A patch of sky a few feet ahead of the elven woman darkened and a skinny bolt of lightning sizzled from it, the boom of thunder almost drowning out the screams from the startled crowd. Said crowd drew away from the source, which let it be seen by people that weren't in the immediate vicinity of the mini-phenomenon.
The source raised a pair of dark, paw like hands to the sky and offered them pad up, a motion which sent a few handfulls of stone bracelets to go clattering down their arms. It didn't take a genius to see that it wasn't human, the source looked like the cross between a hyena and a man. It was easily six feet tall and looked cleaner than such a creature seemed to have a right to be. In addition to the stone bracelets, the source sported a sleeveless red linen robe, half a dozen necklaces made of natural materials, two belts with multiple pouches, a scattering of beads in its mane and a lovely chandelier earring set with green stones in its right ear. "The powerrrr of the Omens!" The source announced. "Such powerr can be yourrs for a display of good will." Even though it was the voice of a hyena-human hybrid there seemed to a female quality to it.
Then, as if she was seeing an unseen gesture of good will, she pointed to a woman in a blue shawl and barked. "You will experrrience Death in thrrree days - so say the Omens!"
The woman wasn't amused, either because she was being talked to by a six foot tall hyena or because it was the bearer of bad news. She huffed, put on an indignant face and hurried on her way. A few other people followed in her lead - not wanting to stick around for more doom and gloom... or lightning.
As the crowd began to scatter a girl in a robe similar to the gnoll's trotted up to her and dropped a battered straw hat between her foot-paws, it chinged pathetically. This new person was definitely human-ish. She had all the prerequisite human parts, but had long pointed ears jutting from the sides of her head, reddish-orange eyes and a mop of silver hair that seemed to have a yellow glow to it. Her skin was light brown, like coffee with almost as much milk in it as there was coffee, a few dark red markings were painted on her face, a string with different coloured stones wove through her hair and an earring similar to the gnoll woman's hung from her right ear. The gnoll was nearly a full head and shoulders (a gnoll head and shoulders mind ye) taller than the girl.
Once she laid the hat at the gnoll's feet she glanced around and ran right up to the elven woman, she clasped her hands behind her back and grinned. "You look lost Miss Lady! I'm sure the omens can guide you." The same cosmic principal that claimed the gnoll was a female now seemed to suggest rubbing ones eyes raw and having another look at the 'girl' again. Then again, she was more than a bit flat-chested and didn't have any hips either...
