Naked and...unafraid? [Lion King!]

[Rhindeer]

It was the loud crash that made Anoki jerk awake with a gasp, her heart just about jumping out of her chest--because she'd been having one of those falling dreams, and the crash coincided perfectly with Dream Her's collision with the ground. Blinking in the dark, groggy and disoriented, she let out a deep sigh when she realized she wasn't squished, it was all a dream, and she was still in her plush bed. Reassured, she turned over onto her side and stretched out--and then froze when her arm flopped out onto her bed, resting against a still-warm patch of bed that was now...empty.

When it shouldn't have been empty.

That snapped her to wakefulness, and she sat up in bed and shoved the blankets back.

"Caelwyn?" He was nowhere to be seen--but she could hear commotion just beyond her window.

Her window, which was open.

He didn't. Oh, idiot man!

Anoki slid out of bed, threw on her boots and grabbed her knife as a precaution, and rushed to the window so she could poke her head out. And sure enough, there he was, staggering along, clutching his side, and...

Anoki squinted her eyes.

What was he...? Was he wearing a dress? Her dress? One of her favorite sheer red numbers, too!

Noooo! He was going to stretch it out!

"Caelwyn! Caelwyn, wait! You wait right there! Stay!"

And then she slammed her window shut, turned, and sprinted out her door, nearly colliding with Vanity and her client, and raced down the stairs and out the door, ignoring the men calling to her as she went. He couldn't get far, staggering as he was--or so she hoped! But she didn't want to take any chances, and soon she was darting into the alley her room's window overlooked. "What are you doing?"

[Lion]

Oh he could get far!  He'd scour the entire earth to find those stinkin' slimy no good mud-flinger spawn.  Normally, Caelwyn was willing to let bygones be bygones.  After all, all the energy wasted fighting against the foolish and the stupid could be better spent on more important tasks.  Caelwyn wasn't immortal, he wasn't going to live forever, so why bother?  But this was different.  This was personal.

He was wounded sure.  He was dressed in a rumpled robe as a skirt and a wrinkled snug dress as a top.  It was hard to look tough when dressed like he ran away from a circus troupe, but nothing could put out the fire in his brain.

Except maybe for these stray rocks on the ground that were poking at his feet and the sharp pains slithering up his side.  And the voice calling out from behind him.

"Shit!"

That was when Caelwyn bolted.  Or rather hobbled hurriedly, clutching his side and trying to get as far away from Anoki as fast as his crippled body could go.  Maybe if he didn't answer, she'd go away!

[Rhindeer]

"What are you--stop running, dammit!" Anoki took off after Caelwyn with an exasperated huff, because why on earth was he running from her?! She'd helped him! Even given him a free massage!

And now he was taking off with her dress and...dressed like a loon, come to think of it.

If anyone saw him like that, they might think him crazy.

Which he sort of was, falling out of her window like that!

It didn't take much to overtake him, hobbling as he was, and she grabbed him by the shoulder to yank him to a stop. "Gotcha," she said, and forcibly turned him around to face her. "So, two things. One, why are you running from me, and two, why are you wearing my dress?"

[Lion]

Caelwyn back peddled away and leaned against a wall when she turned him.  His shoulder was a little sore and he visibly winced.  "Well, for starters I wasn't running, I was hobbling with speed," he corrected with a hiss.  "And for seconders, I'm out here because I have to get my bag back!  I need it!  And I can't very well do that naked.  There are laws against indecent exposure and I don't need to go to prison right now.  That'd be very inconvenient.  And for thirders, I know you're going to try and stop me, so that's why I didn't tell you."

[Rhindeer]

Anoki laughed at that, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head. "Actually, I'm not going to try to stop you," she said, and flashed him a grin. "You're the first man that's jumped out of my window, much less while wearing my clothes, so..."

She pat his shoulder, more gently this time. "Any man that does that is a thing to respect and fear. I think it's a good sign; we'll have good luck finding your bag tonight. However!"

She took off her tunic, right then and there, without a care for anyone walking by in the night--and without even minding that Caelwyn would see. Then she held it out to him with one hand and motioned to her dress with the other. "Let's switch before you stretch that out."

[Lion]

"Switch?  Why?  I don't know.  I think red is a nice color on me," he said , holding the sheer top to his chest.  He puffed his chest out to her and gave an exasperated sigh when she handed him her tunic.  This was ridiculous.  He was perfectly fine wearing the dress.  But if she insisted. 

Her breasts hanging out didn't faze him, much.  He'd been to Essyrn; there seemed to be nothing but exposed breasts when he was around.  Caelwyn slipped it over his head and took the tunic, pulling that on, and handing her the dress.

"But I'm keeping the robe-skirt," he said pointedly.

[Rhindeer]

"It makes your ass look good. Has a good swish when you move those hips, too," Anoki teased Caelwyn with a wink, before she pulled the dress over her head. She left her breeches on, because indeed, she didn't want to get arrested for public indecency, and it at least wasn't sheer at the breasts. It was an odd outfit, overall, but now they matched!

Sort of.

Either way, Caelwyn was earning major points in her head. Maybe he complained a lot, but he had reason to complain, and now he had her respect: it wasn't often (or, like, ever!) that she met a man so secure in his masculinity and sexuality that he was willing to chase bandits in women's lingerie, and now a makeshift skirt. And not only that, but he didn't even complain about it! Didn't even comment on it! He just accepted it and did it like it was perfectly normal!

Mad, mad respect.

So maybe he was still injured, and maybe she didn't think this was a good idea, but he'd gotten this far already, so...

Anoki tugged her dress down and smoothed it out. "We look ridiculous," she said, grinning. "Which means they'll never see it coming when we kick their asses. C'mon, then. Let's track those bandits."

[Lion]

There were things a man just had to do, without regard to clothing status, mental impairment, or injury.  If there was any lesson Caelwyn had taken away from his obnoxious father, it was that much.  You had to do what you had to do, and no matter what happened to you, nothing could stop you from doing it.  He was glad, at least, that Anoki agreed to help him in this endeavor.

He was going to do it anyway, whether she allowed him to or not, or she accompanied him or not.  But it was nice to have someone at your back when you were about to play emergency rescue in a robe-skirt.

Caelwyn pulled the shirt over his head and shrugged, careful to mind his ribs.  He wrapped an arm around them still, but tried not to look too fazed by it.  "Okay, first thing to do is go back to the scene of the crime, and then we fan out from there.  Unfortunately in my dazed state, I didn't really get that good a look at where they went.  But that's where you come in.  You know these mean streets, down to the dirt and gutter, I imagine.  So let's move!"

And he began to hobble off once more back to where they came.  Thank goodness it wasn't far because he kept skipping around, stepping on sharp rocks and hissing, "ow, ow!" as he went.  But he remembered the formation of the crates that surrounded the alley he was in and he pointed to the exact spot he was in.  "There!  I even see my blood on the floor.  Bahah!  Those rat bastards are as good as curdled cheese."

[Rhindeer]

Anoki gave Caelwyn a look as she wondered if "down to the dirt and gutter" was a quip about her whore status, or just an unfortunate turn of phrase meaning she was just familiar with the area, considering it was her home. But he hadn't made any insulting comments about her profession yet, so she decided to let it slide. She knew she could be overly proud, defensive of her choice, and defensive of the other girls, and now was just not the time!

Instead, she walked with Caelwyn. She'd humor him until he threw in the towel (he wouldn't last long, she reckoned!) and until then, she'd babysit! She imagined--and hoped--this would be an educational experience for him.

"Yup! That's your blood, all right!" she said, and gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "Now, if I remember correctly, and I've got a pretty great memory, they went that way." She pointed in the opposite direction.

"There's some taverns that way, but otherwise not much. But I'd say if I were a thief, and I'd just robbed some poor bloke naked, I'd probably head to the tavern for some ale and good-natured boasting! Not that I'd know anything about that. You holding up okay? You know, you'll need to really watch where you step, especially as we head down that way. You don't want to step on any nails."

[Lion]

Oh good, she was on the scent.  He was afraid he was going to have to search for himself, but thankfully she was one with her nose, much like a bloodhound.  "Good!" he said, beaming at her.  "Okay, be careful.  I don't want them to be alerted that we're on the trail.  Last thing we need is them scurrying to the four winds because they got spooked!  Okay off to the taverns!"

Caelwyn bolted off in the direction she pointed, like a spy tiptoing around bits of broken glass and nails.  "So what's the plan?  We go into every tavern and ask around for shady ruffians carrying around an extra pair of pants?"

[Rhindeer]

"That's the plan!" Anoki cheerfully confirmed, and reached out to grab his arm and tug him to the side before he could step on a rusty nail. "Surely that won't be too much of a hassle, hm? You were up close and personal with those brutes. You must have gotten a good look at their faces!"

She eyed him as she said it, head slightly tilted. "Right?"

[Lion]

Caelwyn 'pffft!' forcefully with his mouth and laughed, looking at her with a quirked brow.  "Of course I did.  They were both quite ugly fellows.  The one that ripped my paper, much to his misfortune because I found it a delight to read, had a scar down his eye, dark beady eyes like a goblin or a rat.  The other two were large, like tbears but with less hair, one bald, the other balding -naturally his hair was running away from his face considering how ugly he was. "

Caelwyn sighed and skipped over a loose cobble.  "They all smelled quite awful, but I'm not sure if that might aid in their capture because this whole city smells funky."

[Rhindeer]

Anoki pat Caelwyn on the back, consolatory. "Congratulations! You just described ninety-percent of Adela's criminal population! If all else fails, we'll find some crooks that fit that description and beat them out of frustration. Chances are, they'll have deserved the beating, anyway."

She flashed him a grin and ruffled his hair. "I kid. We'll find them."

And looking ahead of them, she caught sight of the first tavern on the block, The Rising Cock. Hanging above the door was a sign with a crowing rooster painted onto it, with a stylized sun in the background. Anoki snickered and pointed. "Hehehe. Rising Cock."

[Lion]

He shot her a curious glare.  Ah well, perhaps it wasn't the best description, but Caelwyn was positive that no matter what he'd recognize his assailants when he saw them.  He couldn't forget their foul teeth, beady eyes and that scar that rose up from between the index and middle finger on the first man, likely a knife accident gone wrong.  And another had a silver cap plated over one of his bottom teeth.  These were details he refrained from telling to Anoki just yet.  But when the moment became relevant he would divulge he decided.

Caelwyn turned and peered up at the unusual name of the tavern and blinked, not understanding the joke involved initially.  "What?  It's just a cock.  It's crowing at the sun.  Cocks do that come morning you know," he said with a blank face.

[Rhindeer]

"Cocks do that come morning," Anoki repeated, poker face on. It lasted for all of three seconds before her lips twitched, then she snorted, and then she burst into a fit of helpless laughter, doubling over and clutching at her sides. Gods help her, she couldn't help it! She'd been born with a twelve-year-old boy's sense of humor, and it was even funnier because Caelwyn didn't get it.

"They sure do! Cocks do indeed rise in the morning!"

[Lion]

He was taken aback and did a double take as she burst out laughing, unsure if he was laughing at him or with him - though he knew he wasn't laughing - and blinked at her.  It wasn't until she sobered that he finally nodded.  "Oh!  You mean cock as a euphemism for the male sex organ, otherwise known as the penis," he said, feeling like he solved a riddle.  "And the rising for be for when it becomes erect during arousal."  he gave a sighing laugh and shrugged.  "I suppose there is humor in that, though I'm not sure precisely as to why.  But the longer we dawdle the further our quarry gets away from us.  We can speak of cocks later.  We must resume our pursuit!"

And with that he took her hand in his empty one and ushered her on.

[Rhindeer]

"Actually, judging by the sun, I'd say it's a morning wood reference," Anoki snickered as they headed toward the tavern. "Gods, it's funny. Laugh! You're a man, where's your immature sense of humor? Most men are obsessed with their dicks."

But she sobered as they approached the door, and turned to look at Caelwyn as she rested her free hand on the handle. "Okay, you ready? We're just going to go in, take a quick look, see if you spot your boys, and then leave fast if we don't. This is a pretty seedy part of town, and dressed as we are--" She snorted. "We look like two idiots just begging for a beating."

That said, she opened the door and held it wide for Caelwyn.

[Lion]

Caelwyn did a double-take at their state of dress and memories of rocks and bullies came flooding back to him.  "Right," he agreed wholeheartedly.  "In and out real quick."  He moved through the tavern door, sauntering, trying to act as natural as possible.  "Remember.  Blend in."

But as soon as they entered, all eyes were on them -more specifically him- and he just moved on through to the bar and casually looked around the room, eyes scanning the crowd.  He spotted a pair in the back that resembled the second pair of men that lay the hurt on him.  He turned back to Anoki and hunched on the counter.  "The two in the back.  One should have a cigar burn on the inside of his wrist and the other, the balding one should have a silver cap on his tooth.," he said.

[Rhindeer]

It was an effort to keep a straight face. It was a serious situation, certainly--it was dangerous, going up against thugs like this! But "blend in"? And to have that line delivered deadpan? Anoki bit back her comments as she strode inside and did her best to own her ridiculous outfit.

However, there wasn't much Caelwyn could do to own his. People were looking, and she could see several leaning in to gossip amongst themselves. They must have thought Caelwyn was some sort of loon--and honestly, they wouldn't be incorrect.

She drew closer to Caelwyn when he spoke, and followed his gaze to the men in the back--and she had to admit, now she was more impressed with his observational skills. Details like that were valuable, and would set them apart from the hordes of nameless thugs. Not to mention, he'd been getting his ass kicked when he'd seen those men, yet he'd managed to pick up on those tiny details?

Flashing him a grin, she gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Good job. That'll narrow down our suspects," she said, and leaned in closer. "Why don't you go wait outside. I'll go check them out, and if they're our guys, I'll work some of my, let's say...magic on them to flush them out. I'll lead them outside, and then we'll take them together. How's that sound to you?"

She paused. "Though...before we do this, I need to know that you can. You said you can box. Think you're well enough for that?" Because she definitely had her doubts.

[Lion]

Honestly, he wasn't sure he was in any condition to fight.  Perhaps, if he willed himself enough, he might able to convince his body to go into overdrive to beat the information out of those two men.  He was skeptical at best.  "I'm fine," he said with a laugh.  "I'll meet you out back."

He nodded to her and slapped her ass as he got up from the stool and casually walked out the front door.