Esmeralda took a step back, but otherwise forced herself to stand tall as the skeleton addressed her. At the very least, he seemed polite and friendly, as she picked up from his jovial tone from talking with the thief, and it helped to allay her initial shock.

"I didn't mean to intrude," she said, though her heart was still finding its normal beat again. "It's not often anyone's on the streets after dark."

[quote=Confirmed thief and his totally normal bird][color=035096]"Yes, nothing to be afraid of. Merely a thief and his talking bird having a conversation with an abnormally tall skeleton, his ghostly hound, and three children in a bathing tub in the middle of a dark alleyway. An utterly unbelievable situation, so you know that if you sought help nobody would come to your aid. Instead, why not join the conversation?"[/color]

[color=red]"Raaaawk! Conversation!"[/color][/quote]

Esmeralda gave a glance to each person as the thief mentioned them. She already saw the skeleton and the children, but the little ghost dog had been out of her line of sight from behind the tub. Better prepared now after taking in the skeleton, Esmeralda smiled upon seeing the ghost, then glanced to the children, who initially spotted her first. This close, she took in their pale skin, dark eyes, and strange clothes - and that was before she spotted the sharp weapons sticking out of their "bathing tub," as the thief called it. Esmeralda briefly wondered if they or the skeleton unsettled her more.

She then turned back to the thief upon mention of this unbelievable situation. Discomfort knotted at her gut, eased only with the offer to join in. The thief was right; who would believe this if she told?

"I...see," she said.

From behind her, Djahli trotted up, intent on keeping his mistress from any trouble. Of the group, the little goat hardly gave a passing glance to the thief, as he was used to the type. He warily looked over the skeleton, then bleated with fear and surprise at his ghostly companion. Djahli ducked behind Esmeralda's skirt for a moment, only to carefully approach the ghost dog after the initial scare, as the skeleton's pet seemed more playful than scary. But of the group, Djahli [i]very[/i] clearly liked the three strange children the least, giving them a scoff and a glare, to which they looked amused. Esmeralda took note of it, but chose not to bring it up. At the very least, with the weapons in their bathing tub, combined with their creepy stares and Djahli's instincts, she knew to keep an eye on them.

She turned to the children to answer their question, though she spoke to the group as a whole.

"I am Esmeralda," she said, then gestured to her goat, "and this is Djahli. We were simply making our way to a tavern when we spotted your torchlight."

She turned to the thief in particular.

"You look like you've come from afar," she said. "I can promise a good drink and some good company. Madam Serpente makes an excellent mead."

Esmeralda glanced back at the monsters. She wasn't about to try to break up their group, but they also couldn't blend in as well. Perhaps she could give the skeleton her cloak once they got closer. The children, however, were another matter entirely. It wasn't unusual for an occasional child to be at the tavern, particularly when the upstairs served as an inn and then some, but the children who came looked, well, [i]living[/i].

"I think I overheard something about an adventure and strange circumstances bringing you here?" she asked.

The three children nodded in unison.

"We're shadow-hunting!" the smaller boy said. "It took Sally--"

"--So we're looking for her," the girl added.

She perked, then added:

"She's a little shorter than you--"

"--With long red hair," the boy in red chimed in, "blue skin--"

"--And she's a doll!" the smaller boy exclaimed.

They spoke together as they asked:

"Have you seen her?"

Esmeralda found herself glancing from child to child as they spoke. They were completely in-sync with each other, which made her wonder if they could actually read each other's minds, or if they were [i]very[/i] practiced improv artists. Nevertheless, she shook her head.

"I haven't seen anyone like that," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Rats!" the girl exclaimed.

"But perhaps one of my friends has," Esmeralda said, once more looking over the group. "We work all over the city, then gather at the tavern. You can join me if you wish, but you'll have to be careful. We're not used to seeing...beings like you."

The children looked at each other, then brought up masks to cover their faces.

"Is--"

"--This--"

"--Better?"

"...A little," Esmeralda said.

Perhaps she could brush it off as a game they were playing. At the very least, their creepy faces were hidden.