In the Fall of a Sparrow [Closed]

[Memoru]

The sky looked particularly gloomy. Accus perched himself outside his door, nose and whiskers twitching up at the clouds in accusation as his hands busily tied a satchel of breadcrumbs across his belly. A pair of robins sang sweetly at his side, tucked away in a little silver cage at his side. Perhaps it wouldn’t be the best day for a trek to the Capital. He could already feel the dampness in the air, causing his fur to stand on end and his bang to droop wetly over his eyes. Not a particularly pleasant day at all. Not many customers would be out and about.

But the birds might be a little less active.

Accus glanced back down at his robins and gave a slick smile, tooth glinting brightly. Snapping the handle of the cage between his teeth he lifted them up and took off down the battered paths between the decrepit old buildings of Corvistowne. His robins quieted some as they swayed. A quiet click of teeth against bars told them that.

He wasn’t quite sure what robins told each other when they sang, and he didn’t want his little birds telling any others to be afraid. It wasn’t, after all, as if he treated them particularly badly. But it was Accus’ firm belief that his experimentation was quite worth whatever discomfort his little birds happened to feel.

They’d live, after all.

The ground was getting damp beneath his feet. He’d be muddy and soaked before the night was over…but it was worth it. It wasn’t difficult to find a sparrow or two in the town. Warm, dark crevices, that’s all he needed to find. Accus shouldn’t be out for more than an hour.

Warm, dark crevices weren’t hard to find in Corvistowne.

A particularily inviting little junction caught his eye. Not quite an alley, just a broken space between two houses that shifted a little too far apart from each other. Accus waddled up to it and set his cage down beside the corner, pressing his paws against the wall as he peered in. Might be a tight squeeze, but he could hear the tell-tale squeaks and coos of…pigeons. Well, better than nothing. He rolled his shoulders and scrambled through, rolling his eye back to watch his robins.

The tight squeeze ebbed off a little, and Accus plopped down and shook himself, gasping a little as he let his stomach go. It was quite difficult to see down here, but the coos were still present, if softer. He hand delved inside his little satchel, grabbing a handful of crumbs. He scattered them in front of himself and crouched back. He couldn’t see a damned thing in the little crevice, but pigeons weren’t known to be quiet.

He waited.

No pigeon could resist a few spare scraps. The strangest temptations, but Accus wouldn’t complain. It was cheap.

[FlyingPanther]

[OOC: This will probably have to be moved later...just because...well...Ronno tends to be rather graphic. I apologize for not getting to this until today...I was striped away from the computer yesterday XD; and I couldn't find a time to get back on.]

Ronno was no Robin Hood. He did not steal so that others could profit from it. Indeed, the thought of Ronno giving to others was an even more frightening thought than him doing nothing. There was always a catch with Ronno, wherever he could pull one. Though today he wasn't looking to help anyone but himself, which was not an unusual thing.

As a meandering body in the world, he had no home, and so he had no real belongings. This meant that from time to time, Ronno had to choose an unfortunate person to mug and steal from. Ronno just liked to get done with these things quick. Smack the guy around a little and take what he has. Today, was different. Today, Ronno was frustrated, and in those instances, it always tended to make things worse. For the most part, the Lowlander stag was a simple man with simple needs. Food, Water, Something vaguely like a shelter, and the occasional fuck was all he needed in life, though when more then one of these things weren't granted to him for more then a week, he began to get rageful. Rage and frustration brought about a very dark side of Ronno. He was very dangerous during these times. It was the time he becomes complex.

Corvistowne was a horribly nasty spot. Ronno didn't like it. There were never any brods to throw themselves at you, and the place had a certain camaraderie that made doing any crime much harder then it needed to be. The only crimes that could really ever be done was inside the houses of those who calls themselves scientists. For once he was disgusted. How cowardly...to hide behind brick walls with their uncouth things. Didn't they have the balls to do it out in the open? No. Thats what had gotten him here today...now wasn't it?

He spat at a passing Corvistowne as he walked down the street, his disgust needing to be expressed. The Corvistowne became flustered and was about to say something when Ronno shut him up with a look, and moseying forward. It was just around then he noticed that this urban jungle had a few touches of the stag's normal habitat. The distinct chirping of robins caught his ear, and he immediately veared in their direction. Ronno wasn't exactly the sentimental type. The robins sounded distressed, and distress was, in a way, the stag's 'dog whistle'.

He approached the cage, and looked around, wondering who would just leave a pair of robins lying around in a cage. His nostrils flared as he began taking in scents, and realized there was another, nearby and in the ally. He nearly slapped his hand against his face. This man was just asking to be hurt. And who was he, to let such a golden opportunity slip by? His mouth wanted to contort into a smirk, but he kept it steady. There would be plenty of time for that later.

"What are you doing?" he called into the crevice, an eyebrow cocked slightly. He could have worded it a lot better, but Ronno was...'known' for his brash way of speech.

[Memoru]

Accus fur was bristled with electric excitement. The pigeon had dropped to the ground and was pecking steadily at the bread crumbs. He scattered a few more near his feet, holding his breath, hands clutching at his pouch to keep them from moving. Closer, closer, with little clucks and coos as it neared. Accus felt his muscles tighten, his haunches coiled, feet shifting ever so slightly in the dusty ground.

”What are you doing?”

The voice made him jump, and in doing so he sent his pigeon whirling into the air with a flap of wings and a startled squawk. Accus’ eye rolled back of its own accord, pining his gaze on the crack between the walls, heart hammering. His robins! But they were fine, if startled and shrieking in fright. At least the…stranger had the decency to leave them be.

Accus huffed, fur bristling for entirely different reasons, and twisted about before pushing himself back through the crevice. He frowned, eyes narrowed to sharp little slits, and shoved his body past the tight entrance before toppling tit-over-teakettle to the ground. He brushed himself off with a little guffaw, dusting the grime from his arms, and snapped his little head up at the stranger.

“A very important job,” he snapped, jabbing a finger toward the buck,” And you’ve just cost me a bird. Now,” he snapped his cage up with a paw and waddled forward on his hind-legs, tail dragging on the ground for balance,”…now I need to find another one. And you,” he jerked around suddenly, jabbing at the stag once more,” Aren’t going to follow me and scare off more birds.”

Accus had little patience for people who wasted his time. Although, a quick glance over his shoulder (to avoid causing a rather nasty headache)…with those mangled ears…it would be quite…

No. He jerked his eyes away and continued to trot along, switching his robins from paw to mouth so he’d be quicker (just encase, the stag was rather larger than him, after all).

Inconsiderate creatures. Clubs.

[FlyingPanther]

The rat's narrowed eyes were met with a dangerously narrowed pair of the stag's own. The rat had just done a big no no when it came to Ronno, though he would never know it until it was far to late. When Ronno chose a victim, it was one thing. But if someone showed any amount of agression to the already agitated stag, that was just asking for trouble. The indignant jabbings toward him didn't exactly help the rat's case either. Oh the rat would pay. Pay for basically daring him to do something. Though not right now. The rat didn't look to have anything on him...other then the birds...and he wasn't interested in those.

"What's so fucking important about birds?" he asked, an eyebrow staying quirked. His voice could only be discribed as someone who had come out of the womb smoking like a chimney. It was gruff and scratchy and guttorial. Though in reality, if Ronno ever wanted a smoke...hed just steal from someone. Smokes were hard to come by...what with people being so fucking health conscious. He was hoping that his clearly annoying question would catch the ears of the rat....not that they really couldn't. I mean...look at the size of them. His might be ripped up...but at least they were dumbo-sized. Rats really weren't very handsome creatures, Ronno reflected, though...he was hardly one to talk being a lowlander.

[Memoru]

Those particularly large ears perked almost violently forward at the stag’s brash statement. His steps faltered and he shot a quaint glance over his shoulder, brows furrowed and bangs flushed over his eyes. He set the robins down slowly, pulling them up to his chest as he wobbled around to face the stag.

He really ought not bother with him, but an eye for an eye, as the saying went. Regardless, he knew Corvistowne better than any Lowlander and home wasn’t too far away.

Accus puffed out his chest, keeping his distance, and slashed his fingers through the air again,” Birds, bees, or chickadees, a man’s livelihood, in any form, is most important,” [/color] he snubbed his nose in the air, not quite gathering the courage to mimic the stag’s swear.

“Of course, a low ranking lowlands club like yourself wouldn’t know anything about earning a wage,” [/color] Accus sneered, rubbing his fingers together to emphasis ‘money’, his bright teeth bared in a vicious little snarl,” And unless you’re willing to offer your lowly self as meager compensation for the loss of my time and money, I haven’t any interest in wasting more of the former.” [/color]

Accus gave a haughty ‘harrumph’, snatched his birds up in his maw, and jerked around to continue down the path. He kept his ears pricked, though.

He wouldn’t like to have to use his ability again. Mid-day was the worst of times to get a migraine.

[FlyingPanther]

Ronno hit a nerve. He knew he had the moment he began to speak. It was so easy to make those who had a stick up their ass upset. All you had to do was wiggle the stick around a bit. Corvistownians particually seemed vulnerable to this. They were fairly easy to predict, which is why he said nothing despite the unoriginal insult. Like he had never been told he was low ranking lowlander scum. Sometimes he really wished these people would get some fresh insults. It would certainly make things interesting. His deerish short tail flicked as he simply smirked. He would be wishing he hadn't been so rude to him soon enough, original insult or no.

"Well let's not waste any more of your time." the deer said simply, walking casually behind the rat. He wondered how serious the rat had been about using him as a specimen. Either or...he would find a way to follow the rat into his home. The rat obviously needed to be taught a lesson in treating others a little better...not to mention he needed to swipe some things. But for now, to make this rat trust him enough. It would be easier in the long run if he was invited inside, vs breaking in. "So...are you a chemist, mechanist, doctor?" he knew enough about the different kinds of Corvistownians to hold a conversation.

[Memoru]

The question startled Accus, although that in itself had not been unusual. His body was tense and his fur frayed from listening to how close those clopping hooves had come toward him. His tail had instinctively tucked itself against his body, but he refused to look around. Perhaps it hadn’t been such a good idea to goad the much larger creature.

Accus didn’t think there was much sincerity in the deer’s unspoken offer. But a fleeting glance had his teeth chomping on the bit for a chance to fiddle with his ears. Damaged as they were. Imagine what he could do, comparing those ears to healthy ones, to the differences between the results of what affected them. Electric stimulation directly on exposed nerves. Imagine…

Accus slowed a little, transferring his robins to his hand and reeling up to waddle along on his hind legs,” Chemist, although I dabble a little.”[/color] His real interest was ears, no matter the medium,” I’m surprised you know the difference, Club…but…but glad you’ve seen the error in what you’d done.[/color]

“But, yes, primarily a chemist. I work with ears, hearing. It’s such…such an important part of the senses, you see? What can you do without hearing? You’re blind! You see? Not deaf, worse than deaf, it’s like not having any senses at all. Even if your eyes are gone you can still feel things, know what they look like, correct? Without ears...there’s nothing to compensate for that, is there?” [/color]

He shouldn’t have rambled quite so much, but it was always terribly difficult to find a…hah…a willing ear.

All the while heading toward home, of course. He didn’t want to stay out with the stag more than he had to, and if he was truly insinuating what Accus thought he was, then he’d like to get down to his labs as quickly as possible, regardless. He didn’t enjoy wasting things. Especially time.

[FlyingPanther]

Such big words and insults, but in the end it was all the same. When it came down to it, no matter what people said, they always did seem to hope that Ronno would just go away after their little bit. They never really expect him to follow. And only then do they see the error of their ways. Only then do they show any apprehension. Ronno was beginning to see patterns in people. Was his life really that droll? Oh well...it would get much more interesting once he was eviscerating the rat on his own operating table.

The thought brought a bit of a smile to his maw, though it would easily be mistaken for a smile relating to the conversation at hand. "Well, Diamond, I cared very little to know, but I've spent enough time in this city in the past that I learned whether I wanted to or not." A sweet symphony of screams filled his memory. 'Don't you have any idea who I am??? I'm the greatest Mechanist in all of Corvistowne!' or 'No! Please! I'm a Doctor! Let me help you!'. He chuckled a bit at the memories of past victims. He loved how they all seemed to shout out their profession. It was all they had in the end, and they all seemed to have some sort of hope that they would save them from their fate. But the reality was...they never would. What need did Ronno have of potions and robots? And the doctor had come far to late.

He listened to the rather lengthy explination about why ears were so damn great, and his mouth and eyes drooped slightly. People thought he was crazy? This guy seemed to get a hard on the moment anyone mentioned ears. He probably skull fucked peoples ears. The gruesome thought put another smile on his face, his ripped up ear flicked unconsciously. "I never thought about it that way. But I can see how it would be one of the worst senses to loose."

He allowed himself to be guided towards the rats abode, his long graceful steps easily (if not too easily) keeping up with the rat's strides.

[Memoru]

Accus’ head bobbed contently with the stag’s agreement, lips splitting in a wide grin. It wasn’t very often he got such a responsive companion! Mind, he was still dealing with a lowly Club, and the man had lost him a good pigeon, who certainly would have brought him a pretty penny. Really, he shouldn’t be so eager to forgive the fellow…unless he was willing to compensate for such a loss. That insinuated offer from moment ago still tasted sweet on the air.

The things he could do with battered ears!

“Absolutely the worst,”[/color] Accus nodded sharply, craning his head up at the stag,” I might be worried, with ears like yours. I imagine that lowland rot will spread…and while that might keep you from bothering a fellow with his bird-hunting, I wouldn’t want to condemn anyone to deafness.”[/color] Accus shook his head, tutting quietly under his breath.

“Even the deterioration of the outer ear can cause hearing problems. With no pinna to focus you’ll lose vibrations…and if the rot ever made it to the inner ear…”[/color] His paws were wringing themselves over the bars of his robins’ cage, itching to get a chance to peek at those ears.

“Is that why you’re in Corvistowne then, club? Need to find a doctor to fix your ears?”[/color] he shook his head," I wouldn't trust a single one of those medical Corvies to know half the secrets the ear contains...the things that can be done with them. Even things without a functioning outer-ear can be most receptive to...treatment.[/color]

Accus bit the rest of the conversation to pieces. He wasn't going to mention what he'd done with his birds. Not when he was trying to sway the Stag into lending him his ears.

[FlyingPanther]

Ronno was finding this way to easy. It was like feeding candy to a baby, so long as he kept his tongue in check. That was a bit of a wild card. Naturally Ronno was a very vulgar man, and his speech often reflected this aspect of himself. But in cases where he realized he needed stealth on his side other then recklessness he was able to change the way he spoke for a...short...period of time. Ronno was getting impaitent...which was never a good thing in reguards to keeping his cool, but he tried the best he could. He reminded himself...it would be much easier to walk in and out like he was a guest...then break in an risk someone seeing him. It was...after all...what made all his other times in Corvistowne so successful.

Ronno looked down at the rat, his green eyes trying their best not to betray his agitation with the rat's constant ridicule. Not that he really took it to heart...but the nerve of the man to speak to him like he was an idiot. Ah well...the diamond rat and he would soon enough find out who was the idiot in this situation. "My case of rot is rather mild compared to others of my region." he said pointing to the small bit of wrapping on one of his bipedal legs, and the strips along both of his sholders...which he took a moment to look at with discust. The history of the rotting wounds upseting him visibly. He shook his head. "While I'm a pure lowlander in looks, my mother was..." a fucking whore... "She was a Torquehelm. I think part of the reason i don't rot as much is because of that."

He didn't feel like explaining his rotting anymore, and he didn't want to think about his ears rotting. It wasn't that it was frightening, the man had come to terms with the fact that rotting was just a part of his life...no matter how fast it happened. Rotting just had a strange connection with his mother...and he rather not talk about it if he could help it. Somewhere in hell the whore was getting her just deserts.

The name 'club' was beginning to agitate him, but he continued as normal, jabbing where he could. "Actually, Diamond, I was just passing through Corvistowne. I have no agenda." half truths...