[hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/L4psqbV.png[/img] [img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi4xZWI4YjguVEdsc1lTQWdSbVZ1Y205dmRBLjA/sulkatta-rather.regular.webp[/img][/center] [right][code]One week prior..... Interactions: El Gato Outfit: Normal[/code][/right][hr] Lila blinked up at him from beneath the brim of her muddied hood, eyes far too bright for the hour and the amount she’d been drinking. A crooked smile bloomed across her face and she was equal parts alluring and intimidating. She swayed slightly on her stool, steadied herself, before she laughed under her breath before answering. [color=00FFFF]"Bog-trotter?"[/color] she repeated, clearly amused rather than offended. She placed her elbow on the table and her head in her palm. Her face was red with blush as the alcohol that coursed through her veins brought out the tone. Normally, someone insulting her would get the angry end of a thorn whip, but the alcohol did much to blunt that desire. [color=00FFFF]"Oh, I love that. [i]’Bog trotter’[/i]. Did you come up with that insult all on your own?"[/color] Her gaze flicked to the lighter in his hand, then back to his face. A sickening grin spread across her own. [color=00FFFF]"You need oil?"[/color] She leaned to her, rummaging through one of the bags at very side. It wasn’t her bag, mind you, instead one of the patrons who had tried to drink her under the table had left it behind when his friends carried him off. To her, this bag was hers to use as she saw fit, considering the guy wanted to use the drinks to do the same. She produced a small, stoppered vial slick with oil and set it carefully on the table between them. [color=00FFFF]"I don’t know if that is of use,"[/color] she said brightly, [color=00FFFF]"but I do have that."[/color] She nudged the vial closer with two fingers. [color=00FFFF]"Now normally, I wouldn’t think of giving away my prized oil for free. This world is the most unkind I’ve come to learn."[/color] Her eyes lingered on him a moment longer than necessary. [color=00FFFF]"Maybe I could trade it away for another drink, or you could simply tell me an entertaining story!"[/color] When he offered the coin, she smirked. [color=00FFFF]"A drink it is!"[/color] She tapped the vial, before she picked it up and traded it for the coin. [color=00FFFF]"You smoking anything good with it? I could go for some Sage Grass if you had it. Please tell me you have it!"[/color] She looked over the ferocious feline once more before she realized he did not seem like the kind to partake in that recreation. As such, she simply stood up from her chair. She knew she had one last drink in her before she did something problematic, and thus she knew she needed to get it and get moving back to the bed she has rented across town. A bed might be a generous description considering it was a pile of hay in a stable but it was in nature, with animals all around her, so she couldn’t complain. She grabbed the two satchels that were left behind by the drunk men who tried their luck, and tied them to the end of staff. She hoisted them up onto her shoulder like she was a common vagrant. [color=00FFFF]" Scratch that thought. I’ll be off with my spoils, my new ferocious feline friend! If you need anything come find Lila! Before I leave, please do tell me your name again? I might’ve forgot it if you told me, and if you didn’t I wasn’t paying attention enough to catch the lack of a name.”[/color] [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/poCOhQS.png[/img] [img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi4xYWM3OTYuUldSM2FXNWhJRVZzWkhKcGRHTm8uMA/steadfast-valerio.regular.webp[/img][/center] [right][code]Present day Interactions: Latrom Outfit: Normal[/code][/right][hr] Edwina’s eyes betrayed the level of scrutiny she observed the bard with. Edwina knew better than to simply take a magical person at their face value. These individuals commanded epic power and strong capabilities. Thus, she always liked to know them a bit better before she lowered her guard. Her eyes followed the motion of the hood as it fell away and watched as it revealed a face shaped by many laughs and happy moments. Edwina knew that yes, this was undeniably the bard. Ed adjusted the mental note she had for the individual and recorded the name in full to never forget it again. Edwina loosened her grip on the tome as she looked back up at the bard. When Lairëcúma spoke of awkward moments and laughter in the face of indignity, Edwina listened without interruption. Edwina maintained the stone cold expression throughout it. Yet there was a subtle shift in her posture. Her shoulders relaxed, her weight shifted onto her back foot, and she began to rock back and forth. [color=00FA9A]“Life does appear fond of introducing these awkward situations wherever possible, but who am I to judge how the cycle turns,”[/color] she replied at last, [color=00FA9A]“and you are correct. Sometimes, with jokes, it is better to face it head on.”[/color] Her eyes flicked briefly to Latrom, lingering just long enough to ensure he was still upright, before returning to the bard. [color=00FA9A]“Humor, however, is situational. I am sure your skills are well needed at an hour like this”[/color] [color=00FA9A]“Lairëcúma,”[/color] she repeated, slower this time, as if engraving it. [color=00FA9A]“Bard, and entirely too famous for this dusty little retreat. Duly noted.”[/color] There was the faintest twitch at the corner of her mouth that looked almost as if Edwina wanted to smile. It would be a rare sight to behold, yet the corners of her mouth held strong and she resisted that temptation. She shifted her weight once again, and this time her boots crunched on the cobblestone street. The road was dusty, dirty, and littered with the shattered remains of many an improper night. No doubt she would be digging out shards of glass again this night when she returned to her room. Her gaze followed the curtsy with analytical curiosity. The balance, the intention behind the act, and the way the woman flowed into it. Edwina allowed an even larger smirk to cross her face. This one was trouble. Sometimes, trouble could be fun to swap stories with. [color=00FA9A]“Company would be advisable,”[/color] she said at last, [color=00FA9A]“however Rosa has forbidden me to bring my construct inside. Thus, I mus remain at my post ready to heal up those who need it before long.”[/color] Turning toward the inn, she lifted two fingers in a subtle gesture toward the door. [color=00FA9A]“I am sure they are waiting for you. I will observe from the door and try and enjoy the festivities vicariously. And if you perform tonight,”[/color] her eyes glinted faintly in the lantern light. [color=00FA9A]“I will be paying attention.”[/color] [hr][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/skRs9El.png[/img] [img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5kZjY3YTkuUzJGbGJDZDZZWElnVm1WNGJXOXZjZy4w/school-modern.regular.webp[/img][/center] [right][code]Current day Interactions: Ransom x Cali Outfit: Normal[/code][/right][hr] Kel’s drunken state dropped quickly as Ransom grabbed her by the collar. Her tail quickly coiled around his leg, and she was ready to pull it from under him. Her free hand had reached behind her back and had begun to unsheath a dagger. In her mind, any man who laid a hand in anger on a woman deserved to fall in the filth down below them, and no doubt this man deserved to fall into the very same filth she spewed over his boot. When he quickly changed his tune, Kel removed her tail from his leg and let it coil around Cali’s leg instead, and removed her hand from her dagger. The woman had quickly rushed to her defense, and Cali was oddly thankful for the help. Especially because as quickly as the drunken state dropped, it returned with an extra punch carrying it forth. Kel was only vaguely aware that the room had spun around her again. Or maybe it was her spinning around inside the room. Or maybe it was the universe finally deciding to spin her like a top and see what fell out. Kel did not know. Cali had an arm around her now. That was good. Arms were useful. They were sturdy and oddly strong. Kel shifted her eyes and sized the arm up, and it was much larger than she had expected. Kel searched her mind and thought she remembered something about being a hunter, and knew the muscles must be from using the bow. She leaned into it without really thinking, her forehead pressing briefly against Cali’s shoulder as the world pulsed unpleasantly behind her eyes. Gods. Everything smelled like her vomit and sweat and something metallic she didn’t want to think about. Ransom’s voice kept finding her through this fog, slithering through the noise like it thought it belonged there. Buy a guy a drink. Do you want to be saved? HOW DARE YOU? The words scraped the back of her mind all night long, and he continued his nasaly assualt. Her stomach gave an unhappy little flip in response, though mercifully nothing else followed. Kel swallowed thickly and dragged herself upright, blinking hard as she tried to get her eyes to agree on where he was standing. One Ransom became two, then three, then reluctantly settled back into one very punchable outline. She squinted at him. Really squinted. The effort felt monumental. [color=D87093]“You…”[/color] she started, then paused, brows knitting as she lost the train of thought halfway out of her mouth. She inhaled through her nose, steadying herself, claws flexing faintly against Cali’s sleeve. [color=D87093]“You’re still talking.”[/color] This realization seemed to offend her on a personal level. She shook her head slowly, as if that might make him go away. It did not. [color=D87093]“Do…do you hear what you’re saying?”[/color] she echoed, skepticism bleeding through the haze. [color=D87093]“Because if you do, that’s… that’s not a great look for you.”[/color] Kel’s ears flicked back, irritation finally clawing its way past the fog. She leaned a little heavier into Cali, chin lifting with what little dignity she had left to spend. [color=D87093]“You should… stop trying so hard,”[/color] she muttered, words thick but sharp, [color=D87093]“it’s a little embarasing.”[/color] Then, as if the effort had cost her dearly, she sagged again, eyes fluttering half shut. [color=D87093]“…please,”[/color] she added, almost as an afterthought, [color=D87093]“make him go away before my stomach gets any more ideas.”[/color]