o [- PRP -] o [- Sweet, Bitter, and Fragrant -] o (locked)

[Souru]

Information

Where
Imisus

Who
Rown, Purple Platypus, and Souru

When
A quarter till 11AM

 

[Souru]

Celadon eyes blinked steadily behind the thin frames of his spectacles, which had fogged up once more. With a 'tch', the 6'2" man reached up with gloved hands, wiping the lens with a small handkerchief, his long strides not once faltering in motion nor speed.

Herve shook his head of reddish-umber hair stubbornly, pushing his glasses back up the bridges of his nose. This scene was odd; more than often he'd never stray from his home's boundaries, as his work had strict deadlines and he had set a number of pages to do each day...But here he was, out on the streets of Imisus, wandering to who knows where! This...this lack of work bothered him and the broad shouldered man found his pace to be quick. This was all very unnatural to him...

'What's a little fire?' he asked himself, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets. 'Twas only the kitchen that was burned...' He toyed with something in his pocket, gingerly twisting the Candy Cane about his fingers like a ribbon. Herve gave another 'tch', weaving through the crowd with much ease despite such a towering, well-fit figure.

 

[X Purple--Platypus X]

Imisus was a strange and foreign place and to the woman who’s nerves were as fragile as shattered glass and every new inch of territory that was explored proposed new threats to her. That cart full of vegetables rumbling down the street – did it harbour some foul disease? Judging by the pungent earthy rotting aroma it seemed highly possible. Yet she could not swerve to the other side because there on the opposing pavement was something equally, if not more intimidating to the unstable woman! A homeless man, garbed in loose fitting mismatched clothes stained with grease and soot. A vegetable couldn't jump to grab her. They couldn’t throttle her delicate birdlike neck and demand the contents of her purse. The fact that there were plenty of other passerbies did not matter to Felicity, her mind was made up. She was remaining on this side of the street.

Unfortunately for the nervous woman, her constant watching of the apparent threat on the opposite side of the road led her to loosing concentration on what was directly in front of her. Several times she was bumped into by others... Jerking her and making her produce pitiful little whinnies of fear. Should she remove her gaze from the homeless man – or was the risk of collision inferior to the risk of the hobo leaping into action and grabbing her? Apparently right now it seemed to be the latter and her brown eyes barely left the down and out for a second.

In the end her mental dilemma was sorted for her as she finally collided headlong into another pedestrian.

Winded by the blow the fragile woman stumbled backwards, her head wrenched from the threat of the tramp to observing the person she had bumped into. Her perplexed and worried expression soon turned to one of relative fear as she took in the features of the man she had been winded for. He was huge – head and shoulders taller than her – with a broad stocky frame that made it hardly surprising that she had come of worse for wear after the impact. Whatever expression was displayed on his face, be it anger, confusion or even apologetic, was lost on Felicity as her only reaction was to shy away in shame and fear.

Ducking her head low and pulling her shawl tightly around her she attempted to appologise but instead a stuttering response was produced.

“S-s-sor-ry.”

 

[Rown]

Elsie had been watching the crowds from her familiar street corner, her odd job today consisting of helping sell different produce to the masses. She'd been lucky that she and the owner of this particular stand went well back, mostly due to Elsie and his daughter having been childhood playmates, so when he needed a hand minding the little cart for a while Elsie stepped in. She offered to do it without pay of course, in respect to the friendship she shared, though the man did smile and tell her that a few shillings would at least find her hands.

She'd been lost in her thoughts for most of the day, what with her wares not selling quite as well as she would like them to have done so, when whatever stream she was thinking on was quickly interrupted by two figures crashing into one another. Elsie had been watching the small woman for quite some time, finding how she acted so out of place amongst all the vendors quite amusing, but she hadn't noticed the tall man for all that it was worth.

"Is everyone alright?"

She chimed her voice over the crowds, hoping the pair could hear her and no one was seriously injured.  

[Souru]

Herve hadn't been quite quick enough.

He had noted, amongst the usual rabble that there was an odd duck struggling through the crowd. Bit by bit, they were coming closing to one another and he realized they were both on the same path. He intended to move back and to the side, but without room Herve ended up standing firmly in one place. He watched as this woman, a few years older than himself, stumble backwards and fall. His gaze was steady, and the slight scrunch of his nose gave off a look of annoyance.

"S-s-sor-ry."

Like thick soup, the woman reeked of fright and worry...and Herve wasted no time in his reaction. Fluidly, he swiftly reached out with a hand and wrapped his fingers around the cloth that covered her shoulder and pulled her up. He hadn't meant to be rough, but with callused fingers strong from the work of his teen years, he must have caused a bit of pain.

"You sit in two chairs, and you'll end up falling into the middle," he quoted. His voice was somewhat gravelly, but he spoke strongly and was unwavering. "You let your focus splatter all over the place; if you don't concentrate, you really will end up bringing trouble to you...Ma'am." Herve pulled his arm back, his body almost acting as a sort of shield so that the crowd moved around them. "Wolves are attracted to the more weak-minded of the sheep herd after all..."

Looking up as a voice called out, the man spotted Elsie at the nearby stand and merely waved a hand:
'It's fine' the motion was meant to say.

 

[X Purple--Platypus X]

Oh dear lord! The man was holding her up. His rough manly hands were grasping her front and were lifting her! Felicity scrunched her sunken eyes into a pained wince and flinched away; half expecting some sort of physical punishment to be dished out by the stranger. Perhaps he was a rich gentleman and she had soiled his silken shirt... She had seen that happen before. Three quick strikes across the woman’s cheek had been delivered by the gent’s glove leaving reddened marks. Hell – just remembering the awful sight made the woman shiver with pain. However, no harm besides a little disgruntlement to her attire occurred and instead the man began talking. Thoroughly flustered Felicity barely registered any of what the tall fellow was saying and it wasn’t until his final statement that she was really acknowledging the words being produced by his mouth.

“Wolves are attracted to the more weak-minded of the sheep herd after all..."

If the man had attempted to comfort her with this advice he had achieved exactly the opposite. His words summoned up images of savage creatures howling to the moon with dripping fangs and looking up at his bespectacled face the delusional woman couldn’t help but apply canine features to him – only adding to her distress. He had also wrenched her close to him and with her frail frame placed against his broad chest it really did feel to her that she was the helpless lamb in the clutches of the wolf.

However, a female voice came to Felicity’s rescue before she could be consumed by the burly fellow. Somewhere not too far away! Could she spy her aid? Her skinny neck stretched till it physically hurt she managed a glimpse behind her. There! The woman was a store keeper... Pursing her lips and wringing her bony hands she looked up at the man... “He-he-l” The distinction between hello and help couldn't be deciphered as the man's bulky presence was enough to prevent the word from fully forming in either case and before she could calm herself her body got the better of her and her nerves lapsed into illness. She was frail anyway and this shock and winding certainly didn't help matters.

She coughed, hacked and eventually wheezed painfully. He had to let go! Goodness! She had been worried about that homeless fellow but the real threat had been right in front of her the whole time and she had literally walked right into him!

 

[Rown]

Oh dear.

It wasn't in Elsie's best interests to be a hero, she knew what the feeling of being hit was like as well as the feeling of doing the hitting, and since she was being asked to do a favor for someone else it wasn't as though she could abandon her station and rush to someone's aid. It would bring bad luck to the place she was supposed to be taking care of, not to mention it could mean the few shillings she may have been looking towards were now out of the picture. Still, it wasn't in her nature to step aside and let things continue as they were - the woman was clearly distressed.

"Madam, if you'll please calm down I believe we can solve this without much more trouble. If you need a place to sit and collect yourself you are welcome to behind my booth, where it is quiet."

She stepped from where she had stood beside her booth and out towards the odd couple, her shoes making a rough clack against the ground as she went. Part of her reason for wanting to help was to disperse the crowd of people that surely was gathering to witness the altercation, everyone on the streets loved some form of trouble, but mostly it was to make sure nothing harmful had come to pass. Both the man and woman looked finely dressed, not from around these parts, and the poor people of her little area did not need the issues that could come with those in power causing trouble. They were suffering enough as it were, no need to make it any worse.

"As for you good Sir, you're welcome to the same offer. We just need to clear the center of the market, for you are slowing down the flow of people. We can't shop with a blockage in our midst."  

[Souru]

He quirked a brow, staring down the woman--was she sweating now? She certainly didn't seem to be anymore relieved, quite the severe opposite in fact. He ran a hand through the messy mass of his hair, groaning a bit. 'I suppose I don't exactly provide the picture of comfort and safety,' he thought to himself, barely listening to the thin-framed woman stutter. Then she began to cough...Great. "Are you quite finished?" he wanted to snap at her, but she seemed distressed enough. When Elsie walked towards them, he only replied with a grunt. He disliked talking too much, having found it caused more problems than had started with--This situation was proof of that. "Lead the way," stated the giant of a man gruffly, prepared to follow the 19-year-old to said booth. He placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder, trying to be gentle, letting her go ahead whilst keeping her standing in case she bumped into someone else.

 

[X Purple--Platypus X]

Fortunately for Felicity before she could kick up a right fuss and the tightening in her throat led to her breaking down sobbing after being ensnared in this predatory man’s grip, a nearby stall keeper interrupted the situation. The woman’s words were stern, but equally so they were not harsh or with unwarranted malice directed at Felicity. Because of that she felt as though she should quite quickly pull herself together and comply – the offer that had been extended to her was good one. Yes! Yes she would sit behind the stall. Then she could recollect her scattered nerves before attempting the journey home... She’d know this trip had been a bad idea! Her humble abode back in Helios had never been so appealing...

Shakily she removed herself from the man’s grip. Even if the gesture was meant to be gentle a clump of fear was still knotted tightly in the pit of her stomach and her eyes glanced nervously off his masculine features. Could he still hurt her? No. She must banish such thoughts! That was what the woman had advised her to do. Collect her thoughts, be reasonable and remedy the obstruction she was causing. A frail hand rose to her throat and she massaged it as though urging the tightened cords to relax and restore her shallow breathing to comfortable calming breathes. However, the tickle of a cough still lurked in her throat and breathing normally was impossible both due to that and the still present stress.

“I a-am so s-s-sorry.” She stuttered, manoeuvring herself through the crowd between the stall and her place like an old fish, struggling against the current. She was such a pathetic figure and her remorse and upset was clear to see in her graven features. When the safety of the stall was reached and a tenuous finger curved around its edge she turned so that she could address both her ‘assailant’ and her ‘saviour’. Choking against embarrassed and upset tears she apologized again.

“S-sorry..”

 

[Rown]

"There's no need to apologize my Lady, so long as you're not hurt and this good Sir here is not injured as well. Perhaps you'd like to come and sit by my booth until you've regained yourself? I know it to be unsightly for a woman to walk about in a fright and I would hate to allow such a thing to occur for you."

Elsie reached out like she wished to touch the woman yet her arm did not fully extend, instead her hand merely moved slightly to indicate that Felcity was more than welcome to have a seat on the crude chair that had been provided for Elsie to sit on when her feet grew weary from standing on the stones all day. She wasn't certain a lady of such class would be inclined to sit on such a dirty stool but it was certainly better than flailing around and making a spectacle of herself in a full marketplace.

"This way, please."

It was with steady steps that she managed to get over to her rightful booth just in time to prevent an urchin from swiping one of the fruits, and she sighed as she waited to see if her new speaking companions would follow suite.  

[Souru]

Herve only sighed, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose for a few moments before continuing to follow the two. As they reached Elsie's stall, he promptly placed his glasses back on...What was annoyance just a moment ago had turned to pure and simple uncomfortable nervousness. It was one thing to not be working in some way...but he was obviously not a social butterfly and even with only two other bodies here, it bothered him still. He was getting anxious; his fingers twitched for a pen to hold and instinctively he reached for the Candy Cane hidden in his coat pocket.

Again the older woman apologize, and for god who knows what this time. He grimaced, having been prepared to say something 'typical' of him, but held back. "...You have nothing to apologize for," he stated quietly. He'd have to think more on what he'd say...but if it meant stopping a few unneeded tears then it was worth it.

His gaze fell on the two dirty stools Elsie offered them...With a 'tch', he glanced at Felicity and then back at the seat. He patted his coat, searching for something before pulling out a cloth just big enough to cover a good part of the stool. He set it down neatly and quickly on the one closer to Felicity before sitting himself down in the other, uncovered stool.

"...Should never have left the house..." he muttered under his breath.