[center][h1][color=00ff66]Granny Siri & Ilyana the Half-Human[/color][/h1][/center] [hr] After the prayers had stopped, Siri raised her head, then stepped over to check Ilyana's temperature. Her hand was still cold to the touch, despite the noontime heat. "Well, your temperature's down," Granny said, nodding sagely. "It's likely just exhaustion from traveling. I'd suggest sleeping for the rest of the day, I'll give you some medicine for later..." At the entrance of the tent, someone clapped loudly twice. "May I enter?" a deep voice spoke. "Aye, if ye must," the apothecary-turned-priestess sighs. The flaps spread apart, and the largest centaur Ilyana had ever seen trotted into the tent. Skin tanned dark, broad in the shoulders and covered in muscles. His face was handsome, with locks of curly dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard that made his jaw stand out. In his right hand, he carried a spear, but a massive sword hilt was behind his left shoulder, ready to grab. "Ah, Kostantinos," Siri frowned, tilting her head at him. "Your boss want something?" The guard glanced down at Ilyana, then back up to face Siri. "No, madame. I carry a message for this... young one, if he be Ilyana." "I am..." the half-human frowned. [i]Who could it be?[/i] "Now now, stay put for a bit," Siri ordered, then glanced at Kostantinos. "He's under my treatment." Beneath her velvet words, both heard the rasp of steel in her voice. "Hyrilea, one of the centaurs who work at the Commissary tent sent me," the guard stated, a rueful smile twisting his lips as he placed his left hand over the first of his hearts. "She's run afoul of Thist, the night baker, and cannot accompany you to town today." "Really?" Siri snorted. "How sad for them both." "Indeed. I have connections within the city, I thought perhaps I could arrange for a local escort," he said with a slight bow, "But if you're ill...." "I'm feeling better," the half-human stated, facing him. "You should lie down," Siri warned, but Ilyana shook her head. "I'm low on stock, I need to get product," she said, brushing her hair back with accustomed flip of her hand. "If I don't go today, the others will have stripped the market by morning." "Most like," Siri sighs, nodding, then giving Kostantinos a hard look. "An escort...?" "Merely an old friend who owes me many favors," the centaur rumbled, holding up the palm of his left hand. "I swear he will be in better hands than mine, and thoroughly safe." "I'm no stranger to a city..." Ilyana scowled. "You are to this one," the guard assured him. "An escort will keep you out of trouble." "I'm just going shopping...!" "All the better to get a local guide, then." "Well, if yer set on this," the Wanderer priestess drawls, scratching behind her right ear.