define('WP_CACHE', true); Dysa – Crossed Paths – Logs https://crossed-paths.com/logs The Story Thus Far... Sat, 01 Feb 2014 18:43:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.6 Chapter 59: Reconciliation https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333#respond Mon, 28 Apr 2014 11:00:38 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=333

Continue reading]]> Chapter 59: Reconciliation

In Which Kirrian May Not Be All Bad.

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Yazeth: It was just past noon when Fiarah and Jinx returned to the safehouse.  Dysa let them in through the kitchen door and promptly put them to work washing the dishes from lunch. It’s a small price to pay to be let back into what has become their home without having to deal with Kirrian’s wrath.
Jinx pauses as she wipes a plate clean, her usually chipper expression furrowed in worry. “Fiarah… What will we do if Kirrian’s still mad?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah takes the plate from Jinx and dries it, her brow furrowed. “I don’t know. I could open up a healing clinic of my own.” She turns to Jinx with a bit of a smile, taking another plate. “You can come too, of course!”

Yazeth: The young ferret grins. It’s always good to know that one will have a roof over one’s head. “Kirrian looked really mad this morning. I wonder what all that was about between her and Jozra?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah shrugs. “I have no clue, maybe I’ll ask her when she’s cooled down a bit.” Jinx grins, “Do we even want to know went on through your sister’s head during all that?”

Yazeth: Fiarah grins at that comment. “Probably not.” She continues wiping dishes dry in silence for a moment. “You know, my sister and I have never really gotten along, but I’ve never known her to be so- hot headed. Oh she has a temper, but she’s never been so mean or personal. Especially to someone that needed help…”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx frowns. “Yeah, she’ll be kinda distant at times, but I’ve never seen her like that. Think they might actually know each other and like… hate each other or something?”

Yazeth: The vixen glances at Jinx. “I don’t think they know each other. I mean, I’ve never seen Jozra before and Kirrian’s certainly never mentioned her but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” Fiarah considers the possibility.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx mutters a quiet ‘oh’ before the conversation fades into silence. The two finish washing and drying the dishes and Fiarah turns to Jinx. “Okay, now that that’s over with, we need to get to our rooms without Kirrian noticing.”

Yazeth: Dysa, who has been preparing for cooking dinner in the meantime, peeks around the door for the pair. “Try and stay out of trouble, eh?” The rattess winks at Fiarah and Jinx as they slip out of the kitchen and into the hall.

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx grins at Dysa, “We’ll try!”
Fiarah chuckles and the two manage to sneak upstairs into their rooms without being detected. Or so they think.

Yazeth: Kirrian had just left her room as Fiarah slipped into her own. She narrows her eyes as Fiarah’s door softly closes.

Arrin Woodgreen: Fiarah lets out a sigh and collapses on her bed. She gets to relax for only a few minutes before Kirrian walks over to her room and bursts in. “Hello, dear sister…”

Yazeth: Fiarah groans and flings a forearm over her eyes. “You know, knocking is the polite thing to do.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian eyes Fiarah with a quirked eyebrow. “I figured you’d want to… talk.”

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs and sits up. “Are you going to kick us out, Kirrian? I’d like to know now if I have to pack. I saw Deke and Nolan standing around across the street without a clue as to what to do.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs. “I’ll have someone go get them and say they can come back. Jinx maybe, she seems to be rather… fond… of Nolan. You two will not be kicked out and you may stay for as long as you want.”

Yazeth: Fiarah eyes Kirrian. With the way her sister had been acting lately, this was hardly expected. She scoots back on the bed and pats the space beside her. “Why the change of heart?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sits beside her sister and sighs. “I’m afraid I was rather… hasty about my decisions earlier, and I let myself be jaded by my own fears. I owe you and Jinx, as well as Deke and Nolan apologies.”

Yazeth: Fiarah gives her sister a long look and then finally relents. “Apology accepted, provided you explain yourself.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs and leans back. “All in due time sister…” Both are silent for a good while before Kirrian speaks again, turning towards her sister. “You know Jinx isn’t from Kodan, right?”

Yazeth: Fiarah glances at Kirrian. “I pretty much assumed that, but a lot of beasts aren’t originally from Kodan. What makes Jinx notable?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs and looks up at the ceiling. “She’s from a place further south called Krad. When she first came here she told me what was happening in the city she just barely managed to escape from. They treat our… our kind… differently down there. When Jinx arrived she was saying something about the stereotypically vermin species being like a whole different class of society down there.”

Yazeth: Fiarah cocks her head. Maybe it’s just the way Kirrian has been acting lately, but the vixen is less inclined to believe her sister than she would usually be. “Oh? She hasn’t told me anything of this.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She returns her sister’s gaze. She knows Fiarah doesn’t believe her, and she hopes to make her do so. “When she told me, I made her promise not to tell anyone else and it appears she’s kept that promise. Since then I’ve been hearing rumors that it’s getting worse and worse down there. I never made this news fully known because I didn’t want that type of mindset worming its way in up here.”

Yazeth: Fiarah frowns. Kirrian may have been acting strange lately, but she doubts her sister would ever lie about something like this. “What do you mean worse? What’s going on?”

Arrin Woodgreen: She turns quickly to Fiarah. “They’re locking us up, Fiarah! Like savages! They treat us like dirt!” She lowers her head, taking in a breath. “To them we might as well be beasts contracted with the Red Plague…”

Yazeth: Fiarah stares at her sister in shock. “They’re WHAT?!  How… what…. WHY?!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian’s throat has begun to tighten and her eyes begin to tear. From her place beside her sister, Fiarah stares longer as her sister manages to croak.“I don’t know, I just don’t know.”

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs and then scoots over to giver her sister a hug. “Oh Kir… What do we do? What CAN we do?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian leans against her sister’s shoulder with a sigh. “I-I think we need to warn Alvsia. She can talk to the town and let them know how horrible this is. I will NOT have this town turn out like that!”

Yazeth: Fiarah ponders this for a moment. “I think you’re right, but I think we need more evidence. Jinx will have to tell her story, of course. And we don’t really know if Alvisa knows about… THIS already.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She lets out a shuddering breath. “I-If I know Alvsia, Jinx’s story will be enough, if not she can look into it.”

Yazeth: Fiarah nods and then considers something else. “How long have you had this information? I have a feeling Alvisa isn’t going to be very happy with having to see us several days in a row.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian quirks an eyebrow at Fiarah. “I realize that. As to how long I’ve had this information, how long has Jinx been here?”

Yazeth: Fiarah scowls at her sister. “That’s my point exactly. If Alvisa doesn’t know, she might not be too happy that you’ve been keeping this from her for nearly two seasons.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian lowers her head. I know. To tell you the truth, I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, that it would be righted.

Yazeth: Fiarah sighs. “You know Kir, it wouldn’t have been as bad if you had told me about some of these things. And what was that whole business with Jozra and Soquan? That really didn’t help matters with Alvisa.”

Arrin Woodgreen: She looks at Fiarah again. “I was trying to protect you, little sister, that’s why you were not informed. And as for those two, I was worried that the ferret might have been mixed up with those things. To tell you the truth, I had no qualms about the otter, only at first when I thought he might be harming her.”

Yazeth: This statement puzzles the healer. She glances askance at her sister. “Why would Jozra be mixed up in what’s going on in the South?”

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian sighs. “I’m afraid I rather jumped to conclusions. You see, black-footed ferrets like Jozra are more common in the Southlands around where Jinx is from. It seems I was wrong.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Conversation sputters to a stop between the two and for a good while they sit in silence. It’s Kirrian who breaks the silence. “I… guess I better tell Jinx to find Deke and Nolan before it gets too late. I have some paperwork to finish as well.”

She rises and heads for the door turning to address her sister before leaving. A slight grin touches her features. “This was nice, we should do it again sometime.”

Yazeth: A slow smiles spreads across Fiarah’s face. “Yeah, we should.” She watches as her sister exits the room and then lays back down on her bed again to ponder the situation.

Arrin Woodgreen: Still grinning, Kirrian strides down the hall towards Jinx’s room. She’s about to burst in without knocking but stops herself. She takes a breath and knocks heavily on Jinx’s door.

Yazeth: Inside her room where the young ferret had been looking over her belongings, Jinx jumps at the knock. She mutters to herself, “Well… here we go,” before going to the door and opening it.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian does her best to give Jinx a friendly smile. “If you’re not to busy my dear, I’d like you to go find Deke and Nolan and tell them they’re welcome to come back.”

Yazeth: Jinx’s eyes open wide in surprise. “Er, um… Sure!” The ferret ducks under Kirrian’s arm and dashes down the hall to find Deke and Nolan.

Arrin Woodgreen: Kirrian chuckles as she watches Jinx scamper off and slowly meanders back up the hall towards her room. She slips inside and lets out a sigh as she collapses at her desk.

At the moment, Nolan stands in Deke’s room, his bags lying at his feet. With a frown he watches as his mentor rushes this way and that, gathering up his belongings and trying to fit them into his suitcases.

Yazeth: It’s not like Deke is being particularly quiet about all this rushing around, mind, so it’s no wonder that Jinx manages to hear the commotion and skids to a halt in front of Deke’s door. She bursts through the door and manages to get a few words out around her panting. “Kirriansaysyoucanstay!”

Arrin Woodgreen: Nolan jerks around to look at Jinx and actually looks like he’s about to say something before Deke cuts the ferret off. “What? You’re kidding!”

Yazeth: The ferret shakes her head vigorously. “Nope! She said you both were welcome to come back.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Nolan gives a very un-Nolan like whoop and hugs Jinx tightly before running back towards his room with his bags.

Yazeth: Jinx grins rather bashfully as she’s hugged and stands about for a moment or two before realizing that she’s kind of hindering Deke’s process of rearranging his room back to how it was.

Arrin Woodgreen: After depositing his things in his room, Nolan doubles back just as enthusiastically, grinning at Jinx as he arrives. “Wha’d’ya say ‘Kirrian t’let us stay ‘ere?”

Yazeth: Jinx takes a second to shake out of her momentary stupor. “Nothin! She just came and knocked on my door and said you guys could come back! And she wasn’t all angry or anything.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Deke looks bemused. “Really? Strange.” Nolan flashes Jinx another grin. “Well ’tis good t’know we ‘dun ‘afta go anywhere. I like it ‘ere jest fine.”

Yazeth: Jinx grins back at Nolan, once again rather tongue tied. Deke finally gets the two moving and out of his room. “You know, it’s hard to unpack with you two just standing around here.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Jinx finally finds her voice and she gives Deke a sideways look. “Do you need help unpacking, Nolan?”

Yazeth: Nolan grins at the ferret and nods. With that, they dash off leaving Deke in his now rather messy room, shaking his head. “Kids…”

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/333/feed 0 Chapter 48: Sibling Rivalry https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/311 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/311#respond Wed, 02 Apr 2014 11:00:07 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=311

Continue reading]]> Chapter 48: Sibling Rivalry

In Which It’s Mostly Up To Jozra Now.

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Yazeth: After a while, the vixen tests the water. Finding it lukewarm, she has Soquan and Dysa help to hoist the ferret out of the tub and dry her off. Fiarah tests Jozra’s temperature again and remarks, “She doesn’t seem so cold now but it’s still too soon to tell. Help me wrap her up in this blanket again, we’ll take her back to my room.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and assists the vixen, taking most of Jozra’s weight as Fiarah wraps her in the blanket.

Yazeth: She leads the way back upstairs to the bed where Jozra had first been placed. By now, Dysa has since rushed to her kitchen to begin preparing a later than usual dinner.

Arrin Woodgreen: He takes Jozra upstairs with Fiarah and he helps tuck her in. He sits on the edge of the bed, hands wrung nervously.

Yazeth: Fiarah bustles about the room, preparing a hot water bottle to slip under Jozra’s covers.

Arrin Woodgreen: He ‘looks’ up from his paws towards Fiarah. “Is there anything I can do?”

Yazeth: The vixen shakes her head. “Just keep an eye on her. Your proximity might help but it’s mostly up to her now.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and falls silent again, sighing slightly.

Yazeth: Fiarah pauses and gazes at the otter for a while. She smiles sadly. “It’ll be alright, you’ll see.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He grins slightly. “I hope so.”

Yazeth: Fiarah bustles about her business, cleaning up her ‘shop.’ Presently, Dawn arrives bearing a cart from Dysa’s kitchen laden with a stack of bowls and a large pot of thick soup and a basket of rolls. She casts a withering glance at the otter and ferret, not that the pair notices in their respective states. “Dinner.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods towards the rattess. “Thank you, Dawn.” Aware of the meal in the room, he does not move, staying at his post beside his friend.

Yazeth: The rattess merely sneers and remarks to the healer, “You’re sister’s not going to like this when she gets back.” The vixen, however, is impervious to Dawn’s scorn. She ladles a generous helping of soup into a bowl, sticks a spoon in it and a roll on the side and places it firmly into Soquan’s hands. “My patients are none of her business,” she says before serving herself.

Arrin Woodgreen: He becomes worried at Dawn’s statement and eats silently, his mind whirling. Where would he take Jozra if they were kicked out of here?

Yazeth: Dawn sniffs at the vixen’s remark and leaves the room. Fiarah misinterprets the concern on the otter’s face and reassures him. “She should sleep, for now. I wouldn’t try forcing any nourishment on her until at least tomorrow afternoon.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He snaps out of his thoughts. “What?  Oh, okay.” He returns to his meal and thinking, to plan up something in case they are indeed, thrown out.

Yazeth: Fiarah polishes off her bowl of soup and sets it on a small table near the door before walking around the bed and checking on Jozra’s condition. The ferret is no longer cold to the touch and seems to be sleeping deeply, though she still looks rather pitiful.

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter is too wrapped in his own thoughts to notice. He picks at his food.

Yazeth: The vixen glances at Soquan. “You can stay with her for the night. I’ll be just in the other room if you need anythi…” Her words are interrupted by a slamming door and heavy paw-steps on the stairs.

Arrin Woodgreen: He’s startled by the sudden noise and he rises to his feet, placing his bowl on the night-table as he does so.

Yazeth: Fiarah’s head snaps towards her own door as the paw-steps come down the hall.  A second later, some beast pounds on the door.

Arrin Woodgreen: He tenses and moves in front of Jozra, going into ‘protector’ mode.

Yazeth: The vixen glares as the door. The nerve! Especially when ill beasts are present.  She opens the door, intending to slip out and take care of everything quietly when Nolan shoves the door open wide and Kirrian strides in.

Arrin Woodgreen: He recognizes the scents right away and he brings himself up to full height, trying to look as foreboding as possible.

Yazeth: Nolan notices Soquan and growls ever so slightly at him. Kirrian, however, being the beast she is, completely ignores the otter and addresses her sister directly. “These two have been banished from this house.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns away from the confrontation momentarily to check on Jozra.  It’s not like Kirran’s going to bother addressing him right now.

Yazeth: The ferret is, for a morbidly nearly appropriate phrase, ‘dead to the world.’  Fiarah levels her gaze at her sister. “These are my patients.” A simple statement but one that has the feel of a challenge.

Arrin Woodgreen: He returns to his seat, keeping an ear on the conversation. He then leans forward and rests his head in his arms, much like a child at a school desk.

Yazeth: Kirrian is a beast who’s composure is hard to break, but her sister has been a constant thorn in her side; the only one who knows how to get to her. The vixen glares. “I will NOT have these two in my house. The ferret nearly killed Dawn!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He scowls at Kirran’s words, but remains silent, closing his eyes.

Yazeth: Fiarah quirks an eyebrow at Kirrian. “Be that as it may… I hardly say this ferret is in any condition to harm anything. She needs a warm place to rest and some professional healing. I thought that’s what this house was all about? ‘A place for those who need help and have nowhere else to go?’” She deliberately quotes her sister’s own words; the words she used when she first proposed the house all those seasons ago.

Arrin Woodgreen: The world becomes less and less apparent to Soquan and he begins to drift off to sleep, the day’s events had tuckered the poor otter out.

Yazeth: Kirrian glowers at her sister. “I. will. not. have. them. in. my. house.”

Fiarah puts a paw to her brow and sighs tiredly. “At the very least can we leave this until morning? It’s raining and dark and it’s been a very long day.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Indeed it has. The otter is now asleep.

Yazeth: Kirrian is about to object when she catches the Look in her sister’s eye. The kind of look that says, ‘I’m too tired to take care of this crap and if you press the issue I’ll make it very bad for you.’ Not about to lose face, the vixen narrows her eyes at the other. “I expect them to be gone by morning.” She spins sharply and stalks out the door.

Arrin Woodgreen: The otter snores softly.

Yazeth: Fiarah closes the door firmly behind Nolan as he finally follows Kirrian out of the room. She sighs and glances at the otter. No need to disturb him. Instead she finds her way to her own bed and swiftly falls asleep.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/311/feed 0 Chapter 47: Hypothermia https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/309 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/309#respond Mon, 31 Mar 2014 11:00:07 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=309

Continue reading]]> Chapter 47: Hypothermia

In Which Warms Baths And Fur Dyes Mix A Little Too Well.

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Yazeth: Presently, the vixen opens the door. She thanks the ferret, who’s name turns out to be Jinx, and turns to the pair. Unlike Dawn, Fiarah isn’t so quick to judge. She has Jinx lead the otter into her spacious room asking questions the whole time, the first, of course, being, “What happened?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He walks beside the vixen, moving the ferret again. “She fell in the river. I eventually got to her out of the water, but she was in there for a while. I kept her as warm as I could last night, and her shivering has lessened quite a bit, but she’s still really cold.”

Yazeth: The vixen pauses for a moment to check the ferret’s pulse before indicating she should be placed on a bed. Had the otter seeing eyes, he might have been surprised to find that Fiarah’s room resembled a healer’s hut more than anything else. Her living area took up a surprisingly small space amongst the bundles of herbs and other medicinal objects.

Arrin Woodgreen: He lies the ferret down carefully, although he keeps the blankets wrapped around her.

Yazeth: Fiarah, however, quickly strips away the blankets and performs a quick physical before wrapping the ferret tightly in a blanket of her own. “Hypothermia, I would say.  Jinx, go have Dysa draw a hot bath. We need to warm her up.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He looks to Fiarah hopefully. “Will she be okay?”

Yazeth: The vixen catches the obvious worry in the otter’s voice but is forced to shake her head. “I honestly don’t know. She’s managed to survive this long though, so the odds may be in her favor.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “At least there’s a chance eh?” He tries to grin, but it fades quickly.

Yazeth: Fiarah smiles and nods sympathetically. Before too long, Jinx returns to say the bath is nearly ready. The vixen turns to the otter, “Could you carry her downstairs again?  Jinx will lead the way.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and lifts Jozra gently, careful not to wake her. He follows them to the baths, his mind buzzing. It’s getting harder and harder to ignore the pain in his foot.

Yazeth: The vixen follows a ways behind after gathering a few tools of the trade. The house’s washroom is decently sized and contains a halfway sunken tub that is currently full of steaming water. Jinx helps Soquan disentangle the ferret from the blanket and lower her somewhat rigid body into the bathtub.

Arrin Woodgreen: He mumbles a, “Thanks,” to Jinx and moves aside so the vixen can get close.

Yazeth: Fiarah merely checks the ferret again, though, and instructs the rattess and the ferret to keep an eye on her before turning to the otter. “Now, about your foot.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns away from Jozra to Fiarah. “Yeah… I kinda stepped on her knife.”

Yazeth: The vixen quirks and eyebrow but says nothing. She leads the otter to a pair of nearby chairs and has him sits opposite the otter, facing him. She lifts his leg to get a better look at the cut on his foot.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sits patiently and allows her to have a look. His ears are swiveled back as he still listens to the sounds at the bath.

Yazeth: Fiarah summons a basin of warm water and washes the otter’s foot in it. Cleaner now, she’s able to determine how bad the cut is. “Fortunately not too deep. I’ll bandage it, though you may want to try to stay off of it if you can.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “I’ll try.” He remains silent for a while, speaking up while she bandages his foot. “Thank you for doing this.”

Yazeth: The vixen nods as she finishes applying a poultice. “I’m a healer, it’s what I do.” Across the room, Dysa notices a light sheen on the water before realizing that the ferret’s paws are now quite a bit darker than they were. She prods at one of Jozra’s paws and yelps in surprise when the ferret grabs at her own hand.

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan is immediately on his feet and over at the tub in less than a second. “What happened?”

Yazeth: Fiarah had been knocked over in the rush and she quickly scrabbles back to her feet from her sprawl on the floor. She’s right behind Soquan on the approach back to the tub. The rat stammers, “She grabbed at me!” Jinx noticed at the time, however, that it was more of a reflex on the ferret’s part than a conscious grab and she points this out.

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, agreeing with Jinx, and sits on the edge of the tub.

Yazeth: Dysa points out the darker paws and Fiarah takes a closer look. She raises her eyebrows in surprise and a little amusement before looking at Soquan and explaining to the rattess, “She dyed her paws a lighter color. And if I’m right, her mask will be quite dark as well.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He quirks an eyebrow. “What’re you saying here?”

Yazeth: For the moment, the vixen ignores the otter and instead scrubs at Jozra’s mask. She smiles triumphantly. “Just as I thought.” She glances at Soquan again. “Didn’t you know? Your friend is a black-footed ferret.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He raises the other eyebrow. “Really? I had no clue.”

Yazeth: Fiarah shakes her head. “No, I didn’t think you would.That’s the sort of thing she would have to tell someone if she was dying her fur as she was. How long have you known her anyway?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He does some quick mental math before replying. “About half a season now, we met a few weeks away from my village.”

Yazeth: A thought occurs to the vixen and she bids Jinx to take care of the pair’s belongings, seeing that they are washed and dried and that a room is prepared for the two.

Arrin Woodgreen: He falls silent and holds the ferret’s paw, a worried expression on his face.

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/309/feed 0 Chapter 35: Turning The Tables https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/285 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/285#respond Mon, 03 Mar 2014 11:00:34 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=285

Continue reading]]> Chapter 35: Turning The Tables

In Which A Little Action Is Better Than Words.

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Yazeth: Kirrian, true to her word, is rather tired and returns directly to her room while Sola, Dawn and the cooks begin distributing meals throughout the house. Neither of them see fit to update Jozra on the situation, however, when they deliver her meal and the two of them take their meal with Dysa in the hallway leading to Jozra’s room.

Arrin Woodgreen:  He sighs rises, beginning to pace the room restlessly. After a while he climbs on top of one of the crates and settles down to rest a bit, ignoring his meal.

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan, who had scarfed down their meal quite quickly, allow the otter to roam. What’s he gonna do to a store room anyway, right? Jozra eats, albeit quite mechanically, returning Dysa’s previous skull-boring stare. Unfortunately, the rattesses set their table a ways a way and any conversation they have is held in hushed tones.

Arrin Woodgreen: He closes his eyes and allows his mind to wander as he begins to drop off.

Yazeth: Jozra has finished her meal long before the plates are cleared. This time, Sola and Dawn remain behind, but Dawn is quickly called away to speak with Kirrian. She returns a few moments later with a determined look on her face and something in her paw. Poking her head into the ferret’s room she says the first thing Jozra has had directed at her in hours. “Goodnight, Jozra. Sleep well.”

Jozra glances at the rattess curiously, realizing too late what Dawn intends to do as she closes the door firmly and clasps a lock on it. The ferret is on her feet in an instant. “HEY!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He’s soon fast asleep, dreaming of being somewhere far off away from here.

Yazeth: The ferret slams her fists down on the door, not that she expects to get through the solid piece of timber. Dawn calls from the other side. “Get some sleep! This is for your own protection. The lock will come off in the morning.”

Jozra merely growls softly in return as she hears Dawn pad off down the hallway. She stalks across the room, resuming her pacing route but is quickly irritated by it. She flings herself down on the bed, thoroughly disgusted with herself for getting caught, for Dawn and all of her stupid well intentioned friends, for, for, ergh!

Arrin Woodgreen: He mumbles something in his sleep and rolls over, an arm flopped over his face and the other over the side of the crate.

Yazeth: Exhausted by her frustration and the sparring the night before, Jozra falls asleep before realizing what she’s done, and where her proverbial ‘safety blanket’ is.

Arrin Woodgreen: He mumbles again, his whiskers twitching and his tail giving a slight wag.

Yazeth: It begins surprisingly innocently enough. She’s talking to Azrun, wrapped in a cloak and sitting perched on a rocky overlook.

“I don’t like this. I don’t like this at all,” the archer-fox says. Jozra shakes her head darkly, “None of us do, Azer.”

She frowns in discomfort as she spies a mole staggering in the streets of the town, obviously infected and very delirious. This momentary distraction is enough for a young mouse the pair hadn’t noticed earlier, and he darts from the edge of town. Azrun spins and draws in the same instant, loosing his arrow but narrowly missing his target. Jozra hits him, though, and the mouse falls with a thud. The two cringe in shame and the ferret mutters through gritted teeth, “I HATE this.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He shifts again, adjusting the shirt pillowed beneath his head.

Yazeth: The scene shifts, in that way that dreams do, taking a roundabout psychedelic route through conversations and slain villagers to a council of the Scorpions assigned to this distasteful duty. The council where the Nine hesitantly reach the conclusion that the town must be put to the torch. Azrun looses a flaming arrow, Lysiz flings a torch from a precipice to the roofs below, Jozra and the others cut down the escapees. A child shrieks in terror and the noise manifests its self in the real world.

Dawn jerks into wakefulness at the scream. Jozra is startled awake. She blinks and wonders, “Who?”

Arrin Woodgreen:  The otter jerks into reality as his ears pick up the sound of the Jozra’s scream. He practically flies towards the door, trying the door to find it locked. He pleads with the other two males. “Please let me go, she needs me!” There’s no short-temperedness or anger in the in the male’s actions any more, only severe worry.

Yazeth: The ferret groans as she realizes, due to Dawn’s frantic scratching at the lock on her door, that it was indeed herself that had screamed. Tired, irritated and frustrated, Jozra resolves to get herself, and Soquan, out of this situation post haste.

Nolan, who was jerked out of a doze at Jozra’s scream, looks wildly at Deke who is staring at Soquan, obviously confused.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and rams his bodyweight into the door, surprised as it breaks easily.  He pauses only a moment to get his bearings as he darts towards the origin of the noise.

Yazeth: Jozra stands as the door finally bangs open and Dawn and Sola rush through, halfway through comforting words and phrases before they actually see the ferret standing there looking, well, irritated. Their confusion is nothing compared to Nolan and Deke’s, who stare dumbly at the shattered remains of the store room door, still trying to process what just happened. It is this delay that gives Soquan the head start he needs to find his way to the stairs and up them.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stumbles around for a few moments before he finds the stairs.  Once this is achieved he darts up them as fast as he can without endangering himself.

Yazeth: Dawn, who is only slightly put off by the fact that the ferret is not, in fact, whimpering and crying as she would have expected, enters the room and puts a kind paw on Jozra’s shoulder, attempting to lead her back to the bed. “There, there… I had a feeling something like this might happen. Don’t you see why we had to separate you from the cause of your pain? “

Jozra, much to the rattess’ surprise, shakes the paw off and glares at Dawn coldly. “You don’t know anything.”

Arrin Woodgreen: Soquan suddenly bursts into the room, panting slightly from his run. Going into ‘protector’ mode, he snarls at the two rattess’. “Get yer paws off’o’er!”

Yazeth: Much to her own surprise, Jozra crosses the room quickly and clings tightly to the otter. She mumbles a rather inadequate explanation by way of, “I hate those rotting things…”

Arrin Woodgreen: He wraps his arms tenderly around the female, he rubs her back gently, being careful of her bruises. “I know.” He nuzzles her gently, his muzzle bumping gently at her collarbone, neck and jaw. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here, I don’t like you having these nightmares any more then you do.”

Yazeth: The jaws on the rattesses drop, but Dawn’s eyes glitter in frustration. Such a naive girl… she thinks, though the thought process is interrupted by the arrival of a very indignant Kirrian with Deke and Nolan almost immediately at her back, looking rather sheepish at letting the otter go.

Spurred on by the arrival of her superior, the rattess takes a step towards the couple glaring fiercely at Soquan. “You take your hands off of her!”

Before the words are barely out of the rattess’ mouth, Jozra moves and a little black dagger soars through the air, shearing the whiskers on one side of Dawn’s face and thudding ominously into the headboard of the bed.

Arrin Woodgreen: He stands there, a bit confused at what happened, but cannot mistake the sound of metal into wood. “Jozra, be nice, they were only trying to keep you safe from the big, bad, female beating otter.” He gives her another slight nuzzle.

Yazeth: The ferret, however, has had enough of her would be ‘rescuers’ company. As Dawn stands stark still, utterly frozen by the turn of events, Jozra reaches past her to retrieve her blade. Muttering softly to Soquan, she pulls him by the arm towards the door, glaring at those blocking their path. “Lets get out of here.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He allows himself to be pulled behind the ferret, it’s the fastest way to move without his staff. “I’m right behind you.”

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan stand firm behind Kirrian, but Jozra draws herself up to her full height, which is just a hair taller than the slight vixen, and stares the head of the house in the eye. Each word she says is its own sentence. “I. Am. Perfectly. Capable. Of. Taking. Care. Of. My. Self.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He stands behind the ferret, his arms crossed as he listens.

Yazeth: To her credit, Kirrian does not flinch nor look away. She frowns and glances at Dawn, checking to make sure that the rattess is alright. “You have attacked one of my members and thus are no longer welcome in my house.”

The vixen gestures and Deke and Nolan stand aside, finally comfortable in their current role of ‘bodyguard.’

Arrin Woodgreen: He speaks from behind the ferret. “What about the stuff you took from me? Her extra set of clothes and my staff.”

Yazeth: Sola finally speaks up. “I put them in a crate just inside the kitchen, the door right next to the store room.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods and strides past the small group to retrieve the things.

Yazeth: The pair quickly find their way downstairs and in the kitchen with a small group of followers who mind their distance. Jozra grabs her spare set of clothing and places Soquan’s staff into his paws.

Arrin Woodgreen: He smiles faintly. “Thank you.” He shifts the staff to his unbitten paw. “Back to the inn then?”

]]> https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/285/feed 0 Chapter 34: Lessons In Futility https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/281 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/archives/281#respond Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:00:31 +0000 https://crossed-paths.com/logs/?p=281

Continue reading]]> Chapter 34: Lessons In Futility

In Which Bad First Impressions Are Made.

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Arrin Woodgreen:  Soquan, having been waiting in front of the bathhouses for a while, knocks softly on the female’s door. “Jozra? Are you in there?”

Yazeth: Jozra sits on the bed, reassessing the situation. After a moment, she glances out the door and into the hallway. Dawn has gone and the crowd of her would be ‘rescuers’ has broken up, but the hallway is still crowded. Fortunately the door has remained open and unlocked. She may just simply postpone her escape until later, but that still leaves Soquan without a clue as to what happened to her. Dammit.

Arrin Woodgreen:  He shoulders the bathhouse door open a little bit and calls inside. “Anybeast in there?”

Yazeth: With a shock, Jozra thinks to check for her concealed blades. Breathing a sigh of relief she finds them there, distinctly remembering now that she had distributed them between her two sets of clothing when she and Soquan had returned to their hotel room.  The question is now, what to do when they find the other blades in her discarded and nearly forgotten other set of clothes? The ferret hopes that it at least helps her statement that she can take care of herself.

Arrin Woodgreen: He pushes the door completely open and steps inside. “Hello?”

Yazeth: Jozra remains seated on the bed, surreptitiously checking the hallway, keeping tabs on the traffic out there. She can’t, however, keep track of where everybody else goes.  One of the rattesses in the group, a rather small thing called Dysa, has decided to head back to the bathhouses to retrieve whatever was left behind.

Arrin Woodgreen: He walks around and becomes alert as he catches a slight whiff of her sent. After a moment, he finds her spare clothes. He stoops to pick them up. “Jozra?”

Yazeth:  Fortunately for Soquan, at this time of evening most beasts are busy at home, perhaps even preparing dinner. Dysa is pulled aside by Dawn as she is about to exit the building.

“Make sure you question anybody you see. I want to know who did this to the ferret.” Dysa nods, and steps out into the street, heading for the bath house.

Arrin Woodgreen: He proceeds to check the pool he found the clothes beside. Did she fall asleep in the pool?

Yazeth:  Presently, Dysa walks up to the bath house and enters the female side. She’s shocked for a moment at seeing a male in there. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He jumps slightly, gathering up the ferret’s things. “I’m looking for a friend of mine, she was supposed to meet me outside five minutes ago.”

Yazeth: The rattess narrows her eyes, noticing the ferret’s things in the otter’s paws. “Can you describe your friend?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He brings his hand up to his shoulder height. “About this tall, she’s a ferret. Uh, that’s all I can really describe.”

Yazeth:  The rattess sneers. This is all she needs to know but she takes a verbal jab at the otter anyway. “Honestly, you can’t have been a very good friend if that’s all the description you can give.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He snarls and grabs the rattess by the tunic, bringing her up to eye level so she can see his sightless gaze. “Maybe that’s all I can notice about her!”

Yazeth: Absolutely certain now that this is the beast that inflicted those welts on the ferret’s back, Dysa scrabbles in fear. She bites the otter hard on the paw and scampers towards the door before he can do anything about that. Forget the clothes, she needs reinforcements!

Arrin Woodgreen: He snarls again and drops the maid, clutching at his paw. “Wait!  Stop!”

Yazeth: Dysa, of course, pays no heed and darts out into the street, running top speed back to the safe house.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and rubs his paw for a moment before picking up the missing ferret’s things as well as his staff.

Yazeth: The rattess stumbles a few times, her imagination making the situation larger than it is. She is, in fact, convinced that the otter is perusing her and she is rather surprised when she finally reaches the safe house to find that he is nowhere to be seen.  “Dawn!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He curses as he drops a few of the blades and stoops to pick them up.

Yazeth: Dysa charges up the stairs, nearly colliding with Dawn and a few of the other women in the safe house. Jozra perks her ears as she hears the commotion in the corridor.

Arrin Woodgreen: He rises and slowly goes to leave the bathhouse.

Yazeth: The ferret pretends to sleep as she listens to the conversation taking place not too far from her door. Dysa describes Soquan as huge. ‘And violent! He threatened me when I only asked him if he knew any ferret-maids! He grabbed me and I had to bite him five times before he would let me go!” Jozra smirks at the phrase “ferret-maid” but frowns at the rest of the story. This doesn’t sound like Soquan at all.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and pauses a moment to gather his thoughts. Should he wait here for the ferret? What about the inn? Did she go back there?

Yazeth: Dawn and the others are finally able to calm Dysa down enough to gather that the beast they’re looking for is, or at least was, in the bath houses and is definitely a dangerous one. The rattess frowns and rattles of instructions. “Sola, go find Deke and Nolan. I think we’re going to need them. Dysa, stay here and make sure the ferret doesn’t go anywhere. I’m going to rouse Kirrian. This is a bit more urgent than I thought and we’ll need her guidance.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and decides to search around the immediate area. He shifts the bundle in his arms and continues along the street a bit, his staff tapping along the sidewalk as he moves slowly, occasionally calling the ferret’s name.

Yazeth: Not quite five minutes later – what seemed like an eternity to Jozra as she felt Dysa’s eyes boring holes into the back of her skull as if the rattess was trying to read her mind – Sola returns with a simple looking but quite burly stoat and a weasel that looked as though he could have carried the stoat with ease.

Jozra had found one use for the window, now that the sun had sunk, and was able to watch everything happening in the hall without looking through the door. Mere moments later, Dawn returns with a surprisingly slight vixen; definitely Kirrian with the way all the others acted around her.

Arrin Woodgreen: Reaching the end of the street, he turns around and goes back the way he came. He walks past the bathhouses again and goes down the street on the other side of it.

Yazeth: Quickly, Dysa relates her story, though this time she had to bite the otter on the nose before he would let go and he chased her halfway down the street. The original group backs up the rattess, describing the welts on Jozra’s back. Surprisingly, Kirrian doesn’t seem to buy the whole story but nevertheless she authorizes the ‘capture’ of this otter.

With Dysa and Sola at their backs, Deke, who proved to be the weasel, and Nolan lead the way out of the ‘safehouse.’ Jozra scowls, an expression hidden in a pillow, as Kirrian and Dawn remain behind. Curiously, they make no move to confront her.

Arrin Woodgreen: He reaches the end of the road again and turns to the bathhouse again.  He sighs again and once he reaches the bathhouses again, he leans back against the wall, waiting with his ears perked and his nose searching for her scent.

Yazeth: This, of course, makes the otter far easier to find than any of the searchers expected. As they finally get in view of Soquan, Dysa squeaks in fear, pointing him out and identifying the otter for the others. “That’s him!  That’s the one!” She falls back, nearly cowering. Sola comforts her as Deke and Nolan march forward. “Oy!  Yewh!”

Arrin Woodgreen: He turns his attention to the approaching beasts, unleaning from the wall. “Yes? Can I help you?”

Yazeth: Deke jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “Yewh de one dat ‘ttacked dis poor gurl? An beat de f’rret?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He crosses his arms. “I didn’t attack anyone, and I’ve never beaten any beast in my life.” He absently rubs his sore, bitten paw.

Yazeth: Nolan mirror’s Soquan’s crossed arms as Deke continues. “Dat’s not wut we herd.  We herd yewh grabbed dis one and was lookink fur de f’rret dat dey found dat was all beat up.”

Arrin Woodgreen: His ears swivel and he finally catches the rattess’ sent. “Sure, I grabbed her, but I did not attack her. And yes, I’m looking for a ferret. Do you know where she is?”

Yazeth:  The distinction is lost on the stoat and Nolan begins to growl softly. Dysa jumps in surprise and cowers further, inching her way back up the street; that one’s definitely got an imagination on her. Deke is obviously the big talker of the two and continues. “We knowh, but yewh not find ‘er!” At this, the weasel and stoat advance on the otter.

Arrin Woodgreen: The sudden burst of noise and action startles the otter and he doesn’t get at his staff in time. He fights the beasts the best he can but is eventually overpowered. “Why are you doing this?”

Yazeth: Dysa scurries her way back towards the ‘safe house’ as Deke and Nolan carry the otter bodily up the street. Sola, a bit braver and more sensible than her friend, tags behind to gather what was dropped: Jozra’s spare set of clothing, Soquan’s staff, etcetera.  Deke grunts, “Yewh ‘buser. Can’t let dat ‘appen. Yewh don ‘urt dat f’rret no more.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He snarls suddenly, his fur going on end. “So you all think I beat my best friend? Is that it? You think I’m some egotistical male that finds pleasure in beating females to feel good about myself?”

Yazeth: Nolan tightens his hold as Deke grunts. “Yah. Dat’s about it.” Though an otter and thus rather heavy, the other two burly mustelids make good time and soon leave the bath house behind. Sola keeps pace, though she remains quite out of the reach of any of the males.

Arrin Woodgreen:  His harrumphs angrily and falls silent, allowing himself to be carried in frosty silence. His ears swivel as he listens to beasts as they pass. He takes in as much of the scents as he can, trying to put together a map of where they’re going.

Yazeth: Soon Dysa has lead the rest to the rear of the building. Back here it looks quite unsavory indeed. As Deke and Nolan get Soquan into the badly lit stockroom, now that it is quite obviously night outside, Dysa scuttles up into the main part of the building to alert Dawn and Kirrian.

Arrin Woodgreen: By now the otter’s stomach begins to rumble and he sighs, wandering around the stockroom, getting familiar with his surroundings.

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan are content to merely stand in the corners and keep an eye on the otter until the vixen arrives. Sola, on the other hand, moves directly into the kitchen, after firmly shutting the door and leaving the various items in the stoat’s care, and begins to help a few others in the preparation of an evening meal for everybody.

Upstairs, Jozra perks her ears as she sees the reflection of the rattess enter the corridor. She speaks in hushed tones with the others – the ferret can only pick up the gist of the conversation – and they quickly leave. Before she has a chance to do anything, though, Dysa is back guarding the ferret’s door. Jozra grits her teeth in frustration and thinks dark thoughts.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grumbles darkly to himself and continues to stumble around the room awkwardly, he is nothing without his staff. The odd curse slips out as he bangs various parts of his anatomy on boxes and other whatnot in the room. Getting crankier and short tempered by the minute, his fur remains raised and his teeth gritted.

Yazeth: Nolan notices the otter’s fumbling and cocks an eyebrow at Deke. The expression, or at least whatever it was pointing out, is lost on the weasel. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, Dawn and Kirrian arrive.

Arrin Woodgreen: His ears perk up as the door opens and he turns towards the origin of the noise. Realizing it’s just more beasts coming in he crosses his arms, growling a soft, warning growl. This is not a happy otter.

Yazeth: Deke and Nolan stiffen at the otter’s response and stand ready but make no move to intercept him. Yet. Dawn enters the room somewhat cautiously, but still with the manner of a quite unhappy mother. Kirrian possesses the grace and mystery of the seer vixens and she does not hesitate to enter the room, or even stand within two steps of Soquan.*

“You are the companion of the ferret,” she glances at Dawn, “Jozra.” She poses it as a statement. Not a question.

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods, his stance not changing. “Yes, I know Jozra, she’s a very good friend of mine.”

Yazeth: The vixen quirks an eyebrow and says wryly. “So it seems.” She gestures and the muscle power drag a pair of chairs to the center of the room. Kirrian sits primly in the padded one, carefully watching the otter. Upstairs, tense with suspense, Jozra quits her pretence and begins pacing the room, despite Dysa’s weak objections. If something goes down, she wants to be ready for it, and the nearly imperceptible bulges dispersed across her frame that contain her many small knives are a comfort.

Arrin Woodgreen: He hears the chairs being put down and he feels his way towards the one he didn’t hear her sit in.

Yazeth: While Soquan’s blindness may have been lost on Nolan and Deke, and even Dysa, Kirrian notices it almost as soon as Soquan begins to move. Seems he made a lucky guess at looking her directly in the eye when she entered the room. This information doesn’t jibe with what the vixen knows, but she doesn’t presume to know more than she does and it is because of that ‘wisdom’ that Kirrian doesn’t pass the incident off as a simple misunderstanding. “I have reports that you roughed up one of my girls. A rattess.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs, rubbing his temples tiredly. “She insulted me and I admit, I grabbed her, and I apologize if I hurt her, I was a little tense. She ran off before I could say anything more to her than what I already had.”

Yazeth: Kirrian once again quirks an eyebrow, rather surprised, honestly, at the otter’s candor. Unless he’s lying, of course, but generally liars deny everything. Anyway, Dysa’s been known to exaggerate. On to more pressing questions. “Then would you care to explain the welts on Jozra’s back?”

Arrin Woodgreen: He nods. “I’d be more than happy to. It’s quite simple really. We sparred last night before we got here. We weren’t exactly gentle with our blows.” He rolls up a sleeve to expose his arm which is bruised with a few welts.

Yazeth: The vixen expected as much. She sighs heavily. “So it seems that you were at least able to get her to agree to a story. From where I’m sitting, that bruise could just as easily have come from Jozra attempting to defend herself against your attack.” Which is almost exactly what actually happened, only not in the way Kirrian or any of the others are seeing it.

Arrin Woodgreen: He sighs and stands, pulling his shirt off over his head. He spreads his arms and rotates slowly, allowing the vixen to see the many, many bruises from the spar, of course as well as other old scars. “What do you say now?”

Yazeth: Kirrian leans back in her chair, scrutinizing the otter’s body. Not all vixens are healers and Kirrian tends to leave the tending of wounds to those with more knowledge of the subject and thus does not have the experience to determine how old these bruises and welts may be. “I say that this only proves your tendency for violence. For all I know you could be a notorious brawler – picking fights when you can.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He can’t help but bark a laugh. “I tend to avoid those as much as I can, once it gets to more than two beasts against me it gets kinda confusing when all you have to go by is sound and smell.”

Yazeth: The vixen narrows her eyes, not at all enamored with the otter. “If I may level with you, I have seen this Jozra and she hardly seems the type to hurt a fly, much less give you this drubbing that you credit her with.” She stands, a paw to her temple. Addressing the room now, rather than the otter directly she states, “I am far too tired to deal with this now and we must all be hungry.”

Kirrian glances at the otter before moving towards the door. “You shall stay here for tonight, at least until we can figure out what to do with you and this situation. I believe Sola and the cooks have a meal prepared for you, Nolan, and Deke, who shall keep you company.”

Arrin Woodgreen: He harrumphs and slumps back into his chair, his tone turning sarcastic. “Oh yay.”

Yazeth: Kirrian frowns rather severely at Soquan’s sarcasm and exits the room without another word. Meanwhile, upstairs Dysa is very quickly forming an opinion of Jozra that is quite the opposite of Kirrian’s. The rattess can almost taste the anger and frustration radiating from the ferret, though so far the Scorpion has had the sense to remain in her room, though as the minutes slide by without any word on the situation Jozra grows more agitated, seriously questioning the ‘sense’ in her present course of non-existent action.

Arrin Woodgreen: He grumbles darkly and crosses his arms, slinking further into the chair.

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