The Inn (Shizzy)

[Anonymous]

"Well, they do smell lovely so I suppose it is best to just leave them be and let them do their job." Vec preferred to do things with a little more subtlety, a little more...well in all honesty he liked to cheat here and there. He wasn't used to this life, to not being able to snap his fingers and solve the world's problems. Not that he ever did though, but he liked to manipulate the world through subtlety, gently nudging, hinting, and prodding things in the right direction.

"That is a very lovely name Serigala, a treasure to meet you dear. As for the fleas, I believe more of the cheaper Inns have some degree of insect infestation, but I cannot say for sure." After all, he didn't want to put down any establishment after all, and for that matter he did not know the full truth, it would probably be best to just leave it like that. If Vec had eyes though, they would narrow as she explained her wrists to him. A God who demanded blood sacrifice? How barbaric.

Well, any God who demanded worship and sacrifice was barbaric to Vec.

Some could argue that yes, the Gods did give the gift of life and as such people should toil their days away in order to serve the God but...what kind of a Gift was that? Certainly not a gift that any being of immense power and understanding should impart upon people, that was a given. Hmph. Truly the things that people believed in. "Oh, I see...Hrm. That is a very unbecoming habit but...there is the debate that it is better than spilling the blood of others..." People would believe anything these days. He had heard of Sangui in his travels, a God who would stop the sun from rising if he didn't gather enough blood.

Tsk.

Vec smiled wistfully as he reached up to run a finger along his blindfold. "Well Miss Serigala, one has to know what to listen for, and what to look out. Bugs have a certain...presence. When you have lived your life like I have, you know when there are...creatures about, sentient and non-sentient for that matter. " True, Vec's senses were rather improved than most mortal creatures, as he wasn't built like everyone else. They were like machines on the inside, filled with flesh, bones, that sort of thing...while Vec was filled with power, magic, light, so his senses operated differently.

Both of them seemed to be entranced by his little magic trick, which was fun to do. They were parlour tricks to him really, not slight of hand of course, much more advanced than that. He noted that Serigala was going to touch the circle. Why did people always do that? That was their first instinct it seemed, to touch the unknown. Granted nothing would have happened...unless the glass materialized around her fingers. That would have been hard to apologize to. "I just met Miss Anandi a moment ago. As for a travelling mage well..." Vec scratched his chin, which was devoid of any facial hair, stubble or otherwise at this point. "I would not go so far as to say that, but for now that should do."

Vec's smile was all still there as he shook his head to Serigala's question. "I am afraid that I have no wounds for you to heal Miss, I am able to heal myself with my ah...powers." He looked toward Anandi as she admitted to a wound, his arms gently folding over his chest. "Well, I should like to see this demonstration of healing abilities then." For some reason Anandi mentioned 'materials' and as such he assumed that perhaps...perhaps this woman wasn't going to heal with magic, but by more natural and homeopathic means. Oh that would be interesting.

Once more it made no sense to him. Magic was just as natural, and could be more powerful.

Still, far be it from him to understand the mortals and their ways really! Let them do whatever it is they want to do, this was their life to live.

[Anonymous]

{OOC: NOOOOO! My computer just restarted! Anyway, I wanted to ask if there is such thing as posting too much and hogging. BIC:}

Serigala grinned at Anandi's reaction. It was a strange reason to be smiling but she felt much better. Odd, it had been such a short time ago that she had been feeling downcast.

She was feeling a bit put out about Anandi's opinion of other creatures. Surely nothing could be fully evil? Come to think of it, she could be said to be bloodthirsty when full moon came around. Did that make her evil in this lady's book? She had an idea, though not a very bright one, 'do you eat meat?'

She laughed loudly, 'heavens, my mother would be outraged to find me so forward.'

Serigala lifted the leg in question to examine the bruise. It was not a bad bruise and there was no sign of muscle bruising. She tapped it to see if it was causing any more pain than nessecary then looked and smiled warmly at the girl's face.

'It is well on its way to mended and there is nothing I can do for it. The skin does not appear to be broken but the pain could slow you down in a tight spot. I can give you some herbs for the pain if you wish but other than that I would just take it easy.'

Serigala rubbed some salve on her wrists then wrapped them in a small cloth from her pack, 'I wouldn't recommend licking this stuff. It is one of the reasons why I use this recipe. It stops me from licking and helps the wounds to heal themselves.'

'It is not an ability as such, not in a magical way at least. I prefer salves to using magic. It gives the body a chance to heal itself. I have always thought that if people rely on magic to solve there problems and it goes away, there bodies cannot cope with the load placed upon them.' She glanced up at Vec, who looked incredibly curious about her salves. She added hastily, 'magic is wonderful for things the body cannot handle however Mister Vec, such as a rotten leg. In these cases a leg is better rebuilt by magic than amputated and healed.'

She felt a little embarressed about acting so strongly so bent over the last of her, now cold, hot lemon and sugar. She tried to move the focus from her as she offered up some salve for Anandi, 'so from where do you hail and how were you blinded Mister Vec?'

Serigala had never been this far from her town before, which was ludicrous considering she lived only a few days trudge south of here. It was strange how relaxed she was, she had always thought she would feel homesick after leaving the manor. She shrugged it off again, blaming the fogsweed. She spat the thing into her empty glass in a less than refined manner.

She was beginning to feel curious about this stranger. He wasn't a holy man but wore holy garments of some sort, he appeared to have no problem seeing fleas on her head from yards away yet he appeared as a blind man and had magical abilities enough to not have to worry about doctoring.

[Anonymous]

She blinked in response to Serigala's question, the smile on her lips turning into a puzzled frown. Shifting slightly, Anandi slowly answered the question.

"Meat? Do I eat meat? Why, yes I do."

Of course she ate meat - there wasn't much else to choose from, although truth be told she would rather eat desserts than meat any day. It shows, she thought wryly, pinching her stomach. Distracted, she barely caught the reason for Serigala's laugh.

"My mother would be scandalized to see me looking so disheveled and speaking so frankly with people I've only just met." She grinned. "I rather like it - I plan on writing her a long letter filling her in on all of my actions. She enjoys being angry with me, I think ... it gives her something to think about."

Pulling her skirt up slightly to assist in the examination of her bruise, Anandi gasped sharply as Serigala unexpectedly smacked her wound. Listening as she said nothing could be done for it, Anandi felt slightly let down, but smiled at Serigala nonetheless.

"Thank you for looking at it - I know it's just a silly bruise, I'm just concerned that I can't seem to heal it. I suppose it will heal in its own time, however, and I shouldn't attempt to rush the process." Reaching out, she accepted the salve offered to her. "May I pay you for this? I've no doubt it will be well worth it."

Anandi frowned as Vec called Serigala's habit unbecoming. While she agreed that the idea of sacrificing blood to a god was rather extreme, she didn't think it was kind to judge someone's belief.

[OOC: I am SO sorry this came in so late and is so short. If you need to g-mod (mildly, of course XD) for anything, go ahead - I didn't give much to work with. The holidays are proving to be a bit hectic for me LOL, however I will do my very best to post in a more timely manner.)

[Anonymous]

Now, Vec personally had no reason to eat at this time, or at any other time. Granted in the future the holy light that was his Godhood and conscience would turn to flesh and bone and he would become pure human, save for that twinkle of gold in his eyes that would remain, and some powers, then he would need to eat, drink, and sleep. For now though, all of those were simply a luxury of sorts, ones that he indulged in from time to time.

Alright, when it came to tea and ice cold spring water, he indulged in those fairly often...but who could resist!

"Why would you lick your own wounds..." Vec's gaze upon Serigala, and she would feel a sort of presence around her, in her midst, just for a moment. He was thinking, wondering, trying to figure something out. Animals licked their wounds mostly, canines, felines, that sort of thing, not humans, and not most humanoids...unless of course they had animal in them...born of animal, but learnt to become human, or perhaps...Hm.

Werecreatures usually were more animalistic...though he had met some who were the opposite, who were more human than animal. "It seems like a strange thing to do, but I suppose we all have our quirks." Vec let it go at that, for now it was best not to push the woman. Let her tell them in time, just like he would tell them more about himself in time...er...well in time that they asked of course.

"I suppose this is true, but when your body has become of magic, when magic runs through it, around it, it is easier to use it...so I suppose since none of you are quite like that, then using salves and herbs would be more appropriate." Vec agreed with a calm smile. He forgot these mortals were not infused with magic, that they did not contain a sliver of godly power within him like he did. He chided himself quietly, knowing he should not treat them like he treat his kids who...for lack of a better word, were relentless and stubborn usually.

"I hail from Heiroth, a realm that is a little like this, but has minor changes and such. As for how I was blinded, I was not, I see perfectly. Just like I see the fleas in your hair, the sugar and lemon, the brown of your eyes, the grey of your curls, and how I am able to notice that oddly the two of you are voluptuous." He hoped that didn't offend them...some people got a little offended. It was just that the two of them were sort of the same when it came to their bodies.

Vec watched her as she suddenly spit something into her empty glass. That was a little...well that was odd but still...he paid no heed to it now though, he hadn't truly answered her questions. "To put it simply, I see through...magical means. It is more like...my body is here, but my consciousness is outside of it, watching, observing. It is also inside at the same time, and if I need to I can see through the cloth in a way." It was so hard to put into words, one day he would find the right ones, but for now he would just keep trying to put it into words that made some sense at this point.

"So if I might be so bold to ask Serigala, where did your learn your medicinal herb craft? Was it passed down to you, or did another herbalist take you on as an apprentice or...was it a family business of sorts?" She might even have learnt it on her own, some of the best herbalists started that way, testing different leaves, flowers, and roots, so there was no telling what how she learnt it all.

[Anonymous]

'Is eating meat truly any different than a monster eating humans? Have you ever thought that the creatures you eat would think you are a giant flesh-eater? How do they feel about being eaten? Vampires cannot help needing blood, not that I know much about them,' she was starting to get a bit defensive about the subject. Best change the subject before she started getting upset.

'It is strange how we change once we leave our mother's watchful eye. Mothers seem to have a large emphasis on manners, something I occasionally misplace. I would write to her but she cannot read. It was something I learnt as a doctress.'

Serigala put her hands to the sides of her place, something felt strange. It was like something was scratching inside her head. She looked at the glass, wondering if there had been somthing in the water. She tried to think of some reason for her open manner and the strange feeling in her head. She looked up at Vec, perhaps it was his magecraft.

'Saliva has healing properties, something humanity seems to have forgotten. Dogs lick their wounds to clean it, children are still very simple and act on similiar princepals at times. They are too young to forget instincts.' Now that she thought about it, the strange tranquillity she had felt earlier had come from him. She decided to ask about it,' are you the one emmiting a relaxed feeling? I was feeling very relaxed after sitting next to you.'

Serigala rubbed some of the salve between her hands then massaged it gently into the bruise, 'magic would not heal the wound? That is unusual, magic is far quicker than any poultice I could make. That is rather perplexing. This will heal any pain but if you have any trouble walking let me know.'

She went on to examine the bruise a bit deeper, probing the muscle around the leg and watching for reactions. It looked normal and there was no muscle damage at all. There might be nerve damage but that would be healed easily too. Maybe magic didn't work as she suspected.

'How does your magic work? What happens when you try to heal a wound? How does it feel as the magic is taking its course?' She had an idea, 'was there anybody around when you tripped? Anyone that would want to do you harm?'

She then went back to the bench next to Vec and sat down, listening to his tale. She stared into the blindfold, trying t see through the cloth. 'Wow, your body is a puppet. What is behind the blindfold then? Do you cover your eyes to heighten you godly senses.' She gurst out laughing, slightly louder than approriate. Several of the drunks, now dancing on the tables, turned round to glance at them. 'That explains the holy costuming, I thought you were from a well bred family but I didn't imagine that! What do gods do all day? Actually, no. I had better not start asking questions otherwise we will be here all day.'

She picked out a few choice items out of her pack, namely a small book and a morter and pestle. 'I started out as an assistant to the Manor's doctor who also taught me to read. He noticed I had a knack with plants so he gave me extra responsibilites then finally when he died I became the doctor. I was still fairly young then so I read many books to build my knowledge up.

This town wasn't that bad. People in the Manor and local village had been to the city and said that people there were usually accepting for her kind. 'Oh heck, you might as well know. I am a Garou but my close family served humans. From what I have noticed we am able to smell things a bit stronger than humans. It isn't magical but it helps with finding the right plants.'

Serigala arched her back in a full body stretch then looked around the crowded bar. Some of the old customers had left and fresh ones had arrived, enjoying an after-work beer. She would need to hunt soon if she wanted to catch a diurnal feed*. She didn't have excess money to spend for meat, especially when the hunt provided far fresher food than the stalls. The stalls even smelt a few days old.

'Anyone for spiced meat? I garauntee it will be fresher than anything you could get at an inn.'



[OOC: Next time I will have to save a copy in word do I don't lose it. Thank heavens I had hit submit earlier. *Diurnal is the opposite to nocturnal.]

[Anonymous]

Looking between Vec and Serigala, Anandi narrowed her eyes and attempted to deduce Vec's line of reasoning. Serigala licks her wounds, animals lick their wounds ... Serigala is an animal? As that deduction was quickly explained away, she shook her head at her own ineptitude. The change of subject was welcome, even though Anandi had already heard part of Vec's tale. She tuned a bit of it out, the back of her mind still puzzled over the question of why Serigala licked her own wounds.

Anandi's eyes shot up and landed on Vec as she caught his last statement. Voluptuous? She was silent as she tried to decide if that was an insult, a compliment, or a simple observation. The last seemed the most likely, and she burst into laughter.

"Voluptuous? Oddly?" Unable to do more than simply repeat bit's of Vec's statement, the force of her chuckles shook her.

She sighed slightly, her laughter fading as she heard Serigala's question.

"I suppose the animals I end up eating may see me as cruel - however I don't kill to be cruel. I don't consider vampires 'monsters' as they need the blood to survive. I might consider some of them a danger to myself, but not monsters. A monster is something that is evil ... something that enjoys killing, enjoys causing pain. I cannot think of a specific race or type of beast that I would classify as a monster - I don't think this is something that is that simple."

She paused a moment, tugging absently on her hair. Staring the other girl in the eyes, she tried to understand and be understood.

"Please understand - I am not attempting to generalize a species. I don't mean to say that someone is clearly a monster because I don't understand the way they behave, or because they have to go to extreme measures to survive. I do think that evil most certainly exists, and it can definitely manifest itself in a beast or humanoid. Such manifestations might not be common, no, and I believe that must beings are essentially good. But I must maintain my original statement ... I do believe that there are such things as monsters. Their appearance varies, but they undoubtedly exist."

Breathless, Anandi finally halted her flood of words. She glanced at her two companions worriedly - she wasn't exactly accustomed to speaking so much, and wasn't entirely sure she had made her point clearly.

Regardless, Serigala's salve made the pain from her bruise fade and she smiled in relief.

"How does my magic work?" This question perplexed Anandi, and she was quiet for a moment. "Well ... when someone is hurt, it's like I can feel the wound. I sense their pain and I sort of channel where it's coming from, I guess. I have to be able to place my hand on or over the injury, and I concentrate. I close my eyes, and I feel the wound. I can sort of see the damage done, and I just sort of imagine it healing. When I start to feel the healing in place of the pain, the injury is mending."

Anandi paused and thought about the day she injured herself.

"I remember leaving a small camp and making my way towards the city. I stopped to ask a farmer for directions, and he made some remark about how 'ladies' shouldn't be traveling by themselves." Her temper flaring as Anandi remembered the rude man, her fingers began to drum on the table. "I told him I didn't really need his advice, just directions. He muttered something, then pointed in the direction of the city. That man is the only person I really recall coming across ... I guess people from the camp could have been traveling behind me, of course, but I honestly can't think of anyone who would wish to harm me."

Anandi chewed her lip and absently listened to Serigala's story. It was an interesting tale, and she felt as though she should make some comment - for the life of her, however, she couldn't think of anything.

"Spiced meat? That sounds wonderful!"

[Anonymous]

"I am sorry but you are both curvy...except one of you shares my height while the other is...well taller than me, yet both of you have the same curvy bodies." When something like that came from Vec, you could be sure it probably wasn't a compliment, just an observation. Lately though it was slowly changing. As his body became a little more human, his mind sometimes wandered it's way around to seeing a woman's body differently.

He ignored the feelings and thoughts, and remembered who he was.

"Then perhaps our assumption on the ah...residents are perhaps not monsters then, but just...they are strangers in a different culture then." Vec believed that sounded right, or a little bit at least. "People put too much faith in black and white terms like Good and Evil. Too hard to define, too much grey in this age." There was always too much grey. It used to be simple. Good kept life around, while Evil wanted life to Die, to oppress, to put down but...it just wasn't that way anymore.

Things were just like that now.

"I understand, but good and evil are defined by a person's choice, and by a society's decision and how they choose to see the world. Some people believe we are actually the evil ones, while they are good and commit unspeakable atrocities. It is a funny thing good and evil, and you have to be absolutely sure that you are completely fine with your choice." That was how Vec worked, on acceptance of a person, and on generally getting along with everyone and not hurting yourself or people. After that, he didn't mind what you did.

No stress when you went with the Vec lifestyle! At least he hoped that's how it was.

"As for the subject of monsters, you have to classify them into two divisions. There are the monsters who are sentient and intelligent and realize their actions but they do not try to change them, and then...you have the other side of the spectrum. Beasts who have no concept of what they are doing, they have no intelligence and just a bit of sentient thought. They can not be blamed, they act on instinct, on their hungers and their basic desires."

Vec gave a small chuckled as he nodded. "Yes, my body is a puppet for the time being. It will turn into a normal human body eventually, but that will take thousands of years. As for my Godly senses, they are not here with me, heightened beyond human, but as a God, they were infinite. I could hear the heartbeat of creation, of life, of death, every thought, every emotion, I could hear...everything. See everything, talk to everything for that matter, they were unlimited." Vec gave a small smile as he shrugged his shoulders. "I generally observed, prodded, poked things into motion that would bring change. I was subtle, my children, the other Gods were not so much." Vec chuckled as he shook his head. "It is probably best to save your questions for another time." He agreed, knowing just how many questions she possibly had.

"Ah, that explains everything then Serigala...that is good, that you were able to go for something like being a doctor, a noble profession in any sense." Usually. There have been bad apples after all when it came to doctors...but there was no time to go into that really. Best to leave it where it was.

"I have not the foggiest ideas what a Garou is, I apologize." It was true, he knew of...basic races really. The humans, elves, dwarves, drow, demons, vampires, were creatures, that sort of thing, but other realms called them different things, said they were different names and some were just like...a vampire but perhaps tweaked, or elves with different powers. It could get confusing, but lucky with Vec there was always something he could relate them to.

"Spiced meat? I will have to pass on that. I am afraid I have not much of an appetite for...really anything. I drink because it is delicious. I do not know why, but you mortals have really been working on your drinks, alcoholic and otherwise." Vec was a fan of juices, different waters from different places, and he even enjoyed a good wine or sometimes an ale. Taking up his glass he drained it of the clear liquid and licked his lips. Ah, absolutely delicious! The slight lemon hint gave it a nice twist.

"So what do the both of you plan on doing today? It is still a young day after all. I myself was going to wander the city, such as I always do. It is something to entertain myself between the days and nights." Sometimes he would go heal people, sometimes he would listen to bards and sometimes he would wander the parks and even go swimming.  He just wished there was a closer lake or river near Arca. "I am sure if we put our heads together we can figure something out yes?"

[Anonymous]

'Oh no, there is nothing wrong with enjoying the hunt. In many cases both preditor and prey enjoy a good scurry 'round the hedges. I personally love hunting down a hare for supper. There is nothing more exhilirating. I only catch the prey when I need it of course but hunting is the best way to keep fit,' Serigala beamed at the prospect of a hunt. Her face flushed red in an instinctual preparation.

She turned to Vec once more. 'I did not think it strange to be curvy. My whole family have curves, though if we do not keep ourselves fit we tend to be more overweight than curvy. Mamma is rather,' she paused to think of a politer word than "fat", 'well insulated in that department. Is it unusual to be curvy? As for my height, I will probably keep growing until my wolf-form does.'

'To answer your other questions I shall be hunting some lunch. There are some local weeds that taste delicious with meat and tuborous plants. You are welcome to follow if you wish,' Serigala placed her bag on the table and stood up, 'do you mind holding onto my bag while I change?'

Serigala trotted out of the bar, occasionally bumping into a roudy customer. She sneaked around the corner of the building, stretched her limbs and proptly changed form. She was now a grey wolf, smaller than the average with feet that she had not yet grown into. She shook her fur and scooped up her clothes into her mouth. She mused over how odd it must be to see a wolf with ladies garments and a pair of pants as she trotted back to the front of the inn.


It felt wonderful to be in her wolf-form again, the air smelt of a thousand different scents (most of them sweat). She always found it much more natural in this form, not bound by the laws of man or needing to act on silly pleasentries. Being in this form freed her mind from noisy fears so she could focus on what was happenning now.

Once in the bar she snuck around to the table where Vec and Anandi were sitting. She put her front paws on the chair and pushed with her back legs, this boosted her so that her hind paws were on the chair and her front paws were on the table. She dropped the clothes and repeated her earlier process to get onto the table. From the table she was able to gently shake open the pack and push the clothes inside while holding the pack down with her front paws. It was a tricky process without thumbs but easy enough to manage after years of practice.

Getting down to the chair without knocking anything over was the hard part. She decided to just sit on the table. She hoped one of them would be able to understand what she said. None-the-less she sent out wolf-thought and barked in the hope that they would understand her wish that they follow her.

The bar mistress saw her on the table and got into a huff, 'ye two should know better than te bring wild animals in my bar, now scoot, off the table ye silly creature.'

Serigala grabbed her pack, still open, and trotted back outside. There she sat and waited for the other two to follow her. if they didn't want to leave the bar yet she could always come back when she had lunch for them.

[Anonymous]

OOC: am I to guess that this thread is dead?

[Anonymous]

((Not sure, waiting on Anandi, probably busy with holiday stuff.))

[Anonymous]

OOC: do you want to go for a little while without her or would that be rude? She did say we coulg god mode a little while she was away.

[Anonymous]

Serigala sighed inpatiently, waiting for her fewfound friends to meet her. When nobody came out she wandered off to the north entrance and left Arca. She would now be heading north to the seaside town, where she could catch a boat to the other side of the continent.

*leaves thread*