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Post by The Jenn on Nov 2, 2007 22:42:56 GMT -5
The gentle slosh of water and a spatter on the ground - were these strangers really so well-off that they could afford to waste the water in the dirt, even here?! - alerted him to a bit of honesty. How very surprising. He lowered his head and tipped the bowl towards his muzzle with aching slowness, unwilling to spare a single drop as the cool, clear water touched his cracked lips. The dust from his bowl meant nothing.
It slid down his throat like a balm and he let out a deep, contented sigh afterwards. Several other beggars nearby looked about ready to leap for the water on the ground, but Pravus's fearsome rank and appearance dissuaded them, especially once it was covered with dirt and soaked through. They all kept their eyes averted, an eery silence in the area as they all listened to what was going on in front of them.
The bat heard that silence loud and clear, along with the offer made to him. He breathed shallowly for a moment, expression seeming deep in thought about something. "If you're going anywhere in this godforsaken pisshole of a city," he said at last, "you go to the inn. Maybe the manager could help you." Silently, he held up his bowl for more.
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Post by Spiderfly on Nov 2, 2007 23:09:57 GMT -5
He sneered down at the others, though it looked like perhaps there would be no 'fun' afterall. Pity. . . almost. Pravus stood by in his animal form, claws flexing. He mused to himself as he waited. Sure, it was more comfortable for him in his feline form, but his bipedal form held so much more esteem. So much more power and respect. . . Perhaps that's why he hid it. Always better for an enemy to under-estimate than know every power you possessed.
Pravus' dark eyes glanced around with a glint of amusement laughing through them. His most powerful asset, his spine, would probably make people under-estimate him even more. A deformed cripple, a /monster/, that's what they would think. He almost panted in laughter before stopping himself, saving himself the pain of smelling this stinkhole even more vividly.
His attention turned back to the bat however as he gave information that was so transparent as to be useless. "We were already headed back there. Have you nothing of more. . . intimate interest?" Pravus' voice was low and soft, more menacing than perhaps his anger from before.
"Nothing more valuable big-ear? For surely one of your. . . condition, has heard more than merely that."
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Post by Spiderfly on Nov 2, 2007 23:11:18 GMT -5
Jenn, Kari and Spiderfly all receive 1 token each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe.
This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe.
Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 2, 2007 23:24:06 GMT -5
Theofilus gave a frustrated sigh. "My friend is right. I can't imagine that's all you have." He was annoyed. Oh, that didn't describe it. If this bat decided that taking advantage of him was a joke, he wouldn't stop Pravus from doing anything.
He screwed the cap on to the canteen. The sparrow simply kept it out of view by using his feathered arms, he wasn't going to put it away quite yet. There was still a chance that the bat would spill some information.
"I have mercy, but it can only last for so long," the sparrow said without emotion in his voice. He was tired, and was hardly willing to play this game of good and bad for much longer. He only had so much patience. Theofilus knew something was wrong, he just had no idea what it was. It annoyed him that something so obvious was staring him in the face, and yet he couldn't grasp it.
Oh how he hated the Lowlands.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 2, 2007 23:36:28 GMT -5
The bat was silent for a moment, thinking, head tilted to one side. "I don't think you heard me, good masters," he said at last, tone gone suddenly low. It would be a stretch to hear him from very far away. "...speak... to the manager. He might be able to help you. He knows a lot about this city and the people in it." His bowl remained extended.
Around them, the line only increased in length at the food seller's and people went in and out of buildings with ease. This was obviously a more commercial side of the Lowlands, though it paled in comparison to other markets. Many of the real deals wouldn't stand up to the light of day in a place like this. Several people made a noise of surprise off to the side and quickly skittered out of the way as a leonine form stalked through a gap. Matted mane, dirty Lowland hide... it was certainly the same person they'd seen before.
He didn't give them more than the briefest glance before ignoring them in favor of his route, which seemed to be in the direction of the inn.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 2, 2007 23:55:05 GMT -5
The manager. How very cryptic. Theofilus's feathers rose with anxiety and annoyance. Oh, this quest was going to kill him slowly. In the end he was going to take a nice long vacation away from the courts. He would need it.
Without a word the sparrow uncapped the canteen and filled the bowl to the top. The bowl didn't hold as much water as he had original thought, so there was a small amount left in the canteen. Not enough for a decent gulp, but it was still a bit.
He looked to Pravus, but was distracted by a familiar form. Then again, all the Lowlanders started to look the same. It could have just been the bird's imagination. With lack of good sleep he could not really tell. The one difference between real life and a book was that you could not turn back the pages and reread what you had missed the first time around. And there was no room for mistakes on this adventure.
Either way, they were going to the inn. The sparrow slipped his canteen back into place, hidden out of sight. Pravus could lead the way, he seemed to be doing a wonderful job of it today.
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Post by Spiderfly on Nov 3, 2007 20:31:41 GMT -5
Pravus' lip lifted, baring fang, and growling low beneath the hubbub of the surroundings. The insolence. His eyes drifted to the inn down the road. They were already heading in that direction, and here they were paying for information they already had. His stomach turned a little, a mix of hunger, exhaustion, and anger.
He nearly stopped the avian from filling the bat's bowl to the brim with water. They shouldn't be paying the filth for facts they already knew. As he was about to stop him from pouring he caught a similar. . . stink. He lifted his head and noticed the lion stalking from between the 'houses'. As he began to go towards the inn he simply walked away from Theofilus and the beggar.
He kept his head low, as if somehow he could blend into the crowd, if only by sheer force of will. He /would/ find out what that lion was doing. And in the process meet this 'manager'.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 3, 2007 20:41:02 GMT -5
The bat accepted the water gratefully and began to sip, one careful lick at a time. With the bowl full and without sight, he would have to be remarkably careful not to spill any of it, and yet finish it before the others could snatch it from him greedily. The only thing stopping them at this point was the presence of these two strangers.
As he stalked away, Pravus did anything but blend with the crowd. His stance, determination, and general air of "don't fuck with me" dissuaded anyone from getting near him, much less saying anything. Lowlanders understood power, and those without any certainly didn't chance an interaction with someone like the feline.
Approaching the inn, the buildings looked slightly less decrepit and condemned, and slightly more in working order. There were even one or two active shops here. Congratulations, he found the Lowland center of legit commerce, the handful or so shops that operated above the radar. The inn itself was the largest building anywhere nearby and looked to be in decent condition. The lion walked through the front doors and into the lobby as if he hadn't a care.
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Post by Spiderfly on Nov 3, 2007 22:28:16 GMT -5
He'd had enough, oh yes he had. His muscles moved like molten metal beneath his skin, promising pain and hurt for anyone that bothered him. Pravus barely looked behind himself, trusting the bird would follow, if only to save himself from something gruesome if he didn't. Not from the cat himself, but from all those that lined the streets. Ah yes, this was not a place for such a . . . pretty thing, as the bird to be left without protection.
A small thought, of the night before, that soft. . sleeping form. The smell of food and prey and competition that had been so intoxicating. To feel that flesh beneath him. . but no, he wrenched his mind from such thoughts, making sure to not lose the other feline.
Contrary to his pounding down the street he slipped quietly into the inn, sliding sideways through the front door and immediately going to a darker corner of the 'lobby'. Waiting for the avian to catch up to him before making any further move. He glanced around for the one he had followed.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 3, 2007 22:46:44 GMT -5
Theofilus choked. He would not be left behind in a place such as this. Pravus was his only protection--he could feel the stares of all the Lowlanders. The sparrow didn't want to know what they were thinking, it was probably entirely too frightening for him to even grasp.
He quickened his pace to catch up with the feline. He watched as the crowds seemed to part, and the buildings cleaned up... to some extent. It was less broken down than the rest of the capital. It seemed less shady than the other parts, even if the businesses seemed to struggle. The bird could understand perfectly why no one would do business in this forsaken rats nest.
The sparrow slipped into the Inn shortly after Pravus. His feathers were still ruffled from anxiety. He looked around the lobby... if it could be called that. He slid away from the door as fast as he could. This place was going to kill him a bit faster than nature wanted, or so Theofilus speculated. Theoretically if he stayed close to Pravus he could keep all of his limbs, a little bit of his health, and more importantly his ass.
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