Closed A Student's Student (Leith)

[Kaska Villahotes]

15th of Spring 513 Kaska stretched, feeling like he was living in a dream. He was in a bed so much softer than anything he'd previously experienced, with a warm if somewhat corpulent body next to him. He was clean; his latest client, a man who ran the gambling hall just outside of Tent City had insisted he bathe. He wasn't complaining. For once there were no bugs in his hair, it shone bright as newly spilled blood and tumbled down past his shoulders. His skin was no longer a ruddy tan but ivory white. He'd gotten to brush his teeth, clip his nails, and shave with a razor that he didn't worry about slitting his own throat with. He groaned softly and stretched his legs out once more, his body moaning at him not to leave. But the three gold mizas on the table said otherwise. They reminded him that staying until morning was a gigantic violation of his rules in the first place, and if the man beside him woke up he was asking to get a foul beating. Perhaps have his fee stolen by the man's guards. Kaska sat up and slowly swung his legs out of bed. He rose, feeling the springs push. He shut his eyes when the man growled and turned over, but thank the gods didn't wake. Kaska looked on the floor where his clothes should have been and had a small moment of panick when he noticed they weren't there. After glancing around crazily, he found them cleaned and darned on top of a chest. "Aren't you just a charmer." he muttered under his breath, struggling into his pants and shirt. He yanked on his coat and ever so gently swept the coins from the nightstand onto his palm, already planning on which street stand he would buy breakfast from. Now for the hardest part. He slid his hands around the heavy mace on the floor under the bed and yanked it toward him, the steel growling angrily on the wood floor. Kaska's teeth were on edge but he managed not to wake his client. Strapping the mace across his back, he headed downstairs. He recieved a nasty look from the cook as he slipped through the kitchen; most of his clients hated him going out the front door. He grabbed an apple from a basket by the door, shooting her a grin. He bit into his breakfast, the coins rolling around in his pocket. He had breakfast, the coins were now his to do with what he pleased. Perhaps he'd convince the bathhouse woman to let him languish in the bathing room. It made sure whatever he'd be sucking was clean anyway. He eyed the stables and snorted. Kneeling in horse shit for teenagers rougher than his normal clients was reserved for the truly desperate times. A morning off sounded wonderful.

[Leith]

Selling the things she hunted was the best way to make money out of the skills she had. Sometimes she sold the dead beasts to merchants, but usually she just set them on a clean cloth the apple vendor let her borrow to sell them on her own. She liked the old man, he let her eat his bruised apples, though she also was willing to part with them too if a kid came up. She brought business near him, but she suspected he also liked having her around because she protected his fruit. He thought she had keen eyes, but really it was one of the flock that perched around that cried warning. She had just finished up selling the rest of the rabbits, she was folding the cloth and putting it away one last apple in her mouth. Red. It made her head turn, bright as a ruby in the sun, but bigger. She moved in to the crowd catching sight of a tall thin man with hair such a bright shiny red. She saw the strange thing tied to his back, it looked like a monster, but she followed him anyways.

She’d never seen a human with red hair before, blond, brown, blond brown or even black yes, but not red. In the shade it looked like blood fresh from a kill, but in the sun it was like rubies, she wanted to get close to this human if only because of his hair. Had it been something easier she’d have changed forms and tried to pluck it off him, but she knew that wouldn’t be possible. She was light and quick, always keeping him in sight, hunting and spending time in the forest taught her to be light on her feet. People paid her no mind, she wasn’t stealing anything so what did they care? Slowly she got closer, but some clumsy person backed away without looking knocking her in to the one she wanted to catch. Her hands fell upon a pouch of his and when she tried to back away to keep from getting knocked back again she accidently took the pouch. Her mismatched eyes flashed up at the stranger’s and she bolted, like a startled bird.

She hadn’t wanted to take anything from him, but the weapon on his back meant he’d probably hurt her when he caught her. Her panicked dash had her twisting this way and that, but eventually she stopped in an alley. She didn’t see him rounding the corner so she dropped to one knee her back to the wall sucking in air trying to calm down. If he wasn’t following her she’d just find him and give it back, she set it down the coins inside jingling. It didn’t feel to heavy, she figured he had either spent most or that it was all he had, she hoped it was the first and not the second one. She’d feel awful, if that stupid human hadn’t bumped in to her none of this would have happened. She closed her eyes muttering a few curses hoping she wouldn’t get found so she had time to return what she had accidently taken.

She wasn’t dressed like a thief, she didn’t look like she had ever starved. She was dressed in knee high brown leather boots, brown leather pants, a long sleeved cotton tunic and a brown leather vest. Not the clothing of a street rat. Her straight glossy black hair fell around her shoulders loose, purple highlights reflecting in the light. It was clean, taken care of, another thing that would mark her as well off. However her health and well fed-ness was really because she spent more time in her true form that her human form. It was easy to find food as a bird, but living as a human was much much harder. The only thing that made people somewhat uneasy around her was her eyes. Her right was a sky blue whereas her left was a more normal blackish brown. It was a trait her natural form shared with her human one, but it hardly took away from her beauty.

She stood at a slightly below average five foot four and a lithe one hundred and thirty five pounds. She doubted that if, hopefully not, he found her he’d be intimidated by her. She could only hope she got really really lucky, she also then realized that she had lost her last apple.
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[Kaska Villahotes]

Kaska got the feeling he was being followed. It was that familiar tingle up his spine which told him from experience he was about to be jumped. 'Not bloody today, I'm clean...I don't fancy being knocked down in the petching road.' he thought angrily to himself. He moved a little faster, increasing his pace. In his experience, flat out running was a good way to invite predators to come and knock him down anyway. Like dogs the minute they smelled prey running, they took chase. He didn't want to risk it. He heard her, light as a bird though she was. 'Pickpocket.' he thought to himself. He had been trained by one of the best pickpockets in Sunberth, and he knew those light talented steps meant she was trying to sneak up on him. He made a small grimace; pickpockets usually left him alone because of how horrid he looked...but he'd taken a bath and groomed himself, which meant that despite his ragged clothes he looked richer than he was. A prime target. Kaska was about to whip around and catch her red handed when she was knocked by a stranger, and bumped into him. He felt the barest hint of weight leave his hip, and rage built up in him. He worked hard for his gold, he was abused, raped, spit on and worse to get it to feed his hide. The last thing he would lose it to was a pickpocket! "You little..." he whipped around with an angry snarl, his ferocious gold eyes meeting hers. She bolted. Bad choice. He took to his heels and chased after her, rage driving him. To her credit she twisted and turned through the alleyways trying to lose him. It only made him angrier. Kaska had a hideous temper even at the best of times, and when he cornered her a sadistic light lit up in his gold orbs. He drew the mace, barely able to keep the steel head above the cobblestones. "Give...it...back." he snarled, baring his teeth like an animal. He'd learned early on that with the combination of his red hair and gold eyes, it gave him quite the frightening look. "I will split your head open like a melon. I'm not kidding. Put the pouch on the ground, kick it over, and sit the hell down."

[Leith]

Her mismatched eyes widened, she heard the sound of wings and one of the flock landed on her shoulder mantling protectively crying out a protective caw. It was one reason why they flocked together, for protection, they knew her in both her forms and since they accepted her they would protect her. A few others landed on the edges of the roofs also making similar cries. It was much like the sounds they made when there was a predator trying to rob their nests, if he wasn’t careful they’d dive at him to drive him away with sharp beaks and talons. His fury lit his gold eyes, even as she froze up she couldn’t help being fascinated by their color. “S-sorry… I really didn’t mean to, that guy bumped in to me and it just… Please, please don’t try and hurt me? Not only will you get them hurt, but I promise I wasn’t trying to take this, it was an accident. Please put the monster away?”

She made an odd hoarse sound in her throat, a warning cry, it was the best she could do in her human form, it was the sound for them to flee. The bird on her shoulder fluttered away, he was young and that call made him instinctively move, but the others were older and merely tilted their heads to the side confused. She stood up holding the bag in her hand walking over to him holding it out, her hand shook with fear, but she wanted to show him she meant what she had said. One thing that might strike him as odd was that she had no adornments on her person, not a knife, no jewelry. She had a money pouch herself, but it only had silvers and coppers, more coppers than silver though. “How can I make it up to you? I really didn’t mean to rob you.”

He looked like a hungry fox, but she eyed the thing in his hands its snarling mouth unsettling her more than his bared teeth. She understood bared teeth, like a wolf none too pleased about sharing his meal with the likes of her, but the strange thing he held was something she never seen before. Her eyes looked to his, open, trusting, fearful, the eyes of an animal holding no guile. She was telling him the truth with her whole being, something that most humans simply could not do. Lying was an art she didn’t wear in her eyes unless she really intended it, caught in a situation like this her instinct was to do whatever might get her unscathed. Lying simply didn’t occur to her, she didn’t want him angry and she didn’t want the flock to try and protect her. She wondered if he noticed the birds one by one coming around, they had heard the cries, she wanted to fly away and preen this fear from her.

Sometimes she hated clothing, if only she had stripped fast and flown off.
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[Kaska Villahotes]

Kaska settled the mace back onto his back and adjusted the straps around his skinny ribcage, snatching the pouch from her and counting the coins. Everything was there and accounted for. He tied the thong tightly and put it into his pack, making it that much harder to steal. It could still be done, it was just far more difficult. He eyed the birds slowly flocking around them. Ravens had sharp, nasty beaks and a very intelligent method of communication. Kaska didn't fancy being swarmed by birds, and he hoped sheathing the weapon would calm some of them down. He was a bit fascinated by her ability...she must have been something a bit more than human to simply summon birds like that. Kaska knew ravens were rather mercurial in nature, and only did things that helped them satisfy relentless curiosity and their need to hoard. The birds made him uneasy. He'd killed a few in very desperate times, and they were little more than flying feathery meals to him. When they gave him a bit of breathing room his eyes roved over her. She wasn't starving like he so often was, which made him a bit jealous. Her heterochromic eyes were certainly fascinating, but he didn't stare at them too long. She had the right build for a pickpocket, and certainly wasn't wanting for food due to her build. "You know you're the worst bloody pickpocket I've ever seen. I heard you coming from a mile off, and the minute I corner you you start blubbering." Kaska growled. "If you didn't mean to rob me, what the hell were you doing following me, eh? I was about to confront you when you crashed into me and stole my pouch. You don't look like you need it either." He stayed rooted to the spot, blocking the exit from the alleyway in case she decided to bolt. Though he'd gotten his property back, he still wasn't sure he wanted to let her go.

[Leith]

She looked up at the birds, they were leaving now as since nothing was happening they were getting bored she smiled watching them go. When he spoke she looked at him her head tilting to the side slightly, oddly like the same expression on some of the birds. “Your hair, in the sun it glitters like rubies, but in the shade its like the blood from a kill. I’ve never seen a human with red hair, I like your eyes too, gold is very shiny, how did you get eyes of gold and hair like gems? Are you a fox in human skin? I’m jealous…”

As she had spoke she walked up closer to him standing on her toes to get a better look at his eyes that glowered at her so. Now that the weapon was gone she had relaxed fully, he smelled good too “You smell sorta like flowers, did you find some that were good to roll in?”

Her eyes were curious now, she seemed totally unafraid compared to how she had been mere moments before. She watched his eyes, her gaze traveling back to his hair again, the small breeze made it flutter and it caught her attention. “Leith Mournlith by the way, you may call me it if you wish he-who’s-hair-and-eyes-are-shiny…”

She was closer to the human she had been following now, in a way she got what she wanted “Oh and I’m no pick-pocket, I’m lots of things, but not that, but I could be if I got taught it. I like learning useful things…”

Up close she smelled of leather, faintly like sweat and the forest, especially like the pine of the tree she stashed her clothes in. Her eyes watched his every movement, especially his hair and his eyes, but then quick as blinking she hopped back still watching him her head tilted to the side still. "I'm happy you didn't hurt some of my flock."
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[Kaska Villahotes]

Kaska put a skinny finger on her collarbone and slowly backed away. He wasn't getting anywhere near her after she'd filched his pouch one time, and flattery was one thing that fell on deaf ears with him. He was a catamite, he had said it all and more, and had it said to him. Well, when he was clean. "I just got out of a client's house. He let me use his shower." he said in a clipped, short manner. "I'm not a fox. I'm an Inarta. We all look like this. The red hair anyway." Kaska was a suspicious creature by nature. He was wondering what her game was...perhaps she was sneaking closer and trying to steal his things. The mace had attracted her attention, he saw, and he was used to people attempting to filch it from him. But she did not smell of Sunberth. Not of desperation or misery, nor the fires that consumed the area from riots. She smelled like tanned leather and pine trees, something completely alien to him. Either she was a clever thief, or she was telling the truth. "Kaska Villahotes." he told her, his hair catching in the wind. Being waist length, it whipped around and curled in the air like dancing snakes. His eyes softened a little bit. "You're not from here...I'd suggest you leave before you get raped, or sold off into slavery. You're pretty enough you'd put me out of a fair amount of business, and normally that'd be enough for me to bash your head in." he said, folding his arms across his narrow chest. "But if you want to learn pickpocketing, you're going to have to give me something useful in return."

[Leith]

She smiled at him mischievously “They cannot keep me except by a lot of trouble and then they better never step outside either. You better not hurt me, I have a long memory and even if I die, they will mob you. As for the ‘rape’ thing, whats that? I belong wherever I choose to belong, but I’ll be fine, thank you for the warning. I can hunt, trap and track, but hunting is what I am better at. Why would being ‘pretty’ run you out of business? Am I really?”

Every word she meant it, she walked over to him, though not too close since it had unsettled him before. She was getting tired of just standing around so she squatted down looking up at him, it wasn’t comfortable, but it was better than standing. She was also getting bored, why was he blocking the way out? If he wasn’t going to hurt her or anything why was he standing around? Humans were very very odd creatures, she decided to ask. “Why are you standing in the way out? Do you like standing around? It seems very odd, do you do odd things as some type of fun?”

He’d probably tell her attention span was waning thin, she was getting restless, her gaze now moving past him while still watching his hair. She reached out as some of it fluttered near her face, she let the silky stuff flow over her fingers smiling. Too bad she couldn’t keep some, it would make an interesting treasure. She looked back up at him “I’d ask if I could keep some, but your kind don’t shed like other creatures, it would make an interesting new treasure. I’m bored…can we do something else more fun than standing around? I’m getting hungry too, I could hunt for us both if you want, lots of stupid rabbits out now that they are breeding again. Lots of other spring dumb creatures too, lots of choice now. I can share easy…”

She stood up again looking past him, she wanted to do something else than nothing, doing nothing was getting boring.
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[Kaska Villahotes]

Kaska's ears definitely caught the hunting. If this little thing could teach him to hunt, he could supplement his diet with a lot more than stolen apples for breakfast. He tapped his fingers against his arm, thinking. He could teach her some rudimentary pickpocketing skills, and she could teach him how to hunt. It seemed like a good equivalence, as Kaska was always in need of good food and she seemed like a willing pupil. It was hard to tell who would come out ahead in the deal, but as long as she didn't try and filch from him again he would relax around her. "Being pretty would run me out of business because I sell myself to keep my skin." Kaska said. "When I said I came from a client's house, that's exactly what I meant. I let him do whatever he likes to me, he pays me, I grab a small bite to eat from his kitchen. We both get what we want." he said. "Whores have territory too, you know. I run three streets south of Tent City. It's not a large territory but it's enough to keep me from starving. Another streetwalker tries to ply his or her trade in my area, stealing my men, I steal their fees. I was taught by one of the best pickpockets here, and in a city as crime ridden as this one, that's quite a feat." He looked at her fidgeting. "We'll get some rabbits and roast them. I'll teach you how to pickpocket...you teach me how to catch rabbits. Anything that could keep me from starving in the winter is welcome." he said. He turned and walked out of the alleyway, looking back for her to follow him. "And it's dangerous walking these streets alone. I know, I've seen little morsels like you get snatched up and sold. It's not a pretty life, not one you want." he added. "Lead the way." he gestured for her to walk in front of him. He wasn't sure how he felt about her trailing behind, considering the last way it worked out.

[Leith]

She walked over next to him, she didn’t want him behind her as she couldn’t see him easy if he was there. “How about I walk next to you, this way we can talk better and who says I walk out? Who says I walk in alone? I’m never alone, ever. What’s a whore? Why does this ‘him’ person doing what he likes help you keep your skin? Are you like a rabbit then, rabbit fur is hard to swallow, I usually discard it when I eat, though its good for nests. I don’t want to make your tent city my territory, the city has lots of rats though, but its not worth making a nest.”

She looked at the press of people with distaste, so many crowded bodies and her stuck crawling on the ground, but if she flew off he’d have trouble keeping up. She ducked in to another ally, a ladder leaning against the awall. “Lets run along the roofs, its faster to the forest, though I’d prefer not to crawl along the ground, but I’ll be nice since it’ll mean you can follow more easily. So, can we?”

She looked up at him pleadingly, she really didn’t want to go back in to the crowd and up put her closer to the sky.
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