First time along the promenade [Open]

[Vendredi]

Fii pulled his wrist away for the second time today, and massaged it with his other hand. Well then. The response he had received was a little less exciting than he had hoped for. He was hoping for something a little more explosive. The scene just now was practically demure.

Well then. He had his fun, but lost the coins. All in all, it was not a terrible day.

Outside, the crowd had started to scatter. The show was over, and it was clear that there would be no bloody conflict coming soon. Most people lose interest if there was no blood. Most crowds were composed of sharp-nosed bloodhounds after their pound of flesh.

Although… Who was the woman who had just spoke? Fii stared at her retreating back. He did not catch all her features earlier, and had been too intent on performing well for that little show. Now that the show was over, he was curious. There was something about her that sparked the memory of a recent rumour…

Curious.

“Make it up to you later, lover.” he said with a shrug and that same easy grin. Then he turned his back and stalked into the tavern, following the woman who was just here.

When he got to where she had chosen to sit, he dropped himself onto an opposite bench, and sat down in a boneless sprawl. He was still smiling. The shadows here were dark, and her hood made her seem ominous. Yet, Fii had never been the type to let sleeping dogs lie, and he was young and reckless enough to tickle a sleeping dragon.

“So. What’s underneath that hood, lady?” he asked.

[The Mongrel]

A brash young fox he was; smart enough to drop his mouse before a wolf could get it... not smart enough to not poke at a snake in his path. He was only human, and so very young, but he would not live to be old if that was how he went through life. I'd seen stories like his play off so similarly, so often. A cocksure young human, so certain that death and tragedy were things that only happened to other people, went around, doing what he wanted. He thought he was so smart, so fast, so invulnerable. Then he made one wrong move, couldn't recover, and that was that. Another body at the end of the executioner's noose or floating out to sea with the tide.

Oh, little one. This was not smart.

There were eyes on us, though I doubted he saw them. Too young, this little fox. Too young. He couldn't possibly know that darkness reveals more than it ever could hide.

"If you want to see another day, you'll forget you asked that question and forget to ask it of anyone ever again." My words were soft, carefully articulated to reach his ears and not an inch further. "Do not think me your friend, child, simply because I spared you a scene. But you have a lot to learn if you intend to see next week."

I lifted my mug to my lips, taking a sip of the sour ale. I was sure I'd rather not know what the House put into their brew, because it tasted exactly like the docks smelled. I missed Underwood and its own special brand of rotgut. It wasn't much better, but at least it was my brand of rotgut.

"My face is none of your concern. And aren't you supposed to be making something up to your so-called boyfriend?" My eyes sliced through the darkness of the tavern to the androgynous little man the fox had abandoned. "Calling off the act in front of so many people is highly suspect and callous."

[Sage]

He breathed in deeply, and pressed a hand to his face so that he could peek out between his fingers to see that he was now being mostly ignored. Even the copper haired boy seemed content with his amusement and with one last promise of recompense, turned to wander into the tavern proper.

“Is he getting a drink? I could do with one, though they probably don’t have any Crossroad wine here”

He felt like an idiot how could he have been so stupid, it was one thing to act with a sense of justice to correct a wrong, but it was another to do so unarmed and untrained. He wondered if the Boy had been of a different sort, would he have attacked him as soon as he had grabbed his wrist.

The world can be dangerous for the uninitiated indeed.

If it hadn’t been for the woman in the hood he probably would have handled it, well, a lot better than he did actually. He had frozen because he hadn’t known if he had put his own life in danger, and had become flustered when the proof of the crime was nowhere to be seen. At worst, the watch would have found no proof to his accusation and would have sent him on his way with a warning to not do such a thing again. Instead he had panicked and failed to think it through rationally.

“Another lesson to be had then, Keep calm and don’t panic”

Wondering what the thief was no up to, sage found him across the room, talking with the woman in the hood. “Giving his thanks I suppose or … oh? Ah-ha, my sisters would be so disappointed that I was not able to keep a paramour for more than a minute” he thought with a wry smile. “My poor broken heart”

Curiously he reached for his own purse and its paltry sum of gold, it was still there, and still jingled with its contents, but he could foresee the rest of his stay in Scara Brae was going to be a paranoid one after today. Still, it was more than adequate for a single drink he now thirsted for. Slipping between the patrons as easy enough and no one sought to step in his way, he saw a curious glance or two that came his way but was otherwise content to be mostly ignored. The man behind the bar was a half elf, who was making himself idle by cleaning a mug while he scanned the room. His attention turned to sage as soon as he had seated himself upon the stool

“What will it be?”

“Um, an ale please”

The mug of ale was quickly delivered and sage instantly regretted his choice, “This, This is ale?” By the smell alone he could swear he was back outside. He gave the bartender a polite smile in thanks but by then he was back to being ignored. Sage sighed as he placed a hand against his cheek, feeling relieved now that the farce was over with. A look to his side and he saw a pair of mercenaries, one laughing as the other was telling some mirthful tale about an outhouse. The man behind them was also similarly dressed in rough leather and iron plates though he had kept his cloak on and seemed content to mind his own business.

"Well don’t I just look like a fish out of the water."

The man by the door smoking a pipe was an elderly looking man with one too many empty mugs on his table and appeared rather drunk despite the keen eye he was keeping on the corner of the room. Sage tilted his head and brushed a lock of his hair behind his ear sure he was seeing things correct, even slouched as the man was, his eyes remained focused and alert on the dark little corner of the tavern. “No, not drunk at all, he’s watching something in that corner. Her?”

Sage tilted his head back and payed the oddity no more attention. But the man wasn’t the only one keeping a keen eye on that corner, the man playing a card game was not focused on his game at all. Instead he appeared distracted and kept on diverting his eyes towards the corner of the tavern as well.

The world can be dangerous for the uninitiated.

“Hmm”

Unsure of what to consider he turned back to his ale, wondering if he should even try to stomach such a thing. Feeling brave for just a sip he brought the mug of ale to his lips, and looked up to see the bartender also staring towards the corner as well. “Him too” he silently observed as he gently placed the mug back on the table. He could feel a different sense of unease begin to rise within the pit of his stomach.

“She kept her hood up, despite the fact that we are inside” what was she trying to hide “Her identity?” Her watchers seem to been able to see right through it, “which means they know her and are being weary about her presence here, or they are sizing her up like some kind of prey, maybe even a little of both.” Sage looked towards the corner again, towards the thief. If it was the latter of his suspicions, then the thief had just boldly stepped into a very serious line of fire.

Oh dear.

[Vendredi]

He leaned back against the air and drummed his fingers on the wooden table top. The warning in her voice was clear, and yet at that moment he itched to know, consequences and all be damned. There was an niggling worm in the back of his mind that could not be scratched otherwise, and he was quite willing to bend over backwards to scratch it. When Fii had a target in mind, his focus was absolute.

Some men were drawn to danger the way bears were to honey. Sometimes, Firelis Tvy'ern thought he might be one of them.

He considered her. He considered himself. He considered the likelihood of dying in a tavern full of people. Unlikely. Maybe. Her warning was clear. He was playing with lightning and playing with thorns, playing with danger on tipped toes, and the thought of it made him shiver with exhilaration. Hopefully unlikely.

“I’m not a good boyfriend. I’m more interested in you,” Fii said at last. Then he made a wry face, because that sounded foolish. “Who’re you?”

He licked his lips. He leaned forward. With the feeling that he was about to do something monumentally foolish, he lifted his hands towards her hood.

[The Mongrel]

When the kid leaned forward, I palmed the knives at my hips. Rethink it, kid.

He didn't.

When he reached forward, I moved, grabbing hold of his thumbs with serpentine speed and twisting his arms. The edges of my weapons dug into the skin of his imprisoned digits, a warning before the cut.

"Do you want to see my face badly enough to lose these, child? Because that's the next step. Make your choice, and make it wiser."

The card player came over. His "job" at the tavern may well have been "keeper of the peace." We all knew what that meant. Keep certain interests out, keep other interests safe. I wouldn't have expected this little upset to get any official attention... but of course I'd already been pegged, somehow. Did any of these ugly asses look familiar? Had I taken one of their thumbs for encroaching in Corone? If I had, this was going to get ugly.

But it won't get ugly in here.

"There a prob'em here?" the big man mumbled, glaring down at me and the fox with one good eye... and one that was obviously glass. I remembered him. He'd have been better off if I'd caught him straight a few years back; he'd have only hurt for a moment. I wondered how quickly I could get out to Valeena Lake. I had friends of friends out there; it'd be good enough for a night.

"Nothing serious," I answered.

"Good." He leaned down, staring into the depths of my hood. "Because I think you sons of bitches got lost. An' if thar's trouble in here, ain't no friends or gods what'll save you."

Lost and misbegotten, friendless and faithless. Yes, yes, I understand; you've marked me. Bastard.

"Forget it... Blighter." My lips carved the word like a master carpenter shapes furniture. Just to let him know I'd marked him, too. "No trouble here."

The tension held for a long moment, and to prevent the fox from doing anything else stupid, I held onto his thumbs. Finally, the big man stood, giving me one last glare and walking back into the better-lit part of the tavern, where his card game awaited.

I released the redheaded rapscallion and turned to look at him. "Okay, little fox. This is what's going to happen, and if it doesn't happen, you and the little rabbit are going to die, because you've been seen at my table and he's been seen with you. Congratulations, you've shoved your foot into the outhouse hole without even noticing you were in one. You're going to take him to the tavern down the street. The one in good repair, where there are lots of members of the Watch. And you're going to stay there until whoever is responsible for you comes, and if you haven't got someone, you're going to get out of town before last light. If you really don't want to die, you'll be heading out on a boat, instead of further inland. Do you understand?"

[Sage]

He had thought fingers would fly. One moment the thief had reached for the Woman’s hood, and the next she had a knife to his fingers. Sage watched wide eyed, a hand halfway to stifle a scream that hadn’t come, his weight poised to fly off the stool and across the room in an instant. She had stopped, a warning, and was hissing something to the boy clearly unimpressed at his trespass.
Then the card player was up and walking over, but the man by the door had stayed in his place. Sage turned to see what the bartender was doing, and was unnerved to find that he was watching him, their eyes met for but a few moments before sage turned away to face the corner once more.

“That cannot be good”

Sage watched a little longer, unable to put together any kind of coherent thought, just watch and observe as the woman told the card player something, seemingly appeasing him. For the moment at least
“No, nothing is going to happen here, if this was going to turn into a bar room brawl already if it was, this is something else entirely” He was not safe here, that uneasy sickly feeling burbled upwards into his throat, making him forcefully swallow it back down.

“Stay calm and don’t panic, didn’t you just learn that?”

Sage gave his own mug of ale another glance looking at his own distorted reflection in the dim light. Another deep breath later and he felt light, more at ease despite the minor trembling in his hand, good enough he supposed and placed the mug back on the counter and made his way towards the thief.
He felt like everyone in the entire room had their eyes on him, and his steps may as well have been treading over glass. But he didn’t falter, and even managed to keep his pace as natural as he could as he approached the thief from behind. Gently he and placed a hand on his shoulder as he stepped to the thief’s side, and leaned forward to peer at his face.

“Are you ok?”

The woman in the hood looked dead serious, if she was worried about the attention the men were giving her she didn’t show it, more like she was resigned to it. “What kind of life is that, does she live like this all the time?” It was nothing like his, sheltered away from the harshness of the world beyond his own little town.

He really had been blind.

“I’m, so sorry for troubling you” He apologised “I- I’ll make sure he does not disturb you again” He tried to smile, his apology was earnest but he was far too worried about what kind of trouble the woman was in to make it a genuine heartfelt smile.

[Vendredi]

All of a sudden, he was looking at the wood grains on the table top.

Fii groaned when his chin hit the table, and groaned when he was released again. He lifted his shoulders and massaged it gingerly, trying to feel something other than the sore ache that had seared through his muscles and tendons, exacerbated by a drum of adrenaline when she pushed him down. His fingers were tender and felt strangely not his own at the moment, and he was almost surprised that they were still attached.

I’m not dead, some faint part of his mind supplied unhelpfully, with all the tact of a drunken horse. Not maimed, either.

Well then. He hadn’t really lost anything other than his pride, and hadn’t even been bruised much. All in all, it was not a terrible day.

For a moment, he was almost pleased. Then, he was horribly embarrassed by that little display. Especially the bit where she threatened him.

So it was with a little but of sullen defiance that Fii nodded at the woman’s words, and he only nodded because those words and that man from just now hinted at a first whiff of something greater happening here, swirling around them like an unseen fog. Suddenly, danger was no longer a thrilling, forbidden friend. Danger was a dangerous cut throat killer, creeping in the shadows. Despite the fool that he had seemed today, Fii had always been practical when it came to staying alive.

“Alright,” he muttered.

His boyfriend was coming, now. He eyed the other boy. Then, without another word, he grabbed the other boy’s wrists, and began dragging his new companion out the door.

[The Mongrel]

I watched the boys leave. I watched the eyes on them. I felt the eyes on me. Those children were unknown, clumsy. The Scourge would know that if I'd brought little Unfoundlings with me to their island, I hadn't brought anyone important. I doubted they'd be intelligent enough to know I wouldn't bring any of my own little ones out of the safety of our territory to invade an enemy land if they weren't incredibly competent. I doubted they'd be trusting enough. I knew what I'd do to anyone I caught cavorting with a known member of the Scourge if I found them at the docks in Serenti or Radasanth. It wasn't pretty.

I hope the rabbit has some sense, because the fox is woefully lacking.

A minute passed from their departure, then two. The drunkard left. A skinny man walked into the bar, spoke to the tender for a moment, then had a shot and left. I set my mostly full mug on the cracked and grimy table, took out a small container, then removed the green lenses that sat in my eyes to disguise the tell-tale silver. A bit of saltwater followed the contacts, then I sealed the jar. The last thing I wanted was to have shards of glass in my eyes during a fight.

I stood, moving through the noise and crowd like a ghost. The only ones who marked my passing were the two who were interested in seeing me along to the next life, and just as well. I flipped a coin to the bartender on my way out; a bronze piece that I'd scored a trio of marks into the back of. It was an insult, a challenge. I'd stared a would-be goddess in the eyes and ran her through; whatever the Scourge was going to throw, I wanted it focused on me. It's the privilege of children to be stupid. It's the burden of adults to protect them from the worst of their consequences.

If this works, you boys will never know how lucky you are.

The afternoon was waning, turning the sky from blue to peach. People swarmed the streets of Scara City, thick as midges and filthy as swine. I moved through them unhindered; I'd lived in worse for longer than most of the people around me had been alive. A younger, brasher me would have assumed that she was untrackable in the crowd. I knew better. I could feel them tracking me, though I didn't look for them. At least three, moving deftly through their native streets to keep up. Perhaps more.

I walked until the crowds thinned and I passed into a poorer residential neighborhood. Fewer of my enemies would dare show their faces here, at least at the same time, because if they threatened enough of the mostly-innocent populace, there would be repercussions. So they had to deal with me while maintaining their dance with the law. I hoped it would give me enough time to dispatch a few and be on my way.

But it's not staying out of trouble, which was the whole purpose of this trip.

I took a deep breath. I don't like fighting alone against one person, let alone groups. It lets them keep their eyes on me and thus guard themselves against the deadliest of my strikes. But it wasn't like I had much choice; I had no friends on these streets. But at least I could try to stack the deck. That meant the dark, where most or all of them would be less able to see. It also meant I had to be quick.

This isn't going to be fun.

I stepped into a dead-end alley, challenging my pursuers outright. A pair of small, skinny humans jumped down from the shingled roofs to haphazardly stacked crates, then to the ground, which was more covered with litter than a forest floor was with leaves. Heavier treads behind me told me two more had followed me in. The ones I saw were young, hungry, ambitious. But the voice behind me was older, harder.

"You gotta lotta gall c'ming here, Unfounded dog."

"So you decided to see if the bitch had bite?" I reached up slowly, brushing back my hood for the first time since arriving on the backwater island nation. My hand grasped the handle of my sickle-sword, the legendary blade that had replaced my trusty mythril shortsword and killed Pode. What little light kissed the alley floor glinted sharply off the white prevalida; Elendethoa was ready for blood.

"I am lost and misbegotten, friendless, faithless, and forgotten. I am alone and outnumbered, cornered, crowded, and accursed." A grim smile touched my lips, and I slashed the air brutally, skin prickling at the cold, clean note that trailed in its wake. "But still I stand among the living, unbound, unbroken, and unforgiving."

[Sage]

No answer, from either of them. The thief had merely taken a hold of his wrist and led him past the tavern patrons and back outside where he could once again feel the oceans stiff breeze. Sage said nothing as the Taverns door closed behind him, and he didn’t say anything when the thief continued to pull him by his wrist further alone the docks.

“He sure has been grabbed a lot today, hasn’t he?” Sage observed as he looked towards the boys hand around his own wrist. He hadn’t said a word either, instead of the smile sage had not seen him without he appeared rather, sober.

“I’d imagine nearly losing your fingers would cause that”

It was getting close to sundown too. Was it really getting that late already? If he didn’t get back soon his father would start to worry where he was, and then he would begin to worry that his father worried.
But his father was safe, and that woman was not. He didn’t even know her, and she looked quite capable of looking after herself, so why did he fear for her life, fear for fates far worse than death. He found continuing to walk unbearable, so he took the boys hand in his and pulled him to a stop in the middle of the docks.

He frowned when he didn’t know what he wanted to say or do, just the feeling that he had to do something.

“T-there were three men in that tavern, all of them were staring at her” he quietly told the thief, unable to shake the worry from his tone.

“I think they wanted her dead, or worse!”

[Vendredi]

He hadn’t noticed the men in the tavern. He had missed them right up until the moment one had gone up to the table, and even then he had thought there was only one. Not good enough for a thief. A sense of unease was snaking its way through Fii, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of the men, or because of her, or if it was for her or for himself.

“I don’t care,” Fii said, petulantly, except maybe he did.

At the very least, he cared about keeping himself alive, and that sense of curiosity that had gotten him into trouble in the first place did not fully die with his pride. It wasn’t clear to Fii if he had a greater chance of staying alive if the men gutted that woman, or if she gutted them instead. She seemed dangerous enough. Better would be if they both gutted each other, so no one would bring up this fiasco ever again.

He bit his lips. He frowned. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. The ocean wind brought the smell of salt and fish. The sun was hurting his eyes. The boy beside him looked too harmless to do anything, really, and it wasn’t as though Fii could do anything, right?

Oh, fuck it.

“Let’s go,” he said, throwing caution to the wind. Time to play this by the ear. Motioning for the other boy to follow, Fii took off at a sprint.