Completed Warm Yourself By The Fire, Stranger [Ardan][abandoned]

[Engghaen]

The girl stared at him, awkwardly. What was he doing? Was it that big of a deal? It was just a statue.. Well, sure, it looked great, and expensive, but... She shrugged. What was his meaning in all of this?

She walked after them curiously. Those parsnips could wait. She hoped the man and his... Father, grandfather, related... Person wouldn't mind and wouldn't notice. She stopped right behind them, less than an armlength reach. It wasn't hard to disappear in this crowd, she noticed. It would be easy.

[Ardan]

The thief looked around, and calmly walked past. The statue disappeared into his cloak, replaced by a few gold coins. It was finely crafted, and deserved payment. Not nearly, it's worth, but any onlookers wouldn't notice that. He observed the statue. Slowly, he realized something. It was a panther, fashioned to look exactly like him, and his grandfather. "Hello, Ardan," greeted a deep voice from behind, before he was stuck in the back and knocked down.

[Engghaen]

The girl stopped walking, causing her to bash into someone else. She murmled a response and walked on. Did she miss anything..? Slowly, she noticed that the statue was gone... Wait.. What was happening here?

This had cost her some distance and she walked quickly in their direction. Her hand shot in front of her mouth and she turned to look at the nearest stand. It was one with all kinds of hides. She lowered her hand, thanked the salesman and turned back to where Ardan had been standing.

[Ardan]

Ardan was brought to his feet forcefully by a large man. His grandfather was being held by another man, and a third was standing between them. "Finally," said the man. "We found you." He smiled malevolently as a crowd began to form.

[Engghaen]

Instead of staying away, as the girl knew was smart, she walked towards them. Maybe too close. Hiding on the other side of the stands made her view smaller, but she didn't want to risk getting too close. She walked past the salesmen, now confused about what she was doing. Eventually she stopped, half-underneath a stand, but she could see what was going on. Three men seemed to be almost mad at the couple... There was a lot she didn't know about this guy, but what this was about, and the statue... She shook her head, confused. Then she started cursing herself. She was late, she couldn't help this guy, she didn't have parsnips yet and probably she'd take the wrong things home and her father would get mad at her. If she would... No. Yelling would be stupid. But... In some way, she was stupid.

On her loudest voice she yelled: "Hey, take someone of your own length!"

[Ardan]

The third man aimed a bow and the girl faster than Ardan could react. "Shut up, whore, or you're next!" he snarled. "Just stay back, and let us do our job." Ardan hated brutes like these. Before anything could happen, he broke free of the large man's hold and growled. They laughed at his attempt to appear threatening. "Please, just stay back," pleaded Ardan, looking at the girl. "I don't want anyone to get hurt. "Oh, look here, boys!" exclaimed one of the brutes. "Thief's soft for a little lady!"

[Engghaen]

Her heart was stuck in her throat. She was not a whore! She froze. See, you are stupid. What did you put yourself into?

"If you don't want anyone to jump in, then don't try to knock someone out on the middle of the square!"

She growled softly, realising there was not much she could do. But she couldn't stay here and just wait, could she?

[Ardan]

"Oh, you're a feisty one," grinned one of the larger brutes. He approached the girl, a malevolent smile on his face. He towered over her, an axe over his shoulder. "Tell me, little girl. Are you with that bastard over there?" He pointed to Ardan, who looked to be barely holding himself back. "If you are, you could do much better than a petty thief." --------- OC: Do you see where this is going?

[Engghaen]

She had trouble looking him in the eyes, because it was making her angry.

"No, I'm not. But I wouldn't mind if I was. And I don't care if he's a thief. It's his problem."

A shiver ran down her spine and her boring, but smart voice told her to stop. It was stupid. The rest of her told her to go on. It counted on him not doing anything to her, which was ridiculous, she realised.

[Ardan]

The man was about to open his mouth again, but his leader made him stop. "If they're not related in any way, then she's not a target!" he shouted. "We have rules!" "And if she's lying?" "She's not!" roared Ardan. "I've never even seen her before! Probably just some brat thinks she's a hero!" He appeared angry, but looked at the girl apologetically. "Of course," replied the leader. "I believe you. Besides, I can see that you've not bonded yet." He approached the thief, who looked at him with hateful eyes. "Ten years ago, we attacked a caravan. The people were a family of thieves and assassins. Scum, who needed to be exterminated. We eliminated most of them, but an old man made off with an infant. "And now you're here, carrying the family business. We're here to finish this."