Completed [Tine's Exotic Goods] Did somebody lose a bird?(Imass)

[Yonega]

The closing in of the shopkeeps "helpers" was starting to grate on the changeling and she felt her anxiety rise as a result, her breathing intensifying into short, shallow pants. She wanted to cling to the warrior, to hide, to flail; but it was his sure tone that was barely keeping her grounded right then, enough of a force that the kelvic didn't collapse into full blown panic the way she had back at the Institute.

Glancing up to Garonn once more, she allowed a curt nod to ruffle her hair as she hurried to a shelf and grabbed a rather plain looking mask. It was a ruddy brownish color with plain black and white feathers upon it; no beads or baubles and a rather unobtrusive bit of weathered rope instead of silk or finely woven string to attach it to ones head. The eye holes were small and upward turned with a flat nose that just barely fit over her own round nose. It left her mouth exposed but for the most part covered her face. She put this on quickly, looking from the eyeholes anxiously once more and grabbing a bit of Garonn's shirt as she stared around the chamber.

They were on the verge of leaving, the blue man shouting those outside back or they'd be killed and Yonega couldn't help bouncing nervously from foot to foot, peeking between door and Tine, door and Tine until at last the door opened....

It was a nightmare outside. Two guards had become four in a matter of moments, the ongoings in the shop having drawn their attention when two of them had been unpermitted to enter. All four had their swords drawn and Yonega couldn't help thinking of the time she'd seen one of the jungle-cat types at the institute putting up a hell of a fight before finally being subdued by the facility's "goons" as Garonn had called them. The girl clicked her teeth out of habit and let go of the Akalak, hands clasping her elbows instead if only to keep from shaking out of her skin in panic.

Four city guard, a shop owner, two goons, a blue-man, and a Kelvic. It was like the start of a bad joke!

[Imass]

Garonn pushed the door to the shop open and was greeted by four blazing swords. Four human guards stood in a semi circle around the door brandishing glittering pieces of steel. The Knight's heart began to beat extremely fast; he could feel and hear the blood pumping into his brain. Garonn could not afford to show fear in this situation. Eyes of hated bounced from sword to sword then back to the masked Kelvic at his side. The only solution in his mind was to intimidate them into letting him go. The Akalak scowled his teeth, trying to make his scorched facial features more predominant. He lifted his sword behind his head, only showing the pommel to the guards. Immediately, he pushed Yonega away and dropped into a low stance. He aimed his right shoulder at the guard to the far right.

"I have made an fair exchange with the merchant Tine for a tunic and a mask," Garonn said with a throaty, hoarse voice, "I just wanted some privacy with my lady,"

No one moved a muscle. The scene was too surreal to believe. Not Garonn, not Tine, nor the guards knew what would happen next. All it would take was a wrong twitch or a impure thought to pop off a blood bath. Everyone was feeling the tension, even the guards who outnumbered the Knight by four. Garonn stared and tried to project feelings of terror into his enemies.

Finally one of the guards cracked, "I think we should let him go. He did pay you Tine right? And didn't try anything weird right?" The merchant nodded his head vigorously. Garonn knew the man wanted no blood spilt in his shop, but he would not risk turning his gaze around.

"Speak up Tine, tell them that I didn't do anything wrong!" Garonn shouted over his shoulder.

The merchant stepped forward and yelled to the guards, "Indeed! He paid me fair and square, though was acting insane--"

"I am going to reach into my pocket and leave you lovely guards a going away present," reaching into his pocket he pulled out several gold coins and dropped them on the floor. The coins clanged in all directions making it hard to count them all.

Slowly, the knight side stepped out of the door with Yonega clinging onto his shirt. He kept his hip turned and facing his enemies. He assumed that at any moment he would have to fight them to the death. Crossing his legs as he walked, the Knight remained in a stance the whole time as he made his exit. There was an awkward moment of silence and finally it was all over. Once out of range, the Akalak took off running sword still in hand. Garonn was able to escape violent confrontation, but the question still remained if the whole ordeal was even necessary.

From Tine's shop it was only a short jog to a canal. A Ravokalla was sitting and waiting for them already. Stepping down onto the boat, Garonn made no move to help Yonega. He expected her to jump on so he just motioned the taxi to push off. Sheathing his sword, the boat began to float.

[Yonega]

The whole debacle was rightly terrifying to the morphling as she clung to the blue mans shirt, watching it all from behind the "safety" of the mask. Her hands were clammy and her mouth dry as the sense of becoming enclosed again seeped through her skin and bones alike. It wasn't much different from being in the cage again at this point and Yonega wondered if she would dissolve into panic. The urge to yammer at Garron and the guards and the shopkeep was overwhelming, but the woman sensed now was not the time to do that either.

But the money-flinger seemed to be sorting it all slowly out, the guards questioning warranting little more intrusion. They were even able to slip away without much fuss! But Yonega remained tense; up until the Akalak broke into a run, his shirt tearing free of her fingers and leaving her staring in surprise after him. A quick look behind her was afforded and then the woman bolted after him, running as quickly as her legs would carry her.

The wood and stone of the pathways was very different from the inside of the labs, their floors smooth and clean. They felt strange as she ran after the man, dipping between others, squeezing through carts, offering no apology or excuse me otherwise as she panted after him. All this running and fleeing was wearing her out and with little food on her stomach, the Kelvic wondered if she mightn't drop soon! Thankfully, the running didn't last too much longer as she saw the man drop into one of the little boats and begin to row away.

"Hey, wait!" She called after him, holding up a hand in hopes he would see it. She got to the edge of the pier seconds before it would be out of reach, bit her lip and studied the distance between pier and boat...and jumped! It wasn't the most graceful of things, far from the prettiest, but it got the job done (barely) as she landed clumsily in front of him, feet folded messily under her and the girl panting as she clung to the sides with about as much ease as a cat about to get a bath.

What a day this had been. First getting sold. Then the creepy creatures with the rasping and hissing voices. Then that man. The panic-driven blackout and waking with that man again....A hard-pounding flight from his boat and right into the company of an even stranger being (though not nearly as creepy) only to find herself faced with swords, a cut foot, yelling, more crowds, and now a boat again, rowing off to who knows where! All she wanted to do now was stuff her face for a while and then sleep for even longer. Yonega yawned at the very thought of getting to roost somewhere, untangling her legs and gathering them under her to resume perching. Both arms wrapped around her knees and chin came to rest atop them as she stared at the boats edge, her now sweaty hair hanging on either side of the mask in sticky tangles.

"You're pretty brave, Garron." It was the least she'd said since encountering him, a good show she was absolutely exhausted."Are we going somewhere safe, now? I need some sleep...

[Imass]

Garonn stared at Yonega for a long while. He studied her as she clumsily sat up and perched in a fetal position. The Knight was no expert teacher, but it wasn't his first time around the block either. He had mentored squires before and Yonega was already more cooperative than the Ball, the pycon whom he trained. He would show Yonega everything he could and train her to be the best that she could. The Knight smiled at the girl and First, he needed to arm the kelvic before anything else. The Akalak knew that tonight was going to be a tough and bloody.

"Take us to the Defiled Blade," Garonn said to the Ravosolla's operator, seemingly ignoring Yonega's words. The man steering the boat gave a great wide smile, but the warrior just looked back to the perching female, "There is no sleeping tonight. You will see why soon enough. I will answer all your questions later... Right now just enjoy the boat ride,"

Leaning back in his seat, the Knight's paranoia forgot what was happening around him. Instead he thought of all the preparations that needed to be made for the night. He would spend the last of his gold on arms and armor for the girl. After a minute or two, he decided that he would arm her with a crossbow. The weapon was easy to operate with minimal training. He didn't have time to teach her anything complex. Then he would need to find some supplies as well. Food, water, and defenses.

Garonn reminded silent in thought for the rest of the boat ride. Once they reached the Merchant's Ring. The Knight popped off the boat and spoke to both the kelvic and human, "Stay here, I'll be right back..."

Five ticks later the Knight exited the weapon-smithy shop with a heavy crossbow in hand and twenty cross-bolts. Stepping into the boat, he handed the weapon to Yonega, "This is yours, I'll teach you how to use it at the house " Dropping the bundle of bolts at the girls feet, the knight cringed. He had spent over 50 gold today on the girl. He hoped it was worth it, "Take us to my apartment operator,"

[Yonega]

Yonega gawked at the Akalak when he said she wasn't going to sleep tonight. Did he have any idea what she'd been through? How hungry she was? How tired? The kelvic scowled at him over her knees only to avert her eyes to the water and buildings that cruised by them hypnotically. Her momentary frustration and disbelief were forgotten once more as she felt herself drifting and her eyelids drooping further and further downwards.

She was just about to fall asleep where she perched when the ravosolla came to a stop against a pier and Garron hopped off. Yonega jerked back into wakefulness and blinked at the man as he told her to stay there. She looked over her shoulder to the boat handler and then off to where her new protector had ran off. Now what? His return seemed to answer her and the corvid felt her heart sink as she stared at the crossbow and bundle that lay at her feet. She'd refused to take the crossbow so he'd have to deal with that.

It was like touching a dead body...She couldn't help the dead, only the living. He couldn't possibly expect her to use a weapon to hurt someone! The very thought was absurd! Even as the ravosolla pulled away again, Yonega began to wonder if this new allegiance was such a good idea. What choice did she have in the end?

[Verilian]

. . Thread Award . . Yonega +1 Flying +1 Body Building +2 Miming +1 Running +1 Acrobatics Lores: Walking Blue Men are Better Perches than Buildings... Apparently, Walking Blue Perches Really are Better than Buildings Because they come with Free Apples, Attempting to Communicate with Blue Perches is more Difficult than Expected, Making a Deal with a Blue Perch, The Blue Perch is named Garonn, Loot: Heavy Crossbow, 20 Crossbow Bolts*Unless you choose to not take them at all, then feel free to ignore this Imass This account has been retired, therefore your portion of the thread will not be graded at this time. If this account is ever unretired, feel free to resubmit the thread for grading. You Question My Logic? : If you have any questions about the reward, feel free to PM me. Notes: I really enjoyed this thread. The beginning was funny and cute, and then it became tense and action packed. Imass, I'm sad that you are retired. Yonega, you play your kelvic very well and I can't wait to see more from you. Good job, the both of you, and keep writing! Notice As per the request of the Founders, threads cannot be graded unless your CS is up to date. This means you need to add threads to your thread list when you make new threads, keep your skills up to date, ledger, living expenses, ect. If you aren't up to date, you'll get a PM from me before i grade your thread. If you are up to date, disregard this notice.