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 Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:55 pm
Nine years after the rebellions freed New Bard, the driving forces behind them have grown up and moved on. New faces have moved in, and more "fun times" are on the way.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:01 pm
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:11 pm
"Dammit, where the hell's that tavern?" Laura mumbled under her breath. Zeph had told her to meet her there that day at sunset, and he would take her home at the end of her vacation. The sky was already turning yellow as the summer sun sank closer towards the horizon. Even if she did find the tavern (or as the people called it here, a "bar"), chances were Zeph had forgotten about it while on one of his romantic escapades with his "lady friends." Looks like she would be staying here for a while.
Sighing, she sat down on a bus stop bench, laying her heavy pack next to her. Whatever, she thought. She would make do.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:33 pm
The boy's punch was off by a few inches as Ettie stumbled into the street through the bar's front door, still dropped in a boxer's stance. The girl had a black eye and a grazed lip, but her opponent was off much worse; his nose was broken, an eye was blackened, and he was missing a tooth. Silently, she gave herself a few muttered praises.
The rest of her group had surged into the street from the bar to watch as she was calculating her next move; she could pick out all the faces of her crew as she dodged the boy's next punch and socked him in his good eye. Her opponent stumbled into an antique store's front window and cracked it before stumbling forward and slamming his skull on the inhabited bus stop bench.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:45 pm
"Chizalle!" Laura exclaimed as she snatched her backpack and stood up, which is Balti roughly for "What the Hell?" She watched the boy try to get up before slumping onto the ground, chances are from the concussion he just got. She looked up from the boy to the proud owner of fists covered in the boy's blood and a black eye.
"Did you have to scare me like that?" she said, original surprise replaced with mild irritation. "Freaking flipping world people."
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:52 pm
The crowd began to disperse quickly as they realized what shop Ettie had just damaged with a lanky boy's hard skull. The copper haired girl didn't seem to notice them leave as she flashed the strange woman a smirk.
"You act like you've never seen a skirmish before."
She said smugly with a shrug. The boy attempted to get up, blood pouring from his nose. The girl nudged him gently with the toe of her boot, and he fell over once more. That'll teach ya not to throw beer bottles, ya crook. She thought grimly. That done, she turned a shifty red eye to the strange woman.
"You aren't from around here, huh? I can smell it on ya."
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:58 pm
"No, I'm not. What's wrong with that?" Laura sat back down on the bench, generating heat to evaporate blood from the metal.
"I assume you're going to give compensation to the store owner who's window you broke with the boy's skull?" She asked rhetorically, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder to the shattered window. " You owe him a favor now."
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:10 pm
"A young woman like yourself should be careful around these parts, is all."
Ettie explained as she fluttered her eye lashes at the woman and kicked the moving boy in the head once more.
"Huh, whose shop would that b-"
She stopped in mid sentence as her eyes landed on the cracked antique store window. As if on cue, the lights flicked on and the girl swore softly.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:16 pm
Laura only smirked. "Speak of the devil," she said, not looking over her shoulder to the store. She could tell by the girl's reaction the store owner had arrived.
Boredly, she rummaged through her pack for a package of what the locals called "Skittles." She opened the package and poured every one of the colorful candies into her mouth. "If you need a hand with explaining yourself, you're gonna owe me a favor," she mumbled through a mouthful of deliciousness. Why not collect debt from a local?
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:28 pm
"Don't you understand whose store that is?! You'll owe HIM a favor since your nearby!"
Ettie snapped at her as she turned her angry red eyes on the distant street corner and took a step forward. The door to the antique store opened, slightly, and the air around the two women grew heavy. The copper haired girl's joints locked in place suddenly, keeping from escaping. The girl scowled down at her feet as she attempted to step forward once more.
A tall and thin man stepped out from the antique store, a scowl that rivaled the girl's painted on his face. His apron was splattered with paint, as if he had been startled and dropped his paint brush on his lap. He angrily hand signaled to the punk girl, his lime green eyes flashing.
I know you broke that window. I told you that fighting would get you nowhere!
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:39 pm
Laura fingered a charm hanging off her belt, relieving the pressure from whatever spell the man had cast. Probably a suppression spell.
She looked over her shoulder, nodded, and turned away from the man. He was obviously peeved.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 9:55 pm
The man eased the spell to the point where it was just an uncomfortable reminder that she could not move; it had been suffocating when he had first cast it. Ettie took in the man with a scowl; his wispy black hair was out of control, his dress shirt was stained with paint as was his boots. His pants were the only thing untouched.
"Sorry about the window. That guy over there broke it, not me!"
She blew her tongue at him as she jerked a head at the broken boy. The mage scowled at her and waved a hand, making him disappear. The boy would awaken next at the nearest hospital; the man had more important things to worry about now.
You'll be working that window off, you hear me? I have a feeling you wouldn't like it if I dialed Officer Mark over here, would you?
The man hand signaled angrily, his kohl lidded eyes narrowing dangerously. The girl shuddered at the name of the police officer who had locked her up a few times already.
"Urg, FINE! I'll work the stupid window off!"
She said angrily, glancing at Laura. The mage followed her gaze and smiled uneasily at the strange woman.
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Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:04 pm
Laura glanced over her shoulder, and returned the man's smile before returning the other girl's scowl. She turned herself around on the bench to face the pair. "You two wouldn't know where I could find a skinny, black and horny alley cat around here?" She asked, more to the man, who was making more of an attempt to be civil than the girl, oblivious to just how awkward her question was.
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