It Takes Two(FlowyWolf!)

JackieCat · May 11, 2016, 07:10:26 PM

Lorin sat back down on the bench next to the boy, seeing his obvious relief. Whatever place he had to stay at, or thought he had to, must be pretty bad.

But then his face clouded again, and Lorin frowned as he revealed the small bits of information. He was obviously revealing as little as he could, and would not meet her eye.

Lorin bit her lip, she could live with that, for now. But she was sure she'd be able to get more information about him later. It didn't really matter, not to the mission, but Lorin was curious by nature, and while she was a thief, she hated to see people suffer. As per the reason she didn't steal from the poor.

"Hey," she patted him once on the shoulder, not wanting to intrude into his personal space, but wanting to console him, at least a bit. "You'll have a room at that inn."

She took half the coins out of the bulging purse and held them out to the boy. The money there was more than enough to pay for a room and even a few good meals, but not too much, she didn't want to loose his help.

FlowyWolf · May 11, 2016, 10:48:20 PM

Those few words were the sweetest things the elf could say, so much that Raven was tempted to jump onto his feet and hug her strongly, but he held himself back. He didn't want to look even more desperate than he already did.
However, when he saw the elf was holding the money out to him, Raven finally decided to look in her eyes, grateful.

"Thanks..." he didn't know what to say, she was showing him such a warm heart, more than anyone had ever done before, and the tears in the boy's eyes were starting to slip onto his cheek, reaching his scar and using it as a ramp to reach his mouth.

"If you want, I can contribute with what I stole before." It wasn't very much, probably he could have paid just a low end meal, but it wasn't right she had to pay him everything.

"Can I ask you a question?". Raven was afraid of what was going to ask her, but he couldn't resist the urge to do it.
Therefore, without waiting for the elf to answer him, he said almost whispering:
"Why are you doing all these nice things to me?".

JackieCat · May 11, 2016, 11:01:58 PM

"Oh, gosh," Lorin chuckled somewhat uncomfortably. "Don't cry, it's nothing."

She wasn't experienced with this sort of thing, but she shook her head when he offered to contribute his money. "Don't worry about it," she said, holding up a hand to deny his offer.

Lorin sniffed a laugh when he asked his question.

"Why? I don't know. Money isn't everything, and I know that sounds funny as a thief," she looked down for a moment before looking back into his face, "but people shouldn't depend so much on material things. Stealing doesn't seem so bad to me, since losing items has never been a issue of mine, though I guess it can be to others. But. . ."

She shrugged. "I guess I'm helping you. . . Because, because it's the right thing to do."

FlowyWolf · May 12, 2016, 07:52:17 AM

Raven didn't realize he was crying, not until the elf said it to him and he tasted the tear's salty flavor into his mouth. Then, he quickly dried his tears with his arm and turned his eyes away from her, embarrassed.

"Money isn't everything" she said, and actually, it did sound funny to hear that from a thief
However, Raven didn't know a lot about money; to him, it was just the only way he could avoid Jawin's punishments. And to be sure not to starve to death.
Therefore, her complicated speech wasn't so understandable for the young boy. Of course, neither him had ever had any problem losing something material, since he hadn't nothing to lose, but how could people live without material things? They needed money to buy food, clothes to protect them from the cold and so on, and even what people bought with money was a material thing, so...

Raven shook quickly his head, those complicated thoughts were making him crazy, and they were also worthless. What was really worth his attention, however, was the elf's kindness.

The boy couldn't fully trust her yet, at the end, he met her just some minutes before, but her words seemed sincere to him.
Moreover, he couldn't see what kind of advantage she could have offering him a place to spend the night.

Therefore, also pushed by the happiness for finding a way not to come back home for the night, he jumped off the bench and, after checking there were no cats near them, he finally said:
"Well... thanks, really. By the way, my name is Raven, nice to meet you."

JackieCat · May 12, 2016, 11:05:54 AM

Lorin smiled as the boy seemed to cheer up, the elf wasn't accustomed to comforting people.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Raven," Lorin said. "I'm Lorin."

It wasn't customary for Lorin to reveal her last name to anybody, unless it was absolutely necessary, or the person was close, though there were hardly any people Lorin was really close to.

"Shall we go?" Lorin asked. "Will the guy you work for try to find you?"

FlowyWolf · May 12, 2016, 11:42:47 PM

A dark cloud covered his face the very moment Lorin asked him that worrying question.
Actually, it was unlikely Jawin had bothered to find him, not for just an absence of a night. Moreover, he had contacts with the guards who checked Ketra's gate, so he wouldn't be worried he could have left the city.
But Raven couldn't be sure about that and, moreover, his master had a lot of friends in Ketra, they could have recognized the boy and brought him back to Jawin just to try to please the influential merchant.

Therefore, his voice broken from the concern, he answered whispering:
"It could happen, so, please, lead the way..."

JackieCat · May 19, 2016, 09:22:27 AM

"Okay," Lorin clapped a hand on his shoulder once before she stood. "It's not too far from here."

She waited for the boy and then started down the street. Not far down they turned into an alleyway, then into another. They twisted and turned through the streets, down many more than seemed necessary.

"To throw anyone who may be following off our trail," Lorin said, as they climbed up a ladder to the top of a building. From there they jumped a small gap to the next building and then down onto the street.

Ten minutes after they had left the bench, they were standing outside of a fairly well-lit building. It was a average inn, not to fancy, not to dirty.

"Well, here we are!" Lorin said cheerfully.

FlowyWolf · May 19, 2016, 11:25:14 PM

Raven walked quickly behind Lorin, looking restless around. Now he had found a way not to come back to Jawin, he finally realized how hazardous was what he was going to do.

Luckily, the elf was a real professional in those kind of things, and all those turns proved it.

When they finally reached the inn, Raven was way more relaxed than when they left the bench. No one had followed them, he was pretty sure about it, and the inn was pretty far from Jawin's house. The only way things could go better than that, was to find a black cat in front of the inn's door.

However, even if there were no cats around, Raven was happy anyway.
For one night, he would have lived as a normal guy, sleeping in a real bed and eating something surely better than some leftovers; if he was lucky, he could also have finally tasted an ale.
And maybe, the next day, he could also have earned enough to improve his living condition for a while.

Driven by that thoughts, he passed at her right and opened the inn's door, unaware of any good manner.

JackieCat · May 22, 2016, 03:49:26 PM

Raven kept up well, and he walked ahead of her into the inn. She quickly followed, and stepped ahead of him through the door, stepping up to the bar.

"How can I help ye?" the innkeeper behind the counter asked, recognizing Lorin, as she had stayed here the night before. "Somethin' ye need in your room?"

"No, it's all good there," Lorin smiled. "I actually need another room for my friend here."

She motioned for Raven to step up, as she had given him the money. "The room next to mine would be great," she said. "If it's open."

"It is," the bartender said, looking to Raven for the money.

FlowyWolf · May 22, 2016, 11:34:23 PM

Those two syllables sounded wonderful to the boy's ears, those were the final confirmation he was really going to spend the night far from Jawin's house.
As excited as he was, he didn't notice the gaze the bartender threw him, asking for money, but he kept on looking around curiously. He never saw that inn before, actually, he never stayed in an inn for more than two or three minutes, the time to steal some pockets and run away.

It was nice, a large hall full of round tables and stool, and the air was full of a wonderful smell of roasted ham and ale.

An embarrassed cough interrupted the boy while he was trying to see what two men were doing at their table. He turned his head to the bartender, and then Lorin, unaware of what the man was asking him.

"What?" the boy finally asked, puzzled, and so the bartender threw an embarrassed look to Lorin, and then back to him.
"You know you have to pay to stay here, right?". Raven felt instantly irritated, hearing how that stupid innkeeper was speaking. His tone was unmistakable, he was talking as if he had a child in front of him, and Raven couldn't stand when someone treated him like that.

"Of course I know, I'm not stupid!". Irritated, he took two of the coins Lorin gave him before and launched them onto the counter, turning away to avoid the innkeeper's eyes.
Raven had no idea how much could a room there cost, but he couldn't ask it to that rude man, or he could think he really was a stupid child.

JackieCat · May 23, 2016, 09:00:53 AM

Lorin raised an eyebrow as Raven completely didn't notice that he was supposed to pay. But the smirk that had appeared on her face as the bartender spoke to Raven dissipated as he snapped at the man.

The bartender frowned and shook his head, but didn't say anything, after all, Raven was a customer, and the innkeeper didn't want to drive him away. Lorin, however, had no such qualms.

"Hey," she snapped at Raven, grabbing his arm and turning him around to face the bar again. "That wasn't very manly of you, you're acting like a kid. And I need someone mature to help me."

Lorin didn't say anything more, but those few words could have been interpreted as a threat. 'If you don't start acting like an adult, our deal's off and you don't get the job.'

FlowyWolf · May 23, 2016, 01:09:10 PM

Raven froze hearing Lorin's words, astonished. He did understood the threat hidden behind those words, and he didn't like it at all.
Therefore, trying to fix his mistakes, the boy stared at the innkeeper showing him his best regretful eyes and throwing him another coin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, it's just I had a bad day..." as he spoke, he turned his head toward Lorin, hopeful. His eyes were speaking loudly, asking the elf to forgive him; yet, they also tried to preserve some pride.

"So..." he said, hoping everything was finally all right "shall I offer you a drink, my lady?" as the boy spoke, he pointed to an empty table near them, embarrassed. He really wanted to make a good impression to the elf, even if he didn't know how to do it.

JackieCat · May 23, 2016, 04:42:20 PM

Lorin nodded as Raven handed the bartender another coin, and hid a smile as Raven offered her a drink. He really was a kid.

"Don't worry about it," the bartender smiled at Raven. "We've all had bad days!"

Lorin smiled at Raven as he looked at her, seemingly asking her for forgiveness, and she chuckle, shaking her head as he mentioned a drink.

"You really don't have to, Raven," she said. "It's okay."

FlowyWolf · May 23, 2016, 11:06:32 PM

Happy that Lorin wasn't mad with him, Raven however wanted badly to have a drink, since that was his first chance to taste an ale, and probably his last too.
At the end, however, he could wait until the dinner to taste it.

So, looking at the stairs near the counter that probably would led to the bedrooms, he started thinking if they should have gone upstairs to plan their stroke. Actually, it was better not to talk about it in front of other people.

Therefore, still disappointed to have to wait for that new experience, he finally said to the elf:
"So, do you prefer to go upstairs and... you know what." It wasn't good to talk openly about their business, Raven knew it, but what he didn't understand at all was the misunderstanding that his words could generate.

JackieCat · May 24, 2016, 01:35:04 PM

Lorin concealed yet another chuckle at Raven's words, he really was just a kid. She glanced over to see the very surprised look on the bartender's face. Apparently he had heard Raven as well, and taken the words in a different way than the boy had meant them.

"Sure," Lorin said. "I'd love to talk about it, I think this caravan guard job is going to work out great."

The bartender immediately seemed to relax, understanding that he had misinterpreted Raven's words, though he didn't know Lorin had been lying.

"Can I have the key to the room?" Lorin stepped back up to the bar, and the innkeeper gave her the key. "Let's go." Lorin tossed Raven the key and started for the stairs. "We'll get dinner in a bit."

FlowyWolf · May 25, 2016, 12:59:05 AM

Raven immediately understood why Lorin had spoken that way. She was right, it was better to give a false explanation, than to imply it, and that excuse was perfect.

Once again, the elf had proven she was a real professional, Raven knew he could have learnt a lot from her.

"Yeah, I agree. Let's go!" as he spoke, the boy ran behind Lorin and followed her upstairs, looking around to catch every single particular of that inn. It was his first time he saw the bedroom's floor of an inn, but he couldn't enjoy his tour in that moment.
His eyes, in fact, were twisting around carefully, looking for every little sign of danger.

Then, when they got in front of the doors, he finally asked the elf:
"So, do you prefer to stay in your room, or in mine?".

JackieCat · May 26, 2016, 06:43:05 PM

"We can talk in mine," Lorin said, opening the door and stepping inside. The room looked as though it hadn't been stayed in, there weren't any things around. Even when Lorin stayed in an inn for more than one night she always kept her things with her, who knew if she would have to leave town fast for some reason? Better not to risk losing the only things she owned.

She dropped her very small pack on the bed and sat down at the head of the bed. "We'll get something to eat in a few minutes," she said, pulling her hair out of it's long ponytail and letting it fall down her back and over her shoulders.

FlowyWolf · May 26, 2016, 11:02:08 PM

As Lorin opened the door, Raven threw an inquiring look beyond her, curious to see how a true bedroom could be.
And when he saw it, he was astonished.

That room was way more than different from where he was used to sleep, there were even a bed inside it, and a closet, and even a bedside table, and a window, and even a small consumed rug on the floor next to the bed.

"Wow... I didn't believe you had rent the luxury bedroom..." he finally said, still standing out of the bedroom, afraid to profane that luxurious place.

JackieCat · May 27, 2016, 12:45:05 PM

Lorin chuckled again as Raven gaped at the room. It was nothing special, very simple, actually, and many would turn up their noses, but apparently this was all new to Raven.

"This is actually kind of shabby," Lorin said, patting a spot on the bed, motioning for Raven to sit down. "What's the place like where you have previously stayed?"

It must be pretty bad, considering that Raven seemed to think this place was luxurious.

FlowyWolf · May 27, 2016, 01:08:42 PM

Raven opened his eyes wide, hearing that was a shabby room, according to the elf.

"Well, actually, it's way worse than this..." Raven bit his lips as he said it; he didn't want to seem just a common tramp to her.

"I mean... there's not even a real bed..." he finally said, lowering his tone of voice as he found no other thing to say.
He wouldn't have talk about the fact they were sleeping in the basements, nor about the rats that usually shared the blanket with them, and so on.

Therefore, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible, he jumped onto the comfortable bed in front of him, accepting Lorin's invitation and trying not to look so pleasantly surprised about the mattress' softness.
"So, tell me, is there something I should know about our job?".