Like A Sore Thumb [OPEN]

[Trios]

8th day of Winter, 510 A.V.

“No NO I don’t want your blooming berries I just need to know where I can get some fishing supplies!” Trios yelled back at some trader clothed in leather and tattoos who had been filling his ear with banter about buying fresh picked berries. “Bah I’ll look for it myself” Muttered Trios shaking his head as he walked coldly away from the merchant. Endrykas was a strange community with the whole city living out of tents was almost unnatural. If this amount of Drykas were living together it would have been a better idea to build a more stable community like a city. A city of wanderers was just an insult to travel. There was also this weird fascination with horses here too. Everyone had them, everyone loved them and that was all that seemed to be on everyone’s tongue thought the Isurian coldly. But they spoke common in somewhat decent forms around here and that was good enough for Trios to attempt to buy supplies from the many merchants in a legal fashion. Sadly however, since entering this city Trios could feel the eyes of the Drykas on him. Be it out of curiosity at his blue rock like appearance, his cold/withdrawn nature or both it was like heads were turning as he walked down the row of merchant tents. But as his young guide had stated this kind of behaviour was to be expected when they entered Endrykas. She said that they treated outsiders fairly but one that looked like a five foot Pale blue rock was going to turn a few heads. “I get in, legally buy my gear and then get out as soon as possible.” muttered Trios to himself.That was the plan and Trios was going to stick to it. It was just a bit difficult with half of the stores dealing in leathers, meats and not to mention horse stuff. Maybe there was something to this horse fascination thought the Isur. Sure they were a great way to traverse the land and workers but what else was there? Trios was pretty sure they didn’t make a good conversation with. So taking a break from his shopping fiasco attempts, Trios had come to a halt near the busiest horse trading merchants he could find. If there was something weird going on with these horses maybe he could figure it out.

[Ariel]

Ariel was sitting on a wooden post that a brown mare was tied to, looking around at all the people running about the area. They didn't seem to so much as notice her. Ehh, no matter, she thought to herself, they're probably not that much fun anyhoo. Ariel watched as a man walked by. He was shorter than most of the people around them, but far taller than her still. His skin was a strange blue color, and he had deep green eyes. He seemed to be muttering something under his breath, but she couldn't make out the words. Ariel concentrated, and zero-ed in on his aura. It was a dark black color. It had a gooey, even slimy look to it, and smelled of the salt of the sea. She could see a pirate's flag, and an empty treasure chest. Ariel allowed herself to break concentration. A pirate without a patch, she thought to herself, how interesting. Soon growing disinterested, she decided to crawl across the rope the brown mare was tied too. Slowly, slowly, so she wouldn't fall off and be smushed. She felt like she should be in the circus. It took a few minutes for Ariel to navigate across the rope. Her tiny hands burning as she crossed, the fibers coming loose in places from her weight. When she had finally crossed the rope, she found herself on the mare's nose. It snorted as she stared into it's dark brown eyes with her unblinking eyes. "Hello," she whispered as she crawled up the length of the horse's long nose, and up between its ears. "Oh, don't mind me," she whispered to it, patting it's head. Its fur was soft, and warm. Inviting. But it smelled faintly of sweat. "I'm just here to enjoy the view" she said, just as she noticed that the blue pirate-man she had been observing before had stopped short in front of the busiest horse trading merchant that the eye could see; just a few paces away from where she was sitting in between the mare's ears. (In his paces, not hers).

[Trios]

“Yep, the're just horses….nothing magical going on here” muttered Trios shaking his head towards the previous idea that there was something special going on with the horses. The Drykas were following the simple belief that to make something special you must believe it so. It wasn’t a bad philosophy, just plain stupid. If you want something special, it has to be unique and different than what every one else or otherwise it’s just part of the normality. And it was this normality that grinding against Trios mind like a whetstone making him…“Would you get a load of the size of that bug!” gasped Trios in his cold manner reaching towards the thing that was clinging onto a mare’s ear. “Lemme get this thing off ya, ya silly beast. If I was you I wouldn’t want some nasty bug on me ear either” Laughed Trios grabbing the bug by the wings with his rocky like fingers of his right hand. Trios’s deep green eyes narrowed as he gave a brief overview to the thing between his thumb and index finger. There was also a twisted sort of pleasure when Trios inspected smaller things them him, it made him feel giant and fearsome. Even the bugs in Cyphrus were monstrous in size. This mosquito was almost human like in form with birdlike wings. It was a strange sight as Trios brought the creature closer to his eyes so that he could get a better idea of what he was dealing with. It almost looked like the bug was in a panic state of emotion towards the cold looking Isurian. “Huh you’re almost entirely made out of clay aren’t ya buggy? Trust me from a guy who gets the rock comments I know me a varying degree of types of stone. Wonder what ya really are?” Questioned Trios as he found himself thinking out loud as he walked away from the horse merchant. It wasn’t like the creature was going to tell him anyways, small things like this didn’t really talk in ways that he could understand.

[Ariel]

The strange man walked over to where Ariel was sitting on the horse. "Would you get a load of the size of that bug!” the strange pirate-man said. "Hey! Who are you calling a bug?" Ariel shouted back at him, her hands on her hips. “Lemme get this thing off ya, ya silly beast. If I was you I wouldn’t want some nasty bug on me ear either” he said next, as he plucked her up and off the horse by her wings. She started kicking and screaming, "hey let me go you evil, no-good, fat ugly swashbuckling skaliwag! You black-hearted fiend!" Ariel kept blasting him, screaming profanities and the like. "I said unhand me you vile fiend! Put me down, put me down!" Ariel scrunched up her eyes and screamed at the top of her little lungs. This giant oaf didn't seem to be listening, or to care. Ariel's wings had started to ache in the area that the pirate was pinching her. She was getting angry. Wishing this.... this.... giant monstrosity would place her back on her mount. It wasn't like she was bothering the thing. Her eyes turned to angry daggers. "I command you in the name of Harameus to unhand me!" she hollered again, giving a swift kick upwards and into empty air. The man held her closer to his face, “huh you’re almost entirely made out of clay aren’t ya buggy? Trust me from a guy who gets the rock comments I know me a varying degree of types of stone. Wonder what ya really are?” "Pycon!" Ariel hollered as she started swiping at him, trying to claw his face. The best she did was swipe across his nose. All it did was leave a red mark across it. "Pycon you ignorant meanie!" Ariel was running out of insults. "Haven't you ever heard of us you evil blue giant man, with your smelly rotting teeth, and stinky ale breath?"

[Trios]

“Huh it can talk, Pycon you say? Can’t seem to recall that race of being. Though you Pycon’s do sure know a fair bit of cursing though.” Laughed Trios in his cold hearted manner when he realized that the buzzing noise was actually common coming from the creature’s mouth. It was a fascinating discovery for the Isur, a being of clay and only three inches tall with intelligence to boot no less. Even as the little clay creature’s hand grinded against Trios dense skin it just made him chuckle at the fiery nature of the thing. “Wonder what ya taste like….” Questioned Trios opening his mouth wide and bringing the small clay like creature to his mouth slowly as if he was about to eat it. And after a long drawn out motion the Isur withdrew his hand from it’s course bringing the Pycon back to it’s original distance from his face. “Just kidding! That’s for calling my teeth rotten, I keep good care of them if you happened to glance at them, breath not so much, so were square on that issue” jested Trios turning his hand so that he was no longer pinching the creature’s wings but containing it in his cupped hand. Trios was to never going to eat the creature anyway. Rule one of Trios’s ongoing codes was to never eat things that you can understand with the common language. But picking on said creatures was not there so it was fair game. “Also what was with the bit about Harameus? That some sort of god of yours? I’ll tell ya a little secret…miss Pycon. The gods, they don’t really care about any of us less they can get something from you. Your better believing in your own skills and strength and not depending on deities alone, it’s a more honourable path anyway.” Trios said to the small Pycon about his view point on the whole god of choice ordeal. The whole Drykas clan was now giving Trios odd looks. It had appeared like he was talking to a cupped hand. But the Isurian didn’t care, he was never a person to care what people thought of him so long as his name was in their minds to begin with.

[Ariel]

“Huh it can talk, Pycon you say? Can’t seem to recall that race of being. Though you Pycon’s do sure know a fair bit of cursing though," the creepy pirate man said, and laughed heartily. Ariel was still kicking and screaming. "Big-nosed barnacle! Ugly fat man! Stupid pirate, shouldn't you get back to your bloody ship!" Ariel shouted, getting really really pissy with the pirate. “Wonder what ya taste like….” the man said as he started to inch Ariel closer and closer to his mouth. The foul stench of cheap liquor was radiating off of him. Ariel scrunched up her nose, and closed her eyes, how disgusting, she thought. She kept inching and inching closer to the man's mouth. She opened her eyes, and then wished she hadn't. Saliva was dripping from the roof of the pirate's mouth to the bottom, where his tongue was slightly outstretched towards her. It was big, and slimy looking. His teeth were rotting, and looked like they were about to fall out. Gross, she thought to herself, as she held the bile that was rising in her throat back. Thank Harameus I haven't eaten yet today, she thought, as she swallowed it and continued screaming. "Rotten, no good, son of a..." she began, but was cut off as the man suddenly pulled her away from his mouth and said "just kidding!" What a bully, she thought, couldn't he at least have the courage to pick on someone his own size? Seriously. Picking on a pycon, which were never more than three inches tall, was pathetic, in so many more ways than one. “Also what was with the bit about Harameus? That some sort of god of yours? I’ll tell ya a little secret…miss Pycon. The gods, they don’t really care about any of us less they can get something from you. Your better believing in your own skills and strength and not depending on deities alone, it’s a more honourable path anyway," the pirate said. Ariel swung at him with a higher sense of force and anger. NO. ONE. DISRESPECTS. HARAMEUS. EVER. She opened her mouth wide, and bore her little pointy clay teeth, her fingernails grew into sharp claws, her eyes became daggers. Ariel swung at him with all her might, and slashed him across his right cheek. It left a cut, which had started to trickle blood. "No one insults Harameus!" she screamed, before spitting in the man's face. "And what on earth do you know about honor, mister? You're a bloody pirate!" she hollered. Certainly he couldn't argue with that. Ariel's eyes glared at him. Filled with a deep-seated hatred. If looks could kill, the pirate would be one dead man.

[Trios]

Trios didn’t even flinch as the tiny fingers broke the stone like skin of the Isur. It felt like a small papper cut to Trios and he didn’t even think that wiping the droplets of blood was worth it to that type of injury. As the small trickle of spit slid down his rock like face, the Isurian’s eyes were like a cold flame on the small Pycon, it was hard to tell what the unpredictable man was thinking towards the actions of the small creature. Then a highly arrogant smile broke the stone like face of Trios as he began to chuckle at the Pycon’s actions. It amused him more than all of the Drykas within the camp. Here was a creature standing up to something far bigger and stronger than it could ever be. It was almost awe inspiring, though Trios would be damned to tell the Pycon that, he wasn’t that much of a goody-twoshoe. “Hahahahah Oh I like you! hahahahahaha” Trios managed to utter from the cold laughter as he held the creature within his diamond like hands. It took a few moments for the laughter to subside before the Isur would speak again. “And if you must know I know quite a bit about honour, like for example how much honour is within a free-spirit, tell ya what” said Trios bringing the small Pycon to the tip of his hat on his head. Then the Pycon would be released once Trios had finished speaking. The Pycon would land so that she landed on the rim of the leather hat. “I’ve been bored with supply buying at the moment, where do you wanna go s’long as it’s in Endrykas I’m yours to command for the rest of the day Ye o’ Pycon of steel” The last statement made Trios chuckle at his own cunning wordplay. The world was indeed full of wonders to behold and sometimes they were so small in size that so many seemed to pass them by. If Trios hadn’t have looked at the small Pycon thing he wouldn’t have seen how much feriosity and freespirit a creature could contain regardless of size. “So where to…..captain?” Finished Trios motioning towards the entire Drykas camp with his left hand. The last bit he added for fun at the thought of him being some sort of colossal ship to the Pycon’s small size. The day was turning out to be a bit more entertaining than he had previously imagined.

[Ariel]

“Hahahahah Oh I like you! hahahahahaha” the pirate said as he laughed heartily at her. "Well that's nice," Ariel said, "but I'm not so fond of you." She said as she crossed her arms across her chest. Her eyes still daggers, stuck in the pirate's death grip, being held up by her two clay wings. Talk about painful. Her back was starting to ache. “And if you must know I know quite a bit about honour, like for example how much honour is within a free-spirit, tell ya what," there was a long drawn-out pause. So this pirate thinks now? Ariel thought to herself, as the man soon wore on, “I’ve been bored with supply buying at the moment, where do you wanna go s’long as it’s in Endrykas I’m yours to command for the rest of the day Ye o’ Pycon of steel” the pirate chuckled, as he placed Ariel on the brim of his hat. Ariel rolled her eyes. That was so not funny, she thought to herself, as she brushed herself off, wishing that she wasn't this high up, because then she could simply jump off the hat and run the heck away. This guy was crazy, and a bully, and just plain rude. Oh, and did she mention, poorly-groomed, unkempt, and generally smelly? Seriously, the guy stunk of cheap liquor, arm pit, the worst case of morning breath ever, and dung. “So where to…..captain?” the pirate asked as he gestured around Endrykas with his hand. Captain? she thought to herself, as she sat at the edge of his hat, her legs dangling off the side, swinging a bit. That was a new one. Ariel rubbed her sore shoulders, tried to flutter her clay wings a bit. Just to stretch them, get the kinks out. But it didn't do too much. She rolled her neck around, a bit, then stared forward and down. Where did she want to go? What did she want to do? Unfortunately, the clay woman had no idea, well, except that she certainly didn't want to do anything with the pirate, who was now being stared at by a number of Drykas. Guess they didn't notice her, or hear her screaming. Convenient, she thought to herself. She looked down again, maybe she could jump down and land on his shoulder, then slide down his clothes and onto the ground without getting smushed? Then run like all get-out and escape. She doubted it. Figuring if she did survive the fall, he'd catch up to her in an instant. Ariel sighed heavily, "wherever," she replied simply, having the notion that even if she did give directions, he wouldn't follow them. Then just for the sake of being annoying, she pointed over to a tent, "there," then paused, placed a finger on her lips, in thought, pointed to another tent, "no there," she did this over and over for a few minutes, until she was pretty sure she had the pathetic pirate good and confused.

[Trios]

OCC: WIll finish Thread with an overview of what was bought.

“Ouch lass, your words are like a thousand daggers in me heart” laughed Trios when the Pycon told her of how much she didn’t like him at the moment. Then Trios had to bite his tongue until the little devil came to the last “no there” directional indication towards one of the traders tents. “So that one traders tent there? Huh what a coincidence I needed to go there anyway, lets see ah it’s selling some survival gear that I need. See your not a bad captain after all miss Pycon.” Boasted the Isur in a very sly manner, since the Isur needed to make a stop at each of the merchant tents anyway since he had no idea what each one sold but the Pycon didn’t need to know that. “What do you need sir? I’ve got a new supply of four person hunting tents great for party hunts..” Greeted the male merchant who to what Trios thought looked like all the yest of the Drykas clan. Tattooted and wearing furs or leathers made from the kills of their hunts. There was no apparent drive to be different around here, just the drive to live for one’s clan and the earth itself. But that wasn’t what made the Isur angry at the moment. The merchant had almost disregarded the small creature on the tip of his hat. But then again being three inches, it was somewhat of a curse at not being noticed reasoned Trios. “The lady requires a few things here and if you don’t show some respect I’ll see that we take our business elsewhere!” Grunted the Isur in anger at the male merchant pointing at the small Pycon so that the Drykas trader would pay attention to the small female. Than the Isur would rummage though his pocket pulling out a slight list that he had made of the things he needed handing it over to the merchant, pointing out the items that he required. After a few awkward moments of the merchant giving the small creature a bit more attention with apologies and complements before bringing Trios what he required. The items included: • Travelers Stock (3gm) • Rucksack (1gm) • Small Animal Snare (5gm) • Blanket (5sm) • Bed Roll (1sm) • One Person Tent (2gm) Total= 11gm 6sm “Now next time you see this Lil’Pycon, you’d better give her loads o’respect or she wouldn’t have told me to buy this much here” Replied Trios in his cold manner tossing the payment required for the transaction. Once the gear was stored within or attached to Trios’s backpack the pair would exit the merchant tent. Or in this case Trios would exit the tent with his small Pycon companion ridding on his leather hat. “Alright next stop where to Missy?” Trios thought he’d be damned if he didn’t leave this tent city with all the merchants worshipping the small creature for the gold they earned this day. It made Trios laugh at the amount of amusement he was gaining from buying things at the moment becuase of his small stoyaway on his hat.

[Ariel]

“So that one traders tent there? Huh what a coincidence I needed to go there anyway, lets see ah it’s selling some survival gear that I need. See you're not a bad captain after all miss Pycon," the pirate said, as he began walking in the general direction in which she had last pointed. Ariel pouted, not like he could see her where she was sitting. This day was so not turning out the way she wanted it to. The pirate approached a merchant's tent, and was greeted by a male merchant with, "what do you need sir? I’ve got a new supply of four person hunting tents great for party hunts...” "Guess you're too blind to notice me up here," Ariel called, as the man looked around wildly, wondering where the voice came from. Ariel waved her hands wildly. "Up here silly!" she called again. Again, the man couldn't find her. *Facepalm.* “The lady requires a few things here and if you don’t show some respect I’ll see that we take our business elsewhere!” the pirate boomed before he pointe at her. Just noticing her existence, the merchant apologized for not seeing her before. Ariel crossed her arms, "yeah, yeah that's what they all say," she said, as she turned her head to the left, so that all the merchant could see was her profile. Some people really must be blind, she thought to herself. The pirate sifted through his pocket, and pulled out a piece of paper. There was something written on it, but Ariel couldn't see it from where she was sitting. The pirate pointed to a few things on the paper, and the merchant came back with a few items. Must be a list of supplies, Ariel thought to herself as she watched the merchant carry back items such as a small animal snare, which sent chills up her spine, and a blanket, which she didn't find anywhere as intimidating. “Now next time you see this Lil’Pycon, you’d better give her loads o’respect or she wouldn’t have told me to buy this much here” said the pirate as he tossed his money at the merchant, who barely managed to catch it. Ariel simply smirked from her perch upon the pirate's hat. The whole transaction was something that she found so very amusing. The look upon the merchant's face, a mixture of confusion and terror, how red he was, how jittery and nervous he seemed, just made her want to brake out in laughter. Mind you, she had never told the pirate to buy so much from the shop, but surely the merchant didn't need to know that? Surely it'd be best if he merely went on thinking that she had thrown him a bone, even after he had been so disrespectful towards her. Maybe the pirate wasn't so bad after all. Maybe. Never mind, scratch that, he was still smelly as all get-out. And he was a no-good rotten pirate, even if she had actually seen him pay for something. Ariel sighed. Where to now? With this smelly pirate man? “Alright next stop where to Missy?” the pirate asked. Ariel got up, placed her hands on the brim of the hat, and peered down at him. She was looking at the pirate's forehead. "Hello," she said, stifling a little laugh, as she lay there, knowing that as soon as the pirate tried looking at her, he'd more than likely go cross-eyed. Then she answered the rest of his question, "doesn't matter, no matter where you go, no one is going to notice me up here, and they're all going to think you've lost it, and have started speaking to yourself, or maybe it's the little voices in your head. Either way, it's quite fun to watch you know."