The Long Way Home [now closed]

[Elphaba]

It had been a boring day for Garion, if you could call dealing with several local disputes involving things like land, livestock, and theft boring.  Garion did.  It wasn't that he disliked his life; he knew he had it pretty good, all things considered.  It wasn't like he was a serf.  But he wasn't exactly a big fan of things like "responsibility" and "duty" and all that. 

When Garion was bored, he tended to do stupid things.  In this case, doing stupid things involved dressing in plain clothes, going to a nearby tavern where he didn't expect anyone to recognize their young lord outside of his castle and fancy clothes, and getting drunk.  Followed by getting into...something.  He wasn't quite sure what, exactly, but it involved him getting on the bar, which was followed by the tavern owner kicking him out.

So now he was trying to walk home, which was somewhat difficult as it was dark and he was still not sober.  Now he just had to find a guard, he'd tell them who he was and they'd escort him home--it wasn't the first time Garion had done this.  He wasn't a complete idiot, either, and told one guard at the castle where he was going before he left, and to come find him if he wasn't back in a few hours--how long had it been since he had left?  He couldn't quite tell.

Ah!  There was someone.  It was dark and his vision seemed blurry, but that was definitely a person.  "Hey!" he said, still sounding cheerful--it was his default state, no matter what the situation.  "Hey!  Are you a guard or something?  'Cause I need some help, here."

[Anadwen]

A small white cat ran down an alleyway. It wasn't larger than a tiny kitten, but it moved swiftly and gracefully, running and jumping along the walls of the houses, through crates and dirt in narrow streets.

At the end, right before leaping into a larger street, it stopped on the top of a series of crates, towering in the backstreet. And as it leaped down, in a flash, its form changed into that of a girl. Yes, a girl - not taller than a child, with pink hair, and dark chestnut eyes. But beneath her clothes, she could still feel her cat tail... Dammit! She didn't change properly again...

She closed her eyes, and concentrating heavily, the lump under her coat disappeared. Fine then... Now it was fine! She stepped forth in a brisk, cheerful tempo, and started humming a happy song silently, when she heard someone shouting at her from behind. Turning on her heel, she glanced back. This guy was asking her for help... Well, she didn't have anything to do, anyway.

She ran up to him, and smiled widely. "I'm not a guard, but I can sure help you, if you need." she cheered at him.

[Elphaba]

Oh, alright.  This girl, whoever she was, didn't look like a guard--but Garion didn't mind.  He rather liked girls.  They were generally a lot nicer to him than guards, especially if they hadn't met him before.  "Oh, hi!  Yeah, I need some help getting to the castle, actually."  He scratched the back of his head, a tic he always got when he was trying to think of something to say.  "D'you mind helping me get there?  I don't think I can find it myself right now."

He pointed at her with mock solemnity.  "But don't be tryna do something funny, either.  I'm the lord of this here fief and I can..."  Garion giggled, unable to hold up the serious face.  "Oh, no, I can't do that.  Seriously, I'm drunk and if you could help me that'd be great.  I'll pay you if you want."  It didn't occur to him in this state that he could very easily be taken advantage of and kidnapped.  This was just a little girl, after all, though by her hair she had quite a lot of fae blood in her. 

[firefiend33]

An old man stepped out from the shadows. He had no beard and wore brown robes and was carrying a staff. His name was Wise the Lore-Master. "Hello Lord Garion", said Wise, "I know who you are, but you might not know who I am." Wise saw the girl, wondering who she was. "Hello young one, shouldn't you be at home right now?", Wise asked the strange girl. Then it hit Wise that she was magical of some sorts...

[Anadwen]

"Sure, don't worry! Ya wanna me to drag you, or just walk you home, mister?" Her chestnut eyes narrowed into slits as she smiled widely at him, holding her hands behind her back. "I can lead you to the castle if you need, but you don't look much like standing." she giggled.

The man was, pretty obviously, drunk. Inu-Inu found that incredibly funny - she herself never got drunk, not even once, and she found people that did very comical. Tripping over and talking stupid... Hah, wasn't it funny how booze got to their head?

Then the other one came. She shifted her head at him, and raised a brow. "Hmm? At home? I don't have one, mister." she admitted, almost carelessly, and extended an arm to Garion.

[firefiend33]

Wise was fascinated with the girl, he wanted to know more about her. He started spamming the girl with questions like "What race are you?" and "What kind of magic do you use?". He seriously couldn't tell who she was and he is one of the Wisest of people in the world! He just hoped that she had time to answer his questions. He stopped spamming her for a second asked "May I join you two on your little walk?".

[Elphaba]

Who was this old guy?  "That's weird.  Damn right I don't know who you are," Garion agreed cheerfully.  The old man didn't look like much.  But if he was going to ask to come...well, it couldn't hurt.  In a normal state of mind, he'd probably find the "I know who you are" thing a bit creepy.  But hell, it wasn't like he could stop the man from coming with them anyway.  "Sure, I can't stop ya."

Garion dramatically put his hand on his chest, pulling an offended face.  "Drag me?  That would be so undignified.  I can walk."  He took a few steps forward to prove hit, managing to stay upright but going in a zigzag rather than a straight line as he intended.  "See?  Perfectly fine.  Thanks though!" 

[firefiend33]

Wise was glad that he could come along. He thought that he should introduce himself properly before it gets weirder. "I am Wise the Lore-Master, I know you Garion because I know a lot of knowledge from around the world, in fact I have the world's largest library", Wise said. He began to think that the girl was able to use magic of some sorts. "So young one, do you mind telling me who you are?", he asked the girl.