They Sicken of the Calm, Who Knew the Storm [END]

[Dark]

Haydn choose the Pork Dhansak, a medium-to-hot dish, sweet and sour in flavor, with lentils and pineapple. He had a rather unnatural appreciation for pineapple, and ordered it whenever he could.

He'd barely even taken a bite in the time it took the Torq to devour his entire meal, and he blinked in mild curiosity. His mother ate like she was eating her last meal each and every time she even felt so much as a vague recollection of hunger, so his manners didn't really perturb him. The feline looked a bit gaunt, perhaps, but he didn't look like he was starving exactly. Not unless you looked closer than the common observer, and noticed the slight protrusion of ribs.

Hadyn had never gone hungry. He'd had a rather charmed upbringing, really. Regardless, he wondered what it felt like--to have your stomach try to eat you from the inside out.

"Hadyn. And--no. I'm mixed--Corvistowne and Morganberry."

[fenrir]

Marrok sat with a polite grin on his face. Yes, he had surprised his companion with the short work he had made of his meal. Surprised himself too. Again, his thoughts drifted momentarily to his lord's family. Hard to hold sympathy for long, however as they hadn't treated him any better than his master. It wasn't like they were completely helpless. The wife did occasionally knit something worthy of purchase. In any case, they were bound to toss him out after tonight and there would be no point of keeping them in his thoughts any longer would there?

"Well met Hadyn!" Marrok said. Despite being from the dark realm of Troquehelm Marrok was not usually a regular practitioner in the gloom that was common of his people. It was only lately that he had become indistinguishable from other Trows in this regard.

"You look rather young. What had you been up to before our encounter?"

[Dark]

Hadyn considered the feline carefully, trying to determine if the Torq's name hadn't been offered in return purposely, or it had just slipped his mind. Hadyn was leaning towards the latter. The feline didn't seem like he had any malicious or otherwise devious intentions planned; he was just absent-minded and crazy.

Still, Hadyn felt like it would be wise to test the waters. It never hurt to be cautious.

He took a sip of water and gave a rather alarming grin, "I was looking for something to set on fire."

Which, considering how his day was going, was probably a fairly accurate estimate. The high was short lived, but if it would make him feel even marginally better, even for a little while, it was more than worth the expended energy.

"You said you were looking for somewhere to sleep tonight, right? Tell me your name so I'm not inviting in a stranger, and I'll lend you a couch."

[fenrir]

Marrok blinked at the Hadyn's confession. Setting fires? Was that how juviniles got their kicks these days? Alarming, but what business was it of his? He had almost litterely nothing to burn.

Hadyn had also offered Marrok refuge from the elements. That would mean abandoning his lord for at least one night. That was a decision he should not make lightly. Lets see. There was his lord expecting him back and once he found out he had failed to produce a profit, Marrok would be shouted at, have shoes thrown at him, be locked in the basement or kicked out on the street with only the reputation as a failure. Or, he could go with stranger to who knew where and who wanted who knew what in return.

It was a full minute before Marrock decided. He was scarred of his master but he was more scarred of what this stranger might want in return. He didn't like surprises. He might lose his bed but at least that wouldn't be a total surprise.

"Marrok is what I am called," the cat said and motioned to depart. "I can't thank you enough for the meal but I really couldn't impose."

[Dark]

Hadyn nodded in understanding; he hadn't been particularly keen on explaining his sudden bout of generosity to the family and Marrok's obvious unease had just saved him the trouble. Still, it would have been nice to have someone in the house who wasn't shrieking madly or talking to dolls or trading recipes concerning the best way to barbecue someone.

"If that's how you feel. Still, it wouldn't have been any trouble."

He waved the waiter over, counting out the correct amount of coin before handing it over. He'd finish his ice tea with its cream before he actually left; it was too good to waste. Too sweet for some people, though.

He snagged his fortune cookie, and broke it open with a satisfying smile; the instant waft of vanilla made his mouth water.

Speed is no substitute for accuracy.

Well, that was interesting.

[fenrir]

Marrok stood next to his seat and continued to consider his choices. A soft wind blew through the now empty streets. Time was running out. He may find himself keeping that wind company.

Marrok watched Hadyn closely as he amused himself with a fortune cookie. Perhaps it really was no trouble. Maybe he had a spacious home and wouldn't notice if a sorry sod of a cat occupied one corner for a night. Would he seem pitiful if he told Hadyn he had changed his mind?

'Well. I am pitiful,' Marrok admitted.

"If it really is no trouble," Marrok started, "I would much prefer what ever cover you can offer a near-complete stranger." Marrok briefly considered pressing the fact that he was a higher rank but just as quickly dismissed it. He was in no position to threaten and who knew what other ranks this youngster may keep company with.

[Dark]

Hadyn wasn't sure he was the type to offer second chances, but he was comfortably full and relatively content for the moment and he found himself nodding in assent.

"Alright, then," he took the last sip of sickeningly-sweet, creamy iced tea and stood, "Let's go, then."

It was almost dark by the time they reached the slums, and Hadyn loped up the four flights of stairs easily. It didn't imagine they were easy for Marrok, though, with his bound leg. His shook his head, perplexed by the curiosities of those from Torquehelm. He really couldn't understand why someone would willingly inflict pain on themselves, no matter the reason.

On the fourth floor he paused, eying the peeling green paint of the front door and trying to estimate just how many members of his family were home. The dull roar was pretty much constant, whether there were two or nine, so he could never really be sure.

He nudged open the door, and braced himself.

[Kiki]

Dark and Fen 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!

[fenrir]

Marrok's hadn't even fully adjusted to the candle-lit room before the figure of Hadyn was bounding up the stairs like a lighting strike.

"Youngsters," Marrok grumbled.

Marrok couldn't help but mull over the drastic change in his life. This morning when he rolled of his sleeping sack he didn't truly believe it might be the last time despite his masters constant threats to throw him out. When he had freshened up in front of the mirror, he didn't think that would be the last time he would see himself in it. The house, his lord and his lord's family were now becoming only a memory. What would they do when they realized he had not returned? Find another servant of course. Marrok did not doubt that for a second.

Marrok trotted over to the steps and began to ascend. He wondered if Hadyn wasn't impatiently waiting at the top. He didn't seem like the patient sort to Marrok.

[Dark]

The first thing Hadyn noticed was the near deafening silence that had descended upon the house. He supposed, to someone like Marrok, it would actually still seem rather loud--Helena was shrieking somewhere in the background, and he could hear his mother singing off-key from the direction of the kitchen--but in comparison to the normal amount of noise that permeated the building, the house was eerily quiet.

He slunk in the direction of the kitchen to tell his mother of their impromptu-guest, though she probably wouldn't have noticed either way, and maybe grab himself one of the cookies Mnem had made earlier in the week.

Upon entering the kitchen, he tried not to wince. His mother had always been unnaturally flexible, but being able to turn her head all the way around like that was unnatural. Human bodies just weren't meant to bend like that.

"Mum, we have company," it came out sounding a bit petulant, but whatever.



Minh blinked, momentarily taken back--Hadyn didn't have friends, let alone friends he would invite back to the loft--before smiling and nodding.

"Alright. You boys have fun," she waved him off, "And watch out for Helena. She got into the sugar again."