Fantasy Unfortunate Circumstances (Open RP)

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn froze as well, mainly because Marianne had stopped in her own tracks. She seemed pale all of a sudden. He gulped.

"H-huh? Uh, well..." Could she not see them? He stepped forward and squinted. "They have this sort of fancy clothing on, and they're on horses... wait, no, not anymore. They got off." They left their horses right outside the "gates" of the town. He sensed something wasn't right.

"...Do you think you might know them?"

 

[AriesFantasy]

"I- They, they were the ones chasing a-after me..." Her blood was running cold. "Between you and I, I-I'd rather not... well, at least i'm not alone this time, but I would very much like to avoid them."

Not only because they had robbed her, but their "ringleader" in particular, made her stomach churn to think of.

"I, I hate to ask, but... do you have a, uh, personal residence I could stay in, out of their sights until they leave? As opposed to a... public inn?"

Well it would be the cheaper option at the very least.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn suppressed a groan at her question. Sure, it would cut down on the costs, but... his home was pretty small, and probably wasn't very clean. When was the last time he'd had people over? Did he ever have people over? He fidgeted with his fingers for a bit before looking at Marianne again.

"I do, but... Ah, alright. I need to clean at least a little bit, though..." He looked back at the group of 'robbers'. They'd disappeared into the town by then. Suddenly, he got a shiver down his spine.

If those people were robbers, then... who was to say they weren't going to rob the people in town?

He kept the thought to himself. He was probably safe; there was no reason for them to bother with his house, which didn't have much of anything worth stealing except money. Even then, he hid most of it.

 

[AriesFantasy]

She hesitated a moment. "I really do appreciate you helping me... a-and cleanliness of your house does not matter so much, I cannot exactly tell anyway."

Should she say anything further? She wasn't sure how to even phrase her fears exactly.

"Those men, t-they... they didn't just steal material possessions..." Her lip was trembling. "I have n-no doubts they'll continue to exert their power over those unfortunate enough to cross them ill, like I."

 

[Aes_Dragon]

'Sounds like we shouldn't even be going in there to begin with,' he thought. Another look at her supported his claim. Who wouldn't notice someone so ragged up as she was right then? Yet, there was nowhere else to go.

"We've got quite the problem on our hands..." He went silent. There didn't seem to be any option without risk. "You're certainly not going to go undetected the way you are now... and word spreads quickly in a town small as this." He could try and grab some kind of coat for her, but he didn't feel safe leaving her alone, out in the open.

"...Oh! Maybe that's still there. I have an idea... Here, follow me." He suddenly began jogging towards the town, but he gradually swerved off to the left, to the corner of the town where the wall changed directions.

 

[AriesFantasy]

She bit her lip as she ran after him, still having to rely on the thudding of his steps as her map. She was sick of running, but it sounded like he was on to something. Unless fate was conspiring against her.

She followed him around the pseudo-wall, and panting, asked, "What... what are you looking for exactly?"

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn glanced around the corner, not really paying attention to her question, and thus didn't answer. He slowed down a bit, walking against the wall with lighter, more muffled footsteps.

"There," he suddenly said. About a dozen steps in front of them, there lay a hole in the bricks; part of the wall had been dislodged. It was a small hole, going from the ground up until about his waistline, but they could squeeze through if they crawled.

"Don't ask me how I know this, but... This hole leads to an alleyway. My house is close by. If we're lucky, no one should see us."

'Thank god they haven't patched it up yet,' he thought to himself. He'd first found the hole when he noticed the same kids running down the same alley day by day. How they made the hole, and where they put the bricks that made up the hole, he didn't know, but nonetheless, they'd be able to get through it.

"Maybe I'll go in first... just to check the surroundings. If someone sees me, it'll be a lot less suspicious." He crouched down, shuffling through the small hole. Somehow, he sort of felt like a little kid, up to all sorts of odd, mischievous deeds. Once in, he looked around. The alleyway was dark, two buildings blocking out most of the sunlight. The other end led to the main street, which was more packed than ever. More importantly, it didn't seem like there was anyone else with them. He turned back and mouthed that it was safe to come through.

 

[AriesFantasy]

She waited a while for him to call out to her, or give some other vocal cue, before nervously following after through the hole anyway. The crawling stung her knees, but she was small enough to fit through with relative ease.

She knew she'd found Cairn again when she bumped into him, literally.

"Sorry..." she whispered, stumbling back again a step. "Is there anyone else nearby?" Marianne could hear the sounds of a busier street, a familiar thing to her, but no closer steps or catching breath aside from Cairn.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn flinched a little when Marianne had bumped into him, but he didn't mind. She whispered something, but Cairn was close enough to hear it.

"The coast is clear, so far as nearby goes." He looked to his left. There was a small, thin length of space between one of the buildings and the wall. Obviously it wasn't intended for people to pass through, but again, they should have been able to slip through. He stepped between the wall and the building, fitting almost perfectly, and glanced at her.

"Stay close. I'll see if anyone is on the other side..." He began shuffling through, step by step, in the cramped space. He was afraid he might knock his head on the brick wall, but he kept his head still.

 

[AriesFantasy]

There was an awful lot of shuffling and squeezing to be done here, but honestly, Marianne was grateful. Even if she couldn't stop accidentally hitting things. She stayed a feet feet further away from him, waiting with a reasonable amount of apprehension for the coast to be clear, as he'd put it, on that side.

She swore at one point that she felt a rat scamper over her foot, and resisted the impulse to scream and fling the offending creature away from her.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

He got to the other side of the building, poking his head out a bit before any other part of his body. He retracted quickly, so fast he almost didn't realise it himself. Perhaps he was just a bit shocked that there were people in the alley. He couldn't even recall what they looked like, but he saw two figures. He glanced back at Marianne as if to tell her to stop. He peeked around the corner again for a few seconds before looking back at Marianne. One of the two had a tall hat, and they had their backs towards Cairn and Marianne.

"Two of the guys on the horses from before... they're here," he whispered. His voice trembled a little, thinking of what would happen if they were caught. Suddenly, one of them began yelling, though Cairn couldn't tell who it was from anymore as he'd already shrunk back behind the safety of the building.

 

[AriesFantasy]

Her heart was thudding so loud in her chest, she was sure they'd hear it. Like a bird in a cage, bouncing uselessly off of contained walls. In this space between the walls, she felt like she was being crushed slowly.

Meanwhile, the man in the tall hat and his accomplice had been speaking down to another man in the alley, hidden from view by their mounts, one of the merchants presumably. Suddenly, a large bird was come barreling down at the man on his horse, just barely scraping over his ducked head and instead knocking off his very expensive looking hat, before gracefully circling back into the skies.

With much more obscene language than was fitting his clothing and previous manner, he harrumphed, and he and his partner left the poor merchant they'd been interrogating in the dust.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn couldn't really make much sense of what they were talking about, though one voice in particular sounded furious. He waited and waited, until eventually he heard footsteps that gradually got quieter. Another short peek around the corner revealed a third man, lying with his back faced to the dirt. He looked familiar - but most people of this town looked familiar to him, anyway. The man grunted and disappeared into the main street, limping.

"...They're gone now," Cairn said, sliding out of the thin space. The air felt cooler with the lack of his own breath circulating back at him. He glanced around again, assuring it was only the two of them. To his left was another building, though smaller; it was practically impossible to see from outside the alleyway.

"That's my house. Gets the job done at least."

 

[AriesFantasy]

Marianne silently followed, as her heartbeat slowed to normal again. By now, Cairn's house could be a stable with a leaky roof, and she wouldn't care at all. Well, maybe a little, but not nearly enough to refuse.

As Cairn eased out of the space, a white owl descended from the sky, it's wings flapping directly in his face for a moment, and it landed itself on top of his hair, claws carefully arranged to avoid gripping into the skin.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

"Agh! What the--" He barely had time to process anything before the owl's talon's weaved themselves into his brown hair. He tried looking up without lifting his head to see what was on him, but to no avail. The claws alone told him perhaps it was some kind of bird. It didn't seem to be hostile, but he certainly felt uncomfortable.

He moved his eyes towards Marianne, mouthing to ask what was on him.

 

[AriesFantasy]

Seeing Marianne, the owl chirruped and fluttered from his head to her shoulder, head nudging against her cheek.

With a squeal of delight, she stroked his feathers. "I knew you'd find me eventually, you clever thing you." She began cooing at the snowy owl, who could only be described as smug in that moment.

Turning her attention back to Cairn, she beamed. "Cairn, meet Fluffy. And vice versa"

Fluffy gave a low hoot, then began preening himself, completely ignoring him.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn blew air out of his mouth, unamused. 'At least she seems happy now,' he thought. Cairn lifted a hand halfway as to try and remove the owl, but he figured it probably wasn't going to get off even if he tried, so he dropped his arm to his side.

"Right... Anyways." He made his way to the front of his house. It was the same as it always had been. It wasn't in poor condition, it was just not as luxurious as your 'average' house. Either way, he'd gotten used to it. Digging into another one of his pockets, he dug out a key that had been turned half brown by rust and stuck it in the door's keyhole, shaking it around a bit before getting the door open. He took a glance in. It wasn't as dirty as he magnified it to be. If anything, it was moderately clean... though that was probably because of the lack of furniture. He had the essentials and little more, mostly.

He opened the door fully for Marianne. "After you."

 

[AriesFantasy]

With the owl still perched, now nibbling affectionately at her hair, she entered the house. Once inside, her first instinct was to collapse onto a sofa or chair, but resisted the urge to. She was still coated in, well dirt moreso than mud now.

Stroking Fluffy's head, she told him, "I need to see now." With a little shake, the owl turned it's head and it's eyes began to glow ever so slightly.

Through her familiar's eyes, she could actually see for the first time in, how long had it been, at least two days. She noted the sparseness of the room, the simple rustic style so different from her own home.

She wasn't sure what she expected Cairn to look like exactly, but part of her imagination had cooked up some sort of rugged "wild man" with a scraggly beard and all. maybe because she'd run across him in the middle of the woods. So she was pleasantly surprised to find, well, not that.

 

[Aes_Dragon]

"Huh?" Cairn was confused, but Marianne seemed to be talking to the owl, not him, so he dismissed it for the time being. What came next was of importance. They could eat first, or get Marianne some temporary clothes while she washed up in the bathroom. Obviously, it would be her decision.

"So, uh... What do you wanna do? Food or a change of clothes?" he asked. Cairn wondered if he had some old, generic looking clothes to lend her, but that had a few problems. He tended to buy his clothes baggy, so he'd grow into them later on and save money. Though loose clothing had always nagged Cairn before he'd gotten used to it. Plus, the idea of sharing his clothes was uncomfortable to him, whether he'd use them again or not. On a small wooden table hugging the side of the room beside a bench with a half-deflated pillow at each end, he placed his pouch belt, making sure not to spill any of the contents.

 

[AriesFantasy]

Somewhat sheepishly, she gestured to herself. "Clothes I suppose. Otherwise i'd fear the amount of dirt I trekked through your house."

Now she was able to get a look at her current clothing, she was sure it couldn't be salvaged.

"I uh, nevermind..." she shook her head. "Clothes first, then food. I'd offer to help in that regard but I must admit I have little cooking experience..." She smiled and gave a half shrug. "People always did it for me, though i'll admit that does sound... entitled? Sorry, I don't mean to..."

 

[Aes_Dragon]

Cairn shook his head. "It's alright," he assured. He cooked practically every meal, anyways, so it wasn't a hassle for him. The only thing he worried about might be the taste. He thought it was good, but no one else could corroborate for him. "Just, uh... don't think too highly of my cooking." He couldn't think of a nicer way to say 'it might not taste as you as you expect'.

"Anyways, you're probably going to want to wash up, so..." On the left of the bench was a wooden door, which he opened to reveal a small bathroom. There was an oval shaped wooden tub hugging the wall away from them, and a faucet peering into it. Inside the tub was a small metal 'plug' to drain water. A few towels were folded nicely, laid on a shelf above the tub; one would have to stand to grab them. Behind the door was a basic toilet and sink. He didn't say anything, thinking everything was self-explanatory. "It's nothing luxurious, but that's how it is."

Turning his attention to the owl still perched on his head, he carefully wiggled his fingers beneath the talons and slowly lifted it off, letting it move to Marianne's hands. Getting a closer look at it, the owl looked fairly normal, save for the eyes. It might've just been him, but he could've sort they shined faintly.

"Anyways... I'll be going to the market to buy a pair of clothes. It'll probably have to be a tunic or something similar," he said, leaving out the word 'unfortunately'. He eyeballed Marianne, roughly gauging the size the clothing would need to be before waving goodbye and exiting the house.

 

[AriesFantasy]

There were two of those men outside Cairn's house, one appeared to be just dismounting his horse, and one with the intent to knock on the door. The one getting down from the horse was a squat man with a large drooping mustache, and the man about to knock had a top hat under his arm.

"Excuse me, sir," he said, the picture of politeness. "I am looking for my wife."

Meanwhile, Marianne never thought the concept of a bath could make her cry, but she was already headed that direction with a purpose in her steps

 

[Aes_Dragon]

The fear in Cairn's eyes was only visible for a moment. Even though he wasn't directly associated with Marianne, if she was somehow caught, he'd probably be caught along with her. Yet, he hid it quickly, nonchalantly shutting the door behind himself as the man greeted him. He could tell that he was the leader of the men from earlier with that unmistakable tall hat by his side. There was another man on a horse behind the one at the door, but Cairn didn't pay much attention to him.

Raising his eyebrows slightly in 'surprise', Cairn answered "Your wife? Huh. What does she look like?", just barely managing to hide a crack in his voice.

 

[AriesFantasy]

While absently twisting the rim of his hat through his hands, he explained, "On the petite side, blonde. She's got some burns along one side of her face. I, you see, i'm most concerned that she's blind and may have gotten lost in... less than ideal circumstances."

There was a distinctly stressed cadence to his voice. "She was kidnapped, and I only wish to find her somewhere in this settlement. I even found her ring on the side of the road." He produced a small silver ring, with no particular adornments or carvings. It matched one that he was wearing.