Thar Shaddin

Allen: The crowded streets were loud, bustling, and packed as usual. Keepers were calling their wares, early-day whores presented themselves in hopes of catching a rich man's attention, and a gruff dwarf weaseled his way through the forest of legs. Not that he minded, just meant he got a view few others had the pleasure of viewing... or if they did they didn't appreciate it.

He managed to work his way over to the stall that carried what he needed - paints. Fucking things were pricey but hey - sometimes you needed to spend that extra bishani to get that quality you wanted.

"Looking for your usual, Allen?" The supplier asked, already turning to dig out the paints he ordered for the dwarven artisan. Allen stroked his beard as he eyed the other wares.

"Aye, an' some brushes too. Buggered up me last set on a commission from some idiot that wanted an oil portrait." Allen snorted "Ugly fucker wasn't eben worth the brushes I had ta chuck

Illae: The only thing Illae found that she liked about this town thus far was the in the downtown, the streets were busy. This meant plenty of bodies bumping into one another, and enough physical distraction that a person wouldn't notice a sly hand slipping quickly into a pocket. It had only been 15 minutes, and she'd already managed a small pouch of bishani and a gold chain that had been round someone's wrist. At present, she was pretending to trip into a rather busty woman holding a basket of fruit, two small children in front of her.

"Oh, excuse me, excuse me!" She apologized profusely to the woman, wiping imaginary dust from the lady's overcoat, patting the children on the head. Behind them now, she juggled the two apples into the air, slipping one into her pocket and shining the other on her shirt. "This is too easy." She chuckled to herself.

Satisfied with her exploits this morning, she let her feet wander and found herself heading in the direction of a vendor, apparently dealing in art supplies. Illae raised the apple to her lips, and took a hearty bite before settling in next to the customer in front of the stall. A dwarf, and she was glad to see him. This town had an eerie feel to it. Almost devoid of magic and, as far as she saw it least, almost completely human. Even though dwarves tended to hate magic, she was glad to see at least one person who wasn't a human being, and felt comfortable settling next to him as she inspected what was for sale on the counter

Allen: Allen noticed the dark woman slide up beside him but pretended not to. As manly and powerful as he was, Allen knew he'd get tongue-tied around this exotic beauty. Legs that reached her ears and a bust that Allen was more than willing to mold into that right shape- wooooah down boy. Human women didn't like shorties on a good day, no matter how manly and handsome they were. Absent mindedly he stroked his beard, his fine, long, thick bushy beard. The keeper turned back to Allen and eyed him and his new companion, brushes and paint in hand.

"Ye be wantin' these still Allen?" The keeper gruffed out, obviously also effected by the woman. Allen glared. There goes his chance of looking like a total man. After all, what manly dwarf paints? But he needed his materials...

"Aye... still have that scape to do." Allen sighed resignedly, he didn't stand a chance with sexy legs anyways

Illae: Illae looked over the various paints and instruments that were for sale. She didn't paint or draw herself, but a few of the children in The Family did, and she knew they'd like to have something once she found them again. It would be a sort of souvenir, even front this dull little town.

She was about to beckon over the shopkeeper when she felt the eyes of the dwarf boring into her. Glancing over, moving only her eyes, she caught the little man in her periphery. Staring, ogling? There was an unsettling look of concentration in his eyes, and then he began stroking his beard in a way that made her feel strangely uncomfortable. Maybe it hadn't been the wisest decision to stand over here.

She felt the dis-ease she was experiencing begin to show in a slight upturning of her upper lip, and then realized that she had turned more directly towards him, almost staring. She cleared her throat when the vendor turned around, and shook her head, looking towards him when he began to talk. "What type of brushes are those?" She asked, pointing to the tools he was handing over to Allen

Allen: Allen had noticed the woman's obvious stare, hadn't realized HE'D been staring, so he answered her question in his manly, smooth way.

"Horse hair... and pine... neither are as fine as you though." He grinned up at her and stuck out his hand.

"Allen Diamondheart, and you are…?”

Illae: "Really I was addressing him," she motioned with her head to the shopkeep "but I have my answer either way. And, happy that you think so." She responded, cooly. She looked at him with slitted eyes, her mouth turned in a slight grin. Such a forward little dwarf She thought.

When he offered his hand, she looked down at it quickly, before lifting her eyes back to his and then turning and searching through the selection on the table once again. She kept her hands busy, picking up paints and brushes "Not interested in introducing myself." She finished his query. She kept a smile on her face as she looked to the vendor. "How much are these?" She asked, holding up a couple of the brushes

Morry: It was very rare that Morry was out during daylight hours. Normally he was so exhausted from night runs that it was impossible to do anything except sleep when the sun finally rose, but he was lucky this month. Nature had been kind to bring him five entire days without changing, all situated around the new moon. Today he had brought himself downtown to find some food or money to steal, or both. Without the ability to hunt at night, he had become more starved than ever, and had somehow misplaced his tunic. The weather was warm, but not warm enough to be without clothes. Still, he did have a pair of animal hide pants, so that was something.

Lurking in an alleyway near a vendor selling medium-grade paint brushes, Morry spied. His filthy hair was wild and his beard had gotten out of hand that week. His ribs were showing through his skin and he looked less than sane. He was, arguably, less than sane. There was a girl and a dwarf, and neither of them looked particularly wealthy. Damn, he thought.

Allen: Allen cocked his eyebrow before shrugging and buying his purchase, sliding the items into his canvas bag. "Tell ye want, add her purchases te me tab, Garth." Allen nodded at her gruffly, he didn't like being so rudely refused.

"Bitch all ye want woman, but at least I know how te treat someone proper." He turned to walk away, spotting a rather questionable looking boy.

"Eh... ye got buisness here, boy?" Aleen grunted. The woman may have been a bitch, but real men defended women... even if they didn't like them

Illae: Illae felt a flush of anger rise in her body, flourishing through her chest and face like a small fire before it settled back down into something more manageable. Did he just...really.... "You little dwarf..." She mumbled angrily under her breath. She liked that he had purchased the brushes for her. Not because she liked the gift, but that it served as a good distraction. She had planned on stealing two other brushes that were of better quality, and now that she had a couple that belonged to her, it didn't matter when she grabbed them, and sailed them at the back of Allen's head. So, that is what she did, and when the shopkeep looked in surprise, she took the opportunity to grab the better wares and store them securely in her bag

Illae: "Keep them for yers--" She had begun to yell as she launched them, but stopped short, spotting a figure in an alley way that the dwarf had begun to address.

Morry: Morry wasn't really the most observational person in the world, but he wasn't so out of it that he failed to see the girl's tricky little move. Why she would be thieving brushes he didn't know or care, and he was more preoccupied with the fact that she had spotted him almost immediately. He ran a dirty hand through the oil of his hair and made two small steps out of the alley.

"Spare some bishani, miss?" It was so out of place it was almost funny, if not for his haggard appearance and ruddy smell.

Allen: Allen didn't like beggars. Allen hated beggars as much as he hated liars and thieves. But then again, there was also a point that one had to beg to survive, that much Allen understood and could respect. He took in the slight frame, the starved stare, his unkempt appearance and frowned.

"Ye look like shit, mate. Wouldn't ye jus' prefer a sodding meal and ale?" The offer seemed more plausible to the dwarf. And even if he wasn't the richest dwarf in this piece-of-shit city, he was well enough off he could buy a meal for this poor sod. Allen turned his head to face the exotic beauty behind him, having not missed the feeling of the brushes to the back of his head.

"Yer free to join, if it's not beneath her bitchyness." Beauty only allowed so much patience in Allen's eyes, and she was starting to toe the line... but damn those legs made him wish he had endless patience.

Illae: Illae huffed with impatience. She couldn't stand this dwarf already, but she had been there only a night and didn't know where to go to get food. She had only an apple and a half on her, and that wasn't going to last.

"Fine." She grumbled, answering both Allen and this poor looking man, asking for money. She hadn't meant to answer Morry so harshly, but she couldn't divorce the heat of her emotions from her words so quickly. Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved a couple of Bishani from the pouch that she had taken earlier. She felt bad for the man, so thin and frail looking, like he had no one in the world.

Living with The Family, a group of travelling gypsies, she had learned to not trust many entirely. Even still, when she saw people like this, it made her think how they were alone, and didn't have a family in the way that she did. In fact, The Family quite often ended up adopting outlaws and outcasts and vagabonds alike. Morry's presence touched a soft spot in her heart, and she decided she felt for him, she might even want to help him

"Here you are," She answered him softly, placing the coins into his dirty hands

Morry: He reached out his good hand, keeping the thin, white-skinned one close to his side so they might be less likely to see it. He took the currency and tossed it quickly into a pocket in the bag on his back. "Much obliged m'lady," he said, an unlikely choice of words for him except while begging. She was an attractive one, and a good hearted one, but he didn't pay her much more mind when the dwarf offered the meal.

It was only the rare stranger that offered Morry a meal instead of change. Marn was a fairly decent-sized city and most of the people who lived here were used to seeing and dismissing beggars and panhandlers. Morry was not above taking these offers, he just didn't get them very often because he, honestly, didn't often beg. Normally he found most of his meals in wooden garbage piles or as a wolf in the forest. Constant exhaustion made hunting for food in either place extremely difficult. Morry: Morry hated charity, he hated pity more than anything else. But survival required him not to be picky, and he nodded to the dwarf, taking two more steps out, his toe-to-heel walk awkward and ugly.

"A real meal shall do you some good, my friend," said the voice in his head.
Morry didn't answer the telepathic voice of Zou the drum, who was sitting in the bag on Morry's back.
"Haven't had a good meal in days, sir, I'd be thankin' ya quite a lot," he played. He was an impolite bastard, normally. He didn't get to be alone by being friendly or good-natured.

Allen: Allen nodded to them both before heading through the crowd with a gruff: "Follow me then." He'd scooped up the brushes he bought for the girl and stuck them in his canvas bag as he moved through the crowd, leading them eventually to his favorite pub. They weren't too picky with their customers, but even still they gave Allen a funny look when Morry followed him and her exotic bitchyness inside.

"Table fer 3." He barked at the barkeep who gestured to a serving girl. The brunette led them to a corner, far away from the rest of the customers to, Allen assumed, keep them well distanced from the beggar's smell. Allen didn't really care either way and ordered a rich meal for them on top of a couple pints of their ale. He passed the serving girl a tip with a cheeky wink before turning back to his... "company."

"So... do ye have any business in Marn?" Allen asked, looking between the two. "Or just here te see the shitty sights?”

Illae: Illae settled down in her seat, surveying the scene around her, and then looking back to her two new companions. There was a look of kindness, not pity, when she looked at Morry, but she couldn't help but glower when her sites set back on Allen. She took a breath though, meaning to make the most of this. After all, he was buying food for them both. Maybe he couldn't help being a prickish, lascivious man. Maybe it was just in his constitution.

"Just taking in the shitty sights." She responded, her tone noticeably growing lighter.

Morry: There was something strange about the whole ordeal. Morry was used to being treated like a parasite, so it wasn't really surprising that they were ushered to the furthest table from people. To be honest, he was more than a parasite. He was a danger to society as a whole, but thankfully these people didn't know that.

When they sat down, he just twiddled his thumbs while they waited to be served. A waitress set down a cheap crystal glass full of water, and he downed the thing in two gulps. "I live here," was all he said in response to the question, not knowing whether or not it was directed at him or the girl

Allen: So one lived here, the other was just visiting. Interesting, and judging from the way the boy downed his water, he hasn't had anything to eat or drink in awhile. Pushing his own glass to the boy Allen sat back and eyed the two. One got chipper when she realized she was getting free food, the other seemed quietly confused. Allen shrugged it off, wasn't any of his buisness, and waved down the serving girl. Ignoring the way she wrinkled her nose at his companion he ordered a pitcher of water and watched her scurry off.

"Very well... now boy, wha's yer name?" Allen asked, nodding his thanks to the girl when she set the pitchers of ale and water down before them.

Illae: "Are you not going to answer the question as well?" She questioned, smartly. Illae had finished her water as well and was now refilling her glass slowly, watching Allen very pointedly from across the table. She set the pitcher back down and took a sip, waiting for a response. As she did, she wondered idly. How long did she intend on being here, and when she left, how did she plan on finding her family again. She had grown a bit giddy this morning, picking people's pockets, and had just briefly forgotten her situation. She was alone in this land, and had no idea where she was. She had no idea where her family was...and in the moments that it took her to have all these thoughts, her expression darkened, and her shoulders drooped ever so slightly.

Morry: Morry took the glass that was shoved toward him and nearly inhaled the water. Filling his stomach felt good, even if it wasn't food. He wasn't one to have much access to fresh water on a day like today, when he had spent the majority of it in town, begging. With the water, the girl brought some bread, sliced less than orderly with a small bit of butter beside it. Morry took less than a minute to consume half of it, along with almost all of the butter.

"Mff, Mohrry," he answered, his mouth full. He wasn't used to being called "boy," as with the scraggly beard and the stressed lines of his face people usually assumed he was closer to his forties. Not to mention people having a tendency to die at thirty. Still, he wasn't about to be an ass to the dwarf that was paying for his food.
He eyed the girl across the table with his own grey gaze.
"I wouldn't recommend getting any ideas with that one," said the telepathic drum. Morry stuffed another bread slice into his mouth and looked at her anyway, very awkwardly, like he was taking apart her face.

Allen: Allen harrumphed at the exotic wonder. "Ye never asked. Th' name's Allen. An' I live here too." He watched a dark look cross her face and her shoulders slump. Perhaps she wasn't being bitchy on purpose. Allen squinted at her before shrugging. None of his concern. She wasn't interested in him or his prowess, so why the fuck should he care? Fuck why he even invite her to dinner? Whatever...

"Well Morry, be sure to be saving room in that stomach of yours, ye can take wha's left after too, jus' make sure you get some meat in there." Allen took a swig of the ale and groaned in approval.

"Damn good stuff this is." That said the girl came out with a couple plates heaped with food. Setting them down she scurried off, coughing subtly. Leaning back at the plates he gestured, "Help yerselves. I'm none to hungry meself

Illae: Illae watched as Morry stuffed himself with bread, and couldn't help but cough out a small chuckle. It was a funny sight--this mad looking man, with his wild hair and dirty hand, choking down bread ferociously, as an animal mood. It was sad, but it looked funny, and she smiled.

"My name is Illae." She offered, finally, as she reached for the food in front of her. She took the opportunity to grab the hulking leg of some sorry animal, and placed it on a plate in front of Morry.

"Here, take some of that" She said with a smile. She then began to serve herself, her own stomach beginning to voice a complaint at the table. she began eating, deciding now that she needed some information.

"What is the name of this city?"

Morry: The food that arrived was expensive, and there was a lot of it. There was a roasted hog brushed with thyme and some strange variety of tarragon, a yellow-colored mush that looked like it may have once been potatoes, and a large grouse with juicy thighs. There was gravy of several sorts and something smells vaguely of wheat, and it wasn't the bread. He ignored Illae's slight chuckling, likely because he didn't hear it. He took the leg from the hog she offered him and bit into is viciously, gulping down a piece that was larger than he could chew. It felt hard, just barely sliding down his throat. He gulped down some ale to force it.

"How'd you manage to enter a city withou' knowin' the name?" he gawked, still staring at her while he ate. He scooped a large bit of the yellow mush and inhaled it. He choked for a second, and when he stopped choking he inhaled some more.

Allen: "Was about t'ask that meself..." Allen muttered before cocking an eyebrow at Morry "Slow down boy, th' food's not going anywhere and I'll get more if yer still hungry." Allen wasn't used to seeing someone so desperate, so hungry, so the offer slipped off his tongue without thought. He didn't care after thinking it through either, there was nothing wrong with being manly enough to help a poor sod out... right?

Attempting to shake off his insecurities he switched to suave automatically, temporarily forgetting exotic's rebuttal. "Either way ye be in Marn. Jus' down the road is th' lil town of Shim." part of him wanted to ask where she was from, but he knew she'd just sneer and his pride had taken enough hits for one night

Illae: "Sometimes," She began, taking a moment to swallow the food in her mouth, "I walk with me eyes closed." With that, she made an elaborate florish with her hand, and brought it down in front of her face. When her hand passed in front of her eyes, she closed them, making a little show of it all. She remained with her lids shut for a moment, before chuckling a bit, and going back to eating. She definitely was not telling them the truth. The truth that, she has been inprisoned for stealing in Setkhantos. That, after being there for days, she had escaped, and stolen aboard a ship. That the ship had docked somewhere in Eyropa, and stumbling off incoherent, she had fallen asleep on a bed of hay that happened to be the back of a merchant's cart. That that cart had driven her here, and she had awoken, with no idea where she was, or how long she'd been there.

No, she wasn't going to tell them that, not at all. Instead, she continued her questions, as though they weren't that important, and she had arrived there in no peculiar way at all. "Marn..." She began. "It seems a little nothing place. How far away is it from civilization?

Morry: "It lies right on the trade route. And I'll tell ya one thing," he swallowed another mouthful that was too large, and struggled for a moment to force it down, "it's closer to shite than Zhaltev." He was ignoring the advice of the dwarf. For him, it was feast or famine. Zhaltev had taught him that when food was presented, you had to fight to get your fair share. Without competition, Morry simply ate quickly when he could in order to avoid being in one place for too long. The wolf in him would never allow him to slow down.

"You should not mention Zhaltev to others, my friend," said the drum in his head. "They don't trust shifters."
I know, he thought, and Zou didn't say anything after that.

Allen: Shaking his head as he watched the food deplete, Allen ordered another couple dishes, shocking the serving girl. To assure her he wasn't some stupid jerk buying food with no intentions of paying he paid what he owed thus far. With that comforting jingle in her pocket the girl scurried off for more food, ale and water. Turning back to his companions, Allen shrugged.

"I've not been out o' town far enough to know really." The was a bit of a lie, but he wasn't going to tell them that. Everyone around this table had their own secrets they weren't sharing, so why the hell should he spill his?

"Mostly jus' wander 'round th' wood here. Get some rocks... dwarf stuff." Allen shrugged, unwilling to say he really ran around looking for specimens of beauty so he could immortalize it on canvas, rock or wood. He was thinking about getting into metal work - more manly art that was - but he just couldn't deal with the shit. He took another swig of ale and belched loudly, calmly drying his mouth with his beard

Illae: Illae sighed onerously at this news. Neither knew much outside of this town, it seemed, which meant she was going to have to try a lot harder to find her way somewhere important. She had been a lot of places, and heard of a lot more, but never in her life had she heard of "Marn" or "Shim," and she could see why.

"Well, that's just great." She began, pouring herself a cup of ale and beginning to drink it down. Next to her she still had the apple core, and she began to pick at it, digging out the little seeds and taking them in her hand. "What about ships? Merchants? You mentioned a trade route, so do you get much of them?" Absentmindedly, she played with the seeds. Illae possessed the power of magic. She couldn't control it, and it wasn't particularly strong, but she found that she could do some things at will, and found that she did when she was particularly bored, or troubled, or lost in thought. It was a habit in ways, like biting your nails, or shaking your knee

She pressed the seed between her finger tips, feeling a warmth grow between them, and watched in a nonchalant manner as the seed began to open, and two little green leaves peaked out from between the dark brown cavity created. They grew just slightly, until the stem was about an inch long, and then the leaves themselves began to broaden, slowly, the whole thing twisting and winding as it was created, like a tiny dancer. (

Morry: Two more plates of food arrived by means of the busty waitress. One had collard greens and a variety of other vegetables coating the head of a hog, which had been grilled until it barely looked like it had come from a real animal. The other plate had some kind of exotic spice emanating from it, with little shredded bits of venison stewed in a mild gravy with hints of squash. Morry served himself a plate full of the latter dish and slurped it. His belly was already nearly full but he would keep eating until he vomited if he wasn't careful. He ate so fast he didn't even realize he wasn't really that hungry anymore.

"Ships? You crazy? This place is next to the Sooqui Plain, and nearest ocean's well over three thousand kilometers, if I be rememberin' right," he laughed. While he was talking she was twiddling her little female fingers, playing with something in her hand. Morry was too busy eating to see the magic.

Allen: Allen saw the magic, and wasn't sure how to take it. Dwarves in general hated magic, and while Allen saw its uses, he wasn't too far from his kin's opinion, seeing it as cheating. He would spend hours upon hours laboring over a work of art, using only his two hands and the materials given to him. Then these mages with their sodding magic come around and wave their hands, shoot fire from some orifice and POOF! There it is... Allen scowled. He looked over to see Morry's reaction, but unsurprisingly the boy was still eating like the food would disappear in the next 2 seconds. Allen shook his head before finishing the tankard of ale.

"Why're ye so interested in the trade routes, exotic?" Allen tilted his head to the girl, the alcohol giving him a nice buzz. "What'cha got planned? Running, moving on, getting into a trade?" Allen raised his eyebrows as though the last one was less believable than the first two. "Not askin' t'be nosey, jus' wanna talk."

Illae cocked a brow at Allen’s use of “exotic” as a name for her. She then tilted her head slightly to the side, and gave a knowing, sly smile. “Exotic.” She repeated, tipping her cup of ale towards him in a quick gesture, as if to say “I’ll give you that one.”

The Sooqui Plain. She’d heard of that at least, of how it was desolate and arid, and how no one should ever try to venture through it. How could she possibly have ended up here? At the dwarf’s question, the wheels in her head started turning, and it took hardly a moment for her to conceive of a tale to weave for her companions. Something spectacular, with a hint of truth—enough to not completely alienate the listeners, but leave them still knowing next to nothing about her. It wasn't that she needed to lie about everything, but at least now it was best to lie about some things, so why not have fun with it at the same time? She had her performer’s hat on now, and was ready to convince.

“What do I’ve planned?” She repeated his question, and appeared to think on it very deeply. Her expression had taken on a very serious look, and she sat straighter in her chair, gently dropping the blossoming seed into her glass of water. “I—” She began, seeming to be fighting against herself, grappling with whether or not she should say the words. Her eyes flickered between Morry and Allen, and she pursed her lips, inhaling deeply before breaking eye contact with them and looking down at her plate of food, picking up a hunk of meat and beginning to eat. “Never mind,” She said, somberly, “Ye’d never believe me if I told you.” It was a captivating performance. Even she’d have fallen for it, were she watching herself.

As dwarves were well known for, Allen loved a good tale. Be it truth or lie, he always loved a good tale. Naturally he hated being lied TO about something important, but even he could shrug that aside for a decent performance.

"Oh I dunno abou' tha'. Gimme a shot, exotic. I'm sure Morry here'd like a good story with his grub." Allen gestured to the man, whom he was surprised hasn't puked his guts up.

Illae chewed her food for a while before taking a pull from her cup of ale, and setting it down on the table in front of her. The sound of the mug meeting the table was definite, like a starting beat meant to set something into motion. It was like the scene was changing, and everything around her was taking on an air of the dramatic. The lights around them suddenly seemed lower, and sounds hushed down to a low buzz. She intended to make this a good story, with elements that would entice both of her comrades, and entertain her aswell.

“I am…” She began, now leaning closer to the table, closer to her companions. “…The bastard child, of a royal—and a rogue.” At “royal” she had turned her wrist out daintily, and when she spoke the word “rogue,” she allowed her expression to darken, pointing her hand towards them and staring, intensely. She allowed the silence to linger, swelling full of tension. Meeting the eyes of the two men, she moved her hair back and pointed to her ears, their subtle point calling evidence to her claim.

“My mother was a human—my father, an elf, and a ruler on Darleone Island. They say she seduced him.” She turned her eyes to Allen then. “You understand the allure of a woman? My mother was gorgeous, curved and delicate. Tall, and slender, with a mouth sweet as berries, and eyes as brilliant as…as diamonds.” She had been leaning ever closer towards Allen as she spoke, her tone sultry and full of heat. She breathed out the last word, “diamonds” as it were on an invisible spool, and she meant to wrap the ribbon of the word around him, capturing him. She leaned back, nonchalantly. “She might very well have seduced him, if rumors speak troth….But, she became with child, with me—a product of lusty indiscretion and the weaker race. I could never be accepted or connected with my father, so they threw my mother out. She bore me on the edges of the island where she was allowed to stay and raised me alone. We were forbidden from ever seeing my father again, or to mention any connection to him. My mother though, she would tell me stories every night, of a father that I never knew and a life I would never inherit.” She smiled wistfully, looking up in the air at some long gone thing that made her happy.

“One day, I suppose she couldn’t stand the injustice of separation any longer. I was 9 years old when my mother attempted to see my father again. She’d heard word of him traveling to a magical place on the island, strictly forbidden to humans. The Theogios’ Causeway. She took me with her, and when we had gotten through, they killed her on sight.” Illae paused for a moment. She closed her eyes, seeming to slip back to that place, among the trees, where her mother had fallen. “I remember the sound of the arrow as it zipped through the air. It passed right by my face, and met my mother in the chest. When she crumbled down, my Mother Angel before me, she looked almost…peaceful…” There was a catch in her throat—it would be confused with a cry, but it was the beginning of a snicker. Too much? She thought for a moment, catching herself—she was even getting swept away in her yarn. No, no, this is good!

She shook her head, as if trying to knock out some intrusive thought that would not flee. “Well, anyway, they were going to kill me too when I begged for my life. The knife met me here, but I turned in time to save myself.” Illae opened the top of her shirt then, exposing most of a long scar that began at her neck, and ran down to the top of her breast. She set her shirt back into place and continued.

“That’s when my father came, rising like an impossible figure, a mythic creature I had never expected to see. He asked me, ‘What can you do for me, that I should spare your life?’ I told him, ‘I can tell you stories.’ The way my mother had told me. And I did. They were all so captivated by my tales that we sat there for hours. I entertained them, and watched as some magic happened, and the ground came up around the body of my mother, and covered her in vines and roots, swallowing her into the ground. I swallowed my grief….We didn’t move until the sun was setting, and the sky looked as though some hand had taken a large brush, and swiped across the horizon in purple and gold paint…” She directed this line too to Allen, meeting his eyes in a fierce connection, and there was something like a pulse that locked them both there. She broke the moment with a spacey sort of grin. “My father told me I could stay, and live in his home, as long as I had stories to tell him to keep him amused. And so I did. And oh, how I lived! Like living in a work of art—it was palatial! The walls, the floors, living sculptures of trees and plants. Oh, and the food!” She spoke to Morry, “At any time of day, eating to your stomach’s content! The most delicious meals, wo-wonderful meals….” She faltered a bit as she watched him. He had not stopped eating during her monologue, but now he paused, a bit of cooked skin dangling off his lips. His mouth lulled open, revealing its contents of partially chewed food, and it seemed like he was beginning to drool from her delicious details. She decided to wrap it up. “…Uh—food prepared like you’d never seen before!” She stopped staring in his mouth, and went back to looking rather somber, looking more vaguely at the table than anyone in particular.

“...As years passed, my father would send me out to see new lands, in order to come back with some exciting new adventure to tell him. And if ever I venture back and I disappoint….If ever I fail, I will die. I know, you ask why I should go back, and truth be told….I can’t say that I know…Except that, he is my father. I love him—I can’t be sure that he loves me, but I…I believe that he does in a way. He is the only family that I have, and that is why I go back, even if it hurts me.”

And she ended the scene, staring dreamily out at some elusive corner in the distance of the tavern.

For the most part, Morry was a bit too concerned with fattening himself as much as he could on the rich, although a bit stale, food. Thus, he didn't pay much attention to the conversation in the room once he had mentioned the Sooqui Plane, which he had only said because he was amazed that everyone didn't know about the damn place. It seemed strange for a girl like her to have transported herself to Marn without knowing a damn thing about its geography. Asking about ships in Marn was like asking a panhandler if he had any cake on him. Still, she looked to be a rare breed of human and he surmised that she was from afar, since she clearly had no idea about the city.

Morry only looked up from the shredded venison when Illae stumbled mid-sentence, as if debating whether or not to tell them anything. He assumed it was crime she was not wanting to talk about. It didn't take a genius to surmise that; he'd seen her steal a paint brush for fuck's sake. The dwarf openly invited her to launch into storytelling, and she did, while Morry began to struggle with the rest of the yellow mush sitting in a large clay bowl.

He remained dull-faced at the introduction. Pedigree had never been of interest to him, partially because he'd received so much shit for it in Zhaltev both in childhood and adulthood. Morry was born unimportant and had grown up unimportant. The wolf running through his blood was the imperfect wolf, and remained the reason why he had never been able to form a proper life in Zhaltev. The Zhaltevian wolves ran in packs and families that usually had the ability to shift completely. More importantly, they could control this shifting. Morry had never been able to do so.

Still, the reveal that Illae was a half elf, and that her elven lineage came from Darleone, surprised him. Morry didn't know much about Darleone. He didn't know much about anything, to be honest, since the only schooling he'd received had been rough and most of the information hadn't stuck. That she was descended from such elves proved mysterious and, in an odd way, a bit alluring. llae's liquid voice captured him for a brief moment and he stopped chewing to stare at her, his mouth still full of food. He pictured her in his head, a young girl, watching her mother be struck violently with the swish of a well-aimed arrow. As Illae spoke, a clump of turmeric-smelling mush flopped off of Morry's fork while he watched her, engrossed in the story for the moment. When she showed off her breast, he lost a bit of interest and quickly swallowed two overflowing bites of food.

His stomach was beginning to whine that he had eaten too much, and he had already started to slow down by the time Illae mentioned food and looked at him. The description, however empty it was, caught him by the tongue and he licked the surfaces of his teeth, a habit he'd developed spending too much time as a wolf.

A small chunk of silence passed over the table once the story had finished, and Morry swallowed one of his last difficult bites.
"So that's why you stole them paint brushes?" It was meant as a genuine question, but the silence that followed it held thick in his ears.

Allen had been entranced by the story, only to be jerked almost rudely out of his stupor by Morry's question. Theft? Allen eyed the exotic beauty before him. Well he'd known she was trouble, but that much? He didn't much like thieves. Part of him considered leaving, she'd been a bitch from the start anyways, right up until she got food, but he couldn't leave the defenseless, starved man either. Blast him and his Changers damned morals..

((Well Illae is gone so, I'ma post.))

"Steal? I didn't.." she started, and then looked at Allen with tension all over her body. She looked like she might explode then.

Morry looked at her, then at the apparently surprised dwarf, and burst into laughter. It was a loud, abhorrent noise, so loud that other patrons at nearby tables turned to stare at them and glare with the intent of hatred. When he had stopped laughing, he wiped a small, sticky tear from his eye and noticed then that Illae had stood up with either fear or nervousness.

"Sorry girl, I thought it was obvious. Cute play with the seduction an' all though, you had be goin' for a bit there," he said, and then snorted a very unattractive chuckle into a glass of water.

Allen watched her stand and didn't move, his eyes colder than they've ever been. "Aye, shoulda been obvious. Best ye leave lass. I've got a friend or two in the guard... I can get them 'ere pretty fast." Exotic glared at him, all fire and temper, before spinning on her her and doing just that. Allen growled as he watched her leave.

"Should've bloody well known she was more trouble than she was worth... 'least I got a nice view of her ass and tits though." Allen mused to himself before turning back to the man in front of him. "How ye holdin' up there, mate?"

Illae was shooed, and Morry watched her go, snickering at the dwarf's joke. "Surprised you didn't notice the theft mate, oldest trick in the book she pulled back there," he laughed. "Distractin' you with her titties while she stole shit." He'd loosened up a bit now that the food was settling in his stomach, even though he felt like he could very well vomit at any moment. To him the feeling of being overstuffed was a good one, as it was a rare one, and an appreciated one. It was in his nature to eat when he could and starve when he couldn't. If it were up to him he would sleep at the table and finish the rest later, but alas, the world didn't normally work that way.

Taverns in Zhaltev had been like that. Many were open twenty-four hours a day and night, and patrons paid extra to sleep near or at their tables, bringing their food into inn rooms at the nicer establishments. Individuals might guard their piles of food for days before leaving. This was, of course, only popular with carnivorous shifters, especially the wolves.

"I'm... holdin'," he was literally clutching his stomach as he said it. "I 'preciate this mate; 's been a long time since I ate somethin' hot."

Allen scoffed at the lad's comment about exotic. "Tits were nice, pretty distractin'." He watched as the lad clutched his stomach and thank Allen who simply raised an eyebrow. "Yer welcome, lad. Ye got a place te sleep this off? Maybe take a bath...?" Allen asked cautiously, knowing the answer was likely no. But hey, gotta stuff some politics in there somewhere, otherwise he'd just be an ass, not a gentleman. And it was manly men who were gentlemen!

"I know a decent place, get ye all scrubbed up and shit, let ya crash." Might stuff him in an inn or maybe just crash in his spare bed. Changers only knows... still, Allen would've liked to wake up knowing all his shit was there.

"Uh," he murmured, unsure of whether or not to lie to him. Despite having food and drink thrown at him, Morry had very little trust of the dwarf. He had very little trust for the majority of people, because he knew the majority of people to be complete scum. It had been a very long time since he had made a friend. Relationships with others was not exactly one of his strong points, and it had almost nothing to do with his species. Even friends from taverns was something he hadn't picked up in a while, as he didn't have the money to enter taverns anymore. He'd been so busy spying on Dianelopa and her little thief boyfriend that he hadn't made any time to steal money from other people to buy drinks. His alcoholism had always been a problem, but his obsession with the grey woman went a bit farther than a mere chemical reaction in his brain. The last time anything had gone further than alcohol it had been a serious problem for him.

It was the reason why he was in Marn, and not Zhaltev. Her name was Ulvira.

Morry had turned his eyes away from the dwarf, staring at dirt in the floorboards for a bit too long. Allen offered a place to bathe and sleep. It wasn't much of a question as to why such an offer was proposed; the werewolf hadn't bathed in close to a month, and running around in mud, in the nude, was not exactly a way to stay clean. Normal people had washrooms with good, running water, sometimes heated. It was the rare opportunity that Morry found himself in an inn at all, and even when he was, they were usually less than ideal as far as commodities went.

"Changers know I could use a scrubbin'," a small smile crept across his pale lips. It was something like politeness that made him do so, and it looked almost like an apology.

Well the lad hadn't answered him directly, just shifted around, looking uncomfortable, and said he needed a bath. Clear enough to him! Allen stood with a groan and stretched before eying Morry, amusement tugging a small smile through his beard.

"Can ye walk, lad?" Allen gruffed as he worked some crumbs out of his beard. "It's a bit of a one ta Molly Bloom's. The inn." Allen explained abashedly. Some had heard of it, some had not, it was a fairly new pub-turned-inn, but they kept the pub bit. Actually it had become on of Allen's favorite haunts, as the barmaids had extra long legs and incredible racks. That and it was only a short jaunt back to his place to sleep the booze off.