Open Chronicles Between a Rock and a hard place

[Urchin]

"Oh cummon boys!" the urchin pleaded, backing down the alleyway, away from the group of considerably older men who were assailing him. "I won fair an' square! Ain't nuthin' ta get upset about Ya win some, ya lose some. That's just 'ow cards work. 'Ow about I buy ya all a drink, huh? No 'ard feelin's." Unfortunately for the boy though, there were indeed "'are feelin's" as one of the men reached out to grab him by the collar, dragging him forward till he was face to face with his attacker and completely blocking his attack.

"Fair and square? We saw that card you had hidden up your sleeve, you little shit! Now give us back our fucking money!" He didn't wait for Urchin to react before reaching into his pocket and grabbing the thick bag of coppers that the boy had conned out of them.

"Hey!" one of the other men objected. "Who said that you could take the loot? Hand that bag over! Half of those coins are mine!"

"We can sort that out inside," the man said, slipping the coins in the pocket, clearly planning on going home that night with more coins than he arrived with. "I've got a score to settle with this one first," and with that, he rammed his fist into the boy's stomach as hard as he could, leaving the boy crouched over in pain, spluttering as the wind was completely knocked out of him. All of the other men laughed to see the boy hit so, and decided to head forward to deliver their own form of retribution. All that Urchin could do was curl into a fetal position and do his best to covered his face as the blows rained down upon him. It was alright. It's be over soon. He could take it. You couldn't enter Urchin's line of work without receiving a few beatings every now and then, It was the price he had to pay.

Unfortunately, one of his attackers took things a little further than his beatings usually went. Drawing a switch blade from his pocket, one of the man jabbed it into Urchin's side, causing the boy to scream out in pain, and a couple of the other assailants to back away from the beating, thinking better of it. "Woah, woah!" one of them objected when he saw the blood streaming from the boy's wound. "Nero, what the hell are you doing? You want to bring the law down on us? They'll have us strung up for murder!"

"Ah, the law don't care about a stray little runt like this. Kids die in the gutter every day., the man named Nero insisted, giving the boy one last kick. But his friend's warning had given him pause for thought. Much as he wanted to teach the thieving little bastard a lesson, he certainly didn't want the city guard to stumble across him standing over a dead body. He was on parole as it was. "Ah, let's head inside and split those coins up," he suggested, walking away from the boy. "He'll be dead by morning anyway. And if any trouble comes of it, I'll just say I never set eyes on the little shit. I'll back you guys up if you back me up." Presumably, all of the other men seemed to think this was a decent idea, as they all headed back to the tavern, leaving the lad bleeding out in the dingy little alley way.

The boys face turned ghostly white as he lifted his hand away from his wound, seeing how much blood there was. "I'm okay," he tried to assure himself, wincing in pain as he pulled himself up into a crawling position. "I'm okay," he repeated, using one hand to cover his injury as best he can, and the other hand to try and drag himself out of the alleyway. "Just got ta get 'ome. Gotta get ta Zilvra. She'll fix me up. I'll be alright. I'm okay." He kept telling himself over and over that he was okay. That he was going to be fine, but all the bruises from the beat down made it hard for him to move at all. And while the stabbing had put him in a complete state of shock to where he could barely feel it anymore, he was steadily losing blood and losing focus. When he had finally made it to the mouth of the alleyway, he collapsed, to exhausted to pull himself any further... But it was be okay, he told himself again. He wasn't going to die. He was going to be just fine. He'd get home alright. He just needed a rest. The boy shut his eyes as he put both hands over his stab wound, pressing down as hard as he could to ease the bleeding. Just a little rest. Then he'd get home. He'd be okay... And that was what Urchin told himself as the exhaustion overcame him and he completely passed out.

 

[Vii]

The Shallows was calm, relatively speaking. Although the shopfronts and buildings were still decorated in garish, brightly-colored fabrics, the torchlight of the sconces and passersby diminished the intensity of their contrast with the dull stone and wood around them. Most of the fellows in the walkways between the buildings were going about their business packing up for the day and switching over to night time activities, but there were already a few notable drunks stumbling through on their trek back home.

However, there were several unusual people walking through the place. Travelers of various kinds, with odd equipment and strange morphology. Horned people with enormous wings folded up around their backpacks and tiny, child-like bearded fellows marched through side by side, as did a few burly folks with half-full travel packs, looking around eagerly for a place to stay. These oddities stood out among the rest of the relatively typical green, grey, and flesh colored humanoids meandering about, but no one seemed to bat an eye at them.

In contrast, a somewhat plain-looking, but immaculately clean human in a brand-new tunic and trousers, with no bags or even a money pouch on his person, walked about through the place with a terrified look on his face. His head would dart to every little noise and every passing creature as he walked through the place, as if he were expecting some monster to pop out. His anxious behavior drew some odd looks from the other folks in the place, but no one went up to inquire about his behavior. Even the people who called out to virtually everyone walking by seemed to ignore him after taking one glance at his notably money-less belt.

But as the fellow kept flinching and cowering his way through the town, looking off to his left, up at a rooftop where a bird of some sort was making a loud noise, he suddenly bumped into someone who was standing still right in front of him. He yelped in surprise and toppled backwards, but the fellow he had bumped into simply glared down at him for a moment before grunting and continuing on his way. The fellow on the ground watched the other guy walk away for a bit, but his attention was then drawn to two women who were holding their hands up to their mouths and staring off to the side in shock as they slowly walked along.

The fellow on the ground followed their gazes anxiously, only to see a guy collapsed in a pool of blood, nestled between a pile of garbage and the wall of a building. The fellow then scrambled to his feet and retreated a little, but bumped into another guy who was walking by, the likes of whom then shoved him right into the building with a curt, "MOVE!" as he made his way past. The shoved fellow slammed into the wooden wall shoulder-first and cried out a bit in surprise, but the rest of the people seemed to be back on their way through the walkway by then, and as he looked over at his shoulder and moved it around, he didn't appear to be in much pain anymore.

After checking his surroundings for a bit, seemingly to make sure he wouldn't have another encounter with a stray passer-by, he looked back down at the fellow over in the alley way. After a few seconds of inspection, his anxious look shifted to worry, and he approached the guy on the ground. Crouching down, he poked his finger into the fellow's shoulder. "Pain?" he asked. He poked the guy a few more times, then looked down at the blood. It still seemed to be slowly pooling outward around him, a bit more on his right side than his left. The wooden boards of the Shallows seemed to be rather intact in this area, so the blood wasn't leaking between them as much as could otherwise be expected.

After poking the collapsed guy a few more times, the fellow reached over and, grabbing him by the shoulders, hefted the guy up onto his own shoulder. With the unconscious guy positioned on his shoulder like a sack, the fellow stumbled a bit further into the alleyway, then grunted as he cautiously set the fellow down against the wall, lying him down between a few piles of trash. He then plopped down into a cross-legged sitting position next to the guy and grabbed the fellow's hand, clasping it tightly and closing his eyes, seemingly concentrating on something.

The night went on, minutes passed by, then an hour. Although there were still occasional spectators who peeked over to see what the blood was about, the alley remained more-or-less empty as the night went on, and no one seemed to bother the two as they rested there. After nearly an hour and a half, the fellow opened his eyes with a smile, and rested the unconscious guy's hand by his side. Although there was still a bit of dried blood over by the entrance of the alleyway, the unconscious guy's injuries were gone without a trace, he was as clean as a freshly-bathed noble, and his clothes were as good as new. The fellow looked over the unconscious guy a bit, as if checking for something, then quickly looked over to the guy's face as he started to stir, leaning over him a little with an inquisitive look on his face.

 

[Urchin]

Urchin slept and slept like he hadn't slept it weeks. At some point, he had gone beyond passing out due to pain and blood loss, and had shifted into the land of dreams. And what strange dreams they were. He dreamed that he was laying on a beach covered in white sand, with the sun shining down on him. Only it wasn't the sun. In the sky where the sun would be was a beautiful purple stone, painting the sky with beautiful shades of purple and pink, prettier than any sunset he had ever seen. As he rested, waves upon waves of golden water flowed over him, covering every part of his body. His legs, his arms, his chest, even washing over his face. Strangely though, he didn't drown as the water covered his face. No, if anything, it felt like he could breath even easier when the water was over him. And as the wave after wave washed over him, he felt like he could feel himself getting cleaner, body and soul. Every trace of every single scrap of dirt he'd ever touched completely washed away, leaving him pure and fresh as a new born babe. It was such a pleasant dream. He wished he could stay there for ever, but the tide was going out now and those lovely waves had slowly drifted away. Somehow, his unconscious mind knew that his business on the beach was done. It was time to wake up.

".... Ya!" the lad squeaked out in surprise as he saw a young man looking down on him, his face just inches away from his own. Still laying on his back, the lad shimmied away in a sort of awkward, upside down crawl until his back was right against the alley wall. "Who are ya?" he demanded of the boy. "What ya want? Dun ya try anythin' funny with me! I got a knife, an' I ain't afraid ta use it!"

Of course, he didn't have a knife, at all. If he'd had a knife, he'd have used it to defend himself during... Wait... There had been a fight hadn't there? Well, not so much a fight as a beating. And there had been a knife. Of course, the knife hadn't been his, it had been used against him. Shit, had he fallen asleep? He had to get home! He had to get himself healed before... But when he looked down at his injuries, he saw that the stab wound was there. Had that been a dream too? No, he was sure it wasn't! He'd been stabbed in his side, right there! As he inspected the place where the wound had been though, he realized that not only was the stab wound gone, all of his bruises were gone too. He didn't feel any pain at all. Not only that, but the hole where his shirt had been cut was gone. In fact, all of the holes in his clothes were gone. And the nasty, stained, greying shirt he'd been wearing was completely transformed into a fresh, clean, white one. Like something bought completely new from the shops. That and his trousers looked brand new. The patches that he had sewn onto his trousers fell away to reveal that all the holes they had been covering were completely closed up.

The boy patted himself over to check that all of this was real. That he was truly in his own body and he wasn't still dreaming after all. "I'm all clean!" the lad suddenly realized, as if he hadn't had a bath in years and his hands and feet being free of dirt were the most surprising part of all. Eventually, after becoming fully aware that he was away, he turned back to the man who he'd seen leaning over him when he first awoke. "Did... Did ya do all this?" he asked.

 

[Violet]

The fellow was still looking down at the now-conscious guy as he opened his eyes. However, as the guy's expression changed, so did the fellow's. He looked more hesitant after seeing the surprise on the other guy's face.

".... Ya!"

After the guy's sudden exclamation, the fellow immediately jumped back, slipping as he did so and clumsily slamming against a pile of trash on the other side of the alley. A few bits of decaying slop fell down on his head as he stared over at the other guy, anxiously watching him as he spoke.

"Who are ya?" he demanded of the boy. "What ya want? Dun ya try anythin' funny with me! I got a knife, an' I ain't afraid ta use it!"

The fellow kept staring over at the other guy silently as the guy started looking himself over. He didn't respond, although he started to look a bit more worried. He anxiously wiped the trash off the top of his head as the fellow spoke up again.

"I'm all clean!"

He looked back over at the previously-injured guy once he got most of the trash off of his head. Once again, he didn't seem to respond at all, he just looked worried, as if he was expecting something. The remnants of slop on the top of his head seemed to gradually disappear as the other guy looked his way and spoke up again.

"Did... Did ya do all this?"

The fellow looked even more worried as the other guy seemingly directed words his way. After a few moments of blank staring, he responded, "...p...pain?" and pointed over at him again, occasionally glancing down at the fellow's side, where the stab wound was.

 

[Urchin]

Urchin looked over the boy in complete confusion. Looked like he'd frightened the poor bugger so bad he'd tripped over himself trying to get away and taken the trash pile with him. "Hey, uh, sorry if I scared ya before. I thought ya was... Well, ya know, ya 'ow it is round these parts. Never know what kind of creeps are lurkin' round the corner. Vampires an' organ harvesters an' the like. Can't be too careful. Oh, an' I didn't mean what I said 'bout the knife by the way. I ain't got one. Wouldn't 'ave been in that mess if I 'ad."

After a few moments of blank staring, he responded, "...p...pain?" and pointed over at him again, occasionally glancing down at the fellow's side, where the stab wound was.

"Uhh... Yeah, pain," Urchin replied, not sure if the person he was speaking too was a simpleton or a foreigner who didn't speak the common tongue. "Pain here," Urchin said, pointing to where his injury had been. "Pain from the knife lots of blood... An' lots of bruises, all over," he said, gesturing to his face, chest and the rest of his body all over. "Pain all gone now. You stop the pain? You make pain go away?"

 

[Violet]

As the other guy started to speak, the fellow withdrew his hand and sat up, no longer pressing himself against the pile of trash.

"Uhh... Yeah, pain,"

The fellow looked a bit more worried as the guy spoke, and looked down at his side again in confusion. However, as the guy started to speak again, he quickly looked back up at his face.

"Pain here,"

The fellow looked back down at the place where the other fellow pointed, and squinted a little, but ended up looking back up at his face with a bit more confusion as the guy continued on, mouthing the word 'here'.

"Pain from the knife lots of blood... An' lots of bruises, all over,"

The fellow looked even more confused at the mention of blood, and as the guy started gesturing all over, he looked even more worried. "Many?" the fellow asked, squinting to try and see something at the various places the fellow pointed to.

"Pain all gone now. You stop the pain? You make pain go away?"

The fellow's confusion seemed to rapidly fade away as the fellow mentioned the pain going away. "Pain run away!" he commented, smiling sheepishly, "many thanks!" He then started to get up onto his feet. As he did, despite having previously pressed himself up against a big pile of trash, his back was impeccably clean. Even his trousers were clean, despite having just slid around on the filthy alleyway floor planks. Once he was on his feet, he looked over at the other guy and held out his hand, watching him expectantly.

 

[Urchin]

"Many?" the fellow asked, squinting to try and see something at the various places the fellow pointed to.

"Yeah, many. Many, many pain. Pow, pow, pow," Urchin attempted to explain as he clenched his fists and punched the air a few times, like he was practicing for a boxing match. "All gone now," he said, pulling up the top of his shirt to reveal his stomach where the knife had gone in. Also revealing that there were already some bandages from a previous injury wrapped around his chest. Apparently the boy managed to get himself into scrapes quite easily. "See, all better now. You fix the pain?"

"Pain run away!" he commented, smiling sheepishly, "many thanks!"

"Yeah, pain run away! So it was you?" Urchin asked, grinning happily and he picked himself up and moved over to the boy. "Oh yeah, many thanks. Many, many thanks. Yer a life saver, mate. Literally. I'd probably be a goner if you hadn't fixed me up!" Crouching down so that he eyes were level with the young lad's, he regarded him with a look of pure friendliness on his face. "Folks round 'ere call me Urchin," he said, pointing to himself. "Urchin," he spoke the word slowly and clearly. "That's me. What's yer name?" he asked, pointing to the boy. At this point Urchin still had no idea whether this boy was a foreigner or a simpleton, but he really didn't care. He liked him!

 

[Violet]

"Yeah, pain run away! So it was you?"

The fellow's face was full of recognition at the guy's first comment. He nodded and repeated, "Pain run away!" to himself as the other guy stood up, and the fellow dropped his arm back to his side as he moved away a bit to make room for him in the small area between trash heaps that they were currently occupying.

"Oh yeah, many thanks. Many, many thanks. Yer a life saver, mate. Literally. I'd probably be a goner if you hadn't fixed me up!"

The fellow looked a bit hesitant as the guy started speaking. He nodded after hearing 'many thanks', and nodded again with a bit of a more confident smile after the other guy repeated the phrase again, but he started to look a bit confused again as the guy kept talking. As the other guy crouched down to cater to his short stature, the fellow looked a bit surprised, but as the guy's friendly expression seemed to be infectious, as the fellow quickly started to smile again as the friendly guy started talking.

"Folks round 'ere call me Urchin," he said, pointing to himself. "Urchin,"

The fellow nodded and mumbled, "Ur...ch...urchn...chin...Urchin...Urchin? Urchin!" as if he were practicing. He then pointed over at the fellow and commented, "Urchin!"

"That's me. What's yer name?"

The fellow looked surprised again after the 'Urchin' pointed over at him and said something once again, but the look quickly shifted to thoughtfulness. He grabbed his chin as his eyes became distant, evidently considering something quite deep, then commented, "Vi...Violet?" as he pointed to his head.

 

[Urchin]

He nodded and repeated, "Pain run away!"

Urchin couldn't help but smile at the lad's enthusiasm. His opinion was starting to sway more to the idea that this boy was a simpleton rather than a foreigner. He pronunciation of common was spot on, but his phrasing was completely bizarre. Something that a foreigner was unlikely to use anyway. After all, what man trying to learn the common tongue would learn the word for "run" before they learned the word for "go"?

Besides, Urchin had heard that sometimes, with simple people, they ended up with unbelievable skills that no normal person could ever dream of obtaining. Like, people who had absolutely no understanding of social norms, but could paint a portrait so detailed, it looked like you were looking at the real thing. Or people who couldn't do anything but repeat what they'd heard from others, but their memories were so good that they remembered every single word they'd ever heard since the day they were born. Maybe there was just no room for words in this guy's head, because his brain was all filled up with the amazing magical healing he could do.

"Ur...ch...urchn...chin...Urchin...Urchin? Urchin!" as if he were practicing. He then pointed over at the fellow and commented, "Urchin!"

"Yeah, Urchin. That's me!" he said, pointing to himself again. Well, at least he wasn't completely simple after all if he had the ability to learn new things.

"Vi...Violet?" as he pointed to his head.

"Violet?" Urchin asked with a raised eyebrow of surprise. "Ya poor bastard. What yer parents give ya a girl's name for? Ain't never 'eard of no man named Violet." Then again, who was he to judge? Violet wasn't the only one who'd been burdened with an unfortunately girly name. That's why Urchin went by "Urchin" and never shared his given name with anyone. Wouldn't do to have his colleagues snickering behind his back, after all.

"Yer a funny one, ain't ya?" the boy asked, sitting himself down next to him, speaking gently the way he would to a child. "Can 'ardly speak a word. An' out here in the city all on yer lonesome. It ain't good ya know. Someone's gonna take advantage if they figure out ya dunno how ta call ta the guards for 'elp. You got someone what takes care of ya? A Ma or Pa? Ya got somewhere ta stay? You know... House?" he asked, using his fingers to try and draw the shape of a house in the air.

 

[Violet]

"Violet?" Urchin asked with a raised eyebrow of surprise. "Ya poor bastard. What yer parents give ya a girl's name for? Ain't never 'eard of no man named Violet."

As the 'Urchin' spoke, the 'Violet' pulled a lock of his light brown hair away from his face and tucked it behind his ear. His thoughtful look faded to a slightly confused, but mostly expectant look. Once the 'Urchin' paused, the 'Violet' mumbled, "Violet!" and smiled a little.

"Yer a funny one, ain't ya?" the boy asked, sitting himself down next to him, speaking gently the way he would to a child. "Can 'ardly speak a word. An' out here in the city all on yer lonesome. It ain't good ya know. Someone's gonna take advantage if they figure out ya dunno how ta call ta the guards for 'elp. You got someone what takes care of ya? A Ma or Pa? Ya got somewhere ta stay? You know... House?"

The 'Violet' mimicked the 'Urchin' in sitting down in the alleyway, but listened silently as the fellow spoke. He seemed to react a little when the 'Urchin' mentioned "'elp", but other than that, the 'Violet' just stared blankly at the 'Urchin' as he spoke. Towards the end of his comments, when the 'Urchin' mouthed "House", the 'Violet' mimicked the motion that the 'Urchin' made. The 'Violet' looked very intrigued as he repeated the gesture and mumbled, "hou...house...", but thereafter, he looked over at the 'Urchin', still noticeably confused.

 

[Urchin]

The 'Violet' looked very intrigued as he repeated the gesture and mumbled, "hou...house...", but thereafter, he looked over at the 'Urchin', still noticeably confused.

"... Ah," Urchin muttered. Clearly the boy had absolutely no idea what he was saying. "Gods, I sure 'ope ya got somewhere ta go. City ain't a safe place fer a lad like you what can barely talk." Getting to his feet, the boy dusted himself off, only to be surprised when no dust escaped his clothing for once and he remembered that the magic healing boy had fixed all his clothes too. So, this is what being clean felt like. It was nice. He could get used to this.

"Ya hungry, fella?" he asked, offering his hand to help the boy up. "Hungry? Got anythin' ta eat?" he asked, miming the gesture of eating by bringing his hand to his lips and opening and closing his mouth. "Nom, nom, nom."

 

[Violet]

"... Ah," Urchin muttered. Clearly the boy had absolutely no idea what he was saying. "Gods, I sure 'ope ya got somewhere ta go. City ain't a safe place fer a lad like you what can barely talk."

The "Violet" mouthed 'ah' after the 'Urchin' muttered it, but went back to expectantly staring at the 'Urchin' as he started speaking again, evidently suppressing his confusion. As the 'Urchin' started to get to his feet, the 'Violet' remained seated and stared up at him, still looking quite intrigued. As the 'Urchin' started patting his clothes, the 'Violet' looked confused, and patted his own clothes a few times as well, seemingly just for show.

"Ya hungry, fella?"

As the 'Urchin' extended his hand out and asked his question, the 'Violet reached his own hand out and grasped hold of the fellow's outstretched hand. He then got to his feet with the help of the 'Urchin', and looked back over at his face once he was balanced on his feet once again.

"Hungry? Got anythin' ta eat?" he asked, miming the gesture of eating by bringing his hand to his lips and opening and closing his mouth. "Nom, nom, nom."

At first, the 'Violet' just adopted the same confused and expectant expression he had on before, but once the fellow started pantomiming and made eating sounds, the 'Violet' seemed to realize something. He then quickly turned towards the trash pile next to him, grabbed a few moldy pieces of bread and rotting meat, and held them out to the fellow. "Food!" he exclaimed, smiling with a triumphant look.

 

[Urchin]

Urchin noticed when Violet started patting down his clothing, mimicking him. "Cute little fella, ain't ya? It's like ya ain't never seen another person before." Urchin repeated the gesture of patting himself down, just to see if the boy would copy him or not. Whatever little he might know, the boy certainly seemed good at mimicry. Perhaps Urchin could teach him a few things. Help him survive in the big bad city.

"Sure wish I knew what yer story was," the lad said, more talking to himself than expecting an answer. "How'd ya go through life without knowin' how ta talk? Ya been locked up or summin'? Kept away from other people?" the boy's imagination got to work as he tried coming up with possible scenarios for how this strange boy had come to be. "That's probably it, ain't it? Some sick bastard locked ya up an' kept ya fer yer special healin' magic. Didn't teach ya how ta talk or nuthin'. Well, dun ya worry none. Anyone tries ta hurt ya, their gonna have ta get through me first," he said proudly... As if getting through Urchin would be a difficult task for anyone over the age of twelve.

He then quickly turned towards the trash pile next to him, grabbed a few moldy pieces of bread and rotting meat, and held them out to the fellow. "Food!" he exclaimed, smiling with a triumphant look.

"Uh..." Urchin mumbled, cringing at the site of the trash in front of him. "Yeah, food," he muttered, reluctantly touching the rotten bread and moldy meat just to brush it out of the boy's hands and back on the ground where it belonged. He then wiped his hands off on his shirt front, making his lovely, clean shirt slightly less lovely and clean. "You ain't been eatin' stuff like that, 'ave ya? Sweet Gods above, yer gonna make yerself sick. Would be a miracle if ya even survived eatin' that trash. Come on, I'll get ya summin' proper ta eat," he said, taking the boy's hand and leading him out of the alley way and into the city.

"Not 'ere though," he mumbled to himself as he walked past the tavern he'd just come out of. "Bastard what knifed me might still be in there. Dun ya worry 'bout that though, I'll set Mute on 'im. He'll sort him out good." Eventually, the boy came to a rowdy sounding tavern called the Elven Arrow. "This here's a nice place," he said as he led the boy inside. A warm fire place was glowing, the smell of fresh baked bread and roasted beef was thick in the air, a bard was playing a lively tune on the lute and plenty of drunk patrons were stumbling around, loudly talking over one another and tripping over their own feet. "See, lovely place," he said, and started to lead the boy inside, looking out for a free table.

 

[Violet]

"Uh..." Urchin mumbled, cringing at the site of the trash in front of him. "Yeah, food,"

As the 'Urchin' cringed and looked at the 'food' that the 'Violet' had displayed to him, the excitement in the 'Violet's expression rapidly gave way to worry and surprise. The 'Violet watched the 'food' get knocked out of his hand, and stared down at the stuff rolling around on the floor for a few moments before looking back up at the 'Urchin', just in time to see him start speaking and wiping some slime mold off on his shirt.

"You ain't been eatin' stuff like that, 'ave ya? Sweet Gods above, yer gonna make yerself sick. Would be a miracle if ya even survived eatin' that trash. Come on, I'll get ya summin' proper ta eat,"

The 'Violet' looked even more surprised as the fellow suddenly reached towards him, and yelped a little as the 'Urchin' grabbed hold of his hand. The 'Violet' stumbled along initially as the 'Urchin' started pulling him along, nearly tripping a few times as he went, but he got used to being pulled along by the time they left the alleyway. That said, the 'Violet' was still staring down at the ground with a worried look, seemingly focused on avoiding some of the grime on the wooden planks as he walked.

"Not 'ere though," he mumbled to himself as he walked past the tavern he'd just come out of. "Bastard what knifed me might still be in there. Dun ya worry 'bout that though, I'll set Mute on 'im. He'll sort him out good."

The 'Violet' stared awkwardly over at the 'Urchin' as he spoke for a bit, but he quickly went back to looking about at the various things occurring around them as they went back out into the walkway. The number of people who were out and about was lower than before, but if anything, the quantity of unusual creatures seemed to have doubled. Further, given how much darker it was now, the Shallows had a much more sullen air to it, with the few 'normal' looking passersby seemingly tired and quite unhappy about something.

Eventually, the pair of humans found their way over to a tavern. The 'Violet' looked over at the colorful sign of the place as they approached the entrance, but his attention was quickly drawn back over to the 'Urchin' as he started speaking again.

"This here's a nice place,"

The 'Violet' stumbled in through the doorway after the 'Urchin', still getting dragged along, and looked around the place after finding his footing again. The place was filled with all sorts of noises and sounds, and the 'Violet' seemed to be excitedly taking it all in as fast as possible as the 'Urchin' kept pulling him along. He nearly slammed into one of the drunk patrons who suddenly shot out of his chair, but the 'Urchin' conveniently pulled him just out of the way right as it happened. The 'Violet' then looked over at the 'Urchin' with gratitude just in time to see the 'Urchin' start speaking again.

"See, lovely place,"

Much like before, the 'Violet' didn't say anything, but as the 'Urchin' stopped moving and started craning his neck and looking around in the room, the 'Violet' mimicked him. He looked over at the fellow in the corner of the room who was making pleasant noises, and looked between a few tables where people were moving containers full of some sort of frothing fluid around and yelling excitedly at one another. He also looked over at a few glum figures in some smaller tables near the corner of the room far from the musical person, and over at the large fireplace. The fire seemed to captivate the 'Violet' for a bit.

 

[Yasuhiro]

Yasuhiro was drinking whine when he saw two noisy people walk in and started giving him a headache, wanting to just throw fox fire at them so they would stop the noise, so throwing the fox fire at them and missing and hitting a whine bottle "oops" said Yasuhiro​

 

[Urchin]

"Here we are," he said, leading Violet through crowds of noisy drunken patrons to an empty table. The table was still covered in crumb and soaked in spilled drinks, but a little thing like that didn't bother Urchin. "Sit yerself down my friend, I'm gonna buy ya a nice big slap up meal as a thank ya... An' one fer myself while I'm here. Roast beef an' bread an' cheese! How's that sound?" he asked, reaching into his pocket, only to find them completely empty and quickly remembered that his card playing buggered had taken every last coin he had. "Oh bugger," he muttered under his breath. "Uh... You wait here a second, I'll be right back."

Jumping down from the bar stool, Urchin stumbled around the room carelessly, acting like he was completely piss blind drunk, and bumping into people as he went. "Oh, sorry mate, sorry!" he mumbled in a slurred voice as he "accidentally" fell on one of the patrons, leaning on him for support. "Get off with you!" the man yelled, pushing him away. Luckily, he only assumed that Urchin was an extremely clumsy drunk. He hadn't realized at all that the boy had swiped his coin purse from his pocket while he was there.

Keeping up the act, the boy wobbled his way over to the bar and ordered two meals and two mugs of ale while he was at it. Taking the two ales in his hands, he made his way back over to the table where Violet was sitting. "Yer old enough ta drink ale, ain't ya? Ah, bugger it, ain't like I am. Anybody asks, I'm 21, all right?" With that, he put one ale in front of Violet and then took a large generous gulp of his own drink, wiping the froth away on his sleeve. Looked like his nice clean shirt wasn't going to stay clean for long. "It good?" he asked the boy with a smile.

Out of nowhere though, a ball of fire suddenly shot through the air, smashing his mug to pieces and sending the ale splashing in every direction. "Hey!" Urchin explained in pure shock as he looked around for the culprit. He was rather shocked when his eyes fell on an extremely pretty half man half fox creature. Of course, he hadn't seen the thing shoot the fireball, but the fact that it came from his direction and everyone else in the tavern was staring at him kind of gave it away. "Oi, you! Weird fox, person thing! Watch what yer doin', ya nearly shot my friend's 'ead off!" he said, putting a hand protectively on Violet's shoulder. "An' I hope yer plannin' on buyin' me a new ale!" Urchin complained as he looked down at the broken handle in his hand. What a waste.

 

[Violet]

"Here we are,"

The 'Violet' was pulled out of his trance, literally, as the 'Urchin' found what he was looking for and started pulling him along again. They made their way around some of the drunks and other folks in the room, this time without bumping into anyone. After the short journey, the 'Urchin' pulled the 'Violet' over to a small, empty table that was covered in all sorts of tiny pieces of bread and cheese. The 'Violet stared down at it for a few seconds with interest, but looked back over at the 'Urchin as he started speaking again.

"Sit yerself down my friend, I'm gonna buy ya a nice big slap up meal as a thank ya... An' one fer myself while I'm here. Roast beef an' bread an' cheese! How's that sound?"

As the 'Urchin' mentioned 'thank' and gestured down to the table, the 'Violet' nodded, quietly mumbling "mm!" and started to look back down at the table. But once the 'Urchin' continued speaking, the 'Violet' quickly looked back up at him. He blinked a few times after the fellow paused, then looked around at the other patrons and, with a flash of realization, he then pulled one of the stools out from under the table and sat down upon it. He looked back up at 'Urchin' with another triumphant look after he got comfortable on the hard wooden stool, only for the 'Urchin' to start talking again.

"Oh bugger," he muttered under his breath. "Uh... You wait here a second, I'll be right back."

The 'Violet' looked confused as the 'Urchin' mumbled, and cupped his ear as if to try and hear him better, but seemingly to no avail. Once the 'Urchin' turned around, the 'Violet started to look even more confused, and a bit worried too. He made as if to get up out of his chair, but as he did, a drunk fellow nearby shot out of his seat and started yelling. The 'Violet' then withdrew under the table a little to hide from the fellow, and waited as the drunkard steadily calmed down and sat back down.

The 'Violet' cautiously pulled himself out from under the table as the yelling guy went back to his previous level of volume, then started looking around anxiously, only to spot the 'Urchin' fellow quickly walking back over to the table with a pair of mostly-wooden mugs filled with some sort of frothing yellowish liquid.

"Yer old enough ta drink ale, ain't ya? Ah, bugger it, ain't like I am. Anybody asks, I'm 21, all right?"

As the fellow mentioned a 'drink', Violet's eyes widened, and he focused on one of the mugs that the 'Urchin' was holding. Once the mug was placed in front of him, the 'Violet' quickly grabbed the mug and brought it closer to himself, inspecting the foamy stuff on top of the liquid with notable fascination. He looked back up at the 'Urchin' after he noticed the table shift, only to see him start consuming the contents of the mug. The 'Violet' then quickly brought up his mug to his face and tilted the mug back, but did so a bit too quickly - a bunch of the stuff spilled over the sides and doused the top of the fellow's shirt. He flinched and quickly slammed the mug on the table, causing a bit more of the foam and drink to spill, and stared down at it in shock.

"It good?"

The 'Violet' peeled his eyes away from the thing after he heard the 'Urchin' speak again. The foam and the ale that spilled on his shirt was fading to nothing fairly quick, and a few nearby patrons of the bar were snickering at his clumsiness. The 'Violet' still seemed a bit confused, but he commented, "Many thanks!" and pointed down to it.

Then, as some missile flew over and smacked into the mug that the 'Urchin' was holding, the 'Violet' once again yelped as chunks of flaming wood, fizzing liquid and froth flew every which way and completely withdrew himself down under the table.

"Hey!"

After hearing the voice of the 'Urchin' calling out, the 'Violet' slowly peeked his head back out from under the table. After a bit of a pause, the 'Violet' then pulled himself the rest of the way out from under the table, and stood up next to the table to try and get a better view of what everyone around them seemed to be looking at.

"Oi, you! Weird fox, person thing! Watch what yer doin', ya nearly shot my friend's 'ead off!"

The 'Violet' looked over at the 'Urchin' again as he planted a hand on his shoulder. The 'Violet' looked between the hand and the face of the 'Urchin' in confusion, then followed his gaze over to a person with a fox tail who was sitting at a table not too far away, the likes of whom plenty of the nearby tavern-goers were staring at.

"An' I hope yer plannin' on buyin' me a new ale!"

The 'Violet' looked back over at the 'Urchin' as he raised his other hand and, seeing the fellow holding out the handle of his mug, the 'Violet' quickly turned back to the table, grabbed his own mug, and held it out to mimic the 'Urchin'. He then looked back up at the 'Urchin' expectantly, as if for approval.

 

[Yasuhiro]

Yasuhiro sighed and a said "you were causing a ruckus good sir but its seems like i caused more ruckus so ill pay you a new one, Ok". Yasuhiro going to the bartender and slamming coins on the table and ordering a ale, and walking to Urchin giving him the ale, Yasuhiro walking away intel he saw Violet, Yasuhiro thought that Violet was a very cute kid, so Yasuhiro patted his head while smiling at the kid, Yasuhiro then gave Violet 20 gold coins for being a cute kid, Yasuhiro then said "by the way my name is Yasuhiro".

 

[Urchin]

"Many thanks!" and pointed down to it.

"Yer very welcome," Urchin said happily. "Is the least I can do after everythin' ya dun fer me... Well, nah, I guess the least I could do is nuthin', but I likes ya, so I'll do ya one better." Then, of course, the sudden fireball sent Violet cowering under the table.

After hearing the voice of the 'Urchin' calling out, the 'Violet' slowly peeked his head back out from under the table.

Poor kid. He looked so scared... Well, who could really blame him after the boy just had a flaming ball of fire thrown his way by a pyromaniac fox boy. "Dun ya worry none, Violet. Is okay. I wun let the bad fox man 'urt ya. Come up from under there it's safe." He tried to reassure Violet. Such a fidgety little man he was. Urchin doubted he'd ever even seen the inside of a tavern before. Rowdy crowds like this were certainly an acquired taste.

"you were causing a ruckus good sir but its seems like i caused more ruckus soo ill pay you a new one Ok",

"... Oh." Well, that was certainly unexpected. People who start fights didn't usually calm down so easily. Maybe the fireball had been an accident. "Well, no worries then." Gradually, after realizing that the kitsune wasn't posing a threat anymore, the mood of the tavern eventually calmed and things went back to normal.

"Ta fer this," Urchin said as the fox man handed him a fresh glass of ale and started gulping it down. His gratitude quickly changed to jealousy though, as, rather than a mug of ale, Violet managed to earn himself 20 gold coins just for being adorable. "S'that real gold?" the boy asked, his eyes going wide as he resisted the urge to grab one. "Can't remember the last time I had me a gold coin," he lamented. These days, Urchin was lucky if he could scrounge himself a handful of silvers. It took a great deal of restraint to stop himself from taking any of those coins... But maybe, once the fox man left, he might be able to convince Violet to share them with him?

"saying by the way my name is Yasuhiro".

Urchin raised his eyebrow at the name. "Yazoo Hero?" he asked, completely butchering the pronunciation. "Ain't never heard a name like that before. It foreign? ... An' what are ya, anyhow? I mean, I seen elves with pointy ears, but they ain't all furry like yours, an' they ain't got no tail. You like a shape shifter who ain't very good at it?" he asked curiously. "Well, I go by Urchin, an' my new friend over here is Violet. Dunno why 'e got a girls name, he can't hardly talk, but I been teachin' 'im." Urchin said proudly. Though really, the only thing that Urchin managed to teach the boy so far was his own name.

"How's about we try some new words?" he suggested as he held up his mug and showed it to Violet. "This here is ale. AY-EL." he said slowly before patting his hand on the table below him. "An' this here's a table. TAY-BELL."

 

[Yasuhiro]

Yasuhiro said " im not a elf good sir I'm a kitsune", while walking away Yasuhiro saw Urchin trying to teach Violet how to speak, he then said "can you say KIT-SUNE" , "Violet saying with ez "Kitsune", "Good job little on" said Yasuhiro

 

[Violet]

"you were causing a ruckus good sir but its seems like i caused more ruckus so ill pay you a new one, Ok"

Seeing as the 'Urchin' was reassuring him, the 'Violet smiled a bit and looked over to the fox fellow who was speaking. There was still a faint bit of confusion in his expression, and he didn't really react to anything that was said, but he didn't seem worried anymore at least.

"... Oh." Well, that was certainly unexpected. People who start fights didn't usually calm down so easily. Maybe the fireball had been an accident. "Well, no worries then."

As the fox guy walked off, the 'Violet' looked back over at the 'Urchin'. Seeing as there was a momentary pause in the talking, the 'Violet' took another sip of the frothy liquid, this time a more careful one that didn't spill the stuff all over his shoulders. He put his own mug back on the table once the 'Urchin' dropped the mug handle he was holding, and watched with interest as the fox fellow handed him a new mug.

"Ta fer this,"

The 'Violet' initially reached back over as he saw the 'Urchin' start drinking again, but seeing as the fox was walking over to him, he stopped and instead focused his attention on the fellow's face. The 'Violet' seemed transfixed on the fellow's ears, and was bashfully avoiding the fellow's eyes as he caught notice that the fox guy was staring back down him.

As the fox fellow reached over and started patting the 'Violet' on the head, the 'Violet' flinched a little and closed his eyes, as if expecting some sort of violence. But the gesture ended just as suddenly as it had begun, and by the time the 'Violet' had opened his eyes again, the fellow was pulling a few shiny golden disks from his pocket and placing them in the hands of the 'Violet'. The 'Violet' seemed very confused by this, and expectantly looked between the fox guy and the 'Urchin' as he held them.

"S'that real gold?" the boy asked, his eyes going wide as he resisted the urge to grab one. "Can't remember the last time I had me a gold coin,"

"by the way my name is Yasuhiro"

"Yazoo Hero?" he asked, completely butchering the pronunciation. "Ain't never heard a name like that before. It foreign? ... An' what are ya, anyhow? I mean, I seen elves with pointy ears, but they ain't all furry like yours, an' they ain't got no tail. You like a shape shifter who ain't very good at it?" he asked curiously. "Well, I go by Urchin, an' my new friend over here is Violet. Dunno why 'e got a girls name, he can't hardly talk, but I been teachin' 'im."

" im not a elf good sir I'm a kitsune"

The 'Violet' looked just as confused as ever as the other two exchanged words. After hearing the repetition of the word 'Yasuhiro', the 'Violet' began to mouth the word a few times, and he also seemed to have a flash of realization when the 'Urchin' said 'Urchin' and 'Violet', but he otherwise paid more attention to the glittering gold things in his hands and the numerous other people in their surroundings who were now staring at them intensely.

"How's about we try some new words?" he suggested as he held up his mug and showed it to Violet. "This here is ale. AY-EL."

As the 'Violet' looked back over at the other two and saw that the 'Urchin' was staring over at him, the 'Violet' watched him and focused on what he was gesturing to. After he repeated the word, the 'Violet' repeated, "Aul...al...ayel!" and, quickly moving all of the coins to his right hand, he then pointed at the other fellow's mug, the one that the 'Urchin' was holding.

"An' this here's a table. TAY-BELL."

The 'Violet' looked down at the object that the 'Urchin' was gesturing to and, once the 'Violet' repeated the word a few times, he pointed down at it himself, announcing, "Taybell!"

"can you say KIT-SUNE"

Seeing the fox guy head back over and speak suddenly, the 'Violet' shifted his attention over to him. After hearing the emphasis on the word, the 'Violet' looked a bit confused, and repeated, "Kit...kitsoon?" As he spoke, he let both of his hands return to his sides, including the hand that was holding the gold coins. That hand in particular seemed to be clenched around the coins, and his grip seemed to tighten over time despite how his forearm muscles didn't seem tense.

"Good job little on"

The 'Violet' smiled a little after seeing the approval in the fox guy's expression, and he excitedly looked back over at the 'Urchin'. He then reached over and lifted up the ale mug with both hands, and announced, "Ayel!" as he held it up.

Notably, since both of his hands were now placed against the container, it was apparent that he was no longer holding onto the golden coins that he was handed moments ago. However, now that his arms were lifted and the outer layer of his tunic was moved aside a little, it was also apparent that he now had some sort of cloth pouch attached to the belt at his waist, the likes of which evidently had numerous weighty disk-shaped objects within it.

 

[Yasuhiro]

Yasuhiro wasn't sure if they would say yes to this or not but he said it with out hesitation "do you guys want to got to Tanicburg with me, it a very nice place" Yasuhiro was now feeling like a idiot for saying that.

 

[Urchin]

"Aul...al...ayel!"

"Yeah, that's great kid! Good job!" Urchin said proudly with a broad grin on his face.

"Taybell!"

"Yeah, ya got it right, that's perfect!" he praised the boy before turning back to Yasuhiro. "Ya see? 'E dun know much but 'e learns stuff real quick. He's real smart! Hey, why dun ya come sit with us? You can 'elp teach 'im some more stuff."

"Kit...kitsoon?"

"Ah, close enough," Urchin shrugged off the mistake. To be fair, he couldn't pronounce the fox man's name correctly himself, so who was he to judge?

He then reached over and lifted up the ale mug with both hands, and announced, "Ayel!"

Urchin laughed happily at the boy's enthusiasm. "You're gettin' real good at this kid. Let's try some more." Standing up, he pointed to the bar stool he'd been sitting on. "Chair," he said. "CH-AIR." He then looked around the room before tapping his foot on the ground and pointing down. "An' that's the floor. FL-OAR." He then decided to teach Violet the word for gold, but when he looked down, he saw that there were none on the table. He could have sworn he'd seen the boy pick them up (much to his disappointment), but now he was holding a mug of ale in both hands. It was gone. "Ah shit, where's the gold?" Urchin said, dropping down to the floor and quickly searching under the table. "Ah, Gods kid, dun tell me ya lost 'em. They ain't just shiny toys ya know, ya need 'em ta buy shit." As he searched around though, he eventually noticed a rather full looking coin purse attached to the boy's belt. "Oh," he mumbled with a sigh of relief. "... Where'd ya get that from?" he could've sword that he didn't have it before.

His quickly forgot that train of thought though when two plates of hot food arrived at the table. "Ah, nice!" he declared, happily sitting himself down as the barmaid placed the food on the table. "Thank ya Miss," he said gratefully, before picking up his knife and fork and using it to cut a big slice of meat. "Now this, kiddo, this is food," he told Violet, pointing at the contents of the plate. "FOOD. It's real good," he encouraged the lad before tucking in himself. "Ya want some Mr?" he asked Yasuhiro. "Could ask the lady ta grab another knife an' fork if ya like... Do kit-soo-thingies eat people food?"

 

[Urchin]

Yasuhiro wasn't sure if they would say yes to this or not but he said it with out hesitation "do you guys want to got to Tanicburg with me, it a very nice place" Yasuhiro was now feeling like a idiot for saying that.

"Huh?" Urchin asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "What's a Tanicburg?" he asked, considering the name. Tanic Burg... Sounded like... Titanic Burger? "It a place what sells really big burgers?"

 

[Yasuhiro]

Yasuhiro said "no its a town in falwood"