A few moments after Kyori did as she was told, Moebius pulled his hand away from the bars and shouted.
"HOW DARE YOU CUT ME YOU LITTLE-!"
Then, he stopped and stared from his hand to Kyori, and then back to his hand again. After that, he turned to the merchant and pointed a gnarled finger at the man in fine clothing.
"WHAT SORT OF SCAM IS THIS?! The creature cut me from the other side of her cage! Her hand did not even move!"
A handful of men and women in the crowd looked at Kyori, then to Moebius, then to the merchant. They began to murmur among each other, while waiting to see where the conversation went. Nobody seemed to notice how the pair of guards in the alley fell over and began to twitch and struggle against what appeared to be nothing but empty air. The struggle only lasted a few moments before the guards stopped moving entirely.
"Sir," the merchant said, looking at Moebius with a bored face, "She is muzzled and caged for a reason. If you provoke a wild beast, you might get bit or scratched."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT YOU POMPOUS, PATHETIC WRETCH! She cut my hand from the back of the cage! How can her arms reach so far, hmmm?! And how can she cut a man without moving?! UNLESS SHE IS BUT AN ILLUSION!"
The merchant blinked and his bored expression melted into one of indignant outrage.
"Just what are you accusing me of, sir?"
That last word was spoken with a tone of disguised anger and disgust. In return, Moebius continued to shout and scream.
"I AM ACCUSING YOU OF SELLING NOTHING AT ALL! I'll bet there isn't even a beast-creature in that cage, but a man with a knife! You'll take our silver for this thing and then give us nothing but an empty cage!"
The merchant blinked and shook his fist a few times, which just so happened to coincide with the guards, now on their feet and shuffling like sleep-walkers with eyes that were half-open and unseeing, throwing a tarp over the cage. The tarp, it seemed, was cut in such a way that the entirety of the cage was now hidden from the view of the crowd. The guards then clambered under the tarp, hiding all but their feet from anyone that looked their way.
"YOU SEE?! He has his men hide the creature, so we do not investigate the illusion!"
Some in the crowd began to believe Moebius' words, shouting at the merchant to lift the tarp and let them touch the beast. To bring her out of the cage.
Meanwhile, within the cage itself, Kyori was suddenly joined by a small, human boy. His clothes were simple and roughspun, appearing to be little more than rags sewn together in patches resembling trousers and a tunic. His skin was as pale as moonlight, and his lips were a bright and vibrant red. Oh, and the child had no eyes. Just empty, shadowed sockets where eyes should have been. And yet, his face stared directly at Kyori.
"Hello..."
The boy's voice was small and distant, sounding as if he was speaking from deep within a cave.
"Follow me when the door opens. I shall guide you to Sanctuary..."
As he said this, the guards shuffled around the edge of the cage to the door, staying somewhat hidden under the tarp. One of them, the stout one, took a ring of keys off of a hook on his belt. He chose one in particular to hold, and put it in the lock of the cage door. A quick twist to the right was all it took for the door to open a crack.
With the door open, the boy, rather than walk, floated through the bars of the cage and the tarp as if they were not there.
"HOW DARE YOU CUT ME YOU LITTLE-!"
Then, he stopped and stared from his hand to Kyori, and then back to his hand again. After that, he turned to the merchant and pointed a gnarled finger at the man in fine clothing.
"WHAT SORT OF SCAM IS THIS?! The creature cut me from the other side of her cage! Her hand did not even move!"
A handful of men and women in the crowd looked at Kyori, then to Moebius, then to the merchant. They began to murmur among each other, while waiting to see where the conversation went. Nobody seemed to notice how the pair of guards in the alley fell over and began to twitch and struggle against what appeared to be nothing but empty air. The struggle only lasted a few moments before the guards stopped moving entirely.
"Sir," the merchant said, looking at Moebius with a bored face, "She is muzzled and caged for a reason. If you provoke a wild beast, you might get bit or scratched."
"THAT'S NOT THE POINT YOU POMPOUS, PATHETIC WRETCH! She cut my hand from the back of the cage! How can her arms reach so far, hmmm?! And how can she cut a man without moving?! UNLESS SHE IS BUT AN ILLUSION!"
The merchant blinked and his bored expression melted into one of indignant outrage.
"Just what are you accusing me of, sir?"
That last word was spoken with a tone of disguised anger and disgust. In return, Moebius continued to shout and scream.
"I AM ACCUSING YOU OF SELLING NOTHING AT ALL! I'll bet there isn't even a beast-creature in that cage, but a man with a knife! You'll take our silver for this thing and then give us nothing but an empty cage!"
The merchant blinked and shook his fist a few times, which just so happened to coincide with the guards, now on their feet and shuffling like sleep-walkers with eyes that were half-open and unseeing, throwing a tarp over the cage. The tarp, it seemed, was cut in such a way that the entirety of the cage was now hidden from the view of the crowd. The guards then clambered under the tarp, hiding all but their feet from anyone that looked their way.
"YOU SEE?! He has his men hide the creature, so we do not investigate the illusion!"
Some in the crowd began to believe Moebius' words, shouting at the merchant to lift the tarp and let them touch the beast. To bring her out of the cage.
Meanwhile, within the cage itself, Kyori was suddenly joined by a small, human boy. His clothes were simple and roughspun, appearing to be little more than rags sewn together in patches resembling trousers and a tunic. His skin was as pale as moonlight, and his lips were a bright and vibrant red. Oh, and the child had no eyes. Just empty, shadowed sockets where eyes should have been. And yet, his face stared directly at Kyori.
"Hello..."
The boy's voice was small and distant, sounding as if he was speaking from deep within a cave.
"Follow me when the door opens. I shall guide you to Sanctuary..."
As he said this, the guards shuffled around the edge of the cage to the door, staying somewhat hidden under the tarp. One of them, the stout one, took a ring of keys off of a hook on his belt. He chose one in particular to hold, and put it in the lock of the cage door. A quick twist to the right was all it took for the door to open a crack.
With the door open, the boy, rather than walk, floated through the bars of the cage and the tarp as if they were not there.