A Delivery Disrupted

[TreeFolk]

It felt as if they were never going to get to eat in peace! How were they expected to get everything they needed to get done- such as bathing, dressing, and prepping- when they kept bumping into trouble?

Kieta grumbled under her breath and finished off her fourth stick of fish. He hadn't even bothered to explain the word to her! "Would those 'bath houses' be a good place to go to, to hide for a bit while things settle down?"

She was about to ask him why the men were so adamant in tracking them down, but then remembered that she'd gouged a man's eyes out and lit another on fire. These men, however, didn't look like Scruffy's men. They looked more... Official. Beside them, she heard two women gossiping. "I heard there's a fire magic user at large! We're all in such danger!" Kieta cringed. Ah, so they'd caught on. "Yes, his hair was just as red as the fire he used on that poor man!"

The cringe on her face worsened as she turned to look at Trest, who thankfully still had his hair covered. It seemed like they hadn't noticed that it was her using the magic... Made sense, since Trest had been the one under attack by the man she'd lit on fire.

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If Trest had heard the gossip, he made no spectacle of it, but did swiftly answer her question.
"Yes.. yes, that's a great idea!" he went on, patting her on the arm as his grin grew. "Come on!" And as he moved to make a made dash away, fish in one hand, her wrist in his other, someone managed to step on the blanket that had been covering him and....

Off slipped the blanket, out came his red hair, and loudly the guards were barking,

"THERE HE IS, MEN! WASTE NO TIME! AFTER THAT MAGE!"

[TreeFolk]

Kieta stumbled a bit as he grabbed her wrist, and watched with great sadness as the fish on the sticks in the hand connected to her wrist began to fall off and onto the pavement. Really, it wasn't a time to be concerned about food, but damn it if she didn't mourn for the wastefulness of it all!

The remaining fish stick in one hand, she followed after him, easily ducking and dodging with him around corners and through alleyways. "I'm going to be hungry again after all this running!" Well, that is if she could fight down the nausea of running on a very full stomach. No, the 'fried' part of the fish was not sitting well with her. It was perhaps the richest food she'd ever had, and it was making her queasy.

"You're a thief, right?" She said between pulls of breath. "Where are your hiding spots? Don't you have them all over? How do you normally get away?!"

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"You have to realize one important thing about me, Kieta," he called to her from over his shoulder. "I'm the leader of thieves. I couldn't even tell you the last time I ever stole something!"
And he gave another jerk to her wrist as they made it to another alley way, where he paused just outside the window of a building, but instead of attempting to open and climb on in, his boots gave a tap.

And the metal of the sewer grate beneath his boots replied. He kept his eyes on her.

"Sometimes the best places to hide are the worst places to hide." And he kicked open the grate with is foot.
"Ladies first."

[TreeFolk]

Oh the stench! The stench which rose from that ungodly hole was enough to make her take a step back, her strong sense of smell nearly making her gag. Covering her mouth and nose with her free hand, she looked incredulously at him. "You can't be serious?!"

But he didn't have time to respond, because she could hear the yelling of the guards swiftly approaching. "I can't believe... Oh humans are filthy..." She pulled her hand away from him, plugging her nose with one hand and using the other one to grab at the rungs of the ladder leading down into the sewer.

She quickly descended the ladder, leaving room for him, but when she reached the bottom rungs she stopped. Surely he didn't expect her to actually step down there? Perched on the bottom rungs, she looked back up towards him, waiting for him to join her on the ladder, and she assumed close the sewer grate. "Gods, I'm going to be sick..." And her stomach was betraying her, along with the fried fish. She gripped the rung of the ladder, leaned over, and heaved. The sound of her vomit splashing into what she knew was the canal for the shit and piss of the city. She moaned pitifully, before another wave of vomiting started up, still clinging to the rungs of the ladder.

Kieta, now more than ever, really, truly hoped that his plan didn't intend them going through the sewers, but she suspected it did. Couldn't they just... Hang out here and wait for them to pass? Gods she hoped that was his plan, but even she knew that it would be smarter to pop up somewhere else in the city, far away from the streets where they'd been spotted. This, she decided, was by far the most disgusting moment of her life, even trumping the rotting feast of The Bull.

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"Quick, quick!" and he ushered her to step off the ladder rung and onto the small bit of cobblestone that did not dip into the gross sewer waters that moved past them like a stream of shit.. But then again, that's kind of what it was! And her vomitting did nothing to help his own queasy belly, as he tried his best to keep back his own vomit, which only was kept down because a second later, he heard the guards moving up above them, and he put a hand out, gesturing for silence.

The guards moved over head, their forms making the light flicker over head from where he could peer up through the grate. It seemed for now they were safe, and he turned around to look at her and smiled.

"Looks like we tricked them!"

And his facade lasted only two seconds more before the stench and fish in his belly got the better of him, an dhe too, vomitted all that he had ate.

[TreeFolk]

Kieta was barely able to silence herself long enough for him to give her the go ahead. At this point she was dry heaving, eyes watering, tears streaming down her face. He smiled at her! Who the hell was able to smile in a situation like this?! "You're the worst..."

She groaned again and cradled her stomach, sweat beading her brow sickly as she struggled to puke again. Good. Now he was puking, too.

Now that she couldn't puke anymore, only gag, she had the chance to look around. And she wished she hadn't. Gods help her she wish she was blind! Or at least that she had human eyes, because she could see every contour of the sludge of human bowel movements moving in the water. "No, no, no..." She moaned to herself, before clutching her knees and dry heaving again.

A pathetic, broken whimper escaped her, and the sound she emitted was as close to crying as she'd gotten in a long time. "Trest, please..." She was well and truly begging. "Get us the hell out of here!" She extended a shaky, clammy hand, pulling on his own hand. "Please!" She made sure to keep her voice low and quiet, in case their pursuers were still nearby above, but she couldn't keep the desperation out of her voice. It might have been better to have been captured!

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Trest was still double over, hands to his knees. He still felt as if he might wretch again and tried his best to calm his breathing so as to limit the amount he'd smell.

"We.. we can either try to go back up the way we came or... or..." Again, he was fighting down another rise of vomit in his belly. "Or find another grate and come back out at a different spot."

But seeing and feeling her desperation, he took in shaky breath.

"Let's... let's try the way we came in, first." Andhe paused, watching her. "Want me to check it out first, or do you feel comfortable doing it?"
Though he figured he shouldn't be wasting time asking her this. Ugh.

What a bad idea, a very bad idea.

[TreeFolk]

It'd be best if she went up first... At least she wasn't the one with the noticeable hair. "I... I can do it." Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she felt her stomach lurch, good indication that she needed to get out of there. As quickly as possible, she climbed up the rungs and reached the top where the grate was.

It was a little heavy for her, but she managed by using her shoulder to get it open. Cautiously, she peered up and around. The alleyway was clear, and the traffic on the streets seemed to have returned to normal. "Seems clear!" She called down at him.

She didn't wait for his reply before pulling herself out and crawling a cross the ground, weak from puking. Sprawling out, she gulped the fresher air, though the stench raising from the hole was still pungent on the air. She felt like the smells would never leave her nose, that she'd always smell and be able to taste the stench forever, unless she burnt it out of her nostrils. Holding her stomach, she squeezed her eyes shut, tears fresh on her face from vomiting so profusely.

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Air. Fresh Air!
It was the single most amazing thing in all the land. And the second he was able to indulge, he did.

He seemed to have faired a lot better during their short bought in the sewer than she did, and to see her on the ground so.....
"Well, guess it's time we got that bath, eh? You'll be hankering from one after all that. And trust me, it'll make you feel worlds better."

And before she could protest, he suddenly scooped her off of the ground and began to carry her, bridal style.

"I'm pretty sure the bath house is just down this street. Hopefully we can get the special package," he mused, continuing to carry her as if she weighed nothing at all.

[TreeFolk]

She wanted to protest, wanted to squirm her way out of his arms, but didn't. First, she thought it might draw the attention of others back towards them. As if having the man carrying wasn't enough to do that. And second, well, she didn't truthfully feel all that hot. She settled on scowling at him. "Your hiding spots are awful"

She felt light headed and leaned her forehead against his collarbone, cringing.  She grumbled under her breath, "You try having the sense of smell of a dog, and try going down there again!" It wasn't as if he was making fun of her weakness, but she felt vulnerable and silly. Like some weak princess type, fainting. But hey, she couldn't help it if the smells were so wretched, or that her stomach had already been more than ready to rebel on her even before they'd gone beneath the city streets and into that stink pit after eating the fried fish. She grumbled again. "What a waste of food..."

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"Yeah..... yeah."
He could only agree. And there wasn't much else to say, but hey- He couldn't complain to much now. Something felt nice about the moment, just carrying her away from all the mess they'd just been through. Unfortunately... he couldn't simply carry them away from the collars they now both wore.

"Well, here we are," he said, perking up by the time the front of the bath house came into view. He was beaming. "Shall I carry you inside and let them know we'd like a private bath together?" he teased.

[TreeFolk]

That was enough to spur her into retaliation to the closeness, to her moment of vulnerability. Thumping him hard in the chest, she flailed and escaped from his arms, a severe blush highly noticeable across her cheeks. "Don't be stupid!"

Jaw set, she glared at him and turned towards the bath house, the bright blush still painting her features as they entered. He was right, it did smell nice in here, and the warm air was soothing to her raw throat. When she was given a towel, she snatched it up, still too embarrassed to look him in the face. "Right..." She followed another woman into the room, and found herself in an open room with a shallow pool. Several other women were sitting in the pool, washing themselves.

Undressing rather quickly, she ducked into the water and submerged herself, before coming back up and beginning to scrub at her skin vigorously. Her mind, despite herself, returned to thinking about Trest's offer. Sure, she knew that he proclaimed to be... erm, more than comfortable with the ladies, but this was the first time he'd directed any sort of recognizable flirtation towards her. It made sense, seeing as they'd been a bit preoccupied up until this point. A blush heated her features again, and she scrubbed even harder at her skin.

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The punch only made his grin grow bigger.
"Suit yourself." And once she was off towards the women's side of the pool, he simply followed her ass-
And had to check himself. Oh boy, what was he thinking? Sure she was cute, sassy.. but now wasn't exactly the time to start flirting with a girl. Their lives were kind of at stake.

But hey... he wouldn't have mind had she agreed.

Moving towards the men's side of the pool, he carelessly tossed his clothing aside and stepped in. It was nice and refreshing as he had imagined, and the oils in the water did wonders on his skin. He could have stayed here forever. And soon he was closing his eyes...


And fell asleep. None the wiser that a few other men had been watching that happened, and they moved towards his clothing- and stole pretty much everything he had on him. And Trest was none the wiser, still sleeping away....

[TreeFolk]

Once she had sufficiently scrubbed her hair, she had positioned herself in from of a little table full of vials full of strange scents. Hopefully he wasn't waiting on her, because she was currently sniffing through each one, her long wet hair plastering across her body. The other women didn't seem keen to interact with her, eyeing the bruises and small wounds suspiciously. Kieta didn't mind this, and after some time she decided on one of the scents.

Mimicking one of the other women she'd seen do it, she took the vial which smelled lightly of sandalwood and dabbed it on her wrists, neck, inner thighs, and hair. Letting her hair dry into soft, clean tendrils, she crossed the room and found her clothes. Sniffing them... her nose curled up distastefully. Looking around, she spotted the pile of cloth a large woman had brought it. Making certain nobody was watching, Kieta picked up the soft cloth and cut off enough for herself... Surely the woman would still have enough to cover herself with. Plus, the woman's dirty clothes were still clean enough if she had to rewear them.

Using the corn flower blue cloth to wrap around herself like a sarong, Kieta scooped up her dirty clothing and shoved it into her bag. Pulling on her boots, she walked out of the bathhouse, expecting to find Trest. His scent was present, but he wasn't. She picked up the conversation of a group of men, clean and unsuspicious, but, to her chagrin, they were talking about stealing. Taking a closer look, she realized that must have been where Trest's smell was coming from.

She put her hands on her hips and glared up at them. "I believe those are my companion's things." She extended her hand out to them. "You'll give them back."

One of the men turned towards her, cornering her against the wall. He placed his hand next to her head, leaning on it. "That right, little lady? Maybe your man isn't man enough to keep a good eye on his things."

Kieta didn't lash out at him like she would have done otherwise. She didn't want to cause another scene. How many more places could they run to? And if they had to run again, would they have to hide in the sewers again? So she bit the inside of her cheek, and feigned boredom. "He isn't my 'man', but those are still his things."

"Not your man? Then perhaps you could do something to earn his things back... At least a few of them, depending on your efforts."

Kieta raised an eyebrow, not quiet understanding what they were threatening. It was clear that they were threatening her, but sometimes the language barrier prevented her from finding the finer nuances of things like this. Not giving them the appropriate reaction, she responded nonchalantly. "You're right, I could sever your man parts and leave you to bleed to earn his things back. But, as you said, that's quite a bit of effort."

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Well, the men hardly appreciated such a threat, and though they were bold enough to try to seduce her, they were really quite cowardly and not really up for a fight. After all, their biggest heist was stealing a sleeping man's clothes, and the bag full of gold that-.... they might have spent some of already! After all, their new boots were just too comfortable not to make a quick purchase of, while their boss was more than elated that Trest's boots fit him perfectly.

"Fine, sweets, you can stay here where the fun ain't," And before she'd have a chance to be faithful to her threat, the men turned tail and ran!

And it was about this time Trest awoke, groggily stretching in the waters. And as he made his way to the edge of the pool, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around.
"Where's my pouch?" his eyes darted around wildly. "And my clothes... and towel..."
Did someone steal even his TOWEL!? Really!?

[TreeFolk]

Kieta was torn between pursuing the men and checking on Trest. Surely if they had his things, he had to be in some kind of trouble! Following the men to the door, she watched them take off down the street, escaping quickly without her pursuing. Gripping the doorframe, she growled under her breath in irritation, before turning around and heading towards the men's side of the bath house. He'd better have been knocked unconscious and bleeding profusely when she found him!

The bathhouse attendant moved to try and stop her, but Kieta ignored her and stormed into the men's side of the bathhouse. "Trest?!?" She called out, concern coloring her voice.

And then she spotted him. Spotted all of him. Sure, she was able to see all of the other men who were reacting to her entrance in various ways, but something about knowing Trest personally made seeing his naked body more intimate. She'd seen her brothers in the nude, but it was entirely different. She'd never felt... Was it impressed? Was she impressed by his body? That was the easiest thing to believe, that she was merely impressed by how strong his body looked.

Mouth gaping for a moment and the blush returning with a vengeance, Kieta forced her eyes up to his face. She forced her embarrassment down and settled on a glare, though her face was bright pink. "How did you let a group of men walk off with all of your things, all of the money, without a fight?!" Her eyes brushed over his body again, this time searching for any signs of wounds. Nothing new, it seemed.

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Trest just stared at Kieta as she approached, and boy did she look pissed. And soon he found out why.
"Oh, so that's where my things went."
Maybe playing dumb wasn't the brightest idea, but heck, what else could he say?

[TreeFolk]

"Really?!" She didn't believe him for a second. And to her chagrin, he also didn't seem to be making any attempt to cover himself up.

She leaned and grabbed up a towel, and when the man made to protest, she glared down at him. "I'm taking this." The man, seemingly shocked by having such a small woman storm in during his bath and steal his towel, held his hands up and slowly sank back into the waters.

Kieta turned from the man and threw the towel at Trest. "How could you let your guard down!? You're really something, aren't you? Now what?"

She was beginning to make a scene, the other men in the bathhouse beginning to hoot and holler. One of the men called out, "Oy, fella, been there with the wife meself! Women, huh?!" Kieta turned to glare at him, and he and his friends elbowed one another, laughing. "Get yer woman back under control, will ya?" The laughter got louder, and Kieta's blush began to be one of anger, and not embarrassment.

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Trest caught the towel and raised his hand in defeat.
"Alright, alright. But its not like I can help it if I was so exhausted I feel asleep in the bath pool..." And he paused to look her over, seeing that face, before adding, "Wife."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure you were a part of that blame."