[MOVED THREAD! Heh, hope ya don't mind...I just decided to move it myself, since I have time and am anxious to get this done XD]
Amadeus frowned at the reflection staring back at him from the fountain. Dirty, disheveled, with bloodshot eyes, chapped lips and a dried bloodstain so old it was black and peeling staining the right of his face and matting his hair.
A dull pain throbbed up his feet to his ankles and he sighed, leaning forward to rest his chin on the edge of the fountain. The slight movement the action required woke up more aches in his shoulders and wrists. He tried to move his hands a little, but as always the knots that tied them to his belt were tight and secure.
At least it was morning. There weren't many people on the streets and if they did saw them, didn't get involved. Good, that was good. Amadeus had a heavy feeling in his gut that the creature was using him to try baiting another person into it's clutches.
The creature, Amadeus could see it's reflection from where he propped his chin. It was tall and slender and was swishing it's long horse's tail idly side to side. At the base of its tail, where someone with too big a sense of humor than needed, was a red ribbon that was once tied in a bow. One loop remained, the other end hanging loosely and weaving in the hair of the tail.
The world swayed a little, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore it. The insides of his mouth felt like they were replaced with paper. Dehydration was a bad way to go, hells it almost got him the last time the creature had him, but now it looked like his doorway out.
He smirked, tearing a little gash in his bottom lip. The chapped skin eagerly sucked up the dribble of blood that oozed from it.
The creature, Judal, looked over his shoulder to watch his pet. Here he was, offered the chance to quench his thirst with as much water as he wished, and he was just staring into the fountain like he forgot what water was.
Maybe he managed to acquire rabies while he was wandering free. How fun. Judal turned and sat on the edge of the fountain next to Amadeus' head.
<font color=red face=courier>It-tus-ka</font>, he chimed in an almost chastizing manner. <font color=red face=courier>Afraid of a little water now?</font> Judal pressed a clawed finger against Amadeus' bleeding lip.
As soon as he was touched Amadeus pulled away and glared up at Judal, his eyes crossed and his upper lip curling back, a few crimson lines stretching across it. Judal snickered.
A semblance of a smile crept onto the face of Adela's young princess as she gazed from around the corner of a small house, staring off at the two knights that were sent to find and return her to the castle. It never ceased to amaze her how easily the two brutes managed to let her slip through their grasp. Clanking around like lunatics, the two scrambled about continuously before finally settling down across the village.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Arelnath staggered to her feet and quickly slipped her shoes back on before taking off toward the fountain. It was the best little place to sit and think to one's self without ever really having to be bothered by anyone else, and that why she was always sneaking off to it. A safe haven and beautiful place all in one. Much better than that of the castle.
Scuffing her feet on the ground as it slowly came into view, she whipped a few light brown tresses from her face. She could never imagine leaving this place; getting married and carried off to some other kingdom. People began talking about what she was going to do with the rest of her life. Many even complained, saying that she should've been married years before. And here she was at nineteen running the small streets of the village, being hunted like a dog.
How any girl could ever want to leave her home was beyond her understanding, and a slight scowl was given under her breath as she kicked at a pebble. It rolled far ahead of her, bouncing and skipping across the ground before it came to a clashing halt at the side of the fountain.
Exhaling in frustration with her eyes closed, she tipped her head back quite a bit before stopping. Raising an eyebrow as she caught the sight of the two at the fountain her feet carried her back a step. There was the immediate feeling that she was intruding on something that had something to do with her.
As a result, she immediately took a hold of the sides of her dress and curtsied politely with her head tipped down. Her pale face was hidden by the long strands of brown hair that fell in front of it, almost reaching the ground at this point. Though she was a tomboy and told so many times, she did have the proper manors and minded them whenever she desired so. Now seemed like one of those desired times.
"My apologies," Arelnath spoke, her voice a tad bit shaky and softer than one would expect from her. "I didn't know that someone else would be here . . . No one usually is."
Amadeus looked over his shoulder when he heard the woman's voice, his pale eyes wide with shock. "Miss," he said softly, in as calm a tone as he could. Having her think he was mad wouldn't do any good. "Run, please you -"
Soon after Amadeus turned to look at the girl Judal grabbed the back of his head and, once he began speaking, shoved his face into the water. "Don't mind him, he's very thirsty and isn't in a good mood. Judal lifted Amadeus' head from the water, stood and grinned. His teeth were pointed and slightly grey-ish in color.
"Hmmm, what mischief-" He began walking towards her "brings you out here-" Judal crossed his arms behind his back and began to swish his tail side to side, he changed his course to walk around the girl when he within two feet of her "so early?"
Amadeus coughed raggedly, water spilling from his nose. His chest, being doubled over the fountain's edge was burning, hungry for air and a release from the pressure.
Her feet were all ready to take off just at hearing the word "run" and it hadn't even struck her brain at the time. But she didn't get further than a small step backwards before she notced the other's teeth, causing her to shiver vigorously within that dress of hers.
Pointed. Fangs. Vampire perhaps? No, he had a tail. Vampires didn't have tails, well, from what she knew about them anyway. So then what was he? It was something that bothered her, caused her to think. Right up until he started to circle around her she felt a little at ease. But now she started to shake a little more than she already was. Oh all the days to have not decided to carry a knife or something with her.
"Eh . . ." she somewhat started, her hands clasped in front of herself as she stood upright. "No mischief . . . yet . . ." She swallowed a bit, trying to clear her throat a little from nervousness. "I come here on a daily basis."
Her bright green eyes looked off toward the other at the fountain, a little concerned for him and hoping he'd get his normal breathing back. A little red flag was waving frantically within her head, telling her to make a run for it. But her feet wouldn't budge from their spot. Now was just one of those times she wanted to hit herself and wake up.
"Yet," Judal parroted, snickering a little afterwards. He stopped when he was standing behind the girl and placed both hands lightly on her shoulders. "Tell me, what do you usually have planned when you visit?"
Amadeus coughed the last bit of water from his lungs and slid back, landing roughly on his rear and almost toppling backwards. A bit of the dirt on his face was cleaned off by his sudden immersion, and a stain of dark water surrounded the dried blood, it was almost invisible on his tanned skin, but showed up well enough on his blonde hair. He twisted around so he was partially facing the woman and the creature.
The creature didn't seem to be paying any attention to him, but he was very close to the woman. She needed to get away from it, but the creature would have to be distracted somehow.
It frightened Arelnath into giving a slight jump when the creature placed his hands on her shoulders, and well, took her off guard completely. She hadn't expected for him to do that and the back of her neck started to get a prickling feeling as her hair began to stand. There wasn't much that she could do even if she wanted to. It was now more impossible to get away than it would've been a moment or two ago when she had thought about it.
"I . . ." she said softly, taking a look over to his hand on her right shoulder. It was indeed a tad bit nerve-wreaking, but she attempted not to let it show that much. ". . . sit here and wait . . ."
She knew it was not very wise to have said something of the sort, but it was the truth nonetheless. Her eyes drifted off to the other at the fountain, a little more concerned for him at the moment more than for herself. She didn't know what to make of it all, other than that it was a bad idea to have come to the fountain so early today.
A cold sweat began pricking up Amadeus' arms to his neck and jaw. The woman didn't begin panicing, he didn't know yet if that was a good move or a bad one, the creature was somewhat capricious.
The girl's reaction brought a smirk to Judal's face, humans were so iffity about being touched. He squeezed her shoulders a bit, taking care not to dig his claws into her skin. "What is it you wait for?" he chimed in a sing-song tone.
Quite the inane plan to distract the creature's attention filtered into Amadeus' mind. Anything was better than sitting and thinking though. He slowly rose to his feet, almost falling a couple times due to lack of support from his arms and put a foot on the edge of the fountain. Once that foot was steady he pulled the other foot up, placing it carefully in front of the first. He glanced quickly back at the woman and the creature and began walking slowly along the edge of the fountain.
Judal perked his horse-like ears toward the fountain. That was new, he'd never seen his human walk around on the edge of anything. He watched Amadeus for a bit before refocusing his attention back on the girl.
Goosebumps began to form on her bare lower arms just before she decided to wrap them about her stomach to try and conceal them from sight. Arelnath took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, her shoulders moving gently beneath his claws. What was it that she had been coming here day after day to wait for? If she didn't know, then no one else would.
"I don't know what it is . . ." Her attention was drawn to the human at the fountain, tilting her head down a bit but still watching him. He was going to fall, she had the feeling he was going to fall somewhere along the lines. But she tried to pay no heed to that feeling. "All I know is that it'll show up here."
Those gut instincts of hers were usually right on target, yet that didn't mean she always listened to them. Just like she wasn't now. Her entire body began to quiver a bit, and her hands were just itching to grap a weapon. Any weapon. Something that would make for a good defense, though she doubted much of anything would be any good.
Her head turned to the side, visible to the creature behind her but her gaze was not searching for him. Just stuck to the dirt on the ground. "What about you?" she asked, trying to keep somewhat of the calm composure she had started out with. "Why are you here anyway?"
((Sorry for my inactivity a general steamrolling of stuff kept me away from the computer ^_^''))
One footfall didn't land evenly, the foot wriggling reflexively to correct itself and send a series of waivers up the rest of Amadeus' body. He held his breath, twisting and trying to set the foot down steadily so he wouldn't fall. After a moment or so the foot found it's balance. Amadeus relaxed and put more weight on the foot, raising the other foot for another step.
And that was when the off balance foot's ankle decided that it had done enough work for the day. It gave and Amadeus toppled sideways onto the street, landing hard on his right side. He groaned softly and layed there, a bit of blood oozing from his lip and a throbbing ache beating in his hip, elbow and eyebrow.
Judal's ears pricked upward and he snickered dryly when the human fell. The event made him forget what he was about to say to the girl, who was looking back at him and asking questions of her own. They were amusing enough, he'd answer this batch.
"I like it here," he trilled. "And this fountain has water that my Ittuska can drink. He is a very picky human and goes through strange moods. A few days ago he was drinking very well, but now he refuses even though he is so very thirsty and almost drowned himself trying to get a drink."
(( That's all right. No worries. ))
The thud sound from over by the fountain caused Arelnath to jump, her head immediately turning to look in his direction without second thought. Her hand came up to touch her lips gently, seeing the crimson liquid from his lip, a little more than wanting to go over and make sure that he was going to be okay. Then she thought if she tried to move, harm might come to her and there was no way of explaining that when she managed to get herself back into the castle.
Holding back, she listened to the creature as he replied to her question. He liked it here? That made her think quite a bit. Not many people thought that this place was a place to be liked. It was getting old, even for a kingdom what was newer than the others. There was just an awkward feeling she had when he said that.
"Ittuska . . ." It sounded more like an actual question than a statement when she repeated it to herself. That was a term she had never heard before, probably because of her rank in society. Either way, she shook it off her mind and focused on something else. This was truly a bizarre moment for her, not that much else wasn't. Being basically held in place was new in itself.
"So that's the only reason you're here?" she questioned him again, trying to keep herself out of any more trouble that could occur. "I've never seen you around before . . ."
Judal grinned widely at the girl's response to his human, his lips almost stretching back into his hair. He tightened his grip, dragging one claw against the weave of her dress to snag the fabric.
"It-tus-ka," He repeated breathily. "Yes, that is what I call him. Do you like it? Hm?"
Amadeus groaned again, drawing his legs up to his waist. He had to get up again. Of course, that'd be easier if his head didn't start swimming when he lifted it while pulling his legs in. He lifted it again to look back at the woman and creature, trying his best to ignore the waves of dizziness. His vision winked in and out, from the street to darkness and back again. There was a chance he could push himself up to a sitting position. If he didn't black out first.
A pidgeon jumping from it's perch in a tree to flap up to a building caught Judal's eye, he kept his ears focused on the girl and watched the bird. Didn't humans eat birds? When was the last time Ittuska ate? Maybe he should let the human hunt. The girl had more questions. He looked back at her and grinned again, resting his head so close to her ear that his breaths would whisk against it.
"I don't like to be seen."
He chortled, curling the points of his claws down to press her shoulders.
The muscle in Arelnath's shoulder twitched as the creature snagged her dress's fabric with his claw, her gaze darting to investigate just as chills began to race up and down her spine. It wasn't the right place to be in, nor was it the time to be in it. Timing, it was never something she was good at.
"It's . . . interesting," she admitted, trying to calm her tense shoulders a bit yet had no success in doing so.
Her senses were all out of whack from confusion and misplacement of time and space. Whatever it was, she couldn't think straight, let alone truly focus on anything other than getting away after she felt his breath against her ear. It sent her into a phase of wanting to leap for the nearest tree despite not even being able to make a leap that great, of going to any length to get away.
Nothing was coming to that hazed out mind of hers. Hopefully the longer she could keep the creature locked into talking, she'd be fine. And her shoulders locked completely as those claws of his pressed into them.
"Why is that? Is there something that you fear?" Arelnath questioned him yet again, doing her best to keep conversation going for her own good.
"How cute," Judal chirped. "You are scared-maybe worred-definitely and you still respond with a straight voice."
For the third time Amadeus tried to push himself up. He lifted his head, closing his eyes to stave off a little of the dizziness. Lifted his head an inch from the ground, an inch and half, two inches, three, four, five, five and half. If he could get high enough he could push himself up with his momentum. Then his stomach lurched, his head swam and he leaned forward, his head slowly being drawn back to the ground again.
Amadeus growled softly, there didn't look like much of a chance of him sitting up on his own. If he could get back to the fountain though, he could lean against it for support. His feet were closest to the fountain, just like they'd been when he was walking along it's edge. He wriggled a little, stretching his legs out toward the fountain. Wiggling, stretching and resting until the tip of one foot brushed against the edge. He smiled a little, taking a moment to rest and think.
Judal released on of the girl's shoulders and lifted that hand to paw her hair. He would tease out a little bit, let it fall back against her head, tease out another little bit and so on.
The tension in her shoulders only shot through the roof when the creature removed his hand from her shoulder. It was the worst situation she had been in before, but it was certainly starting to feel like it. Each of his movements and every single one of his words sent Arelnath toward wanting to force herself to blackout. But she wasn't exactly certain if it was better to not know what was going on or to know.
"It comes with the social rank," she spoke out before she caught herself, not sure if it was good or not to say where she stood in society.
She swallowed hard. It was getting more and more unusual for her by the minute. Sheltered life never explained how to go about situations like this, let alone life outside of the castle walls. To her, it was out of the category of every day life. Whether it was or wasn't for the villagers, she couldn't be sure.
"You didn't answer my question . . ." Arelnath blurted out, still trying to keep him distracted to the best of her ability. The longer, the better, she presumed; hoping that maybe someone would stumble by. Then again, that was a little much to hope for.
She hushed her voice a little. "Why don't you like to be seen?"
"Ah," Judal trilled after the girl mentioned rank. She had to have been a high ranking human, a lower ranking one probably would have broken by now. Collapsed into a little heap and begged for mercy or struggled and ran while this one stood confidently. Well, perhaps not entirely confidently, but she didn't seem as scared as she should be.
He grinned when she asked her question again. That question had already been done with - old news. His continued to drag his claws through her hair, momentarily wondering what she would do if he took his other hand off her. That might make an interesting spectacle, but-
"Ittuska is also of a good rank," he mused, moving his other hand up to her head to move it in the man's direction.
Amadeus, who had curled up a little while he was thinking up his next action, discovered something. His hands weren't too far from his mouth, if he could curl up into a tight enough ball and stretch his hands as far as they could go he might be able to reach. He curled up, nearly touching his head with his knees and stretched his head as far forward as he could, wriggling his hands side to side and then up at his face. There was a little space between his mouth and the cord. He lunged forward and bit. His teeth clipped against empty air. Amadeus groaned and wriggled his hands side to side again.
Judal snickered and drew both of his hands away from the girl's head quickly, stepping back a pace and swishing his tail side to side.
That human was of good rank? That wasn't one bit reassuring to Arelnath. All it did was cause her to realize that there was now an even higher possiblity that she wouldn't be getting out of this jam any time soon. Struggling to get away seemed like the only path out anymore, but she didn't want to get roughed up. Standing there before the Queen and what others she had with her was not on the list of things to do. And she didn't want to be chained to her room and on a full lockdown.
Her gaze remained on the man as it was directed, her face going pale slightly. There was the urge to go over and help him up, but she was hesitant as before to make any real drastic movements. Even as the creature drew back away from her a bit, she didn't know how fast his reflexes were compared to hers. It was too much of a gamble right now.
Sliding her foot to the side to relax her stance a bit, her eyes scrunched shut for a moment. Letting out a gentle sigh of relief, she lifted her other foot off the ground and took a step forward. Then the other; now a good three paces away from the creature. Still not good enough distance. Arelnath had to get herself the hell out of there. Whether she had nerves of steel to begin with or not, it didn't matter. They were liquid steel by this point, but she wasn't going to let it show so easily.
"I . . ." she began, her voice a bit shaky as she took another step. ". . . have to go. Bye," she finished hurriedly, her feet no longer hesitating to take off.
She felt one long step, then another. And a third. She was in the clear. Fourth step. It was time to get away, nothing was going to stop her now. Fifth step. A grin came over her lips, her eyes closed tightly. There was no way she was looking back, she didn't want to see behind her.
Judal laughed, it was high pitched and shrill, but he didn't follow the girl. He still had Ittuska to play with, and that human had yet to become unamusing. "Goodbye girl," he called once he was done laughing. "Perhaps we'll see each other at a later time."
Amadeus rolled over when he heard the footsteps and saw the woman walking away. The creature was standing with it's arms folded over its waist, casually bidding her off like they just finished a bit of friendly nonsense chatter. The creature was illogical, so he focused on the woman, silently urging her on. Hopefully she wouldn't fall to compassion and try to help him. He doubted the creature would like anyone trying to help him escape. He ground his teeth together and made an attempt to sit up, one shoulder sliding against the edge of the fountain.
Judal smirked and swiftly walked to the fountain, sitting an inch away from his little human and looking down at him. Aww, Ittuska was watching the girl go. Perhaps he was interested in her? How sad that he was bound up and couldn't decide to follow her. Judal's smirk widened into a toothy grin and he propped his chin on the backs of his hands.
Arelnath took in a quick glance at the bound human before rounding her way around the nearest home. Out of sight, she slammed her back against the wall and tipped her head up a bit, panting more from fright than that short dash of hers. She balled her fist up tightly and pounded it against the wall, muttering to herself under her breath.
How could she have been so selfish? Leaving that fellow human with that awkward creature . . . It wasn't right, she knew it. Biting down on her lip, her fist started to shake a bit before pounding it on the wall again. Flattening herself against the wall as she heard footsteps, one of the two guards from earlier wandered by; seemingly lost in his own world.
Perfect, she grinned, kneeling down and taking hold of the largest rock she could find -- which turned out to be no larger than the palm of her hand. It would have to cut it for now. Holding it as she crept up behind the guard, she raised her hand and brought it crashing down on the helmet the guard wore. The loud noise caused her to cringe a bit, and she hardly waited for him to fall to the ground before unsheathing the blade at his side. Assault on a kindgom guard; that wasn't going to be looked at too lightly.
Testing out the blade's weight for a second, she tossed it back and forth between her hands before spinning it slightly and letting the sharpness of the blade come to gently rest on her shoulder. Letting out a sigh and moving before anyone could see her, she rounded back to the wall she had been against.
Swallowing as she came back into the opening where the fountain was, both hands behind her back with one clutching onto the hilt of the blade, Arelnath held fast her posture must better this time around. She couldn't back down and desert this human, it just wasn't right of her to do that. Even if she got a scratch or two, and had to stand and explain it all, it'd be worth it in the long run.
"Please, let that human go." Arelnath didn't seem to shake, and neither did her words as she directed them toward the creature after seeing him at the fountain. Her words were stern and more powerful than any of the ones she had spoken before. Even if she was royal, it was wrong to walk away from this all and not try to do something.
She had to try anything at this point. It wasn't so much of a matter of holding up pride or honor for herself. Not even the search for some sort of reward. It was more or less the having guilt ride on her conscience, and she didn't want to deal with that the remainder of her mortal life.
Judal's ears pricked up in amusement when he saw the girl walking back towards them, her hands hidden behind her back. Who would have known that they'd see each other again so soon after she skittered off.
Amadeus gave her an odd look, the same sort of confused features a person about to watch someone jump off a thirty story building would have on their face.
After her request Judal snorted, his lips stretching further to the sides and lowered one hand to rake it's claws through the back of Ittuska's hair. [color=red"No."[/color]
Amadeus cringed when he felt the creature playing with his hair, thinking that putting a little trust in the woman's attempt to get him away from it was better than trying to warn her off. She was brave enough to come back to help him and there was a good chance that she'd do better than he had, said a glimmer of metal behind one of her shoulders. He glanced up at her, his face neutral and gave a quick nod while the creature was drawing its hand back between strokes. There wasn't much cord tying his hands at his waist, but if he was lucky she wouldn't need a lot of space to cut them. He held his hands out as far as he could and moved each to the side until the cords threatened to bite into his skin. The space in between was about half an inch of knotted cord that lashed one hand to another and that binding to a cord that went to his waist.
"Unless," Judal said suddenly, a good time after his first statement passed. "You can give me something better." He perked both eyebrows and slid his lips back together, smirking.
Arelnath's hands tightened immensely on the hilt of the blade, more than ready to attack the creature head-on without any more thought put behind it when he replied 'no'. Her arms shook slightly until she saw the human give a swift nod of his head. He knew she had the blade, that was good. But did that mean the creature knew about it as well? It didn't seem to be that way just yet.
Her right eyebrow arched up a bit. What was that creature talking about? Something better? What exactly did he want? Gold? Power? She couldn't decide, and she wasn't anything other than hesitant to even respond to his words. They bewildered her, surely it was some sort of thing that any other person holding someone in captivity would want. Unless this being had some sick twisted mind, which wasn't more than obviously assumed so. But she was far from being a mind reader, so as to what he thought was better was a complete mystery to her.
"And . . . what exactly would you be meaning? Whatever it is that you want in exchange for his freedom can be arranged." She was desperate, she had to admit that to herself. That human's life was hanging on it all, and she was going to do anything that she had to to give him his freedom. He didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
Judal rubbed the top of Amadeus' head, ruffling his hair and getting some strands coiled around his fingers.
Amadeus cringed. Whatever the creature wanted in exchange for his release probably wouldn't be pleasant. The woman couldn't agree to it. He looked up at her and crossed his eyes a little, trying to think of some way to tell her. Talking was out of the question and he couldn't gesture since his hands were bound and the creature's hand was on his head.
Maybe he could mouth it. She'd have to be looking at him for that to work, but it was worth a shot. He coughed raggedly a few times and mouthed 'No, sword, cut'.
Judal tilted his head upwards, pretending to consider what it might want. "Something amusing," he purred, looking back at the girl. "It would have to be entertaining, at least as entertaining as Ittuska is. If it wasn't entertaining or fun it would have to be tasty. Good enough to make me forget losing little Ittuska. Hmmhmmm... if you can find me something that's entertaining, fun and tasty I'll give you Ittuska and you'll never have to see me ever again."
Arelnath narrowed her gaze significantly as she listened to the creature, keeping a tab on the human out the corner of her eye; just catching the words he mouthed in her direction. No, she couldn't set him free yet despite the urge to. She needed to see if what this creature truly wanted was reasonable enough that she wouldn't have the need to use the sword behind her. All in all, attempt to keep things peaceful . . . she reminded herself.
She tried to relax a bit, tempted to sit herself down and negotiate things out. But then that blade would be revealed and her back-up plan would be shot into the light. Releasing one hand from the hilt, she brought in up to her lips and tapped a finger against them gently in thought. In her thoughts, anything was better than holding someone captive. But that didn't seem to tbe the case here.
What was going on in that creature's mind exactly?
It wasn't long into the thinking process that she abandoned her thoughts."I'm sorry . . . I don't have the specific idea of anything that could possibly fit that. And suit you." Letting out a sigh, she slumped a bit back against the blade. "I can't make out your way of thinking. Anything should be better than a captive human. But that doesn't seem to be the case with you . . . And that's where I hit the wall."
Judal's lips parted into a wide grin, he resumed petting Amadeus' head stroking it slowly, disinterestedly. "You sound like you speak from experience."
Amadeus frowned a little, either she didn't see them or she didn't understand them. Lip reading wasn't a familiar subject to him, he didn't know how to do it or if he was enunciating the words well enough for someone that could do it. He exhaled through his nose and glanced back at her shoulder, looking for the sword again. Not there. Had he been seeing things? He couldn't remember if dehydration incouraged hallucinations.
Judal let his eyes slip back down to his human. He was just watching the girl, he wasn't even trying to get away from his petting hand. Usually Ittuska struggled most amusingly to avoid being touched. He couldn't be broken already, not Ittuska. Maybe he just needed another break, after his first break he was much more interesting. It could give him time to work on that little experiment he'd been itching to try, and possibly get him something to test it on...
"Hmm you do strike a good point. There are many more interesting things than captive humans. Humans can be so dull," he paused, gauging the girl's reaction. (Amadeus' eyes crossed.) "I should try something different, an elf maybe. Or one of those great bull horned men. No, no, no, no, maybe I should try something smaller, smaller than a man. A little cat perhaps? The clawed feet should make it a challenge to contain hmm?"
Arelnath's eye twitched a bit. Calm negotiations were things that she had been placed through for the experience. Nothing that had a life riding on the outcome since the ones she had studied and participated in were mere practice between her and Lords and Ladies of the kingdom. Then, they were given specific things to discuss. Now, she was working on her own whim and conscience. It was exasperating.
But she retained to keep her thoughts collected and orderly and not to stress herself out. She consistently told herself to think of it as a practice game; one with a very high price to pay. It wasn't evident that she was a little antsy with all of this, but it wasn't completely hidden either. Yet as she listened to him further, a slight relief came to mind. There was nothing personal that she held against other creatures -- since her brother was three-quarter demonic blood -- it was just that at the moment she was valuing in own kind over any other.
"You're in holding of what will be the exchange for his freedom, not I. 'Tis your decision, and your decision alone." The sooner that this all came to a closed compromise, the better. "A cat, hm? They can be quite a challenge," she said, agreeing with what he had said and somewhat urging him to go with a decision along those lines. She didn't want to place pressure on him and have things go wrong. Everything was fine so far, but then again this creature wasn't one bit of a predictable being.
Amadeus' jaw parted slightly when the creature pondered taking a cat in exchange for his freedom. A cat? He was almost tempted to look over his shoulder to see what sort of expression the creature had. Was it serious? Trying to mock them by saying that a cat was more of a challenge than a human?
Shouldn't he be delighted that the creature wanted something so simple for his freedom? If this scenario happened during the first couple days the creature held him captive he would have been elated at being let go for a simple cat, which would hopefully claw and bite its way free of anything used to contain it. Now though, he wondered if the creature was playing another game. Or maybe he wasn't. There was always the chance that it was serious, slim but there. His eyebrows began to pulse.
Judal ran a dark purple tongue over his teeth and crossed his arms, tapping a claw against a bicep. "Yes. Yes that's sounds about right. A cat in exchange for Ittuska," he locked eyes with the girl. "A mature cat, no youngling that could be destroyed with a single claw."
Arelnath almost wanted to go and question this creature further, possibly shoot an insult at him for thinking a cat was more challenging than a human. At this point, however, she really didn't care if that was an insult or not. She'd take any and every insult she had to in order to give this human back his freedom. That was far more valuable than any type of pride that she had. A life was a life. Pride was nothing compared to that in her eyes.
Letting out a sigh, she gave a nod of her head. "Then it's a deal, right?" Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but let her grip tighten on the hilt of the blade. If it indeed turned to be some sick joke, she wasn't about to go and make more negotiations. She'd just cut Amadeus out of his bonds and get him out of there. Always needed a backup plan for when things took a turn for the opposite direction. Yet there was the feeling that there was a strong sincerity in it all.
"Ittuska for a cat . . ." Arelnath swallowed. Keep it cool, don't drag it out any longer, she told herself in her head. "How long do I have to get you this mature cat?"
Judal laughed and patted Amadeus' head again, ruffling his hair with his claws. "Take your time, find a good cat, Ittuska isn't going anywhere. If I were to cut his bonds now he would probably sit where he was and wait for return." Judal slipped his hand down further, curling his fingers around Amadeus' chin and forcing his head back. "His eyes haven't left you since you came."
Amadeus' eyebrows crossed and he jerked his head side to side. The creature didn't react, it was still looking at the woman, that smirk still on its face. He stretched his hands as far forward as they would budge. There was a chance that the woman was talking a deal with the creature to distract it, if that was the case he didn't want to hinder her any when she decided to free him.
Judal dropped Amadeus' head and 'hmmm'-ed; tapping a finger against his chin, and swishing his tail rythmically back and forth. "Perhaps I should accompany you when you get this cat? I would hate for you to forget about it. It would make Ittuska so unhappy if you never showed up at the fountain with the cat."
Amadeus' shoulders spasmed and he took a quick look up at the creature. Was it serious about trading a cat for him? For all he knew it could be another facet of its game, going along with the trade until he was bored with it and stopped. On the same note, with what he knew the creature could be serious...
Arelnath's hands twitched behind her back. She didn't seem to be bothered that Ittuska was watching her the entire time. Who could blame him? If someone were trying to get her out of a situation like that, she'd be watching him, or her, the entire time as well. You could never tell who was going to stand by their words and who wouldn't. Apparently, the creature was way ahead in the thought process about that than she was when he suggested his tagging along in the hunt for a good cat. That was what bothered her more than anything.
He wasn't to be trusted, that was made clear from the start of the whole thing. For all she knew, he could turn the tables and attack her before she even blinked. She didn't want that. Strange how the world really worked, it wasn't amusing to her one bit. Normally she despised the life she had, but now sheltering seemed very desirable at the moment.
�Fine,� she said, looking down at Ittuska as she only knew him, �I wouldn’t want you to think that I was a fake in my words and agreement. You may accompany me to select this good cat for the exchange.�
She didn’t want to know how Ittuska was going to react to her going along with his idea, so she moved her gaze off him. He knew more about this creature, yes, she was sure of it. But she didn’t want some sort of a discouraging look from the human. It wasn’t something that was going to keep her spirits up in the effort. What spirits she had, anyhow. Not many, just enough to give her the nerve to keep standing there and not instantaneously attack the foul and loathsome being. Arelnath kept her thoughts to herself.
â€?But . . .â€? She stopped. There had to be a line drawn somewhere. She was going to draw it now while she still could. â€?You can’t turn your back on the agreement, and you can’t change your preference of what the swap shall be. So I hope you’ve thought it out. And once the exchange is made, you cannot â€" I repeat, cannot â€" come after Ittuska ever again.â€?
Amadeus sighed when the woman agreed to let the creature tag along. If she refused the creature might attack her while she was leaving, or keep up its civil act and wait for her to pass out of sight before dragging him away, or something. If the markets were busy today there was also a chance they could lose the creature in the crowd. Then the woman could cut his bonds and they might be able to take the creature down when, if it saught them out.
Judal smirked and rested his hands on Ittuska's shoulders, pressing his claws into them and perking his ears towards the girl. In the pause after she continued on, Judal's lips drew further back and his claws pressed harder. A ghost of a smile flickered across Amadeus' face before he winced and scowled.
"I wouldn't dare think of considering it. If I were to attempt to retake Ittuska, then you would have every right to come take the cat. And, as much as I might desire to take Ittuska back from you, I might just as much desire to have the cat. Do you know where we might be able to find a good cat?"
Taking his hands off Ittuska's shoulders, Judal stood and grabbed the back of Ittuska's neck, dragging him to his feet. The sudden motion disorientated the man, he swayed a bit and his knees started to buckle. Amadeus eventually got his feet steadied, though his neck started to ache where the creature was holding him.
A good cat . . . Good cat . . . Strange, she couldn't recall one that was good enough to fit his specifications. Darn it, that wasn't good. Not one bit. But alas, Arelnath wasn't about to give it up that easily. With the cats that were around here, surely there was one that would fit perfectly even if she had to search for days to discover it. But that was to be her little secret, and she kept it from showing on her face. Nothing like that was a wise choice to show and let it be twisted around and fired back at you. Hard lession learned.
That blade was still held tight in her hand as she turned her back to the creature to gaze at the streets that were behind her. Where to start was the main question. The second one was the thought of if it were possible to buy a cat from someone. Some person had to sell cats, she'd seen it before. Probably a figment of her tired mind. Wouldn't be the first time for something like that.
"The more aggressive and strong solitary cats will probably be in the alleys of the other side of the village," she stated, pointing her finger down the main street of the village that cut directly to the other side. A quick walk, nothing diverting of the main street. The quicker, the better.
She swallowed hard, keeping her back to the creature and the blade held tightly against it. Yeah, she had gone and shown him that she had a weapon. What a brilliant move that was, but she went on like she hadn't done anything of the sort. Don't make a fuse and everything'll be all right. Or so she hoped as she started to walk toward the main street, taking a quick glance back to see if the creature was following her.
Amadeus quivered when she turned around. If the creature didn't know she had a sword before it did now...
Judal's eyebrows raised when the girl turned around. She had a toy. How sneaky, putting it to her back to keep it out of sight. He wondered if it would cut her back if she happened to slip.
"Aggresive, yes," Judal mused, walking after the girl and dragging Ittuska beside him. "That should be an interesting challenge. Ittuska can be aggresive, but he is a clever coward and tries to avoid pain as much as he can. It would be nice to have a creature that wouldn't get so concerned over whether or not it suffered a few little hurts." Judal flashed a fangy grin at the girl when she looked over her shoulder and trotted forward a few paces to walk even with her. Amadeus almost lost his footing during the sudden change of pace, he stumbled around a bit before he got his footing.
"Ittuska isn't usually so clumsy." Judal loosened his grip on the man's neck, pricked his ears forward and then to the sides. "Do you think your sword will cut your back if you were to slip?" He tilted his head to the side and reached behind her with his free hand, running the tip of his pointer finger on the edge of the blade, a line of thin black blood trickling from it.
Clever to avoid pain . . . Smart. Very smart, now if he had avoided that creature that was holding him in bondage, then he'd be on a good streak of avoiding pain. Sure, she didn't know all the details, and she didn't need to. Actually, she didn't want to know. It would more than likely prove to be more information than what she was aiming to know about.
Her senses were drowned by the chills that ran down her spine, the hair on the back of her neck prickling up as if she was nipped at by a cold breeze. Those hands of hers tightened around the hilt when the creature ran his clawed finger down the sharpness of the blade. Her back had stiffened and her posture was much more proper than it needed to be right now. This snagged the attention of a few villagers, but she blocked them out.
"Yes," she said, "it probably would slice my back up pretty badly if I slipped and didn't bother to move it." What was she to say? Nah, I'm too skilled for that? Sheesh, she was only a girl as she was told. But even for that, she was good.
Nearing the other side of the village, toward the dark and abandoned alleyways where she had been advised never to go, those bright eyes of hers scanned over the area before she took a step into it. The quick flash of an orange furred tail rounding the corner of a building caught her attention; hook, line and sinker. One hand released its grip on the hilt of the blade, but the other held tightly and kept it by her side as her feet pushed her off forward after it.
She watched the feline as it pounced onto a small rodent that it had been stalking; much like she was stalking the feline itself. Creeping slowly against the wall, she watched it as it sank its sharp teeth into the small rodent's back and listened to it squeal. No other thought and her other hand released the blade to the ground and she lept for the cat, snagging it around its middle and pulling it against her body. Its claw swept by her face, blood trickling down her pale cheek from the cut.
Holding it tighter, she nipped it on the ear. A shrewd hiss was emitted from the feline before it settled down in her arms. Dropping to sit on her butt, she pressed her back against the wall. What a stubborn cat. Yes, perfect for that creature. Perfect indeed.
"Very sharp," Judal purred, sliding the rest of his fingers across the tip of the sword. He took his hand off it afterwards, holding it palm up and looking at the lines of blood weaving around the fingers.
Amadeus winced, the creature was pressing its claws tighter against his neck and forcing him to look at his feet. Trying to walk out of the grasping hand made his knees buckle, his back aching to bend into a more comfortable position and the claws digging deeper. Slowing down was a little less agonizing, but it was more like being dragged. Hells, he'd let himself be partially dragged, he wanted to stay in one peice. He saw a few drops of blood fall onto the skirt of his robes and raised his eyes as far as they would go. It'd be good to take in as much of the surroundings as he could. Just in case.
Judal stopped when the girl paused before an alleyway and watched her when she began creeping into it. He wondered if there was a trick to catching a cat, or if they were pounced upon and snatched up like other creatures. The latter would be interesting, he wanted to see the girl pounce on the cat, wanted to see how the creature would fight to resist capture. He took a few steps into the alley and released Ittuska, the human lost his footing, falling and Judal propped a foot on his hip.
His smirk got wider when the girl leapt for the cat and pulled it to her, laughing out loud when she bit its ear. How entertaining! When the cat stopped fighting he leaned over to grab hold of Ittuska's arm and walked to the girl's side, dragging Ittuska (who didn't get a chance to stand up before he was pulled) alongside him.
"A good cat," Judal murmured, squatting on his heels and extending his cut hand toward the animal.
Arelnath could feel the creature's laughter creep over her skin like rough velvet, and it didn't feel pleasing at all. Bumps formed on her arms as she cradled the feline in her grasp, raising her gaze from the animal's golden fur to meet the cold eyes of the creature as he stood over her. Not at all a comfortable spot to be standing in, not comfortable at all.
Her gaze was locked with that displeasing creature's, just catching the movement of his hand for the cat out of the very bottom of her vision. That entire form of hers stiffened, and the small feline knew it, it could sense it as the young Adelan's grasp seemed to grip tighter on it; like it was some sort of comfort to her weary self. And in some awkward way, it was. How strange.
The cat's left paw sprung out from beneath Arelnath's arm, claws out and swiping at the creature's hand. It took a second swat at the hand, not seeming to care if it caused damage or not, then clung tightly to Arelnath through the cloth of her dress. Those sharp claws sunk into her skin and the sting amost caused her to drop the cat. When she managed to get it to calm down and release itself from her, she could feel the blood trickle down her skin under the dress and slowly seep through the cloth.
Wonderful.
A sigh passed her lips, and the simple flexing of the muscles in her cheek caused the slightly closed wound from the cat when she first grabbed it reopened and spurted blood down her face once again. Yes, what a great day this was indeed. And what an excuse she was going to have to make up for this mess that was her.
Her eyes darted finally to Ittuska. "Is this cat good enough for the trade?" She sure as hell hoped it was, otherwise all this pain the feline put her through would've been for nothing. Wouldn't be a first, but it would certainly manage to piss her off beyond belief. And Arelnath with the pissed off ambition to send someone through a wall wasn't the side of her someone would really want to deal with. Good thing it was rare for her to get like that.
Amadeus scowled and tried to push himself back up into a sitting position. It didn't seem possible on his own, he would rise up a bit then lose his balance and fall back on the ground. If he could make his way to the wall he could that as leverage.
Judal grinned widely when the cat struck him and chortled when it struck again, tilting his hand to see if its claws found purchase. They had, a few black beads were welling up. It's attack was weak, barely more than a poke, but at least it would attack. The cat would be entertaining, so very entertaining. Judal extended a finger towards the cat, curling the claw towards his palm and tracing along the edge of one ear with a knuckle. "It is-"
Judal's eyes widened, he hissed and fell on his backside. His lips curled and he glared at his hand, at the girl, at Ittuska, and back at his chest. A snarl rumbled deep in his throat and he leapt to his feet, tail lashing angrily behind him.
Amadeus looked up, shocked. What now? He grit his teeth and pushed himself toward the wall, leaning up and letting himself fall back against it.
"I will not," Judal hissed, fading away like a mirage.
Amadeus pushed himself further up the wall, to a kneeling position. "Hur-" he scowled and bit down on his bottom lip to get some saliva bubbling, swallowing it to moisten his throat some. "Hurry." He held his wrists forward as far as he could, leaning against the wall to balance himself.
Good, the cat was perfect for the trade and that was all that mattered. Now she'd be able to get Amadeus out of his bondage and give him a good place for sanctuary from this strange and appearing sadistic creature. Just a few more minutes to wait out and she'd be on her way to trying to forget this and give her fellow human his freedom back; that was all that mattered to her right now.
But those bright eyes of Arelnath's widened as she looked on at the creature and his sudden and frightening new behavior. What had brought it about, she wasn't sure and not positive she wanted to know. And when he faded with those last three words of his, her gaze darted to Amadeus; dazed and slightly searching for some sort of an answer from him.
It didn't come. He seemed to be just as clueless about the whole thing as she was. How wonderful that was. It didn't matter to her for another second. It was time to run.
Not a moment of hesitation and she dropped the furry feline to the ground and hurried over to the steel blade she had left just beyond the building's corner. With a liquid movement, she bent down, grabbed the hilt and whipped herself back around to Amadeus' backside. One hand held the hilt tightly, a quick swing of the blade in a complete circle and the tip of the blade came tearing down through the rope that had his wrist bound tightly. It split with a small sound of shreading threads, the cat sitting just in front of the two of them watching; its head tilted.
"Come on! Hurry!" Releasing the blade, she took grasp of his left hand with her right and pulled him up to his feet. Whatever it was that had happened to the creature, she couldn't care less. The rope was cut, the path was cleared and she was certain the creature wouldn't be doing a reappearing act; so she hoped. Quickly she scooped the cat up with her free hand and headed toward the pathway that led toward the castle of Adela.
Amadeus flicked his hands, shrugging the cut rope away. His wrists were pale where the ropes were, the skin molded with indents like the threads of the rope. It throbbed and began to pinken as blood began flowing up it.
He didn't object when the woman grabbed his hand and pulled him up. His knees started to buckle again, he planted his right hand against the wall and spaced his feet out. The tug on his other arm when the woman began running balanced him out some. Running was easier now that he had a hand to balance himself with.
After leaving the alley his heart began to race, beating strong against his chest. The creature just vanished... why? Vanishing meant no cat, no more sick 'fun' for it. The entire trade had to have been some game. Only, if anything, the creature was straightforward, it wouldn't vanish once it decided it was bored. It would have lunged right at the woman, or done something else equally direct. Thinking about the creature was starting to make his stomach turn, he shook the thoughts away for now and continued to run after the woman.
That pathway wasn't the smoothest, let alone wasn't the main pathway to the front of the castle. The rear walls of the castle just peered up over the treeline, the taller towers on the inside peering even higher than that. Arelnath wasn't even struggling for breath as the path started to incline up a slight hill toward the back wall. The path was so familiar to her, down and up, that it wasn't much trouble and felt to her like flat land. But she didn't rush as much as normal since she was leading Amadeus along.
She couldn't imaging what it was like for him to have been trapped by that creature. Just making wild guesses she probably would've been driven mad by the whole thing. Amazing that he wasn't near insanity. But she wasn't sure if he was or wasn't, all that mattered was he was breathing and on his feet. He could've been a murderer before she cut him from his ties and have known it . . . She'd still have cut him loose.
The crest of the hill was in sight, as was the castle's wall. There was a crack off to the left big enough to fit a person through; Arelnath's little escape route from the inner workings of the castle itself. She lead him over to it and looked through. No guards, that was good. She finally released her grip on Amadeus' hand and motioned hers toward the crack in the wall, giving a little nod of her head for back-up in case he didn't see the hand movement.
"Slip on through first, I'll follow after. There are no guards around here, otherwise I'd never be able to slip out so easily."
Quite unlike the woman, Amadeus was almost hyperventilating when they reached the top of the hill. Normally it wouldn't have been a struggle for him to get up a hill with uneven footing. He couldn't be too hard on himself though, his body was taxed from his ordeal with the creature. If things went well, it would be over now.
But, they didn't. His ordeal wouldn't be over until he had the creature's blood on his hands.
He was surprised to see the woman running towards a castle. He figured she had to be of some status when she was dealing with the creature, a merchant's daughter or maybe the daughter of a captain of guard. This, was very clearly a castle, which stated that she was a woman of high status. There shouldn't be reason for him to worry though, it was just a misunderstanding on his part. He hadn't done anything unappropriate, yet, and if he had did so out of ignorance.
In a sense, seeing the castle put a little bit of him at peace. There were a lot of people in a castle, if the creature was going to come after him it would have a hard time finding them. Only... he shuddered a little, his sense of peace whisking away, the creature wouldn't hesitate to attack them, or toy with them, or take one as a replacement.
Amadeus chewed his bottom lip again, trying to work up some moisture in his mouth. This time he got a little, barely enough to spread across the bottom of his mouth, his throat began to ache. Talking was out of the question, so he nodded at the woman when she motioned towards a crack in the wall and told him to go inside. He walked to it and placed a hand flat on each of its sides. The closeness of the walls in the crack sent a shiver crackling up his back, he looked over his shoulder with wide eyes.
Just the woman. Nothing more. Nothing threatening. He calmed his breathing and slipped through the crack.
She pressed her back to the outside of the crack after Amadeus slipped on through, taking one last look down the hill, to the left, to the right. All clear, no one was following and there was nothing more to worry about at the moment other than getting him in the castle, cleaned up and into fresh clothing. That wouldn't prove a problem, no reason to sneak into the place she lived in. Yeah, that's what everyone else thought.
Turning herself to press her back to the inner side of the crack, she slipped on through after him. It was easy to squirm on through since she was used to it and it was a daily event to do it, too. Once completely through she took a quick look around and snatched a hold of his hand again and made a dash for what seemed to be the back door into the castle's kitchen.
A cook was stepping out, his back turned toward the two of them to dump out some leftovers for the dogs. Arelnath saw him, but didn't wait for him to move out of the way and squeezed right on by him with Amadeus straggling along behind. The kitchen was huge inside, cooks scattered about, different aromas lingering in the air to be smelt. Her stomach made a small rumble as she darted through there. No time for food at the moment, that came after new clothes and freshening up.
Her dress bit at her ankles as she skidded on the floor as the door before them on the other side of the kitchen was swung open. Just a guard, right. Her free hand came up, palm flat, slamming right into the guard's face as she dashed on by. It took him by surprise and forced him to fall on his back, the thud rather loud. Probably wasn't the first time he had been knocked to the floor by her and wouldn't be the last, either. She had long since lost count of how many times she had knocked each of the guards over. And they never seemed to get revenge. Wonder why that was ...
Hand still stretched outward, it wrapped around the post of the stairwell that was coming into view and swung around it until her bare feet touched the second step and made her way up them. Two more guards persisted in standing at the top of the stairs to block her way. Did they always hire the dumb ones? One was rather thin, couldn't weigh too much more than her or be that much older. The other was rather plump and past his prime; he was on the left.
"Coming through!!" That round old guard was the one that received the entire slam from Arelnath's weight as she tossed herself at him. He stumbled to the side and she used him to bound off at the other guard and topple him over.
Grinning, she dragged Amadeus off down the hall for about five or six doors and lead him into the seventh room on the left side. Releasing his hand once again, she shut the door behind them and latched the locks before heading toward the windows and slamming them shut and closing the glass doors that opened out to a balcony; that was latched shut as well. The room was clean, very clean. A large bed in the middle of the room with white sheets and feathered pillows. White canopy as well. The girl scurried over toward a wooden door and pulled it open, a long metal rod jammed between two walls with several different styles of clothing in all different colors.
"We're going to get you some good clothes, cleaned up and fed right. Sound good to you?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder at him as she pulled out a normal pair of black cloth pants that seemed to be good for him and a man's white shirt. Just what in the hell was in that closet? Only she knew ...
Amadeus trotted after the woman when she took his hands. Trusting that she wouldn't run him into a wall and looking side to side, getting a good look at the area surrouding the crack. Just in case.
The smell of food drew his eyes back in front of him. Food, oh it'd been a good while since he had proper food. His stomach lurched painfully. His eyes widened when the woman ran past the cook setting out food. Surprising, he'd ask about it later though, he needed his breath to keep running. Then she flattened a guard walking into the kitchens. Again, surprising, again something to ask about later. He looked over his shoulder at the man, doubting he suffered any permanent damage from being knocked over.
Amadeus almost tripped when she started climbing the stairs and gulped when he saw two more guards standing at the top. Oh dear... The woman took care of them as neatly as she did the guard in the kitchen, though he nearly lost his footing when she bounced off the first guard and collided with the second.
He was starting to get the feeling that running around and bowling guards over was something the woman did on a daily basis.
Once they got in the room, Amadeus began looking around it, and barely noticed the woman let go of his hand. After he was sure of what was in the room he looked at what the woman was doing. She was bolting the glass doors shut. Good idea. He watched her run to another door and took a few steps toward her.
Her words made him grin. He chewed his bottom lip to tease out a little saliva. "Very."
Then he looked back at the bolted doors and locked windows. Changing was a good thing, but where was he going to change. He chewed his lip again, wondering if the woman considered that...
[OOC: Wanna move this into the castle forum in a few more posts or keep it here?]
Arelnath was a neat freak. Well, with the room and the closet anyhow. She had to be considering the place she seemed to have residency in. Everything was so tidy and so nicely laid out, this matching that, colors blending and a seemingly perfected garden outside that balcony -- Yup, all was managed well. Shame she couldn't all the real messy side of herself show in this place. That would indefinitely make a few heads spin on their necks. Heh, that young Adelan was always up for turning a head or two no matter the reason for it. Always fun to do just that.
Stepping away from the closet, leaving it open, she grabbed what seemed to be a cloth stretched out over a wooden frame. At first glance, it appeared like it was folded multiple times. But when she pulled it out and set it up in the corner of the other side of the room, it was many of them connected. A changing wall. Nice, human size, portable ... Always there when needed. The black pants and the white shirt were tossed up lightly from her shoulder to over the top edge of the pull out wall when she extended it out as far as it would go. She brushed her hands together like she was wiping dust off them.
"There's no actual room for changing in from this chamber. But this should do just as well," she spoke out to Amadeus just as she turned to face him again, then stepping back toward the closet away from the folding wall.
Her gaze dropped down to the dress that she was wearing. Blood from the scrapes on her face from the feline had drizzled down onto the fabric. There were minor tears from sneaking through the crack in the wall. It's normal color was almost completely covered in the brown tinge of dirt and dust. Yup, she would need to get changed herself at some point before bringing Amadeus out into the open of the castle. They'd both need to be clean and neat before anything else was done.
And taking a glance over her shoulder was the small feline clinging to her backside. She had been so sidetracked with getting through the castle and to her room without any questions the pain from the cat's claws sinking into her backside hadn't even phased her. A sigh passed her lips as she knelt down and allowed the cat to unlatch itself from her and prance itself around the room, taking in the scents and examining things. Looked like this was going to be the animal's new home.
"Once you're done changing," Arelnath started, still kneeling on the ground and running her fingers down the cat's back as it purred, "I'm gonna get changed and then we'll go see if we can get some sort of protection for you here. To keep that twisted creature from you."
It was risky to get the guards and knights to be on their toes if the creature reared his ugly self around the castle, but they'd be on those toes twenty-four-seven if Arelnath had anything to say about it. And sure as that creature was real, she was seriously. If total lock down was what was needed, then so be it. Amadeus was going to be safe on way or another. It was now just a matter of getting King Akkiel and Queen Lykoth to agree with her better judgement on the matter. There wasn't much doubt in her mind of what their decision would be ... Her only worry: Explaining why she was outside the castle walls to begin with.
((We can move it into the castle ^^))
Amadeus watched her take the cloth covered frame from the closet and set it up in a corner. Aha, she did think of it. Then again, why should he have doubted her? She was level headed enough to deal with the creature and seemed quite clever and capable. Maybe it was just honest doubt. Even clever, capable people could be caught off-guard, for a few moments but it was still possible.
He smiled at her and walked to the changing wall as she stepped back to the closet. He slipped behind the wall and clawed his shirt off. Once that shirt had been white, but now only a patch or two was white, clean. The rest was streaked with sweat, dirt, blood: his, the creatures', others'. He shuddered, taking a hand off the shirt and clinging to it with the tips of the other.
There was no way the garment could be cleaned, it was better suited as tinder. His pants were no better, it was impossible to tell what color they were before. He tossed the shirt over the wall, away from the fresh clothes and knelt to take off his boots. They could be passable, with enough scrubbing, maybe. She didn't have any shoes to lend him so they would have to do. Now he had to clean them, whenever an opportunity presented itself, couldn't let those clean clothes brush against the filth on the boots.
Standing, he unlaced his pants and let them drop, keeping his head up so he wouldn't get to see the state his undergarments were in. Out of sight, out of mind. He grabbed the clean shirt and pulled it over him, tilting his head when he heard the woman talking.
Clever, capable and charitable. He smiled, this was almost too good to be true. He looked over his shoulders, checking the shadows. Just in case. The creature might not have been taken away from the alley against its will. It was like it to let its 'toys' feel a little hope. He shook his head and kept changing.
Once he was through he stepped back around the wall, his other clothing folded roughly and held away at arms length. His hair was a bit neater but still far from being completely presentable. "Its," he coughed a bit, leaning away from the bundle of clothes. "It's very kind of you to... To give me sanctuary here. I... I don't know how to thank you."
[ OOC: Whoo-hoo. So sorry for holding this up for almost a month ... u.u; Didn't mean for it to happen. Exams and studying took more time and much more out of me than I anticipated. At least I had my last and final exam of the year today. ^_^ But yeah, I'll get this entire thing shifted over into the castle as soon as I possibly can. Hopefully it'll be done before the start of the weekend, or into the middle of it. =^.^= ]
((S'alright, you had to do what you had to do ^__^ Hurrah for the end of exams, I always hated them when I was in school. On a completely unrelated note: I love your avatar/sig image it's freakin' gorgeous *ogles*))