Completed Dawdling toward the Denvali (Ricky)

[Leila]

Timestamp: Spring 10, 513 AV Leila held Shaco's leash gently as he tugged her around the city. She didn't have anything important to do today, so a stroll among the sunshine and salt-kissed breezes seemed like a swell idea. Shaco was busy sniffing at everything, followed by the occasional raising of his leg. Her new found freedom of not living with her parents was certainly a blessing. The same day she moved into her flat, she went out for a walk by herself, much like this. But it quickly got lonely, and some parts of the city are not safe for girls, at least mother thought so. And then Shaco found her, and quickly became her protector. And she made sure to pick out just the right scraps for him. Shaco began pulling her toward a particularly leafy bush, unusual for early in the year, she suspected. While he did his business, she crouched down to inspect the plant. The leaves were small, rounded, a faded green. It seemed to be more like a fern than a bush though. It was adorned by several small buds, not yet ready to bloom. She reached out and pulled a sprig of it from the base and sniffed it. Nothing particularly special about it, but she still didn't know what plant it was. So she decided to take it back home, and look it up in one of her books. Shaco was finished and rushed over to sloppily lick her face while she ruffled the fur atop his head. She stood up and continued down the road, Shaco staying closer to her now, while she lightly swung the sprig around the air. She realized that she'd left West Street and was now entering East Street, an area mother had absolutely forbidden her from going. Now seemed as good a time as any to find out why.

[Ricky Maze]

Today was one of those days for Ricky, a day where he just needed to think while he patrolled his route; and today his route just so happened to be East Street. Clad in the cerulean uniform that was his badge of honor, Ricky was to keep a sharp eye out for any suspicious folk today. For rumor has it a killer was on the loose somewhere.

Each step he made was met with a thump against the stone ground with his steady march he made, his eyes surveyed the people around him left and right as he passed them by. Yet even though his mind was on the job, there was still the distraction of thoughts that made it difficult. He had started hearing other rumors as well, that the Devali populace in the quarter was growing. It seemed more and more refugees were coming each passing day. This wasn't what troubled him however, instead it was recent events with two friends. He hadn't heard from Hannah in several days, and Telion had been acting weird since that night. That night which was so fantastic, and had turned into what he believed to be a dream. Since that night it had become more difficult to talk with her. Apart from the strange feeling that crossed them every time, she also had a foul mood that came and went every once in a while.

Ricky continued his walk down East Street with his mind clouded with thought, that is until a certain thing brought his attention back into reality. A dog. There was young lady with auburn hair, smaller than Ricky of course but she still walked with confidence. Or maybe it was confidence, he hadn't a clue about her really. She certainly seemed interesting to meet in his eyes, plus the chance to meet a dog could never be turned down by Ricky.

"'Scuse me miss," He made a simple steady approach to the two, "Does yer dog allow stranger's to pet him? Or her?" He corrected himself with a grin, should the dog turn out to be female. He knew some dogs were pretty protective of their masters when it came to a new face, but then other dogs were friendly enough to greet them with open paws.

[Leila]

Leila saw the tall man in the uniform of a protector walking toward her, and felt a little more relieved. If there were guards in this section of town, maybe it wasn't as bad as Mother seemed to think. She smiled timidly as he addressed her in his interesting tongue, she couldn't tell if he was a foreigner or just from the other side of town, she was so bad with accents. But it was cute nonetheless. "Place your hand out in front of him, palm down. He likes to sniff people, and if he likes them, then he will let them pet him. His name is Shaco, and mine is Leila, Leila Hughes." Shaco was friendly to most people and she was certain this man would be no exception. That and he loved being scratched atop his head, but what dog didn't? "Are you one of the city guards? If you are, I'm sort of relieved, I've never been to this part of town by myself before, what with all the stories and the like out there." She took the moment in the conversation to study the man. Strong, nice enough looking, a friendly smile. She relaxed, wondering if perhaps he'd join her in her exploration of the East Street area.

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky smiled as he knelt down for the dog to sniff his fingers, he was always happy when it came to meeting other dogs; mostly because of the many fond memories he hsd of Odis. When the dog sniffed his hand it proceeded to lick it, which made Ricky quietly laugh a bit. 'Just like Odis, only less excited about everything.' He patted the dog gently and gave him a scratch behind the ears. He then stood up to face the young woman once more.

"Aye ma'am, he kept to his humble attitude, but there was confidence in his voice. Something he carried with him on the job, since Ricky felt he protected his friends as well as the city. "East Street's never been the kind o' place good folk consider trekin. Has someone bothered ya ma'am, or are ya in need of assistance any?" As a guard it was his obligation to serve the people, but even at that he still felt inclined to help someone out. This lady seemed like she wanted something at least, a direction to follow or a sense of security somewhere along the lines. She was pretty to Ricky, her auburn hair matched her eye color natrually.

Ricky was pretty sure he hadn't seen her before, because he could never forget a face. Her's was too pretty for one, and two the impression Ricky received just proved this was their first encounter. No he definitely would've remembered her from somewhere before, but he didn't press the issue. "Ricky Maze ma'am. Here to protect and serve." He assured her with a friendly smile. It was his crafty way to introduce himself to the lady.

[Leila]

Leila smiled at the man's courtesies, "No, no one's bothered me, but thank you for asking. It may sound dumb but... I've never been to this part of town. Mother always said to stay far, far away from it, but would never tell me why. So... I kind of wanted to find out for myself." Saying it aloud embarrassed her, she felt it made her sound very childish. Her face flushed a deep red, and she looked away from Ricky. "I'm not some spoiled brat from a wealthy family trying to make her parents angry, I promise... I recently moved out from my parents, and I've never really been allowed to do much on my own til this season. I know it seems dumb, but I feel like I've been missing out on a lot of the world that I've been living in." She'd never admitted that to anyone before, aside from Shaco. Why was she opening up so easily to a complete stranger? Was it that his presence made her feel safe and secure with him? And she did want him to escort her, even if just for the pleasure of his company. "I don't want to keep you from your duty... but if your duty happens to be walking in the same direction as me, perhaps you could join me for a little while?"

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky listened with a smile, it interested him that a woman like her wanted to see the street; only because she never went down here before. She blushed after she admitted to it, and then confided to him her reason behind it. Ricky couldn't stop the chuckle that came, as the way she shared her thoughts with ease just made him feel warm inside. He was a man who could give an ear to the people, and would do his best to provide for them. He prided himself with that notion, as he valued his ability to help out those who needed it when he arrived.

"Worry not ma'am, East Street is my route today. Therefore anybody on my route that needs help can ask anythin of me, therefore ya got an escort to help yer trek easier. It is scary to try new things after all." He admitted with a positive attitude, his confidence now filled with even more purpose. The duty to help even the most sheltered of people face their fears was the honorable part of his job, he was there to protect them thus provide a better sense of security to their mind.

"I'm here to make ya feel safer ma'am, and if walkin down East Street is what you'd like; then ya have me at yer side." He assured her, and held his arm out in the manner of an escort.

[Leila]

She smiled, and slid her arm into the crook of his, gladly accepting his offer. She could feel his taut muscles, hard from an honest day's labor she assumed. But where his body was hard, his demeanor was not, and she liked that about him. A hard life had not made him a man of stone. "So is East Street as dangerous as everyone says? Or is it where people who just make bad choices or have bad luck come together? Papa said no one starts as a bad person, and is only made that way by others' poor decisions, and by them allowing it." She started forward, gently pulling him, her curiosity pulling her. She looked around at the buildings, noticing that while they were slightly worse for wear than on West Street, they weren't in utterly deplorable conditions. A fresh coat of paint here, a new set of steps there, maybe plant a few flowers every so often, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the streets. "I wonder if the plague ravaged this side of town just as badly, since the plague is apathetic to your status in life." She decided that if she were ever to reach a point in her life that she could afford to help others, she would start here. Maybe all these people needed were goals and opportunities. "Tell me about yourself Ricky, have you lived in Zeltiva all your life?"

[Ricky Maze]

"Aye, yer pa sounds very wise. Like my pa when he raised me." Ricky spoke with a enthusiastic tone, he had hoped his remark came across as funny to her. "East Street has its up's and down's really, it 'is' where more crime takes place then the other places, but it doesn't seem all to bad every once in a while." He reassured her, should his remark gone wrong or unnoticed then at least he made a quick recovery.

He looked around as they walked to keep in check of everything, people that passed he had eyes on should they come to close or look too suspicious. Nothing out of the ordinary really happened though when it came to parolling the area, unless someone had something they'd try and hide. "The plague had to've hit here the hardest really, all of Zeltiva suffered a tremendous amount last season. The Lord O' Council herself has to resign because of her disability from the illness." He spoke calmly as he strode beside her, his mind wandered on who would be the next in office. To have that kind of power meant great responsibility, as the official to take it would be putting the city and its life before their own.

Finally she had brought up the subject he was always terrible at, which was precisely describing himself. Ricky laughed nonetheless, as he took a moment to think on it. "Yeah pretty much. I grew up the only child of a single father. Raised as a fisherman and he went back to sailin, which o' course he was lost at sea some time later." They had passed Loveless now, the place where his recent "girlfriend" decided she would stay at until several days ago; Ricky still had no idea why of course. "I had a dog once, named Odis. He was a mutt but a brother nonetheless, I lost him too a couple season's back."

Ricky realized that he was probably making Leila feel sad, since he told her that he not only lost his dad but his dog too. 'Shyke, I'm really petchin up there.' He cursed himself silently for sharing such things so soon, he hoped she didn't think of him as self pitied person. "Course I'm still here," He recovered with a faint smile, "Livin out the rest o' my life for the two." His tone went back to being humble when he spoke, a content expression on his face.

[Leila]

Leila's eyes grew sad at hearing about Ricky's companion. She looked down at Shaco, and couldn't imagine living without him. He was her best friend, constant companion, her guard and comfort. She decided to not focus on that topic, "I've been trying to learn how to fish. Papa bought me some gear before I left, said it would be a good skill to learn, 'A person who knows how to fish, will never starve.' It's not easy to learn, all I've managed to catch are a sailor and a sea gull." She looked up to her right, and saw a shop called 'Loveless.' What a strange name for a store, "What's this place?" Leila's curiosity took over, and led her over to the simple shop. There were a couple of women hanging around the door, eliciting a simple, polite smile from Leila. The auburn haired woman walked through the door, seeing a young woman at the desk, but seeing no goods in this store. Quite perplexed, she still couldn't figure out what this place was. She didn't even notice if Ricky would join her, but she knew that Shaco would wait outside the door, and wouldn't bother anyone. The woman looked up, mild surprise in her eyes, "Hello, welcome to Loveless, what can I get you today? This looks like your first time." "Oh, I'm not sure what it is you do here, in all honesty. I saw your sign and was curious." "Well, we provide companions for our customers to do with as they please, as well as rooms for privacy. Our companions are the finest in town, and many go on to become great friends to our customers. Are you interested in a companion, a young man perhaps? Or maybe a woman?"

[Ricky Maze]

Ricky laughed a bit when she spoke of her fishing feats, the warm smile on his face remained there as they continued. It was then she had caught her eye on Loveless, and when she had asked what the place was Ricky slightly turned red out of embarrassment. Modesty was something Loveless always lacked when it came down to it, and although he had just found the words to tell her about it he couldn't speak just yet. She would have to learn one way or the other, or as his pa once said; "Exploring the unknown is what'll help us learn." How ironically true that was when it came to situations like this, Ricky was encountering plenty of them this season it seems.

When he followed Leila into Loveless he allowed the woman at the counter to speak, as he watched the crowd that waited within act out its daily ritual. This being man and woman alike socializing or gambling, either way the roon was filled with laughter in the dim lighting the candles provided. One woman couldn't keep her eyes of Ricky, though he told himself that it was just the uniform. When Leila was asked what companion she would have, Ricky couldn't hold the laugh back as he intervened.

"Aye, I think we're just curious." He leaned in close enough for her to hear, as he would speak low to bring to light what they meant by "companions" to spend time with. "Lass, this is where people pay to uh... 'woo' one another." He remarked and slightly retreated to see her expression, his eyes darted back to the woman that stared at him. She was also pretty to Ricky, her clothes suggested too much for his tastes though. He kept his small smile warm as he looked down to Leila, hopefully she was ready to leave like he was. 'Definitely the damn uniform.' His mind retorted as he tried to keep from blushing, though he was far to modest in a place that lacked such a thing.