[The Bazaar] Not Really an Animal Person (Sethelon)

[Taryn]

The Bazaar-- though it was in the locale of his childhood home, and not some other part of the castle, Taryn had no qualms about returning to it every now and again. So many people came to the Bazaar, merchants from all over the world, and customers of every shape, size, color, and race. On top of that, many of the booths had simple inner-workings that served as a fantastic playground, and a fantastic highway, for young, adventurour Pycons.

To avoid the risk of being trampled by the aimless footsteps of shoppers, Taryn kept mostly to the undersides of the tables, only occasionally resurfacing to get a grasp for as to where he was. He did such a thing now, hoisting himself over the edge of the table and clambering onto its top.

Taryn now found himself in the company of a host of figurines, most of which seemed to be carved of glass or gems of some sort-- none stood taller than he, and they bore semblance to a wide array of creatures and objects. Taryn moved amongst them reverently, hands clasped firmly behind his back and his face speculative. For a creature that was crafted of ceramic material, their detailing seemed grossly unrefined, and quite unimpressive.

However, as he stood there in amongst what could be deamed as his "kin", a woman in nice clothes came over and picked up one of these statues, surveying it and commenting on how precious it was to her friend. The friend agreed and made an absent grasp for Taryn. Taryn let out of squeak of alarm, but managed to maneuver himself out of the woman's grasp, crossing into the safety of a jewelry display. The woman looked on dumbly, as if to look for the statue that had just stood before her, and then shrugged it off as the two of them continued their search.

OOCAs this is in the Great Bazaar, there would obviously be more people-- so, I will allow for more to join once the thread gets rolling, just shoot me a PM and I'll give you the "go ahead" or the "no-go" based on where we are. In other words, after a certain point, I'll constitute this as "open"

[Sethelon]

28, Spring of 511 A.V. Such a long day. Sometimes, on days that follow no pattern, a small bird shows up at the bazaar. The creature doesn't draw tremendous attention, but all the shopkeepers who reign over particularly luminescent goods know it well. A sharp Magpie, far cleverer than a normal bird, and focused to a fault, would perch itself quietly at a vantage point of some shiny objects. It was hardly motionless, yet its eyes always followed the glimmering jewelry, or maybe those fine silver mirrors... Such a long day. Seth didn't speak. In fact, he'd find it rather difficult to form words. He was a Magpie, after all. No, these words were entirely in his head. Today had been tough. Mostly, the day had been spent as a cheeky Magpie, occasionally turning over a stone in search of shinies. No luck. On particularly long days, the Magpie named Sethelon would perch at the bazaar and watch the people go by. He would watch the little ladies in their dresses gasp over even prettier dresses, tough looking men testing weapons, and not-so-tough men testing out weapons to appear tough. But most of all, he watched the interesting wares of the shopkeepers, as they watched him. They knew, of course, that a Magpie is bad luck. That a Magpie would steal anything it could fit in its beak. That Magpies are smart. Today's perch was a stand adorned with a variety of figures made from interesting materials. Glass, precious stones, and ooohhh, is that silver...? The small bird shook its head. Was one of those figures moving? A woman motioned to pick it up, but it deftly escaped her grasp, moving out of reach and sight. The detail was exquisite. Ceramic, though? How cute. Sethelon let out a harsh chirp in amused delight. Edging to get a better look, the bird peered into a jungle of jewelry. Usually these trinkets alone would keep his attention, but he was in search of a greater treasure. With a light peep, Seth hopped down from the upper reaches of the stand, and progressed towards the gemstone forest to find the little creature he had spied.

[Taryn]

Taryn peered out around the strings of glass-blown beads, which cast iridescent colors upon the table's surface. At least from here, people wouldn't mistake him for a statue and try to grab him. He began to weave his way across the table, through the jewelery and towards its edge once again. The sooner he was out of the line of vision, the better, for he didn't want this unfamiliar vendor to catch him.

As if by the thought, the shopkeeper came forward and seemed to notice some movement within his display. He was a large, intimidating man with shrewd, greedy eyes and a stony expression. Though his gaze was not trained on the Pycon, but rather on a bird that was in his proximity, the man's booming voice was enough to startle him into action.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing!? Get outta there! Scram!"

Oh, yikes, I've been caught, Taryn thought with a bolt of fear. Usually, the vendors didn't mind the presence of the small creatures, but there was the occasional one that disliked them. Taryn turned quickly and began to backtrack in the opposite direction, his little legs pumping as fast as they could go.

It was then that he came face-to-face with the monster.

Had Taryn known that this were a Kelvic, he might not have been so panicked, but he generarlly regarded animals with unease. They were unpredictable, and generally mistook small, moving things for either toys or food. He didn't like the look of the claws or its long, black beak. Taryn now realized that the shopkeeper hadn't been shooing him, he'd been shooing the bird. Taryn turned around once again, weaving through the display of necklaces and into the clear, across rings and broaches embedded in soft velveteen rolls of fabric. The edge of the table was so close, but progress was slow, courtesy of the rolls of fabrid beneath his feet.

Taryn reached the edge of the table and jumped, free-falling for only a moment before landing shakily on his feet. He sank to his knees, looking skyward from the protection of being between two stalls. That had been really close.

OOCForgot the date! Oops!

[Sethelon]

Moving quickly, the bird came to the part of the stand where all things were covered in velvet. The cloth gave the jewels a nice, cared-for look, Sethelon had a bad habit of snagging his claws on the fabric. Stepping carefully, as to avoid said situation, yet still had to shake his thin legs once or twice to escape the quicksand seas of fabric. Then, with an almost unholy twinge, the booming voice of god laid siege to Seth's ears. "Oi, what do you think you're doing!? Get outta there! Scram!" Then, as if led by the hand of fate, the very thing Seth had been looking for moved straight into his reach. Tilting his head in curiosity, the bird could now see very well the extreme detail of the creature. He had no idea what made the little guy tic, but seeing the way it moved and the depth of intricacy, Seth no longer had doubts of whether it was alive or just a clever magic trick. "Brrrrrr?", he cooed, his eyes glinting with the avian equivalent of a devious grin. The panicked look on the little man's face filled Seth with glee. He had no intentions of hurting the little guy, he only wanted to get a really good look. As the little man turned to run, however, Seth was forced to take drastic measures. Leaping forwards, the bird spread his wings and thrusted upwards violently all at once, potentially scattering jewelry with his 23 inch wingspan. He rushed forward through the air just above the table, seeing the small man dive between two stalls. The space between them was too small for Seth to fit through, so he landed there, one foot on each stall, looking between them with his beak in the gap, trying to locate the small creature.

[Taryn]

Taryn took the moment to catch his breath, still bent over in a kneeling position. A shadow eclipsed the opening up above, and Taryn lifted his gaze towards the mouth of the chasm. The bird stood straddling the two stalls, trying to poke its little head in between the stalls, to get at the Pycon down below. Thankfully, it was too big, but unfortunately, it was fairly pent on getting at him. Birds weren't usually this stubborn. That meant that this bird was intelligent, which made it all the more dangerous.

Taryn rose slowly, hoping that by moving steadily, it wouldn't notice him moving. With the same calculation in his steps, he moved out of the shaft of light that show down upon him, into the shadows of the next stall. Once out of the light, he sprung into motion. He didn't know which way he was headed, if it were toward the exit or deeper into the Bazaar, but direction wasn't a concern. His only concern was distance, and losing the bird.

Taryn ran down the length of the stall, only emerging from their protection to cross their entrances. Most of the stalls weren't as well-decorated as the one with the trinkets, so not all of them were draped with swaths of fabric. Taryn was able to see that he was headed towards the entrance, towards where the Bazaar spilled out into the streets, and towards where he lived. He was crossing into familiar territory. He skidded to a halt as he emerged into the sunlit, cobblestone path, deviating from the string of stalls and darting towards a bush. From the protection of the bush, he paused to catch his breath, for he was breathing quite raggedly.

Beat that, bird, he thought triumphantly, letting out an exhausted, triumphant laugh. If only for a moment, he thought that he'd outrun the bird. For that moment alone, Taryn thought he'd been victorious, and so he collapsed in the soil in which the bush was planted, laughing and sighing. Boy, that had been fun, if not completely terrifying.

[Sethelon]

Tick, tick, click, tack, tack. Seth's beak rapped against the sides of the gap as he tried to find the little man. Then, motion, the creature left the sunlight in favor of the darkness under the stalls. Letting out a cry of disappointment, the magpie darted from the stall, flying alongside the stalls in the same direction of the little man. Where is he? Such small legs shouldn't be able to move so quickly..." he pondered. Flying quickly, yet not to fast as to be unable to maneuver, Seth's sharp, avian eyes scanned the stalls for the clay man. He was having absolutely no luck in this endeavor. Circling the stalls near the entrance, where he believed the small man to be, Seth began to turn over in his head the different avenues of escape. He decided that, unless the creature could fit through a crevice somewhere, it would eventually have to use the exit. With a sudden flap of the wings, Seth was no longer performing smooth circles around the area. He broke away from that routine and made his way to the area where the Bazaar meets the roadways beyond. Landing gracefully at the entrance way, Seth stood as far from the passing people as he could, while still having a good view of the whole exit. I'll find you... he thought. OOCI think I messed up the date. >.>

[Taryn]

OOCThe only rule about dates is that they must be within the current season, and that days don't matter so long as they line up in timekeeping. Your date's fine.

From his vantage point below the bush, Taryn spied the magpie come swooping towards the road, landing at the entrance way. It faced out from the Bazaar, towards the street that left the castle.

Towards where Taryn was hiding.

Taryn was careful not to move, scarcely even breathing. He was small enough to go unnoticed, small enough for a magpie to miss if he kept very, very still. There was only so long that he'd be able to sit still, though, for he was quite incapable of sitting still for very long.

Taryn peered up, and then glanced around for options. Perhaps if he crept along the base, and then stole out the other side. He turned back around, to survey the bird's locale.

And came face-to-face with a cat.

"Dear Harameus, this is not my day," Taryn squeaked. He began to backtrack slowly, trying to distance himself from that cats' fangs and teeth. Though Taryn had a small problem with birds, he had a much greater problem with cats. They were murderous little bastards, the ones that most often attacked Pycon.

The cat lunged into motion, as did Taryn. He ducked under a few small branches to avoid the swiping claws, and then began scaling higher in the bush, trying to escape the cat as it wedged its way deeper and eeper into the bush. The bird certainly would've noticed the cat's antics, the jostling of the bush and, if listening closely enough, Taryn's shouts.

"No, bad cat!" Taryn shouted, ducking around the main part of the bush and climbing higher as the cat swiped and growled menacingly, "Go home! Go find something else to terrorize."

This was really not his day.

[Sethelon]

Head swiveling back and forth in order to properly scan the area, Seth stood as a sentinel at the Bazaar's exit. It was certainly an interesting area, always bustling with life. Currently, he had no sight of the tiny man, and he feared that he may have lost him completely. Then, motion from a bush not tremendously far from Seth's position. A cat was pawing curiously at the plant, trying to get at something within. At first, he paid the creature no mind, thankful that it was more interested in the bush than trying to make a meal out of a certain magpie. It was strange however, that a cat might randomly be so interested in a bush. Hearing, suddenly, a very small voice screaming from the bush, Seth realized the gravity of the situation. That sneaky little man had managed to totally evade him and hide in the shrubbery. Apparently, he wasn't the only animal out to see the clay man closer. The cat was trying valiantly to get at Seth's prize. Oh no. That mindless beast is going to damage him. Seth thought. He would have none of that. The feline was not about to damage his prize. Spreading his wings and launching from his spot all in one fluid, habitual motion, Seth shot through the air like an arrow, aiming himself for the cat's flank. As he approached, he began to peck furiously at the beast, and swipe with his claws, flapping about the cat in that frantic way that birds often utilize to defend their territories.

[Taryn]

The cat suddenly let out a yowl, turning back on itself and thrashing, turning claw and fang towards some attacker unseen by Taryn. For a moment, he secretly feared that the cat had gotten a hold of his leg-- it would have been more of an inconvenience, than much else, and was glad to find that he was all in one piece. No, the cat was actually being attacked by an unseen attacker.

The cat desperately attempted to fight back but, upon seeing that it was outmatched, it gave up and darted off, barrelling towards one of the tables. Taryn waited, falling into silence. It had gone very quiet, only the murmurs of the marketplace penetrating the air. He moved silently, maneuvering around the bush's main trunk to get a better view of what had chased the cat away. Not seeing anything due to the thick foliage, Taryn began to descend. He kept to the safe side of the trunk, though, ever-cautious lest the cat come darting back.

His feet met the soil greatfully, and he picked under a low twig back towards the opening. Taryn kept to the leaves, squinting into the light from the shadowed place in which he had hidden. Had a shopkeeper heard his shouts and chased the cat off? Or some kindly soul?

"Hello?" he tried uncertainly, still holding a few leafs in front of him, and standing a good hand's length into the bush. Perhaps it had been a pure coincidence that the cat had darted off.

[Sethelon]

Relieved that the cat didn't put up a true struggle, Seth stood before the bush, tiny, avian chest heaving. The creature had not managed to injure him directly, but he did have an interesting ache in the Magpie equivalent of the ankle. Otherwise, albeit a bit flustered, Seth was intact. After taking a brief moment to account for himself and preen a few feathers, the magpie peered into the bush, tilting his head. He was worried, now, that the cat had managed to damage the little man, or worse, kill him outright. There did not seem to be blood on the ground, but Seth wondered if a clay being even possessed blood. Just as the silence was becoming too much for Seth to bear, he heard faint rustling from the bush. Ecstatic that the figurine was alive and moving, he took an impatient step forward, but stopped, not wanting to spook the creature. When he heard a small voice attempt to identify him, Seth peeped audibly, followed by a loud squawk, one not of fear or annoyance, but of acknowledgment and relief. Tilting his head further, Seth moved forward and poked his beak into the shrubbery. He hoped to identify himself and dispel any worry that he was going to attack. His posture was as non-invasive and humble as he could manage.