Wear Feathers in Your Hair (Adel)

[Lion]

Thorn had been amazed actually that he found a room in this place.  In any normal brothel, all the rooms would be filled usually with paying customers and one of the 'employees' but this one it seemed ran a sort of 'sex-hotel' as a side business.  Perhaps this was the place in town where one could fool around with another for a price since other hotels usually wanted to spare their good reputation.  In any case, he thought he was pretty lucky that he found it.

He noticed that he sounds stopped for a time and that was only when he looked up and suddenly started to laugh to himself.  He stopped when Mia asked a question of her own.  "Well, if you like it enough.  I guess I could hold onto it for you.  I've got big pockets."  He took it from her when they headed out the door and folded it delicately before stuffing it into one of the pockets of his coat.  He was probably stupid to be wearing a jacket as he was about to venture into the jungle, but the pockets were useful especially when one had to carry things that bags couldn't bear.  Thorn carried little luggage with him; carrying less, meant one had less to lose.  And with kleptos around, that made things easier for him.

As he followed her out into the open he refolded the pleats of his jacket and took a great sigh.  "Well, it looks like maybe we can get something to eat at the inn.  I don't think brothels serve anything else besides aphrodisiacs.  Let's go."

[Anonymous]

[center:2x4lgvic]Mia snickered at the comment. Agreeing, she pulled herself from the wall and gazed down the stretch of buildings. Squinting in the distance, a sloppily red painted sign caught her attention. "Is that the Inn?" She'd question, a hand acting as a visor as it shaded her delicate eyes. Depending on his answer she trucked forwards, eager to get some food in her stomach.

Mia's long strides left a gap between herself and Thorn; always having preferred the leading role even in situations, like these, where she barely knew where she was going. Upon approaching the building, Mia stopped. A cobblestone pathway felt strange but familiar beneath her sandalled feet, briefly reminding her of Thanatos. Mia missed it, she noticed, as a subtle anxiety tugged at her chest. "Hmph", she retaliated, continuing in stride with necromancy on her mind the entire time. Maybe she should do a little demonstration for him later.

At the doors, it was obvious this Inn's triumph over the brothel. The wooden doors had intricate designs carved out into their surface. Mia admired it a second before lead through them by the hunger dwelling in her empty stomach, pulling back the heavy doors and stepping onto the dark wood. Now this was where she'd let Thorn take over: unsure of what to say exactly or where to go to find the eatery of one of these places, she turned to him and shrugged. In all honestly, Mia had never been to a hotel or an Inn or anything of the sort until last night.[/center:2x4lgvic]

[Lion]

"Yup," he said, pointing in the direction.  "Same place I got kicked out of for trying to help you.  Anyways, let's go."  Thorn would've walked beside her if she didn't already take off first and leave him several feet behind her.  In any case, he followed and reached the inn.

The town itself was incredibly small and cramped, nothing that Thorn wasn't used to.  But he guessed that not very many people would want to choose the jungle as their vacation getaway.  The town provided a nice retreat though when it came to something close to actual civilization.  He would have to remember it's location in case he ever found himself here again; something of which he hoped would not happen again.

Once inside the inn, Thorn strode over to the owner whom he recognized from yesterday.  When the other man looked up, he didn't seem to be familiar with the mercenary himself.

He peered up and smiled, saying nothing more than, "Good day, sir.  How may I help you?"

"What's with the 'Good day, sir'?  Yesterday you were about to blow my brains out."

"What?  I'm sorry, sir.  There must be some mistake."

"Yeah, there's a mistake alright.  You see that girl over there.  I brought her in here yesterday, limp and on the verge of death."

"But she looks fine to me..."

"No thanks to you, you little bastard!"  Thorn was clearly irritated now and grabbed up the much smaller man by the collar in an increasingly threatening matter.

"Oh gods!  Don't hurt me!  I-I'm sorry.  I do remember you!  Wh-what can I do to make up for it?"

"Feed us.  We're both mighty hungry from having eaten nothing."

"Yessir!  Right away.  And it'll be half off, for all the trouble."

"Free."

"O-okay, f-free then."

Thorn let go of the man who quickly ran back into the kitchen area where food was readily being cooked.  He turned to Mia and smiled.  "Well, the service here is excellent."

[Anonymous]

[center:1asrhyc8]Mia retreated once again to lean against a broad pillar not far from the happenings. Irresistibly, a wide grin peeled back her lips. Just as he scurried away with his tail between his legs, she casually pushed herself from the pillar with a foot and strode over to him with both of her arms folded above her head. "You never fail to impress me, Mr. Thorn", she chimed. "Now then... where do you suppose the seating area is?" Mia asked, gazing around the establishment. Before he spilled an answer, she took a sharp right parallel to the kitchen area, figuring it would be somewhere in that general area. To no surprise, it was. Giving a brief observation of the family of four sitting in the very corner and a slummy couple that looked as though they belonged in the brothel, her swaying hips lead her to a table-for-two up against a wall.

Slouched over onto her elbows, Mia fidgeted with her thumbs until Thorn showed up; to which, she'd pat the table as if to welcome him over. Every little while Mia would glance back to find herself being stared at. Indifferent, she didn't blame them-- they all had been wearing fairly typical clothing, and surely such an outfit might be offensive to the younger child. The male teenager on the other-hand looked a little too interested. His hounding eyes and chubby freckled face made her gnash her jaws impatiently, reading over a menu provided a couple minutes prior. The menu was of course nothing fancy, just basic meals to lure and satisfy potential customers. "What're you getting?", she'd ask half-heartedly. Decision making wasn't one of her skills, unfortunately.[/center:1asrhyc8]

(ooc: ahh I'm not exactly sure what these sort of places would be like back then, or if they'd even have menu's so brace yourself for my improvising )

[Lion]

Thorn readjusted his belt idly, grinning in the face of her comment.  "Over there, I suppose.  This is my first time here."  But not his first time in an inn.  To a traveler like him, he made taverns and inn, and less regularly brothels, his choices for housing.  He didn't have a steady house to take care off or a bank to hold his loot, he bought and spent what he needed to and made wise investments over the years.  Handling a little pissant like the owner was rather smalltime for someone like Thorn.

He followed her to the two person table and kept his eyes in front of him rather than slinking below like they had the first time they'd met.  He'd have to remember to let her know that if they're going to walk together any further that it's be best to walk at his side or in back of him unless she wanted him ogling her for the rest of their journey.  He hoped that if and when he said such things that she wouldn't take it the wrong way.  Sitting, he ignored most of the patrons within the establishment, it wasn't in his interest to know who they were anyway.  But there was one person in particular that caught his attention and how he kept glancing at Mia.  Thorn gave him an iron-eyed scowl that, when the boy looked up, made him quickly recant his 'hopes'.

He took the menu in his hands and looked it over for himself.  "Oh, I don't know.  I guess the soup and mutton sounds good.  I'll have that."  He kept his eyes on the menu the entire time while he asked another, quite unexpected question, "Do you intentionally like to draw the eyes of men to you?"

[Don't worry!  The improv was just fine! ^^]

[Anonymous]

[center:194yc5zs]As attentive as she was, she caught his little scowl towards the horndog teenager and snickered. "Hypocrite", she said under an intentional cough. Refocusing on the words splayed out before her, she ran a single finger along the text-, the corners of her lips turning ever so slightly; "The steak for me." After living off of fish and rabbits for so long, a scrumptious slab of rare-cooked beef was the way to go.

Despite the nature of the question, she wasn't struck. Mia simply gazed up, lifted her eyebrows of which were dark in contrast to her hair, and leaned forwards on her elbows and jokingly squeezed her breasts together between her arms. "Actually," She whispered, "When you're a compulsive stealer, the least attention possible is preferred." To lighten up the seriousness of her tone, she leaned back and sprawled out in her chair. "But in all honesty, I don't really see why it's such a big deal. If I could, I'd be naked. Skin is skin."  And that ended her wise, philosophical comment.

The waiter approached, obviously having heard about what Thorn did earlier because he looked particularly nervous. Mia straightened out in her chair and returned her eyes back to the menu and confirmed her order with the waiter before her turned to Thorn. After he left, Mia quietly groaned. She was usually pretty patient but, her stomach on the other-hand.. not so much. "How long does it take to get to Zantaric?" She asked out of genuine curiosity. A couple steals along the way didn't seem as though they could do any harm, and Mia grinned with the formulation of little plan.[/center:194yc5zs]

[Lion]

"Ah," he nodded, continuing to keep his eyes sealed to the menu.  To look down her blouse was too tempting and he was more hungry than anything else.  "I suppose that makes perfect sense.  And to be honest, you wouldn't be half bad either.  It really isn't all the big a deal, I was merely curious is all.  And what itches at me further is, you're a thief but you really don't have any place to put all that you steal.

"Then it's a good thing that you met me; I could be your personal pack mule if you need it."  When the waiter approached, he told him of his own order and then leaned a bit forward on the table.  Placing an elbow on there, he tilted his head and looked around at the people now.  He almost didn't hear her question.  Turning to his head suddenly he grunted a bit and said, "Roughly two or three weeks if we set off early enough.  I want to get there quick without much side business.  Um, and just so you know, you don't have to call me mister.  Just Thorn will do; you're not serving me, you're just my business partner.  And something else, could you tell me a little more about yourself?  Let's start with where you're from."

[Anonymous]

[center:3mljg02h]Rubbing her shoulders, it was obvious the placement of her stolen goods was a constant struggle. "Tree's only work for so long," she said blandly. Of course, Mia took the offer without hesitation whether he was serious or not. "Weeks", she repeated to herself, caught a little off-guard. She knew it was far but weeks? Making sure not to flinch as she didn't want to appear daunted, she tapped her fingers against the hardwood table, appearing as indifferent as usual.

When Mia referred to someone as Mr., it was actually meant to mock the importance of the person but.. she wouldn't tell him that. Suddenly Thorn seemed a little uptight! Either way she accepted his request with a nod, aloofly placing her chin into her palm upon the tabletop. Mia took a deep breath, exhaling out her nose and looking aside in regards to his question. "Well, I'm from Suna of Thanatos. I lived there until I was around thirteen or something, until I sold the house and got kicked out for stealing.  Which, if you know anything about Thanatos, is pure luck compared to the alternative consequence", she anxiously shifted in her chair.

"I'm 24, by the way. And, as you can see", she pointed to her left ear and its pointed tip, "I've got some elf blood. Oh, and incase you've been wondering if you missed out on some fashion trend, these feathers here represent the necromancy class I was attending." Mia paused, deciding that was plenty of info for him to absorb. "And you?"[/center:3mljg02h]

[Lion]

That was plenty to be sure.  He only asked where she was from after all and she gave him so much more.  "Thanatos, huh," he muttered and grinned slyly.  "I've been there once before and I know exactly what you mean."

The waiter returned now with two plates, one of which had a bowl atop it and a slab of meat.  He laid them down on either side of the table to their respective eaters.  As Thorn reached forward and began to eat into his own food, he nodded and said, "So you do have experience with dead bodies.  Good, you'll need it sometime.  Where we're going, there are enough cutthroat bastards to fill an entire graveyard.  You'll have your pickings."

He was partway into his meal (eating fast was a keen trait of his) when the conversation was turned on him.  "Me?" he said mid-chew.  He swallowed and sighed, thinking of how he could begin.  "I'm from up north, Hyoite.  I'm thirty and I lived most of my life in the frigid cold until I knew that the only way to get out of that shit hole was to make some money fast.  So I took some odd jobs, made some use of my skills and now I travel around doing mercenary work.  Not really as spectacular as necromancy but I've got a few tricks of my own.  Tricks like reading a person's aura: what they feel, what they've done, where they've been, and sometimes even where they're gonna be."

[Anonymous]

[center:33zpk2wl]The moment the plate arrived, she grabbed her utensils and hungrily dug into her meal. Mia never really heard much about Zantaric, so the mention of dead bodies perked her curiosity. Just what kind of place were they going? Throughout her life, Mia was never required to kill anyone and so she didn't bother. Sure, she's seen plenty of death but never once contributed. Living away from Suna for so long, her thoughts on how the body was only a 'container' of the soul was questioned. Her mind continued on the topic as she ate, not quite as quickly as Thorn but speedy none-the-less.

While he explained himself, she played with her mashed potatoes. "Hyoite, hm? I've heard about it. In all honesty it sounds like my dream home", she said absently. When he started talking about his aura-trick thing, she looked up at him. "Auras?" she questioned rhetorically, staring intently. I wonder if he's ever done that to me. Mia would almost be embarrassed if he didn't already know her little secret. After taking a couple more juicy bites of her steak, she casually slipped in a question that nibbled at her head the entire conversation-- even though it was probably obvious, "Have you ever killed someone?"[/center:33zpk2wl]

[Lion]

Thorn cheated himself the previous night.  He'd planned to read Mia's aura when she was sleeping just in case there was something about her that she didn't want to say.  But he'd been distracted by his own paranoia to really do anything about it.  And then there was the confession which further distracted him from his initial goal.  Perhaps he thought subconsciously that she would confess herself entirely to him at some point, to keep him from actually having to read her aura.

But his mind was quickly taken off that topic with her next question.  It was the guessable one and probably didn't need his explanation at all.  But he'd humor her since she answered all his questions so far.  He got halfway through his meat and soup, when he very casually wiped his lips with his napkin and said, "Of course.  But only when I had to.  If there's no need for unnecessary blood, then I don't do it.  Why do you ask?  You're a necromancer, I'm sure you've killed some people, haven't you?"

[Anonymous]

[center:33sc486s]Unsurprised by his answer, she bit into the final remaining chunk of steak and greedily swallowed. Mia thought about it a little with a sick curiosity. At the mention of her necromancy, she gazed up. "I'm only a first level necromancer. I can't do much, just talk to spirits and affect luck and a bit of rotting", she explained, torn between her classes and the journey she and Thorn were about to take. Had she attended it longer, no doubt her abilities would become a little less worthless. "So no, I haven't killed anyone."  

Leaning back in her chair, Mia set down her utensils and scrunched the napkin onto the plate. "Hurry up, would you? No point wasting daylight" Mia said playfully in the process of calling over a waiter. She had less to eat than he did, so it was only natural she finished first. Mia was anxious after the necromancy topic, so she wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid any temptation of returning home. She needed a little adventure, it would benefit her. But leaving something behind that you lived your life for for so long was... well, difficult.

The same boyish waiter came stumbling up to the table-side. He carried with him a tray with a couple drinks and a name-tag pinned on his chest that said "Oswald". "Right, Oswald, tell your manager we said thanks for the meal" Mia purred, a courteous statement made otherwise with a simple tone.

    "Yes, certainly, I'll go get the check"
    "Tsk, no no, we're special guests of the hotel, you see? We were given a free meal."

His face looked worried, glancing around for any sign of the manager so he could get confirmation. Finding none, he returned to Mia who fiddled with the newly acquired pen behind her back.
     "Uhm, okay.." he said hesitantly, and Mia rewarded him with a brief smile. He shuffled off in another direction and she caught him patting his pocket, obviously looking for something. She turned in her seat to face Thorn, pulling the shiny silver pen from behind her back and setting it on the table. "Might come in handy", she mumbled, reaching over and clicking the pen-tip in and out. "Anyway, you ready?"[/center:33sc486s]

[Lion]

"Hm, that's a shame," he muttered, finishing the rest of his meal.  He didn't like to be rushed, especially when he was eating.  Of all things, eating was one of the rare and few pleasures in his life that he always enjoyed.  There was his work first, but sometimes his tasks were less than pleasant.  He wasn't a psychopathic killer that enjoyed murder, he killed only because he was getting paid to do it and he always did what he was paid to do.  Money was the highlight of his life, second to none.

Outside the sun was barely rising, the colors of early morning sloshing haphazardly across the canvas of a dark sky.  The soup was steadily consumed, even as she was already finished.  But he wanted to enjoy every bite of his meal, he was bigger than her after all and most likely needed more nutrients.  "Well, in any case, maybe you can show me a bit of this necromancy mumbo jumbo on the way to Zantaric?  I'd like to see some more it.  Fascinating it all is really."  He was finally finished when the waiter came to them and he set it on the table, watching with curiosity as she dealt with their 'free meal'.  Well, maybe she was bolder than he thought.  That was even better.  And then when he saw the silver object in her hand, he couldn't help but laugh.  Sneaky, too.

"A consolation prize I suppose for throwing you out.  Along with me, but I like intimidating people, so that was my prize.  C'mon, let's get going.  I wanna beat the sun while I can."  Thorn stood and headed out the door, waiting for her to follow like he knew she would.

[Anonymous]

[center:339ihvxy]Mia shrugged, trying to think of instances where she'd actually require her skills. Casually she nibbled on her finger. "I can give it a try sometime,", she replied. Mumbo Jumbo! Mia took it very seriously, even for her lack of experience. She released a huge yawn, dramatically throwing her arms in the air and shuddering the fatigue off after-wards. Seeing the completion of his meal, Mia swiftly grabbed the pen and attached the clip portion to the side of the leather strap of her loincloth. By the time Mia pushed out her chair, Thorn had already walked off.. so hurriedly Mia followed: afterall, she had no idea where this Zantaric place was.

Pushing back the heavy doors once again, flashing the receptionist a quick last glance to reassure he wasn't about to do anything silly-- like ask for some money. Fortunately for him, he didn't. The burst of sunlight was refreshing, as was the cool breeze that acted like a moderator. Mia took a couple steps forward onto the cobblestone, peering under her hand in every direction. "So, which way, Captain?" She'd ask, turning around to face him while her eyes remained beneath the shade of her hand.[/center:339ihvxy]