|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jan 8, 2013 23:45:01 GMT -5
A year ago, this would have been insane. A year ago, the very thought would have been insane. Princes do not belong in swamps, covered in slime and and blood and the gods only knew what other filth, scavenging for river-vermin just to survive. Yet here he was, Prince Charming, fishing for...something halfway edible in a murky swamp.
He didn't look like a prince, not anymore, anyway. His hair, once long, flowing, glossy auburn locks, was now tangled and of an indeterminable murky color. The lack of hygiene had reduced his normally pale skin to a dark, patchy color and he had grown patchy stubble, roughly the same color his hair currently was, only the red did shine through the grim a bit better. His clothing--and to call it clothing did honor to the garments, consisted of now-tattered and filthy prison-issued jerkin and britches. They were not given shoes, so his feet were bloody and callused. He could only imagine what he smelled like, and he preferred not to, come to think of it. Only his eyes, piercing turquoise eyes, remained as they were.
He tossed his hair out of his eyes and felt something squelch around his fingers, which were dangling in the wonder. Silently praying that this wasn't a rotting carcass or some sort of new monster, Peregrine pulled his discovery out of the murky water, and to his delight, a delicacy wiggled in front of his face. Eels! He would eat well tonight! Eels, though slimy and significantly disgusting, did not have the fatty, heavy taste that rats did. Rats carried diseases and eels...come to think of it, Peregrine didn't know if eels carried diseases. And, if he cooked them enough and one of the miscreants he lived with caught sight of them, he could calmly explain that he was eating seaweed, and it "smelled so good" because he had dipped them in the peat bog. Happy with his finds, he turned his boat around, only to find someone blocking his way.
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jan 9, 2013 11:42:48 GMT -5
How long had she been here for now? The Sidhe-Vampire hybrid could not recall exactly how long any more. It was long enough to cover her pale white skin with dirt and grime and who knew what else - she dared not think of it. She had once been a creature of unquestionable grace and beauty, like all Sidhe... until that vermin Vampire had stolen her away and changed her. Vampire venom had stolen her grace, and now this infernal swamp had stolen her beauty. In the beginning Khalidah had tried for weeks on end to escape the prison island, only wanting to return home to her family - little Lily would be wondering what had happened to her sister. For not the first time, or the last, Khalidah cursed the vampire who had condemned her to this hellish forsaken place. And yet, every one of her attempts to escape had resulted the constables to drive her further and further into the swamp. Days had rolled into weeks; weeks into months...... Khalidah didn't known if she had been here for only a few months or a year, time was meaningless to her now.
With all the true crooks and criminals that lurked about here Khalidah had surely had her fair share of close calls when it came to attempts of rape – she was just female to them, they didn't care. But Khalidah was no ordinary female, she had means of defence. Khalidah carried a small dagger that the guards had failed to find on her, and she had her fangs. She was not some helpless ninny.
And yet, for all her intelligence and cunning was worth, Khalidah had not managed to catch a single fish, eel or even a frog in the swamps. Down on her luck, the only thing she could catch were rats. She was merciful when she killed them, biting through their necks with her fangs first before draining their blood and then cooking them.... she'd rather eat fruits and vegetables, or even a little bit of bread. But rats was all she could catch with her bare hands. If you knew where to dig Khalidah was able to find the occasional yam or two... but mostly she found rats, rats and more rats.
Despite everything; the swamp, the leeches, the rats..... the down right hellish place she had found herself in... nothing stopped her from trying to survive. Even if she caught one fish her luck might change. Khalidah waded out into the swamp, not caring about the leeches she would have to burn off later, aiming to catch an eel or fish that day. Soon as she felt an eel swimming amongst her fingers she plucked it from the water, only for it to slip from her fingers and back into the water. Khalidah groaned, looking up and the sky and silently begging it 'why?'. Her next attempt proved better with a small fish that was really too small to be classed a meal, but it was better than rats. Killing it quickly Khalidah held it by the tail in her mouth as she searched the murky water for another eel or fish. Her luck had died with the fish it seemed, finding nothing else. Taking the fish by the tail into her hand Khalidah turned, to come face first with a boat. Damn her luck.... she had to endure the leeches and this scrawny kid that was its occupant had a boat!
And he had eels. So that's where her eel had gone.... straight down stream to be caught by a scrawny kid in a boat. At least she had her undersized fish. That was something.... right? Khalidah fixed her grey-blue eyes on the kid that had near run her over with the boat, narrowing them slightly.... thinking that she might have seen him somewhere. Somewhere aside from the swamp. Could it be possible that the boy had studied at the Ioralta Academy? It was the only place she could think of that she might have seen him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jan 11, 2013 15:49:27 GMT -5
He paid no heed to the ragged woman standing in the water with a fish (how had she been so lucky to snag a fish?) in her mouth. What with all the lunatics around here, he wasn't alarmed by the sight, and simply paddled his way around her and calmly continuing with his task. He wanted to score a fish, now that he had seen the presumed madhouse ex-resident with one. He had never been very successful with fishing. At first, he had been successful in catching rats by transforming into his animal form of a peregrine falcon and killing them instantly with his claws, but his joy was short lived, as his fellow inmates spotted a falcon and immediately started hunting him. After years of rats and moldy bread, some falcon would make an excellent feast.
But Peregrine didn't have time to be cooked and eaten like a chicken. He had a kingdom to run, a father to avenge, a brother to eradicate, not to mention scores of pretty girls to woo and he couldn't do any of those things roasted on a spit. So, he was forced to scrounge around for eels and other nasty things in his rapidly-thinning human form.
He glanced over his shoulder, to check on the lunatic, only to find her staring at him. Okay, that was unnerving, but not enough to make him flee. He turned back around and continued gathering dinner. Feeling eyes on his back, he turned around, finding his observer was still staring him down. He twisted around, gracefully, planting his feet firmly in the bottom of the boat so he could face her head-on.
"What?" He demanded.
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jan 11, 2013 23:23:16 GMT -5
Khalidah tilted her head and studied the scrawny lad for a few moments more, becoming more convinced that she had seen him somewhere other than the swamps. It was not like she had seen him here before anyway, since she tended to avoid people out of habit. Well, if she was planning to escape then she didn't need real criminals getting loose with her. But how possible was it that she would find another innocent that had been locked away without having committed a crime? With a shrug of her shoulders Khalidah turned and waded back to the shore of what dry land could be found in the swamp, her undersized fish in hand.
“Nothing”, she muttered over to shoulder to the scrawny lad's demands of what. “Just thought I knew you from somewhere.... other than here”.
Khalidah climbed out onto the shore, pulling up her long lithe legs that were covered in scores of leeches and wandered away towards a dead tree that she camped near, dropping her fish beside it before two wolves padded over, each with two rats hanging from their mouths. Khalidah spoke in her native, and ancient, tongue to the pair, accepting a rat from each and put them down next to the fish. The wolves were mostly wild, but they had stuck by her side for several months now, keeping her warm at night and even acting as if she was part of their pack. The white female, Kachina, was more playful and would climb over her and lick at her face in a form of a game, while the black male, Hania, was more reserved and tended to just sit or lay at her, accepting whatever strokes of his fur that Khalidah had in store for him.
Despite the fact that they could not speak with her, it was somewhat comforting that she had some form of company in such a dreary place. And their unique personalities provided something different and a distraction from the misery of the prison land. Though the animal she missed most was back home with her father and siblings – her horse Lamri. Maybe when Khalidah escaped she would take the wolves with her, and then return for Lamri as well.
Khalidah looked back at the boy in the boat.
“You wont find many fish”, she called out to him as she burnt the leeches off her legs. “I've been fishing here for months and this is the first fish I've caught. So good luck”.
She studied him from the distance, obviously how close she was studying him before made him feel uncomfortable.
“Tell me..... did you study at Ioralta Academy? I swear I could have seen you there....”
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jan 12, 2013 0:43:34 GMT -5
He didn't focus on her. He knew that staring at her could be dangerous, if he fixated on a stranger for too long. Besides, he had a job to do: finding food to feed himself with so he wouldn't die of starvation. He had always been tall and slender, but he had lost so much weight that he was becoming skin and bone.
He stopped collecting eels when he noticed...but they couldn't be...yep, they were. Two fully-grown wolves were delivering rats to the strange, fish-catching woman...and not eating her. Great, now this place was infested with strange, sociable wolves, unless they were friendly werewolves who willingly shared their food with the humans instead of eating them. She spoke to them in a language he could not understand, but he recognized a few words here and there. She must have been speaking the Language of the Ancients, so she must have been at least part fae. What had she done to get herself thrown into Riasglach?
Irritated by the fact that she was getting rats brought to her, Peregrine gave his boat a particularly vicious shove, sending into the bank by retreat. Growling, he used his paddle to push off the muddy bank, getting slime all over his hands and forearms, and not just swamp slime: really nasty mudd-slime. Well, it wasn't a huge change in comparison to how filthy he already was.
"You won't find many fish." She said, "I've been fishing here for months and this is the first fish I've got. So good luck."
Peregrine simply shrugged. Fishing for a few months? So had they all. He'd been fishing tirelessly and still nothing: no answers, no way out and no decent fish. He paid her no more attention as he turned his boat around and rowed to the shore, stopping only she questioned him.
He paused for a moment. Of course he wanted to burst out with his name and title on instinct; a name that was tied to a reputation at that school, and it was a reputation he was mighty proud of. But not anymore. It wasn't safe to be himself anymore. And that hurt, no matter how much time he had to get used to the idea.
"No, I fear, er, you're definitely mistaking me for someone else." He said, in a botched attempt to dumb down his vocabulary. "I am the son of a farmer. We never had the money to go to no Ioralta Academy."
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Feb 12, 2013 1:31:15 GMT -5
Khalidah narrowed her eyes at the boys answer. No, her memories were too clear to accept an obvious lie offhand. She was certain that she had seen this boy at the Academy, back in the days she had excelled as a student, casting her magic with flare before she had taken over the mantle of 'house wife' when her mother had simply up and left her father. Gone without so much as an exchange of words with her four children. As the eldest daughter and child, Khalidah had taken over in looking after the household, and her baby sister Lily. While seeing Lily's smile and sleepily cuddling her side at the end of the day had made every moment worth the trouble, Khalidah had always wanted more - to live elsewhere; where she could work as a healer to the greatest possibility, and her horse would be her only companion - aside from the wolves, Kachina and Hania, of course. After all, she was apart of their pack now.
Khalidah set about making herself a small campfire so that she could cook her undersized fish and rats, using two flint stones to create the sparks that set the tinder aflame. The young woman flinched at the sound of crunching bones as the black wolf, Hania, got impatient and ate his rat without reservation. It would mean that he would have to go hunting again later if he wanted anything to sustain him through the night,
"I'm not giving you mine", Khalidah told the wolf in the ancient tongue, holding his gaze when his golden eyes flicked to her. It was a matter of wills in order to not be the one to look away first, if Khalidah looked away then she would have to give Hania one of her rats. In the end the wolf looked away with a huff of breath through his nostrils before flopping his head down to rest on his front paws - clearly sulking. Khalidah ignored Hania as she burnt the leeches that were gorging themselves on her legs.
What neither of the people had noticed was that the white wolf, Kachina, had stashed her rat somewhere to hide it from her mates large appetite, and had decided to sedate her curiosity about Peregine's boat. While it was jammed against the shore bank Kachina snuffled along the side, taking in all the possible scents, even sneezing at a couple, then with a yip of excitement she had found the eels and snatched one before bolting away.
At hearing the yip Khalidah looked up as she tossed the last leech into the fire, looking to see as the theft unfolded.
"Kachina!" Khalidah gasped in the common tongue, standing up and charging after her white companion, taking up one end of the eel in her hands. To Kachina it was all a fun game, tugging on the eel lightly as she did not wish to relinquish her stolen prize. Khalidah swapped to a language the wolf would understand easily - she narrowed her eyes, dropped her fangs down from behind her eye teeth and growled. Kachina hesitated for a moment before letting go, stalking off to lay down beside Hania, tail tucked between her legs.
Khalidah hissed in slight pain - using her fangs always hurt, and retracting them hurt even more. Seven hells to the vampire that had cursed her! The young Sidhe walked over to the boat quietly.
"Sorry", she apologized on behalf of the wolf, offering the eel back to the boy. "She's too curious for her own good at times. I think it'll be alright when its cooked, she didn't damage it too much".
Anyone else would have kept the stolen eel - but Khalidah had her wolves to help her hunt, she didn't need to steal food from others.
"Academy or not...." she started, going out on a limb. "I for one don't think you are the type to be classed as a common criminal like the rest here. And I'm not even meant to be here!"
Khalidah's mouth closed instantly with a snap of teeth, she had said to much already.
"What's your name?" she diverted; there was no harm in courteous behaviour, was there? Even if your wolf had just stolen someone's eel...
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Mar 24, 2013 0:30:11 GMT -5
"Hey! Hey you! Get back here!" Peregrine called out, lunging up into a half-standing position as the wolf made off with his eels. Yeah, really, not cool. It was pointless going after what looked like a well-fed, but just hungry enough predatory animal, even if it was to get his dinner back. Besides, no matter how hungry he got, he could not see the wisdom of battling a wolf for a handful of eels; he'd rather go hungry for a night than have his face ripped off. "Fucking cur." He muttered, as something that passed for self-consolation.
He contented himself with digging his oar into into the bank of the river and pushing off into the water, spinning in lazy circles, not really planning out what to do next. He didn't want to start thinking about heading back out there for some more futile fishing so soon, but he didn't want to admit defeat and ignore the hungry crawling at his stomach all night, either, so he just spun in circles to give himself something to do while he procrastinated on his decision-making.
And to his surprise, the wolf-woman had wrestled his dinner away from her wolf and was offering it back to him. He snatched it back, without missing a beat. Princely manners be damned; he was hungry.
After successfully stowing his prey in the bedraggled leather pouch swinging from his rope-belt, he gave her a nod of thanks.
"They call me Jack." He lied, going with the first non-royal name that came to mind. He was rather pleased with his choice, too. Jack was a nice, ambiguous name. The Every Man was named Jack. It was the name of the curious boy nearing manhood or the elderly gentleman crossing the street corner to make it to the christening of his eighth grandchild. "Jack the Shadow." He added, a history beginning to weave itself into place in his head. "Never been to school, I promise ye, missy."
He cautiously paddled back to shore and lowered himself out of his boat before sloshing through the marsh, coming to a stand-still a safe distance from her. He took her initiating a conversation as a sign that it was acceptable to share her company for at least a little while.
"So, if you're no criminal, how'd you end up here?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jun 1, 2013 3:09:13 GMT -5
The woman hissed at the eel was snatched out of her hand. Here she was being polite and offering it back, just for him to snatch?! Be damned with him then. Just see if she is charitable enough to rescue his eels from the wolves next time. But she blinked in surprise when the lad nodded his thanks. Atleast he thanked her... still, some manners wouldn't go astray.
"They call me Jack"....."Jack the shadow".
Khaliadah raised an eyebrow at the answer... it was yet another obvious lie. No self respecting person would call themselves a shadow. If other people did call him a shadow, then fine, but why would one refer to themselves as such? No, Khalidah believed that this "Jack" was hiding something. But then again, so was she. It was not every day that you came across a Sidhe that was part Vampire - it just wasn't natural. It's wasn't exactly her fault though... that blasted vampire that turned her was fully responsible. And he thought to cover it up by having her locked away on some prison island? Well he had another thing coming when she escaped this island!
"I'm Khalidah", she offered, turning around to return to the small campfire she had started, sitting down next to the black wolf, Hania, with Kachina on his other side. Quietly she set about gutting the small fish she had caught, throwing the scraps to the wolves before threading it onto a sturdy stick and propping it up to cook in the flames. As a Sidhe, Khalidah would have usually eaten fruits and vegetables, and bread varieties.... but since she had been turned by the Vampire Khalidah found herself needing more and more meat to sedate her blood-thirst. As she watched her fish cooking in the fire Khalidah absently stroked the fur on Hania's head.
"So, if you're no criminal, how'd you end up here?"
Khalidah snapped back to attention at the question, having lost herself to her thoughts as she watched the flickering orange flames of the fire.
"Simple", she answered with a sigh. "I was framed. I have never committed a crime in my life, and yet here I am. To this day I still have no notion of what I have been imprisoned for. What I do know is that the man who had me imprisoned is covering up his own crime...."
The young woman's blue-grey eyes flicked to look over at the lad.
"You can cook your eels in the fire if you want, the wolves won't trouble you", she offered, assuring him that his eels were safe with a glance at the white wolf, Kachina. "She won't be so bold to steal them from you again".
Khalidah reached towards the fire, turning the fish around to cook it evenly before she picked up one of the rats that the wolves had brought her. Pulling out her small knife again Khalidah set about skinning the rat so that she could cook it in the fire too.
"What about you Jack? How did you end up here?" she questioned as she focused on skinning the rat. "If I assume right, I doubt what you've been convicted off is about as false as what I have been convicted for..."
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jun 1, 2013 3:47:24 GMT -5
She was offering him hot food? Oh sweet gods, yes! He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a hot meal. In a flash, he had retrieved a stick from the ground and was securing the eels tightly around it before he placed it carefully over the flame. He had never been taught how to cook (why should he -- he is...was a prince!), but when you're stuck on an island imprisoned for months for a crime you never came close to committing, you realize sticking a few eels on a stick isn't all that difficult. He still eyed the wolves wearily as he sat back on his haunches, watching his eels warm up and the juices flow through their slimy skin. Not long ago, the very idea would have been nauseating, but now he couldn't think of a greater delicacy.
"That's unfortunate." He commented, failing to mention that he, too, had been framed.
He held up his tattooed finger and grinned. At last, the unholy mark served some purpose. He had been wrongfully branded as a thief and for once, it was actually doing him some good. "Finest thief of Speur-Ghlan. I was famous, still am, I hope, but sadly, I got a bit too famous, if you know what I mean. Constables were waiting for me the next time I lifted gold. Pity, I was so, so good." His eyes flashed back to the memory of when he used to steal quill pens and paperweights from his teachers out of unadulterated boredom, only in reality, he had never been caught. He had indeed been very, very good.
By now, his eels looked nicely roasted and began to eat one, tail-first (as hungry as he was, he still didn't like thinking about eating the thing's head), slurping and crunching it greedily, the juice running down his chin. Needless to say, he looked to be anything but royalty.
"I still wonder, I still look, though..." He said, lowering his voice and casting a cautionary look around him. "You know, to break out of this place. I mean, how nice would it be to be able to cook eels over a proper stove," He swallowed the head and made a face, "cut the heads off and feed them to your cat." He shuddered.
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jun 1, 2013 4:49:38 GMT -5
"Finest thief of Speur-Ghlan. I was famous...."
Khalidah glanced up from skinning her rat for a mere moment before going back to what she was doing, maintaining her focus so she didn't slice her hand open with the blade.
"Obviously not famous enough if I've never heard of such a thief...." she commented offhand before baring her teeth and growling at Hania when the male wolf tried to steal on her rats on the sly. The wolf returned her gaze with what must had looked like a glare before he gave up and resigned to curling up next to Kachina, resting his head on her back.
The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes at the pair before she pulled the last of the rat skin away from the dead creature, finding another stick so that she could roast it in the fire as well, saving the second rat for later if she was still hungry.
"Unfortunate would be one way to put it..." she responded with an irritated snap. "He attacked my family, kidnapped me... and then committed another atrocity towards my species before even realising what he had even done. And was I released? No! I was sent here instead... where I would never see my family again...."
Khalidah clenched her jaws shut, and her hands balled into fists as she struggled to maintain her composer. Thinking about that vampire made her feel all kinds of crazy anger. Even to the point of wishing that she could rip his throat out with her teeth.... just like he had savaged her neck until it scared over.
After a few deep breaths Khalidah regained her composer and removed her small fish from the fire, just as "Jack" removed one of his eels. She looked at him with a grin.
"Escaping would be a good thing. Even just to sleep in a proper bed for one night... rather than sleeping on the ground. Still, I can't complain when I can have a hot meal every night... provided my friends here bring me a couple of rats if I can't catch a fish or eel".
Khalidah pulled off a chunk of cooked flesh from her fish and popped it in her mouth, savoring the flavor. It was small, but it was tasty.
The young woman glanced at the lad.
"I'll escape one day... but it's definitely a two person task", she commented offhand. "Just a matter of timing...."
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jun 1, 2013 22:37:04 GMT -5
Peregrine opened his mouth to explain to her that the point of being a thief was that you didn't get caught and you were spoken of with awe attached to your name, but he decided it was pointless, and shut his mouth again, contenting himself with merely scowling and her and her two unnecessary puppies. Of course, he didn't have long to sit there and stew before she went off on a tangent of how her family died. He honestly felt like yawning halfway through it, but didn't quite feel up to the challenge of running and hiding from the pair of beasts she would no doubt set on him if he did that. Yes, it was all very sad, but there was no point in being bitter and all self-righteous about her plight. It wasn't like she was the only innocent in this hellhole, not that he was about to tell her, that, mind you.
"Yes, escape is a two-person job, funnily enough, and you just so happen to have the King of Thieves sitting at your campfire, snuffing eels down his gullet, and you're going to do anything about?" Peregrine said, pointedly.
And then, an idea struck him, a wonderful, half-formed, crazy idea. And it just might work.
"You're very pretty." He said, staring her full in the face, his mind racing. "Very, very pretty. That's good." He stared at her face, not really seeing her. Then plunged in, speaking a million miles a minute.
"There is a door, barely big enough to crawl through, along the north side of the wall, close to where they feed us. Escaping through the door itself is useless -- they'd catch us in no time -- but the key that hangs from the warden's belt, while he distracts his men is not so trivial. I need you to distract the warden and his men while I pluck the warden's key straight from his belt and sneak back into the enclosure. They key itself shall be for the laundry rooms and we shall sneak into them, steal their uniforms and then sneak back to the gate and mingle in with the warden's men. There's bound to be a party of them leaving for the northern kingdoms sooner or later and when that time comes, we'll knock a couple unlucky victims out, steal their horses, ride away with the warden's men and slip away from the group at the first opportunity."
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jun 2, 2013 2:43:33 GMT -5
"Very, very pretty. That's good."
Khalidah raised an eyebrow up. What did her looks have to do with anything? Here they were talking about escape, and he was focused on her physical appearance. Sure, Khalidah was a fine specimen of her species and fairly pleasing to the eye, but all the mud that stained her clothes and skin didn't do much for her appearance.
“You should see me when I'm clean...”
“... I need you to distract the warden and his men while I pluck the warden's key straight from his belt...”
Khalidah hissed angrily.
“Valiant idea... but flawed”, she shot at him. “How do you expect me to do that? Have you ever seen how many guards the warden has in his company at any one time? And don't you think we're far too filthy to pull off the appearance of guards... not to mention if we spent extra time to clean up that two prisoners in the laundry room would raise suspicions.”
Khalidah drew her blade, intent on tackling this “Jack” and putting it to his throat. Perhaps he was really a prison guard himself, sent to gain information about potential escape attempts.
However, the woman stopped almost intermediately. The tattoo. No guard would have a tattoo and still make up a story of being a thief. She still didn't believe that he was really a thief, but a guard? No. Khalidah narrowed her eyes, thinking for a moment.... maybe, just maybe he was onto something. Though, she would have to adapt his idea somewhat to save herself some dignity and personal pride.
“Though.... you might be onto something...” she though aloud, sheathing her blade once more. “Provided that I can remember how to do it....”
Khalidah cracked her knuckles before focusing on a patch of dirt on the other side of the fire, narrowing her eyes. Slowly she raised her hands, twisting her fingers this way and that, while an illusion began to form on the other side of the fire. What she managed to create was a perfect replica of herself, even looking like a real person... but it was Khalidah that had to manipulate the illusion into walking and various other movements.
“How about a few more....” she muttered, grinning at her own accomplishment.
After a few more moments Khalidah had managed to craft another two illusion-women, each looking completely unique. She cast her eyes over at the lad.
“I can't keep all those guards distracted... but if I use my illusions I could keep more occupied while you grab the keys....” she voiced before breaking the magic, the false women disappearing into thin air.
“How fast can you run?” Khalidah asked him with a grin. “Because I can't keep those illusions going indefinitely. It is possible that they could flash out before you complete your task... such things are beyond my control.”
The woman resumed eating the last of her fish, casting the bones and used stick into the fire to let them burn before she picked up the now roasted rat.
“It still doesn't solve the matter of cleanliness....” she mused aloud, pursing her lips in though. “Unless we concoct some elaborate excuse as a reason for why two guards are filthy”.
Khalidah starred into the flames. Escape seemed so close now.... she could almost smell the clean air... almost hear the voices of her family. But could she trust this “Jack” enough to not stab her in the back when escape was so close?
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jun 2, 2013 4:12:34 GMT -5
Without warning, the madwoman came at him. He reacted instinctively: he rolled over and stumbled to his knees in a flash, his arms only failing for a second before one flew to his belt, ready to pull out his sword in response, but meeting thin air, he improvised and snacked up a nearby branch, as if to ward her off.
"Dea Matrona!" Peregrine swore, invoking the name of the mother goddess. She was sensitive...or maybe jealous of his infallible plan? He decided to believe the latter.
"Let me explain to you something about men. You may have missed it, but we like breasts. We are fascinated by them and some of us are so entrapped by them that the entire world could parade under our noses and we wouldn't notice as long as there's a pair of perky funbags in our line of vision. We are obsessed and while I admit to my own membership into this club, I would like to say that now is the time to capitalize on this wonderful source of our addiction. As long as we have breasts, all logic is invalid!" He stopped, realize he once again sounded way too smart to be a common thief and added, "Now put that bloody thing away before you put someone's eye out!"
He watched as she conjured the beautiful women out of thin air and he had to admit that he was impressed, not only with the abilities, but the creations themselves. Yes, as a member of the Breasts-Are-Distracting-Not-So-Anonymous Club, he had to confirm that these substitutes would do nicely. So she was uncomfortable with bearing her own breasts? Whatever. As long as there were attractive women for their captors to gawk at, what did it really matter if they were real or not?
"Of course I'm onto something! I'm Jack the Shadow! I'm brilliant." He huffed, catching a moment of nostalgia as the authority and self-importance crept back into his voice. He used to have that arrogance every day of his life and now, even if it wasn't for him, at least Jack could benefit. He missed being a prince. "Anyway," He continued, "while your concerns are valid, allow me to put your worries to bed: the guards work in the same place as we live -- do you really think they're going to escape with little more than some mud their boots? And, if that isn't enough, their uniforms have masks to protect the workers' identities."
He took advantage of the momentarily peace to slurp down his second eel. Really, these things were nasty.
"I don't run. My feet don't touch the ground when I move, so I don't think that qualifies as running. I am the fastest man I know. Do what you need to, but don't draw attention to yourself; we need to make it to the laundry room undetected and un-hassled."
|
|
|
|
Post by Khalidah Leaf-Fall on Jun 2, 2013 10:17:15 GMT -5
“You keep your mind off my funbags mister, they are none of your concern. And you don't need to explain anything to me... I have brothers, I know enough about the male mind”.
Khalidah bit into her fire roasted rat and shuddered at the flavour. While cooking them in the fire improved the taste, it did not make it any more satisfying.
“Careful of that ego Jack... such things could be your downfall with this plan. Walk, run, fly, whatever you might do... just be quick about it”, she shot back in return to his comment about her not drawing attention to herself. “I will be staying well out of sight of the warden and his guards while my illusions keep their attention. They won't even know that I'm there...”
The woman sat in silence, eating her roasted rat as she thought about the plan more. This was one of the times that she needed to overcome her customary disposition of poor judgement. While she could get away with poor judgement usually, this was not one of those times... poor judgement in this situation would readily get them both killed, rather than see them escaping.
Khalidah turned her eyes towards the two wolves. It was easy enough to tell that her newest companion was less than tolerant of their presence, but to be honest: they were around long before he was. And if he kept up that arrogant air about him, they would certainly inform him that they didn't like him either: by way of a few nips at his ankles.
However, his larger problem would be with her horse, Lamri, when she returned for the Andalusian. That's if "Jack" was still in her company at the time. Lamri had a tendency to bite people he didn't like on the rear end. It was easy enough for strangers to win the stallion over to their side, provided that they kept up a ready supply of choice carrots. If they ran out of carrots, Lamri would not run out of nips to the arse. Khalidah was really the only one that Lamri showed genuine affection for. Khalidah missed that temperamental horse.
“Need a plan on how to get the wolves out through the gates along with us. Unless they actually have guard dogs now too, then I could pass them off as guard dogs....” she mumbled in thought as she ate her rat. The black wolf lifted his large head, raising to his feet, as if reading her mind... trotting off on his own personal mission of finding out if guard dogs were present. One advantage of having the wolves on hand was that the guards had become so used to seeing wolves skulking about that they would not suspect one of actually being a scout. The guards had become slack in that department.
Kachina watched Hania go before moving closer to Khalidah and dropping her head into the woman's lap. Khalidah's stroked her head, thinking that this wolf was certainly turning into a 'lapdog'. They were wild... but they had become so used to her presence that she could mistake them for being tame. Tame, yes... domesticated, no. It had taken months to work herself into their small pack... there was safety in numbers. And the presence of wolves was enough to deter any would be rapists. Khalidah ruffled Kachina's ears gently before casting more illusions – birds, foxes, even dragons – while she ate the last of the rat, keeping up her skills. She needed to practice if she was going to cast three or more illusion-women to keep the guards distracted from her companions task of key thievery.
Khalidah even created a perfect replica of “Jack” himself while she brushed up on her skills... minus the mud and dirt stains. The woman tilted her head, glancing between the two versions.
“You scrub up pretty good once the dirt is off you...” she commented with a smirk before banishing the illusion all together. “Not bad at all, Jack”.
Putting the stick in her hand aside, Khalidah reached behind her head and quickly gathered her long black hair into a single braid that hung down her back. As she sat quietly she studied her human companion closely. She had to have seen him somewhere! His arrogance was far too “upper class” for that of a thief – at least from what she had seen of her fellow inmates. Khalidah stood up and looked around their temporary campsite. “We'd need to get closer to this door of yours... monitor the guards movements, their patrols in particular. The more guards on patrol, the less I have to worry about... with luck I won't have to improvise.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Peregrine Alexander on Jun 3, 2013 17:32:18 GMT -5
My attention is nowhere near your funbags, m'lady." He shot back. "Gods forbid I should accidentally stare anywhere in the vicinity of your chest." He grumbled, sitting down and crossing his legs, then hugging them to his chest.
He sat like that for a minute, staring into the fire. Peregrine didn't often second-guess himself; it just wasn't who he was. Peregrine was confident, he was quick, he was good at everything he tried, but the last time he had stolen so much as an apple, he had been a sweet-faced boy. He was the crown prince of a powerful kingdom, but that was then and now he was older, bigger, less nimble and a lot less protected by the law. When once he could do no wrong, now he could do no right. Besides, Jack the Shadow didn't even exist, he had conjured him for his own use. But no, Peregrine would never second-guess his abilities to be the hero and save the day.
He looked at her pet wolves with indifference. "Do with them what you please, just don't let them be the cause of our capture." He said, with a shrug. As long as they didn't get him noticed and didn't eat his guts straight out of his belly while he slept--or while he was awake, come to think of it--he didn't mind them tagging along. They might even prove useful, as far as hunting was concerned.
He watched her as she conjured her illusions and he had to admit, they were beautiful and he had a certain fascination with watching her fashion them, seemingly out of thin air. Finally, she conjured one that was achingly familiar. He stared at it for a minute before realizing, with a jolt, that it was him. Strange, watching his own face staring back at him, one that wasn't contained in a mirror, that was. That his was body alright, or had been, back when he had some meat on his bones. He had forgotten how red his auburn hair was and a part of him wondered if it was still that vibrant underneath all the filth on his matted hair. His eyes--bright turquoise, blinked back at them and although their intense color was accurate, there was something eerie about them and he looked away.
"Not bad." He agreed, quietly, at a loss to explain why he couldn't stare a replica of himself in the eye.
On cue, he rose and dusted off his pants, then remembered that dusting his clothes off was a moot point now, so he contented himself with pushing his bedraggled, dull hair out of his eyes and winding his way through the swamp.
He kept close to the trees, winding in and out of them and occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see is Khalidah was following him. He moved seamlessly through the space, silently leaping through the bog, save for the curses that escaped his lips when he slipped in something nasty. Finally, he looked back to check on her before he began to climb the nearest tree. He climbed all the way to the top and cautiously peeped through the top branches, as so to spy on the goings-on down below.
The wall wasn't swarming with guards, but the warden had a fair number of men milling around, none-the-less. His eyes roamed over the area, measuring the length of open ground in between the protective trees in the bog and the gate. He found it and he caught his breath. It was smaller than he had expected and while he knew he would be able to squeeze through, but it was still small. Satisfied, he scrambled down the tree.
"It's tight, but it can happen. Time to work your magic. Leave the rest to me."
|
|
