Welcome to Gaia! ::

A haze of smog was hanging in the street that Felicity was scurrying down; the produce of the squat iron roofed buildings that clustered together in this unpleasant section of the industrial city. The poor frail woman was clutching a thin off-white handkerchief to her mouth as she tottered along, desperate not to inhale the fumes for fear of breaking into a violent coughing fit. Already she had wheezed and hacked up what seemed to be half of her lung and her unsympathetic rose companion had simply complain about how much the coughs shook her place upon the human’s shoulder. The reason for her being in this grimy section of the town, away from the safety of her place of residence was nothing fancy... She was lost. One wrong turn followed by another had led to her becoming ensnared in the labyrinthine depths of this place and with startled sunken eyes she was looking for a way out.

However, rather than an exit from the area - a golden pathway of sorts, leading back to the safety of the wider cleaner roads - the only thing that popped out of the gloom was a short figure huddled up against a wall, a flat cap shading his eyes. Even out of context such a shady looking being would raise questions in the most trusting persons mind, but for the highly strung mousey woman the solitary being produced a sensation in her chest like a vice gradually crushing her feeble heart. Every rapping step of her hobnailed boot that took her closer to him was like a clap of thunder: terrifying. She wanted to stop, turn around a flee but the likelihood of him chasing after her like a hound after a hare was more scary than a simple stab to the back. Thus she powered onwards with barely more than a little whimper...

However, as she moved past him a little hand clasped her arm: not the gnarled and villainous hand of the thief Felicity imagined, but a child's hand! Eyes becoming buggy with surprise she snatched her arm away as though branded. He squeaked (seeming almost as fearful as she - his face wincing as though expecting a slap) and Felicity's face softened allowing a pre-pubescent voice to wobble out of the sad looking mouth of the grubby child.

"Please Miss... Please... Buy a ticket." He dug around in his pockets before producing a handful of thin strips of paper. "I need to sell them all or m'master will beat me.." Fat globules of water glimmered in his wide innocent eyes and like all street urchins, his poor state tugged perfectly upon her weak maternal heart strings. A few minutes later the woman had parted with a glimmer of coins and was being escorted by the gleeful youth to the 'beargarden' she had just paid a small entry fee to... She hadn't the foggiest what a beargarden was but she hoped that it was some sort of private exhibition of flowers - a naive thought that she clung to for a little while... Though judging by the rough crowd around the door, smoking tobacco stuffed rolls clutched in calloused fingers, she was horrified to find that possibility seemed unlikely.

"Where are you taking me?!" Hissed the flower...

"I... I d-don't reall kn-now? M-maybe after t-this is d-done we can g-get someone t-to lead us home...?" A waver of nerves cracked through the woman's voice and as she nudged past a heavily muscled man her pitch shot up to a squeaky soprano.

After entering the grubby place Felicity and her ward quickly stiffened as their surroundings became more and intimidating. As far as she could see there wasn’t a face in the building that was female, and amongst the men nearly all have unclipped bristly beards – an uncouth feature both women disliked – and many had crooked noses... From fighting? The horrible thought caused the northerner to tremble and for once the delicate flower empathised with her Grimm; not through any human compassion but because she too was rather unsettled by the scene. What if some gruff creature snatched her away in hopes of selling her in a grim black market! The black skinned imp muttered a prayer to her glutton god and inched closer to the straining neck of her human... They should get out whilst they could... It seemed their youthful guide had vanished and it was only the rough movement of the crowds that was guiding them inwards, down a corridor to where the real ‘beargarden’ was situated.

Even if they wanted to they wouldn’t be able to turn round now. There was a brawny looking man on every side and the corridor was coming to an end – an open space was in front of them and a few moments later the almost claustrophobic corridor had given way to a domed space full to the rafters with rows upon rows of people set out in a ring. Perhaps it had once been a factory, converted to be this mini stadium... But Felicity wasn’t interested in the architecture and neither was Claudia, both were far more interested in getting as quickly as possible to a seat and making their way through this ordeal without becoming entangled with any of the usual patrons of this establishment.

“What do they even do here?!” Fright dangerously mixed with the plague’s usual malice laced Claudia’s voice. “I d-don’t kn-now..” She peered at the centre of the ring looking for an answer to the rose’s question. There was a table with a brightly garbed man prancing around adjusting a few equally gaudy vases but that shed no real light on the show they were about to watch... Atleast the vases made her hopeful that this place had flowers involved somewhere – it was only the bear half and the unruly crowd that made her desperately nervous.

So wrapped up in trying to gauge the purpose of the building, Felicity barely heard the delicate voice greeting her against the clamour of drunken male voices. Claudia, on the side closest to the stranger, was more attentive however and cast a glowing observatory eye over the speaker. Surprisingly it wasn’t a gruff and filthy worker but instead the caedos was faced with a delicate female foreigner. “Oh,” the flower clicked her fingers in Felicity’s ears to bring the human’s attention to perhaps the only half-decent company in the smoky room, “hello. The flowers or fight? Hmm.” With a smirk she left Felicity to answer that one.

“Th-the f-flowers...?” Despite being a response the fragile woman’s voice lifted into a high ended question belaying her complete lack of comprehension. What was she here for?!

“Th-they are?” Felicity’s eyes moved downwards to the vases placed upon the table... Yes, she supposed that they could be used to display flowers, none were there right now but perhaps they would be brought out momentarily? It just seemed strange, she had always thought flowers would be much more interesting to women, she had certainly never thought that such a drunken crowd of men would pay money to sit and admire a display of colourful petals and finely shaped leaves. Never the less the woman sounded quite assured and the Sherygoedian took her word for it. The men of Imisius must be significantly different in their tastes to those of the north. It was entirely possible that Felicity had been hasty in judging them so poorly... Being overly nervous was a trait she knew only too well that she possessed.

However, the behaviour of the men was soon shot back into the stereotypical lecherous swine category when a clearly inebriated man leaned over her fellow female company and drooled a greeting. Felicity gasped and held a shocked hand to her mouth and nose. Such a reek! She had never liked the scent of beer but the stench that had originated from that man’s mouth was something else. The best description Felicity could put together was a crude mix of alcohol, cheese, sweat and vomit. Even Claudia who found the scent of death and rot satisfying sneered at his drunken expression and shuffled away from him for fear that the putrefying vapours literally caused her leaves to curl. Yet somehow the other woman, who introduced herself as Lulu, seemed to brush it off with ease... Felicity was in admiration of her coolness in such a vile place.

Claudia on the other hand was less admiring and more inquisitive. There was sharpness to the foreign woman that she identified with. Lulu was interesting at least. Laughing with a pretty little laugh Claudia took the role of introducer. “My human is called Felicity,” she stood and gracefully and extended a small black hand like a member of nobility allowing someone of equal standing to politely kiss her knuckles in greeting, despite the fact such an action was not possible. “I am Claudia, it’s a pleasure to meet you in such an uncouth place Lulu. Every cloud has a silver lining I suppose.”

Before she could continue and state where exactly they were from the man in the performance area made his announcement and the attention of both humans was swept away from the plague to the brightly dressed and very zany looking individual who was strutting around the ring. Claudia tutted. He looked and acted like a fool! His strides were long and he seemed to dip up and down with his steps in a far too exaggerated fashion... But for some reason a good selection of the men in the crowd were already chortling at his peculiar antics. “What is he doing?” She sneered as he moved around his table full of vases and dipped a red gloved hand into one of them...

POOF! A flash of light and a cloud of smoke exploded as he yanked his hand out of the vase and the audience broke into raucous calls of admiration. In the previously empty vase was a bunch of flowers – sunflowers to be precise – smiling out at the crowd. Literally smiling. “Oh...” Claudia raised a brow. Was that it? Were they to be entertained simply by a few amateur magic tricks?

“He is indeed trying... Trying my patience..” Claudia responded, a sneer on her face and a general air of aloof disinterest settling about her tiny frame. Lulu had just commented upon the rank odour of the pace and that amongst the other disgusting factors was leading the flower to want to leave as soon as possible. Did she care if her Grimm had paid money to be here? Of course not! She had been nervous outside in the gloom, not knowing where they were in the complex backstreets of the grimy city, but now they had a new acquaintance – a resident of this place. If all three of them were fed up with the poor standard of the show perhaps they could make their excuses and quit this place together? Lulu could lead them home, or at least to a place from which they could navigate the rest of the way safely.

Felicity was less condescending of the show and more inclined to shock. Her nerves were fragile at the best of times but as her caedos nattered away on her shoulder to Lulu her eyes were as wide as a startled rabbit’s and her mental state was just about as good as the shocked critter that she resembled. So much noise, so many pungent reeking scents! The bright show in front of her was almost mesmerising... As the woman next to her spoke she could only mutter a garbled, “n-nauseas.. y-yes.”

The act stepping up a gear or so in pace reduced her input into the conversation to zero and the impish Claudia snarled in agitation. Brain dead! Her human was near enough to a base level of stupidity that she might as well be sitting upon a donkey for all the good that Felicity was doing. “I’m sorry about her-“ She began, but stopped and turned her attention to whatever had started to happen on stage that was attracting whoops of joy from the men and comparisons from Lulu. At first she was taken aback. Were these plagues employed by this circus act? Siblings born from flowers like her? However, she was sure that it that were the case she would have caught their scent. In her experience plagues often had such potent odours that they would have cut through even the stagnant reek of beer and urine. These were simply prettily dressed humans thus the comparison was derogatory above all else. They were nowhere near her level of perfection! Perhaps Lulu was correct in insinuation that they strove to be like her though? She almost liked her civilised companion and thus refrained from snapping at her.

“Pretty mimicry.” She cocked a half smile at the approaching performer. “Take the flower Felicity, don’t just gawp. It’s not real magic.” Obediently her Grimm did so and gave the woman a bashful thank you before examining the colourful object...

“W-would you lik-ke it?” She held it out to Lulu.. She had her own animated flower after all.

The violence spreading throughout the arena was thrilling. Just like the animals in the centre men were clambering over seats to punch each other – from somewhere nearby the crack of a nose being snapped under a fist gave Claudia a chill delight. Neighbours were tearing at each other’s flesh; teeth were bared in gruesome grins of pained ferocity; care and consideration were abandoned in favour of sheer aggression. As she looked on, clapping when an especially good move was played (one pair of duelling heathens had even fallen into the bear pit), Claudia was no longer sure who the beasts were and who were the supposedly civilised and higher beings. Humans were no better than the animals they taunted... Well... For the most part. Lulu didn’t seem all that bad. Something about her eyes – mean and focused, drinking up the gore – shone with the same light as Claudia’s and she supposed if she wasn’t a human they might have a chance at being friends.

However, it was getting to the point where they were in danger and Lulu was right in saying that they should leave was the honest truth. However, Felicity’s pathetic lack of movement was a problem. Claudia was obviously too small to do anything. Lulu was a lady and far too slender to carry the weight of the northerner – even if she was no more than skin and bones. The attempted offer of help was perhaps the only valid way they could get Felicity out of her crumpled position without rousing her... But the drunken man was not to be trusted. The flower didn’t care about Felicity’s welfare that much, but leaving her in the hands of a filthy drunk was a step too far for even the rose.

It was after slapping her Grimm’s cheeks a few times that a wave of remembrance washed over the caedos.

“Smelling salts!”

She turned to Lulu and gave a very knowing and proud smile. “Felicity may have some smelling salts about her person... She is prone to faints when shocked.” The flower scurried about on top of the woman, tugging at a piece of fabric here and a pocket flap there, rifling through the lady’s feeble possessions in hope that the strongly scented material... By the time that she had found them the fight had well and truely engulfed the seats around them and the helpful drunk was brawling with another two men – his top off in a display of his masculinity – yet he was still glancing back at them with an oafish grin. Wryly Claudia suggested; “I think he likes you Lulu... What a catch.” Before holding out the rousing materials - which were contained in a basic metal container, much like a cigarette case.

“Would you do the honours? I don’t believe I can drag these all the way back up to her face and administer them without choking to death on the fumes...”

The pungent yet somewhat familiar scent that crisped her nose scythed through Felicity’s unconsciousness like a hot knife through butter. Every waft that Lulu directed towards her nose caused the safety of her dark, fright induced sleep to blister with light and sound. She was being hauled out of her safety zone and this was perhaps why she twitched and occasionally moaned in an attempt to get away. However, like a sleeper roused too early trying to squirm back into that blissful deep state of unconsciousness was impossible for Felicity. Behind her eyelids she could see shapes moving, lights flickering as people danced around her... Her ears were not safe from the drunken groans and the cacophony. Most shockingly she was not safe from Lulu’s assault on her cheeks and no pain was spared as the little woman’s palm struck a good few times. Felicity was sure that it was well intended... But still... She bit her tongue and held back shocked tears as her hand was grabbed and she was hauled out of her collapsed state and rushed towards the exit.

“I’m s-so sorry!” She whimpered as she felt Claudia scurry up her back and into a fold of her dress where she could nestle safely until they had fled the bear garden. “I’m n-not used t-to su-such sights!” Recalling the sight of the artetial blood on the creature's chops, even after her break from awareness, made her quiver when coupled with the animalistic roar of the crowd. It was peculiar... She could watch a sacrifice to her god – though she could not take part – but seeing those bears ripping into each other had been too much. Too much violence with not enough meaning...

Savagery incarnate.

Lulu would understand, right? Claudia on the other hand was wholly unsympathetic and before another stuttered apology could tumble from her lips a savage n** to the soft flesh at her side made her shut her mouth.

Poking her head from a pocket, evidently it had a hole in it which allowed the flower to push her way around the inside of Felicity’s clothing and have access to the surface at the same time, Claudia hissed at Felicity to move. The doorway from which they had just exited was bulging with people as hundreds of men tried to exit the building. Some were blatantly fleeing just like the two women whilst others were still visciously scrapping. Needless to say the sheer volume of human bodies attempting to traverse such a small doorway had resulted in quite a bottle neck that Felicity and Lulu had been lucky to avoid... But any moment now the uncouth mass would break out into the street in full force and the flower didn’t quite fancy getting caught up in that... Watching from a distance was one thing – but being involved directly was quite different.

“I think perhaps we should say our farewells... It’s been a pleasure meeting you Lulu.” The flower was civil for once. Felicity mimicked her caedos’ farewell but added a hasty – “Which w-way t-to the town cent-tre?!”