OoC :: Ahoy there. If you aren't Witness or myself, you aren't allowed to post here. Sorry about that. This is a chance for us to flex our RP muscles and get a few cobwebs out.
It was cold and a little drizzly when the tall, dark figure wrapped tightly in an overcoat stepped into a familiar alleyway, tucked deep within the more forlorn parts of Durem, Gaia. Dark and a little shady, much like certain parts of the Gothic-inspired city, it struck an all-too-familiar chord with him.
When he stopped at an abandoned, two-story building and a key was produced from the coat pocket, it became rather clear just why-- he apparently knew the place. With the casual motions of any house owner, the fellow unlocked and opened the door before stepping inside, carefully avoiding the rug sitting right in the doorway. The musky smell of neglect immediately filled his nostrils, and through the darkness he could see that nothing in the shop had been touched since he'd last been here several months back. All the antiques were in their places, lifeless as they should be, and his boots were the only things stirring the dust on the floorboards.
Johann smiled pleasantly to himself and slipped his hat off with one gloved hand while the other reached for the light switch by the doorway. With a flick, all the lights came on... except one. The front alcove's left bulb was burnt out. The dark elf, as one could now easily see by the light on him now, poked his head out to stare the offending bulb down from behind his shades.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be a 'welcome home' without something going wrong around here," he mused out loud, stricken by amusement. At least this was a welcome change from confrontations with dragons and kings and a whole other list of annoyances he'd had since he'd left the city.
Not to mention anything else that may have been cooking on this weird world since he'd left it. In the least his little alley wasn't full of other odd, supernatural entities like himself. They apparently liked the more livelier areas of Durem.
It took about fifteen minutes for the dark elf to find a spare bulb and the ladder, but eventually he was perched near light fixture, trying to remember how to open it so he could start a long night of house and shop maintenance. The light rain hadn't stopped, but he was perfectly dry under the entrance to Gunslinger Antiques.
He hadn't changed these bulbs in ages, leaving them on only for an hour or two at night before he'd usually go to bed. So here he was, looking a bit like a dunce as he carefully maneuvered his head around the iron and glass fixture, attempting to find the door or opening that would let him get to the burnt bulb.
Seen It All
It was cold and a little drizzly when the tall, dark figure wrapped tightly in an overcoat stepped into a familiar alleyway, tucked deep within the more forlorn parts of Durem, Gaia. Dark and a little shady, much like certain parts of the Gothic-inspired city, it struck an all-too-familiar chord with him.
When he stopped at an abandoned, two-story building and a key was produced from the coat pocket, it became rather clear just why-- he apparently knew the place. With the casual motions of any house owner, the fellow unlocked and opened the door before stepping inside, carefully avoiding the rug sitting right in the doorway. The musky smell of neglect immediately filled his nostrils, and through the darkness he could see that nothing in the shop had been touched since he'd last been here several months back. All the antiques were in their places, lifeless as they should be, and his boots were the only things stirring the dust on the floorboards.
Johann smiled pleasantly to himself and slipped his hat off with one gloved hand while the other reached for the light switch by the doorway. With a flick, all the lights came on... except one. The front alcove's left bulb was burnt out. The dark elf, as one could now easily see by the light on him now, poked his head out to stare the offending bulb down from behind his shades.
"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be a 'welcome home' without something going wrong around here," he mused out loud, stricken by amusement. At least this was a welcome change from confrontations with dragons and kings and a whole other list of annoyances he'd had since he'd left the city.
Not to mention anything else that may have been cooking on this weird world since he'd left it. In the least his little alley wasn't full of other odd, supernatural entities like himself. They apparently liked the more livelier areas of Durem.
----
It took about fifteen minutes for the dark elf to find a spare bulb and the ladder, but eventually he was perched near light fixture, trying to remember how to open it so he could start a long night of house and shop maintenance. The light rain hadn't stopped, but he was perfectly dry under the entrance to Gunslinger Antiques.
He hadn't changed these bulbs in ages, leaving them on only for an hour or two at night before he'd usually go to bed. So here he was, looking a bit like a dunce as he carefully maneuvered his head around the iron and glass fixture, attempting to find the door or opening that would let him get to the burnt bulb.
Arnes Teranyn didn't particularly like the stations around Antares. Sure, they had bars that never closed, not that it mattered much to a man whose species had no equivalent of a liver, and they had shows, but he'd seen enough of those to know that scriptwriters in that neck of the galaxy were probably banished there from other areas for their writing style. His sleeping bay was paid up until the end of the month, which was still a few days away, but somehow he just couldn't bring himself to stick it out; he'd grown tired of the parties, the bars, and the people. So, he did what he always did when he needed a change of scenery: he called up a portal, thought of somewhere fun, and went there.
Now, this wasn't the best method of transportation; considering how many places in the universe weren't conducive to life, odds were good that he could leave his portal and end up somewhere very unpleasant. However, when he emerged from the portal and his hessian boots struck cobblestone, Arnes figured that he'd struck paydirt, or at the very least, terra firma. He looked around him, his black hair swaying with the motion, and crossed his arms. He'd have to get his bearings in this new location, and hopefully find someone who could put him up for the night. He'd left his credits back in Antares, since most places didn't recognize them, and he was broke, as usual.
Wandering for a bit, Arnes pulled his travel robe closer to his figure; it was cold and a raining a little, and the white brocade robe would hopefully keep him dry until he could find an inn or something else. Looking around as he walked, Arnes wondered what sort of a city this was; many of the buildings looked old, perhaps centuries old, but there were electric lights shining at him through the rain. Odd, he hadn't seen a combination like that very often. Ahead of him, there were more buildings, including one with a figure which appeared to be on a ladder. There didn't appear to be too many others around to ask about his surroundings, so Arnes walked up to the man on the ladder and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, sir, but could I help you with that in exchange for information? I've just recently arrived through...unconventional means and I needed directions to an inn, or perhaps a nice dry alley to sleep in; I haven't any money, you see."
He rubbed the back of his head, not sure if he was even speaking the right dialect or even the right language to this man; not to mention, he'd just announced that he was poor, a stranger around here, and willing to help, to some people that was as good as putting in an application for criminal work.
Now, this wasn't the best method of transportation; considering how many places in the universe weren't conducive to life, odds were good that he could leave his portal and end up somewhere very unpleasant. However, when he emerged from the portal and his hessian boots struck cobblestone, Arnes figured that he'd struck paydirt, or at the very least, terra firma. He looked around him, his black hair swaying with the motion, and crossed his arms. He'd have to get his bearings in this new location, and hopefully find someone who could put him up for the night. He'd left his credits back in Antares, since most places didn't recognize them, and he was broke, as usual.
Wandering for a bit, Arnes pulled his travel robe closer to his figure; it was cold and a raining a little, and the white brocade robe would hopefully keep him dry until he could find an inn or something else. Looking around as he walked, Arnes wondered what sort of a city this was; many of the buildings looked old, perhaps centuries old, but there were electric lights shining at him through the rain. Odd, he hadn't seen a combination like that very often. Ahead of him, there were more buildings, including one with a figure which appeared to be on a ladder. There didn't appear to be too many others around to ask about his surroundings, so Arnes walked up to the man on the ladder and cleared his throat.
"Excuse me, sir, but could I help you with that in exchange for information? I've just recently arrived through...unconventional means and I needed directions to an inn, or perhaps a nice dry alley to sleep in; I haven't any money, you see."
He rubbed the back of his head, not sure if he was even speaking the right dialect or even the right language to this man; not to mention, he'd just announced that he was poor, a stranger around here, and willing to help, to some people that was as good as putting in an application for criminal work.
Johann most certainly wasn't expecting a single person to come down the alley, and he certainly wouldn't have expected anyone to talk to him unless they had purposeful business. That was the sort of contact he enjoyed most-- the professional, stoic world of transactions and contracts. Not the out-of-the-blue confrontations of strangers, friendly or not.
So when the stranger approached he and his ladder, the dark elf quickly jerked his head down in surprise and stared at him. It was more surprised than it was rude, but it still took him a good deal of noticable effort to recover and figure out what to say to the other. Johann knew how to deal with society, but something suddenly struck him as very peculiar about this fellow. It wasn't his appearance-- with Gaia's unusual knack for bizarre hair styles, body alterations, and clothing, the elf had pratically seen it all when it came to appearance.
But on the other hand, money was unusually simple to come by in the world-- whether it be by the ruthless murder of some unpleasant animated objects or the selling of unused things, or even, Mother Gaia forbid, gambling. The man's utter lack of finances seemed rather off. Warily Johann leaned down a little and draped the hand holding the new bulb over his bent knee.
"Hmph. I'd like to see you get up onto this ladder while I'm still sittin' on it," the dark elf finally replies, frowning a little and adding a bit more gruffness to his usual, bearded expression. "And what sort of unconventional means? You jumped the road blocks between here and Barton? No wonder you're broke-- must've had to throw all your gold at the Barton guards to keep them off your hide 'till you got here." He grins with personal amusement, and when he does, he reveals that his mouth is full of unpleasantly sharp teeth. It's not a malicious grin, but the fangs might come off as somewhat off-putting.
So when the stranger approached he and his ladder, the dark elf quickly jerked his head down in surprise and stared at him. It was more surprised than it was rude, but it still took him a good deal of noticable effort to recover and figure out what to say to the other. Johann knew how to deal with society, but something suddenly struck him as very peculiar about this fellow. It wasn't his appearance-- with Gaia's unusual knack for bizarre hair styles, body alterations, and clothing, the elf had pratically seen it all when it came to appearance.
But on the other hand, money was unusually simple to come by in the world-- whether it be by the ruthless murder of some unpleasant animated objects or the selling of unused things, or even, Mother Gaia forbid, gambling. The man's utter lack of finances seemed rather off. Warily Johann leaned down a little and draped the hand holding the new bulb over his bent knee.
"Hmph. I'd like to see you get up onto this ladder while I'm still sittin' on it," the dark elf finally replies, frowning a little and adding a bit more gruffness to his usual, bearded expression. "And what sort of unconventional means? You jumped the road blocks between here and Barton? No wonder you're broke-- must've had to throw all your gold at the Barton guards to keep them off your hide 'till you got here." He grins with personal amusement, and when he does, he reveals that his mouth is full of unpleasantly sharp teeth. It's not a malicious grin, but the fangs might come off as somewhat off-putting.
Arnes was both relieved that he could be understood and a little taken aback by the man's rather sharp teeth. He hadn't run into a lot of aliens with sharp teeth in his time around the stations of Antares, and the man's expression reminded Arnes of the hunting expedition he took with his father; little Arnes had gotten separated from the rest and ran into a feral wolf, which had bared its teeth at Arnes and begun to approach him. His father had found him and chased off the wolf before it could attack him, but it was still a disturbing memory. He took a few steps back from the man out of fear, but he was too confused by what the man had say to keep silent.
"I-I don't know what you are talking about, sir, perhaps I should explain myself; I took a portal here from a space station orbiting the star Antares, and I left all of my credits there. I have never been on this planet before, or else I have been here many thousands of years ago in a state of suspended animation and don't remember it. I apologize if some aspect of my manner offended you, but I simply don't know what the local customs are here. If you don't want my help, I'll just continue on. Sorry to bother you, sir."
He started to bundle his travel cloak up and prepared himself to move on. The rain was starting to come down a little harder, and it was still quite cold. Arnes was ready to sleep in the first alley he came upon that didn't appear to house any dangerous criminals; he had slept in craters on dead planets with nothing more than a spacesuit and an oxygen rebreather to keep him alive, a little cold and a little rain would be luxuries compared to that.
"I-I don't know what you are talking about, sir, perhaps I should explain myself; I took a portal here from a space station orbiting the star Antares, and I left all of my credits there. I have never been on this planet before, or else I have been here many thousands of years ago in a state of suspended animation and don't remember it. I apologize if some aspect of my manner offended you, but I simply don't know what the local customs are here. If you don't want my help, I'll just continue on. Sorry to bother you, sir."
He started to bundle his travel cloak up and prepared himself to move on. The rain was starting to come down a little harder, and it was still quite cold. Arnes was ready to sleep in the first alley he came upon that didn't appear to house any dangerous criminals; he had slept in craters on dead planets with nothing more than a spacesuit and an oxygen rebreather to keep him alive, a little cold and a little rain would be luxuries compared to that.
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