Not a day for stealing (Chetah)

[Carus Nothus]

66th of Winter, 517 AV

Life was becoming a real nuisance for Carus at this point. The winter had not been kind to him, and he was slowly losing hope of ever having a real chance of living in this dreadful town. He got less sleep now than he had before, nightmares plaguing him every night, stopping him from getting any real rest at all. It might not be clear to the people in town who didn’t know him, but to anyone who had met him before it would be rather obvious something was not right. His eyes had starting to get dark rings around them from lack of sleep. His body had at this point mostly recovered from both of the attacks he had withstood this winter.

He no longer felt the pain in his leg after the wolf had bit him, but the scars where still rather fresh, and it pained him to look at his, the rest of his body without any blemishes at all. Money was getting tighter as well, and he knew sooner or later he would have to get a job, or starve to death.

Today he had decided to try his hand at stealing in the market. He made sure not to go through the slums, his mind still scarred after the last time he walked through it. He didn’t think he’d ever forget the sound of the man’s sword going through Umbra’s throat, and the thought of it made him shiver. So he made his way through Slaver’s row this day to get to the seaside market.

Stealing might have been easier just a few weeks ago. When he was well dressed, cheerful and looking his best. A rich kid looking for new things to buy is probably what he would look like to most merchants then, and while they would try to sell him things greedily, none would suspect him of stealing. Now his only pair of fine pants had been torn to shreds by a wolf. Probably still fixable by someone with some skill in sowing, but Carus had none at all. So he wore his travel pants, dirty and ragged, together with his fine shirt. A mish-mash of clothing together with his sunken look and slightly unshaven face made him look more like someone one might be suspicious of, someone you kept an eye at when he came looking at your stall.

And so it was that he walked the market, looking at a lot of stalls. All merchants too aware of him for him to actually try to take anything. It would probably be another day of not getting anything done. Carus mood had been decreasing greatly over the last few weeks, after time and time again he ran into trouble. Was it really worth it? He thought about leaving and go to some other city. Sure, he might be thrown in jail in any other town. But most places where they kept prisoners served better food than he got now. He wouldn’t have to care about money, and the chance of being murdered was probably a lot less likely in a jail cell than out here in Sunberth.

His musings simply made his mood even worse as he he walked along the stalls. Maybe he should try hunting? He used to be rather good at it. But no, that would require him getting a bow, and that was money he didn’t have to spend right now. Anything other than necessities was not something he could aford until he could get some kind of income.

And so it was that he aimlessly walked the market, now simply passing the time as he had realised that stealing anything today would be out of the question.

[Chetha Iceglaze]

It was still early when Chetha rolled from her bed, in a twinkling, literally, she was back to appearing human and dressing in her only set of clothing. The white pants and shirt and bright red underclothes were at odds with each other, but there were reasons for all of it. Including the leather harness she strapped on over it all. Her coat she left on the chair, beside the hearth, With no winter it was too hot to wear it. Even in shrtsleeves the northerner was was uncomfortable with the heat given the time of year.

As she headed for the door of the small roo that her other form had dominated, she scooped up her battleaxe and slid the well worn haft into her harness. The brown leather harness was designed to shift and bring the axe to rest between the bear's shoulderblades when she shifted. there, the weapon was nearly hidden among her blonde fur. There was also a spot for her bow acceoss her back, secured by the harness, and a loop for a quiver at her hip. She was right handed so the loop was on her left. In truth she could shoot with either hand or eye, but it was still more comfortable with the quiver to her left.

The bow was broken though and somewhere out beyond the city limits, thanks to a different, browner bear than she herself. Today she had decided on two things, first, she would find a new bow. Preferably short, preferably even more with a heavy pull. Second, she had resolved to find a job, or at least look for one. Her skillset was as a guard, she had been trained by the icewatch after all. Therefore she headed for the seaside market. She had heard about it last night after she had arrived. It made alot of sense to her. She wasa strong swimmer, especially after she went bear. Further, she was sure she could hold her own in a market.

As she moved through the crowded market she took in the sights and sounds of the merchants and hawkers and th customers as well. Out of the corner of her dark brown eye she caught a purse eing cut, but it wasn't for the moment her problem.

One didn't give one's services away for free when they were all one had to trade on, after all. As she rounded a corner onto a street where there was the acrid tang of worked metal, and sawdust, she spied one of the oddest sights she had seen so far. A young man who from the waist up appeared a dandy, ready for a party, while below his waist he was shabbily dressed and posessed a five o'clock shadow. She was ready to steer cear of the contradiction in terms when she noted the condition of his leg. There were angry tears in the skin and punctures as well. She was no heler, but she paused, considering the contradiction. Perhaps she looked too long though, she was about to turn away, but something kept her attention. She honestly could nt say what though.

[Carus Nothus]

As Carus walked he kept looking at the stalls, now having a bit of a goal at least. It would be quite awhile before he could afford a bow, but sometime soon he would need one. Except for his knife, it was the only weapon he knew how to use. If he couldn’t find some work sometime soon, he would have to get one either way. When he ran out of money, hunting for game would be his only was of getting food. He was however completely incompetent with making anything with the things he killed. When he had been younger he had never had to go anywhere near cooking something for himself, the house servants doing anything he asked. He had made it so far simply by eating finished rations of bread and jerky.

He was dreaming of the food he used to get, how tasty food used to be before he started living on his own. How easy life used to be. He was lost in his own thought as he walked along the street, but something caught his eye. A woman, or closer to a girl, was staring at him as he walked. His state of disarray might be the reason, but he noticed the weapon hanging from her side. It was a bit unsettling. Someone with a weapon like that was probably more competent in battle than he was with his simple knife.

He had learned to always assume people wanted the worst for you in this town, even so he assumed that she wouldn’t want to rob him. It was obvious he had no money or anything of worth on him. He still felt his hand go to the side of his pants, making sure he had his knife on him as he continued walking straight forward, in the direction of where the girl was standing. It was always better to face a problem head on then try to get away. Even though it wouldn’t stop everyone that they where on an open street, if he was lucky someone might jump in if she attacked him outright.

He walked right up to her and his usual fake smile spread across his face, trying to be as cautious as he always was around strangers now a days. He felt his eyes dart to her side, making sure she wasn’t reaching for her weapon as he spoke.

“Hello, might I ask the reason for your staring? I might as well tell you right away I have nothing worth stealing”, he said as he still kept his right hand close to his side, ready to draw his knife at a moment's notice. He had now killed someone before, and while he certainly didn’t feel like doing it again, he even hated the thought of having to kill someone again, he had learned that it was something you might have to do in this town. He hated what the city had made of him, thinking the worst of everyone and that he was always ready for a fight at a moment’s notice. It was useful in a way, to always be alert, but at the same time it was becoming exhausting.

[Chetha Iceglaze]

Chetha's dark brown eyed gaze took in Carus as he approached. She folded her arms and tilted her head slightly to the left, "There is me interest in a rich man from the waist up and a poor man from there down. Either theman has stolen a shirt, or he is trying to put one over. He must I think have been rich and now... less so. Also I think his hands should stay clear of whatever weapon is at his waist."

Her tone was even, indulgent even. There wasa certain confidence in it, perhaps in something he was not seeig or didn't know. He might look around but there was noone with her. And certainly she was incapable of hiding here in Sunberth in the carefuly white clothing, yet still it seemed she made an effort to keep it clean. There was evidence of washing on itin places, not enough to spoil the overall effect but the white was not pure.

She continued, "In this spirit of honesty, to be frank, it is not worth theattempt to rob me either." She sniffed at something on the wir, then added, "Human."

[Carus Nothus]

He looked a bit confused at her statements, unsure what she was aiming for. He might be dressed a bit weird, but he was far from the worst looking person in the market. He looked over her clothing quickly, noticing that she was dressed weirder than he was for being in Sunberth even. But she was right about some things she said however.

“It is quite clear that it would not be worth robbing you. First of all, you would probably manage to kill me before I got away”, Carus said, looking down at her weapon.
“Second of all, it is quite evident that you don’t have any money worth taking”, he said, looking her up and down with a look of slight disgust. There was obvious she didn’t have anything worth taking, she might have more than him but that certainly didn’t make her a target for stealing. Her comment made him believe she wasn’t human, and upon closer inspection it was quite clear that was the case. She had the same air about her as Kelski did.

It seemed like the Kelvic weren’t too different from humans when it came to personalities, in that they came in all sorts. She was clearly very different from the other Kelvic he had met, yet it was obvious they were of the same race. He might have thought of walking away at this point, his interest clearly lessened. But since meeting Kelski, and seeing her devour the raw meat of a wolf by tearing it apart, he was interested in how this race actually worked. He understood the basics, they turned to animals, or animals turned to humans? He wasn’t sure but it was something of the sort. But did they all turn into the same animal? Or was it specific for each person? If they did turn into different animals, did a person always turn into the same one or could they change as well?

These thoughts made him stay with the girl, looking her over, trying to figure out if he would offend her by asking about her, sickness. He decided that he wouldn’t get a chance too often to ask about it, and he would probably benefit from simply asking.

“It is true, I am human. And it seems like you are not. Kelvic is it?”, He asked, his face looking quizzically at her.
“So, what do you turn into?”