Second verse, not the same as the first (Lion!)

[Anonymous]

Morning. It was not her most favoured time in the world, and she could never figure out why. Maybe it was because she slept inside, and for whatever reason really wanted the sun to be on her when it flooded the land with the light. That sadly was not an option anymore, keeping her curtains drawn was the safest. She had found not only did her neighbour like to watch her, but he kept plants IN his house. The man was clearly working for them, and he was not to be trusted. It also didn't help that she liked to prance around naked in front of the window, but that was to get the maximum amount of sun on her. It helped her to wake up, and she didn't get it. A bath also helped to wake her up, like she absorbed water. She'd never understand her connection with the sun and water, but that was beside the point.

The young green skinned woman looked at herself in the mirror. A towel was wrapped around her small frame, a comb held in one hand, the other held onto the chestnut red-tinged coloured hair, thoughtfully trying to decide what to do with it. She didn't like to bind it, it felt weird, constricting, but she looked good when she put it into a loose bun or pony tail. Sighing she decided to go with the ponytail route. She ran the brush through her hair a few times before getting a small bit of ribbon, soft and manageable, easily working her hair into a pony tail. Satisfied with that she got her clothes from her dresser and began to prepare for the day.

The bright green eyed girl left the way she always did. First, she opened the door slowly and peeked at the outside of it. Not covered in vines or plants. Good. Then she checked the doorway, making sure nothing was waiting for her up there. Then, she quickly dashed outside into the street, her plain beige skirt whirling with her as she turned to look at her house. Nothing. No plants growing around it, none streaming down over the front of it. She smiled as she reached into her bodice pocket and removed a small key. She locked her door and smiled to herself, quickly replacing the key before she checked herself over. She wore a simple white shirt with long sleeves, and the leather bodice of course to give her more of a curvy appearance. Brier told her she looked good in it, and it helped to give her petite body more cleavage, which helped get her more tips.

It also got her a sore bottom usually, but the money was good enough that she took everything in stride.

Speaking of stride, hers was quick down the street, her eyes darting nervously from side to side. Some people kept plants as pets, as PETS even. They hung them outside, watered them, and gave them love. She couldn't believe, she honestly couldn't think of why they would do such a thing. As she passed too close to a few, some seemed to grow outwards, their leafy tendrils trying to grab at her. Her pace was hurried even more, almost a run at this point. It was so creepy how they followed her, how they watched her and tried to grab her.

She finally made it to the Sprig of Jasmine, the hilariously named Inn that she worked at. The Gods had a terrible sense of humour, they seemed to just enjoy torturing the poor woman. "Finally Auri. Had a run in with a juniper or something?" It was the slightly sarcastic voice of her boss, a man named Bryon. She however, called him Brier, something she thought had been his real name. She stuck out her tongue at him as she entered the common room, already grabbing a broom and starting to sweep the dirt away from the previous night. "Funny Brier, very funny. When the plants do attack, you'll be lucky I was here to save you." She shot back, quite seriously for that matter. The young woman was a little strange...just...a little strange to say the least.

The day would start to wear on, people would come down from rooms or would wander in from the street for a meal for lunch. Auri would stay back near the kitchen in a corner, a small plate of food which she ate quietly. Contrary to her fear of plants, she was actually eating vegetables, yes...she was a vegetarian. She felt like she was doing her part to lessen the threat of plants by eating them. She had tried to eat an all meat diet, and had gotten rather sick. She did however stay near a window, letting the sun stream in on her, and she had a small damp cloth wrapped around both her wrists. She found this made her feel more alert, more energetic, and it was a very relaxing thing to do. The sun and the cool water was a perfect mix to calm the strange young woman down.

[Lion]

It seemed it was the perfect day.  Anything could happen today, Tiron thought as he waded silently through the water.  The water soothed his skin and it was a rare time when he could be alone without the prying eyes of others.  It was a wonder to be alone, to be one with the trees and the rocks and the animals and the earth.  There was a certain wonder to be here, lingering just outside the city, away from all the hubbub and daily business of heckling city-goers.  Though he was just a lowly monk, there were times when he needed a break too, some time for himself to relax and cool down after a hard day of praying.  And swimming did just the thing.

The small lake outside Arca was more like a puddle in size in comparison to the bodies of water to the south, but it was enough for Brother Tiron.  He wasn't the sort of man to fuss over the little things.  He was a monk for crying out loud!  Nothing could bother him.  While he washed his extremities, he was so relaxed that he was that he thought that he might even sing a song.  Oh what fun would that be.  "My dear, darling sister, when you grow old, know that I will always love you.  You were kind to me!  Bringing me all the wonders children should know.  Thank you, thank you, for having a heart of gold!"

The song came out of his mouth in such a melodious way that it was hard to believe that the singer was not a professional performer for some troop but a lowly monk for one of the local forest deities.  But the song was so absentminded, so thoughtlessly aberrant, that Tiron did not notice a large figure, seemingly caught under the spell of the song so wonderfully sung, dragging its heavy feet along the side of the lake.  Yet when he felt a shadow come over him.  He poured some water over his arms idly when he suddenly stopped humming and noticed it was as if the sun had darkened.  "Huh?"  Turning around, he noticed the hulking figure before him.

"Oh dear, Jodea," he breathed in astonishment, eyes wide.  And it was just seconds before paralysis wore off and Tiron was gripped by the bowels of fear.  "OH GODS!" he screamed and scrambled away, splashing away in the water.  He was such a good swimmer it seemed that it was only a matter seconds before he disappeared behind the other side of the reeds hiding the opposite shore.  "Oh my dear Jodea!  Save me!" he cried out as he ran off into the woods.

The tall figure stood by the water, confused as to why he'd run.  What was wrong? he thought.  Crinkling his face and peering down into the water, he saw that, after the ripples cleared, he was not exactly the most pleasant face in the world.  So he was that ugly?  Really?  Grave grunted in displeasure.  He didn't think he was that bad.  Little did he know that the teeth along his stomach were revealed and had growled at the man who swam away.  When something like that was threatening you, why wouldn't you escape as fast as possible?

Grave stepped away and spotted a robe beneath.  Perhaps it was the man's.  Chances are it was, but he bent low anyway and threw it over his breastplate and broad shoulders, find the cloth rather tight by the time it was on him completely.  His shoulders stretched the cloth and the sleeves were barely loose.  The hem on the bottom nearly reached his calves.  Well, that ought to do it, at least disguise some part of his appearance.  Reaching low, he found one more strip of cloth that was to go around the waist of the robe, but instead Grave wrapped it over his eyes, tying it securely to prevent his sight.

And with that done he ventured on his path, wandering into the city.  But he was walking like a blind man, not completely used to the idea of not seeing though he usually had his eyes closed.  And like a blind man, he stumbled and bumped into people, knocking them over and only grunting in response.  What was this?  His hands made contact with what felt like a door.  He opened it and went inside, careful not to trip on the front step. "Grrm," he grunted, reaching something that resembled a front desk and with that he knocked on it softly and said one word. "Help."

[Anonymous]

They often got the most unusual characters. Brier couldn't even count on one hand anymore the strange people that joined them in the 'The Sprig of Jasmine.' There had been so many over the years, and it wasn't all that bad either, he enjoyed meeting strange new people. He had met many things before, from strange bird people, odd half beast people, to some very weird new species that didn't have a name, and even his scaredy-cat serving girl Auri. Out of all of them, he probably had enjoyed meeting Auri the most. He had never heard of a half-dryad woman afraid of plants before, one who was obsessed with using fire to protect herself. Not to mention that she had called him Brier when they first met, having misheard his name. Even the sound of some plant related object had scared her.

There was of course when you got some of the stranger creatures in here. Creatures you weren't entirely sure you wanted in here. Brier wasn't a racist however, he welcomed all people into his establishment. It helped to give business, when other Inns would turn away, he would welcome. After all, turning a person away was basically turning money away. Who would ever do that was beyond him.

Currently he was busy wiping down the counter in the common room when he heard a strange knocking at the front desk and a word. Help. Quickly depositing the wet cloth behind the counter, he headed the back route around to the front desk. It was connected to the kitchen, the kitchen connected to the common room, and so on. He walked out behind the front desk to look up at the most...bizarre, and frankly...somewhat scary looking creature. It wore clothes that didn't fit, and bound it eyes, but there seemed to be some strange light from under the flimsy fabric. That was definitely disturbing to say the least. "Good afternoon to you sir." Brier said cheerfully, trying not to be too quiet in his approach. He didn't want to startle the poor fellow, that would be a terrible thing if he was blind.

"What can I help you with today?"

In the common room, serving a few of the patrons there some refreshing beverages, Auri could see the large...man thing at the front desk. She felt her skin crawling just looking at it. It was mostly because she could sense some sort of...she didn't know how to define it, but he had been around plants and trees. Lots of them. She was sure he had some twigs and grass stuck to him now doubt, perhaps a few leaves here and there. She couldn't stand the thought of that, and at the same time...the man-thing didn't look right. In those clothes that were to small for him, the binded eyes, the fact that what she could see of him looked...very different. His smoked skin, the strange hair, the expression...and the clothes. They form fitted him almost, and he looked like a creature that could rip a door or a man in half with ease.

It scared her to say the least. There was just something about him that screamed stay away. However, this was her job, and if Brier was okay with letting him in, then she would...well she would still be slightly scared, but she would serve him. She didn't know what he was, but she just had a bad feeling about him. She didn't want to say he looked unintelligent but...he didn't look like he could be working at a Magi School anytime soon.

She decided to quickly go back to her duties, bringing mugs of drinks and plates of food around to people in the common room.

'Please don't let him come in here.' She thought wistfully.

[Lion]

He was strange indeed.  A giant of the oddest nature that he probably wasn't what he was created to be in the first place.  His origins were misted over as if he'd been born with amnesia.  And as far as he knew, he had.  He didn't know if he had parents or if he'd been born like a mortal or made like one.  It was a mystery of whether he lived all his life or had lived many lives before this one.  He didn't know of gods or if he was made by one or whether he owed allegiance to one.  He knew only what instincts lurked in him and how these instincts reacted to the world.  He recognized certain things and didn't know exactly what to make of them.  When he reacted to them the wrong way, he was chastised for his actions (when under the ruling of a master) or when he did things right, he was scarcely rewarded.  To him, there was no different between reward and punishment; both were one in the same, for most of his masters were cruel and wanted to abuse what services Grave offered them, to make him a slave.

And in many ways, he was a slave, created to forever do the biddings of others.  And when someone presented themselves even remotely in the fashion of a master, he made them into one and lurked around them until they told him to go away.  And more often than not, he didn't.  He stayed and became their giant shadow until he felt they no longer had any use for them.  These masters often were not very memorable and came and went like soldiers sacrificed in war, useful for a time but when they fulfilled their use, they were disposed of and quickly forgotten.

And that left this giant, thrown into an abyssal world, lost and left to fend for himself, thriving only on his need to serve.  But perhaps somewhere, there was a master that would be worthy of his talents.

Grave mulled over this for some time and nearly didn't hear the man talk to him.  He knew that there must be some kind of glow appearing through the blindfold he had placed over his eyes and therefore shut them as a result.  He didn't need anyone screaming in fear right now, he just wanted a place to stay.  Hopefully this ill-fitting disguise would give him some sense of normalcy.

Instead of answering verbally, he nodded simply.  His stomach growled a little, something a little more unnerving than what a human's might utter, but he quickly placed his hands over it awkwardly and frowned like a pathetic puppy. "Oof.  Hungry," he said plainly again.  He tried to find the right words again.  "Er...something to eat?".....Oh no!  "And drink!" he quickly added, grinning nervously, tapping the counter with eagerly.  Now, he just had to think of a way to take in whatever they gave him the normal way, which was such a disgusting method mortals used to consume things.

[Anonymous]

And just like that, Brier noticed the glow was gone. If this big man could have been any creepier, he'd have an extra head coming out of his stomach or chest. However, the man seemed docile, and really Brier had encountered hill giants and trolls with worst manners, smells, and looks as well. He was quite alright with having this strange customer, so long as the man stayed docile and didn't attack anyone. He couldn't see it being too much of a problem, he was blind after all. A man with such a disability he hoped wouldn't turn to violence so easily. He just knew that a lot of...larger folk were usually a bit...simple. Simple folk could get angry or annoyed by things, things they didn't understand and such.

"Something...to eat and drink then." Yes...he seemed a little...simple. The growling from his stomach was a bit unnerving, it was a bit more animal than he was used to hearing, but at the same time, the man just seemed...embarrassed, shamed in a way by it. "If you will just ah..." Brier frowned as he flipped open the side of the desk so he could get around it and stood between the man and the common room. "If you will follow me sir...I'll get you a table and a chair to sit in." He would have reached out and touched the man on the arm, but he was rather frightened the surprise would startle him. So he just took to stomping loudly. "This way." He would say occassionally, to let the man know he was there. He led him to a rather sturdy table, and got Auri to push a rather big chair to the table. It was able to handle the larger customers, and hopefully would support this man as well.

"Auri, get him something to eat and drink." Asking for payment would...probably not be a good idea. Brier figured he could get away with giving away a free meal. Usually he only reserved that for more...appealing customers of the opposite sex but...this seemed like as good as any really. Auri was quick to dash to the kitchen, getting a plate of food from the cook, as well as the largest tankard of water she could find. She had a bit of trouble, but she got out of the kitchen and placed it on the table in front of the large man. She really was nervous about him, he just smelled of the outdoors...

Not to mention he didn't look...human...or...like a normal humanoid. Oh she wished that she had just...stayed in bed this morning, lounged in the sun as it spread across her floor. Oh if only she had stayed in bed! Now she was itching to move away...OH! She could! She worked here! She had to help other customers! "I...hope you enjoy it sir." With a small bow she was quick to retreat to find herself some other customers who wanted to have their drinks refilled, or their plates taken away. She was thankful that there were others here.