In for Trouble

[Ari]

The crowded street made Ari shudder. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to become as small as possible to avoid touching those walking next to her. Still, her shoulders continuously brushed against others and she grew tenser with each touch.

Such a busy spot was not the sort of place Ari usually frequented, but she had heard a rumor of an old bookstore located in town that had old fairytale books hidden away within the shelves. It was the first lead she'd had in months and she was not about to miss it simply due to a crowd.

She came to an alleyway and paused, glancing at the little strip of paper with the store's address written on it. That street is still two blocks over. This should cut time. she thought. Tucking the paper back in her pocket, Ari began to walk down the dark alley cautiously.

"Little mouse, what are you doing in a place like this?" a voice within the shadows said. Ari's hands clenched and she took a fighting stance as she strained to see the speaker. A man walked out into the dim light. He was quite tall, with well muscled arms and a broad chest.

"Just leaving." Ari replied and turned around, only to find two more men blocking her exit.

"So soon? I don't think so. We've only just met." said the first man, who grabbed her wrist from behind. Ari twisted herself around to face him, freeing her wrist in the process, but the other men had come closer and the three of them surrounded her. She dropped into a crouch and spun with her leg out, striking one man hard in the shin, but the first, who seemed to be the leader, dodged and kicked her hard in the chest. Ari cried out, dropping to the ground only to be pulled to her feet by her hair and shoved against the wall. "You have fire in you. We can fix that."

[Talia Idris]

Talia smiled as she breathed in the brisk spring air. The winter had flown by so fast, for which she was grateful. While she loved to bake, working in a kitchen all day and then having to stay inside on her free time was not her idea of fun. Even on a day like today it could get pretty boring in there, which is why she had been thankful when her boss had sent her out to grab some emergency supplies. On a slightly nippy day like today the smell of fresh baked buns and treats often brought a crowd in and with the bakers' usual order delayed until tomorrow they had needed more sugar.

Talia shifted the sack from one arm to the other and balanced it on her hip. It wasn't the easiest thing to carry but she was determined to do it herself after already politely refusing the help of the half-elf assistant at the shop where she had got it.

She was still several blocks away from the bakery when she decided to put the sack down and rest for a minute on a crate that was just laying by an empty alleyway. She had made good time to the store so she shouldn't be missed if she stopped for a small breather. Suddenly she stood up and peered down the alley.

"I thought I heard something..." She muttered to herself. She shook her head "probably just the wind. I better get going anyways."

She stooped down to grab the sugar before turning towards the alley again. This time she had definitely heard something. This time it sounded like a little girl had cried out. Slowly and quietly Talia crept down the dark alley.

"...fire in you. We can fix that." Talia heard the men before she saw the three of them. They had a pretty young thing backed and pinned against the wall. Talia looked back towards the busy street. It was too far away for her to run and grab someone to help in time and she was too close to the men to yell for help, plus if that would have worked the girl would have done it already. for that matter, Talia wouldn't have heard her if she hadn't been sitting right outside the alley itself.

Talia took a deep breath and grabbed the sugar sack by the top corners. With a brief yell she ran at the men and swung the bag as hard as she could at the back knees of the man who was pinning the girl down. Letting go of it as he fell she made a quick grab for her small dagger that was in her belt. With it outstretched she ran past the second man and sunk it into his side.

"RUN!!" She yelled at the girl as she continued to run down the allry. Hopefully the third guy would help his buddies before running after them. "I hope she can keep up." Talia thought to herself, because now she had nothing left to fight or defend with so they either had to out-run or out-maneuver them or make it back to the streets where hopefully the men wouldn't chance anything with people and guards around.

[Ardys]

Ardys, as usual when surrounded by humans minding their own business, was bored. Not just the normal bored, where she might divert herself by reading a book or stealing something, but terribly, bone-achingly, bored, to the point where chewing off her own arm might be interesting just to see if she could regrow it. That would be dreadfully messy, of course, and stain her purple silk shirt and her red velveteen pants. Her cobalt blue leather boots would probably wash off well enough, but the idea of blood staining her clothes was enough to keep her mind away from experiments with her healing powers.

But none of that solved her problem. Ardys sighed as she looked around the dingy tavern she was in. She had had to wipe the table down with one of her linin handkerchiefs before sitting at it, and that was just embarrassing. There were a few people at the bar but they didn't look to be at all interesting. Ardys pouted slightly, then shrugged and stood up, tossing a few Bishani on the table to pay for her bad wine. She had been hoping to hear of something fun in the tavern, but of course, the humans had to be boring.

Rolling her eyes, Ardys exited the tavern into the weak daylight. She was starting to see that coming back to this magic-fearing, dark city had been a bad idea. Just as she was about to start grumbling about it, she heard a yell and a shriek from a nearby alley. Ardys immediately perked up, shrugging her patterned orange and red and gold silk cloak back into place as she strode towards the noise.

She wasn't able to get there before she saw a pair of girls dart from an alleyway. One of them crashed into her and she was only able to save herself from being knocked to the ground with a twist of superhuman speed and flexibility. The girl was not so lucky - she got knocked to the ground by the impact and Ardys caught a flash of blood-stained dagger in her hands. Now this was very interesting. "Well now, what's a pretty face like yers doin' on this side o' town, runnin' around an' causin' a ruckus?" Ardys grinned, offering the girl a hand up. She wouldn't even be upset about the tiny drop of blood on her shirt. Enraged yells like this girl's dagger must have cause were not boring at all!

[Talia Idris]

Talia dodged around a couple corners and upon seeing the city's street ahead she stole a glance behind her, hoping that she hadn't wasted her bag of sugar only to end up failing in her little 'rescue' mission. She grinned as she saw the girl turn the corner a second later. Of course that didn't mean that they weren't being followed! So with a final burst of speed Talia ran into the street....and promptly collided with another body causing her to fall quite unlady like.

Talia righted the skirt of her dress with her one hand while she awkwardly held her dagger in the other. She had never actually stabbed someone before and didn't really know what to do with it now, but presently there were other issues. She looked up at the flamboyantly dressed woman in front of her offering her hand. She was somehow still standing even with Talia basically ran into her at full speed. Talia shrugged the thought off, while accepting the offer up, no use judging a book by its cover...or a person by their ability to withstand a run-in.

"Might we move somewhere else first?" She asked worriedly looking back into the alleyway. "I'd rather not have to face the reaction of the three men we ah.....just left." She said with a shaky grin. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and she was feeling a bit off. It had been a while since she had had any kind of confrontation like this and now she remembered why she had chosen to move on and forget it. Taking a breathe she smiled and pretended like everything was just fine, that stabbing creepy men was an average day for her. "I am Talia, I was just running some errands when I saw a couple guys had cornered...." Talia stopped mid-sentence and turned around to look at the person behind her. "I guess we haven't really met yet. As I just said, I'm Talia. Sorry we didn't meet under better circumstances."

[Ari]

Everything seemed to happen all at once. She was being pinned, then the men seemed to be in distress as another girl came on to the scene and began attacking them. Ari had no time to assess her wounds, and instead went bounding after the girl, her heart pounding. She could hear the men shouting behind them, but would they pursue? Ari hoped not. Around the corner they went, into the clear of the daylight and... Suddenly the girl in front of her was tumbling to the ground. Ari managed to skid to a stop, though she nearly collided into a very stylish looking woman who now stood before them.

She half listened as the two women began to talk, but her ears were tuned to the sounds of the men still in the alleyway. Taking a moment to breathe, she pulled her shirt down a bit, observing the deep purple bruise that was now radiating outward between her breasts. "Lovely," she muttered. "Talia," she repeated, nodding. "My name is Arisynn. Ari. And I am glad to have met you, since I would clearly have been in trouble if I had not." She grinned at the two women. "I would ask your name too," she said to the other woman, "but I think we may want to go for a run first, yes?"

Behind them one of the men was turning the corner, looking around groggily. Ari guessed the other two were still dealing with their injuries, but either way, she did not want to be caught by any of them.

[Ardys]

Ardys sighed, looking with a pout at the man chasing the girls. She supposed she had to give him credit for being so persistant, but desperation never looked good on anyone, and this man was ugly enough without his disposition adding to it. Well, there was no help for it. They could run and Ardys would muss her clothes (these two girls were far too interesting to simply leave) or she could do something about this ugly man.

She stepped right into his path and grabbed him. She was much stronger than she looked... inhumanly strong, in fact. The man's eyes widened as she held him still. "Now," she said briskly. "Ye could continue chasin' these lovely young ladies an' meself, or ye could rub yer brain bits together fer the first time in yer life an' leave 'em alone, hey?" She reached into her purse and pulled out a handful of Bishani, more money than a man like this would likely see in a week. "This is fer smart boys, right? An' this," she grinned wickedly, flashing her belt knife at him with a twist of her hip and a shift of fabric, "this is fer those boys who ain't so bright." The belt itself was probably not threatening, but Ardys's smile was decidedly inhuman, showed far too many teeth to be friendly, and promised a world of hurt for whoever crossed her.

Ardys could practically see the man's brain churning the deal over and she rolled her eyes. Stupid humans were even worse than regular humans, and that was really saying something. "Yer a smart lad. Get goin'," she commanded as she dumped the Bishani into the man's palm. "I will not be showin' ye my delicate side should ye mess with these ladies again." She shooed him off with a wave of her hand and then turned to the girls with a smile that was very different and much more friendly than the one she had given the man. "Ye both look like ye may need a drink. The gods know I could."

[Talia Idris]

Talia watched the interaction between the woman and the man who had been chasing them. She held her breathe as she saw her use a rather in-human strength. Unlike some people who might be impressed or just plain grateful for the help Talia was more taken in by the woman herself. It was obvious that she wasn't from around here, that much she could tell from her cloths. It also seemed like she wasn't human, at least not entirely, a fact that gave Talia the shivers.

As she turned around and smiled at the girls, Talia switched out of her reverie just in time to hear the woman suggesting that they go for a drink. She pasted on a smile before responding politely. "Well thanks so much for helping us with our ... little problem." She genuinely grinned at that fact. It was entertaining to see a grown man bested....especially by a woman. But that still didn't make up for the fact that Talia would prefer that Marn stay...well pure to put it simply. "I would love to accept your offer," she continued "but that encounter caused me to lose my sack o' sugar and I really must get some more and head back to work. My boss'll be missing me by now." Maybe this time she would accept the help of the elfish assistant at the store....she was already so late and she didn't think she had much strength left to carry another bag all the way back to the bakery again.

Talia turned to the other girl, who didn't seem so much of a girl now that she wasn't surrounded by a bunch of overgrown boys. "Here is the address of where I work and live." she said writing with a pencil stub on a scrap of paper. "You don't look like you are around here" she winked at Ari "so if you need anything just let me know."

[Ari]

Ari grinned as she watched the woman nearly pick up the ugly man. She knew there was something she had liked about the fashionable woman. It was quite apparent now that she was not human. Watching as the human male retreated, hands full of coins, Ari rolled her eyes. Men were so simple. Sex and money and food. That was all it took to win them over.

"Thank you," Ari said to the woman, nodding her head a bit. It was strange to think that only moments ago she had been helpless in that alley, surrounded by men. Now she was on the other side of the coin, on top of the world and sneering down at them. Though, she would not soon forget the feeling of being bested. Her chest was throbbing now and she knew the bruise would only get worse. One glance down told her so, for it had spread from between her breasts to the top of her chest and was now visible, peaking out from the edge of her shirt.

Ari turned to Talia for a moment, frowning a bit as she spoke of having to leave. She accepted the slip of paper from her, tucking it into her pocket. "It is a shame you must go. Could the sugar not wait?" she asked, tilting her head a bit. "Thank you for helping me. I will not forget it." She took the woman's hand, giving it a firm shake before releasing it. She certainly should have got going herself. The bookstore she had been heading to would surely close soon, as the sun was beginning to set. However, she was intrigued by the inhuman woman. Surely she would be far more knowledgeable than some old book that could very well be a simple rumor. "I will gladly join you for a drink, Miss..." she paused, realizing she had not yet learned this woman's name.

[Ardys]

One of the girls wanted to go? No, that was not good. Ardys had just met them and they weren't boring (or at least she hoped they weren't) and she would like to get to know them better if only to continue to not be bored, and so she turned her most winning smile onto the girl with the knife... Talia, she had said. "C'mon, Talia, just one drink. We'll go somewhere fancy too... or at least nice enough, lord an' lady know nowhere around here's half a king's palace."

Ardys looped a companionable arm around the other girl, Ari. This girl seemed happy enough to follow Ardys, which made the woman happy. She's also seen both of the girls looking over her clothing and not curl their lips in distaste, which made her even happier. Ardys really did have fabulous taste in clothing, if she did say so herself, and she preened like a cat on a throne when it was noticed. Not, of course, she amended hastily to herself, that she would have anything to do with cats, nasty little ass-lickers they were.

"M'name's Ardys, pretty Ari. Drop th' 'miss,' cause I certainly ain't a lady. But I am quite nice, I promise," she winked. "One drink, Tal, an' then I'll explain everythin' t'yer boss an' buy half th' shop." Ardys loved flinging her money around. It was almost as fun as stealing it, especially in a down-trodden, dirty city like this. Fine people with noble blood in their veins in other parts of the world wouldn't even look at her, despite her beautiful clothing, but in a city like this she could buy attention and finery and treatment like a queen.

[Talia Idris]

Talia sighed....she really wasn't too keen on spending time with Ardys and she knew that the boss was relying on her to get the sugar back soon....but then she also was due for some time off with all the hours she had been putting in. She sighed as she finally resigned to give up on work today.

"Fine, but let me do something first." She looked around for a minute before seeing a young boy a couple stores down. Walking over to him she wrote a quick note to her boss. "Go get a sack of sugar about 25kg and bring it to the bakery a couple blocks over, you know which one?" When he nodded she continued while she knelt down to his level. "Here is the money for the sugar. If you run away with it though you won't get anymore okay? You show up tomorrow morning at the bakery and I will give you at least that much for helping me out, okay?" The body nodded and ran off, thankfully in the direction of the store.

Talia turned around a smiled. "Well now that I settled business, shall we go?"

[Ari]

Ari flinched a bit when Ardys touched her. Nice to meet you, Ardys. She turned to shake hands with the woman, managing to shake her arm off of her shoulders in the process, to her relief. Whether the woman had magic or not, Ari still did not like anyone close to her, especially since her wings were hidden beneath a mere two layers of clothing. Just in case the woman decided to touch her again, Ari distanced herself by turning to watch Talia interact with a young boy a few feet away.

She could not help but notice how comfortable the woman seemed in such a crowd of people, speaking to a complete stranger like it was nothing. I suppose that is normal, when you live somewhere a while. she thought, frowning a bit. It would be nice to settle down in a place where she could feel safe, but Ari knew she could not do that. Her quest was far from over...

Shaking her head to clear it, Ari turned back toward her new companions, forcing herself to smile. "Yes, let us go. I am itching for a drink more than ever. Something strong, to numb the bones." She gestured towards herself, where it was obvious that she had been ruffed up a bit. The bruise was now three lovely shades of blue, with some black thrown in for contrast. "Ardys, why do we not follow you? I unfortunately have not become well enough acquainted with the layout of the taverns around here." She took a step back, extending an arm to tell Ardys to lead the way.

[Ardys]

Ardys stifled a sigh as she watched Talia give her orders to the boy. Of course she had a job. Of course she was law-abiding and respectable enough to want her boss to know where she was. Boring, boring, boring. Still, she had enough spark in her to stab someone so that counted in her favor. And she had agreed to come along anyway, though somewhat resentfully.

She shrugged to herself when Ari slipped out from under her arm. Some people didn't like to be touched. They were silly, foolish people - what was better than physicality and touch? Ardys had lived among people all her life and so was very used to it, and plus, her family and friends had been very touchy-feely growing up. You have to be okay with it when you live with piles of family members in a tiny corner of a sewer system.

"Right then m'dears, follow me." She motioned to the girls and strutted off imperiously, leading the way to a nicer restaurant with some private boothes she had encountered before. She slipped some Bishani to the waitress and the woman quickly led them to one of the back boothes and curtained it off, taking their orders as well. While Ardys waited for her drink (something with fruit juices and three different types of alcohol - she was very excited) she turned her ever-present grin to the girls again. "So now," she said. "Ye ain't from 'round here, Ari, ye said. Where then? An' yerself, Talia? Local girl?"

[Talia Idris]

Talia followed Ardys into a fairly lavish place where they were quickly seated at one of the best tables and just as quickly had their order taken. Not having any idea what kind of drink to have from the long list that had been presented to her she just copied what Ardys had chosen and hoped that she would like it. If I don't finish it chances are Ardys would probably happily relieve me of it Talia thought as she softly touched the three roses that had been cut and placed in a vase at there table.

She loved plants and often kept a couple around her home. There was something peacefully about taking care of them, causing them to thrive and grow, that was very cathartic for her. Looking at the blooms, slowly dying in the plain water almost made her sad. She shook her had and smiled at the waitress when their drinks were brought in. She took a couple gulps before stopping...maybe she should have ordered a water to first quench her thirst after her little adventure today. Talia slowly sipped the fruity blended drink and tried to get a feel for this person was, why she was dressed in such a way and what she really wanted from them.

Talia looked up when Ardys started speaking to them and before she really knew what she was saying she started to respond...with a little more enthusiasm and detail then she really had planned.

"Well I am Marn born.," she began with a nod, "my mother's family apparently were among the first class citizens, all very fancy and la-de-da. Of course they dis-inherited her when she fell in love with some out-of-towner. Which may have been lucky for them at least because he killed a bunch of people using some sort of magic energy when he found out they killed my mother. Would have looked very bad to have a magically person in the family you know, even if he had just married into it and WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS IN THIS DRINK?!" Talia exclaimed looking into her glass that was over half empty by now. She was kind of shocked at what she had just told these two ladies. she didn't like to tell many, if anyone, about her past....not only did it generally make others uncomfortable around her but half the people didn't believe her anyways.

[Ari]

Ari did not drink often, but she did so enough that she knew she was not a fruity drink person. She decided to go with a simple mug of beer. "Oh, and make sure there is lots of foam," she told the waitress as the woman walked off to get their drinks. Most people seemed to dislike too much foam, since more foam meant less drink, but Ari thought it was the best part. It was way more fun to drink the light, fluffy foam the the smooth, boring beer. When the drinks came, Ari was delighted to see the foam about to spill over the rim of the mug. Grinning, she raised it to her lips and sucked up some of the foam, which stuck to her upper lip. She licked it off, feeling the little bubbles within it popping on her tongue.

She turned her attention to the women with her, letting her eyes wandering over their faces, watching their expressions and mannerisms. Her eyes lingered particularly on Ardys. An invitation to drink seemed harmless enough, but the fact was she knew nothing about either oi the women, which kept her mind of edge. However, it seemed the baker girl, Talia, was about to enlighten her.

Ari listened to her babble about her past. She could not help but smile, hiding it by sipping more of her foamy beer. It was clear that the girl went drinking even less than Ari did. "Perhaps you should slow down a bit, yeah?" she suggested to the girl when she finished her rant. "Your history is far more interesting than mine. I was born and Eyropa. I have been all over though, throughout Eyropa and to Zhaltev, and now here. No parents, no family. Just me and the world." She shrugged and took another sip of beer. There was far more to her story than she was letting on, but Ari knew it would not be smart to tell them now, especially since Talia seemed to be against magic users. "What of you, Ardys? Where are you from?" she asked.

[Ardys]

Ardys raised an eyebrow when Talia ordered the same drink as her. She was impressed and then amused as Talia started spilling her life story by babbling it all out. "Relax," Ardys reassured her. "All that's in it's two shades o' rum an' laraha liqueur an' juice, nothin' more." Ardys did dimly realize that 'nothing more' was a relative term, as this girl clearly didn't drink much, but hey, it wasn't like she was drinking rotgut or anything. And this drink was delicious.

"Zhaltev's a fun place, ain't it?" Ardys grinned at Ari. "All manner o' critters up there. As fer me, well... I was born in Bellaza to some good folk who raised me right. Soon as I was old enough I took off to make a fortune travelin' an' adventurin'. I've been to what some say are th' edges of th' world, though I think it goes a bit beyond that. I've met some people an' made some money, an' now I'm back in Marn 'cause of some whisperin's I heard."

That was all basically if not completely true, and Ardys swigged back another gulp of her drink. She had just neglected to mention that her family was a family of rats and she made her living by stealing. But these seemed like nice, mostly respectable girls and there was no need to sully their thoughts of her by saying either one of those things. This damn city and its stupid magic laws made the rat shifter thing a bit tricky, and in Ardys's experience no one like a thief, not even other thieves. Which was a true shame, because if all the thieves banded together Ardys was of the opinion something spectacular could happen, but as it was... lone rat thief it would have to be.

"Y'all any good with whisperin's?" Ardys asked. It was a long shot to expect these girls to know anything about the underworld of Marn and the things that were spoken of down there, but she could ask anyway.