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[Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2020 4:49 pm
by Arkash
47th of Ash, 112
Wrapped from head to toe in furs of various colors and thicknesses, Arkash reentered the city through the southern gate as he normally did. What was different about this time was that he had neither Cojack nor Liu with him. It didn't happen often, but sometimes the family was forced to split up into different jobs, as they were assigned based on the amount of work that needed to be done and the number of hollows the overseers had available.
More often than not, there was a large empty space in the workforce that needed to be filled on short notice. It was a space that he and his family sought every week, and usually made the cut. It would normally be Arkash and one or both his parents assigned to the same job, but if the overseers planned their resources well and rounded their hollows evenly, then Arkash would wind up alone. It was one of those weeks, but the young rathari didn't mind too much.
The weather wasn't too bad. It had snowed the day before, as was typical of Lorien, but Arkash had the pleasure of walking home without the impediment of the cold, except for on his leather-wrapped toe-claws, which were numb. Though his hands were tucked into his hides, he hazarded exposing his scales to the cool air to feel around his belt. As expected, he'd drank the last of his water in the mines, as his waterskin was empty. the lizard frowned beneath his mismatched linen scarf, then spied the street for some clean snow.
Standing against one of the cracked stone walls of a nearby home was some of the good stuff, and Arkash scooped it up with his dirtied claws on his way past. The coal dust in his mouth had irritated his senses long enough. So, after a brief look over the ball of snow, he takes a careful bite of it and swirled it around his mouth. It wasn't common practice, but he didn't plan to be out long. once his palette was numb with cold, he opened his mouth and spat its grayed contents to the side of the road.
With a sigh, he let the snowball drop to the floor, then turned over his wet palm to run it over the dark grey scales of his muzzle. The water managed to remove the majority of the dirt and dust from his scales and left him looking at least a little bit cleaner. Once he was done, he promptly raised his scarf, then tucked his arms into his furs again and rolled his shoulders. Another satisfied sigh followed a pop in the bones on his back, and he looked over the few people that wandered the streets of Lower Nivenhain.
Most of them were as dirty as he was, some were worse. They all had one thing common: they were dressed in actual clothes. For Arkash, the way he dressed wasn't a matter of money, but rather the fact he prioritized his warmth above everything else. He didn't mind if that meant that he looked like some sort of patchy forest savage while he walked home.
Something that some might consider curious was the lack of horses and carts on the street, which were bountiful through the higher districts, but most of that was due to the poverty of those that resided. Additionally, the broken cobble streets were littered with potholes that could have easily liberated an expensive wagon of its wheel, but now only served to soak the unfortunate souls that trod upon them with slush-filled ice water. Arkash had done so a number of times when he was little, but he knew the streets well now.
He only occasionally glanced to the ground. Most of his looking was spent on the rooftops of the stone buildings he passed. Missing tiles left wide open patches in roofs, some of which had caved in from the snow. The bodies of the homes shared similar wounds, which took the forms of cracks and crumbling corners that stretched across the faces of buildings, all of which were in a horrible state of disrepair. Wooden boards and iron bars lined the windows of nigh every house he passed, but Arkash paid them no mind.
A deep exhale saw a wispy cloud of breath flow from his scarf, and he directed his gaze back to the nameless he lived among. The streets weren't all that busy, and there were only two or three people in view at any one time. Arkash stayed far clear of them, for good reason.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2020 1:44 pm
by Mannon
At some point, she was sure that she was going the right way towards Nivenhain’s inner districts. Until it was clear that she wasn’t. What gave it away? It wasn’t the stench or the growing number of the deteriorating house. It was the lack of those ghastly things that Rien people called Hollows. Their lack made Mannon feel at home and that wasn’t right.
Bloody...sense of...navigation, Mannon cursed to herself whilst maintaining a straight course.
Bloody cold as well, she continued grumbling in her mind, wrapping her cloak tighter around her. She didn’t have the hood pulled up, but the fur still managed to keep her neck and jawline warm.
It was middle of Ash, but it was too cold for that time of the year, at least for her tastes and memories of the proper season. Salem told her that Lorien was nothing like Atinaw and the truth of his words stalked her like a shadow.
The folds of her black skirt poked between the fur-lined cloak with every step. She looked around as though she belonged but in reality, she was looking for clues. She was grasping for familiarity that could guide her back to Outer Nivenhain at least.
Alas, each street seemed to have led her deeper and deeper into the slums. The faces around her turning at times just as grisly as those of the Hollows.
I need to get out, she thought after narrowly escaping a leering look of a stranger by turning yet another corner. Her attention turned from landmarks to gauge which of the faces around her were more likely to help her than otherwise. It was time to break whatever protection seemed to be wrapped around her that saved her from trouble thus far.
“Excuse me,” she called out to a pair standing by one of the houses where the shutters were barely hanging on.
The man and the woman looked at her with a frown that twisted their faces. Their lips were sealed.
“Excuse me,” she repeated when she got closer. “I...need to find a way back to Outer Nivenhain.”
The change on their faces was as swift as the weather in the mountains and just as unpredictable. The man and the woman exchanged a stare with raised eyebrows. Whatever wordless communication happened between them, their answer was the uncrossing of their arms and standing to full height.
“This some kinda trick?” The man said.
It was Mannon’s turn to raise her eyebrows. She was still unfamiliar with the dynamics between the different classes in Nivenhain. So she shook her head. “No. I don’t see why it would be.”
The two looked at each other again.
“Tha’ right, eh? No trouble here,” the woman then said, lifting her chin. Whether it was a sign for the man or he took it upon himself, at that moment he started circling around Mannon.
“So how come you’s lost?” The man asked, passing Mannon to her right.
The young woman wasn’t naive. She had her share of similar behaviours back in Atinaw. She knew a predator when she saw one.
Don’t judge a book by its cover, eh? She reprimanded herself.
“I am only looking for direction,” Mannon clarified, trying to keep an eye on the man and the woman as well. But when the man stepped behind her, he effectively stepped out of her field of vision. Knowing better than to stay put with her back exposed, Mannon stepped out of the line, wanting to have both of them by her sides.
It was then that the two took a step closer. Not yet cornered but with the street at her back, she gave each of them a hard look before brushing her gaze across the street.
No Hollows. No Chevaliers. Mannon returned to staring at the two, her jaw tightening. She wasn’t going to take a step back. She knew that was a weakness which earned her the title of prey in the past. So this time, she lifted her chin at the two.
“So…” She said, her voice dropping. “Are you going to tell me or not?” The challenge was spoken and the two smirked in response.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2020 3:25 pm
by Arkash
Hollows, strangely enough, put some humans at ease. There was something comforting about seeing the grotesque golems patrolling the streets with their handlers for some; a sense of safety or something of the sort. They were nothing of the sort to the bottom feeders of Lower Nivenhain. Seeing a hollow was uncommon, unless one worked for the overseers, and it was usually in groups of three or more, screeching and running through the streets in search of their prey; a nameless that had been sentenced to death for their wrongdoings.
Arkash had seen them running, he'd even seen a man run from them once, but he'd never seen the end result. Cojack and Liu had sheltered him the best they could, but the piercing cries of the false bodies were hard to avoid whenever they were loosed on the needy. Was it strange to work side-to-side with the symbols of death? Certainly, at first, but Arkash had long since grown accustomed to it. As long as he didn't break the law and stayed out of their way, he was safe.
There were those people that disliked the hollows regardless of where they lived, of course. Living among such ugly constructs of labor and oppression was something of an acquired taste, as Arkash understood it. As such, immigrants weren't usually too fond of them. Arkash couldn't blame them, but it was rare that he met immigrants. After all, who wanted to give up their life of rights and comfort to starve in frosty city slums? Little did Arkash know, that on his walk home from work, one of those rare encounters waited for him.
Just ahead, on the side of the snowy street, was a Lustrian woman. She almost passed for celebrant with her lavish cloak and clean skin, but Arkash knew such people wouldn't be in Lower Nivenhain without an armed guard or two at least.
The Rathari paused in the middle of the road, then gripped his scarf with both claws to pull it further over his nose. Yellow eyes of round pupils watched the trio while the male circled the Lustrian Lady. Was he stupid? Did he want to die? Or was something more than it seemed at play? The couple could have been part of a gang of some sort, or the lady could have been nameless somehow. New to Lorien? He wondered.
Regardless of who any of those people were, the street dogs had deemed her worth cowing. She backed away to keep her eyes on them, but they still advanced. She was still in trouble despite her reasoning. She needed help, but who would come to her aid if not a young, naive rathari? He just needed a plan.
"Ledy Baringer!" he called with his thick common accent as he ran to the trio and feigned heavy breathing. "Ledy Baringer... Hooo! I'm glad a' found 'ou...!" he continued to huff, and stopped beside them. "'e Knight-Argent Timmy sent me t' find 'ou after 'ou stormed off... th' convoy's no' far...! Shoutin' distance!" he declared, and kept up with his labored breathing. With that, he took her wrist with his claws, and turned his head "AY, TIMMY! I FOUND 'ER!" he yelled a the top of his lungs, then lowered his hood and lifted his free claw to the side of his head, devoid of ears. There was no reply.
"Aye, 'e's comin', let's go-," spoke the lizard, who turned to look at the couple. "Thanks f'r keepin' th' ledy company, 'ouse Baringer owes 'ou one." As soon as he'd looked at them, he'd turned back around and was on his way so long as she followed.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2020 4:02 pm
by Mannon
“Answer is gonna cost,” the woman said, taking another step closer to Mannon. Her hands were out low to the side as though appearing harmless. But that motion discreetly revealed a dagger tied to the woman’s hip under the rags she used to keep herself warm.
Mannon’s cheek twitched. Not in fear, but in disgust, which was not a smart emotion to show in these circumstances.
“You think we joking?” The man took a clear offence. His hand reached to grab Mannon’s cloak in an undisputable sign of aggression, but it stopped mid-air when someone hollered down the street. And that someone was rushing towards them.
Mannon wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking at, at first. She had seen Rathari before. They were not at all uncommon in Atinaw. However, seeing one in an unfamiliar setting, all wrapped up in furs and in this situation, it was only thanks to adrenaline already coursing through her veins that Mannon was able react.
She lifted her chin and twisted her lips, buying herself some time. Was this just another opportunist? Or a good soul? Life taught her to bet on the former since the latter was rare.
The Rathari rattled off random excuses.
House Baringer? She heard of it before from Salem.
His paw curled around her wrist. The sensation ran goosebumps up and down her arm. She wasn’t sure if it was the cold or the silky, almost wet touch of scales. The trimmed claws pressed against the soft flesh on the inside of her wrist.
A death grip, Mannon thought and her hand grasped in his hold turned into a fist.
Then there came the tug on her arm as the lizard took the lead. Her fist tensed, mobilizing the muscles in the rest of her arm, giving off resistance. But instead of blatantly resisting, someone else reached out for her, stopping Mannon in her tracks with a tug. Another tight grip clamped around her other arm through her cape.
“Lady Baringer, eh?” It was the man. Temper was colouring his words as well as the face.
“Aye and what’re you doing, following her around? No big house’s gonna hire a nameless like you,” the woman chimed in, nearly spitting in the ground.
“Do you want to find out when Timmy gets here?” Mannon bit back, her voice filled with provocation. Though it made no sense for a Baringer member to be here, Mannon hoped that the two would not want to face the consequences if the lie was indeed the truth.
The two stayed quiet a minute, looking back at Mannon before the man grinned. “Aye...so where is Timmy? We ain’t heard from him yet.” The hand that held her tightened and the man stepped even closer.
At the same time, the woman reached inside her rags and her hand stayed there. Mannon knew that's where the dagger was.
The foreigner on Nivenhain didn’t know how restrictive the tiredness was going to be on her, but she called the aether to her nonetheless. She felt it like separate threads at first.
Her heart sped up. Her body flushed with heat and she lifted her chin again in defiance.
[Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2020 4:18 am
by Arkash
To say that Arkash knew very little about the nobility, or even house Ravenlow, which resided in Nivenhain, was an understatement. A lady of house Baringer, one of the great houses, would never be seen somewhere as destitute as the slums of Nivenhain. Hell, Arkash had never seen a noble outside of the higher districts, and even then they were always with guards. Lots of agents. That was in places Arkash considered to be safe.
There were many holes in Arkash's plot, holes that he himself hadn't foreseen. They took her other arm, and Arkash held in his tracks as he tried to pull away. He looked over his shoulder at first with a look of bewilderment. He was called out. Why would a nameless be fallowing her, a celebrant, around? The Rathari paused while he considered. "...What's it t' you? Let th' ledy go, fore Timmy gets 'ere." More bluffs, more lies. Lady Baringer seemed to go along with it, though. Her trust only steeled his will to break her out of the situation.
They weren't buying it. The humans were onto him. "Like I said, where's 'iss Timmy at?" spoke the male in turn.
"'E's comin', don' 'ou worry."
His eye looked the scabby woman up and down, and he saw her reach into her rags. She had a weapon? How hadn't he seen it? It might have been a bluff, as Arkash had yet to see the glint of metal. But generally speaking, people in Lower Nivenhain didn't joke around with such things. His venom glands activated and began to pile up a stale, bitter taste behind his lips. Things weren't going how Arkash expected at all. he'd have to be a little more drastic, it seemed.
He slurped hard at the fluids that filled his mouth, and swallowed the excess venom. "Whoa, 'ey. No need for 'at," spoke Arkash as he released lady Baringer, then held out his palms as he turned to fully face the pair. "Aye, listen, I know youer 'esitant..." Big word for Arkash's common. "But'chya gotta trus' me. 'Ou know wha's comin' if you 'urt th' ledy. An' I'll bet 'ou any farthin's I can outrun 'ou, too." It was a lie, at least in the cold. "It ain't worf it, pack it in." He steadily closed the gap with them against his better judgment as he talked them down. His hands remained open both to give him a chance to catch whatever strike they might have thrown at him, but also to show that he meant no harm. His dull claws were also a testament to the fact that he couldn't hurt them.
Both the man and the woman looked at him with hesitation. There was no real way to tell for certain if he was lying or not, after all. "Nothin' good's comin' for 'ou if ya keep this up. Come on, now..." he was running out of lines, but he was just about close enough. Not within arm's reach, but...
"Oh, Timmy!" Called the lizard as he looked behind the scabby pair. "Thank goodness, 'ere's the ledy sef an' sound." His flexibility waned the longer he was in the cold, but he still retained enough warmth for what came next. The moment the pair turned to look in that direction, Arkash threw a high kick for the arm that gripped the lady and attempted to rake through the limb's clothes and flesh alike with the sharp talons of his feet. Those had been deliberately sharpened for the sake of gripping ice and stone while his hand claws were dulled for welding tools.
If successful, the strike would force the human to release lady Baringer. Arkash would yell with extreme urgency "RUN! THIS WEH!" As he took her arm and bolted for the street. he could only hope her shoes were fit for running, rather than lady business.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 6:04 am
by Mannon
When the lizard released his hold on her hand, Mannon swayed slightly toward her other captor. Despite the man's attention on the lizard, he noticed his advantage and tugged on her arm, causing Mannon to step closer to him. Her cheeks danced in anger and lips pressed tight together. She pulled the aether closer to her, bundled it together and gathered it near her captured hand. Her mind whirring, trying to come up with something that would make the man release her and give her enough time to dash for it.
Though her shoes weren’t made for running, at least they weren’t evening heels. Instead, she wore boots on a lower, wider heel, made for comfortable, long-distance walking.
Her hand twisted in the man’s grasp and his hold tightened, but he didn’t look at her. Neither of the two tattered individuals was looking at her. Their eyes were on the lizard and that served Mannon well.
Keep on distracting them, she thought as her eyes dipped to the exposed skin of the man’s hand. The air around it began to shift.
In her concentration, Mannon shut out the majority of things that were happening around her. Her sixth sense buzzed at a nearby body and on the edge of her awareness, she knew that the lizard got closer. But she continued working, disfiguring the man’s skin as though it was rotting, dying. It didn’t have to be perfect, just shocking for the man to release her.
"Oh, Timmy! Thank goodness, 'ere's the ledy sef an' sound." When Mannon heard that, she nearly looked up herself. Instead, it was the man who took the bait and Mannon finished placing the mask over his hand. Her expression was tight, but her eyes had a fire in them. If the disfigurement was real, the man would need a straight-up amputation of his limb. The skin was black, green and puss like yellow. It seemed to have been opened, exposing what was meant to be muscles beneath. But instead of the details fibres, it was glistening red like a freshly uncovered wound. Really, it was a play of colours and light and a human imagination which was powerful when shocked.
Yet, the kick came as a surprise. At the same moment, the two were turning to look back at the lizard with victorious and vicious stares. There was no Tommy.
The sudden move unbalanced Mannon as well. Jerking to the side, the illusion dwindled. But it wasn’t until the claw connected that it held just a second longer which was enough time for the man and the woman to see. The combination of the kick, the mask and surprise, created the perfect cocktails for their brains. They shrieked. The man released Mannon and jerked his hand back, his cry combination of fear and pain.
Mannon was free. She stepped back, already reaching lower to gather her skirts when her arm grabbed again. The lizard tugged on her and he bolted. She wasn't ready. She stumbled, skirts getting tangled between her legs.
Her hand twisted in his grasp to hold onto his forearm. She didn't want to fall flat on her face.
Mannon tugged on the fabric of her skirts, showing the ordinary, well-worn boots. She picked up the pace. Her eyes were fixed on the back of the Rathari that now held possession of her arm. Behind her, the two were coming out of shock.
“Oye! Where you think you goin’?!” Like a kick up the ass, Mannon's grip tightened on the lizard's arm, she pushed all her energy into her legs, the cape and skirts fanning out around her as she picked up speed.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2020 8:07 am
by Arkash
It was such a rush. Arkash had never attacked someone before; he'd never had to. But for some reason, in that moment, he saw fit to rake the man's arm with his claws. Was it the building threat? The lady in need? A small part of his consciousness filled itself with a mural of ideas as a wave of dopamine rewarded his efforts. Was he just meant to save people like some sort of slumtown hero? Was it his purpose that called to him? he didn't know why, but he held no remorse for the human he'd clawed; there was only satisfaction and a sense of duty.
That was all over the course of a split second. The rest of his psyche captured a mental image of the grotesque rotting wound he'd somehow inflicted on the human, which he'd caught toward the end of his kick. It must have been his own doing, what else could inflict damage so real? He'd never struck someone before, either. There must have been something wrong with his claws.
Regardless of what Arkash believed he was capable of, he pulled the lady along a few feet from the assailants, then slowed to a jog to allow her to sort out her dress for just a couple of seconds. He bounced, skipped, and kicked off his leather-wrapped feet to keep himself light, and the moment she was able to run properly, he pulled on her arm again and guided her along. "Rabe's beak! Didja see 'at?!" he called in shock.
The scabby human man had recovered from the attack all too quickly, however, as he was back to yelling at them in a matter of moments. How? That wound was life-threatening. While Arkash didn't understand what really happened or the use of magic, he did recognize that something was off about how quickly the couple had resumed the chase. There was no pause, no time to gather their wits, and formulate a plan. Arkash just had to wing it.
A glance of his yellow eyes placed his gaze on the human lady while the rush of the air blew his hood down to expose his smooth-scaled head. Her accent wasn't familiar to him, it didn't belong to any of the higher districts he knew. So, she was either from one of the surrounding cities or a place far from Lorien. Either way, she likely didn't know the streets of Nivenhain well, so it was up to him to guide them.
The decrepit and broken streets became even more worn and run-down as he guided them, and he cursed under his breath. They were close to the borders of Charger territory, a place Liu and Cojack had stressed that he never strayed near. They were a dangerous and powerful gang there in Lower Nivenhain, and nigh every soul there knew their name.
Arkash appeared hesitant while he ran from the couple, who were just a couple dozen feet behind them. His gaze returned to the lady, and he nodded once as if to gesture to her or steal her attention. "We gotta find somewhere- to hide- 'soon as we turn- th' corner ahead-, o'rite?" he spoke through his quickened breaths and bled his stored heat in a trail.
Ahead of them, the street turned sharply to the right at a hard ninety-degree angle, it was impossible to see what laid around the corner, or what Arkash feared until they were already upon it.
The entire street was devoid of life, or so it seemed at first glance. Rows of tall stone buildings with broken, empty windows lined the broken road. There were darkened alleys aplenty, piles of rubble, and solid stone stairways that lead to elevated, decaying wooden doors. They could hide behind any number of things, even one of the alleys or apparently vacant homes, but there was no telling what could have lurked in either of those.
Arkash slowed to a halt in the broken street and turned around to run at an angle as he watched the direction from which they came. The man and the woman both ran up to that bend, and panted for breath as they came to pause. The woman just about dove at them when the man took her by the arm. "'Ang on love, tha's charga turf. They's lost anyways."
The woman looked back at him with a scowl, then sheathed her knife at her hip. Though they both recognized they couldn't encroach on the gang's land, they didn't intend to let Arkash and Mannon escape through that same street, either. So, they waited there with their eyes locked firmly on the duo.
"We can' be out in th' opun like 'is," Arkash spoke to the lady while he caught his breath. "See a hidin' spot'cha fancy?"
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 4:27 am
by Mannon
The air burned in her lungs. It slashed her cheeks and brought shimmering sheen to her eyes. She wasn’t even running that fast, but she was running. It was not something she did often.
She heard the Rathari holler in excitement, but she had no breath to spare to answer. Also, she was too preoccupied trying to keep the pace to put as much distance between them and the other two.
Her own hood blew down, shoulder-length chestnut hair flew behind her, but unlike the lizard, she dared not look back. If she did, she risked stumbling and falling. Not something she was willing to put herself through.
So eyes upfront, only for a moment meeting the lizard’s stare. The yellow of his eyes like a target lock. If the situation was different, she’d be both disturbed and fascinated by that look. But right now, she just tightened her grip on his forearm, gave him a quick nod, feeling a droplet of sweat running down the side of her reddening cheek.
Their pursuers were shouting obscenities. But based on their voices, they were still far behind. Far enough not to catch them just yet.
Then the lizard spoke of hiding and turning corners. Again, Mannon just nodded at him. No air to spare.
But she did not expect what came. The corner was sharper than she thought. Her shoes weren’t meant for that kind of sudden change of direction.
Jerked to a side, her foot slipped on the slick ground covered in a mixture of snow, ice and sludge. Or so she thought.
Mannon cried out in surprise, feeling her feet going out from underneath her.
Her hand grabbed tighter to his forearm. Her other hand flailed out, trying to reach for anything to save herself from a fall. Her palm slapped higher on his arm. Her weight placed into the two contact points. She ended up clinging to his whole arm. But it saved her from completely flattening against the ground. Not so much good for her skirts or cape that now bore a gross smudge.
Stumbling into a stop next to the lizard, her breathing came out in big puffs. Clouds of white vapour lifted from her lips and it was then she looked around. She wasn’t sure whether they just went from bad to worse, but they certainly have not arrived anywhere closer to where she wanted to be. The decrepit houses stared back at them like empty eye sockets. It must have been ghosts walking around because she could not imagine a living soul down here.
The man and the woman stopped at the corner, hesitant to advance.
Lost? Mannon thought, her chest rising and falling in big motions. She didn’t understand. Local politics and turf wars were beyond her there and then.
She directed her attention back up to the lizard when he spoke to her. Letting go of his arm but not straying far, she shook her head.
“I can’t,” she breathed out heavily, referring to her magic, not the place. She did not have it in her to make both of them invisible. Heck, even herself! She was too tired for that kind of trick and certainly not focused enough.
Her eyes scanned their rickety surroundings again. “I mean...there’s plenty of places.” Her hand swooped in half circle, encompassing the houses around them, before she rested it on her side, bending slightly. She was finally regaining control of her breathing and she still did not understand why they needed to hide and why the couple did not just advance. But there was something odd in the air that got her senses buzzing. The danger alarm had not gone off, quite the opposite.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2020 4:42 pm
by Arkash
Arkash, despite his skinny frame had quite the pair of lungs. Perhaps it was because of his malnourished body that he found such ease in darting across the cobbled streets? Whatever it was, Arkash had been a good runner for as long as he could remember. That day, however, it became a problem. He'd nigh dragged the poor woman through the snowy roads, and by the time it came to turn, she could barely hold herself up against the change of momentum, and she slipped on the damp, icy dirt of the patchy road.
On a dime, Arkash widened his stance and caught her flailing arm with his spare claw. He had to fully extend and lock his knees to stop them from buckling, as he wasn't particularly strong, but she was saved a nasty fall as a result of their combined efforts. "C'mon, youer alright," he spoke in assurance, then guided her a few paces deeper into the charger's territory.
He kept the majority of his wits about him following the relatively short run; his breath had only picked up enough to see him breathe a little quicker than he had been when he first interjected the shakedown. The same could not be said for the poor woman, however. Her sudden need to rest and gather her breath led Arkash to believe that she'd either never heard of the chargers, or she was so tired that death by firing squad seemed like a decent outcome... perhaps a mixture of both?
"We gotta move," spoke the rathari again as his yellow eyes traced the empty, broken buildings. "We c'n pro'ly get out through one o' th' alleys," he declared and tried to take her by the wrist again. The sooner they were in cover, the sooner Arkash would feel safe. Even so, he didn't pull hard on her arm, but more tugged in an effort to guide her.
Whether she followed or not, Arkash began to explain. "'is road belongs t' Th' Black Boar Charga's, an' 'ey don' take kind t' tresspassa's, but we in't 'ave much of a choice." Indeed, if Arkash hadn't run under the glare of a much larger threat, the scabby couple that waited for them wouldn't have stopped their pursuit. They couldn't outrun them, that much was certain.
Though he'd snatched her from a mugging or worse, and he favored the shelter of the alleyway, it still didn't feel all that right to guide a lady down one, and Arkash found himself worried with how he might be perceived. His yellow irises locked on her own with a sort of primal glare in the light that reflected from them, and he spoke "I know i'ss looks shifty, but I p'omise I'm no' like 'at." for emphasis, he took his free claw and dragged it in an X formation over his chest. "Cross my 'eart, you jus' gotta trus' me on 'is."
The more time they spent in the open street, the more likely it was for one of the Charger's patrols to discover them.
Re: [Memory] Misplaced
Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 5:22 am
by Mannon
It was in the moments of recovery when things started to fall in place. The scarce information she had gave her enough of an idea that she viewed the street with new eyes.
They left more or less inhabited streets and arrived somewhere ghastly that even the rotten couple wouldn't enter.
It was ghastly because there was danger, they couldn't deal with and most likely neither could Mannon.
The couple remained at that invisible border, regarding the street with frowns and fidgeting that they tried to keep under control.
The lizard led to her to somewhere far worse. If he belonged to that place, Mannon was doomed. If he didn't...they were both doomed.
So when he took her wrist again and tugged on it, she translated resistance into tension in her arm, lifting her hand so as to create a block against the motion.
Her question must have been clear, or the lizard understood her position because he offered information. His dialect, though not as thick as that of other Rien people, took quite a bit of focusing for the woman. The frown that settled on her brow was both a result of that and the details she was given. Yet, she still resisted the tug and the air thickened with apprehension.
Black Boar Chargers don’t like visitors, Mannon concluded. She looked over the street one more time, before her eyes settled on the lizard.
Could she take him if she needed to? No. He was taller than her and though her knowledge of lizards extended only as far as chasing them through the gardens of her home estate when she was little, she did not want to find out any more than their tendency to regrowing tails.
But she couldn’t stay in the middle of this street either. The couple behind them, their nervousness was starting to rub off on her and even the lizard’s eagerness to get out of sight spoke thousand silent words.
Her gut told her, she had no choice there and then. And she learnt to trust her gut.
He offered her reassurances which in her world weighed little. Promises to her were broken time and time again. Even his endearing cross across his heart did meant little but a gesture that children did.
Yet, he helped her thus far for whatever reason.
Being neither fool nor naive anymore, Mannon gave the lizard a hard stare. She had to play the game in the only way she knew...through bluffing.
“You try anything, I will make sure your whole body rots like the man's hand,” she told him and only then took a step.
She hoped that he saw the rot and believed it real. If he didn’t then the mystery was still in place as a buffer. Unless the lizard grew overconfident, in which case...she just hoped she recovered enough energy by then to magic her way out of this mess.
