Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » From Afar (1x1)

"Girl! Hey, bird girl!"

Raven looked over to the inn's matron from scrubbing dishes, her dark eyes wide to indicate the woman had her attention. The woman was holding up grey dress that was moderately cleaner than the one the young teen had on, and certainly dryer. "Rinse off 'n change inna this. Need another hand cleanin' dishes off'n the tables out there."

The girl nodded, and promptly scrubbed her hands and face in the soapy bucket. The matron was gone by the time she finished, but the dress lay on a counter. Knowing she needed to be quick, instead of finding a proper place to change, she merely looked quickly about to be sure no males were present in the busy kitchen before shrugged off the wet dress and slipping into the dry one. It was big for her small framed, and the apron she grabbed was even worse, but she didn't delay further in popping out into the tavern area and moving from table to table, grabbing dirty dishes and doing her best to keep out of everyone's way.

The taverns in the area were always full of colorful characters, from elderly mages with wonderful stories, to pirates who smelled of salt and alcohol and all kinds of people in between. One newcomer to the land though was a very strange customer indeed. He wasn't human, as almost all of the others seemed to be.
He had a canine face and feet, with tall ears coming from the top of his head. His body was covered in jet black fur and yellow eyes. His clothes consisted only of a skirt with a golden waistband and red and white, vertical stripes running up and down along it. At each of his hips he had a sickle hanging by a small leather loop and he had gold cuffs on each wrist and ankle. This furred creature was an anubite, a soldier and servant of Anubis, the god of Judgement and death.
This was how he looked when he left his home though, many weeks before. Now though, he walked with a slight limp. The fur on his bare chest was caked with blood and the rest of his fur was matted and dirty with a brownish tinge.
He limped into the inn, his right foot dragging slightly on the ground as he walked forwards, his yellow eyes searching around, a weary, yet still fear inducing look in them. Any fear he could provoke from these humans would help, since that was a primary source of his sustenance: fear.
He walked up to the bar and waited for someone to arrive.

If fear was what he was after, fear was what he got; some of it from the way he looked, some from others wondering if they needed to worry about whatever had happened to him, most mostly there was concerned confusion. Moments after he'd walked in, there was also a crash as Raven dropped the dishes in her arms and stared, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

A hiss from the matron got her moving again, and the girl rushed off for a broom, hoping all the while that she wouldn't get a nasty beating later. The woman, meanwhile, slid behind the bar and over to the man, doing her best to act like nothing was out of the ordinary. With a forced smile she said, "'Ello, uh, sir. Look like ya' need a healer. There's, uh... if ya' go out 'n to yer left, then third left, 'n second right, there's a healer. Sure he'd be right happy ta help."

He shook his head, "No, thank you ma'am..." he said with an obvious amount if strain in his voice, "I just need a room to bathe myself and some... Raw cow meat perhaps?" he said as he pulled a small bag from behind one of his sickles. He dumped 20 gold coins onto the counter. "Is this enough?"

"Uh... well..." While the woman was trying to think of an excuse to refuse him, he dumped gold on the table. Her eyes widened a little, and she quickly snatched it up and smiled again. "Sure. How much meat would yeh like? Will yeh be spendin' the night too, sir?"

Even she swept, the Raven had to fight not to stare at the strange man-beast. She'd seen plenty of strange things during her years as the Sorceress' slave, but never something quite like him. The best she could do was avoid looking higher than his knees.

"Three pounds," he said, "Take me to my room. I need a basin full of warm water," he said And looked around. The fear of the humans around him was starting to slowly heal his wounds.

"O' course. 'Ere, ah, lemme get someone t' take yeh up, 'n I'll go see 'bout that bath 'n th' meat," the woman said with a nod, and glanced around. Really, she just didn't want to be the first person alone with him. Most everyone was busy though, and while most of her workers and managed to position themselves further away, the young teen was still stuck sweeping.

"Hey, bird girl!"

Raven squeezed the broom, certain of what was coming, but looked up to the matron just the same.

"'Ere, take 'im t' room seventeen. Finish sweepin' after," the woman said, and tossed a key to the girl. Looking back to the strange patron with a smile once again, she said, "She'll lead yeh up. If yeh need anythin' else, let 'er know. Just so yeh know though, she' don't talk. Don't think she's too bright either, but she's pretty reliable."

"Thank you," the anubite gave a curt nod of his head and limped towards Raven, though the limp was less noticeable than when he first entered. "Hello," he greeted her with a surprisingly friendly smile, "Lead the way."

Raven was used to the ridicule, and ignored the woman's comment on her intelligence. She didn't really think herself smart, but she felt she was no dafter than the woman herself.

The approach of the dog-man made the girl take a step back, but she nodded, careful to keep her eyes politely averted from his. She turned and started up the stairs, but stopped only a few steps up and looked back. Briefly, she looked up to be sure he was looking at her, then moved her face down again. The hand that didn't hold the key pointed first to the steps, then to his damaged foot, and back to the stairs. Keeping her focus point just high enough to catch any expression he might make in her peripheral vision, she nodded, but tilted her head questioningly.

He shook his head in a pleasant sort of way.
"Oh, thank you for the concern, but I'll be fine," he assured her and even as he walked, the limp was gradually fading, the fear from the surrounding humans had begun to heal his more superficial wounds. "My name is Nomti," he introduced himself to her with a slight bow of his head.

The girl gave a bow in return, making sure she bowed lower, and forced a smile even though the man's strange appearance was still making her nervous. She turned and continued up, checking back periodically to be sure the dog-man was making it and that she went slow enough. The angle of the stairs also made deep scars on her legs just visible as they climbed.

At the top, she stared hard at the numbers painted on the doors, and counted up from one she was sure of until they reached number 17. She stuck the key in and relaxed a little when it worked and the door opened. Turning too the man again, she bowed her head down and held out the key for him.

Nomti frowned thoughtfully when he saw the scars. "How... How did you get those?" he asked her once they were in the hall.
"And thank you very much," he pulled ten gold coins from his pouch and pressed then gently into her hand. His fur was warm and soft to the touch, and by the sound of his voice, it seemed he was only a couple years older than she was.

Raven blinked at the question, unsure at first what he was referring to. She was not so dense as some believed though, and was able to figure out that he meant the scars. Unable to answer, she merely shook her head.

When he put the money in her hand, the shaking became more vigorous, and her eyes widened. She pushed the coins back toward him.

He shook his head too, "Keep them, please," he urged with a comforting smile

The girl bit her lip nervously. She knew the owners would be upset if she kept the money, just as she knew that the inn matron was already ripping him off. Where did he even get such money? Maybe, though, giving the woman the gold would ease whatever punishment she'd get for dropping the dishes.

Making her decision, her fingers closed around the coins, then she quickly bowed low and dashed for the stairs. She considered stashing one of the coins for herself, but the odd count might make the matron suspicious.

It wasn't long after that his bath was brought up. There was a tin tub already partly filled with water, and others followed with steaming pots to further fill and heat it. Trailing behind them was Raven, a heavy plate of raw steak in her hands and soap and a sponge in the pockets of her apron - and in her mind, the matron's words that some of the cost of the shattered dishes would be taken from her meals unless she milked more gold out of the guest.

The man in front set the tub down to knock on the door. "Bath 'n food's 'ere, sir."

Nomti opened the door and allowed the men and Raven into the room. He smiled at Raven when she entered and then watched the men. He gave each person, Raven included, five gold coins and then looked at the bath of warm water.

The tub was placed on the bare wood floor, and the steaming pots were set nearby; Raven put the plate on a table and the soap and sponge by the bath. Each thanked the dog-man for the coins, but lingered.

"The inn's busy, but fer yer gr... grate-y... uh, graci-us-ness, madam Theshy wants t' offer yeh a bather," the man who'd carried the tub said, and gestured toward the women who'd carried the pots. They'd actually volunteered for the chance to earn some extra coins. Raven though, who stared at her feet, had been sent just in case he'd already taken a liking to her. "We can on'y spare one, 'ough."

He had in fact taken a liking to Raven. He didn't need anyone to help him bathe, but he'd enjoy a chance to get to know this curiously timid girl a little better.
"Leave her here," he said with a dismissive tone and pointed to Raven, "I think that I trust her the most with any secrets," he made the slight joke about her muteness in order to cover up his true interest in her and laughed a bit.

The women frowned as everyone but Raven left, but they were satisfied that they had still gotten some money.

She kept her face down, and walked over to the tub once the door had been shut. Though she had assisted others with bathing before, it had almost always been the Sorceress, not a man, and so the cheeks of her otherwise pale face were distinctly pink. As she knelt and grabbed the sponge, she silently prayed that a bath would be all the man wanted.

Outside the window, a raven landed on the ledge, but remained quiet.

Nomti's ears perked up at the subtle sound of claws making contact with wood and he looked over to see the raven. He cocked his head curiously to the side then focused on the girl again. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"Do not worry. I don't actually need your help with bathing," he said with a reassuring tone. He stood over the water and made a few gestures with his hands and said something in Egyptian. The water rose out of the tub and formed into what looked like a snake of some sort. It lunged at him and coiled it's steaming, watery body around him from his toes to his ears and seeped into his fur but didn't get his skirt wet. His black fur became dark with wetness and his whole body steamed for a moment. The water then jumped off his body, again in the form of a snake, and landed in the tub. The water was now dark and slightly redish with several days worth of blood and grime.
Nomti looked over at Raven and smiled at her, "Please, sit," he gestured to one of the chairs. His black fur now glistened in the candlelight of the room and now that he was clean, he stood a little taller and you could see the powerful muscles beneath the fur on his chest and belly and how broad his shoulders were.
"I would like to learn about you... You interest me for some reason," he explained and took a seat on the bed.