What to expect? [DONE]

[Greenie]

((Haha, my first muse to come back, just for you. :] And whooey, he's a doozy. o___o How do you come up with guys like him? XD]]

Mia waited politely for him to say something (the coughing made him want to back up, but he decided against it, lest he offend him) and then quirked an eyebrow. Arrow.. fish? "Fish? I wasn't given the fish option..." He trailed off as the man moved closer, then kept talking. Quite honestly, the cripple was giving him the heebie-jeebies, but it seemed as though he intended to help him.. if Mia could figure out what in hell he was saying through that accent.

"Sure, I do," He replied, since there seemed to be need of it. The equine continued heedlessly, so Dysthymia simply blinked at him, waiting for him to say something useful. The ferret's eyes narrowed through the speech, his brain rapidly translating the slang into something he could understand. What was that about fur..? Nevermind, he obviously wanted something in return for help, which was obviously reasonable--though the look he was giving Mia made the ferret have to quickly stop a shudder. It was greedy with a side dish of stalker but it seemed as though this man was who he needed to go through to get that arrow, unless he wanted to try his only idea. Obviously, he didn't. "You have a deal, sir."

[Nathalia]

((I am so delighted. I've been wanting to continue this thread so badly <3 Lysaras made me feel like a heel XD Heh, Creepy old guys like Murlow just seem to pop in on me....I should probably be worried. <3))

Murlow crossed his left arm over his chest to scratch awkwardly at his bent neck, sagging folds of flesh around the base slapping slightly with the movement. This boy had some spunk...didn't even back away from him. Wonderful.

"A deal 'ave we? Cor, tha's lovely ent it?" The old Equine snorted, grinning broadly, ears swiveling forward through the sparse hair of his mane. "Firs' thing you're gonna need ta learn is ta ask what you'll be doin' afore yeh agree, got it? Answer me that!" He waited for the boy to agree before plowing on. "Yeh'll 'ave his 'ighness Varestes trottin' yeh inta some of the worst messes yeh've ever seen iffin' yeh don't ask first. I'll go easy on yeh, nothin' bad, jus' need yeh ta fetch me a little summat."

The yellow eyes glinted slightly as he moved over to a black stone bench and flopped down, hip bones making an audible clack on the stone.

"Now...jus' b'tween you 'n me, I've a little...addiction ta feed. 'M in need of somethin' new or I'll be jaded 'fore the years' out. I'll be needin' yew ta run down to the low center of the next city. 'S only a two hour trot from 'ere, 'n stop outside the stall called "Robin's Malkary", ask for the usual fer ol' Murlow an' he'll knw what ta fetch ya. I can't make tha' journey any more, yeh see. Need 'elp fer it."

He grinned and fished into a badly mended satchel hanging at his waist, pulling out four gold coins and handing them to the Ferret.

"When you git back, I'll be 'ere wit your arrow."

[Greenie]

[[Baha, yay. :3 And yes. I'd be worried..]]

Mia raised an eyebrow at the sagging flesh, then raised both in an effort to keep a straight face. Hopefully the man didn't possess a mirror.. or he'd be disgusted on a daily basis. The ferret stared blankly at the cripple, and it was a few minutes before bashful recognition hit; he'd yet to get the hang of actually thinking through everything he said before he said it. It was a process, damnit! "Er, right," He managed lamely, and wrinkled his nose at the Varestes comment. "He already trots me around whether I ask for it or not, so I have to say that specifics probably wouldn't do me much good in that situation."

The ferret followed him over to the bench but didn't sit, but stood a couple feet away from the bench instead, his face blank despite the noise. It bothered him a bit, how disfigured and gross the man was, but it wasn't going to get him anywhere to make that obvious. "Alright.." He said warily, after the little speech. Robin's Malkary? It didn't sound pleasant, but the section of town it was in wasn't pleasant, period, so that was no surprise. Mia had been down there several times, once on a trip with Vessatha (a "never go down here, or I'll skin you" visit), and several times after that mostly to satisfy his own curiosity. It meant he knew the area well enough to find the place.. but it didn't mean he wanted to go down there. "And if he doesn't know what I'm talking about?" Mia questioned while placing the coins in his own satchel, though his was in better condition than Marlow's by far.

[Nathalia]

Murlow gave a hacking cough of a laugh at the boys' response er, right..., cor! What a pussy! The poor lad was already owned by the Spades King. Hilarious, this one, hopefully he'd have fun stories to tell about his little journey.

"Robin's Malkary, s'righ'. Huh, they'll know wha' yer talkin' about, boy. Trus' me on this'n, ask fer Robin himself, he's a bit of a hardball, I'd be surprised if they even let yeh in th' door. They'll probly jus' toss it out after yeh've given 'em th' money. Yeh ken?"

He shifted uncomfortably, his thinning tail flopping out behind him for a better fit on the bench. He sighed audibly and gave the boy a grin.

"Won't be hard, promise yeh, I do. But I do need this...rather a lo' so...iffin' yeh will, young'n I'd be mighty obliged...enugh to get yew yer arrow..."

Hopefully restating this would get the boy off on his way...Checkmate was bad for his already poor health but...Murlow couldn't imagine life without it...never...it was all that was left that was good in the world. All that was good at all...


(Feel free to simply have the next post having Mia coming back already as Robin will literally open a slot in the door, take the money and bad-temperedly toss the Checkmate bag out at Mia XD)

[Greenie]

((Omg, Mia feels like such a drug dealer XD It's hilarious!))

Dysthymia took off without another word, having picked up on the feeling that he was making a fool of himself by ensuring he understood the directions. Clearly being thorough was not an appreciated quality when one was dealing with drug addicts, but the ferret wasn't about to show up to the wrong dealer's door and get his ass handed to him on a plate. He wanted to make it back to the palace in one piece, thank you very much..

He made it though, there and back, and while the drug satchel smelled something fierce, he tucked it away and loped back into the gardens. He sat down in the midst of the pathway to let himself breathe - his speed ability didn't come without it's repercussions - and kept an eye out for the old man.

What did he really want drugs for? Mia knew little about checkmate, but given from Murlow's appearance it wasn't doing him any good health-wise. It was probably just killing him faster.. and he probably didn't care, hooked as he was. It made him sorely opposed to handing the drugs over, but he had no drug-related magic whatsoever to cure him of the addiction and had never been addicted himself, so couldn't offer any viable help.

He'd probably get laughed at for even offering it anyways..

[Nathalia]

Murlow saw the Ferret from the garden shed, he looked a bi wiped poor thing...

"Ovah 'ere, m'boy. Yeh'r an 'ell of a lot faster than anyone else Ah've ever sent." He cackled a little and stumped toward the Ferret. "No troubles, ah assume? Good, good..."

He eyed the pouch greedily, broad nostrils flaring slightly at the pungent odor.

"Well, never get somethin' fer nothin', eh? Follow me an' ah'll get yew yer arrow."

Moving slowly back up to the statue and making certain the boy was watching, he gave it a little kick with his hoof and watched as a tiny catch popped open at the base.

"Really, ah don't know why our Queen insists on this task...ah think she jus' wants someone to come out an' talk to her collection of gardeners or somehitn', we've all come to know this damn trick."

Bending down with what looked like some rather extreme effort, he pulled a small catch. Unless he had hit the statue with a brick in just the right spot or had dug into the ground, there was no way the boy would have found this...bit of a rip Murlow thought...

"Ah, there we are." he muttered as the statues hand actually popped off and fell to the dirt. Once detached you could see the other catch that allowed the arrow to be released. "There you are, jus' as ah promised, now...where's my reward, m'boy?"

[Greenie]

Mia merely gave him a droll look and didn't bother to mention the Spade-given speed he had, though his wasn't unusually fast. "No," He replied, not finding it pressing enough to mention that the whole ordeal was troubling enough in it's own.

Extremely interested, the ferret toddled after him and could only stare at what was possibly the most blatantly obvious way of hiding an arrow: with a catch switch. He would never have figured it out on his own (unless he'd gotten so frustrated to start kicking it), but it was so simple. It was certainly easier than getting a new arrow..

Mia swallowed a sigh, and gave the piece of statuary a brief glare before he turned back to Murlow. "Your half of the bargain, sir," He replied, and carefully set the satchel in the old man's hand. "Thank you very much for your help." He said sincerely, then went and picked up the hand in his mouth. He had no doubts that Murlow would immediately todder off and find some nice quiet place to be high all by himself.. he certainly wanted no part in watching that, so with a final nod to the man, he set off at a trot to find Lysaras.

Damn, stone was heavy.

It took him twice as long to reach her office because he was, by now, too tired to activate his speed, and he quickly found the stone was slowing him down. Upon arrival he set the stone down on the floor, and knocked on the door. "Your Majesty?"

[Nathalia]

Lysaras looked up from a stack of letters that she had nervously been eying. Currently in her Biped form, her tail gave a small wag as she smiled as she hurried to the high oak door and tugged it open.

"Mia, good to see you, and you've gotten the arrow!" She stood and walked over to him, looking glad of the break and took the arrow from him. "Thank you, I hope it didn't take up too much of your time." Her Canine mouth twitched a little at the back with nerves as she again, wagged her tail lightly, hoping she hadn't kept her newest King from something important... Having him angry with her right off the bat would send her into a bit of a tizzy.

She motioned for him to follow her in and take a seat on one of the poufs meant for those with Animal forms. Setting the stone arrow down, she tilted her head a bit to the side, her long, lank hair falling across her face. "Well, then...I suppose I have a new King, and I'm grateful for it. Thank you, Mia." She placed her hand delicately over his chest and he would feel a slight pang of cold. When she removed it, his symbol had changed to that of King. "Let's get started, shall we?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

Greenie and Nat both 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!