[Stumble Alley] A meeting in Stumble Alley [Casper]

[Desya Gold]

Desya looked down at her shirt and sighed, frowning at the blood that now stained it. I'll have to buy a new one tomorrow, she thought moodily. She didn't particularly like the market place, there were too many people and smells and sounds, a complete sensory overload. Put quite frankly it gave her a migraine. Cass was quiet, and had a thoughtful look on his face, so she decided not to bother him with any of the questions she was itching to ask. In any case Desya felt quiet guilty. Perhaps if she hadn't been with him they wouldn't have been attacked and he would have been spared of such a grizzly job as killing a man. Maybe he’s angry at me over this mess. she wondered. Oddly enough she felt grateful at the same time. If he hadn't been with her and she was attacked on her own she doubted she would have been able to fight the pigs off. The sun had nearly sunk entirely below the horizon when they arrived out the front of Pig's Foot Tavern. There was barely anyone left on the streets. Warm light shone from the windows, and the sound of laughter and yelling could be heard from inside. Desya could even detect the faint scent of roasted pig, and her mouth watered in envy. Turning to look at Cass she smiled, surprisingly sad. There was the chance that she would see him every now and again, especially with them living so near to each other, but Desya highly doubted that he would want to spend time with her again, especially after the trouble she had caused him. He probably thought her an annoyance, a nuisance. "Well, this is it."

[Casper]

Casper found himself mildly disoriented when they turned the corner and he finally saw the familiar street, Pig's foot Tavern seeming like a beautiful safe haven after that walk. He tried to remember all the turns that Desya had shown him so as to not get lost around that area again. He wasn't sure if he would be able to confidently walk those streets just yet, but he had a clearer idea of the way the streets of Sunberth worked. He definitely knew he would avoid wandering so close to night time again. A man walked out of Pig's Foot Tavern to light some lanterns by the doorway. When the door opened, the smell of ale and meat wafted over him graciously. "Thankss," he said with a slight smile, and started for the door. He felt like he was forgetting something. Then, with a quick look back at the beaten and bloodied girl, he remembered that he had indeed resolved to return the favor at least a little. "Do you live nearby? I can take you, if you like," he said awkwardly, not used to offering his help to anyone who didn't explicitly pay him to. Even then, he would do nothing more than he was told to.

[Desya Gold]

Desya beamed at him, a smile spread across her lips. She was amused and surprised at how awkward he looked, obviously he didn't do this very often. "That would be nice, thank you." She murmered, brushing her dark hair behind her ear and looking away bashfully. She wasn't used to people doing nice things for her just for the sake of it or to be polite, usually they had some hidden motive. Glancing back towards the inn she bit her lip, felling slightly guilty for keeping him from his dinner and rest. "Are you sure though? My apartment is only a short walk from here, i should be fine on my own..." She slid her hands into her pockets, looking down at her feet.

[Casper]

Instead of walking towards wherever it was that she lived, she stood there hesitantly, clearly flattered by his offer. He found it annoying that she didn't just accept his tiny bout of friendliness so they could get going already. Was this always what it was like when people showed kindness to each other? Just a bunch of modest comments until the least polite one caved in? If that was the case, he was much better off being the anti-social scoundrel that he was. Still, he had already offered his help to the girl, and owed her at least that. He might as well go through with it. "Let'ss go, before I change my mind," he said with the usual hiss in his voice. He walked away from the entrance of the tavern and back out into the street, but unsure of which direction he should go in as he had no idea where the girl's home was, he called out to her, "Come on, girl."

[Desya Gold]

Desya pouted indignantly. "I'll have you know that i am fully grown for my kind." she growled back at him. Turning she started in the direction of her apartment, glancing over her shoulder. "So what’s with your accent anyway?" She asked, tilting her head. "It's kind of weird. Hissy." She frowned, wondering if that was a word. Desya paused as a dog skidded past, chasing a ragged cat. She grinned, tempted to join in as the cat sped down the street with a yowl, the dog barking and snarling behind it. Smiling she glanced to the side at Cass and continued walking.

[Casper]

She clearly didn't like that he was calling her "girl". Granted, her physical appearance suggested that she was more of young woman, but the moment he had assumed that she was younger than him, he had taken a habit of thinking of her simply as a girl. Not to mention that he had found her unbearably annoying upon meeting her, so the title was only appropriate. He didn't mind her defiance when she retorted upon his previous comment, but sparks did fly in a deep recess of his mind when she inquired upon the nature of his voice. He would have answered that it was none of her business, as he usually would, but held his tongue. The fact that the words he pronounced always lingered on the "s" had always been a great nuisance to him. Many adults tried to train him out of the habit when he was little. The results of those attempts were less than adequate. He wasn't about to tell her that he was a halfblood Dhani, not quite sure about what her reaction would entail. "It'ss Jusst the way I sspeak, girl," he replied, deciding that he would continue using the demeaning title to tease her. "And a pretty girl like you running around in a place like Ssunberth iss much sstranger than my accent. Unless you're a prosstitute, of coursse," He added with a sly smirk as she looked away from him to watch a dog chasing a cat down the street.

[Desya Gold]

Desya huffed, realizing that he was teasing her. She realized too that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. "Prostitute? Pfft, as if any man would want me!" She laughed quietly at the thought of it, fighting down the automatic blush that rose to her checks. Did he just compliment her? No, it couldn't have been, he must have meant something else. In any case she wasn't nearly pretty enough to be a prostitute, nor did the profession appeal to her, she much preferred being a simple barmaid. She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye as they approached her building, mimicking his sly smile. If he thought he could tease her without getting something back in return, well then he obviously had no idea about the way she worked. Why, did you think yourself in luck, old man?"

[Casper]

She was obviously flustered by his comment, which only made him grin further as it was his intention. And judging by her comment, she seemed to assume that prostitutes in Sunberth were high class escorts. The truth was that any drunkard could pay his entire savings on the first female he saw, couldn't give less of a damn what the girl looked like. At first, her retort infuriated him, as though she had dared provoke him so deliberately. His eyes flashed for a moment before he quickly realized that she was just playing along in a game that he himself had initiated. He quickly chuckled, as though to forget the anger that had stupidly risen in him. "Don't flatter yoursself. Is your place much further?" He wanted to steer her away from the way their conversation was going, as it clearly didn't sit well with him.

[Desya Gold]

Desya smiled at him and gestured over her shoulder to the rundown apartment behind them. Half of the windows were broken, and it was only luck to ensure the single window in her room was intact, keeping out the rain and vermin. "Yeah, this is it. Thank you for walking me, it was very kind." Biting her lip Desya twisted her fingers together behind her back, wondering if she should act on the thought that had occurred to her. Deciding to take the chance she straightened and flashed Casper another grin. "Say, if you aren't too busy, maybe I could show you around Sunberth." She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, hoping that she hadn't just done something incredibly embarrassing, she wasn't familiar with human customs, or what was acceptable in a situation such as this one.

[Casper]

The place was shoddy, but then again, so was the rest of Sunberth. He had yet to get used to the living conditions of the lawless town, used to the pristine upkeep that Syliras boasted. When he turned to her she was fidgeting nervously as she thanked him, and to his surprise, kindly offered to help him become familiar with the unorganized streets. A little lost as to how or what to answer, he scratched his head and looked out at the sky, where the sun had sunk behind one of the buildings. The light was dimming fast. "It'ss getting dark. Bessidess, you need ssome rest." He deliberately eyed her up and down, taking in the state of her leg and neck, as well as the gash across her cheek that had only just stopped bleeding. "You and I both," He added, realizing that he too, could use a good night's sleep. He had assumed that the rock hard bed at Pig Foot Tavern would turn him into an insomniac, but he could easily see himself passing out on it right about now. He looked at Desya, trying to see if she felt offended that he declined her offer. After all, people seemed to take offense at all sorts of things these days.