Emiyn was still adapting to Belrea. The young Matori man was constantly moving about the city, his enthusiasm for the strange new things slowly fading as time progressed and his situation seemingly worsened, but despite his exhaustion he managed to keep pressing forward. The nature mage was adept at doing small tasks here and there throughout the city and eventually he had gotten a task that led him towards the storage shed of a larger tavern in perhaps not one of the more pleasant areas of the city. The crowds were a bit rougher, the streets somewhat colder at night but the inns were cheap enough for a foreigner who didn’t have much to his name at all. Emiyn just prayed to the gods that he could find some sort of fortune and keep saving up what he did have stowed away at the small room he had managed to rent for fairly cheap in return for doing small tasks here and there for the older proprietress who had greatly appreciated his honest help. At least someone was appreciating him even though his fingers were aching and his feet would be cursing him out if they could. It definitely was a transition from his pleasant days along the Matori shore spinning stories for the children while tending to the less daunting tasks that his grandparents asked of him.

“Focus.” Emiyn shook his head, his wild aqua colored curls bouncing with the movement, and his fingers reached up to tug them away from his amber eyes. A haircut would definitely be in order soon enough unless he opted to just grow it out. Either way the Matori had to focus on the task at hand and a sigh left his lips at the realization. Perhaps it would have been easier to just go with his mother’s path and let someone else take care of him. The very thought made his nose crinkle in distaste and the Matori quickly found the motivation to move forward once again. The building was older and he could already see how it would become infested so easily. “Just scare them away.” He repeated with a firm nod. They had to get the alinare out of here. The owner had described the little Belrean rodents as menances but when Emiyn spotted the small creature with its adorably large ears and fluffed tails he had to disagree. How could they be menacing? If anything they probably had just scurried into the more open building to find temporary shelter after being chased out of the fields because of the recent rains.

“Come here little guys.” Emiyn held out a fist full of dried fruits. “This is much sweeter than some musty old grains.” Could they even get drunk? A laugh escaped his lips at the thought of the little alinare dancing around on their paws and swaying with confusion. It probably was best if he could get them out of here. A whisper to the wind and an encouraging pat against the ground to gain their attention before he scooted to the side to wait in hiding. It would take a few hours but eventually Emiyn could get them all within the traps he had set up within the storehouse. He was actually thankful he had taken the job despite his earlier hesitation. Who would want to deal with strange rodents from some foreign land after all? He had no idea what to expect at the time but now he was happy that he had taken the role from someone else who may have used vastly different methods than his own to solve this problem. As he spotted the last one with soft gray fur and teal crystals that grew in sharp clusters along its back before fading into the tail with the white fluff of fur at the tip, Emiyn scurried forward and simply caught it within a burlap sack before it even realized he was still there. A squeak and a wiggle told him the alinar was fine and he quickly added it into the wired cage with the other six who were squeaking about.

“Here’s hoping ya got all of ‘em.” The owner gave a frown as he noticed the cage but still handed over Emiyn’s pay as promised. “Ya better be takin’ them somewhere far away from here.” He finally groused as Emiyn prepared to leave with his supplies and new captives.

“Yes, yes.” Emiyn resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead just waved a hand. “The rains are almost over so I have the perfect spot in mind.” A few miles to the south of the city would be some open fields and he even believed there was a winery with an orchard. Surely they wouldn’t mind a few little creatures being added to the wilderness around there. Now that the floods were receding he was certain that the little alinare would be content to be back in the wild and not in the muck of the city streets. Just like he would one day be delighted to find the open shores again and be done with the bustling city.

[858]