Source: Vojune on dA | Date: 9.23.18
As the sun rose higher in the pink sky, the smell of food being made in the city became more prominent in the air. Of course, Akira scampered immediately ahead of Eve, ‘leading’ them but not running so fast as to leave her behind. It was probably a couple minute trot, Akira watching curiously as humans and vayrons alike passed them on their way. As they reached the edges of town, where many of the lower class lived, they were of course greeted by small, excited children. Having seemingly learned nothing from being constantly captured for her looks, Akira was of course one to grin and lash her tail, swaying her head and ears and showing off to the children; before continuing on her way, to the thicker part of town, where the tantalizing smell of the market opening lured her near. It had been a while since they’d set out for the city, and, of course the two were oblivious to the being tracking them down. The woman, having just reached the sand dune where they had been standing minutes before, squinted out towards the city. Though normally she would look out of place here, she grabbed less.. ‘modern’ clothing in order to look like any other citizen of the continent. She wasn’t very unusual from any other humanoid that could be found here; from the waist up, a woman with dark brown skin and long, curly hair currently pulled back into a ponytail; two black horns curling from the top of her head, not fully grown, poking out from her hair. From the waist down, neatly trimmed fur darker than her skin, and legs shaped like a goat’s. In other words, a satyr. She was currently dressed in a white dress shirt, with a pack tied around her waist and a red shawl around her shoulders. Of course, she wasn’t specifically tracking the two just yet. She had no idea they even existed- she only had to find two rare vayron and take them back, somehow.
The speckled she-ron darted after her sibling, her floppy ears bouncing up and down as she scampered along in the larger female’s wake. She was far more passive as they entered the city, dipping her head and casting more wary, cautious glances about the alleys and walkways as they moved into the city limits. Upon being approached, she was certainly more shy than the bombastic yellow Vayron. She lowered herself behind her a tad, peering out from around the other’s neck or over her shoulder every now and them. Only occasionally, when a person on her side directly looked or murmured at her, would she muster a ginger smile and the occasional wave of her three separate tails. They were headed towards the poorer region’s market square. They had likely very well learned to evade the expensive and upper class levels of the city, for they had the luxury of guards and full policemenship. Already, the area was becoming busier, with multiple crowds of people and Vayrons walking about, chatting, or conducting business. As the two wove through the crowds, they occasionally garnered a glance or two. Evelyn hated that, she hated the murmur or nod towards them that occured every now and then. She’d sometimes pick up on a few statements like ‘wonder what lucky dog owns them’ or ‘what part of the palace do they come from’. She just grit her teeth and bore it though, after all, hunger was present in her stomach and an incredibly driving factor towards their current objective.
Akira, of course, wasn’t entirely oblivious to Eve’s discomfort. She slowed her pace a bit to walk beside her, keeping their flanks pressed as her tail flicked against her sister’s occasionally. There were a few empty alleyways that cut through into the back of the market, going behind some of the stands. Though most of the freshly baked food was in the center of the market, it would be easier to… ‘sneak’ in back there. Cutting through the crowd, she checked the empty alley thoroughly before leading them through it, and back out into the even busier street. The air here smelled like spices and bread, and the voices of laughter and salespeople were a constant buzz in the background. Akira slowed her pace to pick out some of the stands; the most appealing was butcher stands, of course, but there were also various street foods that smelled appetizing. Sadly, not enough of a meal that would be worth stealing. She nudged her head against Eve’s, offering her a smile. “What do you want? Maybe we could manage to snatch one of those big cuts of meat.” She murmured thoughtfully, absentmindedly admiring some of the more product-based stands, like jewelry and weapons and woodcarving. “This place is packed with cool stuff! I wish Aryth let us get jobs so we could actually /buy/ things.”
Evelyn naturally remained pressed closed to her sister, one of her tails occasionally curled around her legs or tucking low submissively. She scampered after her sister through the alleyway, eyeing the shadows cautiously and fanatically for other Vayron which could be lurking there. For, it was well-known fact that Thedale was littered with thieves. They certainly weren’t the only ones planning to steal lunch today. Ideas were racing through the young Vayron’s mind as they approached the backside of the busy street, and the noise once again grew in volume. It seems the city was likely celebrating the fall season’s festivals, because trade in the square seemed particularly riddled with autumn spices and vegetables from the far more lush region of Warrenfall. Not like the seasons were very evident here, the only noticeable difference was the time the sun went up and down. Instinctually, she ducked her head below her sister’s and peered out from under her chin upon being nudged, humming thoughtfully. “I… am unsure. I don’t really have a craving- but.. Maybe instead of nabbing some big piece of a meat everyone will notice us taking, we should steal money like.. Y’know quietly then buy the meat. Or just.. Each of us take something smaller…” She murmured carefully, in stark contrast to Akira’s more big-headed ideas. She didn’t think drawing attention to themselves was a very good idea whatsoever. It had proven to be awful in past events. Akira hummed thoughtfully at her sister’s take, carefully tucking her long tail in to avoid it being stepped on. Among the citizens shopping for food and supplies were definitely more upper-class people, likely looking at some of the higher quality or exotic spices and craftsmanship. She eyed a few of them, bobbing her head slightly. As she watched though, an idea formed in her head and, with a slow grin she nudged Eve’s neck. “I have an idea. C’mon.” Ducking and twisting through the crowd; although most people automatically gave vayrons a wide berth here- she lead the two forward until the market began to thin out into the central part of town, giving way to restaurants and a big, open central plaza with a statue in the middle. As she suspected, as more people came out to eat and get breakfast here, there was a human sitting up by the statue with an instrument in hand, and a jar on the ground that people would occasionally walk to and throw coins into. There was a small, wiry chaser sitting next to it, presumably the human’s companion. Akira stayed back a ways, before sitting down, leaning in towards Eve. “Okay. I’ll distract those two- and everyone else who might be watching. /You/ grab the tin, yeah? Should be enough money in there for us to buy a decent meal.” She leaned back, waiting for her opinion. She knew it wasn’t very smart to boast and draw attention too much, but frankly most thieves wouldn’t be waiting around a town square full of restaurants when there was a full market just nearby. Nor would they be captured out here in a big, open area.
As they approached the open square in one of the major centers of town, her eyes flitted up to the statue. It depicted The Three Lords of Thedale: Ricius, Marani and Luthrain. Likely a common sight here in Thedale, she looked up to the three familiar human faces with a dull expression. She never did understand why humans like to erect statues of themselves. It was such a prideful thing, in her eyes, and a waste of time. She hardly knew anyone who looked at a statue with legitimate reverence. Her gentle amber and green gaze flitted down to the pair of wanderers who had situated themselves at the base of the statue, and the dusty tan human was playing music. Upon hearing her sister murmur to her, she tilted her head to take in her words carefully. Her idea made her wheeze, “What- this. That isn’t stealing money /quietly/ Akira—” She whispered back frantically, scrunching up her nose. Evelyn shifted on her paws fretfully, eyeing the chaser. She.. hoped he was faster than them, frankly. She was a runner vayron, so she certainly was naturally, but she had seen chasers pop surprising amounts of speed or agility before. Upon realizing that her sister would likely not yield in her idea, she began to simply devise a way to make it /work/ rather than change the idea itself. With a more cunning glint in her eye, she glanced about the area they were in. There were many tables with people sitting a them. Of course, there were groups of people who looked akin to classic ‘do-gooders’ or ‘adventurers’, which she took a note to avoid. Common folk were scattered about, or some people who looked ‘slightly questionable’. While decent options, her eyes fixed upon a table of fair, evidently very wealthy maidens and their fabulous female Vayrons seated next to them at a different table, each chatting to one another in what could classically be assumed as gossip and such. Behind them were some empty tables and eventually alley along the side of the restaurant they were seated in front of. Bingo. She sighed softly. “Okay. I’m going to run that direction. So, meet me somewhere behind there. And if we can’t find each other back there I’ll just head back to the outskirts of the city on the side we came from and we can meet up there.” She murmured, nodding slowly and lifting onto her paws.
“It’ll be fine if you don’t get /caught!/” Akira hissed back, nudging her again with a grin before trotting off. Oh god. She hadn’t even thought of how to distract these people, yet; stupid! Of course she just ran into this without thinking. She glanced back at Eve, and at the two near the statue- before a small grin appeared on her face. Puffing out her chest, and trying to look as large as possible, she whipped her tail with a loud crack that resonated through the square before trotting towards the chaser, which had certainly seen her by now. “/I/ wanna sit there.” The musician didn’t pay her much mind, and of course didn’t understand her, but the look on this poor chaser’s face was too good to miss. The little thing squeaked, and pinned its ears back. “Wh-what?! No! There’s literally plenty of other places to sit on this same statue! And I- I’m here with him!” Akira’s ear flicked instinctually back towards Eve, but she didn’t look around, only leaned down and growled at the vayron again. “I /said/ I wanna sit there!” With a swivel, she used her side to knock the chaser out of his spot and promptly sat down there. This caused the man to stop playing, and look down with a frown. The chaser had scrambled forward a few feet, before yapping in outrage. “What the hell! What’s your problem?” The sound would, of course come out as loud angry barks to the rest of the people in the square.
Evelyn sighed, flashing Akira a bitter look. “You better stay safe too! Don’ get caught.” Affectionately, she nipped at the end of her long, winding tail as she passed by and darted off towards the two in the center. Evelyn didn’t waste any time getting into position. As soon as her sister left her side, she slunk around towards the back of the statue and hopped up upon the opposite side of the base. Carefully, as she heard Akira… ‘doing her thing’, she approached quietly and peered around the side of one of the Lord’s stone robes. She got the lovely view of her sister literally /butt bumping/ the chaser out of his claimed spot, and taking his place dramatically. She facepawed internally, but, used this distraction to the best of her advantage. She crept up behind her sister, using the larger female as cover from the chaser’s view before stepping out from behind her and extended her head. She fit the top of her jaw into the jar as to plug it up with her nose, and keep any coins from spilling out, and gripped it with her bottom jaw. Of course, the chaser was probably staring at her in confusion and mixed anger. She met his eyes, just, staring him dead in the face before fanning all three of her tails out, then kinking the two at the sides. Y’know. Essentially flashing him ‘the middle one’. Then she literally f l e w of the base of the statue with a massive leap, landing on the sandy pavement in the plaza before shooting off like a bullet in the direction of the two tables of lovely fair ladies. People instinctually jerked out of her path with complaints or yelps as she barreled towards the unsuspecting group. One of the Vayrons was the first to notice and she made a cry of alarm, which made the rest turn in surprise. With gasps and small screams, ladies and she-rons alike hopped up from the tables and stepped or scrambled away in shock and fear as the ‘crazy little girl’ shot towards them like a maniac. She rushed through the tables, kicking an empty chair in her wake as she galloped into the alley, not stopping to waste time looking back to see if the chaser was, well, chasing her.
Akira grinned triumphantly, ducking back behind the statue as the chaser blinked in shock, before shaking its head and howling after Eve. “H-how /dare/ you?! Get back here with that!” The poor guy shrieked, scrambling up after her in pursuit. The musician had also surged to his feet by now, and made as if he was going to chase too; before, of course, realizing he wasn’t going to catch up to either of them. He looked around for the other vayron, who had obviously been in assistance, spotting Akira behind the statue and scrambling towards her. She ducked away from him, grinning as she hit him upside the head with the back of her tail, before dashing off out of the square that her and her sister had left in… quite a hilarious mess. She skidded to a halt after a few moments, though, trying to decide between giving chase after the other two through the alley, or simply go back to the marketplace and wait for Eve to meet up. Ehhh… marketplace. She’d go hunt for her if she didn’t show up after a while. Good sistering, Akira.
Evelyn darted into the alleyway in an great hurry, kicking up dust until her paws hit the cool, shaded stone that lay within the more sheltered path. She knew she had a decent head start on the guy, however she also knew she was a child. He’d outpace her in the long run, so she needed to find somewhere to hide, and quick. Her eyes frantically scanned the outlets lining the alley. Eventually, her eyes caught onto the thin stretch directly behind the restaurant the fickle group of women were at. Likely, a grosser, smellier area where edible trash was discarded. Likely? No, confirmed. She could smell the waste from here. That was perfect, it would conceal her scent. However, the moment she ducked down there, she frowned. It was… more open than she’d thought it was going to be. There was only a single large bin where trash was being kept, and it didn’t provide her much cover. Her eyes flickered to the end of the pass this way. She could make it, but not before the chaser reached here and saw her duck down the other way. In which she certainly wouldn’t have enough time to hide on the other side. With his pawsteps thundering closer, her chest tightened up and she had to make the split-second decision to run or hide. She opted to hide, by both her nature and logic. She shied behind the trash bin and set down the jar further behind it, praying to the stars that her grey coat would blend in well enough to pass the view of a panicked chaser. As he grew nearer and nearer, her own fear began to bubble in her chest and throat, and the short fur along her back stood on end. “Please don’t see me- good lord- please don’t see m-” A cat grabbed her tongue the minute she saw his squat form turn down the pass. He was panting and loping around at a steady rate. As a last minute decision, she decided to turn her back so that her eyes weren’t showing, since they caught light. She shifted to turn, and was completely still. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest as she heard him get closer, closer, closer, and then… farther? Had he really not seen her? She didn’t dare move, until she no longer heard his pawsteps. Only then did she peek around behind her. Then about. How had he not seen her? Was he blind? He had to be! He was just blind- she grinned and turned around- wait. Her eyes grew wide… as she realized.. she couldn’t see herself. She looked down at her paws, chest, body. None of it was there. She began wheezing- what happened to her- why was she- oh. There was a strange flicker, almost like a mirage, and she saw her own pelt begin to ripple back into visibility. It was such a strange… peculiar thing. She squinted in shock, looked about slowly, and took a few deep breaths to compose herself.Akira herself, having just entered the market again; thankfully no one here had noticed the commotion in the square. She slowed to a trot, her eyes tracing the many exits and roads leading into this area. Maybe one of them linked back to the one Eve had dodged into? Although she’d been away from her sister before, she was quickly overcome with concern. Maybe this was a stupid idea? What if Evelyn got caught? The fur on the back of her neck prickled, and without thought she swerved into one of the alleys close to the square, that she could tell weren’t dead ends. It’s not like Evelyn would be able to find her very easily in the crowded marketplace, anyways; it would be quicker to seek each other out. Ears and eyes swerving, Akira stalked cautiously through the alleyways that connected to the backs of restaurants, stores, and homes. She took a look around, after reaching a corner, and tentatively chuffed, “Evelyn? You down here?”
After a moment of steadying her breath and registering… exactly what happened, she told herself it was best to scram. Who knew when that chaser was going to come back, and what he’d do if he did. She doubted she could pull off such a trick again. Slowly, she leant down and picked up the jar in the same fashion she had before, squinting through the foggy glass and padding quickly down the back road. She was already headed out, given the fact she didn’t think Akira would have followed her with a chaser on her heels. So, she was surprised when, a minute or so later, she distantly heard her sister’s voice. Her flopped ears pricked up a bit, and she couldn’t exactly respond with a jar in her mouth, so she made a few unintelligible words in response before picking up her pace and trotting towards where she heard the sound. Eventually, she peered around a corner and spotted her sister. She was hard to miss with that electric yellow pelt and seemingly endless tail. She lifted her head in relief, smiling and emitting a few giddy whimpers as she trotted to meet her. She showed off the jar a bit, shaking it to rattle the coins within it. It seems they had their lunch for the day, certainly. It felt heavy enough to have a couple hundred krones in it, certainly enough to feed a pair of pups such as themselves.
CP Counter
Corresponding Land +1 Added Reos + 2 (Evelyn 6626) 3502 words + 35 Total = 38