Off Work [dead]

[EternallyAlone]

Lain stepped quietly into the alleyway after work. As soon as she was out the door her hoodie went on over her work uniform. It was a bit chilly out tonight.

As the girl walked she closed her eyes and let the cool breeze waft over her, a scent hitting her nose that made her cringe... her mother must have been out with one of the many men that were hoping to take her home with them tonight. The thought of it made her stomach lurch and her throat clsoe up momentarily as the memories of walking in on countless occasions flooded her head. It was disgusting in Lain's opinion. "She'll die from her addictions soon..." the teen grumbled befroe she crouched to the ground, her body twisting and reforming as she shifted into her fox form. Her natural flame keeping her warm as she walked about. Though it did nothing to keep her from sweating from the humid air.

Lain soon got to her usual place to sleep, an alleyway not too far from her work but far enough tso that her boss wouldn't see she didn't have a home and make her stay with him. He was a drinker after dark, she knew that from the way his breath smelled most mornings. Lain curled up on her small nest of old cloth that was thrown out and yawned like a small fox would, nuzzling her nose agaisnt the side of the nest about to fall competly asleep before a loud noise entered her ears. Jolting wide awake again the fox sat up in the nest, ears erect to listen for any other noises.

({OOC: It's not too bad,is it? I'm still trying to get a feel for the site. I don't know if I'm jsut weird or what but my RPing depends on the site I'm on. Lol, Just thought I'd share.})

[flippedside]

Kaye slunk through the dark streets of the capital, eyeing a beggar lying in a corner. This wasn't the nice end of the city and she didn't trust any of the strangers she passed. Then again, when had she ever been invited into the rich mansions of any city or estate? She smiled humorlessly. She had her band to meet up with, but not for another day.

She was disappointed to be back with no news of the missing stone. It was up there in the mountains somewhere, and she intended to go back...Maybe strangers and fights wouldn't hinder her progress in the future. Then again, both things seemed to follow her wherever she went. Speaking of...she spun, certain someone was fallowing her, only to find emptiness at her back. Emptiness and the beggar. She eyed him speculatively. He hadn't moved or made any sign that he'd seen anyone. Not that he necessarily would if she was being followed, but...

I guess I'm just jumpy.

Kaye continued down the street. The hushed movement of feet on stone made her look around in confusion. The street was empty. Right, I'm either hearing things or I'm being followed. She ducked down an alleyway and followed it to where it opened onto another street. A few strangers walked away from her, one staggering drunkenly. Kaye curled her lip in disgust.

There was another narrow alleyway up ahead, and she headed for it, just as a shadow fell across her. She ducked sideways automatically, twisting away as a giant cat landed where she'd stood a moment before. It snarled and twisted for her. She had only a half moment's thought of, So I was being followed! before leaping back against the wall. A trashcan sat against the wall of the alleyway up ahead. Kaye shifted and then made a massive leap over the tan-colored cat's head. Mountain lion? she wondered.

The enemy cat lunged up on its hind-legs, raking her underbelly. Ignoring the pain, she ran into the alley and shifted, grabbing the trash can lid. The cat ran headlong at her. Kaye twisted sideways and slammed the lid into the cat's head.

GONG! The clang as metal and cougar met reverberated down the street. Kaye was knocked flying. She shifted in mid-air and leaped up, back bristling, shaking her head to clear the ringing from her ears. The other cat staggered backwards, then turned and ran away down the street.

Shifting back, she stood up, panting and suddenly aware of the spiking pain down her midriff. "Looking for easier prey, I guess," she mumbled to herself, sinking back against the wall. She dumped her bag next to her and went to hunt out clean cloth and some herbs to stop the bleeding.


*OOC: Heh. I always enjoy coming up with unusual ways for different characters to meet...Anyway, there's the reason for the loud noise. =) *

[EternallyAlone]

Lain took off toward where the noise had come from, moving fast and quiet as she saw the cougar walking down the way she was running. lain shifted, a small crack filling the air as she tripped mid shift, though, the break fused as the shift completed. Sadly, it left her with a limp that made her scuff her foot along the cobble stoned alleyway.

As she walked toward the noise she picked up a scent that made her cringe. Blood, fresh blood. "Hello..? Um, I- I can help," she said with a hint of fear along the edges of the nearly toneless voice. The girl saw the woman and stopped walking, one from the pain in her leg and two, she was afraid of being attacked. "Um... M- might I be able to help any?" she asked as she took just one step, the scuffing noise of her shoe on the stone irked her, but she'd deal with it for the time, then go to a healer after this.
Lain bit on her lip, hard to keep from crying out as she stood there, she focused on the woman who was tending to her self to keep her mind off the pain.

[(OOC: I do to, and I liked your little fight scene. ^^ The noise maker is quite unique, I would have never thoguht of it.)]

[flippedside]

The scuff of boots along the street brought Kaye's head up quickly. A quiet voice came with it. "Hello..? Um, I- I can help." The shadows wrapped the girl's form, partially obscuring her from Kaye's sight. The girl took a step forward, but the movement was awkward, skewed. Kaye could see that she was small and thin, with her clothing hanging loosely off of her.

Girl needs to eat, she thought, wondering if she'd run into some sort of stray or orphan. Tannoch certainly had enough alley waifs wandering its streets.

"I think I'll survive," Kaye said dryly. She went back to cleaning the blood away, grimacing at the sting. She didn't expect the girl to attack her, not with her awkward limp and quiet offer of help. She pulled out a vial, specially made to clean wounds, and poured some on the cloth. Rubbing it on the cuts made her hiss at the sharp burning sting. The air was scented by the sharp scent of herbs and alcohol. She quickly wrapped her stomach with clean cloth and tied off the ends.

Tying up her bag, she asked the girl, "I don't suppose you know of a good place to sleep around here? I don't fancy sleeping on the streets, what with psycho murdering cougars running around." Kaye pulled an irritated face, wondering again why the cat had decided to attack her. Just what I needed.

She looked sharply up at the girl, and pushed herself up to a standing position. She was intrigued to note that they were almost exactly the same height.


*OOC: I don't know why, but when you wrote that Lain was woken by a loud noise, I immediately thought of something running into a metal trash can lid with a loud clanging noise. It's an amusing picture. Anyway, poor Kaye's feeling extra wary and jumpy now.*

[EternallyAlone]

Lain stood there for a few moments, thinking about where she worked, her boss had guest rooms for rent if they were of need. "I do, it's not too far from here," Lain turned from the woman, limping overly plainfully before she got another idea. Within a moment she had shifted into her fox form, holding her hind leg to her underbelly so that no weight was placed on the appendage.

Lain hobbled toward the resturant, keeping focued on that or she'd feel the akward throb of her other hind leg as it took on more weight then she was sued to putting on it. Just another way to ready myself for when I start traveling, she thought to herself. Lain made a whimpering sound once she got to the back door of the resturant, not wanting to scratch at teh door but then again, not wanting to shift back. She looked at Kaye then the door, silently saying 'Knock, please' to her.

[[OOC: Aye, an amusing picture indeed. Poor Lain, though, she had to trip D:]]

[flippedside]

"Lead on, then," Kaye told the girl, in answer to her suggestion.

The girl limped awkwardly away, and Kaye stood painfully, wrapping an arm across her stomach. She tossed her bag over her back and then moved to follow the girl, who had shifted into a fox. If the girl had been small before, she was tiny as a fox. The bright pelt helped make her easy to follow, though, as the dim light from the lamps hit copper highlights in the girl's fur.

Kaye wondered briefly if shifting would help her with her own wounds and then discarded the idea. She preferred her human form around other shifters to her cat form.

The pain had grown to an uncomfortable stabbing sensation, and Kaye was just wondering when they'd reach this "nearby" place, when the fox stopped. Relieved, Kaye leaned against the wall. She was fairly certain that the cuts were still bleeding. They weren't life-threatening, but they stung horribly. She shifted her weight uncomfortably and hoped that she would soon be in a soft bed.

The girl surprised her by whining at the door, and then staring at Kaye. She had expected her to shift back, but apparently not. Kaye glanced around briefly. They were at the back door, so she wasn't entirely sure of the place. It wasn't a bad end of town, though it was rough. Feeling safe enough, she stepped over to the door and banged on it, pausing to wait. When no answer was forthcoming, she knocked again.

Silence.

Kaye glanced at the fox, puzzled, when the door opened a crack and a male voice called, "Whadda ya want?"

Kaye frowned, pulling back slightly. She'd been looking for a good place to sleep and was rapidly losing faith with this place. "I'm looking for a place to sleep. You got one here? I'll pay, of course," she added as an afterthought. She didn't want the stranger to think she was a beggar or charity case.

[EternallyAlone]

Lain took a few moments before she whined at the door once more, shifting back to her human for and shouting in an abnoxius tone, "Heya Boss, get your lazy ass to the back door before you have to buy a new one!" It was only a threat, becasue she knew that the old man wouldn't ever want to waste his hard earned money on a new door. Loud, hurried foot steps clambered to the door and threw it open. "Lain? I thought you went back home?" the man's voice was slured, showing that he had been drinking only moments before.

Lain disregarded him and stood up from her comfortable place on the ground, wincing off to the side so he wouldn't see her do it. "Yea, but I found someone who wants a place to sleep? You got any rooms open?" she asked as she limped into the room and sat on a chair that was at a table filled with bottles of booze and such. Her boss nodded an looked at her worriedly. "I do." He then looked at Kaye, eyeing her a moment before taking a key out of his pocket and tossing it at her, walking to Lain and loking her over, his eyes saying, "How'd this happen?"

Lain didn't answer him but stayed in his chair, a few other men being there at the table but she'd done this before, so she didn't care for them. Lain looked at Kaye, an eye brow raising, "Are you going to stay out in the cold the whole time, or what? You're the one who wanted the room." Lain's voice had gone from quite and scared to annoyingly high and loud to no emotion put into it at all.

[flippedside]

Kaye raised an eyebrow at the girl's threat. Only a moment before she had seemed quiet and hesitant. She couldn't tell whether the threat to tear down the door was real or not, but it brought a man running to the door. She guessed that this was the owner of the place, and clearly the girl worked for him. Despite his drunkenness, he showed genuine concern for the girl. Or at least it seemed genuine.

She filed away the name that the man had called the girl: Lain.

Kaye's eyes flicked over the room that Lain entered, taking in the bottles and the slightly battered furniture. She sneered inwardly, thinking that if she had been interested in stealing, she could have wiped out the whole lot before they could even react. Kaye had no interest in alcohol. It made you stupid and too slow to react--a bad combination when your head was wanted by more people than you had fingers to count them on.

Her face betrayed no emotion, though, as she snatched the key out of the air. The throw was lopsided, but she caught it easily, glancing at it briefly, before looking up again at Lain's words.

She eyed the girl coolly and sauntered into the room. "I don't suppose you have anything...real...to drink." She eyed the discarded bottles. "Something without alcohol."

Kaye turned and jerked the door shut behind her. The slashes across her stomach complained at the movement and Kaye clenched her teeth. "Room's upstairs?" she guessed. A door opened off to the side, and she could see stairs behind it. It wasn't much of a stretch to assume that there were rooms up the stairs.

[EternallyAlone]

Lain looked at her boss, ignoring the blundering old fool as she stood, holding her muscles as stone as she could to keep her winces at bay while she walked to the large cooler to grab a bottel of ale for Kaye, it was the most decent, non-alchoholic thing they had, the rest was half watered down.

Walking back out she waved a hand as a gesture to start up the stairs that the womn saw, nodding her head as she walked up them herself. "What is the number on the set of keys?" she asked in a somber tone, eyes set forward to and currently glazed over in pain, he ankle feeling as though she was going to snap in half and then be burned to death... the latter making her cringe.

Once at the landing Lain waited for Kaye, the stairs being steep and the case tall. But that was becasue there was a storage floor above the kischens, which you couldn't access from the case they were on. Lain lent on the wall and lifted the cool bottle to her forehead, which was burning with the blood rushing through it after the long walk up the infernally high stair case.

Lain looked down the case, waiting for Kaye to tell her the room number on the keys and to arrive up on the landing before she started toward the right room.

[flippedside]

The girl, Lain, walked away from the table, her limp slight, but still noticeable to Kaye's trained eyes. Lain picked up a bottle from a cooler and then gestured to the stairs. "What's the number on the keys?"

Kaye glanced down, and then had to frown, tilting the key to see the much rubbed number. "Umm...Three." She strode towards the stairs, following Lain up to the landing. The stairs were surprisingly steep, rising well above one level. It puzzled Kaye, who felt certain they must have passed a second floor, but there was no door for one. She asked the girl about it, preferring to be as well-informed as possible about her surroundings--especially when she was supposed to be sleeping there.

"We must be on the third floor, but I saw no door to a second floor. Am I missing something?" She tilted her head slightly and studied the girl steadily. After a moment, she added a second question. "You might find me rude to ask this, but what happened to your ankle? You seem to be in pain."

Lain had tilted her head back slightly and balanced the bottle against her forehead, soaking in its coldness. The air was chill enough that Kaye didn't feel the need to cool herself off. Though the hike up the stairs had caused her to drag slightly from the pain in her midsection, it hadn't done much to work her muscles. She didn't take Lain to be so weak that traveling the stairs was a serious workout, so her only guess was that the girl was hurting and needed the cold bottle to help with the pain.

Kaye had at first assumed the girl simply was lame, but she was revising her initial opinion, and wondered if someone had attacked Lain, just as she had been attacked in the streets.


*OOC: Sorry for the really crappy post.

[EternallyAlone]

Lain lifted the bottle form her head and spoke in calm tones, with a pained undertone, "There is a sotrage floor ablove the kitchen, and to that there is a different set of stair, so this one is longer." Lain looked to the room the the key was paired with, the door a light blue, as was the tip of the key, painted to match its door.

Lain pushed off the wall, limping to the door to indicate the door that the woman was to go through. "Here is where you'll be sleeping, it's one of the better rooms we have so I'm certin you'll find it suitable. I'll send one of the maids up with some clloing ointments and pain relaivers for your wounds," Lain said formally before she just shook her head at the womans other question, "I just tripped mid shift in the alley when I came to invistigate te loud noise you'd made, I'll be fine." She didn't want to seem rude, the woman eemed to show a little concern for the homless girl after all, might as well be nice back.

Lain looked around before she took a step to the side, stepping full o nher ankel and a loud crack came from the appendage. Lain let a howl and fell instantly to her keeps, moving to sit with her feet infront of her. Lain bit her lip agasint another howl as the pain shot up her leg in long lasting shards. Her foot hanging to the side at a numbed angle.

[flippedside]

Kaye nodded, said a brief "thanks" for the girl's offer to bring ointments for her own wounds, and moved towards the door. The key slid in easily, and she opened the door to a small room, paneled in wood with a simple bed and dresser. It was clean, which was all that really concerned Kaye. She could sleep on the ground, but the idea of a bed, after long weeks alone on the road, teased a smile from her mouth. Now to see just how comfortable that bed really was--

Kaye had just stepped into the room, when she heard Lain cry out in pain behind her. She spun around, stepping quickly back into the hallway in time to see Lain forcing herself off her knees and into a sitting position.

"Sounds like more than a mere trip," Kaye said, moving towards the girl. She slung her bag off of her shoulder and peered at Lain. Her foot was twisted awkwardly to the side. "You'll need a real healer for that. Hold on, I've got poppy seeds for pain."

Digging through her bag, Kaye pulled out a small bag. She dumped a handful of mixed herbs for pain into her water bag, and then passed it to Lain. "Drink this. It'll help the pain, though it'll take a moment."

She left her bag by the girl and jogged down the stairs, bursting in on the downstairs room full of drunken men. "The girl's broken her ankle. She needs a healer, immediately." Kaye gave them a disgusted look. "Where's the nearest one? I'll rouse 'im myself." She doubted any of the men, drunk as they were, could manage to find the healer's house, let alone quickly.

"Wha? Whass wrong with Lain?" slurred the owner of the restaurant/inn. He looked genuinely concerned.

Kaye gave an exaggerated sigh, forcing herself not to strangle the idiot. Just because she thought drinking was stupid...There were those in her band who would happily get completely wasted, though she'd never really understood them. "I just told you," she repeated slowly. She realized that her own pain was making her short-tempered. Ah, well, she'd fought when she'd been wounded worse. "The girl's ankle's broken. Where's the nearest healer?"

"Oh, well, down the street a bit."

"Look, you see to Lain, I'll get the healer."

He nodded his understanding and gave her rough directions. Kaye shoved open the back door, and then, remembering her bag was still upstairs, she leaned back into the room.

"By the way, I assume you're all good citizens here, but if anything's missing from my bag, I'll personally take it out of your hides." Kaye slammed the door and ducked out the alley, leaving the room in temporarily startled silence.

"She's a hard one, that one," muttered one of the men.

[EternallyAlone]

Lain took the water bag, sipping fomr it slowly she managed to scoot herself to the womans bag, making sure that it was closed and pressed to a wall, half in the shadows, to the pilfering drunken men wouldn't attempt anything on it. Lain readjusted her ankel, wincing with the pain of it as she tried to get it proper, so that none of the bones healed wrong later on.

Lain heard the tempermentle barking voice of Kaye. She seemed to be a bit worried over the girl, though for what reason she didn't know why. Lain heard the rumbling of three sets of footsteps on the stairs, they were still a long ways down, and she also heard the labored breathing of the men that were planning on coming to her rescue. "Blundering idiots..." she whispered to herself as she lent back on her right hand, holding the water bag in her left and holding small sips every once in a while, half trying to conserve the water in the bag and half wanting to spare the pain calming herbs in the water the best she could.

Lain looked upon the men that were now lumbering slowly up the last ten steps, sweat beaded off their brows and they looked horriable, but the run had seemed to sober them up. "Lain, are you all right?" asked the man that had called Kaye a hard one. His red hair clung to his face and neck, he was panting heavily. Lain scowled at him, her eyes hard as she hissed the words, "No you blundering idiot! Do you think I snapped my ankle just to feel the pain?! Get away from me, there's nothing anyone can do until Kaye gets back with the healer." Lain seemed to be seething with anger. And, she was, the pain throbing through her body was making her severly irate and annoyed at anything that moved and spoke.

[flippedside]

Kaye walked swiftly down the a few streets to a darkened doorway. A window and a sign over the door advertised this a healer's residence, though to Kaye's eyes it remained a single door in a block of three-story buildings, all connected to one another. A small cat ambled up and rubbed against the door frame with a quiet "meow?"

Knowing that Lain would be in pain, but was in no immediate danger, Kaye had moved swiftly, but without running. She was still in pain herself, though it was gradually numbing from a sharp sting to only a faint, dull ache. Fortunately, the healer was quite close and it had only taken a moment. She hoped the healer's services weren't too costly, and then wondered who would pay for them. She doubted the girl had the coin. Something to deal with later...

She pounded her fist on the door.

"Open up! I've need of your services," Kaye demanded.

There was a long moment of silence, and Kaye was just about to pound again, when a window on the second story opened and a female voice called down, "Just a moment, someone's on their way." The window shut again with a click. Kaye stepped back and waited, arms crossed.

The wait was longer than she would have liked, but she was impatient by nature. At last, the door opened, and a young man, hair still tousled from sleep, stood framed in it. "Come in please," he told her, stepping back to allow her room to pass.

The interior was paneled in wood, with shelves of books and herbs. A single lamp cast dim light about the room. Kaye stepped in, noticing several doors leading off to the sides. The door at the back, behind a low counter, led to a room that was much more brightly lit.

"Now, what's it you need?" he stifled a yawn as he closed the door behind her, the cat darting in just before it shut.

"I've a young girl who's broken her ankle. It looks like a bad break, and it's causing her a lot of pain, otherwise I'd have waited until morning."

"Uhm, hmm," he mumbled. "Broken bones are almost always extremely painful. Well," he added around another yawn, "wait a moment and I'll get my things."

"Thanks."

Kaye waited silently, her eyes roaming the room, while the young healer went through the back door and disappeared. Some minutes later, a woman entered the room, carrying a second lamp. She was middle-aged and slightly plump from living a comfortable life. She wore a simple gown and her hair had been hurriedly twisted up.

"Hello," she said cheerfully. Her voice was recognizable as that of the woman who had called from the window earlier. "I manage The Greenleaf Healer's Center. Young Minnel will be back in a moment, but in the meantime, we have some pain reducing medicines, if you'd like them."

"Um." Kaye tilted her head as she mentally ran through what she still had in her bag. "I think we'll be all right for tonight, thanks." She thought she might need to come back to this place before leaving, though.

"Ah, and here's Minnel, himself," said the woman. The man reappeared, a bag held tightly in his hand. The bag was large enough to overshadow his thin body.

"This way," Kaye said, heading out the door. They traveled quickly down the few streets to the back of the restaurant. The door was still unlocked, and Kaye let herself into the back room. "The girl's name is Lain; she's on the upstairs landing," Kaye explained as she led the healer up to the third story. He was puffing slightly as he tried to keep up with her.

Kaye entered the hallway to find the girl sitting against the wall, waterbag in hand. Three men were leaning over the girl in apparent concern. "Back, everyone," Kaye snapped. "The healer's here; he'll do a better job if you give him space to work." The men hurriedly stepped back, one nearly blundering into Kaye. Only a slight tightening of her mouth showed her irritation as she neatly stepped out of his way.

"Can we get the girl to a bed?" asked the healer, Minnel. "It'll be easier for me to check her if she's up off the ground."

Kaye glanced at the three men and quirked a questioning eyebrow. Though stronger than she looked, she was still small and knew that trying to lift Lain herself would be difficult and awkward.

[EternallyAlone]

Lain watched everyone from her place on the wall. Lain snapped something herself toward them, "Don't even touch me... blundering fools, I can make it to a room myself." Lain was an irate mess, her foot swolen and almost holding itself in place, her raceing heart sending hot blood through her body to make her sweat slightly. If anytihng was to go properly she ahd to cool down.

Lain glanced at Minnel, rolling her eyes at the man, they had met a few times before and she wasn't about to let him give her orders, no matter how good a healer he was.

Lain worked her way up to stand leaning on the wall, hobbling akwardly to a door down the hall that would have looked like a coat closet if not for the line of dull, faded crimson pain down the middle of it. She opened the door and let it swing open to produce an overly large room with a thick king sized bed in the middle of it. Windows draped in silvers and greens, to match the fine green rug and the silver bed spread. Lain had disigned the room herself, and she didn't tihnk it was that bad.

The girl planted herself on the bed, still clutching the water skin that was helping numb the pain, but the swelling wasn't going to go down her ankle was cooled. "Minnel, have one of them get a bucket of ice water and rags, can't do any good healing unless the swelling's donw down," Minnel had opened his mouth to say jsut that right before she spoke up, making it clear to him and all the others that she wasn't just ging to sit there and take orders. "And make sure that after this, you get Kaye's wound fixed up, I'll pay for what ever needs to be done." As she spoke, lain tilted her head toward the woman, who had surely followed after her as had the healer and the men.

{OOC: Whoo! I'm starting to get really good at this XP 351 words in that post!}