Down by the Docks (Closed)

[Amaru]

The huge clear lake is the heart of this well-to-do fishing town, teeming with trout, salmon, pike, and most every type of freshwater fish, plus mussels, clams, and crabs. The wharf is built on cobblestones, with many docks reaching out into the waters like wooden fingers, and a fleet of fishing boats and even a few small ships. Dozens upon dozens of stands have been erected, selling fish in all manner of ways: raw, baked, smoked, gutted, roasted on a stick, dipped in lemon juice, packed in ice, and all of it filling the air with the strong stench of fish. Since the town is ideally located, many traders are seen passing through, so that the occasional cart of some crop, or clothing, or dishes can be seen.

The day began warm and turned even worse. The sun beats down, filling the air with a suffocating, sullen heat that has many of the locals donning hats or hiding under the shade of cloth roofs, carts, or the shade of nearby buildings. Many brave the sun, standing in front of their stands and crying their catch. It just so happens that Amaru has quit drowsing under a tree and is now walking at an even pace past the line of stands. He stops here and there, buys a smoked salmon, and is striding away when a woman cries, “My rings... where are my rings?” Her stand has differently types of jewelry on it, and indeed the rings are gone. From the look of it, a handful of the rings would fetch quite a hefty price.

But the dockside is seething with people, and the woman dare not leave her stand lest the rest of her merchandise vanishes. Her pleas go unheard, she begins tallying up her loss in frustration, and no one sees as the young man is tucking a few of something into his pocket, a fistful of some items that glitter and flash in the afternoon sun. He can’t help but smile, but it’s gone as soon as it comes, and his looks and garb make him easily blend in with all the other travelers and locals going on their way.

[Shadow Reaper]

The stench of fish. The first thing to accost most who first step into this district of the city but something that completely bypasses K. Of course, the fact K doesn’t actually have a sense of smell probably has a large part to play in such matters. Oh well, it’s just a reason for her not to be put off wandering about against the oh so many that are.

Really, such a crowded place as a fish and general goods market this hour of the day is no place for someone who doesn’t like being touched, especially considering all the hustle and bustle going on. The problem is that there’s some things that K wishes to look at here in the market and this is the quietest part of the day. So she has to make do and wind her way through the crowds, avoiding as much contact as she can as she goes.

At least being insubstantial means she’s not so much being crushed as passed through at points. Still, it’s not exactly the most comfortable situation for either party, even if it is only partially in places. More than once already has someone stopped and given messy blonde girl a nasty look of one or another kind. Lucky for her that tingly sensation that so disagrees with all those who come into contact with her has been enough to keep them all leading on their own way so far.

At a stand K is looking over so small shiny items. All different metals with even more different kinds of rocks and shells designed together to make shiny pretty things. K’s seen these things on various ladies and men on her travels, usually ones with very fine clothing as well. K’s tried that before, appearing dressed up with all those layers and fluttery materials. The problem is that all those tiny details take so much concentration to keep in place and it’s not an appearance she can hold long. That and she has not had the most friendly encounters with other people appearing as such. How was she supposed to know that there are certain places and people you should not be around when appearing like that?

Anyway, it doesn’t matter just now. Right now there’s all these pretty things before her and she would rather like one, even if only for a little while. Because really, holding onto things for a long amount of time is quite a hassle. Still.. there’s one here, that odd little silver thing with the tiny black stone at it’s centre that is drawing her hand ever closer.

From behind the stall the jewel smith is not the happiest tender here today at the docks. It’s already been a long day and twice has he had that stupid woman from down the lane come up to him and badger him about the standing of his young daughter. For the Gods sake, Jebella is only 12 and there is no way that he would sell her out to that rat faced woman’s fat boar of a son. Not that his appearance or demeanor is really the issue, but the woman has no money or standing to speak of and neither does the rest of her family. Boris will not be negotiating the marriage of his daughter to people of a lower standing. He wants his family to move up, not to stick here in the back waters of the dockside markets and most definitely not down as would happen should his eldest marry the poor innkeeper’s son.

With an eye on the strange girl who couldn’t possibly afford the jewellery laid out on the velvetine material of his stall counter, Boris turns his head in the direction of the lady stall owner going off her head next door.
“Woman do shut up! I’m sure you have done nothing of the sort! Merely misplaced your wears as you are always want to do!” He jeers to the outraged woman. Gracina. A hack jewelsmith is ever he saw one. Well okay, this is personal opinion and one held by a man who is jealous of his best competition.

From his outburst a banter arises for the next couple of minutes from the woman’s wails of complaint at a thief and then to the counting of her wares and how much of a loss she will be at. Boris continues to jeer, calling her all the colourful names learned of a trade dealt by seaside workers.

Really, this event is nothing unusual. The two stall keepers seem to have no joy in their days unless given a reason to argue with one another. Of course this is not something either would readily admit.

“Hey! You girl! What do you think you are doing!?” Boris is caught up sharp as that dirty little waif that had been hovering around his stall the last fifteen minutes grabs one of his more delicate absurdly expensive silver pieces and proceeds to wander off.

“Stop right there you –!“

K stops among the crowd to the litany of names streaming from the rakish man with the large plumb nose yelling at her. A turn and half step to avoid some passing people she points at herself. “Me?” she mouths more than says as she looks up at him all wide eyed and innocent.

“Yes you! You-“

Really. K’s never heard such words before in her life and so very little of it makes sense. Her mother what? Her brother? She has none of these family this man speaks of. Curious she steps back towards the man still holding the black stoned pendant she’d picked up from the table.

“What do you think you are doing?!” Boris can’t believe the girl. She stands there like as if she doesn’t know she was just about to steal his work!

“What?” K remains looking rather blank to the odd man. “Are you supposed to shake like that? I’ve not seen that happen before. Is there something wrong with you?”

Boris snaps and lunges over the stall counter at where the girl has walked back up to again, more words streaming from his mouth about the little thief and what he will do to her the moment he gets his hands on her.

Now K being who and what she is isn’t about to just stand there and let the man grab her. For that matter, the man has no chance of grabbing her unless she wants him to anyway so she lets him do as he pleases and merely takes a half step aside.

“I do not understand. That man there took the shiny things from her table,” K states quite simply as she looks at the man now draped over his counter top holding nothing but air. A man more than a little surprised to be holding nothing but air and with a rather unpleasant tingly feeling going through his hand.

“What are you talking about?” Boris manages to wasp at the girl.

K points through the crowd to the young man K had noticed take a selection of trinkets from the wailing woman’s stall. A crowd that’s paused to watch the scene as part of the daily entertainment expected of a bustling market place. All eyes follow the finger as it points off in it’s direction.

“Him. He took things from the table in front of the lady and walked away. If he can, why can’t I?”
K’s saying this all in pure innocence. She knows no better.

Boris isn’t seeing the innocent way in which K states this. No, instead he’s seeing a little thief with an accomplice here to steal his and Gracina’s hard work. Just because the man chose a stupid accomplice who is now giving him away is not of consequence, no. The man's a thief, the girl's a thief and he shouts it out at the top of his lungs.

[Amaru]

Amaru mouths a few words, and for anyone who might be able to read the lips the words ‘miserable’ and ‘wench’ could be clearly deciphered. He stares at the girl, she stares at him, but it lasts just a second before he glances at the rest of the crowd. “Does she mean me?” he asks in great puzzlement. His face shows only shocked indignation at being accused of exactly what he’s guilty of. Some of the crowd confirm this, but not too many of the locals seem eager to accost the thief. His hand rests lightly on the pommel of his sword, a silent but clear warning. “I did no such thing,” he says without blinking.

“You...you did no such thing?” The woman’s voice is thick with rage as she stands over the place where once her rings were. “Then turn out that pocket right there! The one bulging on your left side! You--” She lets out a stream of profanity barely fit for even the lowest drunkard “--thief!”

“Are you so sure I am the thief? Perhaps the real one is escaping even as we speak?”

“You are indeed!”

“Okay,” Amaru says, almost gleefully. “I’ll turn out my pockets, but if my effects are innocent, you will give me all the jewelry on the stand. Since you think me so guilty.”

A few of the onlookers hoot and chuckle at that. The woman looks at a loss for a few moments, and in that time Amaru simply strides away. He goes unchallenged. She knows that the rings are in her pocket, but the price if she’s wrong is quite high. As for Amaru, he flips a coin through the air which the man catches--gold, and worth more than the trinket she stole. “Leave her be,” he says, and nothing more.

But all the time he’s light on his toes. This situation could explode any second, and he might have to prove how fast he can run. He glares at the girl. Damn girl. Wretched, hideous girl.

[Shadow Reaper]

K frowns a little as the woman and the man she fingered contest each other over the contents of the man’s pockets. She knows there’s the shiny things in his pockets. She saw him put them there and a reach to the Dark Places tells her they can confirm it too. Can’t these people see that? Are they so silly?

To K the deal seems an easy decision. The man has the items, the woman would get them back if she just agrees. That’s not hard at all. Mouth opening to state her mind it’s the movement of the jewel she’s taken herself that causes her to cut the words short and give him her attention. He’s much closer now, having taken the moment to actually move around his stall and onto the main street to eye the goings on better.

Boris’s hand is still giving him an odd feeling, but he doesn’t want that girl escaping him. She’s got one of his things and he will have it back. Unlike Gracina he will not give up so easily! The deal being bargained is something he himself would scoff at. Well, not when his own goods were at stake.. but he scoffs at it none the less. How can a thief barter with a tax paying citizen? Really! He states this quite loudly and clearly for all to hear.

But the woman who has such fire when complaining is a worm when it comes to real chance of consequence and she shrivels up under the prospect of possibly losing her wares. Stupid, simple, gutless woman. Boris spits upon the ground in disgust.

K finds herself shuffling a little as the thin man comes upon her side again, closer still. He keeps trying to manoeuvre so as to grab her, she can feel it and see it in the way he stands. Twice already has it been near misses and only the fact that she can shift her shape has kept him from making contact with her again. She does not like the feel of the man. His tug, the light within him she feels when contact comes is sticky and foul tasting. She does not want the sensation to cross her again. So she avoids it as best she can. Edging those little bits out of the way so he can never quite get her.

These avoidances stop when from the direction of the thief a flash of gold sails through the air. Hmn, what was that? It seems to of distracted the shiny seller quite well and for the first time in these minutes since being near the man K finds herself completely ignored.

Gold. Real gold.
Boris tests it between his teeth to make sure.
Sure is. This is more than enough to cover the trinket that is more silver in colour than actual substance. Which contains a black rock he’d gotten from a fish’s gullet his wife had picked out the other week while cooking. Yes, this will do.

Eyes on the gold coin and his thoughts on how best to keep it from his nosey wife’s eye he misses the disappearance of the two thieves. What does it matter? He is at no loss here. It is Gracina who has lost her wares and he who has made a lovely little profit. Fortune of the Gods!

~~

K’s left alone and in the dispersing crowd she takes herself away. Twining through the various bodies after that man. Why? Well why not. She had had other things she wished to do. Her walkings through the market this day have not brought her what she originally seeked. But that man and the trinkets he had taken.. Well, he’d thrown something shiny at that big nosed man and made him leave her alone. Perhaps if she goes after the man called Thief he would be able to do this again and she would have less hassle dealing with people. It’s worth a try at least.

So calling to the Dark Places in their silent whispered words K uses their guidance to weave her way through the crowds after the man.

~~

With time passed and the surrounding crowds gone Boris is left alone at his stall with his gold coin. Slipping it into a pocket finally after a good twelve minutes of admiring, testing, tasting it to prove it is real he looks over his wares.

All over the counter where his various jewels and trinkets lay there is large gaps of where missing pieces had lain only a short while ago.

Profanities and curse suddenly flood the air from the direction of the jeweller’s corner like the foghorn of an approaching ship.

Perhaps the gods are not with Boris after all.

[Amaru]

The activity settles down on the fringes of town. The crowd thins and near the edge of the wooden walls of the town is a scruffy clearing with a few scraggly trees. A chicken runs to and fro, one so wiry and bony that barely a few bites of meat can be sliced off it. Amaru has noted the girl following him—he expected as much, and so there he stops there and picks up a pinecone, breaking off one section after another. When she’s in range he tosses it at her, meaning to hit her, only mildly, in the stomach. “You depraved fool,” he spits. “You could have gotten your hand chopped off with your little fool’s show... and worse, mine. You’d best be thankful I gave him that coin.” He spits on the ground and says, “What’s your name?”

No one seems to be eavesdropping on their conversation. The heat has driven many people in, or down to the lakeside, after all. And as he speaks, Amaru keeps his distance of a couple yards, but his hand is laid lightly on the pommel of his dagger and he has a look just as sharp as the blade.

[Shadow Reaper]

K’s getting closer to the man. The Dark Places are saying so. Pity that their whispers are getting quieter with the height of the great light in the sky. The shadows are not so deep and thusly the Dark Places have few places to speak from. For that matter K is finding her steps diverted more directly towards the shadow castings of the buildings she passes by. An instinctive manoeuvre to keep her form’s consistency levels up.

With the lack of houses and the grow of small lanky trees upon her path K finds her way beginning to tire her. Too much light in the open is never a good thing when at your core you are a shadow.

This would account for why it is by surprise that K finds herself half bent over with hands folded to her gut as something nearly passes right through her. The Dark Places had not warned K that the man had stopped, or that he had an item in which to accost her. Not that they can be blamed for such matters. Such scraggly trees offer no real depth to their shadows, the fence is no better and the clear area itself faces onto sun bleached walls and ground. The Dark Places had nowhere to gather intel from let alone call from with warning.

It is lucky that K is folded over, for the pinecone that had been so carelessly tossed her way sits midway through her stomach. A place no living creature could really have such a thing and still live. Straightening up K pulls the pinecone from her gut, none the worse for wear, and holds it in a hand as she looks about. Had this been some months ago K would of simply dropped the item through her form. Previous experiences now dictate that such an action is not a good idea. People do not naturally have things pass through them.

Ah. The man.
A smile lights up the moppish girl’s face, crimson eyes beaming towards him. “You! Hello! I was following you!” To state the obvious before she begins walking closer towards the man. Bare feet neither making a sound or unsettling the faint layer of loose dirt and dust upon the ground. The high light within in the sky is perhaps a good thing, even if it is making her feel weak. Her non-existent shadow is hidden for the fact any normal person’s own shadow is pooled about their feet near gone from view.

She stops short. Perhaps three paces from the man and grins at him before it faults at his words. “Why? How? What for? I don’t think they could..” not really. Well, they could, but it wouldn’t be effective, the hand wouldn’t be too bothered at being chopped off and she can put it back easy enough.

And again, “Why? Oh.. is that what you gave the funny man? He seemed very happy.”

Then because he asks and blunt questions don’t bother K, a good thing seeing as she asks them herself. “K. What is yours?” To return the favour of course.

[Amaru]

What... did that pinecone... But when she stands with it up, he realizes he’d been holding his breath and lets it out in a loud rush. He’d thought somehow the pinecone pierced her... no it must be the heat, the drowsiness. He shakes his head ruefully at his own foolishness and hears her out. She makes little sense to him, but he gathers one thing. “You’re a child,” he says... in mentality. Still, he is unsettled about this girl who is taller than him, but far younger.

He would have thought otherwise, that she was just playing the fool. But looking into her very young eyes, he can’t accept that is feigned. Still, being around someone stupid can get one in just as much danger as being around a criminal, as he’d learned. He is flicking his fingers, a nervous habit of his, and takes a moment to note the clucking chicken.

He tears his gaze away, and looks at her, donning a grin. “I’m Amaru. A humble and poor wanderer.” He bows, and for someone who can be little more than a peasant, it’s well executed, albeit he does it in cracked boots and a fraying cloak. All the while he is looking at her, namely for valuables. He takes several steps closer to her, till they’re only several feet apart.

[Shadow Reaper]

K looks at the man and frowns a little. “I am? I do not believe I am.” She takes a half step back to look herself over from toes to as far up as she can manage before looking back to the man again. “I have been told I appear between ages sixteen and twenty-four. These are not the ages of children are they?” Because that’s not a very childish naive thing to say in of itself of course.

The crimson gaze keeps it’s partial frown, eyes looking to a spot just between his eyes as opposed to actually at them. K almost never looks someone actually in the eye. Funny things happen when she does. Those she is looking at tend to start acting all weird. This would be because the blacks of K’s eyes are not the flat shiny things of most people’s. No, K’s dark pupils are endless like the dark between the stars of a night sky. Worse even for the fact that within their endless depths there is a sense of death, of staring it right on and well, most are not able to face such a fearsome thing. So yes, K keeps her eyes elsewhere but for quick glances now and then to show she is looking at someone in particular.

With the words from the man K is wondering a little if she has done something wrong with her disguise. She doesn’t really appear a child does she? This would be no good. Children are not heeded in this world from what she has learnt. One needs to be of a certain age before they are listened to.

From her thoughts she is distracted by further words and an introduction by the man who has a name past that of Thief. “Amaru Aumbled Orander? That is a silly name. Who did name you that? They were not very clever.” There is laughter with her words as she addresses the man. Perhaps it’s an accent he has, or, the more likely, K was not listening so well as the man spoke his name.

Either way, with a big grin K watches the man with a dancing playful gaze and announces her own name. “I am K.” Yeah... because that’s such a better name. Lets here the chicken laugh away at that.

[Amaru]

Amaru watches with incredulity as K she takes a look at herself. Is she mocking him? “Aye, you certainly look grown enough,” Amaru says dismissively. “You don’t have to look at yourself, for Thayne’s sake. Worried something isn’t there, are yeh? But you’re naïve. If not for me you would have t’be running right around now! Or just minus a hand.” He makes a swift chopping motion over his elbow. He’s certainly seen thieves with fingers or hands chopped off.

“And I am not Amaru Au…whatever you just called me! It’s Amaru, a bit like my father.” He doesn’t sound overly pleased with that, however. “And,” he says, baldly, “it wasn’t very clever of yeh’re father... or mother to name you K.” He glances around as though her folks might turn up then. Or another vendor might come howling for their stolen merchandise. “Who do you travel with?” he asks impatiently.

Certainly a girl who gets caught as a thief moments after Amaru saw her, was some sort of lackwit or child. A wit like that would be impossible to roam freely without a brother, or friend.

[Shadow Reaper]

“No. I do not believe I am missing anything. There would of been comment before this I believe.” Really, it’s kind of sad the serious way in which she makes this statement in relation to Amaru’s words. A small shrug, a gesture she’s picked up from people in her travels.
“I had no reason to run. Why should I be running if not for you? I only did what you did and you did not run,” a completely sincere note to her voice as she continues to speak. Missing the point completely and really showing her lack of knowledge towards certain things. Matters don’t improve with the hand gesture that she frowns to. “They could not take my hand. It is part of me.”

K’s still frowning a little when the flow of conversation changes. “I do not see how Amaru sounds like ‘my father’.. is there another language you use that makes it sound so?”
Then because such words cannot be left without comment. “I do not have a father, mother. I did name myself. I like my name.” The wide eyed gaze that follows her statement gives more belief to this statement than perhaps most could carry off, somewhat worrying really.

Noticing that the man is looking around the little chicken scratch area K does so herself. Not really much to see here. Dust, dirt, bare walls and some scraggly trees, lovely. Without noticing it K’s moved herself gradually off closer to that wood fence where the shadows are slowly inching their way larger with the passing of the sun above. True, nothing of significance, it’ll be hours yet before there’s even room for a toddler to fit in standing in that shadow, yet she’s still closer to it than she had been before.

“I do not travel with others. People do not seem to like my company. I am not sure why.” Very true. People are generally creeped out by the odd girl and past first encounters make no effort to be around her further. For that matter most try and avoid it as possible. K is as yet undecided on wether or not this is a good thing, having never really thought on the matter.

With the idea suddenly in her head that perhaps yes, she should travel with someone, or should of been already K turns her gaze back towards the man. Very slowly the thoughts pass through her mind, each and every one of them clearly displayed by her features. K has not travelled with someone before. Would she like to? Company could be interesting. She could learn more about people! Observe one for an extended period of time and take in such observations so as to improve her own selves. Yes! K would like a travel companion.

Crimson gaze on the man the foppish looking barefooted girl beams and states, “I will travel with you.” There is no two ways about this statement. K has made up her mind and now stated her intentions. There will be no diversions.. for at least the next twenty minutes or so anyway, depends if something else comes up to change her mind.

K is not one to really put all that much thought into her actions. A couple of lines of self conversation and she’s done. She’ll do what her mind has stated until it is proven to not be suitable, then whatever new has taken her fancy she’ll follow after. It just happens that this unwitting man has currently taken her fancy. Lucky him.

[Amaru]

Amaru watches K with uncomprehending eyes. “You take things quite literally,” he notes, but in an even fainter voice, “and stupidly.” While she looks old enough, she doesn’t behave as an adult should, but he’s never quite met a child who acted like her before. The statement about her hand, however, makes him chuckle. He’d beg to differ, if she did not keep on talking... and talking... and talking...

Amaru is digging a toe into the ground, out of boredom. But his mood changes from exasperation to a touch of sympathy when she talks about her mother and father. From his expression of concern, he takes for granted that she simply lost her parents. Orphans are common enough, after all. Yet rather than spout any words of sympathy, he only rolls his eyes when she says she has no traveling companions. “Imagine that,” he says dryly.

The declaration of her traveling with him comes as a surprise to say the least. “What!?” he yelps. From the way she was backing away from him slowly, he’d have expected she wanted to get away from him rather than accompany him. “No, my lady,” he says, adding the honorific for good measure. “I’m afraid you won’t be traveling with me. Surely you have a... a brother? A sister, some relative. I could escort you to them if you wish. But I won’t have you traveling with me. You’d get me nearly killed again!”

[Shadow Reaper]

K looks at Amaru a little uncomprehending. “How could you take me to a brother or sister without travelling with me?” Thoughts flicker through her mind to that statement, yet nothing makes any real sense any way she tries to look at it. So she eyes the man with a bit more purpose, well, eyes him in that she stares quite intently at his left eyebrow. “Is there another method in which to go places together but not together? How does this work? Could you show me? I would be most interested. I find travel to be very slow.. is this method faster? Getting places quicker would be good.” The words just keep flowing from her mouth, like gosh.

Either way, it does not matter, K has made up her mind and she shall travel with this man, whether he wants to or not. His opinion on the matter counts for nothing.

“I have no brother, sister. I am alone. There is no one with me.” Nowhere to go to, no one to aim for. K’s all alone here in the world. This is really one of the first times she’s been offered companionship. Okay, so he didn’t really offer, but she’s changing it to so and he’s just going to have to live with his words now.

A head tilted there’s a bubbling of giggles to the last words from the man and K steps closer to him again upon light toes. “Killed? I shall try not to do this. Being killed is not a good thing I believe. Yes, I will make effort to not see this happen to you. All will be good.” There’s that big beaming grin again. Sooo reassuring.

[Amaru]

Amaru is also moving, but not because of any shadows. He’s moving slowly away from her, as though enough distance might make her vanish and leave him alone. So he’s a healthy distance away when she is speaking of traveling. This will not do. “You mistake my words,” he says. “I know no faster way to travel.” Another step, farther away. If he’s fazed by her admittance of having no siblings, it doesn’t show in the least.

Now from afar he says, “And you will not be traveling with me! I’m certainly no one for a young lady to be traveling with. Also,” he says, putting a great deal of bite into his next words. “Even though I helped you at the docks, I don’t want you traveling with me.” He watches her closely, in case she might cry. Women often do that, but he shan’t be affected by it. Already he’s close to a building in which he might round and make his escape.

He answers her grin with a frown. He's misliking this girl more and more with each passing second.

[Shadow Reaper]

Oh now we can’t be having any of that. The man’s been slowly backing away, getting more distance between the two of them as K continues to talk. By the time she’s done and he’s speaking he’s gotten all that space between them. Now how’d he manage that? Well it’s no good either way and K promptly goes about remedying the situation by walking after him, a visible excited bounce in each step.

“I am not a young lady.” There’s something of a ring to those words that makes it sit on the wrong side of comfortable. It’s true but it’s not? Well, to be truthful K didn’t just lie.. it just kind of looks like it on appearances and well.. such a statement could be read into in so many ways. It’s just that bit more worrying that it’s the literal sense in which it can be taken in this instance. Ah well.

“I can help you. I am not sure how..” words trail off as she continues to close the distance between the two of them. Nope, no signs of tears here. K’s not one for crying, for one to actually physically do so she’d have to want to and well.. she has no want to at this moment. She hasn’t yet realised the man is completely serious in his intention to leave her alone. No, she’s going to follow him and there isn’t a thing he can do about it. Once K has her sights on someone, unless someone or thing else comes along of more interest she ain’t gonna let them go. Nope.

Closer again and not seeing that Amaru is so close to bolting she asks quite bluntly, “Why not? I would like to travel with you. Is there reason I should not?” It’s a very intent gaze that falls on the man, still just avoiding direct eye contact. K’s very determined here and it stands out in every part of the way she stands and looks at the man

[Amaru]

Amaru has had enough. He begins to storm away from her, until he realizes he’s storming in the wrong direction. Going back into town, at least for now, wouldn’t be the wisest course of action, not after what happened--when a simple theft became a public spectacle thanks to this damned brat. So he stops and begins going outside of the town. If K forgot anything at some local inn, fine by him, he'd be quite happy to leave her behind.

“There is no way in which you can help me,” Amaru says flatly. “You’ve already almost killed me, as shown not so long ago. I do not want you along because you are--” Here, he takes a bracing breath. “Ignorant, foolish, thoughtless, naive, childish...” And on he goes, dredging up one demeaning phrase after another. The chicken lets out a mild cluck, and goes pattering off a ways as though bored by the scene.

“...careless, uncomprehending weakling,” he rounds up at last. He finishes this off with a cold look at K, just before turning promptly and walking away from the town and from this stupid girl. Having the company of a girl in a tavern common room is one thing, but it's quite another being accompanied with some witless child on his quests are an entire matter altogether.

[Shadow Reaper]

K keeps her crimson gaze on the man as he first goes one way then the other in a rather stroppy fashion (not that this is something she particularly notices). As he returns back the other way he’s talking and K listens.

“I-“ But she can’t get a word in edgewise for once as he starts off on his tirade of vices. Is she that bad? Well.. she is, but she doesn’t think so. Anyway, he goes on and on and on about all these different things she supposedly is. Not that she understands even a quarter of them and just stands there with her mouth open for a bit before it slowly closes as she realises she isn’t about to get a word in herself.

Finally he’s done, he gives her a look and he’s off.

So that’s it?

Nah.
Seeing that Amaru’s finished there’s a skip to her step and K’s after him as he leaves town. Not even pretending to trail behind she just goes right on up beside him and follows along at his speed. “I can help. I’m sure I can. I think.., “ Yeah, real vote of confidence there.

“I can do things.. “ now that’s open up to too many different interpretations. Oh well. Try as he might Amaru’s not about to lose the girl who’s more than a little bit of a pain in the ass. Even if he dodges down an ally or a side street or behind a tree or anything. K’s going to be there right behind, following, always following. Woo for the stalker!

[Amaru]

Amaru is surprised to find he’s still not walking alone. There she still is, nattering on. As she prattles, he glares at her, but after his words he knows looks are likely wasted on this girl as well. Still, he could think of any number of things to be rid of her, but there’s a very simple one. Amaru rummages around in his cloak pocket and extracts a small whistle, blowing on it. Any normal whistle would emit a shrill chirp, but nothing comes out of this, not even the sound of his own breath. He puts it away without comment.

They’re outside town now, and Amaru quickens his pace. If nothing else, she’ll surely tire out and fall behind him. The homes and stores dwindle into mild hills and light woods. It’s there that Amaru renews his attempts to leave her. “As a woman you’ll only slow me down,” he says, almost airily. “I can’t see you being anything but a hindrance. And you’re no fighter, you haven’t even a weapon. Oh look.” This latter remark is sad with something close to glee as he points.

Picking its way from a thicket of trees and shrubs is a small creature of some sort. Its fiery red fur and bottle brush tail mark it to be a fox and, despite its wary eyes, it is loping towards the both of them. Without any further ado, Amaru says, “That’s Fox. My fox. If you don’t leave right n—huh?” He stops speaking as Fox freezes in her tracks, staring at K like she’s seen...well, death. Her tail stiffens, her fur seems to bristle, and her eyes round with fear and alarm. Then, in an instant, Fox whirls and sprints away despite her partner’s protests. “Come back here, you dumb dog!” Amaru grates, but too late.
The fox is gone, and for the first time Amaru gives K an appraising look. “What did you do?” he asks, though he sounds more confused than suspicious.

[Shadow Reaper]

Cheerful gaze is watching between the silent trees and bushes, seeing if there’s anything of interest as they go along. Not really, just trees and other trees randomly dispersed about the place with the occasional sign of recent logging or clearing by the locals. Nothing special there.

“I don’t have to be a woman,” K states in retaliation to his complaint about her chosen sex. She’s thinking about changing her form as he goes on further, complaining about her lack of weaponry and show of skills. Not much she can do about that really, she doesn’t have any skills with weapons but then she’s not had need of them before.

Thoughts are stopped as there’s a pause in the sound coming from the man and she looks up to see what’s caused the silence. A furry thing! K doesn’t see many of those. Small creatures of any kind, even a lot of the bigger ones don’t bring themselves anywhere near K. Something about her sends them crazy, either with fear or aggression so she doesn’t ever have them actually coming towards her, ever. For that matter it’s a little odd that chicken had hung around so calmly in that little open area in town. Perhaps it was just too brain dead to know any better? Who knows what the people were feeding it..

Anyway, there’s a fox, it’s come closer and then it’s showing off the typical sign most animals do around K. For a moment she’d been excited, thinking that for once here was a creature who actually wanted to be near her. But no, it’s just as scared as the rest of them and after a few reluctant moments it’s run off again.

K sighs heavily as she watches the kit scamper off, disappointed that once again she’s scared off something before even getting a good look at it. For the first time K’s looking actually down in the company of the man as she looks at him. “Nothing.. Things don’t like me. They’re scared. They run away or growl or bark or..” She shrugs, shaking her head a little as eyes follow back off the way the animal had gone again. “They just don’t like me. I don’t do anything. It’s just me.”

In the silence that follows real silence makes itself felt. There’s no bird chirps, no bug calls, no squirrel skitterings, no nothing. There’s nothing of the life of the forest around them making any noise. For that matter the whole time they’ve been walking they’ve been surrounded by silence but for at long distances away. K sends the wild to silence merely with her presence within it. Animals can sense Death as it hangs around K like a real thing. They don’t like it, they don’t want it’s attention and so they make all their effort to not draw it their way.

[Amaru]

Amaru’s expression is inscrutable as he watches his fox turn tail and run. There’s a pause before he gives his full attention to K, and now he says in a very quiet voice, “I’ve never known someone of your...caliber interested in dealing with the likes of me.” That’s not strictly true. He has had a few situations when he’s been rubbing elbows with the powerful or the wealthy, or both, but it hasn’t happened all that often. “And I’ve done very little to deserve such attention. Tell me my lady.” Here, he pauses.

“...if indeed you are a lady. What powers do you possess. I’ve never seen Fox run quite that fast from a mere human.” He glances in distaste at his animal companion, on the fringes of his view, staring at the whole ordeal wide eyed and tense. Amaru runs fingers through his hair. If she could scare Fox, she’s certainly someone to contend with, and subtlety would be the better course of action here. But he’s sick of intrigue for the time being.

As he speaks, it’s then he notices the uncanny silence. Amaru runs fingers through his shaggy hair and expels his breath. He may be in over his head, and all the time he was acting the fool. He doesn’t take his eyes off K anymore... he doesn’t dare. If Fox is any indication, he’d best recall quickly that appearances can be very, very deceiving.

[Shadow Reaper]

"Caliber?" K's taken from her own thoughts by the man's speech and she blinks at him. Big wide innocent red irised eyes.

Then there's a smile again as she bounces on her toes, "You didn't run away. Well.. you did. Not very well though.. " a shrug and another grin. "You are interesting." Which seems perfectly good reason to the odd girl if not to him.

She also needs to answer his question to her doesn't she? "Powers?" That suddenly sad, suddenly happy again face takes on a blank expression for a moment as she tries to think on that. She's a mind to tail twitch but this form doesn't lend itself to having a tail.

The implication she's not human.. well, she's not. But having others comment towards such facts tends to lead to akwardness. "Things don't like me. I said that.. They always run. Don't they always run from people?" really, she doesn't have experience to tell her this isn't natural. Again there's another blank face as she looks at the man. Not bothered in the least by the silence of the forest around them.

[Amaru]

“You’re very strange, woman,” Amaru observes.

He stops his attempts at fending her off. It’s clear that cutting words don’t discourage K. He just wishes he knew what the chit wanted, to give it to her, and send her on her way. He supposes he could outdistance her with a brief jog, but he’d never bear the shame of saying he ran away from some tawdry lackwit... and a girl. The thief shoots a look back over his shoulder at Fox, who was still keeping her distance. Amaru gives her a grimace of disappointment, which she completely ignores except to preen herself a bit.

“Not many women can say ‘people don’t like me’ with such a calm face. I wonder if you’re playing me for a fool.” Amaru pauses, and then shrugs. “If you wish it, you may come with me,” he relents. “But I am not paying for any of your food or lodging. You must keep up and not complain.” There’s quite a few other things he wants to tell K, but Amaru doubts she’d be able to remember even what he just said. Amaru fixes her with a stern look. This is one thing that he’s not going to overlook. His road, his rules.

He can only pray it must be a short time. Thayne, he beseeched his god, if you see fit to give me this child, let it not be too miserable.

[Shadow Reaper]

Head tilted K looks a little blank, “How do I play you the fool?” lashes flutter as she tries to work out the meaning, “Is that a game?” To that idea she immediately brightens, “Can we play? I like games, no one ever plays them long with me..” which brings on the disappointment in her voice. Really, K is most definitely very childish in her manner.

She’s ready to go on and on in this line of thought when suddenly she realises that the man had said something else. He’s allowing her to travel with him! “Pay?” Oh right, we’d gone through that before, she skipped on shaking her head lightly, “Food? Lodging?”

Well, the first is easily fixed as she bounces on her toes and simply declares, “I don’t eat, or drink!” She's discovered this after a couple of attempts at trying both and failing miserably. Being a creature of shadow, of course she doesn’t. She just needs more darkness to feed off of and she’s good. Still, it's not exactly something she should be trumpeting to the world.. oh well, she doesn't exactly know better.

“What’s lodging? Do you get stuck? Why do you have to pay to get stuck?” big red eyes blink innocently at Amaru once more completely at a loss to such a concept. K stays where ever she pleases, wether others care or not. It’s almost impossible to drive her out of a place and well, she tends to pick those uninhabited anyway when taking a place of rest.

Then because his last comment is just silly she steps around him, just out of reach but still perhaps that bit too close to the man, “You are not fast, I have stayed with you, yes? I can do this!” and she grins.

[Amaru]

Amaru looks after the girl with a sort of hopeless irony. But after a while of following a beaten road, he grins. At least he won’t get bored so long as K is around, but likely the girl will be the death of him. He stretches a bit and whistles sharply to Fox. Recognizing that K will have to be a constant companion, Fox decides to make something of a peace...or at least try. She treds reluctantly closer, to Amaru’s side while keeping him between her and the shadow creature. But it lasts only for a second before the fox backs away again, unable to be in her immediate presence.

"Nevermind,” he tells K as she garbles the meaning of his words once more. He may as well toss all his rules out the window. “Come on K, I’ll look after you. An unarmed girl like you needs a guy like me around. To protect her, love her, kiss her." He smirks towards the girl of shadows.

But the thief does keep a wary lookout over K. She reeks of danger, no matter the fact she's not wielding a magical sceptre or sporting a weapon. Fox seems to think so too. She finally gets up the nerve to take a sniff from afar along the downwind at this strange creature. And she smells...nothing. The she-fox gives a pathetic whine and trots off towards the under brush far away from K as she can get without losing sigh of Amaru. He himself notes his companion's departure, and again that eerie silence. Despite himself, Amaru frowns as they make a good distance between him and that town.

[Shadow Reaper]

The quite blatant flirtations are completely lost on K, she simply smiles happy at the entire matter. She has a companion! Someone to travel with! Joyous!

The girl is all the more enthused as the fox is once more called over and she bobs down to it’s level, waving at it in that friendly manner of hers, completely oblivious to it’s own unfriendly reaction. She tries to encourage it over a little, leaning that bit closer and stretching out a hand. An action that simply has the creature whine and turn tail.

A small sigh to herself and for a moment K becomes downcast, those crimson eyes watching after the creature as it disappears into the bushes. It doesn’t last long, not when her thoughts return to the fact she will now have a travelling companion. K’s not had one of those before and well, the prospect is just too joyous to keep her down for long.

Springing up once more to her toes she’s dancing on them, bouncing around the man in circles again, arms waving at her sides. She is very pleased, for all the nothing she’d intended of this day she’s gotten herself a most wonderful something instead!

“I’m happy,” K states quite simply as the three turn to the world.

Amaru has most definitely just asked for alot of trouble in accepting this new companion. Ah well. To the journeys ahead!

[Witchblade]

Story

Continuity: - 4 My guess is you guys just start a thread with no real direction or storyline in mind and hoped that the interaction of your characters would bring out something. Well, it did bring out something but that something was a strange mesh-mash of events. There never was an explanation for why your characters were in the area they were. No mention of where they were going, what they were doing next or how they got where they were. The story that followed the two was jagged, jumping around from a thievery for a sudden a strange travelling companionship. Wouldn’t it have been better and more interesting had Amaru just tricked K in some kind of way and left her there? Nothing of great significance seemed to happen in the quest, all you did was dance around each other’s toes while Amaru yelled insults at K and K looked at him innocently.

Setting: - 5 Amaru, your first post in the quest had a decent amount of description that really made the town your character was in come to life. However, after that most of the descriptions seemed to fade away from both of your writing. Occasionally something would pop up here and there to remind them of a change in the scenery but it was never described as well, just enough to let the reader know where they were. I did like the fact that this random chicken kept being mentioned though. It was just one of those strange situations people find themselves in, with a chicken just walking around.

Pacing: - 4 The pacing was all over the place. It started off well, with a bit of excitement at the beginning what with K mimicking the actions of Amaru and attempting to steal from the jewellers stand. But after that things were just slow between the characters. They stood around talking and nothing exciting seemed to really happen. I think the most interesting thing after that was Amaru’s reaction to when K said she wanted to travel with him. By the way, whatever happened to that trinket K picked up? No mention of it was ever made again, nor of the rings and other assorted jewellery that Amaru had stolen.

Character

Dialogue: - 3 The dialogue left much to the imagination. K has a very childish way of talking where she kind of jumps around a lot from one topic to the next. Yes, children are like that but not to the point where it seems like they have ADHD. The reader can easily become annoyed with this after reading around ten posts filled with it. Amaru, your dialogue isn’t much better. You tend to have your character say a lot in a single post that should probably be broken up between two or three posts. After all, think of regular conversation. People don’t ask five questions and then expect answers; no they ask one maybe two. If you have a problem of short posts when it comes to scenes of dialogue talk with the other player to bunny characters or just keep the posts short.

Persona: - 4 K is a childish, naïve and innocent little shadow reaper that is clearly not human. The reader gets it. You don’t need to remind the reader of her innocence almost every post with her ‘big red and innocent eyes blinking at Amaru’ every time he says something she doesn’t understand. It becomes repetitive to the reader.

Amaru’s personality tends to jump all over the place. He hates K one instant for singling him out and then decides to help her instead of using everyone’s attention on her to escape. It doesn’t make much sense. Then there’s the fact that he goes from wanting to get rid of her to being amazed because she scared his fox to wanting to get rid of her again. Don’t do things your character wouldn’t do for the sake of storyline! If it isn’t within his personality then don’t do it, otherwise the readers notices and wonders just what is going on. Either have a good explanation for why it’s being done, or make sure it’s something he’d do to begin with.

Action: - 3 K stayed very much true to her own being through her actions. They were childish and naïve at the best of times and just stupid at the worst of times. I liked how she thought she could just steal something because she witnessed another do the same. Still, she does tend to irritate the reader from time to time by just being herself. There needs to be a balance between her naivety and just how she is written, otherwise she’ll continuously get on the readers nerves.

Like Amaru’s persona, there were times when he did things that just seemed a little strange or not entirely within his character. He wants to get rid of K, yet calls his pet Fox over thinking it would scare her. It’s a fox; someone like K would only be intrigued by it. Maybe if he had a pet orc she’d be scared. And once again his action of saving her instead of leaving as mentioned above comes into this category.

Writing Style

Mechanics: - 5 Shadow Reaper, you have a tendency to use the wrong words in certain places and to leave out words like ‘a, of and the’ entirely in some instances. Be careful of that. It doesn’t throw the reader off too much as they can normally just add the word in themselves but does break the flow up. Also, why did K tell Amaru her name twice? I get the feeling that was more writer error than character error.

Amaru you have spelling and grammatical issues as well. As always, my advice is to re-read your posts. Read them top to bottom, bottom to top, one sentence at a time, whatever works for you. Just do it, you’ll notice things easier and then the mistakes themselves will become less frequent.

Technique: - 5 Shadow Reaper, you have an interesting technique for this character that really needs more refining. It has a choppy feel to it that tends to throw the reader around a bit and while that can be a good thing, the flow really needs more work. Amaru, you need to work on the general flow of your writing, from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. Sometimes it just seems like you’re jumping around from thought to thought instead of flowing from thought to thought.

Clarity: - 4 There were a few times when I had to re-read a post to understand what was going on. In particular the post in which Amaru gives the jeweller the gold coin and saves K I must have read about three times before the entirety of it made sense.

Wild Card: - 5 It wasn’t a bad quest over all, but it needed more direction and perhaps a bit more thought and planning put into it by the two of you.

Total: 42

Rewards:

Amaru receives 350 experience and 100 GP!
Shadow Reaper receives 350 experience and 100 GP!

The items that Amaru and K stole were later sold at a jeweller and the profits divided between the two of them, leaving Amaru and K with an extra 150 GP a piece.

[Letho]

EXP/GP added.