[Zeltivan Docks] Awkward Reunion (Tock)

[Kaeson Dakano]

2nd Day of Summer, 512 AV

"HELP, HE--," Kaeson yelled, his plead cut short as he sank below the murky waves. Desperately, Kaeson thrashed his limbs about -- his hands turning circular in a ridiculous fashion, his legs kicking viciously at the water below him. Kaeson was tiring quickly, but despite his attempts the water's surface seemed just as far as ever -- the opaque waters only allowing a hint of sight of the world he might soon be leaving behind.

Closing his eyes, Kaeson forced his arms to spin faster, kicked harder in an attempt to propel himself through the water's surface. If only he could take another breath, if only he hadn't wasted his last one, if only he hadn't fallen off the docks...

It had all happened so fast.
...
Kaeson had come early to the docks, in an effort to catch Syna in her rising glory. He had sold his small cottage so he could continue to stay in Zeltiva, so he could continue to learn -- but the dorms provided little in terms of vistas and views. The dorm he currently resided in provided a small window, overlooking one of the universities many gardens. While the garden was beautiful in its own right, Kaeson longed for the views of the city's port – the view that had given him reason to fall in love with the famous port city, the same view his grandmother had spoken so fondly of.

Waking with Leth still dominate in the sky, Kaeson quickly dressed and left the university for the docks. He had passed through the marketplace with a familiar fortune teller's tent, as well as the cottage he had come to call home. Kaeson had passed workers on their way to their families or to their prospective jobs. Upon reaching the docks, Kaeson was glad to see he had made it and sat off one of the docks, waves teasing his feet.

Kaeson had been too enthralled by Syna's dazzling beauty to notice two men running toward him, one chasing the other naming him thief. "THIEF! THIEF!" the slower of the two man cried, not noticing as he knocked over a cart as he chased his thief. They were both too far to hear a young man's cry for help as he slipped between the waves.
...
Succesfully pushing through the waves once more, Kaeson yelled for help. This time his cry rang true, if no one heard him, it would surely by his last.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

EDITThis thread was written before I found out Tock broke her hand. Revisions have been made to account for that. Tock had had a bad night last night. She'd been up most of the night crying. Between worrying about Cutty, and the incident at the memorial service, she had been emotionally worn out and raw. She hadn't been able to sleep, so she'd come down to the docks to sit by the water. Being near the water reminded her of the day she'd left home. It was liberating. Freeing. It relaxed her. Made her feel safe. The water had taken her away from her Da. Away from her past. She'd ended up falling asleep down at the docks. She was leaning against the shack she'd helped build, her head cradled against the damp wood. Early in the morning, she woke to the sound of shouting. "Thief! Thief!" She awoke and immediately jumped to her feet. She saw a man chasing a thief across the docks, away from a boat. Likely the thief had taken something valuable off that boat. Tock watched for just a moment, then her eyes narrowed. Back home in Sunberth, no one helped you when you were in trouble. They just ignored you, and minded their own business. Some people just didn't care. Others might want to help, but were afraid of bringing your trouble onto themselves. It was a vile, selfish place. Not at all like Zeltiva, where people seemed determined to help each other, no matter what the cost. Tock growled and rushed forward, pulling Grippy off his holster at her hip. She thrust him forward, touching her finger against the spot on the handle to extend the metal arm. It shot out, and she flicked her thumb against the back of the handle to close the metal claw on the back of the man's belt, snagging him. She then braced her feet and yanked back. The man cried out as his momentum was cut short and he was pulled off his feet, falling to the ground. Bracing herself, Tock retracted Grippy, dragging the man across the dock towards her. As soon as he was within reach, she stepped forward and slammed her right elbow into his face repeatedly. Her hand ached from the sudden movement, the freshly broken bone still sending sharp pain through her despite the help of a healer. "Give it back!" she screamed in his face. The man shoved her back, sloppily swinging his hand backwards to smack her in the face. She fell back, and the thief tried to escape, but Grippy was still attached to his belt. Tock kept a firm grip on her beloved Automaton, shaking her head to clear her vision after she'd been struck. The thief shoved himself to his feet, and kicked backwards into Tock's stomach. She groaned in pain as the wind was knocked out of her, falling to her knees. The thief undid his belt and yanked it off, freeing himself from Grippy. Tock retracted her tool, using her teeth to snatch the belt from it and readying to make another grab for the thief. Then she heard another yell coming from the water. She looked down, and scowled. "Oy, ya gotta be kiddin' me..." she groaned. She hadn't seen Kaeson since the fight they'd had. And he had the inconsideration to go and get himself drowned when she was busy trying to catch a thief! She braced Grippy under her arm for a moment, tucked the thief's belt to hang through her own, and knelt down on the dockside to brace herself. "What'sa matter wit'choo!?" she shouted at Kaeson, grabbing Grippy in her good hand once more and shooting him down into the water. Using her good hand on Grippy, she looped her other elbow around the handle for leverage, since she couldn't grip him with her right hand. She snagged Kaeson by his arm, closing the metal hand around him and pulling him upwards. She then knelt by the dock and reached down with her other arm, hooking her arm under Kaeson's armpit to lift him. Using Grippy and her own strength, she heaved and hauled the water logged man up, grunting and gasping for air. "Oy, ya done gotta lose some weight, mate!" she shouted. With great effort, she yanked him up onto the dock and tossed him down on the wood. Her muscles aching from the effort of pulling the man from the water, and her face and stomach burning with pain from where the thief had struck and kicked her, she shouted in Kaeson's face, "'E's done gettin' away!" With a growl she turned and ran after the thief, determined to stop him. She didn't even know the person who'd been robbed, nor what had been stolen, but something had come over her. Now it wasn't just about helping a fellow citizen. Now it was about winning. After the horrible day she'd had yesterday, she'd be damned if she let someone beat her.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson pushed his arms through the cold, morning waters in an attempt to break through the water's surface once again. He had already pushed himself through the surface twice and had managed to yell for help -- which as far as Kaeson knew had been unanswered and unheard. Still, Kaeson pushed on, desperately clinging on to the hope that there would be someway out of the murky bay waters, that he wouldn't die today.

Feeling something grab his wrist, Kaeson briefly struggled against what he originally thought to be dragging him deeper into Laviku's embrace. Once he realized whatever had him in it's graps was pulling him back towards the docks, Kaeson began to swim -- or thrash, towards the docks himself. Feeling a hand grasp the back of his collar, Kaeson reached out with his free hand in an attempt to pull himself onto the dock.

Laying flat on the dock, Kaeson took in several quick breaths -- resulting in a coughing fit.

"'E's done gettin' away!"

"Wha -- Tock?!" Kaeson said, managing to convey a sense of shock between his violent gasps for air. Kaeson hadn't seen the fiery tempered woman for a while -- not since their disagreement over the trouble automaton, Cutty. Barely having time to ask who was getting away, Kaeson could only watch as Tock ran off in pursuit of some random man. "Tock -- TOCK!" Kaeson yelled after her as she gave chase. Clearly, Tock was either ignoring him or he wasn't yelling loud enough, and knowing Tock, Kaeson was more inclined to believe that she was ignoring him rather then him not being loud enough. "Shyte," Kaeson muttered to himself, struggling to get up.

Pushing himself off the ground, Kaeson ran after the two. Tock may have just saved Kaeson's life, but she still owed him an apology after last time or so he believed. Either way, gods know Kaeson wasn't about to let Tock run off without saying anything.

Running after them, two things quickly became apparent to Kaeson. One, Tock wasn't slowing down for anything till she either caught the man, or she collapsed on her own
and two, Kaeson was no where close enough to catch up to either of them. Slowing down, Kaeson noticed a pile of apples that had apparently spilt from a cart. Quickly, Kaeson grabbed the largest one he could find and threw it as hard as he could in the man's general direction. "WATCH OUT!" Kaeson yelled behind Tock -- it probably wouldn't look so good if the apple ended up hitting Tock instead of the man she was chasing.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock looked back and ducked, the apple barely missing her. It pegged the thief in the shoulder, but didn't really do much of anything to stop him. An apple just didn't have enough mass behind it. Tock growled and shouted over her shoulder, "Do somethin' USEFUL, Bludger!" The boat owner, an overweight middle aged man who no doubt wasn't used to this much running, had already fallen back in defeat. Tock's lungs were burning, and her foot was aching from the recently healed but still tender wound, but she wasn't ready to give up yet. No way was she letting this whoever he was escape with whatever he had taken from the guy she didn't even know. She didn't even care that it was none of her business; she was angry, and she wanted to beat somebody up, and this thief was a perfect target. She probably wouldn't even get into any trouble for kicking the crap out of him. If she could only catch him. She didn't have most of her babies with her today. Choppy was at home, or else she could have commanded him to cut the thief to pieces (which, she reluctantly admitted, would have been seen as taking it too far. Homicide wasn't likely an acceptable punishment for theft). She just had Grippy, and Boxy in her pack. She tucked Grippy under her arm and reached back as she ran to dig the little silver Automaton out. She then held Boxy in the crook of her elbow, and retrieved Grippy in the other. The thief turned a corner and deftly climbed up the wall of one of the dock warehouses, with far more agility than Tock herself had. Knowing she couldn't climb that fast, she thrust Grippy upwards and snagged the man's ankle, tripping him before he could fully make it onto the roof. He fell back down and Tock pounced on him, out of breath and feeling weak. He swung a fist at Tock's face, connecting with her eye. She shouted in pain and thrust Boxy at the man's hand, clamping the lid down over his fingers. "'Ose fingers is mine!" she shouted. "Wha-?" the man asked in confusion, then he screamed in pain. Boxy was not only closing his lid down tight, but the razor sharp wires inside were writhing and twisting to wrap around the fingers that Tock had claimed. Until she told him otherwise, Boxy's directives now made him believe the fingers belonged to Tock, and he was compelled to pull them inside himself and protect them. Of course, he wasn't programmed smart enough to realize he was slicing up their flesh in the process. Blood spewed from under Boxy's lid, and the thief screamed in agony. The tiny Automaton wasn't strong enough to actually sever the fingers, but they were still being cut up pretty bad. Tock had a wild look in her eyes as her baby chewed on the man's hand, though she didn't notice that he was drawing a knife with his other hand...

[Kaeson Dakano]

"THROWING THE PETCHING APPLE WAS USEFUL!" Kaeson yelled back at Tock, knowing full well it hadn't been the most helpful action -- not that he was going to admit that to Tock anytime soon. Running towards the quirky gadgeteer, Kaeson briefly considering using reimancy, but quickly pushed the idea out of his head. Kaeson was extremely tired as it was, his legs felt like they would give out, his throat burned with every breath, and a piercing pain in his side that was becoming more prominent with each stride he took. Mixing all that with magic seemed like a guaranteed way to overgive.

Seeing Tock turn a corner, Kaeson picked up the pace. Kaeson ran a little quicker at the sound of a shout, and was sprinting by the time a bloodcurdling scream reached his ears.

"Tock, Tock, are you -- KNIFE!" Kaeson screamed, quickly pushing Tock aside, trying to wrestle the knife out of the thief's hands. The thief was small and wiry, typical of someone who choose a profession in larceny, but despite the man's small frame he was proving a challenge to Kaeson.

Both men were now fighting over the small knife, the thief managing to keep the knife in his graps while Kaeson worked at the man's fist and wrist in an attempt to force the thief to release his hold over the sharp weapon. Realizing the tin box still held his fingers captive, the thief proved his own resourcefulness by using the box as a weapon. Quickly, the thief bashed the tin box against the side of Kaeson's head till the young man released his grip on the thief's knife hand. Kaeson managed to dodge the first swipe, but the second swipe cut Kaeson right above the left eye brow. Kaeson instinctually pushed the man away from him, grabbing the cut above his eye.

OOCSorry about taking so long to respond, just started a new job this week -- fun stuff .

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

OOCLol, no worries hon! *hugs* Life happens. Tock stumbled back when Kaeson shoved her, falling hard on her rump. She was almost mad at him, except she realized he had just saved her life. Great, she thought, her thoughts churning through the shock and adrenaline of the situation. Now I's gonna 'as ta thank 'im... She shoved back to her feet, and when she saw the man waving Boxy around she shouted, "Boxy, let go! 'E can 'as 'is fingers back!" Once he was directed to release, Boxy's programming returned him to a passive state. He opened up and let the man's bloody fingers go, and Tock reached out and caught him before he could hit the ground. She clutched him to her chest, quickly checking to make sure he was all right. Thankfully he was uninjured, which sent a surge of relief through her. Oh right, and she should check on Kaeson, too. Once her adopted baby was safe, she turned on the thief. A crowd was approaching, and people were shouting for the guards, but no one was inclined to come help. Few people were brave enough to face a knife wielding maniac. Unless you were a magic wielding maniac. Tock tucked Boxy under her arm to free up her good hand, and with it aimed Grippy at the man's wrist as he tried to stab Kaeson again. She clamped the claw down and extended the arm, thrusting the thief's hand away and pinning it against the wall. The thief clutched his other, bloody hand to his chest, and kicked Tock in the stomach. She doubled over, groaning in pain. Then with an angry growl she moved forward and kneed the thief in the groin. He gasped in pain and fell to his knees, and Tock quickly twisted his arm around with Grippy to pin it behind his back. Then she shoved him face first down on the ground and planted her foot into his back. She leaned forward, gasping for breath, aching from the multiple blows she'd taken. She hadn't had a fight like this since Sunberth. The people who had gathered around watched in shock, as finally the boat owner hobbled up. "You caught him!" he cried out. "You caught the thief! Thank you! Both of you!" Tock could only nod, out of breath. When the guards arrived she stumbled back, holstering Grippy and gently placing Boxy back in her pack. Then she leaned back against the wall and slid to the ground. Spending time catching her breath would give her time to swallow her pride so she could thank Kaeson for saving her life.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson pulled away at the last moment, the knife's edge tearing through his cotton shirt but missing flesh. He had been VERY lucky thus far; the pain from having the box automaton destroy the thief's fingers had been enough to distract the wiry man from getting in a good swipe. Kaeson would later consider it a blessing to walk away from such an encounter with just a shallow cut above his left eye.

But that was later; Kaeson was still very much aware that the thief had the upper hand in their fight, the thief having a knife and all.

Gearing up to hopefully dodge another stab, Kaeson eyes widened in shock as a hand of metal and wood pushed between the two and pinned the man's hand against the wall. Turning around, Kaeson allowed himself a smile as he realized the grappling hand was another one of Tock's babies. Kaeson turned backed to face the thief, smirking as he raised his fist -- he was going to enjoy this.

Tock seemed to be thinking along the same lines as well -- and she had gotten to the thief much quicker then Kaeson had, unfortunately for the thief. Kaeson watched in awe as the fiery woman proceeded to completely destroy the thief. She took a painful hit to the gut, but gave the thief a deserving kick to the groin in return, getting a much deserved applause from the crowd. Kaeson went up to check on Tock, he couldn't do much in the ways of medicine but he could at least see if she would have to go up to the university's infirmary, when the old boat man waddled up.

"I can't thank you enough," the old man said breathily, nodding at Tock," and you too," he added at Kaeson. "While I can't promise you much of anything, I can at least guarantee you my services -- I'm a merchant sailor, I make treks all around Mizahar selling my modest goods and wares, anytime either of you need a boat ride anywhere I'd be more then happy to take you, free of charge of course," finishing with, "I'm Lari Jordacs -- you can find my boat at the end of the harbor should youse need me."

And with that the old man waddled off after the guards, surely to reclaim whatever the their had stolen from the sailor merchant's ship.

Walking over to Tock, Kaeson ripped off part of his sleeve and tied it around his head, careful to cover his cut. It seemed shallow but Kaeson would probably be going up to the infirmary to see if he could get it healed.

Looking up to Tock, Kaeson sighed. He wasn't much of an apologized but the girl HAD saved his life -- twice now, if he counted right. "Tock...listen, I guess I'm sorry about everything that happened on the trip. I didn't mean to offend and...and I guess I wanna say thank you too. I wouldn't be standing here if you hadn't saved me from drowning, or if that dirtbag thief had managed to stick me," he paused, briefly considering how lucky he had been Tock had been there that morning. Truly he would and should have been dead without her help.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

OOC : I've just found out that Tock is going to be suffering from a broken hand after the events in this thread. I'm going to be doing some minor revisions to my earlier posts in this thread to reflect that, such as having Tock elbow the thief in the face instead of punching him, etc. It shouldn't affect any of your posts, but I thought you should know about the impending revisions. Tock groaned, clutching at her stomach, and holding her busted hand limply in her lap. She needed to stop getting into stuff like this. She'd only just gotten over a broken foot, which was aching like crazy after the running she just did. Her stomach hurt so bad right now she thought she might throw up. She was probably going to have a black eye. And now she had to deal with her injured pride. Kaeson was thanking her, when it was supposed to be the other way around. She sighed and looked up at him. "Call 'er even, mate?" she asked. She wasn't particularly inclined to get into a long and involved touchy feely conversation about their emotions. She would rather just leave well enough alone, and start with a clean slate. She tried to get up, but found she was still in too much pain. "'Elp a girl up?" she asked Kaeson. She hated admitting that she needed help. Maybe she'd start using the magic crutches again for a few days to give herself more time to recover.

[Kaeson Dakano]

Kaeson laughed and smiled at Tock, "Sure," he said, the less apologizing and thanking he had to do, the better.

Kaeson quickly went over to Tock and bent down to her level. Kaeson slowly nudged his should in Tock's armpit, gradually lifting her as he stood up. He was only a couple of inches taller then Tock and normally he wouldn't have even bothered to act as a stand in for crutches, but Tock wasn't looking so good.

"Your hand looks pretty swollen, Tock. How hard did you hit that guy?" Kaeson said, gesturing at the swollen fist. He thought it looked broken, but he didn't feel comfortable enough in his medical ability to say anything. "I don't know about you, but I think I'm going over to the infirmary to get my head checked out -- you wanna head over that way?" Kaeson asked, hoping Tock would say yes. Lately, Kaeson had noticed more people in the dorms were getting sick and every now and then he saw a rat in the university hallways -- he couldn't risk going back to the dorms with an open wound like the one he had.

OOCDo you want to end it with them going over to the infirmary or we could keep it going and have them talk about golem designs while they're getting check over? I'm cool with whatever

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Tock whimpered and leaned most of her weight on Kaeson when he lifted her up. She was hurting, she was bruised, and she didn't think she could walk right now. She shouldn't have run so much on her freshly healed foot. It was throbbing horribly now, and she would be regretting this the rest of the day. "Infirmary... aye," she replied weakly. "I were pretty darn sick o' 'at place, after the last couple o' weeks." She sighed. She'd just gotten done with her regular infirmary visits, and now she was headed back there. "Ahh well... done gots ta to what we gots ta do, aye?" she chuckled, shaking her head. She limped along with Kaeson, and after a short walk said, "Oy, let's stop at my place first... gonna climb back inta my crutches I think. Done were glad fer ta be outta 'em, but I's pretty dizzy..." With Kaeson's help, she limped along home to get back into her magic crutches, then piloted them up to the infirmary. The rest of the day was going to have to be devoted to bed rest. She hated it... it felt like a waste of a day. It was barely past sunrise! But between the still sore foot, the broken hand, the bruises, and everything else, she just didn't have it in her to get any work done today.