Closed Your Bark is worse than your Bite [Venser Rush]

[Ikaika' Makani]

59th of Winter A/V:: Ravok markets

The mirror she held firmly in her hand had deep cracks along the surface, Reflecting the empty black eyes that were plastered in her skull blinked, First came down a hazy film then her human-like eyelid and she dipped her fingers back into the small box of clay. The moist white clay was applied lightly to her face as she did most days, Keeping it a simple pattern, White base with small auburn dots along the top. A meaningless hum emerged from her lips as she painted the bottom lip, Taking her time and then the top with a thin line of the red clay, She was running out.

Toklo, as normal, jumped onto the poor couch and laid his head down on her lap, Watching her as she applied the clay. It had been awhile since she was visited by her Guardian. The idea of him leaving her side rung in her mind but it was almost impossible for a Guardian to leave it's carrier. It was rather late in the day and Ikaika' decided she wanted something for herself. Running her soft hand though Toklo's neck fur she sat straight on the couch and had a conversation with him, One sided of course, but she talked to him, always in Tawnaian as though he could answer."Do you want something today? Huh! Huh!"The excitement was rising in her voice in spike the dog's excitement. A loud thumping echoed on the wood floor as he laid back the enormous ears to the back of his skull.

Now it was for her to decide what he wanted, either way she was content on making Toklo's day interesting. Examining the extraordinarily spotted dog he was missing a collar." I don't want him to feel like a normal house dog.. What about something colorful.." There was a spike of interest as she thought of flowers, But it would be impossible to just tie a flower around a energetic dog. " Maybe if I had some wire.. " If there was one thing she was clueless with it was decoration, decorative wear.

Speaking out loud in a rather softer tone she stood up and Toklo along with her, " We'll see what we can do. Yes? "Agreeing silently with Ikaika', Toklo threw his head up as she slowly opened the door. Before she could even wedge the door open he had wiggled is full body through and had jogged off. He never abandoned Ikaika', only stayed relatively close but if she called for him, Then that was his main priority. There were so many open benders, Which would she go to first?

Flipping the black hair on her shoulders she walked with swagger. Turning quickly she found herself in front of a small cart, Selling all types flora alike. Since it was still in the heart of winter it would be hard to get certain types of flowers. Running her finger lightly over a small bunch of orange flowers. Ikaika' quickly grabbed the attention of the man. He quickly moved from behind the wooden cart to see if he could assist Ikaika' "What are you looking for young lady? " Sighing she turned to him, He was obviously taller than her, it hurt her neck to look up to the giant of a man.

" Oh it doesn't matter. I'd never get to buy such lovely, expensive flowers. " She paused for a minute," From such a man of your.. " Ikakia's words were dragged out, Light and gentle like her touch. It was quiet obvious that she did speak another language, Her accent mainly but the way she pronouced words was slightly off. A light smirk crept over her mouth as he quickly spoke up as Ikaika' placed her hand on his forearm, gesturing to what little muscle he accumulated.

[Venser Rush]

A soft yawn escaped Venser Rush's lips as he stepped out of Tarsin's Boarding House. He had woken up less than a bell before, clothes thrown onto his lean form, a hand raking his hair into a semi-presentable, flat appearance. The rumbling of his stomach told him that he required some sort of sustenance, and his feet immediately changed course, traversing the wooden walkways that led to the Merchant's Ring. It was a familiar path, as he walked it nearly every day in order to reach Mikayas' Emporium for Sculpted Curiosities, his work place. It was a worn road, the wood damaged and faded from the multitude of feet that stampeded upon its surface every day.

Venser wormed his way through the crowd, sifting between people with little desire for communication. He merely wished to feed and reach the People's Market. When he did so, he noticed an odd sight. A flower cart? How odd. But, perhaps it could be useful. Venser considered the presence of the Maledicted items in his room, the bones that he both had and was planning to use certainly exuded an... aroma... that some would find distasteful. Even Verin had complained to him at least twice of the stench. It was a musky, bloody stench, for Venser had not yet taken to working with a creature's flesh. He preferred the permanence of bone. When he was able to find a way to preserve the materials for long enough to use, he would advance to the 'next' level, so to speak.

But, for now, he decided to buy flowers. The aroma was discernible even from meters away, the plethora of scents registering in the young man's mind as he cast his gaze towards the pair currently at the stall. A man much larger than himself, What an odd choice of profession... and a young woman, whose words he was able to hear as he approached. Her tone was obviously foreign, her grip on Common called into question as she mispronounced words. Her words were dragged out, the reaching for the forearm an obvious show of her lack of desire to have to pay for the flowers presented to her.

Venser neither paid attention to the man's reaction, nor did he care to, instead looking upon the wares, instead. Roses were the most common in the sets, likely domestically grown in Lakeshore. But, in truth, Venser had little desire for whole flowers. Petals. The petals seemed to hold the most of the plant's aroma, and the fact that they could be scattered across the room implied a utility that the flowers themselves could not equal. He saw small piles of petals set within a basket, picked and prepared for sale. There was no price listed, so Venser needed to inquire about it once the woman was finished with the florist.

Rather than pay attention to words or exchange of information, Venser cast his gaze towards the woman, instead. Her face was decorated with a white sort of material, his inability to immediately tell what it was forcing intrigue into his mind. He considered it for a moment before deciding that it was clay, noticing the small cracks in the dried material. Though, the decorations were far from the most striking feature. Her eyes... Straight black, as if the pupil had taken over the entire eye. A non-human to be sure. What are you? he asked in his mind, head tilting with curiosity as he picked up the basket, placing it in front of him.

NoteHey! I couldn't tell if he was hulking or portly, so it left out just a tad of information out of play. Judgement and all. If you could, would you describe the flower seller's appearance a bit more?

[Ikaika' Makani]

59th of Winter A/V:: Ravok markets

" What about something.. Low priced? " It was harder than she thought to get a feeling of everything that was going around her, The crowds hustled with speed and sound. Looking back up to the florist, His short black hair pasted to his face was sweat. It was rather easy to tell that he was not used to feminine interaction. His black irises darted from her face and then to a approaching male. It was hard for Ikiaka' to concentrate as she felt eyes watching her. Quickly the florist stuttered, " Y-Yes, We m-may have some. " He stopped for a minute and ruffled his green tunic and wipe his clammy palms onto his pants.

As the florist hit is head clumsily on the top of his stand she took the time to see who the pair of eyes belonged to. Turning to the side she crossed her arms, It was rather hard to tell what exactly Ikaika' was looking at, only for the glare from the sun. She glanced at the man next to him, Taking in a small amount of detail, Obviously he had never seen a Chaktawe before but, that wasn't exactly his fault for there was no realistic reason for one to travel the distance between tribes.

After awhile he just rambled some sort of nonsense and pulled out a small arrangement of flowers. Most of them were dyeing, " Th-This is all I have to offer. " These of course wouldn't last her long. Getting on the tips of her toes the small webbing between them expanded and the came back in after extending her hand and grabbed the flowers. Running her hand's over the man's and the bringing the flowers to her nose. Trying to get some sort of smell she had to act as if there was one, "Thank you so much.."Batting her oversize eyelashes. Running his large hand through his hair from behind the stand he just waved his hand nervously, "One Miza." There was a obviously discount in the price and it was enough for her, Next she would see what she could do for food. " Yes of course. "Placing the flowers down by her side she reached into the depths of her pockets and pulled a few out.

Slowly she closed her hand and opened it up to one simple Miza. There was some shouting down the cobblestone street. It took her a minute to remember that she left her energetic companion roam the streets. Looking down she whispered " Oh no Toklo... " Without time to thank the florist she brushed quickly past the man who found a interesting in her facial attributes. For a minute Ikaika' opened her mouth to say something but for her Toklo was more important than apologizing for her rudeness.

Pushing people out of the way she stumbled in front of what looked like a massacre or assorted treats. Toklo danced around a man to heavy for his own good. Fat piled on his face, a sure sign that he wasn't the only one who like to eat his work. With a rolling pin in his hand he shouted at Toklo, " Get out of here you mangy mutt! " There was no doubt that he was going to hit the Dynakuva Painted Desert Dog. As Toklo paused to eat one of the pastiness he knocked over, the man brought down the wood on his hind. It was a rather hard blow for a dog of his body structure, Thin and delicate. Dropping the flowers she ran towards the scene.

There was a deafening yelp as he was hit. Ikaika' grew furious. She could have killed the baker right then and there if she had it in her. As Toklo scrammbled to get up with a limp he lifted it up to hit him again but she was able to replace her arm as she lifted it up to match the rolling pin. The baker was not hesitant as he noticed the tan flesh was in front the spotted fur. The pain was much worse than she thought as it hit her wrist. Toklo was her family, The only one she had left other than her dad to which the distance was unbelievable to her. There wasn't anything Ikaika' wouldn't do for the dog.

Taking in a deep breath though her teeth she examined the flesh around her wrist a blue and grey haze filed where the irradiated skin was. It throbbed as she grabbed it, Trying to hold in her much wanted scream. Toklo limped to her side and gave a weak growl, doing what little he could to protect the Chaktawe.