogling at another woman, after all.

Shakune rolled her obsidian eyes at the male's broad back. Such airs and graces did not concern the half-breed, who was more than happy to stand naked in front of any crowd. "A scarf. How pretty." She personally had no use for such fancy things, but knew how other women loved them.

Now she was dressed, she began to prepare herself for a day that was busier than she had expected it to be. Should not have had those last two pints...

"I have one other letter to deliver today, but I should be able to get Sarah's scarf to her by this evening." She began to rifle through her paperwork, left in a messy pile in the far corner of the room. For each package or letter Shakune delivered, she kept a careful note of who had sent it, who received it, the dates of when she first got the job and when she completed it, the address of the receiver and -- most importantly -- the agreed price. "Her name is Sarah Mullin, yes? Where will I find her?" Jeffery nodded and began to divulge the woman's location

Shakune noted down the relevant information for this latest job, her handwriting surprisingly neat for an otherwise messy and chaotic woman.

Form :

Sender	Date sent	Receiver	Address	Date received	Price
Jeffery Simms	8th	Sarah Mullin	Seaside market, fish stall	8th	____

Shakue glanced up to her friend, quill at the ready to complete that final part of her form. "Four mizas. That's a pretty big discount, Jeff. I can't go any lower." She could have, of course, but the huge man wasn't that close a friend.

He grumbled again and eventually nodded, rolling four gold coins into her open hand. "Take it all now. I trust you enough to deliver it on time."

A foolish man, Shakune thought sadly, notating '4GM' in that final column. Although she would not scam her companion out of his money, there were many individuals who would. His keenness to please the brattish Sarah made him stupid, unthinking. "Right. As I said, I'll deliver it later today. Shall I meet you in the Fish laster?" It was the usual routine of both individuals to see the night off in the Drunken Fish, though right now the thought of alcohol made Shakune's skin crawl.

[Shakune]

Jeff left swiftly after paying her, which gave Shakune extra time to flop back down into her bed and close her eyes, just to have a little rest. She snored loudly and still quite drunkenly, saliva running down her chin and dripping infrequently onto the cotton bedding beneath. Half-formed dreams of alcohol, raw meat and a quickie in the alleyway haunted Shakune's sleep as she attempted to sober up and recover from this inevitable hangover.

Three bells later, having woken suddenly and roughly, the half-breed was dashing out her home, Squidgel running delightedly at her heels. Where are we going where are we going where are we going where are we going? She scooped up the little dog in her arms, not wanting him to get crushed in the madness of Sunberth. He licked her face in response, stumpy tail thudding against her ribcage. "You're not exactly the business companion I was hoping for."

Her first, and only other, delivery of the day was to Baker's Butchery and Bakeshop. The couple that owned and ran the store had a single letter addressed to them, and Shakune was relieved. Once, she had delivered a package to them that had dripped blood everywhere and smelt terrible. She had initially thought it to be a threat (a bloody hand, perhaps?) from a rival bakeshop or a pissed off customer. Alarmingly, though, Kane Baker had received the package with great eagerness, and had even celebrated by saying: "Perfect! Our best seller!"

The smells of raw meat lead Shakune (and a salivating Squidgle) to the shop, where she had to wait for two hunters and another business owner to be dealt with before she. The little dog wiggled and writhed in Shakune's arms, desperate to lunge himself into the dripping meat lying on the counter. A single stare from the Myrian co-owner was enough to make him whine and go limp. Yes, behave little dog. Or you'll be in one of their pies.

When she was at the head of the queue, Shakune shifted the dog onto her left hip and retracted the letter from within her blouse. Kiarsha Baker's eyebrows shot up in surprise, and the courier grinned and shrugged her shoulders in playful response. "Stops pickpockets nicking deliveries." From the disapproving glower, clearly Kiarsha did not think it was such a genius idea, after all.

The other woman's moodiness did not bother Shakune; she quite liked hostility in other women, found it attractive. If you were a few years younger and not married... Black eyes shifted hungrily from the Myrian's chest to the scrap of paper in the mixed-breed's hand. "Sign this, and then you can have the letter."

Kiarsha scribbled some jumbled letters onto the form, and Shakune handed her the creased envelope. The Myrian tore it open, furious eyes scanning the page hurriedly, and eventually, she smiled. "Thank you." Her demeanor had changed so dramatically that Shakune was curious as to what the letter had said. Her intrigue was quickly replaced by pure glee when the Myrian slid a silver coin into Shakune's hand. "No, no, thank you." The courier turned briskly on her heel and strode out the shop, before the Myrian could consider to change her mind.

[Shakune]

The rush of the Market was usually something that Shakune adored; all those people, sounds, smells! It was a hubbub of constant activity, where even the ever-restless half-breed could easily find entertainment. Many days she had spent in the market socialising and attempting to meet new clients. It was the most exciting part of Sunberth - though the city itself was hardly boring. The Chaktawe blood in Shakune's veins made her restless, but the market had always somehow managed to maintain her attention even at her most restless moments.

Today though, when her head throbbed with pressure equitable to a small building collapsing atop her bonce, Shakune was in no mood. With each jostle and shove, her mood soured further and the need to vomit increased. Even Squidgle was concerned: his mistress stunk of alcohol and regret, and the poor mutt's nose burnt with the unpleasant combination of fragrances.

Woman and dog nevertheless made their slow, painful way to the fish stall where a rotund woman stood. Sarah had a piggy nose and ginger hair, and ankles so wide they converged into her calves. What Jeff saw in her was something Shakune would never understand. He believed the girl had a 'heart of gold', but in the half-breed's eyes this was buried under many layers of fat, pink frocks and arrogance. The two women had never been friends; Sarah believed Shakune was little more than a prostitute, Shakune loved doing nothing more than flirting with men to prove to Sarah that if she was a whore, she'd be a damned successful one.

The stench of fish lingered in the air, but unlike the smell of meat back the butcher's, this aroma smelt... off. Shakune had a momentary flashback of the night before - something about a dare to eat raw fish guts and chase it with cheap wine. The putrid smell filled her nostrils and she heaved.

Bile and vomit churned up her throat, and with great desperation Shakune turned away from Squidgel (who looked petrified and quickly wriggled out of her grip) and vomited violently into her own hand. She coughed and spluttered, spat, then vomited some more.

The rest of the market visitors gave woman and dog a wide berth, barely looking at her. Someone tutted noisily, though at this point Shakune was far beyond caring.

"Gods!" The courier retched, dry heaving. Squidgle, now at his mistress' feet, inspected the pool of orange vomit and pissed on it. A relieved smile crossed Shakune's lips. Oh, she felt much better now! She briskly wiped her hands down her legs -- and with a slow burning horror realised that it was not her hand she had chucked up into.

It was the package.

The brown paper was now stained yellow, and with great disgust, Shakune flicked off a lump that looked mysteriously like a half-digested fish eye. She bought the package up to her nose, sniffed...

...and retched.

Shyke.

Desperately, Shakune shook the paper, spraying those closest to her with remnants of bile and puke. No luck; the paper would have to come off.

She discarded it quickly, throwing the ripped paper into the ground for Squidgel to attack and abandon. The scarf itself was a bright pink colour, with ugly yellow flowers imprinted across its length. It was not stained, but it smelt putrid. "Should be good enough." After all the woman, worked on a fish counter; she was not the classiest of ladies.

"Sarah!" Shakune shouted, waving to the podgy woman in eager friendliness. "I have a package for you."

The spoilt redhead flounced over to the courier, her face pink and uninterested. "What is it?" She demanded, holding out a fat hand. When Shakune did not present the scarf straight away, Sarah rolled her eyes and stomped her piggy feet. "I'm busy, Shakoonee. Hurry up."

It's Shakune. Sha-koon, you fat bitch.

Suddenly feeling not at all guilty for throwing up on the present, Shakune placed the pink scarf delicately in Sarah's awaiting hands. The other woman gave a hog-like grunt, opening the scarf to reveal it's gaudy pattern. Shakune's eyes hurt just by looking at it. "Oh. A scarf. Is that all?" Blue eyes scanned the half-breed's body, searching for more presents. "It's not very nice. And why--" Sarah raised the scarf to her upturned snout, and inhaled deeply. Instantly she shrieked and held it away at arm's length. "It's smells!"

A dark, majestic grin formed on Shakune's lips. Yes, the scarf smelt of vomit, but surely the thought was there! This woman was spoilt, ungrateful, and so far up her own fat arse that she couldn't see daylight. Shakune's black eyes scanned Sarah's round form for a tick, weighing up how best to answer the woman's question. "Well, Jeff was scared you'd eat it, otherwise."

With a final, casual shrug, Shakune scooped up Squidgel (who had sensed his mistress' dislike of this round woman and taken a shit atop her shoe), turned and walked away, head held proudly in her air. She'd have to buy Jeff at least a pint later, but it had been worth it.

[Avarice]

Succumb to Your Desires . Shakune : Skills: Organization +2 Navigation +1 Loot: +4 gm +1 sm Lores: The Pain of a Hangover Jeffrey: An Enamored Customer A (Ruined) Scarf for Sarah Squidgel: Not Exactly the Best Business Companion Kiarsha: An Attractive Myrian The Smell of Fish: A Trigger for Vomit Sarah: Is Using Jeff Sarah: Worthy of a Putrid Scarf Comments : If you have any questions or concerns regarding this grade, please do not hesitate to shoot me a PM! Furthermore, please edit your post in the request thread to reflect your having received a grade. Thank you!