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Well now... that was fairly typical too, he supposed.

Ten feet from the ground, any jump upward would've put the man too high, too late, even if he were quick as the wind, graceful as a deer, and had ups like a cricket. Hanging out over the branches to climb down put Rand low overhead, and if he'd lost his footing that low to the ground, it probably meant he only had one bounce left for him- the big one.

Whatever save was coming, Kalis was closer, only a few inches short of six feet, and with one step he was right under the falling kid, and could have nearly reached him from right where he fell if he'd reached up. Instead, he let the child plop heavily into his arms, stopping the fall all at chest level.

Kalis looked at the other man, most of the way over from talking to Owle to him and the boy already, and then dipped the arm by Rand's feet, looking at the little adventurer for just a short moment before he let it drop even more, bending a little and dropping the kid a short little hop down onto his feet.

"Mmh. You're getting quick," Kalis said grinning, with a touch of mischief in his own eye, at the boy. "and bigger too. Heavier, at least. But I guess those shoes aren't very good for climbing." He didn't bother suggesting a better pair. If he were anything like his mother, he could probably take those off and walk straight up the side of the tree...

...not that Owle could probably actually do that, but, hey, she did have some pretty dandy nails there, and Kalis was certain they had to do something.

"You're quick too. Thanks for the help, anyhow." he shrugged, closing one eye and stretching languorously. "I didn't really want to hurt the thing, and looking at it another way, I guess it probably wouldn't have cared too much to have me hurt it."

Luke was a child at heart, and he felt at home among the birth-bidden midgets, lacking in their growth spurts. Arms acrossed his chest casually, he'd study the puffed up kiddo from up high... Then, squatting neatly, he'd lean forward, whispering.

"I'm a ninja, with a black belt in brownie-theft." He'd grin, wolfishly, and study the other child, noticing his wolf-like traits as well. Luke's were more linear, forsaking the obviousness of fur, of a truly wolvish quality... But it was there, in his very visage... Those eyes, those pointed teeth and ears... "I think you and I... I think our combined minds could make a killing on the underground brownie market.... Or we could squander the loot between ourselves!"

Around that time, Rain had actually passed by the parked motorcycle by the dirt road near the edge of the woods, not thinking anything of it. He was weaving between the sidewalk and the right side of the road, moving about 5 mph over the speed limit. Still, it was not uncontrollable as long as he stayed primarily in a straight line, and he managed to weave between pedestrians and traffic with near-equal ease. He could go faster, but the limp form of Kira in his arms was doing horrors for his aerodynamics.

Going by the address and directions he had been given earlier with only one wrong turn (a new record!), Rain finally made it to the Firebrand Tavern. Well, he actually ran past it, unable to decelerate in time. Panting, he walked back to the door, and paused at the door.

"... Sorry about this, lady." he commented to the unconscious Kira, before slumping her over his right shoulder, his hand on her leg right above the backside of her knees. This was so he could open the door, and walked in reluctantly.

As soon as he could get the attention of someone working here, he would then tell them the situation: "Uh... sorry to barge in like this, but I have a special delivery, complements of Owle Isohos. This woman needs somewhere to rest and recover; where can I bring her?"

Luke laughed. Then, with a grin, he'd lean closer, looking to the side at Owle.

"Ninjas are masters of stealth, and are often hired to thieve some awesome loot... On the scarfing the loot part..." He'd look left, and then right, and then back to Rand.

"Not such a good idea, eh? Trust me. Food eaten unceremoniously will get it's revenge. You must love the food. You do love brownies, right? Then you must show them that! Savor them, enjoy... Or else..."

A swift movement, and the man would hoist Rand into the air with both arm4s, Spinning in a circle. "They'll make yer belly churn like the high seas in the midst of a storm, until finally, they fight their way from your belly in a disgusting, brown uprising!" And then down Rand would go, rather affectionately back to the ground, feet first.

"And that, boy-o, is never good."

To Kalis, and Owle, whom he can't help but overhear, the man offers one statement, ruffling Rand's hair. "You shouldn't keep the boy-o in the dark, eh? Let him know what his mother does, Let him be proud. Nor should you shelter him, aye? Teach the boy to defend himself, so that incidents such as today don't happen. Teach him not to fear, but to know fear, so that he may fight it."

His fingers sifted Rand's hair, already having a strong attraction to the boy... He was, to say the least, energetic. And that was something Luke could link with. His ADHD made him, at times, a most impressive source of energy.

"Hey, leggo!" Rand shouted as he was scooped up. He started flailing his limbs around while Luke spun him; he'd never much liked being manhandled, and even when he was smaller would duck out of his mom's hugs. When the dizzying ride was over, he stuck out his tongue at Luke.

"But it's no fun to eat them slow! That's what I always do!"

Unless...

"Mmm..." Rand screwed up his face, deep in thought. "Maybe we could have a backwards race? I bet I could eat a brownie really, really slow, so slow no one could manage to eat theirs slower."

When Luke spoke up to Mom, Rand hopped up and down. "Yeah! Mom! When're you gonna let Aunt Flare teach me? She was awesome! And did you see how Athan got blown up? You said I could have a big sword when I was older, could I get one as big as his is?"

Rand grinned up at Kalis, nodding to the older man. "Well, I didn't want to hurt her...she looked like me, like he does."

A gesture back at the hooded, brownie stealing ninja left no doubt who the 'he' in that sentence was supposed to be.

"Right," Owle answered Kalis. She inwardly groaned at Rand's questions. This is why she hadn't wanted him watching...well...actually, the reason she hadn't wanted him watching was the brutal nature of the tournament. It didn't seem like a good idea to watch people kicking the crap out of one another, especially if one of them was your mom. She'd rather Rand just imagine what the tournament might have been like.

"Aunt Flare doesn't have time to give you lessons. You'll have to ask Uncle Rage," Owle told her son. The truth was, Flare would have made time for the rascal, only Owle was adamant about Flare not teaching her son. Owle had been on the receiving end of Flare's 'teaching', and while she knew Rand would come out the other side of it desensitized to burns, she didn't approve of Flare throwing fire at her son. "And I said maybe you could have a sword when you were older. We'll talk about it when I think you're old enough to have one."

"Aww..." Rand pouted, putting on a glum face. Was he never going to get a sword?

To Luke, she answered, "I'd have let him know I was in the tournament anyway; I just didn't want him watching. They don't censor any of the violence, and someone got their hands ripped off last year..." Owle bowed her head, eyes slipping to the grass till she pulled herself up again. "That's just...not something I want him watching. Okay?"

Her posture and tone change slightly; Owle had become defensive, Luke's words striking a nerve largely because they were true. She often did leave Rand in the dark, telling him nothing other than that she was going off to do some boring adult stuff. Really, all of those times she'd been seeking out trouble, or trying to save the world, or going someplace dangerous where she couldn't stand to have Rand follow. It was for his own good, she told herself, especially considering how good the boy was at running off.

"I'd teach him to defend himself, but I don't really know myself."

She wasn't a fighter. It was odd, considering she had entered a fighting tournament, but Owle didn't really know how to fight. She just tended to go by instinct, and throw, sometimes literally, anything that was at hand at her opponent. Usually, her style of fighting involved getting in cheap shots while her friends had the enemy distracted, or running and hiding somewhere the bad guy couldn't follow. Her aim was more to survive than to win, always.

Owle smiled at Kalis as he reassured her about Sun, allaying her fears for the moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right...he's as hard to kill as I am, if not harder." Something Jean said once drifted back to her...but that didn't mean Owle couldn't worry now, did it?

She easily accepted his arm around her, a sign of just how comfortable she'd grown around him. Owle rarely let anyone outside of family touch her in more than a handshake, and exceptions to that rule were one in a million. But as he mentioned pampering, Owle's face contorted into a joking expression of exaggerated dismay.

"No! Not the pampering! Anything but the pampering!" She squirmed beneath his arm, as though trying to escape, but the movement only brought her closer to him, if anywhere. "I hate being pampered..." she whimpered, looking up at Kalis with kitty eyes and pouting lips.

"...though I guess it would be good to get some salve for these burns..." Muttering the words in a more serious tone, Owle glanced down at her arms, still burnt from the battle with Tzenidaar.

Rain's eyes went wide at the suggestions the fox-man was offering from across the bar. Had he not heard Rain's explination only moments before? Or had he chosen not to hear?

"N-no! It's not like that! We've only just met!" he explained rather loudly. Realizing what he just said, he winced his eyes shut and punched himself in the forehead with his free hand.

"Wait, that's not what I meant! I just need to take her to a bed, because she's been through a lot."

>.< *punch*

"That is to say, she's exhausted and she needs to be treated with extra care."

>.< *punch punch punch*

Taking a deep breath, he regained his composure. He opened his mouth with the intention of explaining carefully what he meant, but he said the only thing that came to mind.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" he laughed audibly, akin to Vash the Stampede. He walked over to the stairs with Kira, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. He paused at the base of the stairs, looking back to the men occupying the bar. "Yeeaaahhh... we'll be upstairs. Please tell Owle when she comes in, I'm sure she'll want to join us." He started his march up the stairs, and stopped halfway up, the audible sound of a fist slamming into its owner's forehead resonating through the bar, before he continued his ascent.

It was probably a good thing Kalis wasn't the sort of person to notice that Rand had cheered on his mother, and awed at Flare and Athan but apparantly had nothing to say about him. Not much personal pride, but a swordsman's pride- in the art, if one would call it such, that is- was different.

"Sword's a fine weapon." he retorted to Luke, defensively, but a laid back such. Cutting right into their conversation. "If it's a real sword, and not some junky piece somebody threw together. It's about the most versatile weapon after the body itself if you know how to use it, and there're a lot of ways to use each little variation of the design, all very different. Keeping in mind that having something in your hand doesn't stop you using the rest of your body same as ever... it's anything but predictable." He smirked a little over at the other man. Just a little. "If you have an idea what you're doing with it."

The man's other comments clinched it anyway, even if Owle couldn't do anything about what he was saying.

Still finishing with it all, he just leaned into Owle as she squirmed into him, wrapping the hand up onto the top of her head, leaning it onto his shoulder and mussing the hair affectionately. "Oh, no mercy for you," he replied a moment after she'd finished, turning his head and attention full around. "There's going to be plenty of pampering." He leaned his head in, and whispered an assurance that he'd do what he could for 'that' too.

"But, I think we can trust Flare. Just not with any objects or persons supseptable to flame or puncture wounds. Possibly...clawsbluntraumamaybeeventeeth" he ran the last bit all together, making a humorous face at intimidation, and plopped the lower part of his head into Owle's hear, taking a deep breath of the smell. He took a moment to just relax there.

"But-!"

He broke into whatever words were being exchanged between the others, after a silence long enough to let them add a little more to the conversation. "We probably better had head home, hm? For the both of you. We'll need to get back and start readying the place up for an event- and make sure you don't try aind wiggle your way out of things, nyeh?" he grinned down at Owle at what was- for the moment- his final continuation of the whole pampering joke, and slipped away, back toward his motorcycle outside the wood.

It was a cheap, light thing, and in a moment, they'd hear a small groan, and shortly there after a rustling in the leaves as he made an awful lot of noise taking the straight line through the wood toward the Firebrand, banging at branches withe the small motorbike held across the top of his shoulders, behind his head, seat rested on his neck. And he'd march his way on through, making quite the ruckus, for 'home'. Hopefully, not needing to put the thing down and come back to make them follow before too long.

There wasn't much point linger in the wood to talk when they could do it in more comfort at the bar, and he and Owle could probably use to patch a thing or two up while they were there, anyhow. At the least, his neck was still a bit sore and he wanted this bike off his back sooner rather than later so he didn't aggravate that.

"But swords are cool!" Rand protested to Luke, backing up Kalis's point in the way only a little boy could. The big hero always had a sword, so if Rand wanted to be a hero, he had to have a sword. Right?

"Oh, no mercy for you. There's going to be plenty of pampering."

Owle whimpered pitifully, her big brown eyes staring up at him from where her head reclined on his shoulder. More quietly, she'd add her thanks...even if she really did hate being pampered, she somehow doubted Kalis would pull a Rafe on her and insist on her staying upstairs in bed while everyone was partying and doing stuff.

"Oh, I trust Flare, it's just..."

Her voice trailed off, letting Kalis fill in the blanks. In this case, Luke had misread; Owle trusted Flare with her life, and with any of her friend's lives. The two were linked souls, bond sisters, a part of one another. But...she didn't trust Flare not to singe Rand with a fireball if the kid got to annoying her.

Hell, even Flare wouldn't give Owle a guarantee against that; she'd just muttered something about how it might be necessary to toughen him up.

She giggled as Kalis reached the end of his list, and added, "Yeah, that's just the thing. I trust her, I just don't trust her not to hurt things if she gets angry enough or in the right mood. I don't think she'd do any serious harm, but..." Owle shrugged, and then a very strange thing would happen.

To Luke's supernatural empathy sense, her emotions would just stop. Where as before they swirled and eddied forth from her, now they simply...didn't. He could still read emotion in her voice, in her movements, but as far as any supernatural senses were concerned Owle was as emotional as a canteloupe.

Why would he have asked that, just from what I said? Was he skimming my surface thoughts? The telepath reviewed her shields, strengthening them and taking extra measures to keep stray thoughts and emotions from leaking out into the air. She wasn't going to confront Luke about it, it was probably just an innocent question, but still...odd, that he would ask that.

"We probably better had head home, hm? For the both of you. We'll need to get back and start readying the place up for an event- and make sure you don't try aind wiggle your way out of things, nyeh?"

"Aww..."

A smile lit up Owle's face, and for just a brief moment Luke would feel the puff of happiness escape into the air, genuine and clean, before Owle got things back under her shields.

"Not even a little wiggling?"

She held up her fingers, indicating an eensy bit, but Kalis might have already been out of sight. So she turned to Rand. "Come on, let's get home."

Making sure the boy was coming with her, Owle started after Kalis.

"Luke, feel free to join us!" she called over her shoulder as the trio strolled down the path.

Meanwhile...

"Ah, a threesome, is it?" The man took a sip of his wine, giving Rain a look of envy. "I'll be sure to tell Miss Owle when she arrives."

((Rain, that was hilarious.))