Story One To Be Loved

[Ignitedstar]

Hensville. The City of Beginnings.


This place was called the Shady Oak. Known for its pies, the ten varieties of wine made right on location, and the absurd amount of business that flows in and out every day. This pub has seating for 200 people. Consider yourself lucky to get one during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours. It's open nights too, where you get to see shows put on by famous stand ups or from local acts trying to make themselves known. You never know who'll come by-- it's half the reason why people come in the middle of the night.


Who do you find here, at the Shady Oak? Everybody, so long as you have money to dine. Businessmen, merchants, private services, tourists, people who are just dropping in town because they need supplies... They get everybody. They can't turn anyone away. Business is business.


The transport arriving from the harbor city Aster had finally arrived. Arden was put on duty of making sure everything was all fair and well. Mainly because the last time they arrived, the goblins tried to gyp them into paying an extra commission fee based on the goods bought. Everything turned out find in the end. All the Head Chef had to do was to teach them a lesson in "how to make goblins taste good even though they look ugly". Before long, the goblins flocked back into their floating contraption and took off without further notice.


"Your not going to try anything suspicious, are you?" Arden questioned the ones who boarded off the ship.


"After what your boss was gonna do to us? Heck no." The working goblin replied with a look of fear.


Arden couldn't help keep the slight chuckle to himself. He was there when it happened last time. A Quillboar wrangling his fists, pots, and pans at the little green guys. Add a few knives and needles from the back of his mane and there one will see something incredibly fierce. Definitely not everyday a person sees a Quillboar associating himself with all of the world's kind. Even harder to believe: this Quillboar was a five star chef known as Gravytusk, is the executive chef at the most well known landmark in Hensville with the best culinary knife skills that anyone on this side of the planet had ever seen. "As long you don't try to rip us off again, we're even. Okay?"


The goblin agreed with a nod. As the Goblins prepared to leave, Arden took the barrows of goods towards the ever busy Shady Oak. Business was running like usual. The only "real" days of work are the weekends. Those days are the only days when Arden didn't have baking duties. Gravytusk said he needed more able workers on those particular days, anyways. Oddly enough, Arden has only been working at the Shady Oak for about less then a month and he somehow found himself of that exact list of able workers. The semi-experienced cook brought the barrows to the back of the bustling tavern. He thought about for a minute or two and found one possible solution: No one doesn't really know where he worked, because he always worked in the back of the Shady Oak where no one could see him (says Arden).


Since Arden was the one who went to go get the goodies, he had the responsibility to unpack them. Gravytusk's attitude kind of reminded him of the Goblin's greed in some unorthodox way. Arden went to first barrow and removed the veil of cloth that kept the goodies as fresh as food could be from hundreds of miles away.


This instance changed his life.


He took off the leather cloth and a person blasted out of the cargo. A few bags started flying in the air as she screamed, "I'm free!" This was... unexpected. In fright, Arden's body jumped back and his bottom hit the ground. What just happened? She gasped heavily and she began talking to herself as she stretched her arms and knees. She had short red hair that could have gotten better taken care of. Why was she wearing a poor man's work uniform? "Geez, that's the last time I try to hide in a wheel barrow."


"E-Excuse me?" Arden asked politely with a minor cough. If that's what this could be called. "Can you tell me why the Chef would order a live person?"


"Ordered a live person? Who did?" She glanced at Arden in the eyes. He couldn't whether her's were blue or green or something in between. She was a bit skinny, but there were toned muscles underneath the flimsy body of hers.


"Oh- nevermind. I think the Head Chef would have ordered a fat animal then a skinny one."


The girl went into short burst of anger. She jumped out of the wheel barrow and stomped in front of Arden's legs. She pointed at him and said, "I'm not skinny! Look at you, skinny-mini!"


She had a point. "Okay, okay! Your not skinny!" Arden answered, a bit helpless and feeling that he had been held hostage. A second passed before he his mind finally wrapped itself around the fact that this woman had just come out a cart full of food and supplies coming from inside of an airship. After a gasp he yelled, "Hey, wait a minute. You're a stowaway!"


The not-so-skinny woman's body shook with some surprise. She had spent too much time talking to him. "Uh. Busted already?"


"Get those goods in faster!" Gravytusk's voice demanded from within the Oak. Arden's heart skipped a beat while listening to that voice. What he heard was the Chef's voice from outside, a corner cutting into the kitchen staff room, and a door going into the kitchen, with several dozen feet between the door and at his boss' station. He might has well had been standing in front of his employee. The man with blanched, blonde hair imagined how loud it should've been if he heard it directly in the face.


The not-so-skinny girl had become alert and quickly stated, "We never met. Bye!" It had not rained in Hensville for days. Arden simply watched as the stowaway gave a single wave with her left hand and ran off, leaving behind small clouds of dust.


"Weird things seem to happen daily." Arden said to himself, referring to what happened yesterday. Before he could think about it some more, Arden wanted to hurry up unloading the goodies that the Chef had wanted. Or receive punishment that Gravytusk got when he was a little piglet, but to this day the line cook didn't understand what that meant exactly. In either case, his fellow coworkers assumed this meant another day of staying behind with dish washing duty. Not times any of them liked to remember.


---


Meanwhile, in Stranglethorn Vale...


An aged Goblin was looking around in this management office for about two minutes. He had a good feeling about what exactly was going on, but he needed to make sure... He then came upon a particular room... "Hey, Slave, where are you?"


"AHHHHHHHHH!" A yell of fury. "Suffle ran away. Again!"

 

[Ignitedstar]

The young blonde man returned to Shady Oak's interior with a box of supplies in hand. It set it on a table where the master chef and Arden quickly exchanged glances. The line cook hoped to get away. He hoped wrong. "Who was that there lady out there?" Gravytusk asked with his left eye shifting between staring at the fool in front of him and the dead pig he was skinning.


How did he see the girl running off? Or were the two of them being that loud? "I don't know exactly. She just kind of left." Arden paused for a moment, "Did you order any live foodstuffs?"


A snort from the Quillboar's nose declined. "No. I swear on these handsome quills, I never would want a living thing from those tiny, green imbeciles. They're sneaky and underhanded. Best not to get involved in their antics."


The young man could only wonder about that poised itself in front of him. Who was that person?


---


Suffle didn't know which way went where. Who cares when the only thing on her mind was to get as far away as possible from her petite captors. Any which way, so long as it didn't get her stuck back in the cage she came out of. "I'm tired of that idiot chasing me everywhere!" she exasperated. "Knowing him, he's probably on his way here."


She whizzed by various people and houses alike, little did she know she was going in circles. The row of two or three story homes etched a familiar view she had seen before. It took a third round for Suffle to figure out. It looked like the center of town. What's the point making a town square a circle? How stupid is that?


The center of Hensville. At the very center of town was a giant oak tree. The trunk itself had to be at least five feet wide. It sprawled into dozens of thick branches, their foliage reaching much farther than any building surrounding it. Being the beginning of summer, it was pleasant to look at. Suffle looked around, noticing that there were four main streets going from the city center all the way to the outskirts, each one perfectly distanced from the others . It seemed like the city was built around this tree.


Taking a quick break, the red haired woman thought about her next step carefully. The Boss is definitely coming. He always has. The best thing to do right now was to hide from people so that they can't give him any clues to Suffle's whereabouts. The poor worker's uniform that she was working made her stand out too much. She would need different clothes... but for that, she'd need money. Any company could tell she barely has any. Nothing fancy, just some casual looking clothes to blend in more.


Stealing. Hah! Suffle was above that. Goblins steal-- what kind of person could she possibly call herself if she was running away from them, but then using their tactics? Horrible.


Suffle traveled a few blocks and walked into a tailor's shop. It looked a bit shabby, but this was a good thing. Rich business have the money to spend on looking appealing to customers, so this shopkeeper must be someone who doesn't demand much payment. She respected these kinds of people. It's the job you love, not the payment that goes into it. She yelled in a respectable tone, "Excuse me?" The front door was wide open, but there was no one at the counter.


"Yes, yes, I'm coming," a older, male voice was heard from somewhere further inside. It was a Human, an older man growing a beard. His hair had shades of brown, but there were spots of gray slowly coming from his scalp. As he looked at Suffle for a second, a soft smile cracked upon his slightly wrinkled face. He knew immediately, just by looking at her what she needed. "Oh. That's quite a job to do."


Okay, so... maybe he didn't know. "Well, actually I was hoping if you could spare me some clothes. Hopefully at a price I can afford. I don't have much, I'm afraid." Suffle dug into her pockets and revealed to the tailor what pitiful amount of money she had. Just a few coins. She felt an explanation was needed, but wouldn't say too much to give away her identity "I'm from a small town pretty far away from here and I got into a scuffle. Wasn't expecting my clothes to get ruined." It was a bad lie. She obviously wasn't wearing normal people clothes.


There was a moment of silence. The man examined her pocket change. "I don't think this is even enough for me to buy thread."


The more people she asked for anything, the more people would recognize her face. Which would also mean more people who have witnessed her being around town. Which means more evidence that the Boss would know she was in this city. Suffle was desperate. "Please!" she almost begged. "I'm a woman, I can't go back out there looking like this. It's embarrassing. People stare at me. And I think in places they shouldn't be looking. Do you have anything like... an experimental piece that you could spare me...?"


"Hmmm," the tailor wondered. "Experimental... experimental.... I do, but... are you sure? You go back outside it'll make you stick out like a pin pricked thumb after hours of sewing."


"Oh, please. Anything." Really. Anything.


The aged man brought Suffle inside of his workshop. There were countless threads wired around spindles in the back room. They were dyed different colors and grouped together by type. They all probably had crazy names Suffle had never heard of. The man handed her his experimental clothes to Suffle and was kind enough to let her change in a different room. She thanked him as he carefully instructor her how they should be worn.


After a few minutes of shifting around in this new outfit, Suffle came out of hiding to show the man what she looked like. She said rather satisfied, "Honestly, this doesn't look that bad. The green's kind of weird, but..."


"Wait 'til you go outside. It's a bit shiny in the sun." He didn't look sad about her wearing this... thing. It was kind of like a robe on the bottom. The shirt on top seamlessly comes down in a stealthy way, making the entire thing look like a one-piece. Is he trying to start a new fashion trend? "What do you think? It is a tight fit? I don't want it feeling it will slip off."


"Huh." Suffle lifted one leg into a kicking motion. Nothing particular happened. She tried some various arm motions to see if the shirt would hold. "It seems pretty stable to me. Oh, heeey... I have an idea."


"What?"


"I kind of this new style you're trying out. How about I go around town and advertise for you? Y'know, for helping me out?"


The man stared are her, his eyes wide open in disbelief. "You... would do that for me? For free?"


"Yeah, sure." Hey, he didn't have an qualms about trying to help Suffle. Would should Suffle had any qualms about helping him in return? Word of mouth should help this tailor get his business running with more customers. "Even if people don't like it, you have to admit that your skills are pretty good. I'll just tell people that if what I'm wearing right now is just a test run, think about all of the great stuff you could make them when it's not a test. You say that this'll make me more noticeable, but that means I'll be getting peoples' attention. Sounds good?"


The tailor happily agreed to her plan. Wasn't the entire point of this NOT to get attention? Well, that's true, but... no point in backing out now. Suffle already kind of promised to help him. She wouldn't do what those stupid Goblins would do. She will help him. Was it embarrassing? No, not really. Not compared to many things that Suffle has done before. This was very tame.

 

[MDL]

I like the writing, it's got a good pace to it. I felt immediately intrigued by the characters and what was going on around them. There are though many grammatical inconsistencies and errors in the text. You should correct those.

 

[Ignitedstar]

Garnering the attention of every single person that saw her wildly imagined clothes, Suffle held her head high and proud as she walked down the streets. The red haired woman almost couldn't believe that she was taking this fashion thing very seriously. It wasn't like any one was coming up to her and complaining about her exotic clothes. What if she actually starts something? Not that she was paying attention to the people around her. Suffle was caring about her search for a temporary job. After thinking about it for about five minutes, she thought it would be better to get employed by someone who was odd enough so that particular employer wasn't really known. It would be nice to be known enough so if Suffle was ever found out by "you-know-who" she would know when to make a run for it.


Hensville is a pretty big city. Who couldn't you find in a place with streets of vendors and buildings reaching three or four stories high? There had to be someone. Walking hours at a time on the streets, she wandered through the bustling daytime crowds. Suffle looked for landmarks and remembered the dead ends. A person isn't a very good planner if they consistently pin themselves in bad positions. She noted the street posts, keeping useful reminders about where the most people huddled together at this time of day.


... It wasn't a good day. Suffle didn't know anyone and rumors of employment were very fickle. Apparently while job searching, "You don't look familiar" is enough of an excuse not to hire her. Don't these retailers and merchants get people who want to work for them every single day? You'd think that they would be more willing to try and sucker some poor sap into doing their menial labor. It was four hours before Suffle decided to give it a rest. The sun was going down and walking around endlessly in funny green clothes wasn't really doing much her for sinking heart's hope for a place to stay and landing a job. The woman's position earned her some consolation money from people who sympathized with Suffle's *ahem*... "interesting taste of clothing".


It was time to retire for the evening. And pray that something good might happen before the sun is gone and the streets go dark. Suffle went back to the center of the town's commerce and walked into the nearest building open to the public. It happened to be some kind of restaurant and bar. The exterior of the building was something home-feeling and classic. It reminded her of the one-story ranch houses a person would find for families out tilling their lives on the farmlands. Suffle liked it-- that's kind of where she came from.


There wasn't much of a crowd. Suffle heard that this place is supposed to be busy all of the time. Dead hours, she guessed. The woman in green took the liberty of taking a seat near the west side of the tavern. Somewhere a bit quieter than the rest of the building. Maybe it would be quiet enough inside so that she could get some leaking information from somebody. After a few minutes of looking around, spying on other conversations, Suffle heard someone ask, "Can I help you?"


Suffle muttering what was on her mind. "Yes, can you help me find a job?"


"A job? No, I mean- is there anything you want?" The person replied.


Suffle was somewhat oblivious to this man's words. With hat She closed her eyes for a minute. It's been a long day, she was tired.


"... Are you okay? You look dazed."


It wasn't like she was dead. "Yes, I'm fine." Suffle raised her head. The waiter got a long look at that familiar red hair and that lithe, muscular figure.


"You look familiar..."


"Hey!" It was instant. The familiar face that Arden saw shouted, "You're that boy I met earlier today. "


"What?" The young man wondered and squinted for a few seconds. He face lit up with surprise and a slight gasp came from his mouth. "Your that weird girl that popped out of our shipment!"


"You work here?" Suffle asked.


Arden's eyes took a nose dive into a visual sea of confusion dressed by various shades of a salad. "What happened to your clothes?"


Was that ALL he could... *sigh* well, now that Suffle thought about it, the last time they saw each other she was actually wearing something not as strange. Okay-- fine he gets a point for that. A flustered Suffle muttered, "It's been a long day, okay?"


Oh. Arden felt bad. He was talking to this girl for a second time and still didn't know her name. She didn't even know his name. She was new in town, right? It's always a good idea to be nice to these people. They could say anything about the Shady Oak. "Sorry, I never got your name. I'm Arden. And yeah, I work here."


Sorry? Sorry for what? He's one of those kinds of people? Eeeeuuugh, was this somebody Suffle wanted to associate herself with? Her peripheral vision got caught staring at a clock in the distance. It was about seven o'clock. There really isn't a choice. Being a lone woman in a big city at night is always a bad idea. Better the nice guy that volunteers to be the doormat than the thugs that come crawling out of the dregs of the city streets after the sun has left for the remainder of the day. "Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you. I'm Suffle."


Arden nodded and the two acquaintances shook hands. Suffle. That's... an interesting name for a girl. "You look tired. I could start you with water. It's free." Suffle smiled and cracked a laugh. It implied she was poor. He knew it was true. She knew it was true.


Then... a massive exploding sound from outside. "AGGGGGHHHHHHHHAAAAAA!!!"


What in the world... A small crowd rushed out of the Shady Oak to see what that was all about. To some others, namely the Shady Oak staff, stayed put. They already knew what had happened. People clamored outlside as a screaming voice stumbled through the outside crowd. Upon reaching the door of the tavern and blasting it open with a kick, there stood a man with flames blazing on his back. He stammered through while hysterically scampering inside the Shady Oak for what felt like a few minutes. Arden came back armed with a bag of white powder threw it all over the flaming man's body. The fire on his 'stache went ka-put. As did the fires everywhere else.


"Ahhhh...." A sound of satisfaction came from the man almost instantly. One second ago, he was screaming in pain and on fire. Next second, he's completely relaxed and joyous. "Thanks, Arden!" Suffle looked at this new guy. He was kind of cool, kind of weird, and kind of creepy. He had fair skin and blue eyes. They contrast so well with his black hair, running down his head a few inches long. On his head were some very characteristic goggles. Those... Suffle has seen many goggles before. Those did not look cheap. They were goggles that belonged to people who could afford them. Seriously, this guy...?


"Yeah, no problem... You still trying to fix that thing, Arron?" Arden sounded confused. Kind of like this guy's erratic behavior? Yup.


Black-haired Arron took a deep breath. "I'll never give it up! I must continue to try my hardest until I achieve my goal! I'm Arron Skysoarer! I'm no quitter! Definitely when it's my piloting career's on the line."


"Yeah, of course, but... You should stop lighting yourself up like that." Arden took a second to see what kind of face Suffle was making. Yup. That kind of face is what scares people from the Shady Oak.


"What's to but? I was just taken by surprise just now. I was working with the herouterizer. When the sprockets popped out on me and let the oil splashed on my face! And then it ignited for some reason!"


Suffle's gazed went from weirded out to disbelieving. Oil splashed on his face and it ignited? But he looks fine...


"Then... where'd the explosion come from?" Arden asked. He probably didn't really want to know.


"Oh, that... Just another surprise, I accidently fired my rocket launcher. I hope I didn't hit anything." Arron explained as he opened a grin. Arden felt quite awkward. Suffle was even more weirded out. He fired a rocket launcher by accident and he's acting like it's totally normal. What.


Arron got situated down sitting next to Suffle. That's kind of rude, but he was just on fire so... oh well. Arden suggested."You know, you should really get some help with that ship of yours. They could watch out for stuff like that incase it were to sneak up on you again."


A very expressive Arron quickly hit the table with his fists. "Hey yeah, you're right! I have a lot of gnomish gold from working with the Fortress Pilot's Association for so many years. I could support someone for a long while. Well, they'd have to know or learn quickly about what to look out for in airships. I feel like I'm the only engineer in this city that specializes in my field of work."