SirNateUnknown
Master Of Boredom
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Fantasy Feudal Skies-Tales of the Cloudcrasher.
- Thread starter LostPrimarch
- Start date
archur
watch for the flash
Evie Adams
"Yeah. A dragon." Evie said flatly as Elizabeth seemed to nearly swoon for this metaphorical captain in all the rough ways a warrior-woman could. Her mind raced as her eyes darted from head to head in the bar. How could she start a distraction that would end with her not staring down the end of a gun or blade? Perhaps she could bait the white-haired action figure into a fight. Elizabeth seemed to be the type to join in if Evie victimized herself enough, but that entirely depended on if the redhead joined the battle on her behalf instead of stopping it, or worse, tried to fight her. Too reliant on Elizabeth. She spotted a snow-white cat from across the bar, prowling the territory. Perfect! She could get Nickit to get the cat to chase him and cause havoc! Easy, if Nickit were here, or would agree to such a thing to begin with.
She started to absentmindedly unsheathe her other faintly golden knife and spin it in her fingers as she tried to concoct a plan, Elizabeth's words falling on somewhat deaf ears until she mentioned the words "master".
"... the one who taught me how to fight and defend myself." She raised an eyebrow and turned to face Elizabeth to listen to the rest of the story. She was surprised that she too was taught by somebody else to master their tricks of the trade, and that experience is the best teacher. Evie supposed that 'being taught by a mentor' wasn't exactly the most unique thing, now that she heard it from somebody else for the first time.
"Really? Well, I hope you get to meet the captain soon. I'm sure he's as strong as you think." Evie said half-assedly. At this point, she was more engulfed in the semantics of how many coins she could realistically steal before Elizabeth saw a visual change in the amount of money she had in her purse. Evie's guess was something like 40-ish pieces, but experience taught her she could only fish out about 15 big coins without arousing immediate suspicion. If only...
As if on cue, an exhausted but well adorned rat scampered up her stool and into a side pocket, where he panted, finally free from being chased. The two had a non-verbal way of communicating with each other she learned from her master that she taught to Nickit that consisted of tapping or making noise in intervals. She was surprised how smart the damn animal was at times, but was always glad to have something like him in her back pocket.
She tapped on the table impatiently, loud enough for Nickit to hear.
"M-O-N-E-Y-?"
He pushed on her flesh with his paws in response.
"C-H-A-S-E
N-O
C-A-S-H"
Upsetting, but not unexpected. At least her pet got back to her safe. In her focus on her pet, she noticed Elizabeth conversing with... something. Not a human for sure, but it clearly was shaped like one. Definitely unsettling, but it seemed to be holding a box. A courier, perhaps? The thing was asking for a fish though, so maybe it was going to store a 'red marlin' into that box, and then transport it-
This is a stupid train of thought. Elizabeth is distracted without any effort on Evie's part, and the coin was up for the taking. She undid the little latch on her stolen and cut purse that hung at her hip, and tapped the pocket that held Nickit thrice. The signal for showtime. Hesitation at first from the rat's end, before racing up her arm and onto the counter, right next to the open purse. It looked back to Evie as if to say "Really?" but the thief dismissed her companion's misgivings and pointed at the purse.
She fished out a handful coins and gingerly put them into her own bag. By experience, it was about 10, which was fine enough for now. With the rat in the bag, there was good reason as to why she'd be rifling through Elizabeth's bag.
At least until what she presumed to be the captain approached the three of them. Quickly, she changed up her tune. "Get outta there you little rascal!" She said under her breath. Not necessarily to her pet, but at least it was a reason that she had her hand deep in Elizabeth's purse. She wasn't about to get caught stealing over some guy and his cat playing captain showing up.
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archur
An automaton.
A functioning automaton.
In this fucking dump?
The supply run now forgotten, Larastek turned on his heel and quickened his pace, shadowing the metal woman as it entered a local dive, the Reclaimer entered soon after. Judging by the rather ridiculous appearance of the majority of those gathered, it seemed this was the intended gathering spot of what the captain had declared would be the 'new recruits'.
Fools, all of them. Self-indulgent and arrogant. No order. No discipline. He could already tell. Killers and brigands were a dime a dozen, but soldiers? Not a single one in here.
Well, the chief engineer seemed an alright sort, from what brief interaction they had. Knew his way around a ship, anyway. Would've been prime Reclaimer material, unfortunately he didn't appear all that interested when Larastek had sought to regale him with tales from One Hundred and Three Disciplines of Taobudha.
He hoped these arrangmenents would prove temporary. A Reclaimer combat fellowship would be far more effective. Once the captain got him to the Rig, he was more than certain he'd be able to plead his case before the triumvirate successfully. Perhaps even leverage a small flotilla out of them. Even reestablish the Seventh Order.
The flesh on his face slithered and pulsed, like an organ. A second hearbeat...
What was with all the animals?
Larastek felt his concerns melt away as he caught sight of the automaton once more, in conversation with the red haired woman who had nearly ran him over earlier. He reached out a hand, almost reverently, muttering something indecipherable and decidedly foreign in origin.
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Firelie
WHERE AM I? IS THIS WENDYS?
Clear Skies Inn & Eats
Eternia
"Hm?" Eternia turned to a pair of women sitting at the bar Eternia's standing stool belonged to. "Captain?" Eternia hopped off the stool with grace, seemingly unbothered by the extra baggage of the wooden box. "I don't think he was a captain. Oh, but me, yes!" Eternia slid the box onto the counter. "I am-" Eternia was stopped as the very person it was looking for introduced himself into the conversation. "You must be the Red Marlin I am told of." The cheery bot backed up a pace and sat down on a now empty stool. "As I was just explaining to this fine lady, I am Eternia Mk. IV. Fourth in line, obviously, in a series of six like me. I am a Homunculian Robot. Automata is much easier though, and more appropriate. I'm fully inanimate in design!" Eternia held a robotic hand out towards both of the questioning strangers. Just as stated, the robots hands were obviously not that of a humans. With apparent metal pieces where each joint should be and hard fabric many a shade too pale to be real skin. "Touch if you'd like, I don't mind. Anyways I'm a combat model, so I'm kinda like the engine of this sky ship, except my purpose is carrying out tasks and mostly beating people up instead of floating a ship. It's more complicated than that, if you want to know more I'd be happy to tell you!"
Eternia turned it's head to the engineer. "Anywho... Excuse me, need this." Eternia said with a smile, stealing its hands back from whoever decided to touch them to grab the box from the counter. The Homonculi plopped the box on her lap, the metals within clanking together as Eternia dug around. "Mister Red, I have run through some diagnostics and discovered many damaged or otherwise compromised components in my systems. Regulators that are out of tune, rusty belts, frayed wires, Gyroscopes a few digits off, stuff like that. When I heard that there was a supposedly legendary engineer in town, I knew I just had to see you. I have been to at least ten people about this, none of them have the stuff to help me. I was hoping maybe you could help me. I uh... don't have any money right now, but I can help you out in many ways, I'm sure! I make a very good bodyguard and I'd like to think I make even better company!" Eternia pulled out a couple of spare parts from the box as it spoke. None of them were actually compatible with what was needed, but they were close. With a little bit of creative liberty and a bit of metal bending, it would do the job.
There were more interesting things about Eternia's appearance, even to the untrained eye. The shapely make of its frame, the exposed heavy duty suspension wire that moved back and forth as the robot interacted with its surroundings. The strange red disks that sat on either side of it's almost human head, it's strange glowing eyes that only resembled that of a humans, having just enough differences that hinted at the truth that they took a very different path to replicate the sense of sight. To the eyes of a trained engineer though, there was many more interesting things about the homunculi. Heavy wire ran through every exposed joint on the bot, hung in a way that it was not quite taut that allowed for a sort of bounciness as Eternia moved. Just through the small glance it seemed far too complicated to be efficient and even more so it eluded to the idea that there was a lot more going on under the hood.
Eternia was oblivious to the grasping hand from the side, far too busy with the hustle bustle of the bar and the excitement of meeting a most capable engineer. "What may I call all of you? So I may have a designation to refer to you by, should we ever cross paths."
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Eternia turned it's head to the engineer. "Anywho... Excuse me, need this." Eternia said with a smile, stealing its hands back from whoever decided to touch them to grab the box from the counter. The Homonculi plopped the box on her lap, the metals within clanking together as Eternia dug around. "Mister Red, I have run through some diagnostics and discovered many damaged or otherwise compromised components in my systems. Regulators that are out of tune, rusty belts, frayed wires, Gyroscopes a few digits off, stuff like that. When I heard that there was a supposedly legendary engineer in town, I knew I just had to see you. I have been to at least ten people about this, none of them have the stuff to help me. I was hoping maybe you could help me. I uh... don't have any money right now, but I can help you out in many ways, I'm sure! I make a very good bodyguard and I'd like to think I make even better company!" Eternia pulled out a couple of spare parts from the box as it spoke. None of them were actually compatible with what was needed, but they were close. With a little bit of creative liberty and a bit of metal bending, it would do the job.
There were more interesting things about Eternia's appearance, even to the untrained eye. The shapely make of its frame, the exposed heavy duty suspension wire that moved back and forth as the robot interacted with its surroundings. The strange red disks that sat on either side of it's almost human head, it's strange glowing eyes that only resembled that of a humans, having just enough differences that hinted at the truth that they took a very different path to replicate the sense of sight. To the eyes of a trained engineer though, there was many more interesting things about the homunculi. Heavy wire ran through every exposed joint on the bot, hung in a way that it was not quite taut that allowed for a sort of bounciness as Eternia moved. Just through the small glance it seemed far too complicated to be efficient and even more so it eluded to the idea that there was a lot more going on under the hood.
Eternia was oblivious to the grasping hand from the side, far too busy with the hustle bustle of the bar and the excitement of meeting a most capable engineer. "What may I call all of you? So I may have a designation to refer to you by, should we ever cross paths."
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The Lorekeeper withdrew the outstretched hand back into the confines of his cloak. It seems in his excitement he had begun encanting in the Reclaimer trade language. An unfortunate slip of emotion, but could he truly be blamed? Before him was a scientific wonder, a living (debatablely), breathing, (not really) old world relic. Such minor breaches in protocol could surely be forgiven.
The monk stood awkwardly to the side as the automaton enraptured itself in conversation with the Cloudcrashers engineer.
"Might I have a word, uh..., miss?" Larastek asked, the naturally reclusive quartermaster out of his element when faced with so many unfamiliar faces.
Shotgunpenguin
I have become haitus, destroyer of RP's
Elizabeth Pyres
Before the metal creature could respond to her question, Elizabeth's attention was drawn behind her as an educated looking man introduced himself as this 'Red Marlin'. In an almost predictable manner, the small white cat that followed was also dressed in a manner that set it apart from any common street-cat. Although he was not the captain that she had hoped he was, he was apparently familiar with the man as it would seem. Although Marlin had denied either him or his captain had ever slayed a dragon, she doubted whether he would be willing to admit it in front of seemingly random people. A deed such as that wasn't something to be lied about, and Ava seemed like the trustworthy sort as far as she could tell. Perhaps they were worried about individuals who would seek them out for whatever reason, and decided together that it was not worth the trouble that would follow.
"You are familiar with the captain, no? Where is he if you do not mind me asking. While I could spend all day in here I would like to at least the man in person while I am still able to walk straight." While she doubted that she would be able to get to that point, at least not before her coin would run out, this Marlin was the closest she had gotten to a confirmation that he even existed.
The metal creature spoke next, spouting out a combination of words that Elizabeth could hardly make sense of. She understood that this thing was a robot, and that she was apparently built for combat in mind, but the rest went in one ear and out of the other. When it offered it's metallic hand Elizabeth couldn't help but reach out gingerly and run her fingers over it. It was a strange sensation, touching something that was cold as metal should be while the person it was connected to talked about it's own functions. And a person it definitely was, or at the very least something with the mind and personality of a person. There were obvious signs of wear and tear around the connecting points of the fingers, and if what it said was to be believed it was a good guess to say that it was due to the use of a weapon of some sort.
"How do you even work? I've never even heard of an au-toma-ta before" Pausing to think of what to call the machine, Elizabeth settled for taking part of it's name "Nia. It's alright if I call you that right? Whole name seems like a mouthful if I'm bein' honest."
Nia drew back her hand after a few moments before reaching into the wooden box they carried with them and talking to Marlin. Once again a lot of what she was saying went over her head, although it seemed like this Marlin fella was supposed to be a pretty famous engineer of sorts. That, and that she apparently was offering her services in exchange for his services, as she was apparently low on funds to pay. It was a common enough idea for Elizabeth, fixing a persons roof in return for another service was a good way to save on precious funds back home. It was refreshing to see it was a common enough practice outside of her town as well. The doors opened as another person entered the bar, and her eyes widened as she recognized the person. Well, recognized their stature and the cloak that they wore.
"Hey, you're the person I almost ran into before! Did I end up causing you any trouble? Sorry I couldn't stay, but I was worried that I would miss the meeting time on the flyer." She scratched the back of her head, an embarrassed blush slowly starting to redden up her face. If she caused an issue than she was bound to fix it, even if a part of her was hoping that the persons arrival was just an unconnected coincidence.
"Oh right, forgot to introduce myself again. I'm Elizabeth Pyres, and this is-" Elizabeth turned to introduced her companion Ava, only to find her hand buried deep inside of her coin pouch. Face souring in an instant, she lashed out and gripped down hard on the woman's arm as she rose from her seat.
"Your hand seems to have found it's way into my pouch." Her free hand slowly reached out towards her spear, eyes boring into the woman beside her "I can help you free it if you desire. Truly, it would be my pleasure."
SirNateUnknown
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Before the metal creature could respond to her question, Elizabeth's attention was drawn behind her as an educated looking man introduced himself as this 'Red Marlin'. In an almost predictable manner, the small white cat that followed was also dressed in a manner that set it apart from any common street-cat. Although he was not the captain that she had hoped he was, he was apparently familiar with the man as it would seem. Although Marlin had denied either him or his captain had ever slayed a dragon, she doubted whether he would be willing to admit it in front of seemingly random people. A deed such as that wasn't something to be lied about, and Ava seemed like the trustworthy sort as far as she could tell. Perhaps they were worried about individuals who would seek them out for whatever reason, and decided together that it was not worth the trouble that would follow.
"You are familiar with the captain, no? Where is he if you do not mind me asking. While I could spend all day in here I would like to at least the man in person while I am still able to walk straight." While she doubted that she would be able to get to that point, at least not before her coin would run out, this Marlin was the closest she had gotten to a confirmation that he even existed.
The metal creature spoke next, spouting out a combination of words that Elizabeth could hardly make sense of. She understood that this thing was a robot, and that she was apparently built for combat in mind, but the rest went in one ear and out of the other. When it offered it's metallic hand Elizabeth couldn't help but reach out gingerly and run her fingers over it. It was a strange sensation, touching something that was cold as metal should be while the person it was connected to talked about it's own functions. And a person it definitely was, or at the very least something with the mind and personality of a person. There were obvious signs of wear and tear around the connecting points of the fingers, and if what it said was to be believed it was a good guess to say that it was due to the use of a weapon of some sort.
"How do you even work? I've never even heard of an au-toma-ta before" Pausing to think of what to call the machine, Elizabeth settled for taking part of it's name "Nia. It's alright if I call you that right? Whole name seems like a mouthful if I'm bein' honest."
Nia drew back her hand after a few moments before reaching into the wooden box they carried with them and talking to Marlin. Once again a lot of what she was saying went over her head, although it seemed like this Marlin fella was supposed to be a pretty famous engineer of sorts. That, and that she apparently was offering her services in exchange for his services, as she was apparently low on funds to pay. It was a common enough idea for Elizabeth, fixing a persons roof in return for another service was a good way to save on precious funds back home. It was refreshing to see it was a common enough practice outside of her town as well. The doors opened as another person entered the bar, and her eyes widened as she recognized the person. Well, recognized their stature and the cloak that they wore.
"Hey, you're the person I almost ran into before! Did I end up causing you any trouble? Sorry I couldn't stay, but I was worried that I would miss the meeting time on the flyer." She scratched the back of her head, an embarrassed blush slowly starting to redden up her face. If she caused an issue than she was bound to fix it, even if a part of her was hoping that the persons arrival was just an unconnected coincidence.
"Oh right, forgot to introduce myself again. I'm Elizabeth Pyres, and this is-" Elizabeth turned to introduced her companion Ava, only to find her hand buried deep inside of her coin pouch. Face souring in an instant, she lashed out and gripped down hard on the woman's arm as she rose from her seat.
"Your hand seems to have found it's way into my pouch." Her free hand slowly reached out towards her spear, eyes boring into the woman beside her "I can help you free it if you desire. Truly, it would be my pleasure."
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watch for the flash
Evie Adams
In her own little world of numbers and coins, Evie jumped in surprise at her arm being grabbed hard by Elizabeth, her hand closing around Nickit a little tighter than she should be grabbing him. The rat scratched in protest at her grip, after all, this was a part of the plan. Just play the script, and things will go all according to plan. Still, why did she startle so easily?
Focus Adams. You don't know her, and you can leave at any time. Stick to the script.
"Your hand seems to have found it's way into my pouch." The warrior said, eyes glowering.
"Yeah, you wouldn't believe it!" She squeaked out, eyes still stuck on the purse. "My pet rat crawled into your purse! Isn't that crazy?" Her other hand robotically pulled the purse away to reveal Nickit biting down on a coin in her other hand.
"Loves shiny things and all that." She meekly said. She stiffly turned her head to Elizabeth, a barely expressed smile on her trembling face. Her eyes darted to the other three that stood there, and from their attire, they were probably more of those mercenaries just like Elizabeth that planned to work on whatever ship Evie planned to hitch a ride out of here on. A spike of panic shot into her veins as she realized that if she fucked up with the payoff here, there would be no out from this city, and she'd have to find a new way to get off shore.
Genuine anxiety now gripping her, she fought to keep her nervous smile from fading from her face as she settled her gaze on Elizabeth's nose, not quite her eyes, but not too low either. "pleaseletmego." She quickly uttered, weakly attempting to pull her arm from Elizabeth's grip.
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SirNateUnknown
Master Of Boredom
Firelie
WHERE AM I? IS THIS WENDYS?
Clear Skies Inn & Eats
Eternia
Eternia was positively beaming at the agreement arranged between the bot and the engineer. "Work on a skyship! How fun! You won't regret this Mr. Red, I am sure of it." Eternia turned to Elizabeth, not quite catching onto the active situation. "It seems we will be working together, so it will be a pleasure doing so." The homunculus stopped and stared at the now strangely hostile situation at the bar, but before Eternia could put the puzzle pieces together another voice vied for the bots attention.
"Hm? Oh, its the mysterious guy from the street. What do you need? Do you know the Red Marlin?" The bot asked curiously, spinning on the stool to face the hooded figure
"Hm? Oh, its the mysterious guy from the street. What do you need? Do you know the Red Marlin?" The bot asked curiously, spinning on the stool to face the hooded figure
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Shotgunpenguin
I have become haitus, destroyer of RP's
Elizabeth Pyres
There were few things that Elizabeth could not stand in life. One of which was dirty, no good thieves who believed themselves welcome to the wealth and possessions of others. Sure, she could understand a person stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed their family, and she could even sympathize with their desire to provide for those they loved. If the difference between starving to death and not was throwing away one's pride and stealing food, maybe she would be a little more gentle with them. But currently, with her hand wrapped around the wrist of Ava and the other grasping tightly around the haft of her spear, she doubted that this was the situation. She obviously was well off enough to spend her coin at a bar, if it even was hers in the first place. The signs of malnourishment were absent from her features, the blades that she wore on her person probably worth enough to feed herself if she truly needed to.
Ava tried to deflect from Elizabeth's claims, offering a story that she was simply fetching her pet that had a penchant for shiny objects. As if that excuse would work on her. There were many thieves who would use children and animals in their acts, taking advantage of people's unwillingness to turn away from things they considered innocent. 'Oh they don't know any better, please forgive them and forget this ever happened'. The same excuse had been used dozens of times before, all to cover for a failed attempt at a robbery. These were the scum of the earth, those who would take advantage of others weakness in order to swipe coin or valuables from their marks. Often enough they would even leave the distraction behind, forcing them to take the fall while they made off with their ill-gotten gains.
"Very well then" Elizabeth's hand loosened from Ava's arm, the thief being unable or maybe unwilling to look her in the eyes. "If it is your pet to blame than it makes no sense to punish you."
Suddenly, her hand slammed down on her wrist, trapping it in place as she raised and angled her spear towards the writhing rodent in her grasp. If the pet was the true culprit in the theft than it only made sense to punish it instead of it's owner. Of course, she had no real intention of skewering the pet on her spear. Not only would it leave her with a bad taste in her mouth, robbing one of their companion, it would force the woman to reveal herself. If she would allow her pet to take the fall, than it would tell that she cared for little more than coin. If she stopped however and admitted her fault, than it would show that she was not simply a black-hearted thief.
"I shall instead punish the one who sought to take from me. Is that alright with you?" Elizabeth lowered her head and stared straight into the woman's eyes, a false bravado of violence molding her face as she slowly lowered the tip of her spear towards the pinned rodent.
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There were few things that Elizabeth could not stand in life. One of which was dirty, no good thieves who believed themselves welcome to the wealth and possessions of others. Sure, she could understand a person stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed their family, and she could even sympathize with their desire to provide for those they loved. If the difference between starving to death and not was throwing away one's pride and stealing food, maybe she would be a little more gentle with them. But currently, with her hand wrapped around the wrist of Ava and the other grasping tightly around the haft of her spear, she doubted that this was the situation. She obviously was well off enough to spend her coin at a bar, if it even was hers in the first place. The signs of malnourishment were absent from her features, the blades that she wore on her person probably worth enough to feed herself if she truly needed to.
Ava tried to deflect from Elizabeth's claims, offering a story that she was simply fetching her pet that had a penchant for shiny objects. As if that excuse would work on her. There were many thieves who would use children and animals in their acts, taking advantage of people's unwillingness to turn away from things they considered innocent. 'Oh they don't know any better, please forgive them and forget this ever happened'. The same excuse had been used dozens of times before, all to cover for a failed attempt at a robbery. These were the scum of the earth, those who would take advantage of others weakness in order to swipe coin or valuables from their marks. Often enough they would even leave the distraction behind, forcing them to take the fall while they made off with their ill-gotten gains.
"Very well then" Elizabeth's hand loosened from Ava's arm, the thief being unable or maybe unwilling to look her in the eyes. "If it is your pet to blame than it makes no sense to punish you."
Suddenly, her hand slammed down on her wrist, trapping it in place as she raised and angled her spear towards the writhing rodent in her grasp. If the pet was the true culprit in the theft than it only made sense to punish it instead of it's owner. Of course, she had no real intention of skewering the pet on her spear. Not only would it leave her with a bad taste in her mouth, robbing one of their companion, it would force the woman to reveal herself. If she would allow her pet to take the fall, than it would tell that she cared for little more than coin. If she stopped however and admitted her fault, than it would show that she was not simply a black-hearted thief.
"I shall instead punish the one who sought to take from me. Is that alright with you?" Elizabeth lowered her head and stared straight into the woman's eyes, a false bravado of violence molding her face as she slowly lowered the tip of her spear towards the pinned rodent.
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archur
watch for the flash
Evie Adams
"Very well then"
Her heart stopped racing as fast when Elizabeth's grip on her arm loosened. Another situation smoothly talked out of by your very own Evie Adams. Now, she just had to wait and enjoy her stein of ale while the captain of the ISS Soontoberobbed-
"If it is your pet do blame than it makes no sense to punish you."
Before she knew it, Elizabeth had her wrist in a vise, slamming it hard against the counter. Her bracers clicked in protest as the delicate compartments inside were subjected to the force impressed upon them. Nickit writhed around in Evie's grip as he tried to look for an escape route from his master's own fingers, the coin he was pretending to teeth on clattering onto the wooden bar counter.
"I shall instead punish the one who sought to take from me. Is that alright with you?"
"Is that alright with me?" She said incredulously, rage bubbling up within her chest just at the sight of her pet being put at an ultimatum. There's been countless times where Evie had been chased, caught, beaten, and locked away, and at the end of the day, it's what she expected whenever she got caught for stealing. To her, it was what she signed up for, and the price of failure. Never, ever, has her sole companion been threatened, and never so much was the threat death before. Her friend had stopped fruitlessly writhing around and laid very still, eyes shut, and Evie's rage boiled over.
"Did you just ask if that's FUCKING alright with me?! I'll show you what's alright you fucking whore!" In a single motion, Evie launched herself from her seat and barged her shoulder into the warrior. Screw not getting into a fight, she wasn't about to get her friend killed over 10 damn coins. Her other hand was working overtime with her gauntlet, teleporting the knife she lodged near the doorway into her grip.
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I have become haitus, destroyer of RP's
Elizabeth Pyres
Elizabeth watched as Ava's face shifted, from relief to horror as the threat to her companion was laid out. Now would be where the woman showed her true nature, whether her pet was anything more than a tool for her to use. She expected for the woman to lie, bargain, or even try and break away from her hold. It wasn't the first time that she had dealt with would be thieves, and she thought that she had a good idea of how they would act when. Thieves avoided direct confrontation, always afraid to face their target and be drug into a fight. It was the reason why they used such small blades, why their preferred approach was catching their marks unaware. She thought the same would be true for this thief.
She had misjudged. That was the thought that went through Elizabeth's mind as the now pissed off woman launched her shoulder into her chest. The fury behind her words and force in her shoulder spoke of someone who wasn't afraid to fight head on. She let go of the Ava's wrist, using the force from the charge to roll off of her stool and get some distance away from her. Her hands quickly shifted on her spear, the shield on her back a liability against the knife wielding threat. It was too large to be of use in the cluttered bar, not when her opponent was as proficient as she feared. Going on the defensive and allowing her to get close would only end poorly. Keeping her at a distance and taking advantage of her longer reach was the best decision for now.
"Than come at me thief. Show me the strength behind your words!" Elizabeth could feel her blood beginning to pump, the reason why she was even here thrust to the back of her mind. The sound slowly began to dull around her as she began to block out everything but the woman in front of her. She had intended to hold back against the woman, but the thought was soon discarded as her body fell into position. To hold back would mean that she considered her opponent weaker than her. But everything about Ava told her that not only was she not weak, she was dead set on making her pay for threatening her pet.
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Firelie
SirNateUnknown
Elizabeth watched as Ava's face shifted, from relief to horror as the threat to her companion was laid out. Now would be where the woman showed her true nature, whether her pet was anything more than a tool for her to use. She expected for the woman to lie, bargain, or even try and break away from her hold. It wasn't the first time that she had dealt with would be thieves, and she thought that she had a good idea of how they would act when. Thieves avoided direct confrontation, always afraid to face their target and be drug into a fight. It was the reason why they used such small blades, why their preferred approach was catching their marks unaware. She thought the same would be true for this thief.
She had misjudged. That was the thought that went through Elizabeth's mind as the now pissed off woman launched her shoulder into her chest. The fury behind her words and force in her shoulder spoke of someone who wasn't afraid to fight head on. She let go of the Ava's wrist, using the force from the charge to roll off of her stool and get some distance away from her. Her hands quickly shifted on her spear, the shield on her back a liability against the knife wielding threat. It was too large to be of use in the cluttered bar, not when her opponent was as proficient as she feared. Going on the defensive and allowing her to get close would only end poorly. Keeping her at a distance and taking advantage of her longer reach was the best decision for now.
"Than come at me thief. Show me the strength behind your words!" Elizabeth could feel her blood beginning to pump, the reason why she was even here thrust to the back of her mind. The sound slowly began to dull around her as she began to block out everything but the woman in front of her. She had intended to hold back against the woman, but the thought was soon discarded as her body fell into position. To hold back would mean that she considered her opponent weaker than her. But everything about Ava told her that not only was she not weak, she was dead set on making her pay for threatening her pet.
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Firelie
SirNateUnknown
VomitIcicle
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Firelie
SirNateUnknown
Shotgunpenguin
Larastek watched with mild interest as the situation in the bar escalated into what came close to a full on brawl. Not unexpected. A thief had been caught wrist deep in the others coin purse. It seems his original hypothesis had been proven. No discipline among these scoundrels.
He bowed his head genially at the automatons acknowledgement. "I am Larastek. Reclaimer of the Seventh Order, Lorekeeper of the third Brotherhood. Forgive my intrusion, but it is not often rare specimens such as yourself are found under, well..." He waved a hand, gesturing towards the ongoing fight and the rather ramshackle state of the bar in general. " These conditions."
"As I understand it, you have already come to an agreement with our engineering expert Jace, an agreement I am all too happy to endorse to our good captain whenever he arrives."
"Speaking of which..." He turned to Jace. "Don't suppose he told you where he was going?"
archur
watch for the flash
Evie Adams
Rage, as it was, was a useful tool. It was the creation of the first cornered animal, and the most powerful weapon in any arsenal. The rage of a single man could destroy a city, or kill an entire family tree. The rage of a group could level countries, and see the future turn bleak.
For Evie, rage was not something she needed right now. In fact, violence wasn't needed right now. There seemed to be a casual disregard to the little brawl that had sprung out onto her lap over a rat, and she aimed to either keep it that way, or stop the fight. She wasn't one for violence. After all, violence only happens when you're bad at being a thief, and apparently, she was bad at being a thief. Time to sidestep.
As she brute forced Elizabeth off her, she quickly tucked away Nickit into her clothes, and stabbed a golden knife into the bar an arm's length away further from her opponent. Her master's words echoed in her head as she unsheathed a broken dagger from her hip.
"Remember Evelyn, the three steps of getting into a fight, because you keep getting into them despite my express orders not to do so." She bit her lip at the embarrassment that always played out in her head whenever one of these things happened.
"Step 1: Find an escape route." Her eyes darted across the room. A window came into view behind Elizabeth's head, and the door was across the bar. While trying to dead sprint across the bar could very well end poorly, she was confident enough in her aim to send a dagger through the window and simply teleport from there.
"Step 2: Warn your enemy. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding. Like last time." She drew in a sharp breath, then exhaled. "I really don't want to fight you Elizabeth, I don't believe in violence. But if you're gonna fight me, let's take it outside first."
"Step 3: If you still manage to get into a fight, end it quickly. Use everything I taught you, but you're not an assassin. Killing is off limits." The broken dagger in her hand seemed to grow a dark shadow, a dark black substance filling out the nicks and cracks, then eventually pouring into the shape the blade originally was cast in, making it whole once more. She had something of a relaxed combat pose in case Elizabeth tried anything stupid. Toss a shadowy knife, then the fight is essentially over. She was ready to step aside, but she learned very quickly that you never take your eyes off somebody who intends to cause you harm.
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Selitia
The Lone Wolf
Kristina Haerlo
Tags: @Eccentric_Undead
"You built that??" Kristina asks in awe. "Wow, I didn't know vanilla came in a weird pod!" She says with a smile. She found Jason to be fascinating. He did most things differently from everyone else she'd known. She loved how much he enjoyed his work and how much he took pride in it
When he began to clean up she walked over to him. "I can help." She said while rocking back and forth on her feet. She didn't know where anything went so she helped clean up any crumbs and the counters. "I don't mind if you go crazy with it. I love to learn anything and everything. The more I learn the better I can adapt." The witch replies cooly. She never got to learn much in her village other than the ancient healing ways of Levanna.
"Of course good sir." She laughs tipping a nonexistent hat to him. "I will be here all night!" She chuckles. Of course she would be here for much longer than that but hat line went with her act.
Shotgunpenguin
I have become haitus, destroyer of RP's
Elizabeth Pyres
Elizabeth Ava with a cautious eye, legs tensed to leap into action if the woman made a move. She held a relaxed stance, one that spoke of experience in combat. There were many things that could tip one off to their opponents move if they cared to look. Be it the twitching of their muscles, the shifting of their feet, and even the sound of their breathing in more advanced cases. All of these were tells, be it unconscious or conscious, that even experienced fighters had. A relaxed stance meant that such tells would be that much harder to identify before they acted.
"She's been trained." The thought passed through her mind as she shuffled her feet, slowly inching closer to her opponent. If possible she wanted to end things with a single strike, as being drug into a drawn out battle would certainly have her on the off-foot. Her opponent had the range advantage with her knives if she knew how to throw them. Meaning that she would be forced to pursue, completely negating the advantage her spear would give her. That was also before the dagger she held in her hand began to emit a dark glow, the blade seemingly forming out of some magical energy.
Cursing herself mentally, she responded "I care not if you do not wish to fight. I won't let you end this without-"
She stopped her sentence short, eyes widening in confusion as the head of her spear slowly began to raise into the air. She tried to lower it back into place, but no matter how much she tried it would not return. Before she even realized it, she noticed that her stance too had begun to undo itself. Unable to understand what was happening, a phantom pain etched itself across her right cheek as if she were struck by someone. The familiar feeling bringing forth a memory of her master from when she was younger.
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Elizabeth recoiled from the blow, her brain attempting to make sense of why she was suddenly on the ground. Dazed, she looked up to the man who's fist remained outstretched, a murderous glare on his face as he looked down on her.
"W-what the hell was that for you bastard?!" She attempted to stand, but a swift kick from the man sent her tumbling back down to the floor. Gasping for air, the metal leg slowly returned underneath the mans cloak before he spoke.
"I did not train you to be the aggressor, nor to brandish such blood-lust against your foe. Your opponent had surrendered, and yet you continued to attack." The man stopped beside the metal pipe that Elizabeth had carried before kicking it into the air and catching it with a practiced motion.
"He deserved it! That guy was a part of the gang that burned my house down, why should I have stopped!" She made to look up towards her master, only for her eyes to widen as the metal pipe was jabbed towards her face. She only had time to flinch and close her eyes, to prepare herself for the explosion of pain that was soon to follow. Only to find no such sensation, as she opened her eyes to find the pipe stopped a mere inch from her head.
"Just now you were unable to fight back. If I had not stopped my strike than it is very likely you would have died." The pipe was slowly removed from her face, her master regarding it for a second before it was tossed into the air. In a blink of an eye, a flash of steel and a horrid sound was all that she could see as the metal pipe fell to the ground in two.
"Show restraint, even when you wish not to. Fight, but fight only to defend yourself or those you wish to. If you continue to seek conflict when there isn't any, you shall only find your end at the tip of a blade." The man turned, beginning to walk away from Elizabeth. "Remember that from now on."
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Elizabeth gritted her teeth, the phantom pain slowly receding as her spear came to her side. Still at the ready, but far from the aggressive stance that she was in before. What the hell was everything for if she was willing to risk fighting to the death over some coin? How would this possibly make her any stronger in any way? Not only that, but this outburst might have even cost her the opportunity to join the captains crew. She could have lost everything, and over what? She had even threatened Ava's companion just to try and get her to react.
"Very well. I see now that fighting over this is pointless. I will apologize for threatening your companion, it is clear that you care much for it. However, if you ever try to steal from me again I will not give you another chance." Giving one last look towards the woman, Elizabeth slowly walked forward and retrieved her coin purse. The bartender watched them with a wary, if tense glare as she noticed his hands gripping something below the counter. Apparently their little spat was more than enough to make him think of the worst case scenario. Walking away to one of the empty booths of the bar, she set her spear against the wall and counted out the contents of her pouch. Ten coins, more than half of what she had left to tide herself over had been taken. A grim acceptance began to fill her as she let out the breath that she had been holding. Hopefully the captain would arrive soon and this day could just be over.
archur
Elizabeth Ava with a cautious eye, legs tensed to leap into action if the woman made a move. She held a relaxed stance, one that spoke of experience in combat. There were many things that could tip one off to their opponents move if they cared to look. Be it the twitching of their muscles, the shifting of their feet, and even the sound of their breathing in more advanced cases. All of these were tells, be it unconscious or conscious, that even experienced fighters had. A relaxed stance meant that such tells would be that much harder to identify before they acted.
"She's been trained." The thought passed through her mind as she shuffled her feet, slowly inching closer to her opponent. If possible she wanted to end things with a single strike, as being drug into a drawn out battle would certainly have her on the off-foot. Her opponent had the range advantage with her knives if she knew how to throw them. Meaning that she would be forced to pursue, completely negating the advantage her spear would give her. That was also before the dagger she held in her hand began to emit a dark glow, the blade seemingly forming out of some magical energy.
Cursing herself mentally, she responded "I care not if you do not wish to fight. I won't let you end this without-"
She stopped her sentence short, eyes widening in confusion as the head of her spear slowly began to raise into the air. She tried to lower it back into place, but no matter how much she tried it would not return. Before she even realized it, she noticed that her stance too had begun to undo itself. Unable to understand what was happening, a phantom pain etched itself across her right cheek as if she were struck by someone. The familiar feeling bringing forth a memory of her master from when she was younger.
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Elizabeth recoiled from the blow, her brain attempting to make sense of why she was suddenly on the ground. Dazed, she looked up to the man who's fist remained outstretched, a murderous glare on his face as he looked down on her.
"W-what the hell was that for you bastard?!" She attempted to stand, but a swift kick from the man sent her tumbling back down to the floor. Gasping for air, the metal leg slowly returned underneath the mans cloak before he spoke.
"I did not train you to be the aggressor, nor to brandish such blood-lust against your foe. Your opponent had surrendered, and yet you continued to attack." The man stopped beside the metal pipe that Elizabeth had carried before kicking it into the air and catching it with a practiced motion.
"He deserved it! That guy was a part of the gang that burned my house down, why should I have stopped!" She made to look up towards her master, only for her eyes to widen as the metal pipe was jabbed towards her face. She only had time to flinch and close her eyes, to prepare herself for the explosion of pain that was soon to follow. Only to find no such sensation, as she opened her eyes to find the pipe stopped a mere inch from her head.
"Just now you were unable to fight back. If I had not stopped my strike than it is very likely you would have died." The pipe was slowly removed from her face, her master regarding it for a second before it was tossed into the air. In a blink of an eye, a flash of steel and a horrid sound was all that she could see as the metal pipe fell to the ground in two.
"Show restraint, even when you wish not to. Fight, but fight only to defend yourself or those you wish to. If you continue to seek conflict when there isn't any, you shall only find your end at the tip of a blade." The man turned, beginning to walk away from Elizabeth. "Remember that from now on."
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Elizabeth gritted her teeth, the phantom pain slowly receding as her spear came to her side. Still at the ready, but far from the aggressive stance that she was in before. What the hell was everything for if she was willing to risk fighting to the death over some coin? How would this possibly make her any stronger in any way? Not only that, but this outburst might have even cost her the opportunity to join the captains crew. She could have lost everything, and over what? She had even threatened Ava's companion just to try and get her to react.
"Very well. I see now that fighting over this is pointless. I will apologize for threatening your companion, it is clear that you care much for it. However, if you ever try to steal from me again I will not give you another chance." Giving one last look towards the woman, Elizabeth slowly walked forward and retrieved her coin purse. The bartender watched them with a wary, if tense glare as she noticed his hands gripping something below the counter. Apparently their little spat was more than enough to make him think of the worst case scenario. Walking away to one of the empty booths of the bar, she set her spear against the wall and counted out the contents of her pouch. Ten coins, more than half of what she had left to tide herself over had been taken. A grim acceptance began to fill her as she let out the breath that she had been holding. Hopefully the captain would arrive soon and this day could just be over.
archur
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watch for the flash
Evie Adams
Her steely gaze scanned over every inch of her opponent, looking for targets she can plant her daggers into. Training instructed her to aim for vitals. The neck, the face, the chest, upper torso and beyond really. However, she didn't need to kill her opponent, or even disable them. Just hit them, the magic of the dagger would do the rest. As she placed her fingers onto the cold shadows of the blade, she took a step back for every step forward Elizabeth took. Distance was key for the start of this. After she lands the dagger, Elizabeth would be blinded and she could try and sort this out without bloodshed, bruises notwithstanding.
"I care not if you do not wish to fight. I won't let you end this without-"
As if on cue, Elizabeth began to untense, her stance fell apart, and her spear began to raise as if at attention, not pointed in preparation to strike. Elizabeth herself seemed to be unsure of what was going on, so Evie's eyes scanned the room for the perpetrator. Were they being baited? Forced to stand down? She was the victim of a bar that magically sent her out the door for stealing more than a certain amount of liquor, but she never did figure out the limit she could sneak before a wall of wind prevented her from entering. She figured that perhaps there was some magic that prevented a fight from stirring. If her opponent was dead set, this would take place outside, and then she could avoid true confrontation much easier.
Then, it was over before it even began. Elizabeth seemed to internally resolve the outcome of the fight, and from how she grabbed her things, it wasn't worth whatever it was to her. Evie received a tense glare from her, then an apology as she grabbed her things and left the counter.
Evie was flabbergasted. Her arms dropped to her sides in confusion as she just stood there, watching Elizabeth just pack up and go. All the magic that charged up her weapons seemed to fade in the open air as Evie silently observed the redhead leave for an empty booth. Deflated, Evie simply took her seat back at the bar where she left her nearly empty stein. The barkeep slid the knife she stabbed into the counter to her, and made eye contact with the stab mark left in the counter, then the door. It was clear her presence wasn't invited if she was going to continue causing problems. Evie quaffed the rest of her ale, and fished into her stolen purse for a handful of coins she smacked onto the counter, clattering and spilling across the table.
Nickit seemed to gather her attention as he scratched at her from the hidden pocket in her shirt.
"What?" She asked him exasperatedly.
Though he was not capable of speech, she could almost hear his words through the meaning in his beady black eyes.
"You feel bad for stealing from her, don't you?" His eyes seemed to say as he blinked.
"No! I don't feel bad for stealing from people!"
"You're not supposed to feel bad for stealing from people."
"Why should I care? It's ten coins."
"Look." He said, his nose poking out of her shirt and sniffing the air in the direction of Elizabeth. She was counting out the contents of her purse with a stony expression. Evie couldn't help but remember the times where she had to go hungry for weeks on end all because of one bad job, a single terrible gamble. That was just a part of it, normal people got their gains from hard work, and she got her gains by making a gamble. That's just how it's always been, but she never enjoyed seeing others suffer like she did. That's why she stole from the rich, to exact revenge. But to bring that to somebody?
"Stop being my conscious you rat!"
Nickit's head seemed to go from Elizabeth's booth to another random table in the room, which was when Evie realized he was just following a barmaid carrying an oversized turkey leg from the kitchen to a patron, it just happened to be one of Nickit's favorite foods.
"Fuck, I'm talking to myself." She mumbled. Her stolen purse seemed to weigh a little more heavily on her hip. The woman she stole it from was well dressed, and obviously well acquainted to being oblivious to her surroundings. She was practically begging to get stolen from, with her frilly purse full of easy money.
Evie put the purse on the counter, counted out ten coins, put them in a cargo pocket that was a little heavier than the rest, closed the purse, and stood up from the bar, striding over to Elizabeth's booth.
The noblewoman's shoulder bag landed with a heavy thunk onto the table. Evie leaned just on the other side of the booth, across from where Elizabeth sat. "I, uh..." She gulped, swallowing her pride and fear. "I don't need the money, and I feel kinda bad for stealing from you since you need it more than I do." She figured that was all she was supposed to say, she never really apologized or felt bad for stealing before, so this was a new experience.
She took a deep breath, nodded to herself, and stood up. "Gotta dash." She did what she felt was right to do, there wasn't any reason to stand around feeling bad for herself. Plus, she had to recoup losses anyways, the time spent here was probably enough to get the cops to forget about her for the time being.
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Elizabeth Pyres
Elizabeth was lost in thought, eyes turned intently down into the woodwork of the table. There was an underlying sense of anger that still burned in her, although not all of it was towards the thief. Part of it was anger at herself for losing control and pushing someone else into a fight. She wasn't a hot-headed kid who got into fights just because she thought someone slighted her anymore, she should know better now. Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted as something heavy hit the table-top, her body flinching as she looked up to see the thief from before leaning against the opposite booth. A shoulder-bag laid on the table, and from the looks of it it wasn't Ava's to begin with.
Biting back the spew of vitriol that she wished to unleash, Elizabeth choked out "What the hell do you want? I thought we were done with each other."
Her anger flared up again as Ava told her that she didn't even need the coin that she had stolen from her. It was soon replaced by a crushing feeling of dejection as she realized exactly the situation she was in. Not only did she look so pitiful, so down on her luck that a thief, one who made their living stealing from others, was giving her charity. It was charity of stolen coin, given unwillingly by the victim of the theft. She had options, painful or degrading as they might be to consider. Her weapons could make quite a profit if she were to sell them. Surely her master would understand, a weapon was of no use to one who did not have the strength to wield it.
"Am I really so weak that I must rely on the charity of a thief?" The question came out in a hushed whisper, her hands balling into tightly held fists.
"Stop." She called out to Ava, eyes refusing to look at her as she pushed the bag back towards the leaving woman. "I won't accept this. I am not so desperate as to accept stolen goods. I am not without options."
She turned and gave her spear an apologetic look before continuing "If need be I can sell my weapons. My master would understand. Can't fight if you're wasting away from hunger."
archur
Elizabeth was lost in thought, eyes turned intently down into the woodwork of the table. There was an underlying sense of anger that still burned in her, although not all of it was towards the thief. Part of it was anger at herself for losing control and pushing someone else into a fight. She wasn't a hot-headed kid who got into fights just because she thought someone slighted her anymore, she should know better now. Her thoughts were suddenly disrupted as something heavy hit the table-top, her body flinching as she looked up to see the thief from before leaning against the opposite booth. A shoulder-bag laid on the table, and from the looks of it it wasn't Ava's to begin with.
Biting back the spew of vitriol that she wished to unleash, Elizabeth choked out "What the hell do you want? I thought we were done with each other."
Her anger flared up again as Ava told her that she didn't even need the coin that she had stolen from her. It was soon replaced by a crushing feeling of dejection as she realized exactly the situation she was in. Not only did she look so pitiful, so down on her luck that a thief, one who made their living stealing from others, was giving her charity. It was charity of stolen coin, given unwillingly by the victim of the theft. She had options, painful or degrading as they might be to consider. Her weapons could make quite a profit if she were to sell them. Surely her master would understand, a weapon was of no use to one who did not have the strength to wield it.
"Am I really so weak that I must rely on the charity of a thief?" The question came out in a hushed whisper, her hands balling into tightly held fists.
"Stop." She called out to Ava, eyes refusing to look at her as she pushed the bag back towards the leaving woman. "I won't accept this. I am not so desperate as to accept stolen goods. I am not without options."
She turned and gave her spear an apologetic look before continuing "If need be I can sell my weapons. My master would understand. Can't fight if you're wasting away from hunger."
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watch for the flash
Evie Adams
Satisfied with her one good deed for the day, she walked away with her head a little higher than before. After all, giving people money was something that she didn't do often if at all.
"Stop." She slowly turned around, not wanting to bear another second of having to face her failure of stealing and her strange breach in her own personal morality. "I won't accept this. I am not so desperate as to accept stolen goods. I am not without options."
She took a deep breath in, and then one out. "Nope." She shook her head. "Nope nope nope." She said as she strode over and sat herself down on the other side of the both, face to face with Elizabeth. "If need be I can sell my weapons. My master would understand. Can't fight if you're wasting away from hunger."
"Listen, alright. I don't fucking care if you have options or that you could sell your weapons. I have options. I have a lot of options. That's what being somebody like me is like, but obviously you don't have fucking options." She pointed at the spear. "That was given to you by your master, isn't it important to you? Don't answer that question, because it obviously is."
Evie could feel herself starting to scowl at how this stranger would rather sell away her livelihood than accept (albeit stolen) money from a stranger. "My master gave me nothing. I figured out shit on my own, and I've kept every single thing important to me on my person because that's what my master taught me to do, and that if I ever let something important go, then I'd be..." She couldn't find the words. "It's like losing a part of yourself!" Evie exclaimed. "Just take the money, okay? The lady I took it from wears shit like this." She tapped the frilly bag. "She probably is married to a not-nice man, alright? Just take the money, don't sell your stuff."
Exasperated, she leaned back in her seat, unsure what to say next.
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