Headquarters

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe glared at the dragon, hearing its teeth click as it snapped at her. "Insuff'rable beastie," she muttered. She'd never much liked dragons or other legends brought to life--they were stories for a reason, and the nice thing about myths was that one didn't have to deal with them on a regular basis. It made life complicated.

"Nae, m'lady guard, I need nae assistin' home. I'm new tae this toown, ye hear?" She bit at the guard, then realized that snapping at authority was what had gotten her into trouble so many times before. Scaling back her tone she continued, somewhat more politely. "'Tis late, ma'am guard. Et's the night's watch noo, es et nae?"

She didn't wait for an answer to her redundant question, instead flicking her eyes over to Darius. She hesitated for a moment before speaking, then shrugged, causing the fabric of her cloak to ripple elegantly in the dim light. She still had her hood up, but a hint of a smile graced her lips before it was gone again just as quickly. "T'hell makes ye think I noo hae tae clean a lit'l dragonbeast, eh? Thought I told ye tae mind yer tongue when speakin' tae me... perhaps ye ere needin' yer ears cleaned oot as well."

She snorted, but stepped forward and closer to the odd trio. "M'name's Caiomhe, o' the far western parts. Ken I get yer esteemed name, sirrah? An' ye, m'lady guard, iff'n et ain't troublesome er t'like?"

[Dragon]

Of course, he had no idea what on earth was happening around him. All he knew was that all three of these odd people (perhaps with food?) had strange voices and were blabbering to each other about something, making those noises that the dragon had never realized was organized language. Two-leggeds were often quite complicated in body language and noises, but this whole thing was just bizarre.

He had a distinct urge to run up to the newest, oddest one of the bunch with hazy eyes and sniff her to see if she had anything to eat. He no longer enjoyed staying here under the woman's arm, and began to struggle, flailing his red limbs and grunting forcibly in order to escape. "Nrg!" he sounded, hooting in frustration.

[Traherne Wynford]

The axe wielder fidgeted uncomfortably as the dragon grew weary of being held, moving it's fat little body back and forth. She squeezed him harder in an attempt to encourage it to relax.

"Traherne Wynford." she answered the blind girl shortly, the tone of her voice was forced into kindness, "Now if you'll excuse me..."

As she turned to walk off, the reptile somehow squeezed out of her tight grip, and she dropped the thing onto the ground, nearly tripping over it in turn. Regaining her balance, Trae sighed in frustration.

"Alright you little bugger..." she mumbled, "I'm just trying to get you fed and safe. Work with me here..."

She strapped her axe to her back, a motion she was very used too, and went after the Dragon which was wandering toward Caiomhe.

"I'm sorry, Miss, just stand aside so the thing doesn't slobber on you..." said Trae as nicely as she could, placing a hand on Caiomhe's shoulder.

The wind blew suddenly, just in time for Cai's cape to reveal the skin of her shoulder, Trae's gloved palm touching bare flesh; The Guardswoman was unaware of the mistake she had made just then...

[DariusRhun]

Darius watched as the guards-woman stowed her weapon and dealt with the wriggling creature. "Not so domesticated after all..." He said sarcastically as the woman made her way towards the odd looking girl. The evening was calm, pleasant probably to most, but in the gates of the city Darius felt uneasy. He never liked the idea of too many eyes on him. Yet here there were windows and cracks a-plenty, space for prying eyes and the nosy.

How did the city people stand it?

He took a deep breath and followed Traherne to her guard post, making sure to keep her at arms length. She was probably trustworthy, but Darius had learned the hard way that even those that profess to be of the law could lose their principals when so inclined.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe had to stifle a snigger as she heard the guardswoman trip over the dragon. It quickly faded as the thing snuffled its smelly, sulfuric self up to her and started nosing around. Her lip curled up in disgust as she stepped away slightly from the stink. "Aye laddie, ye ere a'needin' a bath." She waited for the lady to claim her dragon impatiently.

Then suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder, and more than that a glove, a glove... cold fire tearing, screaming outside, last vestiges of sight showing her grinning soldiers with bloody swords and terrible eyes, night was falling or was it day, she couldn't remember anymore, the memory had gone darker than time itself but the terror was still there as a scream pierced her throat while gloved hands held her down, hot leather burning her flesh and then her eyes, gods above, her eyes, white flames dancing in them, mocking her screams and shriek aloud, though no one came to her rescue, no one could, they were almost all dead, save for perhaps a few other children enduring the same hell as Caiomhe herself, the terrifying winter ice flaming in her eyes, like being pierced but shards of ice couldn't be more painful, and then it was hot, everything was burning with an intense white flame and tears were streaming down her face but she couldn't stop them, and then the men left and yet the pain went on and on...

She let out a high-pitched scream the echoed the length of the street and possibly longer, filled with terror and fear. She shrieked out in her own language, knowing they couldn't understand her and yet having lost all powers of the local tongue in that one instant, "Get away from me, stay away, you won't take me again, you slaughtering, blinding whore! I've already lost the thing most precious to me--you won't take anything else!" She stood there, robe askew and baring more flesh than she would have normally done, breathing heavily as she stared with wide, milky-green eyes in the direction of the guard, looking quite awful. Her hood was off and her hair was loose, tangling around her shoulder wildly. "Ye stay fer awa' frem me, ye ken? I ain't a'goin' t'have nene o' yer murderin', evil hands a'touchin' me!"

[Traherne Wynford]

Traherne hadn't expected it, never saw it coming. Her hand whipped back from Caiomhe as she screeched, looking more like a banshee now than a girl. A step back, her own eyes wide and glowing with alarm.

"Wha..." her lips moved but words wouldn't form.

The girl was cursing her now, telling her to stay away and some other rubbish she couldn't relate too. That damn scream still echoed off the walls and alleys, traveling the distance like curse. And then, all at once, it stopped. The thickest silence came with the breeze that was tossing the guardswoman's hair about her face now, licking her cheeks with a frightening chill.

Then shuffling from the direction of the Headquarters, which turned into the stomping of boots. Traherne never removed her focus from the blind girl as shouts filled the space between them.

"Hey! What's going on over here!?"

It was the next guard shift for the night, coming to relieve Traherne when they heard the scream. Three large men with standard issued armor, helmets that looked perhaps a pinch too small for their heads, rounded the corner, pushing past Darius.

"That one! Grab her!"

It was then that Trae realized that her hand was reaching back, holding the handle of her axe so tightly that she lost feeling in it. Large hands snatched up Caiomhe's thin arms and held her tight from both sides, which is when Traherne shook herself from her trance.

"We'll be taking her with us, Wynford. You can clock out for the evening." grunted one of the guards.

Traherne stood up straight, letting go of her axe, and in turn scooped up the dragon again.

"I'll come with you. Have to fill out papers for this little guy. He's with me." she motioned to Darius.

The guardsmen nodded obediently, and it was obvious that Traherne was more than a low ranking officer.

"And this one?" one of the hands holding Caiomhe tightened.

"Just take her back to HQ and check her papers for any former disturbances. Otherwise, I believe she's harmless. Standard issue for noise litter. Perhaps a night in a cell to keep her off the streets, maybe she'll calm down." Traherne explained professionally, turning to lead the way back to HQ.

[DariusRhun]

Darius watched as Traherne made contact with the girl, and was witness to her face changing in front of his eyes. Her gaze turned into a shriek, and Darius turned away as the girl began her screaming, half covering his ears from the noise the young thing made. Her screams were that of someone in absolute terror.

He looked over as the girl began chanting a some curse in a language unfamiliar... or was it a spell? Either way Traherne was transfixed as if by magic. Soon her comrades came running brushing past Darius and to the aid of the woman who know snapped out of her pose. Very odd indeed Darius thought as he heard Traherne mention that he was with her. He smiled, it was somehow comforting to be accepted in this strange city by anyone... let alone one with such a commanding presence.

He watched as the girl was arrested, and bristled a bit. It was only natural that he, a nomad, would bristle at the thought of being caged. If there were anything he loathed it was a jail cell. Still perhaps the girls outburst was a symptom of something far worse... and there was the slight feeling he felt in his gut. Magic? From her? He quieted the thought as he followed Traherne.

"So Wynford...why did you become....'guard'? I would get bored trapped here...dealing with squabbling merchants and unruly townsfolk." He asked as they approached her Headquarters. He accent was slight, and he missed the occasional word or two, but he was sure he was understood.

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe Feryn was not one to go easy as she was taken. She went limp despite feeling more gloves on her skin than she cared to, adopting a demure demeanor. She let herself shake slightly, then, as she felt the passageway close in around her and block off the night air. She would not settle for that.

Sneakily, Cai managed to get her hand around the neck of a sachet of herbs stored in her voluminous robe. She tossed it slightly in front of her and stumbled on purpose, crushing it. She'd trained herself to be impervious to the effects of all her plants, and could withstand many minor poisons, but the unaccustomed guardsmen didn't stand a chance. She repeated the process with a second sachet as the first on began to take effect.

Almost instantaneous tiredness and a longing for sleep called to the men holding her, and those who resisted fell prey to the second sachet's power--a blindness of grey, with writhing shapes in many colors; a powerful hallucinogen. She bolted, sliding out of her captors' grasp like a fish underwater. It had been a straight shot into the building, so she ran straight ahead, her hands held slightly spread at her sides to ward off the walls. Once she gained the outside, felt the cool brush of night air on her bare skin, she turned and felt for the door, slamming it shut and throwing another couple of sachets to full of herbs to cause forgetfulness under the heavy wood, sealing in the hallucinogens and exhaustion drugs.

She remembered the others, the gloved woman and her pet stinkscales, along with the man who spoke funny. Caiomhe was fully away she was a flaming hypocrite, but she did not care. "Ye'd do well t'either come with me ere ferget what jest happened. Else I can force ye t'lose yer minds." She could, too. It wouldn't be as powerful as the enclosed corridors had caused the other ones to be, but she thought she still had enough to make it work. She didn't give a single thought for the axe as she waited for an answer, relaxing just about as much as a doe when the wolf's near.

[DariusRhun]

Darius had hardly gotten into the room, hardly had time to even enjoy getting out of streets, when the odd girl charged in behind them. He heard her coming of course, her heavy footfalls weren't that stealthy. Still he admired her speed, but not her manners.

"Ye'd do well t'either come with me ere ferget what jest happened. Else I can force ye t'lose yer minds."

"Well now, suppose we like our minds?" Darius said as he took a seat near the fire and reclined back placing his round shield on the floor casually. He smiled at Wynford and looked back to the disturbed young woman.

"I can tell you've thought this through... but I'm curious... as we hunters are a curious bunch. How exactly do you plan to subdue us both before one of ends you?. You going to rub us with herbs until we surrender?" He chuckled a bit as he removed his bow and placed it on top of his shield, stretched his neck and shoulders and turned to look intensely at the fire.

"Save yourself the trouble and sit and relax. Someone with so much threat in them has to get tired from time to time." Darius said as he closed his eyes and lay back on the bench with little to no concern about Ms. Cai's threat then a lazy dog was about a fly buzzing around the ceiling. Truth was he was tired, and it had been a long days travel to arrive at the city. He wasn't going to concern himself until it was absolutely necessary. He left it to Wynford, as he was sure that the woman could handle the whelp all on her own.

[Dragon]

Being picked up again prompted the dragon to fall into a sort of lull, a calm haze activated by the non-use of his many tiny muscles. Offering a mild, grumbling purr, the reptile did little but become limp and relaxed at Wynford's side, supported solely by her fit arm.

Of course, during this lull a series of events happened that he paid little attention to, and soon enough they were in a warm building next to a fire and things were nice and the stink - or perfume, rather - of human was everywhere. "Rufgh," he grunted somberly as a door was shut and the funny girl reappeared there. He sighed briefly, but did not attempt to escape again, still hoping for that scrap of food and enjoying the warmth of human structures.

[Traherne Wynford]

Traherne looked alarmed, at least her eyes showed most of the concern. She didn't much appreciate her men being knocked out, especially in such a sneaky way. Her full lips displayed a stern grimace as Darius spoke to Cai as calmly as the sound of a babbling brook. She had become rather fascinated with the man in a very short time. Normally in a situation such as this, poor Cai would probably be stuck on the sharp end of the wrong axe.

She didn't say anything for what felt like a very long time, letting the silence linger after the hunter's words had finished. Then, she set the Dragon down by the fire at Darius' feet, offering it two handfuls of jerky.

"Why did I become a guard?" She began as if the prior events has never interrupted their conversation.

Traherne turned to face the blind girl, her penatrating pools of green seemed to absord her very existance.

"I became a guard because I learned very young that people are destructive and careless. They do things without thinking and hurt eachother. I became a guard to protect the few that are good and innocent.I became a guard to try and keep what little peace there still is in this shredded world."

The guardswoman took a cautious step toward the girl.

"I don't have to be your enemy. But I will if you make me."

[Caiomhe Feryn]

Caiomhe was in a bad mood. The idiotic man... he was suggesting that she come and sit by the fire while she had a barracks-full of drugged guards behind her! She gave him a look, or at least she fixed her eyes on where she knew he was sitting. She paused for a moment, wondering about what to say.

"Threat en me? Nae, nae normal'y, but a'seein' as I jest did somethin' rather bad, iff'n ye take me meanin', runnin' seems like a good idea," Cai spoke slowly, as though to one dimwitted. She knew people made fun of her ways of defending herself and she hated it--she was tempted to turn his fingernails purple to show him she wasn't as harmless as he was portraying her, then had a better idea. But first she snorted at Traherne's logic about being a guard, as Caimohe herself had had no good experience with guards keeping the peace. "Oh aye, ye can try an' keep yer precious peace as long as ye like, but en th'end bein' a guard ain't such a great thing. How d'ye know who's gud an' innocent, eh? D'ye jest have t'guess? Et wouldnae surprise me. Nae, I donnae want ye as m'enemy, but I ne'er wanted nae guards as me enemies, an' yet ain't et strange how th'world turns?"

Cai shifted her stance, still looking as though she were poised to run. She knew she'd likely make a fool of herself, because she didn't really remember much beyond the walls of the guard house in terms of streets and she'd probably run straight into a building if she went outside, but she knew she'd try it anyway. "Look," she said to Darius. "Meybe ye really donnae know nothin'. Ye think guards would go easy on mesel'? I ain't ne'er had a guard who dinnae try somethin' awful on me, an' meybe ye donnae understand that frem yer perfect little hunter life, eh? Meybe ye donnae know what guards, even th'good ones like this lady 'ere, apparently, ere like. D'ye?" She was snappish by this point, and her mind was raging at her to run and get out.

[DariusRhun]

Darius sighed a bit as the girl resisted what seemed like common sense. In truth he found it somewhat familiar, the young hunters of Thar Lydera often were such wild folk as her, unruly, uncompromsing, always eager to move from one place to the next in the blink of an eye. Little was thier respect for authority other then that of thier stomach.



"Running? What sense is running if you don't know where your going my blind friend?" He said as he sat up and patted the small dragon at his feet, the mischevious creature appeared to be hungry again. He got up and from his place went to the nearby window. The view afforded him ample information about the local surroundings.

"You run and you'll attract attention. I don't know how you handled those guards, but you don't seem the killing type. I'd bet several ralma beasts hides that their coming too with not to fuzzy feelings about yours truly. Tomorrow the weather will be fairer, and the road easier then the dark of night." He said as he came to closer to the blind girl.


Ralma Beast

"We hunters don't know much about the lives of the city-folk. Perhaps your grievance with the Guards is fair, but Traherne has offered you a moment to collect yourself. In my land hospitality is not to be treated disrespectfully even by the very evil. So stay and enlighten us to your history... or fly and save us the trouble of your foolishness, either way do it quickly as I mean to make a meal and rest for the hour is late."

With that he began to remove a small satchel from his hip, and looked to Traherne. "Now, I make a stew that will make you forget your city walls and beg for the life of a nomad, if you'd guide me to where you keep your cookery?"

With that he turned back to look at the little dragon as he sniffed about his belongings, "And don't you think of sneakin' of with my belongings you little beast." He said this playfully, as he awaited Traherne's answer.

[Traherne Wynford]

Traherne was glaring at Cai, and she couldn't help but feel offended at her words.Sure, not every guard was perfect, and sometimes brute force was called to silence the trouble-makers, but was she not merely doing what was right? Why, the blind girl should feel greatful! Even after she managed to knock out two of her men, Trae still showed mercy. In fact, she was lucky Darius could remain so neautral, that she was sure if he wasn't there Cai wouldn't have a choice but to taste the floor of a cold cell for the night.

A heavey, forced sigh escaped between the gaurdwoman's lips; the idea of food was pleasing. From outside the window came the groans of two very confused guards. They'd probably go about their nightly route without remembering much of what just happened to them. For the better...

"Believe what you want." Traherne said, her voice a little tight, "But remember,I have to walk the streets believing everyone is good until they show otherwise. Assume what you will of me."

She turned to Darius warily, "The kitchen is small, but there's enough in there to make a stew."

She opened a door to their left, and led the hunter down a dimly lit hallway. The ceiling was high above them, and their footsteps echoed all around. To the right another door was opened, and a very average kitchen revealed itself to them. The only noticable trait was a large, out-of-place painting of the Historic District from an earlier time.

"Don't think you're getting out of filling papers. I need two reports: one about the dragon, and another about miss crazy eyes." She said this with a hint of spite, dropping down in a small chair at the small table.

Running her fingers through her hair, she looked tired. She waved her armored hand in the direction of a large pot in the cupboard.

"....Thanks." She muttered, "You're a rare traveller. Most people in this city don't understand hospitality and reason anymore."

[Dragon]

The moment he was set down, he received two mouthfuls of jerky, which he grabbed as quickly as they were offered and bounced over to a corner by the fire. He tilted his small head up and the scraps of jerky slid down his throat. He snapped his mouth a few times until they had gone down all the way, looking content. He was unable to chew, but food tasted just as fine without that nonessential bit.

When he was spoken to by the man after briefly looking at the bag thing he was carrying, he grumbled a small, "Rmph," but otherwise did nothing.

As the man and the woman who had been carrying him shuffled off somewhere else, he stayed behind with the odd girl. He didn't think he liked her much, and didn't understand why was was there. Then again, he didn't fully understand how he had gotten here either, except that the place had offered food to him.

Unclear on what he should do, the dragon wandered over to the blind girl and shoved his nose in the area behind her knee, growling mildly and wagging his tail, as if hoping that she would give him more jerky.