Chapter 33: Unnecessary Rescue
In Which Jozra Does Not Need To Be Saved.
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Yazeth: Jozra soaks for a few more minutes before realizing that it has been about an hour since she parted company with Soquan. Excusing herself from her company, she clambers out of the tub, heading for the towel rack.
Arrin Woodgreen: A chorus of gasps and inward hisses come from behind her as she exits the tub. Dawn scrambles out after her. “Jozra, you don’t have to live like you do, come with us, we can help you.â€
Yazeth: The ferret quirks an eyebrow, obviously missing what the rattess is talking about and only vaguely aware that the small group is rather stunned by her bruises. “Like what? Traveling?â€
Arrin Woodgreen: She nods quickly. “Yes, we can get you far away from here, very far, to Blaine if you wanted to.â€
Yazeth: Jozra smiles, still missing their point. “I’m already well on my way in that direction.†The poor ferret is obviously confused. This doesn’t distract her from drying herself off though.
Arrin Woodgreen: She places a paw on her shoulder. “You poor thing, we can get someone to fix you up.â€
Yazeth: This comment gives Jozra pause. “Fix…†Finally she puts two and two together. And she’s supposed to be one of those sharp spy types. C’mon Joz. “Oh! You don’t think… The bruises? I was sparring with a friend. It’s nothing really. But thanks for your concern.â€
Yazeth: As she speaks, Jozra moves to her cleaner set of spare clothing and begins to dress.
Arrin Woodgreen: Dawn shakes her head slowly. “There’s no need to defend him, he’ll pay retribution for what he’s done to you, come on Jozra, there’s no reason to be afraid of him anymore.†They all begin to herd her out of the bathhouse.
Yazeth: Jozra sputters trying to keep her balance putting on one of her boots and trying to stay in the same place while several persistent women try to herd her to the door. “I’m hardly defending anybody, it’s the truth! And I’m certainly not afraid of ‘him,’ whoever ‘he’ is… Wait. You don’t mean my friend do you?†Fortunately some teacher somewhere beat it into Jozra’s head not to give out too much information and she refrains from mentioning Soquan by name or even species.
Arrin Woodgreen: They say nothing and merely shake their heads sadly, moving her along.
Yazeth:Â Never in a thousand years did Jozra expect to find herself in this sort of situation. Herded along by a savage mob, yeah. But by kind, decent beasts with the wrong idea while deep under cover? Blankly, she lets herself be hauled off with the hope that they take her to a rational beast where she can talk her way out of the mess, because obviously these ladies aren’t listening to reason.
Arrin Woodgreen:Â Meanwhile, Soquan wakes from a quiet doze. Oh hell gates, how long had he been asleep? He scrambles out of the cold water and dries off hurriedly.
Yazeth: As she’s almost bodily carried out into the street, Jozra takes a moment to analyze what is going on. She sees no imminent danger in her immediate surrounding, though they may be embarrassing and irritating. Soquan is a concern, what he will do when he doesn’t find her, Jozra doesn’t exactly know, though she does have a general idea. From the rattess’ words, though, the ferret is convinced that it would be a Bad Idea to call out to the otter. Best try to sort this out on her own and then find Soquan. If anyone is in danger, it is he.
Arrin Woodgreen: He jogs back to his clothes, only to trip into another pool. He surfaces, cursing quite colorfully as he heaves himself out to dry again. Still muttering choice comments about the pool’s heritage, he towels off again and begins to dress.
Yazeth: Though wrapped in her thoughts, Jozra is not oblivious to her surroundings. Far from it, in fact. She’s been keeping a very close eye on where the little group is taking her, mapping the twists and turns taken in the streets as they hurry along.
Quite quickly the tiny parade enters a part of the city that Jozra hasn’t seen before. Once again the ferret profusely thanks Valz mentally. The old mole’s lessons on mentally mapping have come in handy yet again.
Arrin Woodgreen: They herd her into a large building. “We’ll take you up to the dormitories to rest up. You can meet the boss in a few days when she has time.â€
Yazeth: Jozra quirks an eyebrow. “A few days? I was planning on leaving tomorrow morning. I have a lot of ground to cover if I’m to be home before mid-summer.†The last she made up on the fly, but considering the current season and the distance to Blaine, though she’s only planning on going as far as Fifer as the woodpecker said, it’s a good estimate that keeps her cover story intact.
Arrin Woodgreen: Dawn crosses her arms. “You’re to stay here and rest while we find this ‘friend’ of yours.â€
Yazeth: Something in Dawn’s tone doesn’t sit well with Jozra. Oh if only she were a better diplomat. Finally standing on her own two feet again, Jozra stands tall. “Now see here, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I can assure you that were I ever to be in such a situation, which is highly doubtful despite what you may think, I would have left or sought help long ago.â€
Arrin Woodgreen: Her arms remain crossed. “Jozra, please calm down and rest, you wouldn’t like it if I had to call Deke.â€
Yazeth: Deke? Who in the fur… But that’s not important. A stony expression settles on Jozra’s face. “It occurs to me that you may not be entirely rational about this.†Perhaps she shouldn’t have said that… Too late. “I have been and remain to be calm, if a little irritated.†She speaks very deliberately, like the steady slapping of well made boots on a stone floor.
Arrin Woodgreen: She sighs and merely points to the door behind the ferret. “Go.â€
Yazeth: Jozra scowls. If it wasn’t for the crowd behind Dawn and the need to remain incognito the ferret would take her on. A little voice in the back of her mind pipes up. ‘Taking down a decent, relatively helpless creature. Just like in the northlands…’ The thought, more than anything else, shocks her into compliance.
Arrin Woodgreen: She watches as the ferret enters the room and turns away, heading back down the hall they came from.
Yazeth: For the sake of those watching, Jozra heads towards the bed, keeping her back turned to the hallway. Quickly she scopes the place: bed, chair, a small cupboard with things such as a washbowl arranged neatly on top, and little else. It’s small but homey and it has a window sized too small for a ferret such as herself to squirm through, which is rather small indeed.
