Completed Sour Luck

[Savio]

29th of Summer, 513AV

Savio rushed through the crowded narrow streets of Nyka. He took special care not to jostle any poor soul who managed to get in his way, even if it meant getting himself hurt. After all, he still was an outsider and the native people here would not hesitate to call the monks down upon him. He didn’t have time for such things. He needed to get these papers to the Eastern Quarter from the Western Quarter before the thirteenth bell, which was half bell away and he was only half way to his destination. If he was late he would lose out on any possible tips he could have gotten, and most likely a customer as well.

Savio had just about enough of the packed street. He ducked into a small alley and carefully scaled up a rough wall of a nearby building. Once he was on top of the roof, he was able to see a direct path to where he needed to go. Or at least, the general direction of the home he needed to deliver to. He took a deep breath and started sprinting across the shingled roof, leaping from one building to the next. Luckily, the buildings were close enough together that it wasn’t too much of a challenge to his free running skills.

Why hadn’t he thought of this before? This completely beat struggling through the hoard of grumpy people below or possible thieves who wanted either his Mizas or the documents. Most of the time, he didn’t know what exactly he was carrying. He just delivered what he was told to deliver to whom he was told to deliver to. But by traveling this way, he should make it there in time and in one piece.

[Demo Eidol]

Demo Eidol sat on a building overlooking the busy and bustling street below. It was the middle of the day, and the entire city seemed to be filled with people. It was an interesting sight when viewed from above, as Demo saw it, seeking out patterns in the stream of Nykans. In Demo's experience, the biggest problem with being a ghost was filling your time. You couldn't sleep the night away, you couldn't drink or eat or gamble or work, and reading was more trouble than it was worth. Over the years, Demo had just about perfected the art of wasting time, and he had two main methods. The first method was to look for patterns and significance in things that had no patterns or significance. The second was much more fun, but a little bit harder to accomplish. Tricking and bothering people was worth it, though. Demo didn't know why he got such satisfaction from a spilled cup of beer or a lost quill, but he did. Just as he thought he had finally identified a sort of order to the way the crowd swirled and thickened, Demo heard a scraping on the roof behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted a man sprinting across the tiled rooftops, leaping from one roof to the next. An idea began to form in his mind, and Demo laughed to himself at the thought of it, floating up and toward the man. Simply blinking ahead, the ghost easily kept pace with the running man. I probably shouldn't do anything too drastic decided Demo, watching the man. But there's nothing wrong with giving him a bit of a shove! Just as the man landed on another roof, Demo tapped into his Djed and pushed at the man's back as hard as he could, aiming to force him to overbalance and trip.

[Savio]

Savio was overjoyed at the distance he was eating up by traveling this way, and it was a lot more fun as well. Savio loved the feeling of the wind whipping through his clothes and hair as he picked up more and more speed. His breathing was just starting to become labored as he neared the bridge to the eastern quarter. But as he landed on the last roof of the Western Quarter, he felt something shove him in the back, upending his balanced and center of gravity.

Since Savio had been running at a decent speed, and the momentum of the jump was still pushing him forward, the push had sent Savio flying. The push had been so unexpected that the young man was sent face first into the tile of the roof he had landed on, and into an uncontrollable roll across the stone shingles of the roof until he reached the end ledge. Luckily, through sheer luck and quick reflexes Savio was able to grip onto the edge with one hand before he had found himself toppling to the hard ground below.

He cursed loudly as his other hand quickly latched on to the roof so that his one hand wasn’t strained. He dangled there for a moment longer to catch his breath before easing his way down to the street below. Had he fallen, he would have most likely broken something. Once his feet were once again on solid ground, Savio looked up with a hard frown trying to puzzle out just what in the Gods’ names had just happened. He rotated his shoulder to ease the slight burning tension that had formed from holding up all of his weight with one hand. His shoulder was going to hurt tomorrow for sure.

Realization then hit the young man that he was still on a delivery. He cursed again as he once more took off into a sprint towards the bridge. He was able to get through the guards with little trouble and soon found himself in the Eastern Quarter. Now he just had to find the addressee in what little time he had left. But this time, he stuck to the streets rather than taking to the rooftops once more.

It took a short while, and some pestered Nykans for Savio to find the building his employer wanted him to deliver the documents to. Savio knocked upon the door and awaited for it to be opened. He could hear footsteps inside as they rushed to the door. The simple door swung open to reveal an older woman with grey hair and sharp eyes.

“You’re late.” She said in annoyed tone.

“Please forgive me, ma’am. It won’t happen again.” Savio apologized a bit breathlessly. His lungs burned and his heart was hammering in his chest.

The woman eyed the handsome young man. “You ran all the way here, didn't you?”

Savio nodded and his attempted to slow his breathing so that he could speak better as he handed her the carefully wrapped important papers. “Yes ma’am. The streets were rather busy today and I am unfamiliar with the Eastern Quarter.”

She nodded and took the papers from him and fished out two copper laats and was about to hand them to him. “Next time, don’t be late.”

[Devlin Ivar]

The day was a total bust so far. Wandering the streets of The Eastern District, he had been on the look out for someone who seemed easy to take a few coins from in an easy con. It was apparent that he was gonna have to roll the dice and take a more direct approach if he was going to make any money this day. So he took a deep breath and watched those around him, taking in there body language, trying to find one who seemed the least likely to be able to give chase.

That's when he saw the man, standing outside a doorway and breathing heavily. He seemed to be a messenger of sorts, with papers in his hands. That seemed promising, if he was as tired as he seemed it should be fairly simple to lose him. So he moved closer and closer, doing his best to keep himself from being to conspicious. As the papers were handed over he went into action. Rushing forward, Devlin pushed his way between the messenger and the elderly woman as she held out the copper laats, Snatching them up as he passed. With that he was off, not wasting any time in making his escape.

He ran through the crowd, weaving his way between those on there way to and from errands as he looked around trying to find the best way to lose the person behind him. And there it was, stacked barrels beside a building that was close to the one besides it. Veering towards the alley with the barrels, he slowed down as he reached them to look behind him to see if he was still being pursue. All the while, he started climbing the stack doing his best not to topple them over while he was still on them. When he was high enough to reach the roof he grabbed onto the lip and pulled himself up, making sure to kick the barrel he was on to make it topple and hinder pursuit. Once more looking back he'd wait a moment to see if he was being followed, and if that was the case, he'd turn and take off, leaping from building to building in clumsy jumps that stopped him from picking up to much speed.

Box Code by Savio

[Savio]

The young man was completely oblivious of the stranger that moved ever closer to him and his customer. Savio offered an apologetic smile to the old woman as he reached out but right before the laats were in his hand the man shoved Savio and the woman aside; the stranger grabbed the two copper laats from the woman and took off in a full sprint.

“Thief! Stop!” Savio shouted after the crook. He took a short moment to help the woman back up to her feet and bow to her before quickly giving pursuit.

Savio was much faster than the thief, which was obvious. The man had a good head start because of Savio helping the old woman, though. That didn’t discourage the young acrobat. He needed every copper that he could get his hands on to stay afloat in this strange new city.

Whereas the man bumped and shoved the citizens out of his way, Savio skillfully dodged them and apologized in passing. He frowned as he watched his quarry duck into a narrow alley; Savio of course didn’t slow down and charged ahead.

When he entered the passageway, he had quickly to press his back against a wall to narrowly avoid a tumbling barrel. Savio growled as he sprinted forward, running up the wall to the building that the thief was on until he was able to fling himself forward to grip a hold on the edge of the tiled roof to haul himself right up until he too stood topside.

Once he got his footing, he took off running once again. Savio quickly gained ground over the thief since obviously the other man had no skill in jumping and landing properly. It didn’t take long before Savio closed in on the man and tackle him to the roof.

Alas though, Savio had misjudged his momentum and hit the man too hard, causing both of them to tumble down the side of the roof until they nearly fell off, if it hadn’t been for Savio’s quick reflexes. He had rotated his body and dug in his feet in the tiles while his hands grabbed hold of his prey, who was dangling over the ledge.

Savio’s strength was straining from the man’s weight, and he grunted as he hauled the man back onto the roof. Once the man was safe, Savio leaned back on his back. His breathing was labored and his clothes were soaked with sweat.

“What *pant* the petch *wheeze* is wrong with you?!” Savio managed to curse at the man.

[Devlin Ivar]

He new he was outclassed as he watched the man run right up the side of the building, not even stopping to climb the barrels that were still left. But, the dice were still tumbling and there was still a chance he'd get lucky 7. And so he turned and took off, leaping from the building he was on to the next, stumbling on the landing as he goes to a knee. However, he has no time to sit still and wait for the other man to catch up, so he pushes himself up and continues on his mad dash across the roof tops.

However, only two roofs more and it's to late, the man is on him and it's inevitable that he'll be caught. And so he skids to a stop, turning to hold out the Laats to the man, however before he can complete the turn he's tackled and then he finds himself falling. 'So this is how the dice stop, falling to my death.' Those words tumble through his head as he goes over the edge, the two copper laats he risked his life for falling down to the ground below.

Before he falls with them however, he feels a hand around his wrist, the man having caught him and saving his life. This was an interesting toss of the dice to be sure, saved by someone who had every right to let him die. As the man starts pulling him up, he reaches up and grabs the lip of the roof to help haul himself to safety. Once there, he rolls away from the edge and lays on his back, laughing between gasping for breath.

"What *pant* a toss of the dice." He says as he turns and smiles at the man, obviously trying to diffuse the situation. He knows those words wont do it, but it gave him time to seize up this man who had saved him. He obviously wasn't the type to kill for wrongs done, otherwise Devlin would be dead right now. He seemed like the kind that helped others, even to a detriment to themselves. The perfect type to win money from. But, he was also skilled at running the rooftops and that was a skill he needed. He needed to make this man like him enough to train with him, at least till he got good enough to actually make an escape.

Sitting up he would bow his head to Savio, before looking him in the eyes, "Sorry sir. I dont know what came over me. Just, I needed the money. And well. . . I haven't had any luck lately. Thought maybe this once, the easy way would work. Shoulda known Ovek doesn't grace easy bets." Looking over at the edge of the roof, he would motion to it with the hand that had been holding the Laats. "Sorry, seems like your money went over. Dont worry, I'll repay you. Somehow. After all, you saved my life, I'm in your debt."

Box Code by Savio

[Savio]

Savio glared over at the man who was lying beside him as the thief spoke. Savio sat up for a moment and raised his fist to punch the petcher in the mouth; not buying for a moment that his words were sincere but Savio just sighed and laid back down. “You better thank your Ovek that I am too tired to beat you into a pulp.”

He groaned as he stared up at the cloudless sky above. He still had to make three more deliveries before sunset. Savio sat up once again, and then got to his feet. He dusted off his clothes without even looking at the crook. “Don’t worry about your debt to me. I don’t want mizas that you stole from some other unfortunate soul.” Savio looked down at the ground below and sighed once more. Those copper laats were as good as gone, and Savio didn’t have the time to go searching for them.

At least two of those deliveries where still here in the Eastern Quarter. The last one was back in the Western. Savio looked around the rooftops of the city and frowned. He had no idea where his next customer was at. Then an idea hit him.

“Well… Perhaps you can pay me back. Do you know where this address is located?” Savio fished out a small package from his bag and showed the slip of paper tied to it to the man.

[Devlin Ivar]

He bristled at what the man said, mizas that i stole from others? That hurt Devlin deep, for he didn't consider himself a thief and this failed act didn't make him one. "Hey now, I'm not a thief!" He would say angrily as he stands and dusts himself off. "I'll have you know I'm a buisiness man. Devlin Ivar, future wealthy man!" He'd say with a grin, as he looks around.

Looking at the paper shown to him he would nod, pointing in the direction the address is located at. "Totally, it's down that way. You'd get lost if I don't show you personally, so lets go." With a grin he would move to the edge of the building and lower himself down carefully till he was hanging from his finger tips. Letting go, he would go into a crouch to absorb the shock of the rest of the fall before looking up at Savio, "Lets go messenger boy!"

Walking with his hands behind his head he would watch Savio with a small smile, wondering which gods he pleased to have met this man. "So, do you have a name? I'd rather not just call you messenger boy forever ya know? And while we're at it, how did you get so good at running like that? Not many people even realise the rooftops are close enough together to jump to and traverse, let alone brave or stupid enough to try."

Box Code by Savio

[Savio]

Savio snorted at the man’s exclamation of who he was, and sharp retort was on the tip of his tongue but he didn’t say it. What’s the use? The man was obviously touched, but what he lacked in common sense was made up by the fact that he knew his way around Nyka. Savio grinned when the man pointed in the general direction of the addressee’s location. Though the prospect of having to follow this…Devlin… Made the grin slip slightly. He was on a time limit, so Devlin had best be prepared to move fast.

Savio gracefully eased himself down to the ground after Devlin, his body moving with practiced precision to land properly so not to hurt himself. His shoulder was now aching, a sign that he had hurt it further when he had saved Devlin. He rotated his shoulder and rubbed it with his other hand to lessen the pain as he listened to Devlin chatter away.

“My name is Savio Cazzola. And how I got so good? Practice, I guess. I trained with acrobats back home in Syliras, and we had made a small sport out of free running. Using the rooftops here was just a spur of the moment idea that just seemed to work. Lucky me, I guess.”

[Devlin Ivar]

"Savio Cazzola hmm? Seems at least you have some style. Would hate to owe a debt to someone with a boring name." He would walk along, making his way to Savio's next delivery. His hands folded behind his head, casually walking along while scanning the crowds they pass. It's not that he wanted to get out of his debt, it was more like he wanted to put off the payment of it till after he had actually made some money.

Finding no one to scam or convince to gamble with him on the way, he turned his attention completely on this Savio man who he was forced to deal with. The way he walked belied a sort of confidence, and yet he wasn't arrogant. Nor was he particularly muscled. It seemed as if he simply knew who he was and was Ok with it.

"Practice huh. . . Don't suppose you could show me some stuff? If I could do what you do, I would never get down on my luck. I could just be a messenger."
With a smile he would motion to the door Savio needed to go. "Think on it wont cha?" He would lean against the building, waiting for Savio to finish his delivery. After all, his life was worth a lot more than one delivery and if he could get this man to show him how to run like he did, all the better.

Box Code by Savio