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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 2, 2011 13:47:09 GMT -5
Koale hacked at the tree, his hands tightened around the hilt of his sword as he drove it into the bark. He looked over his shoulder to make sure his father, or any of his family, were watching this spectacle, then gave one last thrust at the tree before shoving his sword into its sheath. He bit his lip. This had been the tenth time he had wandering off on a spontaneous trip to Nokowae, yet every time he had always been brought back and humiliated in front of the whole family. But, like every time he had gone on a trip like this, he didn't care, and pulled his hood over his hair and ran towards Nokowae.
Upon arriving, no one was none the wiser, and took him for a unknown stranger passing through the town, or arriving to stay at the inn or drink at the pub. Koale smiled widely. He loved the simple town life, with the friendly faces of men going about with the businesses, flower girls that often caught his eye, and the gangs of children play fighting in the water and building sandcastles out of the golden brown sand. "Would you buy me a drink, sir?' a voice asked to his left. He turned to see a prostitute waving his waist from side to side, as if this would make her appearance seem even more provocative. Koale kept his head low to make sure he couldn't be identified - whether she followed the monarchy or not. "I will buy 'myself' a drink, m'lady,' Koale replied smugly, then patted her cheek lightly to which she responded with a sharp smack across the cheek, leaving a pink rash on his cheek. "Idiot!" And then returned back into the inn. Koale continued through the small town towards the beach and dug a hole into a sand dune with his foot, almost resembling a chair and then sunk himself into the cool sand and leaned his head back, bathing in the sun. 'Ah, this is nice,' he thought, as his troubles and worries seem to float away, like water down a stream.
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 12:35:13 GMT -5
Ugh, this had to be one of the most degrading things that Cardine had ever done with her life. The dead weight slumped about her shoulders stunk to high heaven of rum and body odour. A grease-ridden face knocked uncomfortably against her bare neck. The only reason Cardine had cause to visit that scum-pit of a place was because the King had received word that a ship was embarking unauthorised to market on Wissnane. If it had been any other island, some knight or other official would have been sent, but just the name of Wissnane instantly called upon the Daelanis. In virtually an instant, Cardine had been whisked away from her activities to embark on a seemingly meagre task. And it wouldn't have been enough just to stop the ship, oh no, she had to go with it all the way to port and hunt out the merchant on the other end that had organised the whole affair. Weeks she had spent cramped in rat-infested stores, unable to make her presence known in case it prompted the sailors to change course. They were only the merchant's skivvies after all.
Earlier this morning the ship had made port, allowing Cardine instant freedom. Since then she had disguised herself as a prostitute and gone wandering about the town. Men's mouths moved much easier when they were besotten with fantasies and liquor than under threat of extermination. Still, part of it was exhilerating, playing the temptress, dark hair flowing long and free down her back. She was able to move freely and talk brashly as she pleased, as long as it encouraged the divulgance of secrets. The only problem fell when men wanted to follow up on her part. Already she'd dodged from the advances of three ugly, wart-ridden men, but this one she just hadn't been able to shake. He'd hounded her like a wasp after sugar.
Eventually, though it hadn't needed much encouragement, Cardine had lured him away and channelled the Dae to send him to sleep. He was so far gone in his drunken stupor that if he woke up in some obscure place he would be none-the-wiser, yet she still had to find somewhere suitable to leave him to avoid suspicion. She vaguely remembered seeing some caves bordering the beach as the ship had sailed to port in Nakowae, they would serve as good a place as any.
As Cardine neared the beach, she froze, finding it was not as empty as she'd have liked. Sitting a few metres away in the sand was the light-haired man that she'd slapped earlier. It had been a childish action, but she had just been playing the part. And of course, it felt good to slap someone every now and again.
Warily she glanced at the unconscious man, lolling across her shoulders, and then back to her surroundings. She had to find somewhere to put him quickly before she was seen. Sure, it would be a simple matter to send the man before her to sleep as well, but she was not that reckless. This was Wissnane after all, there was no telling whether the person before her was a Derandera or not. If she tried to use the Dae on him, and he turned out to be the former, chances are he would spot her instantly, and that could be bad. Cardine was not one to take that risk.
Spying some rocks scattered to the side, Cardine quickly dumped the unconcious man behind them before standing to straighten herself out. (side-note - it's Nokowae, not Nokovva, the font I used was kind of dodgy with the 'w's! Any town that is a port ends in 'wae')
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 13:13:28 GMT -5
Koale opened his eyes. He never felt so relaxing in all his life - he then rethought this, recalling his father's strict rules that abhorred anything that involved self indulgence, or just being comfortable. This idiotic regime had been decorated with his father's theory that life doesn't wait for those who felt they must pleasure themselves instead of dedicating their pains, their bodies and their minds to the fast pace life, however the world outside the Narritchsans mansion seem to differ to this theory. Let every man do what he will, what makes him happy. However, he tried to subdue this dull thought with the hopes that the Dae would finally be safe in the world. But it was hard.
He shook off this thought, in fear it would lead to a rope, a high ceiling, his neck and his feet floating over a fallen chair, and looked to his right when something moved from the corner of his eye. Out of interest, he stood up and explored the sand dunes further until the sand dunes slowly drifted into sandy cobbled footpath and rocks. "Hello?" Koale called out, hoping something - or someone - would step out and reveal themselves, rather than have Koale just stand there, and fear he'd gone mad. He heard something to his left - a thumping sound that could only be made when dropping something holding considerable weight, like a bag of potatoes or a few weights. He turned to see a young woman straightening herself out from whatever she had been carrying. He raised his eyebrows, impressed at the strength that she must have produced from carrying such a weight, for she looked like she could not hold a feather, without wanting help in fear. She looked a delicate thing - but then recognised her when she turned to face him: it was the prostitute. The very same who asked him to buy her a drink. He crossed out his primary thoughts of her being a predictable and boring creature, and immediately wanted to examine her spontaneity, as if she were a lab rat.
Out of boyish pride, he approached her, mainly to see what he had dumped by the rocks. He stopped - a few inches away from the girl - and noticed a hand protruding from the rocks. He narrowed his brow. This woman didn't look the killing sort, but that could have been her ways of approaching her kill. He took two steps forward to see more of the man. He had seen dead men before, and his vigorous Spartan - like training had killed any type of fear out of him, but the realisation that a woman - a prostitute, killer or whatever her profession would be - slowly made his feet seem like jelly under his legs. He looked down at the man. He wasn't dead, just unconscious, but maybe that was her MO: wait till they are unconscious and they slam their heads repeatedly with rocks. It wouldn't be Koale's preferred MO, but in the heat of the moment, he wasn't prepared to sit down and write a list of how she could kill another human being.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, just to show that he would mean business, and something inside him - from his training - almost seem to give him an 'I told you so' feeling in his stomach. "What...is the meaning of this?"
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 13:39:43 GMT -5
Instinctively, Cardine's head bent toward the sound of the 'hello' and immediately swore under her breath. It had been a foolish action. If she had not already been discovered, it would have been best to ignore and hurry away as quickly as her feet would carry her. Yet what she found already proved such motions would have been useless. The man, boy really when Cardine managed to assess his age, was already crossing the sand toward her.
Quickly she found her eyes scouring his frame, checking for weaknesses. The sword by his side made her start. How had she failed to notice such a thing earlier? For a person to own such an item... and the way he had rejected her advances... mentally she swore again. There were high chances that her new visitor was not a lowly peasant, but she could not yet be sure what that meant. The sword unnerved her, but she was sure that she could oppose it successfully if it came to a fight. Sure, the only physical weapon she owned was a small knife strapped to her calf, but there were other tricks that could be used to apprehend a man.
Still, Cardine could not know what she was dealing with for sure, and it was best to try and avoid conflict at all costs. If the man was more important than a lowly peasant, perhaps he would be a better source of information.
Cocking her head coyly to one side, Cardine put a sultry smile on her face as the man approached. Best to keep up appearances.
"Darn fool fell asleep on me," she replied, drawling her words, "I had to do something with him. Looks bad for business yaa know. Is it my fault if a man can't hold his liqour?"
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 13:47:14 GMT -5
Koale smiled at this woman's reply, and took his hand away from his sword to ensure that he meant no harm. "Guess if he's drunk, he deserved it. Look at it, you must have some strength in you if you can carry that around, like a bunch of flowers. You do not fool me, well...you did before, but now you don't." Anyway, my name's Koale. ' He stopped himself just in case she wouldn't take too kindly to the fact that he was a Narritchsans. First names were enough.
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 14:10:57 GMT -5
Koale? Cardine's mind backpedalled. She knew that name, it belonged to the youngest of the Narritchsans' children. It would be just her luck that she had managed to run into one of them within five minutes, without backup, and without a plan. Cardine had only ever encountered a Narritchsans, the father, once before, when she and a couple other of the Daelanis had been tracking down a Derandera on Cerforden. Arel Narritchsans had reached the girl before they had, but not before he'd sworn a fierce oathe that he would one day kill every last one of the Daelanis. Cardine took that as an indication that he hadn't been too keen on the Daelanis's use of power.
Cardine looked at the man in front of her again. There was every chance that he was not a Narritchsans, Koale was not an uncommon name, but she was in Narritchsan's lands... far too close to their home to take that risk. Not for the first time, Cardine wished the King had been bothered to send some support with her. It was flattering that he thought her capable enough to handle the situation alone, but not really comforting if it came down to fisticuffs.
"I've always had a bit of the upper hand in the strength department. And come on, I do train a bit. You think it's smart to be unable to defend yourself in my sort of occupation? I get way too many men that think just because my dress is low-cut they have the right to do with me as they please for nothing," Cardine suppressed a shudder, as if from some uncomfortable memory, "I ain't one to take messing around from no fool.' "And I'm Fea," she said, holding her hand out in greeting, "I know it's silly, being named after water and all, but what can I say? My parents weren't very inventive."
Cardine hoped that by blabbering out random information about an invented past, Koale would finally begin to believe her act again. Though why she had used the name Fea she did not know. All day she had been using the name Loela, but the name Fea had just sort of slipped out. She didn't like it, for in truth it was her name and she didn't want anything that could connect anything to her, but Fea she had said, so Fea she must live with.
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 14:45:24 GMT -5
"Hey, I didn't mean to cause offense. I'm just not used to being out of the house without my father wondering where I am. I mean, if he saw me talking to...(if he said commoner, that would mean his cover would be blown)...someone like you, he'd would probably kill me, gut me and hang me from a tree. Then bring me back and do it again. And, boy, if my brother and sister caught me, they'd go running back to father. Like the last ten times.'
Like Fea, he had a way with rambling on about pointless things, but Koale went one step further and would often blab out something crucially important, so he made sure that the next thing that came out of his mouth was something about liking romantic walks on the beach or picnics or painting bowls of fruit. He knew there could be people wandering the forests and towns surrounding his home. He knew there could be prize on his head, after it's chopped off and put on a spike in front of the mansion. But this was his paranoia slowly spilling in - one of Koale's almost famous trait that his father wished the public never knew.
"Maybe you should try a new profession," Koale said, "you obviously seem too over-qualified for what you're doing now. I mean, manual labour at least, if you don't count prostitution as being one."
Something felt very false about this woman, making he doubt whether this woman was actually called Fea. His parents had warned him and his siblings about people who would be prepared to kill him when he least expected it.
"I'm sorry...but Fea isn't your name, is it?"
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 15:09:26 GMT -5
"So know you're insulting my parents?" Cardine questioned, folding her arms in irritation. It almost made her want to burst out with laughter, Fea was indeed her real name. "I know they weren't the brightest apples in the bushel, but that's just plain rude!" She had to admit it, it felt good to let off a little steam. Playing the stubborn bitch had its perks. Perhaps she should do it more often. Yet underneath her exclamatives there was real doubt. Even as he spoke he seemed to tick off strokes in the 'Narritchsans' column. Powerful father? Check. Two siblings? Check. At least his 'someone like you' comment hinted that he bought at least part of her show. Luckily, it was also something she could play with.
"And whaddya mean 'somone like me'? Y'all got some stick shoved up your ass that stops you talkin' to females? I may be a workin' gal but I still have feelin's, an' boy don't you know I'd be outta here in two seconds if I could, but it ain't so easy for some of us now don't ya know."
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 16:14:16 GMT -5
It was too much, and Koale just turned away from Fea and walked back towards the town, pulling up his hood to conceal his identity. He couldn't go back to the mansion, so he hung about the town. Finally, he saw a place no one would expect him to be: Tolga's Sweet Shop - the sign swung lightly against the salty, sea breeze. He walked into the sweet shop. Filled to the brim with children, Koale feared he wouldn't actually have a good chance to blending into the environment, but he tried his best and approached the counter, where an haggard old woman stood next to the cash register, contrasting completely to the pink and happy surroundings. Behind her, there were shelves of every type of sweet Koale could think about. There were even some he never seen before, which made him want them more, reminding me of his deprived childhood, denying him sweets and other luxuries that even the poorer children of this town seem to be experiencing. When he was a child, he spend it trying to survive, dressed in a red cloak and living in the cold forest. She looked at Koale with her beady eyes, buying the masquerade of a stranger. "One of your kids in here?" she squealed. Her voice sounded like a drill in his ear. "No." "Then what are you doing here?" Koale looked offended. Of course, he was obviously not her typical customer, but a customer was a customer. "What would you recommend?" "Recommend? This ain't no fancy schmancy restaurant where you make recommendation. You best buy something and be on your way." Commoners. Even disguised, he was treated like a piece of dung. He looked through the glass cabinet of the goodies presented in front of him. They must have been expensive because the jars and boxes were collecting dust, and if he bought one, people would get suspicious. "Boy, if you want some recommendation, then why don't you just buy some jellybeans I got from abroad a few days ago." "Great,' Koale never had jellybeans, but he heard good things about them, 'I'll have a few of them, please." "Finally." The woman walked out of the room for a moment, then returned with a colourful jar of jellybeans and placed them in front of him, with a loud BANG! She unscrewed the lid of the jar, her hands red, and then scooped a handful of jellybeans into a small paper bag from a pile of paper bags next to the counter. He took the bag and then paid the woman. "Now, will you please hustle out of here? You're making a long line." Koale seriously wanted to hit this woman, but let the temptation pass when he looked down at the jellybeans in his pocket - two green, four red and three yellows - and sat down on a bench outside. He never tried a jellybean before, and he had to admit to himself that he was quite nervous in tasting one. What if he didn't like it? Well, he would have wasted his money. He shool his head of this pathetic prediction of whether jellybeans were good or not, and took a green bean and shoved it into his mouth. He chewed twice, and his eyes widened. He could taste apple. He liked apple, but how was that possible? Did the woman magically turn an apple into a sweet? He took another green jellybeans until they were gone. He took one of the red ones and quickly spat it out on the floor. He could taste strawberries - if there was a Hell, he knew that strawberries would not be very far away. The familiar taste of lemon came form the yellow ones, which he liked.
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 16:42:16 GMT -5
Cardine knew that she should feel relieved that the potential enemy had decided to take leave so suddenly, but she couldn't help but feel put out. It was as if he didn't even care enough to defend himself. Perhaps there was some crucial event that he just remembered required his immediate presence. If so, Cardine felt she was at least entitled to know what it was.
Quickly she began to hurry after Koale, making sure she stuck to the shadows. It seemed rather pointless, not once did the man turn in her direction. When he finally reached his destination, Cardine could barely believe her eyes.
A sweet shop? What in the world was this man up to? Was there something diabolical going on in the world of candyfloss?
Increduously Cardine stared from the shadows as Koale simply marched out the shop and began munching down on a bag of jelly beans. Apparently he didn't like the red ones...
Cardine froze. Jelly beans. The sickly-sweet smell of the ship cabin drifted back through her nostrils. There had been jelly beans on the ship. Since when did sugar grow on Wissnane? Was the mighty merchant in sight?
Ensuring Koale's head was turned, Cardine slid herself into the sweet shop. Swiftly she approached the woman at the counter.
"I heard you have some mighty-fine jellybeans in here today," she commented.
The old woman raised an eyebrow. What was this? Re-live your youth day?
"Yes, fresh in from Cerforden this mornin'. Now do you want some or are ya gunna clear off?" she snarled. Cardine raised her eyebrows in surprise. The old woman had spunk.
"I thought supplies were banned? Aren't you afraid the monarchy will catch you?"
"Nay child, what is so important about a shop of sugary-goodness that the King would have to shut us down?" Cardine nearly laughed at the remark... if only the woman knew who she was dealing with.
"Give me a back of red jellybeans then and I'll be off." And then back tonight to arrest you when the would-be-Narritchsans has cleared off.
In a movement the likes of which Cardine had never seen from a woman of her age, the woman sloshed some beans into a pack and thrust them into her hand. Cardine paid and marched outside, but not before she had channelled the Dae to turn the appearance of the red jellybeans green.
"What is so great about these things?" Cardine declared, approaching Koale outside, "I'm sorry, I had to follow you when you marched off like that! I just got a bag of all green ones and they taste like crap, beggin' ya pardon for the language."
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 17:06:16 GMT -5
"Are you stalking me or something? Or are all the girls the same round here?" Koale noticed that the bottom of her pack was a light shade of green. His heart leapt; she bought green jellybeans, but he was cautious. He could sense some sort of magic around her, which made him even more suspicious on whether she was townsfolk or not, for she did have a foreign look about herself that seem to separate her from the regular prostitutes. "I'm good, but thanks a bunch for the offer though. Real kind of you. Now, why don't you be on your merry little way. Don't you have some fellah you should be banging about now?"
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 17:22:22 GMT -5
"Like I said, you marched off awful rude-like before. I wanted an appology. And I wasn't offering!" Cardine exclaimed, stuffing the back of jellybeans into a side pocket. Chagrin seemed to hit her like an avalanche. What exactly was she trying to play at here? It seemed like harmless fun, but someone of her status could not afford such a thing with a stranger.
"And honestly, you think I like being everybody's little lap-dog? I do what I have to to get paid, I ain't working over time. In all honesty, I saw you lookin' like a big ole loner and thought you could use some company. But if you're too stuck up your own arse to want to associate with us common folk, then perhaps I will be on my 'merry little way' as you so obscenely put it!" Cardine huffed, turning to prowl away with a sultry prowess. She did not walk quickly, waiting to see if Koale would change his mind and call her back. If he didn't, it would be no problem, she would simply following him until she got some answers. If he turned out to be a Narritchsans, there may be some valuable information to be had here.
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 17:33:05 GMT -5
Koale sighed, understanding that he deserved every little bit of what he had just said to Fea. He stood up and followed her. "Hey, listen, I'm sorry about all that. It's just...I ain't been so comfortable with girls a lot lately. Why, I had a girl who I was madly in love with, and she went and broke my heart when she didn't want to see me no more. Now, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, but just give me some credit. I'm sorry, okay? And also...I'm kinda here without my family's knowing, and I think with you hollering at me, they're gunna realise that I'm here. My father's goons are all over the place, just waiting for me. I just want to wander around and feel free. I guess I'm just a little over my head, is all, with all this new freedom I have when I'm out here."
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Post by Little Bat on Jul 3, 2011 17:40:50 GMT -5
A little smug smile lighted across Cardine's face when she heard him begin to appologise, but it was gone by the time she turned around. Now she was getting there.
"It's good to hear a grown man appologise when it's deserved, and I'm sorry to hear about your lover. Was she from around here?" Now Cardine was beginning to hope that he really was a Narritchsans. If one of them was heartsick over some girl, well then things could get very interesting should they be able to locate her. If he was just some looney... well then she was about to get a sudden desire to smack her head repeatedly on the wall if she recieved some long and elaborate tale about how he'd loved and lost.
Yet there was also another, important point to Koale's speech.
"Your father has goons?" she questioned, slightly bemused at the word.
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Post by Two-bit Werewolf And The Spy on Jul 3, 2011 17:52:04 GMT -5
Koale thought long and hard at what he was about to say, but he didn't care. There was probably many men out in the world that have loved and lost, like he had, so she could narrow him down as to who he was. Then he listened to her questions about his father's henchmen. If she wasn't there - or if there was someway he could render himself invisible for a few seconds - he would have punched himself in the face for spilling out that his father had followers. Obviously, 'that' narrows it down a little. "Yeah, he has a few friends round here that know me. It's nothing to holler about really. And yeah, the girl. It went for a while, and then stuff happens and she didn't...write back to me. Anyway, I don't wanna bore you with no soppy love story. I'm over here anyway." Koale looked over his shoulder for a moment to see a large hairy man in armour step out of the inn. He froze. It was one of his father's men. His father must have realised that Koale wasn't actually practising his sword skills, and was actually hanging around with spontaneous prostitute, who seem to have a little more bark than her bite. He was getting closer and closer. Koale's heart raced, his mind working overtime on what he should do. He turned to Fea. "I am so sorry about this." He pulled Fea down a small alleyway and pressed her against the wall, kissing her and keeping one eye on the men, who walked past them without giving a second thought on them. He then pulled himself away from Fea. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. Shall we go somewhere else?"
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