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 Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:23 am
It was a good day to be a resident of Xuan City. Well, as long as one avoided the parts where one might possibly get stabbed in the back for no more reason than making a funny face at some stranger. You also had to avoid kicking and punching in that area, because you'd probably end up with a solid fist in your gut and boot in the face yourself. Oh, and biting was limited only to whatever scraps of edibles you might be able to find. Also, unless one was of the vampiric sort, one had to avoid drinking blood. Or water, for that matter. In the slums of Xuan City, the only safe thing to drink was alcohol, usually. Which could, of course, be poisoned. What a horrible thing to do, poisoning good-quality alcohol....
Well, luckily for Shane, she was in no such part of the city. She had recently vacated her presence from that area, having staked it out for a day or two looking for certain someones. But to no avail, as she hadn't been able to find any of them, or anyone that had the tiniest morsel of information. She had some good liquor though, some berry-flavored thing that'd made her senses buzz pleasantly. Although it was a good thing that it hadn't been poisoned, she could have died happy drinking it. Yes, it was that exquisite~
She'd definitely have to get some for her little gig. If she could get it up, running, and serving again, that is. Oh, that terrible kind of business that had to keep her away from her beloved abode so long. It'd been almost three...maybe four months. Oh, to be away from all her beloved acquaintances and bar-buddies and smoking-mates really had saddened her...
Though, she supposed her life was more important than the business at the moment. Plus, she could deal without friends for awhile (though that certainly hadn't meant she hadn't stressed to death about her certain Princeling and his Little Miss for those weeks, and now she couldn't even find them arrrrgh!) Hopefully she'd thrown the trail of her own pursuer for awhile, though, so she could at least spend some time back in Xuan. Hopefully he'd think that she knew better than to return to Xuan. But...maybe he knew that she'd know that he'd think that she knew better...but then didn't she know that he knew that she'd know that he'd think that she knew, so then he'd also suspect that she would know that he knew that-
....
Whatever~
But it was indeed a glorious day to be human! The sun was shining, the breeze was playful, the griffin plodding beside her was making grumpy noises...."Okay, Z, okay. We'll getcha something to eat. Let's just stroll down the market way, hm?"
...*stare*
"You are such a grump," the young woman commented, patting the bird affectionately. Ah, well, she was feeling peckish herself. Strolling jauntily down the street, she turned onto one of the many bazaar-like avenues and began following her nose, ignoring the stares of her outrageous attire as she skipped. Whoever said that bright orange and sky blue didn't match had no imagination at all!
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 9:36 am
Rufus grunted and spat as he approached the city gate. After clearing his throat he looked around. A light day of traffic, for which Rufus was grateful. He was tired and sore after a long journey and didn't want to deal with more people than he had too. But he needed to make this trip to the city, so he was going to have to deal with someone.
The jangle and clink of his finds caused him to look behind him at the litter his horse dragged. It was all as secure as it could be. He glared at Sargon, a young, black-feathered griffin who trotted with them. He grunted again. "You're useless, you know that, don't you?" Sargon didn't look at him.
Rufus had tried getting Sargon to help carry things, to prevent damage from the litter method. That's why he had a beak shaped scar on his fore arm and clawmarks on his legs. Still, he enjoyed having Sargon around, despite his refusal to work. At least he wasn't a person avoiding work. And Sargon hunted enough for both of them.
He entered the streets and headed for the market. He had a few items in reserve to show the museum and some collectors, but it hadn't been a very exciting trip for artifacts, so he'd sell them as jewelry or curiosities, then go look for more.
He settled in a blank spot near a place that sold meats and breads. People liked food, so they'd come by and look at his stuff. He unhitched the litter, spreading the goods to be seen. Then he set about unsaddling the horse and brushing her while he waited for customers. Sargon sat nearby and watched. "Useless," Rufus grunted cheerfully.
When he was done he sat down and scratched Sargon's head, absentmindedly. Till his attention was taken by a young woman in ... bright colors. It was the colors that caught his attention. It was hard not to notice. She had a griffin with her as well. He stood and greeted her, wishing as he did that he didn't have the slight paunch that made standing a little more work than it should be.
"Hello there! You look like you would like some beautiful jewelry or accessories from ancient civilizations!" He said to her as she walked near.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 11:41 am
Silence couldn't believe how comfortable she had gotten in the city. The din of the crowd and the cries of hawkers didn't distract her from her stroll. She walked confidently, despite her impairment. Few people would seriously consider taking on someone who walked with an escort of two griffins and a tall, well-armed man who looked like he knew what to do with his weaponry.
Trill, the older of her griffins, the one with spots like an octopus she saw several weeks ago in an upscale establishment which specialized in exotic seafoods, walked close by her side. Already large, his confident, almost arrogant demeanor made him seem to take up even more space in the bustling thoroughfare. Meshach, her heavily-armed, formerly-draconian companion walked at her other side, his ridiculously turquoise eyes scanning the area as he listened as hard as he could. Silence's second griffin, Chade, prowled behind the trio. He was small for a griffin his age, though he had grown some in the last few weeks.
Silence had found herself employment in a griffin training yard since her occupation at a bar called the Charming Penguin had suddenly and abruptly terminated due to some mysterious reason having to do with the owner of the establishment, and not some fault of Silence's, and Meshach occasionally hired himself out as a guard or an enforcer at need. They weren't hurting for money, but they still had to be frugal, which is why Silence pretended not to notice Meshach noticing one hawker as he called out to someone else.
At least, until Meshach physically turned her to look at him - she hated when he did that - and said, "Shane." She couldn't be sure if he'd said it aloud, but he'd formed the word carefully so that there could be no misunderstanding. Then he looked pointedly to his left. Silence followed his gaze and found herself looking at a woman in orange and blue. Definitely Shane, then, but what to do about it?
The decision was taken from her when Trill also recognized the griffin following her and bounded in their direction with a welcoming chirrup.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 12:35 pm
Rufus was a bit surprised when people approached the woman he had just called to. He felt like he had intruded on something. A big guy he didn't want to mess with and another woman approached her behind another griffin. "Everyone here has them these days he muttered." He took a risk and called to them as well. "Exotic, ancient jewelry, ma'am," he said to the other woman. "I've got a wide variety, dug them up myself so I know they're authentic."
Then he winced, noticing that Sargon was stepping forward to meet the other griffins. The others seemed to know each other already, but Sargon was clearly a stranger, so he approached without the same enthusiasm, but with an open look on he avian face.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:04 pm
Silence ignored Rufus, but not out of discourtesy. She simply couldn't hear him. Couldn't hear anyone, in point of actual fact. Deaf as a post, she was. She hated that phrase, and was capable of leveling anyone she caught using it to refer to her. One of the other hands in the stable which now employed her made that mistake once. She convinced one of the resident griffins to drop a load on his boots. It had been satisfying, if immature. Being deaf didn't make a person dumb, or an easy target.
Chade, however, took note of Sargon, and intercepted him before he could add to what could rapidly develop into an accidental situation between Zephan and Trill. He was a clever, perceptive creature, and was doing what he could to keep Sargon safe. He politely dropped his head and chirruped a softer, lower greeting than Trill's.
Silence's attention was also riveted on Trill, hoping fervently that he wouldn't startle Shane's Zephan. The last thing she or anyone else needed was an accidental spat between two fully-grown griffins in the middle of the street. Griffins were dangerous, even when they didn't mean to be, between talons, claws, beaks, wings, and just sheer size. It also didn't look good for someone who made a living training griffins to have one of her griffins brawling.
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Posted: Wed Jun 04, 2008 1:42 pm
Sargon, it would appear, was a good deal more social than his owner. Sargon stoped when the bigger griffin stepped in front of him. He hadn't been in a rush, he'd simply wanted to see what was going on. As an adolescent and a stranger to the city, he had met few other griffins. He was just as willing to investigate Chade as the others. He looked up at the bigger animal and titlted his head. Clicking his beak curiously as he started to walk slowly around him.
Rufus didn't expect to have a lot of attention paid to him. He was a vendor. People ignored vendors. Though the whole commercial system was something he didn't like about cities, he understood and accepted it. He didn't expect someone to be so oblivious, but he wasn't hurt by it. Though he kept trying. Holding up a ring with a colorful, if not precious, stone in it he tried to get her attention again. This piece was actually meant to be jewelry, he hadn't had to string it on to a chain of gold or other metal or put a hook on it.
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