You're So Annoying! (edalene)

[Conrad]

The 6th of winter 510 AV

Conrad whistled a merry tune as he aimlessly wandered around in endrykas and patted the head of his parrot, the gray bird affectionately rubbing his beak to his cheek. He looked at the tent city around him, looking for something that could catch his interest.
Not paying attention to where he was walking he bumped into a rather tall and gangly looking woman.
"Eh sorry about that." he scratched the scar on his face in an embarrassed way.
"I really wasn't paying attention." he quickly stepped around her wishing to continue sightseeing.
"Now that is a nice piece of booty!" His little buddy squawked out in conrad's voice, loud enough for everyone to hear. Conrad looked at his little buddy, who just looked back with a twinkle in his eye before letting out an innocent sounding squawk.Conrad felt his face heat up as he saw the other people look at him. Conrad gave an embarased chuckle as he turned around intent to appologize for his little buddy's behavior immediately.

[Edalene]

Eda was just walking around Endrykas -- which she seemed to do a lot lately, you'd think she was bored, or something... impossible! -- when a strange looking man with a bird on his shoulder rudely walked straight into her. He wasn't particularly tall, nor particularly interesting looking, except for a large jagged scar that covered half of his face. Eda wondered where he had gotten it as he began to apologise for bumping into her. "You should be sorry, and watch where you're going."

Eda began to side step the strange man, and walked off a couple of paces when the parrot began to squawk. Eda's face flamed with embarrassment as the parrot pointed out... her nice booty? Eda's embarrassment heightened, hoping to the Gods that no one she knew was nearby. The comment from the insufferable bird had been loud, so that no one nearby could not have heard it. Embarrassment turned to irritation as she contemplated how rude it was for a bird, of all things, to sexually harrass her on the street! Irritation turned to anger as she thought on how this man was obviously a newcomer. How dare some silly foreigner insult her on her street, in HER city? Eda wheeled around with determination, and marched straight up to the strange man.

Quivering with anger now, an inner fire simmering, Eda shoved a finger in the man's face. "Listen here, and your little bird can listen to. How DARE you insult me like that in the middle of the street! I don't even know you! Keep your thoughts to yourself, and shut that bird up!" Eda whipped her hair around and swiveled, intent on marching off again.

[Conrad]

Conrad gulped as the angry woman marched towards him.
"Euhm, Calm down?" Conrad futilely tried to calm her. He backed away when she shoved a finger in his face, fury clearly visible on her face.
"Listen here, and your little bird can listen to. How DARE you insult me like that in the middle of the street! I don't even know you! Keep your thoughts to yourself, and shut that bird up!"
Conrad just went even more red in embarrassment as he heard some people snicker at how he was put in his place. He just reached out and grabbed the girl's shoulder intent to put this thing straight.
"I never even insulted you! It was my little buddy," he pointed to his parrot. "he was the one who said it, not me."
The parrot just ruffled his feathers at the remark and looked away from his boss.
"Sides I never even thought that about you! Your like a freaking twig!" Conrad blinked as the words just rolled of his tongue only seconds later realizing what he said.
"we can ignore the last sentence, can we?" The parrot just burried his head under his wing, not willing to see his boss dig himself deeper.

[Edalene]

Eda felt satisfied as she watched the stranger redden with embarrassment. Serves him right, she thought, let him be embarrassed. He, after all, was an idiot. Eda lowered a shaking finger, smiling smugly at the stupified look on his stupid face. Just as she was about to walk away, getting ready to strut with pride in front of the onlookers, he began to talk to her again. He grabbed her shoulder, wheeling her back around. Eda tapped her foot as he made his excuses.

Eda was looking at the stupid parrot when the foreigner made his next faux pas. Eda's anger simmered to the surface again, and her voice lowered dangerously. "A freaking twig, did you say? Did you just call me a twig?" Eda's voice was rising in volume and pitch. "I am NOT A TWIG! I am more of a warrior, than you, stupid man! At least I don't have a stupid scar on my face! Don't you dare call me a twig, YOU PETCHING... PETCHING... LOSER!" Eda was shrieking now, her face red with anger. She didn't know why this stranger irritated her so, he just did. In anger, Eda put her hand to her sword hilt, hanging at her side. "No, we MAY NOT IGNORE THAT LAST PETCHING COMMENT!" With that last scream of rage, Eda pulled out her sword, and pointed it at the man. "You... you... YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!"

[Conrad]

"oh boy." Conrad muttered under his breath as she began to rage again. Her voice quickly rising in volume and pitch.
"I am NOT A TWIG! I am more of a warrior, than you, stupid man! At least I don't have a stupid scar on my face! Don't you dare call me a twig, YOU PETCHING... PETCHING... LOSER!" Conrad just backed away not liking how she was fingering the sword at her side.
"Hey it was a slip of the......." Conrad was cut of as she began to screech again his parrot winching at the high shrill sound.
"No, we MAY NOT IGNORE THAT LAST PETCHING COMMENT!" She pulled out her sword and pointed it at him."You... you... YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!"
Conrad just gulped as the irate woman pointed the weapon at him.
"Eh is this really necessary?" Conrad asked as he called up on his djed and forced the flesh on his hand's to twist to his will, The fingers slowly formed talons sharp enough to cut through human flesh as easy as a blade.
"I really don't want anybody to get hurt you know?" The parrot on his shoulder sqauwked once and flew away to a safer place not wanting to get caught up between two fighting people.

[Edalene]

Eda's hand was shaking with rage, the sword quivering in the man's face. Eda's still logical part of her mind acknowledged this as a bit of an overreaction. I mean, really, why should this strange little man matter so? And why should she get so offended over the twig comment? Eda let a little bit of guilt slip into her mind. Maybe, Eda thought, maybe it hurt so much because it's true. I am a twig. I'm gangly and bumbling. I ramble. I pull swords out at random rude men. Why would Kayiri like a twig?

Eda was about to put down the sword, apologise and be on her "merry" way again when some strange devilry began to take place. The man's hand began to shift and change, skin bubbling awfully. The man's rather long fingers began to transform, becoming more and more different until finally, where the fingers had been, a hand full of talons lay. The man's threatening comment only served to put Eda more on edge, feeling less and less comfortable with the situation. Magic. Eda did not trust anything she could not see the cause of, and there certainly was no cause for this man's hand to change species, and not the rest of him! Eda shifted as the parrot flew away, and tensed her entire body.

"Now, you listen to me. I don't know what you just did, but I don't like it. It's not natural. Bear in mind I know how to use this sword, and if anyone were to get hurt in this situation, it'd be you." To prove her point, Eda shifted forward and placed the tip of her broadsword against the man's nose.

[Mixcoatl]

Although the Drykas were a proud, warrior people by nature, that did not mean that they did not have rules regarding conflict between persons within the confines of the spiraling pathways of Endrykas. More specifically, they had one. There was to be no conflict, unless it was within the confines of the War Pavilion. Conflict in public was a disruption to the peace of their society and the flow of everyday life. Endrykas was a safe haven in a Sea that expanded as far as the eye could see. They would not have that tarnished by a few upstarts fighting over their pride in public. The men and women making their way through the twisting paths Conrad and Edalene walked upon reacted silently, giving the two a wide berth. A few stopped to stare, getting out of the way of the rest of the group. It was only when the two began drawing weapons that a pair rode out to intervene. Both of them wore a leather cuirass, with matching leggings. Their arms were exposed, revealing their windmarks. When they came withing five yards of the pair, they dismounted. One drew a bastard sword, whilst the other drew a spear and a leather shield. Both looked frighteningly familiar with their weapons-- not to mention the scars on their arms and faces revealed that they had seen more than one scuffle. The spear-wielding Drykas approached Conrad, holding his spear at the ready, shield forming a wall between him and the magic user before him. The Drykas was not afraid of magic. Magic was what allowed them to find their way across the Sea of Grass. To him, Conrad was just a different opponent, if it came to that. As he came closer, Conrad would notice the large diamond set in a golden amulet that hung around his neck, and the small diamonds that decorated his hair, which was up in an elaborate display of Drykas knotwork. The other man, the bastard sword wielder, approached Edalene, and did the honors of breaking the two combatants apart. A skillful push with the flat of his blade moved the tip of Edalene's broadsword away from Conrad harmlessly. To finalize Conrad's safety, the man pushed the novice's blade aside, coming in to shove her back with a push of his shoulder. With the two enraged persons now safely separated, the bastard sword wielding warrior spoke. "There is to be no fighting within the confines of Endrykas, outside of the War Pavilion! By drawing weapons on one another, you have broken this sacred rule!" The man's voice boomed with authority, as he glared at Edalene menacingly. The spear wielder simply watched Conrad with a silent, measured gaze. "As punishment, both of you shall be put to work collecting fired munitions at the War Pavilion-- while more are being fired. That is the law of the Drykas, and it applies to all within the city, be they Drykas or foreigner!"

[Conrad]

Conrad just stared nervously at the drykas before him and the sharp point of the tip, and just released his hold on the djed and his hand slowly returned to normal.
"Eh, we are in trouble right now aren't we?" Conrad sighed as the other drykas began to speak.

"There is to be no fighting within the confines of Endrykas, outside of the War Pavilion! By drawing weapons on one another, you have broken this sacred rule!" The man's voice boomed with authority. Conrad began to sweat and the silent measured gaze from the drykas in front of him made him even more nervous. "As punishment, both of you shall be put to work collecting fired munitions at the War Pavilion-- while more are being fired. That is the law of the Drykas, and it applies to all within the city, be they Drykas or foreigner!"
Conrad got a look of horror on his face as heard the sentence.
"You mean people are going to shoot at us!" conrad's eye twitched once. He looked over the drykas shoulder at the woman.
"thanks a lot of bringing me into this mess!"

[Edalene]

Eda was almost glad that the pair had come out of the crowd. It meant that a lot of her anger disappated, and it enabled her to calm down for a moment. Such anger was unusual for the usually quiet Drykas, quiet and bumbling. Eda's relief, if you could call it that, was not long lasting. It quickly melted away when she realised just what the two Drykas meant. Her entire body sagged with regret as the muscular man holding a bastard sword batted away Eda's broadsword, and stopped it from pointing at Conrad's little nose. Eda looked anywhere but the law enforcer as he began to speak.

Petch. The most humiliating punishment out there. Gathering arrows from the firing range as arrows were being shot? Knowing Eda's luck, she would be hit. What would her father say? Nothing, actually, he would probably just stare at her and sigh disapprovingly. Wait... what would Kayiri say? The look of disappointment on his face! Would he want a hardened criminal? Petch. The amount of people she would disappoint would be endless. Eda could feel the cold hard stare of the warrior, and cringed away.

The stranger began to speak, bemoaning his fate and cursing Eda for bringing him into this mess. Eda would have liked to say so many things to this man, this stupid, ignorant, rude little man but with the eyes of the warriors on her, she really couldn't afford to cause anymore trouble. Instead, she squared her shoulders, sent a frosty glare toward the random, and faced the guards. "When will this punishment be happening?" Better to grin and bear it.... or, not grin, but just get it over with and hope to the Gods she didn't get shot and that no one she knew found out about it.

[Mixcoatl]

"Not shoot at you," the spear warrior spoke for the first time, his voice low and simple, not carrying the authority of his larger companion's. "They won't be firing at you. The targets will still be their targets. You are simply to retrieve their ammunition. Whether or not you are hit while doing so is for Lhex to decide," he then responded specifically to the look of horror on the man's face, with a cold tone that seemed dismissive of the man's helpless feelings. "If you did not wish to be punished, you should not have began this combat. By enduring this punishment now, you will learn not to step out of line again, foreigner. Such are the Laws of the Drykas. You brought punishment upon yourself just as much, if not more, than she did." The other man responded to Edalene curtly. "We shall escort the two of you there now. You! Magician! If I see but the slightest hint of trickery from you, I will not hesitate to cut off your hands," the Drykas then threatened, obviously distrustful of a man who can shift his body as he so willed. He glanced at Edalene, about to disarm her, but decided against it. There was no way she would part with such a beautiful weapon peacefully. His eyes shot her a cold gaze, transferring to her the futility of any attempt to flee or assault them with the blade. With that out in the air, the man moved to mount his Strider, sheathing his sword just before mounting the stallion. The spear warrior took slightly longer, waiting for his comrade-in-arms to take of position near the two truants before he left them unattended to mount his horse. Unlike his comrade, he kept his shield and spear drawn, guiding the mare beneath him with gentle movements of his knees and feet. Now that both men were mounted, they took up positions, the bastard sword warrior in the lead of the pair, the spear wielder behind, ready to pursue them if they attempted to flee. With a single, sharp command in Pavi, the two began to move, the spear-man urging them forward with sharp commands, and if need be, the wood of his spear. As the convoy progressed through the webway that was Endrykas, many stopped to watch. The sight was not uncommon. Fortunately for Edalene, no one familiar to her eyes noticed her. Her honor would remain intact-- for now, at least. Soon, the caravan reached the War Pavilion, and the two men dismounted, letting their Striders run free into the herd that already roamed around them. The duo then escorted the criminals inside, directing them to a lean, well-muscled man. Edalene would recognize the man instantly from her days training within the War Pavilion, though he had never taught her directly, and feel a sense of impending doom broiling in her gut. Conrad, on the other hand, would see him as just another Drykas, though even he would sense the familiarity with which this man held the longbow clutched in his left hand. The man was Mal'n, of the Farkill Pavilion, an Expert Archer in every sense of the word. His skill was known through the entirety of Endrykas, especially amongst the warriors of the Diamond Clan whom had spent time training at the War Pavilion. It was said he could hit a moving target at fifty paces, a stationary at seventy-five, with his eyes closed and only a second to aim. Of course, that could all be rumor, but it was up to them to sort the fact from the fiction. After a curt stop and a loud "Haaooh!" from the bastard-swordsman to garner his attention, Mal'n turned to face the small party, sizing up the two unfamiliar faces. "Truants, sir. They looked to start a fight within the city," he spoke in Pavi. Mal'n nodded simply, smiling at the two. He needed to hear no more. He addressed them in Pavi, obviously not caring whether or not Conrad understood. "Well, then, get down to the end of the range. My class is actually just about to start practice," he made a quick motion with his arm, gesturing for the pair to set off down the range. Once they did, Mal'n returned to his work, watching the men and women he was teaching line up. Each held a longbow in their hand, ready to begin their practice. Thankfully, all of them showed uncertainty with the weapon, similar to that one lacking in skill would show. From the end of the range, Edalene could hear him speaking in Pavi. "Listen up, students. Some fools decided to fight within Endrykas today, so you don't have to worry about collecting your own arrows. I've taught you all you need to know, I'll correct any mistakes I see. Fire at will!" With that, the students began nocking arrows onto the strings of their bows, pulling them back, some with great ease and some with obvious struggle. Slowly, they each fired, shots raining down the range at poor Edalene and Conrad, slamming both into targets, into the ground behind targets, and into the ground before targets. Showing no care for the pair, they instantly began reloading, readying another deadly volley to fire down the range. "What're you waiting for?" Mal'n demanded of the two from down the range, now in Common. "Bring the arrows back! Our archers need ammo to learn!" He himself nocked an arrow, loosing it after only a few brief moments of aiming, following the arrow as it streaked perfectly through the air and slammed into the center of one of the targets. A charming smile and wink found their way to Edalene.