First day in a new place (Liar)

[Kit]

60th Spring, 512
Location: Eastern Quarter

Kit felt completely lost. Not because he was lost (you had to have a destination before you could be lost for real...right?). He just didn't know where to go. He was torn between trying to find a good place for a den (the streets were too well-kept and made of stone, there was no soft dirt anywhere), and trying to find something to eat (in sharp contrast to Sunberth, there was no food-smell anywhere, the humans here apparently did not feel inclined to dump scraps in back alleyways).

So it was that the skunk with the appearance of a young man wandered aimlessly through the streets, bereft of sense, direction, or purpose. his worn sackcloth clothing looked to be sized for a much younger boy, and upon looking at the man, it would be easy to assume he'd never heard of a bath. He carried nothing but a heavy pouch, which he carried close to his chest. This held all that was left of the coins his mother had given him; it was a small fortune, but all he knew was that he should keep them safe.

[Liar]

He found himself in long corridor of a road, filled at the height of the afternoon with a dense crowd of people and their fine, colorful clothes. Similar fabrics swathed the buildings themselves in strips of bright gold and rich shades of blue and violet, leaving even the vibrant sun a pale smear in the sky. The people buffeted him as he moved between them, each presuming to have a better place to be, all but ignoring the poorly dressed youth who was probably just a terrible messenger slave. All but one man. Dark-eyed and bright-faced, he waved Kit an invitation, a wide smile stretched across his face. “Hey!” He stepped forward to stop him, offering a gracious hand to the kelvic’s shoulder blade in a gentle attempt to lead him out of the crowd. “What are you doing in a place like this, dressed like that? You’re too slow to be a slave. Did you come from the docks?” He didn’t let him answer. He hopped to the side of the road and leaned against an occupied piece of a painted wall, covered in fading and shipping depictions of yellow coins and prosperous trade. Glancing up from where his eyes had been fixed on the purse in Kit’s hand, he mentioned immediately, “What have you got in that bag? Here.” He opened his own and retrieved a generous handful of salted peanuts and oats, holding it out. “Some of mine for some of yours?”

[Kit]

Kit had been feeling extremely uncomfortable, surrounded on all sides by people. It went against everything in his nature, but he just couldn't must the energy to move away. He was so hungry; in Sunberth, when he'd been hungry enough he had found places to buy food, but such stalls were surprisingly scarce here, for reasons he could not fathom. How was he supposed to eat? No one left food on the street for him to scavenge, no one had any food to buy... he had no other ways of getting food...

He did not resist when the strange man led him off of his aimless path. He felt no threat from the man, and in fact was grateful to be taken away from the press of the crowd. His eyes brightened when the foodstuffs were revealed, and one sniff was almost too much for him to resist. He was so hungry...

The man wanted to trade. Kit understood, this was just like the markets back in Sunberth. He knew how to deal with this. The difference being, he was carrying ALL of his shiny rocks, and not just a few at a time. Hugging the bag to his chest, he turned his shoulder toward the man, protecting his bag of money. The only thing he had from his mother. He carefully withdrew just a couple of the small copper-rimmed rocks. Closing the bag, he turned back to the man, and held out the hand with the coppers, wordlessly accepting the exchange. His mouth was already watering at the prospect of wonderful food...

[Liar]

The man’s bright eyes darkened, wide like shock. He glanced around to see that no one was looking and, glaring, took the money briskly from the foreigner’s hand. With a low huff, he tossed them into the street, where they rolled between soft-slippered feet before they were gobbled up by the scrabbling fingers of beggars and playing children. “I knew you weren’t from around here,” he said, still staring almost forlornly at the cobblestones where the coins had since disappeared. “Do you know the punishment for paying for food?” When he turned back to the confused youth at his side, he was licking his lips of a greedy idea. He was, perhaps, too quick to forgive the apparent slight. He offered a play at hesitance, and then he said, “Ah... Of course you don’t. Don’t worry about it, then. You will learn.” He gulped down the contents of his handful and, as he chewed, retrieved another to give to Kit. With a sloppy, oat-stuffed smile, he added, “And I know the best place to teach you.”

[Kit]

Kit stared in dismay as the strange man knocked the coins away from him. Punished for paying for food? Was he supposed to steal it? His mind whirled at how backwards this new place was. How was he ever going to survive if none of the rules made sense?

Then the man gave him food, and Kit felt a little better. Free food always made everything better. The food-giver was being so helpful, maybe he could help Kit make sense of this strange place. If he had help, maybe he could survive a little bit longer.

At the man's offer, he responded, "Really? You can help me? Everything here is so confusing..." He gave the man such a lost expression, anyone with a soul would be hard-pressed to resist. Kit was ready to listen to anyone who would give him a sense of direction.

[Liar]

“Of course,” the man replied, smiling vaguely. “How do you like gardens?” And then he moved into the thin crowd, waving that he follow. His dark hair was just like that of everyone else’s, his bright and loose-fitting clothes catching the breeze that moved on every body. It might have been difficult to distinguish him from the others, but he looked back often to help the poor foreigner along. He even waited when his follower strayed too far, kind and eager. When they finally stopped, it was in front of a shop that did not look like the others. Instead of an off-red face with some mural or ward painted on it, glass jutted out from the stone around it. Behind the glass stood a cloud of bright green plants, and it was hard to see beyond them. Hesitantly, almost nervously, he opened the door for Kit and gestured that he enter. There was a fountain on the other side, pouring pleasantly behind a fragrant drapery of thriving flora. “Wait here,” he said. “And, uh... wash your face. I’ll hold your bag for you.” A hand shot out at him, keen and clammy. “So it doesn’t get wet.” Behind him, a thin woman approached. Her hair was slick, her clothes crisp, and her red lips smirked over folded arms. She stood behind Kit’s new friend, but was in full view of the kelvic himself. She said nothing.

[Kit]

By the time the reached the building with all the plants, Kit's mood had improved considerably. He had been fed (a little), and he had made a new friend in this strange place. He was feeling safer already. A dopey grin was forming, and when told to wash his face, Kit was happy to comply. He was a bit hesitant about letting someone else handle his bag of shiny rocks, but surely his new friend would give them back. He was just concerned about getting them wet, like he said.

He dunked his whole head into the fountain, scrubbing the dirt and grime from his head, and further tangling his already matted mess of long black hair. When he resurfaced (splashing water all over the floor), he sniffed, and through the almost overpowering scent of flowers, he smelled the woman standing behind his new friend.

"Hi! Are you a new friend too? I've never seen this many plants inside a building before. Do you have anything to eat?"

OOCFeel free to have people make Kit get his hair cut

[Liar]

A wisp of contempt floated over the woman’s face, but as her grip loosed on her arm so did the disparagement seem to pass. Her eyes rose from the spray of water on the tiles beside her feet, wandering over the newcomer’s face and body in close scrutiny. A long moment passed before she deigned to answer. “Perhaps.” Her sharp gaze skipped from Kit to the other man, to the heavy bag and back to Kit. “Is that yours?” With or without an answer, she stole it from his anxious fist and inspected its contents. A sigh later, she remarked, “Good work. If you’re here when I’m done, I might find some reward for you.” Kit’s friend was clearly less than thrilled with the prospect, but he did not seem inclined to argue. He gave a weak nod and leaned impatiently against the fountain’s edge. With a short glare at his slouching shoulders, the woman clicked one heel back and waved toward some unseen person in the shadows behind the leaves. Almost immediately, a meek young girl appeared beside her. She had thin blonde hair and a pretty face, but she did not lift it to meet Kit’s. She stared at her delicate hands, and jumped when the dark-haired woman spoke. “This is Sore Knees. She will make you... presentable,” she sneered. “You may follow.” Then she turned on her heel and disappeared into the shop, with the slight girl following hastily after. Should he hesitate for even a moment, the man who brought him would nudge him along by his sopping shoulder. “Well? Follow.”

[Kit]

Kit shifted anxiously when the woman grabbed his bag of money. He was quick to assure her that it belonged to him, nodding vigorously when she asked. He wondered he would be getting it back.

He peered curiously at the shy girl, and smiled at the prospect of another new friend. He wondered why the woman called her Sore Knees. Her knees looked fine to Kit. Maybe they were sore when the woman met her, and the name just stuck in her head. It made perfect sense to Kit, who often named the creatures he met based on whatever stood out most strongly to identify them.

When the females walked away, Kit hesitated, wondering if he should leave his friend behind. But the man told him to follow, so Kit shrugged and skipped off after the other two.

"Where are we going? Is it somewhere fun? Ooh, I hope there's food. I'm hungry."

[Liar]

“Are you?” The woman seemed intrigued. “Good to know.” They turned into a hall and entered a room that had to be opened with a key. There was a large brass tub at the center of it, low but wide. A mirror stood beside a large wardrobe to the left, and against the other wall sat a table with some food scraps. The woman approached it, considering it, then grasped its edge and leaned. In the meantime, the slave girl began to pump water from a wall spout at the corner of the room into a bucket, which she used to fill the tub. The taller woman waived to it. “You’re filthy,” she observed. “Take off your clothes and get in. You will have something decent to wear once you’re clean.” When she finished filling the tub, Sore Knees knelt beside it. She rubbed a bar of soap against a horsehair brush and took to scrubbing Kit harshly and thoroughly. The standing woman folded her arms and spoke above the ringing rasps of her slave at work. “Tell me, Hungry. Do you have any useful skills, other than whining about the state of your stomach?”