Venturing Out (Artos)

[Airil]

At first, when Artos looked over her shoulder, she couldn't help but glance around to see what he was looking at. It was when she realized that nothing was there that she began to worry slightly. Had that been a bad question after all? She wanted to take it back and was about to do so when he finally looked at her and grinned. She returned it with a smaller, somewhat unsure smile that was then replaced by a blush with his first words. She'd never received such a direct statement of acceptance. It made her feel surprisingly good, even if it was only said as a general statement in response to her question. She tucked her own hands in her lap as he obviously prepared to tell her some part of his own personal story. But soon she found herself to be leaning forward, mesmerized as much by his voice as she was by his words. It was a sad thing for her to hear that he didn't really know what it was to be a bear, and her eyes showed that sadness. If she understood him correctly, he hadn't been allowed to discover what it was to be a bear. She felt a great amount of sympathy for him. When he'd said he was a bear she had thought of how marvelous it would be to have that strength and power, to be able to protect oneself, some thing she'd never been able to do. Yet even he, as a bear, hadn't been master of his own fate it seemed. When he offered her the chance to continue, to learn what little he did know of being a bear, she gave him a small nod and a quiet, “please go on.” She gazed back at him, her solemn eyes filled with just as much want as his, ready to absorb whatever he may have to say. She wanted to hear someone else's story, as though it might make her forget her own.

[Artos]

"The short life I've lived has been one mainly of strife and bloodshed. Made to kill to protect or even at times merely for some other person's sport. They enjoyed watching a bear fight amongst or against men. I to some degree enjoyed the praise it wrought me, and I knew little better," his voice came in a cold even tone. With a slight tilting of his head he would let a slight smile twinge the corner of his mouth before he would continue. "I carry the same level of awareness from that form to this, so there is no change in the way you perceive the world. There is only a change in the way you see your roll in it. The world diminishes just the tiniest of steps." "It is not like you somehow grow to a size that the world looks different, it merely feels like it closes a step upon you. The stars are still grand and vast, the promise of worlds and size abound still makes you feel small and trivial. Yet among others you feel large, grand and see them as something almost foreign. The body it becomes heavier, more complex to move with the mounds of muscle and weight to compensate for." "Of course it remains natural, your body never stopping to avoid a command or needing extra prompting. As those about you shrink you innately feel as if you are more than they, and in some ways it is true. Your strength is great, ferocious to a level in which even you would fear to see it unleashed. When your mind turns to harming something or killing prey for food, it is focused to a singular point of interest." "Though it is all still a bear in the dealing of man, in the throws of what man would have of you. As a bear, in the wild you take to yourself with little interest to much else. You learn to fear little, yet anticipate and prepare for those things that may still give you reason to fright. You are on the knife edge between feeling untouchable and then insignificant. For there are things in this world that even a bear must fear." "You learn to move with purpose and focus, your senses are all alert to the possible coming of threat. Then even from things such as other bears you are tested. Territory is important to our kind, and few would avoid the chance of striking against each other to protect it. Though we do not kill without need and fight to prove strength, the winner asserting their will over the looser." "A good number of times I was pushed away from following the trail of something I was hunting due to being shown my weakness. Though it is to be expected, they lived in this hostility. I had learned to fight men, not my own kind and as such I was not prepared. It was for me a life of solitude and longing to which I seemed unable to quench." "Yet I know too that I could not live as they do, it is in me to be able to but so is much else that hinders it. I have come to in some way love some of these ways of civilized people. So in truth as a Kelvic I am torn between wants and needs and in no way see a chance to fulfill them all." Artos let out a low sound from his throat as he looked at her face again, it was clear that what he had just said was a realization to himself as well. "I don't know how well that answers your question, I enjoy your company and I am sure we could speak more of those times if you wish. However I've about exhausted my penchant for words." He would reach down and take a long sip of water. His throat having been used so little during travel, it was now coming under a deal of strain.

[Airil]

Her attention had remained wholly focused on his words throughout and as he finished, she finally sat back to think over what he had told her. “It answers it very well, thank you.” It had been much more than she had expected. Her question had ended up being much more personal than she'd intended. She hadn't considered that to ask what being a bear was like, was essentially asking what it was like to be him and he had ended up telling her a lot about himself without giving a great amount of detail, something she didn't think she would be able to do the same if asked. He had told her about the bear half of being Kelvic, while admitting that one could not really separate the two halves, and now she was curious to know what it was like to be human, and more than that, what it was like to be Kelvic. He had a window into multiple worlds. Her plate sat in front of her, only half finished, but she wasn't particularly interested in it anymore. Instead, her mind was working to find a way to spend more time with him because she found the want to get to know him better. She remembered the paper in her pocket. “Artos, I have an errand to run after this and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind joining me,” her face had a slightly hopeful look to it until she realized what the request had sounded like and she rushed nervously on, “I mean, unless you have important things to do, I don't want to be a burden on your time.”

[Artos]

Artos took a moment to look about. Even though he had been alert it seemed like during the telling of his story time had seemed to slip away. The bar hard started to become a little more robust with life. Then looking down he curiously wondered what had happened to most of his food. Though he didn't remember eating while he talked it seemed the food had diminished to only a small portion on one plate. "I am glad to have given answer to some of your questions, even if I am sure it likely gave fire to even more." Looking down at her plate he gave a light quirk of the eye before deciding to leave it be while taking an other bite from his own plate. When she started to speak again he would let the food slide down his throat so he could be prepared to speak. Though her seemingly normal odd behavior caught him off guard and made him take a moment to think. "I take things very close to the value you see on it's surface. I would love to join you in your errands and you needn't worry about my time, or my taking your words to mean more than they do. I am sure it will be most pleasant to get out and stretch my legs and see a bit of this city. The last time I was here I was given a very short leash." A more gentle close lipped smile spread across his face and he shook his head lightly. "Just allow me to finish this off and if you desire we can be on our way." He would turn his attention to his food more than he had to this point of the night. With a calm set of motions yet precise he would clear the food quicker than one would assume from his pace. Once finished he would look to her for prompting in what she wished to do now.

[Airil]

She wondered if he was referring to an actual leash or not, it didn't seem terribly unlikely based on a few of his comments, but she wasn't entirely sure. She didn't think the knights would have allowed a bear into the city, leashed or not, nor would they have taken well to a human on a leash. She frowned over the prospect as she fished the piece of paper from her pocket, looking over it as he finished his food. When it was apparent that he was finished she rose from her seat. “Ms. Owens asked me to get a few things for her. We'll have to go to the bazaar for them.” She shuddered at the prospect. She'd been avoiding the bazaar and the great amount of people it would hold. She stepped away from the table before realizing that she hadn't actually left any money yet, so she started to pat her jacket, looking for the pocket that she'd sewn in the night before. When she couldn't find it, a feeling of panic began to set in. She searched for it more frantically. Had the stitches broken with the weight of her money? Had she not reinforced the bottom of it sufficiently? She tried to remember if she'd heard anything drop to the ground when her hand ran across the money, just not where she'd been looking for it. It dawned on her that she'd never sewn a pocket into the coat, she'd only been thinking about it, however the thought had entered her dreams the night before and the dream had become a false memory. She pulled out some coins, feeling quite foolish for panicking in such a way, but she was feeling better now that she had the money in her hands. She counted through it for the price of the meal before it occurred to her that a bear might not carry money around. Surely though, if he was staying at the Row, then he must have some, and he'd lived with humans so he'd know it was necessary. She snuck a glance at him wondering if perhaps she should leave some extra money for his meals as well, it wasn't like she couldn't afford it. In fact she actually liked that she had money of her own to spend on things. Once the matter of payment was settled, she would lead their way out of the tavern and pause to determine which way they should turn down the street.

[Artos]

When she had stood up he stayed seated for a brief moment longer in order to take the last of the water in his cup in one large gulp. Feeling that was now taken care of he would stand and think on what she said. It seemed curious to him when he saw her shudder at just the mention of a place, one his former bond spoke fondly of. "Is there something about the bazaar that you do not like?" When she was patting herself down and going into a frantic and odd motion he would already be laying to gold mizas on the table. While he watched her take out the coins he looked back to the two he had left on the table. "Will that not cover what we have taken? I have more if there is need for it." His hand slid for the pouch in his tunic as he watched her for an answer. Once he had an answer and matter of payment was taken care of he would follow her out the door. He had no idea where the great bazaar was exactly so left it to her to lead the way. Though she would likely find her fear of the people would be less needed as people tended to avoid getting to close to him.

[Airil]

She had missed his question about not liking the bazaar while distracted by her panicked search for her money and thus never gave an answer to it, but when she looked up to find he'd already laid out the money, she nodded her head. “Oh, that is enough, plus a generous tip.” She fretted for a moment over not leaving money for her own, but the way he spoke implied that he meant to pay for hers as well, she'd just have to find a way to repay him later. Once on the street she arbitrarily chose a direction, relatively sure that it was the right one. She'd know when they were getting close when the noise level started to go up, for now she just watched for familiar landmarks to steer them in the right direction. She walked in silence concentrating on not getting them lost and it didn't take too long before the din around them began to grow. She passed by the stalls that had been set up on the streets, heading for the stairs that would lead them down into the main part of the bazaar. Matilda had made sure she had a general idea of where to find the items on the list. Airil paused at the top of the stairs, looking completely tense. Even from here she could hear the shop keepers calling attention to their wares, the people bartering and haggling. She could see how closely people were pressed together towards the bottom of the steps. She moved quickly to keep from being jostled by some people carrying a large carpet up the stairs, only to bump into Artos instead. “Maybe we should wait for another time.” Her quiet voice was nearly lost in the noise.

[Artos]

Artos would follow her by her scent while allowing his eyes to wander only occasionally checking to make sure she was still in front of him. The majority of the walk was spent looking at the various buildings and watching the people that would skirt around him. When they began to draw close his ears would focus to the loud wall of sound they seemed to be approaching. The stalls about them only got cursory glances with the brunt of his looks on her and the stairway ahead. When Airil paused at the stairway he was right behind her and had a clear vantage down the path. It was a veritable ocean of people below and he could see the tension when he looked down to her shoulders. When he looked up it would be at the moment she pushed back into him. When her back touched his stomach he would wrap his right arms over her shoulders protectively. His left hand would quickly come up to halt the progress of the lead man with the carpet. "There is nothing there that can hurt you with me at your side." With a light dip of his hips he would bring his left arm back down and wrap it around her shoulder. The right arm now sat near her waist and he would gently pick her up and move her a step to their right. The men with the carpet would swallow the gulps they had been holding and continue out of the stairwell. Setting her down as lightly as he had lifted her, she would be positioned still lightly pressing into him on his right side. With a right hand draped over her right shoulder he would turn her lightly to look at him. "Just stay close, and I promise the path will stay fairly clear. You may also want to keep your eyes ahead of us." Upon his lips drew a smile showing his teeth, a smile that looked more than predatory. It was a smile that looked uncaring and seethed with wicked intent.

[Airil]

Being picked up so easily was, perhaps, one of the strangest sensations Airil had ever experienced. For a moment her legs dangled in the air before she was once again on her own two feet a short distance from where she had started. It had happened so unexpectedly and was over so quickly that she didn't even have time to come to terms with an appropriate reaction. His smile was even more surprising, but then she only had to remember what he was and the surprise was gone. She felt a little pity for anyone who might get on his bad side. The men with the carpet were gone and the stairs were relatively clear so she began her descent, feeling Artos staying close behind her. For once having someone so close was actually reassuring. At the bottom of the stairs she spotted the information booth and headed for it, pulling her list back out to double check the map for the places she would need to go. Today seemed to be an extraordinarily busy day for the market, though since she hadn't been there in recent memory, it might always be that way or it might just be that time of day. There were so many people that though they may want to give the large man behind her a wide berth, it didn't look like it would always be possible. As she looked at the map, she found one particular shop that sounded as though it would have most of the items on her list. She looked back up at Artos and pointed in the general direction they would need to head, not wanting to try to make herself heard over the noise, before starting off in that direction. She would cast frequent glances back at Artos if she didn't feel him near. They passed by stalls carrying all manner of goods, with their attendants trying to catch the eyes of passerbys if they didn't already have enough business. Airil couldn't help but stop for a moment to admire some fabrics in one stall, not that she needed to spend her money that way. It did trigger the idea of seeing if anything caught Artos's interest however, perhaps she could purchase something for him as a way of saying appreciation of his company. She glanced back at him to see if he was looking about and what he might be looking at.

[Artos]

Once Airil had begun her descent down the stairs Artos would let the smile fade from his face. The reality was that people would make room when they could but more often than not they would be unable. The smile was more so just a way to reassure Airil, and it had finished that purpose and wasn't needed longer. With only a curious look he would turn his head to take in the vast enormity of the place. The amount of people was only matched by the one other time he had been walked through here. With the formality of taking it all in out of the way he would return his attention to Airil. It was more pertinent to keep track of her visually, the smells and sounds making him using his other senses more difficult. When she pointed out the direction they were heading he would give a pleasant nod before following her as she went. Even though she seemed to be extremely worried he would fall behind he had a natural way of moving though people. It was a much unseen animal grace backed with a bit of bear like force assisting it. When people got in the way they would get a gentle yet strong push moving them on their way so he could keep up. When she stopped to look at fabric he considered it only long enough to know it was beyond him. The fabric was of a fine quality yet he was by far from needing something so extravagant. As well he always found that fabric of any manner served the same purpose, especially when he so easily could tear it. While waiting for her to be ready to move on he rolled his shoulders and let his neck crane from side to side. Once this stretching was through he would let a little bear like huff of air pass from his nose. When he looked back down he saw those sweet blue eyes looking up at him slightly different than the glances to check that he was there. His left eye would quirk in a manner of wondering if there was something particular she wanted to know. "That fabric could make something rather nice, though I must say it is a bit beyond me." He glanced down and ran a hand along his form indicating his own clothing's lack of flare.