Closed Starlight Tavern (Velody_Marie and Keagan Storm)

[Keagan]

He frowned slightly at her accusation, but looked at the man again out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure if she was pulling his leg or not, since he hadn't heard a thing. Turning back toward her, he whispered, "You...heard...him say that? You must have the ears of a fox if you were able to pick that up." A slight smirk appeared for a moment as he contemplated the situation and got another quick glance at the newcomers.

They did seem to be a rather odd pair. They seemed nothing alike in any way, from their clothes, to their stance, to just...about anything. Returning his gaze toward Velody, he whispered. "Well what exactly do you have in mind? See I'm new here...I don't know what passes for law in these parts."

[Velody Marie]

“More like ears of a Lynx…” Velody laughed quietly to herself. “I don’t know what exactly we should do. I don’t want to scare the little girl, but I feel like we must do something. Maybe, I can lure him out. You could surprise attack him. Then we could safely return the girl home. Maybe even claim a reward?” Vel looked once more to the odd pair in the back of the tavern. The man had just gotten another ale from a reluctant barmaid, and he called after her in a provocative manner. “I don’t know too much about Lhavit either, I’m from Ravok. I have been here about week observing the Lhavitian people. I do believe this little girl should be back with her family. I can also tell you that the man with her is not her relative and is not even from Lhavit.” Velody focuses her hearing back in on the man and child. “… But my flute recital is tonight at sundown. I must make it in time for that.” The little girl has been asking to return home for quite some time. “If you don’t shut your damn face right now, I’ll make sure you’ll never play the damn flute again.” The little girl begins to sniffle and tears roll down her cheeks. “Keagan. We’ve got to do something quickly. You go wait outside; I’ll bring him to you. You take him down, I’ll help if you need it, and we can get this little girl to her recital on time.” Velody nods at Keagan, finishes off her ale, and begins moving gracefully towards the man and the girl.

[Keagan]

While she explained the situation as she was hearing it, he looked the pair in the corner over again. Her declaration of what "they" should do had him almost choke on his ale. "Wait you want us to whaa.." Before he could finish speaking, she was starting off toward the duo. He reached out and grabbed her hand, yanking her back toward him. In a hushed voice he calmly, but sternly said, "Easy there tiger!" He moved her to sit back down before taking a glance around to make sure they hadn't garnered to much attention to themselves.

Satisfied, he looked back to her and continued, "Look...we have absolutely no proof of who they are or what that man is up to outside of what only you and your great ears overheard. Not only that, but if this guy really did kidnap the little girl...I seriously doubt he's going to fall for any feminine wiles at the present time." A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth for a moment. "No matter how cute you may be." A more serious expression soon replaced the smirk and he sighed. "Now IF, we are going to try and get ourselves mixed up in somebody elses affairs. We'll need to think it through for a moment and come up with something clever, that doesn't land ourselves in the brig for some reason."

Looking back to the big man, he noticed him calling the barmaid back over, along with the drink in his hand. A mischiveous smile slowly appeared on his face. "Ok I have an idea. But you're going to have to move fast. Once I get him good and distracted, take the girl and get her out of here. Just...try not cause as big of scene as when you first "bumped" inte me, ya?" Without wasting another second as his opportunity was about to pass him by, he gave her a quick wink and got up making his way toward his target. As he got closer, he began to stagger along as if he had WAAAAY to much to drink. In just the nick of time, he was able to cut in between the barmaid and the big man. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder, he laughed and said, "Well hey there pretty lady!" As he did, not so accidently bumped into the big mans mug of ale, spilling the drink all over him.

He turned around and feigned a look of complete shock and regret. "By the godss...I'm shooo shorry my friend.. *hiccup* "Here....let me help ya with that!" Releasing the disgusted barmaid, he grabbed his cloak and went to dry off the man, but "tripped" and fell into him instead....

God, this is soooo going to hurt, he thought to himself. He only hoped, Velody was going to be able to move fast enough to get the child and sneak out before the man could figure out what just happened.

[Velody Marie]

When Keagan tugged her back towards him she was staring into his eyes. She listened to him as he tried to figure out a better plan. The way is lips moved... When his lips smirked she was snapped back into reality. He called her cute.... She prepared herself for her role in the plan. He told her to move quickly. "Let's meet behind the market around the corner. Be safe." Velody hoped Keagan wouldn't be too harmed in the impending fight. Keagan got up from his chair and winked at her. Keagan began acting as though the ale was really affecting him. Vel stayed very close to Keagan, hiding in his shadow. She followed him to the table. Keagan threw himself on the barmaid, and Vel used that time to sneak under the table and pop up next to the little girl. She frightened the girl a little bit. "Hey sweetheart, my name is Vel. I'm here to take you to your mother and father. Do you like kitties?" The small child nodded her head and smiled a bit. "Okay, I can show you a really big kitty, but you have to hold on to me really tight, okay?" The little girl went under the table after Velody and wrapped her arms tightly around her. The next thing the girl knew, she was being carried out of the tavern on the back of a Lynx. Since most of the people in the people in the tavern had gone to see what the commotion was about, Vel made it out without being seen. She preferred that most people didn't know about her secret. Velody took the girl to the small camp sight she had made in the mid level of the trees behind the market. She changed back into human form. She handed a small fruit to the little girl and patted her hair. "So you play the flute?" The little girl began to tell her all about her life. Vel enjoyed listening to the girl, but couldn't help but worry about Keagan. She hoped he was okay.

[Keagan]

The legs of the chair the man was sitting in snapped when Keagan fell into him, sending them both to the ground in a pile. Infuriated, the big man pushed Keagan aside and got to his feet. A smirk flashed across Keagan's face though as he saw Velody disappearing with the girl outside. The expression did not last long however, as an angry pair of hands grabbed the back of his cloak and hauled him up from the floor. Holding his hands up in an attempt to keep up his drunken ruze, he pleaded, ""No wait! Pleaze shhuure, I'm shorry. It was an accident..."

SMACK! Came the sound as the mans fist impacted with Keagan's jaw sending him flying back on his butt. Oh gods...I swear if that little girl wasn't kidnapped, I'm going to kill Velody myself. He crawled away quickly from the man and got back to his feet. There was more than a couple patrons laughing at him, but as far as he was concerned, if this whole thing with the girl was legit. It was totally worth it. Not waiting for the man to realize he had been duped, he ran out the bar and jogged toward where they had agreed to meet.

He didn't see them at first, but soon spotted them in a tree. He walked up rubbing his now sore jaw and called out. "Well you two ready to quite playin' around and get her home? We might want to beat feet before big man back there finds us." His gaze drifted toward the child for a moment. "And hey there darlin'. It's nice to meet ya. I'm Keagan. Ready to get back to your parents?"

[Velody Marie]

Velody perked up when she saw Keagan heading her way. She scooped the child up into her arms and jumped from the tree. She landed on her feet from the 15 foot drop without even flinching. She set the child down and squeezed Keagan. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all? Your cheek looks red. Is your jaw out of place? Does it hurt?" Vel bombarded Keagan with questions as she gently rubbed his cheek. "Oh, and this is Kaylee." Velody pushed the girl towards him slightly and she waved at him. "She told me all about her life and she can't wait to get home, but she did tell me something interesting about her dad." Kaylee tugged on Velody's cloak and whispered something in her ear. "It is almost sun down. Kaylee is ready to go. Let's head out, she will show us the way." Kaylee led them down back roads and alleys to keep them out of harms way. The child new the city very very well. They odd group came out of an alley and ended up right in front of a very large house. They walked up the steps and up to the big double doors. Vel reached to knock on them quietly. She could barely hear her own knock, but she ended up just rubbing the intricate wood carvings in the door. Keagan reached up and knocked more aggressively than Velody had. "Oh, before I forget, her dad is part of the Seiza Priesthood. When he comes to the door, bow very low. It is a sign of respect here." Vel gave Keagan a slightly worried look as the door slowly opened.

[Velody Marie]

The door opened and Vel and Keagan bowed so low they were only able to see the feet of the man to whom the house belonged. They heard an exasperated and elderly voice whisper, "Thank you." Velody Marie felt Kaylee rub her head as she ran inside. As the door shut she heard, "Bye kitty." Velody looked up and to Keagan's face. He had a look of terror for a few seconds and then he said one little word. "Run." He took off down the road faster than she had ever seen. She looked back behind her and saw the scary guy from the bar running towards her, along with two other massive men. Velody new she did the right things today, but she also new that she would not see Kaylee or Keagan again. Her heart was heavy, but before the men were able to reach her she leaped up into the trees above the house and disappeared. Vel took her time in the trees, slowly making her way back to her little nook in the trees. She fiddled around with her ring and watched the clouds move in over the sun set. Velody leaped down from her perch, transforming mid jump, and headed deeper into the wilderness. She planned on hunting all night, and leaving in the morning. She new she couldn't stay in Lhavit after the days events.

[Elysium]

Keagan

XP:
Observation +2
Brawling +1
Socializing +1

Lore:
Velody Marie: Ears like a Lynx
How to Impersonate a Drunk

★

Velody Marie

XP:
Observation +3
Socializing +1
Running +1

Lore:
Keagan: The Lone Drykas
The Art of Eavesdropping
How to Shift Forms Discreetly

Notes: First, a very nice thread. Here are a few notes - in the future, please adhere to the setting provided in the linkmap. There is no such place in existence as mentioned above. I understand at the time this thread was written that there was no formal tavern, but the Shooting Star Inn would have sufficed. Second, please do not seize control of other players, even in the event they disappear. Instead you should submit the unfinished thread for grading. Otherwise this was a great first thread.

and so, the journey continues...