63rd of Searing, 113
Some few days ago, Arkash caught Liu sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. The circumstances were suspicious. Not because she snuck out, but because she lied about her whereabouts, or so Arkash believed. He hadn't managed to discover what she was up to, and so many nights had passed since then that Arkash had almost let the incident go. Almost.
He'd elected to stay awake every other night to see if Liu left the house or not. He hadn't brought up the happenings earlier that month, and neither had she. It was just something neither of them talked about. That in itself was part of the lizard's plan, however. The safer Liu felt, the more likely she was to do whatever it was she'd done again... If it was to be a pattern.
After all, Arkash had stayed up multiple nights until midnight, which was when she'd snuck out the time before, and he hadn't seen her so much as get out of bed those days. It wasn't exactly easy, either, as Arkash slept by the hearth in the middle of the room, and its heat always coaxed him into a warm, soft slumber. He couldn't help it; he was a lizard.
Sometime that night, however, Liu rolled out of bed. Her paws met the ground, and she carefully padded across the room to her folded clothes, which she quietly dressed into. Arkash had been ready to fall asleep but found himself wide awake while the wolf crept across the room, then opened the door with another click. At once, she looked to Arkash, who'd woke at the sound of the door click last time she attempted to sneak out.
The lizard was faced with an option. Did he pretend to wake up and feign confusion? Or did he continue to sleep? If he did 'wake up', she might forego doing whatever it was she planned. if he stayed asleep, she might have been suspicious. So, Arkash met in the middle. He groaned, then turned over beneath the throws and pulled the fur further over himself. Liu sighed with relief, then proceeded out the door and into the cool searing night.
At once, Arkash sat up in his throws and threw the furs from his warm body. A dash across the room saw him scramble into his clothes, then put his eye to a crack in the wooden panels that made the door. Further up the street, Liu turned to the left, which was away from the route he took to find her last time. He waited a moment or two, then opened the door and let himself into the cool night. The lizard kept low as he ran up the road, and lifted his toe-claws so that they wouldn't tap the ground and give his position away.
Ahead of him, Liu walked casually through the moonlit streets. He had to maintain a certain distance from her so that she didn't hear or smell him. It also helped to stay behind corners until he was ready to follow after her, as the wind carried his scent.
Arkash didn't immediately realize it, but the amount of thought he had to put into following his mother only deepened his admiration for her. She was strong, resourceful, and always came to his rescue when he needed it. Her gifted senses assured that she would always find him in a pinch, and she was fast too.
So, when Arkash turned the next corner, only to find her gone, he wasn't all that surprised. Frustrated, sure, but he'd seen it coming. He'd taken things easy by staying back, but with her now lost from his line of sight, he didn't have to be as careful. So, the Rathari ran out from his hiding spot and looked about the barren, run-down streets with a furrow to his scalie brows.
She couldn't have gone far. Arkash didn't spare her that much time between turns. So, as he approached the first alley, he slowed to a halt and listened a moment or two before he peeked his head around the corner. Liu was there with a bag in hand, sorting through its contents. Beside her was a group of human men, three of them. His heart skipped a beat, and he quietly pulled back around the corner.
Arkash's sense of smell wasn't as good as it could have been for a reptile, but it was still strong enough to smell the foul contents of the bag she carried. The scent was pungent, almost sickly. Familiar, but only in passing. Whatever was in it, it wasn't good.
"Alright, and my cut?" Asked Liu in common, her tone poised, confident.
"Ten p'cent," answered one of the men.
Almost instantly, Liu returned with "I want fifteen." Arkash furrowed his brow. Was it wise to haggle with people in an Alley? Arkash certainly wouldn't.
"I can always pay someone else, toots. Thought you needed the dosh?" Spoke a more refined common accent, but still low born. A pause followed, abruptly interrupted by a sigh of defeat.
"Alright, fine," she accepted.
"That's what I like to hear," returned the same voice. "Now get to it 'fore I change my mind."
Hearing the human speak to Liu that way only angered Arkash further. Who did he think he was? Liu was doing him a service, the least he could do was speak to her with respect.
Regardless, she was on the move. The sound of paw pads on stone approached from the alley, and Arkash broke into a brief, low run to a nearby set of stone stairs that led to one of the elevated houses and ducked into a ball there. He couldn't tell which way Liu was going until she walked straight past him on the street. Arkash held his breath immediately; her sensitive ears would have picked that up.
Wide yellow eyes watched her as she carried on down the street, then he finally exhaled. If she'd turned her head even a little, she would have seen him.
She was carrying the smelly bag, still. Was it some sort of delivery? Whatever she was up to, Arkash had to know. So, he followed her through the cool Rien streets with much the same tactic that he had employed through the entire of his stalking.
Liu largely kept to the middle of the street, away from alleys. Meanwhile, Arkash hung around corners and waited for her to turn before he advanced. If necessary, he ran a bit further ahead and took to a piece of cover. Doing so was risky, however. Liu was clearly being more careful and looked over her shoulder frequently while she walked. It put him on edge, but she didn't seem to catch him.
Eventually, she turned up at one of the more run-down houses of the street. The windows were barred and boarded, and the door was a rickety slab of planked wood. The stone body was cracked, and crumbling in parts while the tiled roof was patchy and broken. The whole street was filthy and stank of defecate and disease. So, Arkash watched his step. Some dozen seconds or so after she knocked, the door scraped across the stone floor as it opened inward. "What?" Asked a deep, masculine voice. "The fuck are you? Some kinda dog?"
Arkash cringed.
"A courier, actually. You want this or not?" She lifted the bag. Arkash spied as a human arm reached out to take it, only to yield a threatening snarl from the wolf, who pulled it away sharply. "Money first, asshole."
Arkash's eyes widened where he hid. He'd never heard Liu swear before! And when did she become so imposing? The height didn't hurt, he was sure. "Yeah, alright," returned the voice, and the door shut promptly.
So, Liu waited. Arkash watched. Her ears were perked, shifting left and right. She focused hard on her hearing, but why? What was she listening for? Then, her gaze turned to him in a snap, and Arkash immediately ducked and covered his mouth. His blood ran even colder than it normally did. Had she seen him? How? How did she know he was there? Before she could act or not, the door opened again, and Arkash froze. "It's all in 'ere," spoke the human's deep voice.
"It better be," warned the wolf. That was Arkash's cue, they were settling up. So, he duck-walked across the street and tucked himself in the very next alley, of which, there were plenty. Liu walked by with a different bag in hand and briefly looked into the space that he hid in. Her eyes shined in the moonlight; a glare that sent an unpleasant shiver down Arkash's spine. When she passed, Arkash carefully crept out of the shadows and looked down the street to find her walking away.
Again, he followed her to wherever she was heading. It wasn't far, just a block or two, and some turns before she entered an alley. "Tha's it? No rough stuff?" Asked an unfamiliar voice.
"None," clarified Liu's voice in common.
"Nicely done...!" The voice congratulated slowly. Curious, Arkash peeked around the corner from a crouched position. Liu handed a small, ratty man the bag, and he began to flick through a sum of farthing bills from its contents. That was almost as much money as they'd saved up over Arkash's entire life, right there in the ratty man's hand. "Ah," paused the human. "You're gonna hate me..."
"Don't give me a reason to, Shin," warned the wolf with a threatening growl. Somehow, the tiny human kept his cool. Arkash was about ready to bolt at the sound. Perhaps it was just because it was his mother?
"...Dan said to give you 'alf the cut if it went smooth, something about bein' AWOL. So, it's five percent this time-."
"-Well you can tell Dan that I'm taking my money with his goddamn teeth!" She snarled again, and tensions only rose. "I want my ten percent, Shin..." She started after a moment's pause. "Come on, you know I've got a kid..."
"...You know I can' do that. I would if I could, Liu..."
The wolf scoffed, then turned away to cover her eyes with one hand. "Whatever," she started, "only cost me five minutes anyway. Just gimme the five."
On cue, Arkash got up and began to high tail it back home. He beat Liu there, of course, and was under the covers in moments, but he stayed awake. He'd learned so much about his mother in one night. How long had she been working for these people? What was the business? Was she in danger? While he laid there, he reviewed the events of the night in his head. Something about the moment where Liu was waiting for the human didn't feel right. She was listening so intently... But what for? She seemed fearless, she couldn't have been afraid, could she?
Before he could ponder it further, the door of the house clicked open, and Liu carefully stepped in. Arkash held his eyes closed and slowed his breathing to reflect sleep. The wolf was still for a moment, then the door closed and the sound of her paw pads approached him from behind. Her paw ran over his head a single stroke, and she stayed there for a moment. Arkash couldn't see her, but she was smiling, albeit with an undertone of sadness. Then, she retired for the night beside the sickly horse.
Arkash couldn't sleep, however. Nothing about what he'd learned felt right, and he had to do something about it. With those thoughts in his head, he laid awake until the sun rose.
Some few days ago, Arkash caught Liu sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night. The circumstances were suspicious. Not because she snuck out, but because she lied about her whereabouts, or so Arkash believed. He hadn't managed to discover what she was up to, and so many nights had passed since then that Arkash had almost let the incident go. Almost.
He'd elected to stay awake every other night to see if Liu left the house or not. He hadn't brought up the happenings earlier that month, and neither had she. It was just something neither of them talked about. That in itself was part of the lizard's plan, however. The safer Liu felt, the more likely she was to do whatever it was she'd done again... If it was to be a pattern.
After all, Arkash had stayed up multiple nights until midnight, which was when she'd snuck out the time before, and he hadn't seen her so much as get out of bed those days. It wasn't exactly easy, either, as Arkash slept by the hearth in the middle of the room, and its heat always coaxed him into a warm, soft slumber. He couldn't help it; he was a lizard.
Sometime that night, however, Liu rolled out of bed. Her paws met the ground, and she carefully padded across the room to her folded clothes, which she quietly dressed into. Arkash had been ready to fall asleep but found himself wide awake while the wolf crept across the room, then opened the door with another click. At once, she looked to Arkash, who'd woke at the sound of the door click last time she attempted to sneak out.
The lizard was faced with an option. Did he pretend to wake up and feign confusion? Or did he continue to sleep? If he did 'wake up', she might forego doing whatever it was she planned. if he stayed asleep, she might have been suspicious. So, Arkash met in the middle. He groaned, then turned over beneath the throws and pulled the fur further over himself. Liu sighed with relief, then proceeded out the door and into the cool searing night.
At once, Arkash sat up in his throws and threw the furs from his warm body. A dash across the room saw him scramble into his clothes, then put his eye to a crack in the wooden panels that made the door. Further up the street, Liu turned to the left, which was away from the route he took to find her last time. He waited a moment or two, then opened the door and let himself into the cool night. The lizard kept low as he ran up the road, and lifted his toe-claws so that they wouldn't tap the ground and give his position away.
Ahead of him, Liu walked casually through the moonlit streets. He had to maintain a certain distance from her so that she didn't hear or smell him. It also helped to stay behind corners until he was ready to follow after her, as the wind carried his scent.
Arkash didn't immediately realize it, but the amount of thought he had to put into following his mother only deepened his admiration for her. She was strong, resourceful, and always came to his rescue when he needed it. Her gifted senses assured that she would always find him in a pinch, and she was fast too.
So, when Arkash turned the next corner, only to find her gone, he wasn't all that surprised. Frustrated, sure, but he'd seen it coming. He'd taken things easy by staying back, but with her now lost from his line of sight, he didn't have to be as careful. So, the Rathari ran out from his hiding spot and looked about the barren, run-down streets with a furrow to his scalie brows.
She couldn't have gone far. Arkash didn't spare her that much time between turns. So, as he approached the first alley, he slowed to a halt and listened a moment or two before he peeked his head around the corner. Liu was there with a bag in hand, sorting through its contents. Beside her was a group of human men, three of them. His heart skipped a beat, and he quietly pulled back around the corner.
Arkash's sense of smell wasn't as good as it could have been for a reptile, but it was still strong enough to smell the foul contents of the bag she carried. The scent was pungent, almost sickly. Familiar, but only in passing. Whatever was in it, it wasn't good.
"Alright, and my cut?" Asked Liu in common, her tone poised, confident.
"Ten p'cent," answered one of the men.
Almost instantly, Liu returned with "I want fifteen." Arkash furrowed his brow. Was it wise to haggle with people in an Alley? Arkash certainly wouldn't.
"I can always pay someone else, toots. Thought you needed the dosh?" Spoke a more refined common accent, but still low born. A pause followed, abruptly interrupted by a sigh of defeat.
"Alright, fine," she accepted.
"That's what I like to hear," returned the same voice. "Now get to it 'fore I change my mind."
Hearing the human speak to Liu that way only angered Arkash further. Who did he think he was? Liu was doing him a service, the least he could do was speak to her with respect.
Regardless, she was on the move. The sound of paw pads on stone approached from the alley, and Arkash broke into a brief, low run to a nearby set of stone stairs that led to one of the elevated houses and ducked into a ball there. He couldn't tell which way Liu was going until she walked straight past him on the street. Arkash held his breath immediately; her sensitive ears would have picked that up.
Wide yellow eyes watched her as she carried on down the street, then he finally exhaled. If she'd turned her head even a little, she would have seen him.
She was carrying the smelly bag, still. Was it some sort of delivery? Whatever she was up to, Arkash had to know. So, he followed her through the cool Rien streets with much the same tactic that he had employed through the entire of his stalking.
Liu largely kept to the middle of the street, away from alleys. Meanwhile, Arkash hung around corners and waited for her to turn before he advanced. If necessary, he ran a bit further ahead and took to a piece of cover. Doing so was risky, however. Liu was clearly being more careful and looked over her shoulder frequently while she walked. It put him on edge, but she didn't seem to catch him.
Eventually, she turned up at one of the more run-down houses of the street. The windows were barred and boarded, and the door was a rickety slab of planked wood. The stone body was cracked, and crumbling in parts while the tiled roof was patchy and broken. The whole street was filthy and stank of defecate and disease. So, Arkash watched his step. Some dozen seconds or so after she knocked, the door scraped across the stone floor as it opened inward. "What?" Asked a deep, masculine voice. "The fuck are you? Some kinda dog?"
Arkash cringed.
"A courier, actually. You want this or not?" She lifted the bag. Arkash spied as a human arm reached out to take it, only to yield a threatening snarl from the wolf, who pulled it away sharply. "Money first, asshole."
Arkash's eyes widened where he hid. He'd never heard Liu swear before! And when did she become so imposing? The height didn't hurt, he was sure. "Yeah, alright," returned the voice, and the door shut promptly.
So, Liu waited. Arkash watched. Her ears were perked, shifting left and right. She focused hard on her hearing, but why? What was she listening for? Then, her gaze turned to him in a snap, and Arkash immediately ducked and covered his mouth. His blood ran even colder than it normally did. Had she seen him? How? How did she know he was there? Before she could act or not, the door opened again, and Arkash froze. "It's all in 'ere," spoke the human's deep voice.
"It better be," warned the wolf. That was Arkash's cue, they were settling up. So, he duck-walked across the street and tucked himself in the very next alley, of which, there were plenty. Liu walked by with a different bag in hand and briefly looked into the space that he hid in. Her eyes shined in the moonlight; a glare that sent an unpleasant shiver down Arkash's spine. When she passed, Arkash carefully crept out of the shadows and looked down the street to find her walking away.
Again, he followed her to wherever she was heading. It wasn't far, just a block or two, and some turns before she entered an alley. "Tha's it? No rough stuff?" Asked an unfamiliar voice.
"None," clarified Liu's voice in common.
"Nicely done...!" The voice congratulated slowly. Curious, Arkash peeked around the corner from a crouched position. Liu handed a small, ratty man the bag, and he began to flick through a sum of farthing bills from its contents. That was almost as much money as they'd saved up over Arkash's entire life, right there in the ratty man's hand. "Ah," paused the human. "You're gonna hate me..."
"Don't give me a reason to, Shin," warned the wolf with a threatening growl. Somehow, the tiny human kept his cool. Arkash was about ready to bolt at the sound. Perhaps it was just because it was his mother?
"...Dan said to give you 'alf the cut if it went smooth, something about bein' AWOL. So, it's five percent this time-."
"-Well you can tell Dan that I'm taking my money with his goddamn teeth!" She snarled again, and tensions only rose. "I want my ten percent, Shin..." She started after a moment's pause. "Come on, you know I've got a kid..."
"...You know I can' do that. I would if I could, Liu..."
The wolf scoffed, then turned away to cover her eyes with one hand. "Whatever," she started, "only cost me five minutes anyway. Just gimme the five."
On cue, Arkash got up and began to high tail it back home. He beat Liu there, of course, and was under the covers in moments, but he stayed awake. He'd learned so much about his mother in one night. How long had she been working for these people? What was the business? Was she in danger? While he laid there, he reviewed the events of the night in his head. Something about the moment where Liu was waiting for the human didn't feel right. She was listening so intently... But what for? She seemed fearless, she couldn't have been afraid, could she?
Before he could ponder it further, the door of the house clicked open, and Liu carefully stepped in. Arkash held his eyes closed and slowed his breathing to reflect sleep. The wolf was still for a moment, then the door closed and the sound of her paw pads approached him from behind. Her paw ran over his head a single stroke, and she stayed there for a moment. Arkash couldn't see her, but she was smiling, albeit with an undertone of sadness. Then, she retired for the night beside the sickly horse.
Arkash couldn't sleep, however. Nothing about what he'd learned felt right, and he had to do something about it. With those thoughts in his head, he laid awake until the sun rose.
