Mending Feathers (Rhi)

[wolfie]

It had been a long day and the night wasn't looking any better. She had cased this joint for weeks knowing when the guards changed and everything. Sighing she knew it was time to make her move. Another night of just looking at what she wanted was just torture. Smiling she went in for the grabs grateful that the guards on duty now had too much to drink earlier. It only made this a little more easy.

Having pulled off her robbery with very little hitches, like almost being caught, Ewara walked along as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She had dodged two sets of guards already. Turning into an empty ally to head back to the shop she stopped seeing someone ahead. Moving closer she noticed a man hurt.

Great another robbery gone wrong. Don't people know how to do this right. Disgusts me we can't have decent thieves around here at least they don't work for me. Hey he could be my ticket home with my take. Nobody would question a kind heart. She thought and knealt down beside this guy.

"Hey are you okay?" She asked trying to make it look like not only being there but talking to this guy was natural.

[Rhindeer]

Hatame had to admit, that could have gone a lot better.

But somewhere along the way, he had gotten a little cocky, a little careless, and it had cost him. On his way out of the manor he'd robbed, his fingers covered in stolen rings and neck wreathed with expensive necklaces, something had gone wrong--and he had been spotted by a guard who wasn't so drunk that he couldn't still do damage.

The encounter didn't last long; Hatame managed to get the upper hand (and discovered that a fist covered in heavy rings sure did a lot of damage! He knocked the guy out cold) but he wasn't so sure that he won that battle, exactly.

The guard had gotten a knife in his side in the struggle.

Wounded like that, Hatame didn't get far before the injury and the pain caught up with him. He managed to get back onto the street and down an alley before he had to stop and slump against the wall, panting hard, hand pressed to his side as blood seeped out between his fingers.

Crap...

It was worse than he'd thought.

With a sigh, he let himself slide down the wall and into a sitting position, curled up and bent over and clutching at hi wound in an effort to slow the bleeding. Crap...

That was when he heard that voice and his head snapped up, then grimaced in pain when the sharp movement jostled his injury.

"What? Oh. Uh. Yeah!" He winced, his voice weaker than usual. Very convincing, Hatame! Very convincing! "Heh! Fabulous, in fact! Never better!"

[wolfie]

She noted that he snapped up at her. Something was wrong, but she didn't want to know. The less she knew the better it would be. He tried to tell her everything was fine, but she didn't believe that. His voice didn't sound normal for a male just then.

"Liar. Look I don't know what you are into or if anything is wrong, but I'd like to help. I have a place not far from here where you could relax a little. I do believe we need to get that bleeding stopped," she said noting the blood now that she was a bit closer. He was some rich guy she figured with all the jewelry. She didn't think to question it any further.

"I'm sorry someone tried to rob you like that. You'd be safer back at my place."

[Rhindeer]

Hatame had been about to protest, insist that he was fine! Fine! Really! Just a flesh wound and all that! He didn't know who this woman was or why she was very conveniently in the alley with him like that--but after getting stabbed like that, what could he say? He was a little paranoid about her intentions.

But then she said the magic words.

Sorry someone tried to rob you.

Hatame choked, and then played it off as the cough of the severely wounded. "Ah...y...yes! Yeah! Oh, boy, it was terrible, let me tell ya! Just awful. Never been more terrified! But I will survive! Maybe! Ah, you are too kind, I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't found me!" Oh man, she thought he was rich, didn't she, bejeweled the way he was! He didn't think most lords wore beat-up tunics and rough traveling pants, but maybe she thought he was a rich man incognito or something?

He could work with this.

"Thank you, dear, that's too nice of you. Ah...I'm sorry. I was just...I was just so afraid after all that, I thought you might be another thief!" Still clutching his side with one hand, he held out his other hand to her, gesturing her to help him up.

[wolfie]

Ewara was glad he was no longer trying to get around her. Whatever switched it she was grateful. She had a feeling it was something she had just said because he looked like he wanted to run from her. She heard what he said and wanted to laugh. Oh you poor naive man but I am a thief just not interested in what you have when I have mine. She thought thinking this was the perfect plan.

"Well then luck has favored you. I do my best to find an escort when in this part of town someone who can protect an innocent gal like myself perhaps we are both lucky this day," she said playing this off she thought maybe well enough. She didn't want to overdo it or slip and have him realize who she truly was.

"I understand this city could use some cleaning up. I'm just not the one to do it. Glad to help you sir," she said helping him up carefully of course last thing she wanted to do was harm him further. They would be going a little slower than she liked, but this was the perfect disguise for her.

"What brings you out on a night like this?"

[Rhindeer]

With a pained groan, Hatame clasped her hand and let her pull him to his feet. He still stayed bent over, his hand holding his wound closed as best as he could, and his legs were shaking something awful with the effort it took to stay upright, but he somehow managed. Ugh...he may have lost more blood than he'd thought...

A wave of dizziness washed over him and he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment as he waited for it to pass.

"You are far too kind," Hatame said when he could breathe again, though the action hurt. He forced himself to take a deep breath anyway before he went light-headed for lack of air. "I'll find a way to thank you properly later, I promise. As for tonight...well...I was..." What was he doing? Or rather, what was "noble" him doing?

"I was coming back from a party, you see, and some ruffians, uh...roughed me up."

[wolfie]

She watched him as he was bent over and then leaning against the wall. She might be strong enough to help him, but highly doubted it. She wasn't going to be able to carry him if he needed it. She also had to keep her pouch on her to make sure her item stayed as well. This was quite the conundrum.

"You can lean on me a little if it helps we should get moving before those ruffians come back," she said not liking that he had to pause and think about what he'd been doing. Anything natural that one was doing just rolled off the tongue. She wasn't going to let that bother her though as she was using him just to make it home without some guard locking her up for theft.

"Do you have a name?"

[Rhindeer]

It was a little embarrassing, but yeah, he needed a shoulder to lean on, pride be damned. With a little groan, he braced himself against her shoulder though he tried to keep the brunt of his weight off of her, for she was rather short and while thin and lanky, he was on the tall side.

"Ah, yes. They'll be wanting to finish me off, I'm sure!" Hatame agreed, and hobbled along with her. Maybe he'd give her a ring or something for her trouble. She was kind of going out of her way for him here, and he could afford to give away at least that much.

Wasn't like it was a great sacrifice, either, considering it wasn't actually his and had cost nothing. Er...nothing monetary, at least. It had cost him some blood.

"Name's Hatame," he said to her question, breathing heavily with the effort it took to walk. "Er...Lord Hatame. What's yours?"

[wolfie]

She felt him lean on her and was glad that he was okay enough not to put all his weight on her. She was uncertain how much of him she could carry along, but that didn't matter. She was more than she looked.

"We don't want that," she said as she walked slowly for him. It was nothing to her as long as he didn't notice what she had in her sack she didn't care. He was the one to be helping her in the long run.

"Should I call you Lord, or is there something else you'd rather I call you? My name is Chaitya."

[Rhindeer]

Hatame barked a laugh at her question, though it was cut short by a spike of pain. He coughed and leaned more heavily against her, grimacing.

Finally, he caught his breath enough to speak. "Yeah, 'Lord Hatame', that has a nice ring, go for it," he said, and realized too late that that was hardly a 'lordly' thing to say. But his head was reeling and he was starting to grow a little delirious--and with that, he was losing the ability to care how he sounded and lacking the energy to try.

"Where're we going?" he asked, head dropping to the side, though he jerked back upright and blinked several times. Ugh, no. He had to stay awake. Unfortunately, if they didn't get somewhere soon, he wasn't going to have much choice in the matter.

[wolfie]

She heard the laughter and felt his weight more on her. She sighed knowing he shouldn't be laughing. She had healed quite a bit in the desert. They had been walking a little bit, but were almost there. She sighed not sure what to make of this man.

"Lord Hatame, just to the door on the right ahead two more paces. Its a sewing shop not much, but good enough. I know the lady who works out of the shop she won't mind our visiting. Are you going to make it?" She asked hoping he didn't conk out on her now. They could have him lying in a nice soft bed instead of the street in just minutes.

Once inside she had him lying down while she got the necessary supplies to make him more comfortable and to stop the bleeding. When she returned she patched him up the best way she knew how.

"You can relax now you are safe here," she said hoping he would sleep some. She had yet to place her bag in a safe spot having worried more about him than what she had stolen. Fencing it wouldn't be an easy thing here. Lucky for her she had her ways.

[Rhindeer]

Honestly, he had no idea if he was going to make it or not, and so he decided to save his energy and not answer. Speaking was tiring at this point, and he felt dazed, and he hardly had any recollection of the journey into shop. He was vaguely aware of being moved, of laying down, of soft blankets and a comfortable mattress, and he had a vague sense of movement as someone bustled about the room and tended his wounds, but everything felt far away.

He must have dozed off at some point, because sometime later he cracked his eyes open, squinting against light that was too bright for his eyes at that moment, and let out a soft groan. His body ached, and he felt like he'd been dragged by a team of horses--or maybe stretched between them.

Running his hands over his face and through his bangs, he turned his head and looked about the room, trying to get his bearings back. Nothing looked familiar, but if he remembered correctly, some woman had helped him here--and saved his life in doing so.

[wolfie]

Once he fell asleep she went to tend to her own needs. Her bag of course the item needed to be placed in her hiding spot until she could make it and the dress ready. Nobody would guess that she was using the item for a dress after all. It would take another day before she could smash the gems. She also might have to wait longer until she got rid of this Lord.

Sighing she turned in only to wake the next morning remembering everything. She got breakfast ready and checked on him. He was still sleeping when she peeked in. She ate and got everything in the shop ready to open again. Everything had to appear normal as if nothing changed.

Ewara started to sew as her assistant came in taking over the shop portion of this so she could make ready another dress. She sat sewing when she thought she heard movement from her guest. Getting up and stretching she went in to see him.

"Hello again, it's good to see that you are awake again. How are you feeling?"

[Rhindeer]

"Like I got kicked by a horse," Hatame answered in a croak, finding his throat rather dry. He turned his head so he could look at the woman and then, with a hiss of pain, pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Buuut I'm alive, so other than that I've got no complaints," he added with a weak smile. "Where are we?"

[wolfie]

"That can't be good. What do you remember about last night?" She asked testing him. Especially since he was asking where they were. She hadn't said much about it last night, but there were obvious signs of where they were when they came in last night.

"This is my shop I'm a semstress," she said wondering if she should address him like last night. She hadn't fully believed his 'lord' story thinking it was just that - a story.

[Rhindeer]

"Mm, a lot of things, but also not a lot of things. I remember you finding me, but I'm afraid things got a little fuzzy after that," Hatame admitted, feeling along the bandages dressing his side. He also remembered that he'd been pretending to be a lord, though he had been far too weak, tired, and delirious to put much effort into the act (which was the real crime here, because he'd pretended to be nobility before and boy could he ham it up!) and he wondered if she'd actually believed it.

At the very least, she didn't suspect him if she'd brought him here and helped him out, and that was the important part.

He yawned, resting back against the pillows. "A seamstress, huh?" He gave a light laugh. "Did you sew me up?"

[wolfie]

"Yes, I did sew you up only way to fully stop the bleeding. I hope you don't mind," she said knowing her sewing was up to par for many things. It helped her out of a couple of jams, and now it would help her out of another one. Nobody would buy what she stole unless it was in a dress. She thought it her best plan yet.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the rest of that memory. Nothing really happened between me finding you and bringing you here except the sewing. It's a good thing you were out for that might be a bit sore around there for a couple of days. Is there anyone I can contact for you?"

[Rhindeer]

"What? No! Why would I complain about that? 'Oh, please don't sew me up! Please don't save my life!' Hell no. I'm not gonna lie, I'm glad I was out for it, but my hide's not so pretty that I can't stand a few more scars."

Hatame rubbed his side, wincing. "As for contacts, I'm afraid I live alone. I know, I know, a handsome thing like me? Alone? But don't weep for me! It's a tough job, beating people off with sticks and all that."

He did his best to sit up, and checked that the jewellery he'd stolen was still present.

[wolfie]

"I don't know why you would. Not sure what lords do actually not many come in here. Their wives and daughters though I see them plenty," she said sitting in a chair not far away. The shop could do without her for awhile. It wasn't like they had run out of dresses.

Ewara watched him rub his side wondering if men ever listened to what women said. She had told him it would be sore. What he said didn't make any sense. Why would a Lord live alone? Was something wrong with this man?

"Have you beaten many off?" She asked acting as if this wasn't a joke. She got it, but wasn't responding. She watched him sit and check his possessions.

"You haven't any need of fear in here nobody would rob you in my shop that would be an insult to me. Nobody insults a semstress, they need their clothing."

[Rhindeer]

Hatame laughed at that--carefully, so as not to jostle his side. "Oh, sure. Entire hordes. It never ends. In fact, I'm sure I'll have to beat you off at some point if I stick around long enough! Just a fair warning, is all. Don't feel too terrible if you feel the overwhelming urge or anything, it's totally natural."