[The Great Bazaar] Lady and the Tramp

by **Sondra** on February 25th, 2011, 6:23 am

The Konti looked mildly miffed at Hadrian's refusal to take back the miza, but she wasn't going to force the matter. It was money in her pocket. However, it taught her the kid was more complicated than she thought. It wasn't being cheated that bothered him, it was not knowing all he could. There was something dangerous and praiseworthy in that impulse.

Sondra was about to abandon the whole matter when she heard her name. Quicker than one would have suspected, Hadrian found himself being yanked out of sight on the stairway by his shirt and forced against the wall. The Konti, had his collar in her fist and pressed it into his sternum with most her weight. She was waiting for any reason to transfer the grip to his neck.

"Who wants to know, you little petcher?"

She knew too much, she'd done too much and consequence was bound to find her sooner than later. But not here, not now, not when things were looking up.

by **Hadrian** on February 25th, 2011, 6:39 am

Hadrian had never been much use in a fight, tending to avoid conflict rather than engage in battle, even the mock fights of youth, and he did have several brothers. But ever since he had graduated from the University, people had been trying to kill him: Sahovan golems, power-hungry illusionists, psychopathic pyromaniac gadgeteers. His mind reacted faster than his body did, but it reacted by pouring djed into his muscles in a flash like adrenaline hitting the blood. Adrenaline on fire.

Everything slowed down or, rather, he sped up. Slipping out from her grip with a burst of Fluxed speed and strength, her hand caught on his, and he grabbed at it frantically, nervous even with the sudden, unlooked for advantage, and attempted to pin it behind her back. Just then the instinctive flash of power deserted him, but he managed to lean his weight into her, pushing her against the wall.

"What the petch is your problem?!" he exclaimed, voice nearly choking with nerves as he imagined a near future where he got beat up by a girl. A pretty girl, too. He hoped nobody saw.

by **Sondra** on February 25th, 2011, 7:04 am

Sondra resented mages; irritated by their unfair advantages and the god-complexes that led them to mangle the world. Her dislike was currently moving from mild to severe.

As she was pressed against the wall with impossible speed, Sondra gave a half growl. She wormed against the hold despite the acute pain in her shoulder. Not hearing Hadrian’s question, the Konti slammed her heel on the top of his foot. She had the fighting instincts of a caged animal.

Only then did his question register.

“My problem?”
The Konti didn’t know which emotion to express first, confusion or anger.
“I’m not keen on being found by whoever sent you looking for ‘Sondra’.”

Despite being in a bit of a corner, the Konti looked like she wasn’t afraid of another round.

“I’ve told three people in this city my name and you’re not one of them.”

by **Hadrian** on February 25th, 2011, 7:17 am

"OW!" he shouted, rolling off of her to lean against the wall, his knee to his chest and his hands clutching protectively at his foot. That was going to bruise and make him limp for a while. "Ow, ow, OW!" He then managed actual words, none of them fit for print, and glared at her, his pale face flushed a hot red.

"Nobody sent me looking for anyone," he growled through clenched teeth. "I met Cathan is all," he said, "and Kendall. I wasn't looking for you, but Cathan told me where he was staying in case he was incapacitated and it took me a while, but I put two and two together and got four. Petch!." He rather wished he could peel his shoe off and blow on his injured foot, dignity be damned.

"Gods, keep the miza! Keep your mysteries! Don't start fights in Syliras or the Knights will punish you. That's not a threat; it's a fact."

by **Sondra** on February 25th, 2011, 8:20 am

As Hadrian fumed and swore over his bruised foot, Sondra began to have a vague inkling she might have been too paranoid, too soon. If this kid was a scout or some sort of tracker, then she was an Akvatari with a penchant for watercolors.

Wonderful, another incident of misplaced aggression. But there was still that nagging concern over how he knew her name. Before she could bring it up, he was growling an answer.

“Well, er, yeah, meeting them would explain it.”
She paused and he was still glaring at her.
“I guess.”

This reaction didn’t improve his mood. He was telling her to shove it, in so many words. Sondra couldn’t blame him too much, but then he hadn’t been forthcoming. Granted, he was pressed against the wall when the questioning started.

"Thanks for the warning bout the knights, Grandma, I'll bear that in mind."
Sondra stuffed her hands in her pockets.
"There's just some people I dread more than knights.”

Where Hadrian may have made social mistakes in his time, Sondra regularly committed social atrocities. There was a reason she worked at the crematorium instead of a flower shop.

She had yet to leave despite Hadrian’s broad encouragement to do so. Sondra knew there were some amends to be made here, but the how was eluding her.

“Listen, I’m sorry bout your foot. If it’s any consolation my shoulder hurts.”

As a nervous habit she began to fumble for her necklace. She didn’t intend on using the Tear for something so minor, it was just instinct.

“Petch me,” she mumbled before finding her voice.

“I’ll make it up to you. You know you want to have a Konti owe you somehow.”

She extended her gloved hand, hoping to pull him away from the wall.

“I’m going home to make dinner. Want some? And if you don’t start anymore fights, I’ll tell you how the Konti nonsense really works.”

by **Hadrian** on February 26th, 2011, 7:53 pm

Sondra seemed honestly apologetic, though a little surly yet. Hadrian was careful with "seemings" now, even more so since his stint in the City of Illusions. Of course, now he wanted to know just who or what she feared more than knights, but he was polite enough not to ask. Yet. His eyes flicked to her pendant, immediately wondered if it was magecrafted or otherwise enhanced. His eyes didn't even require a blink to switch to the Auristic spectrum to see what could be seen magically.

Whatever he saw, her jibe about a Konti's favors snapped him out of his observation. Was she a mind reader? Sure, he thought Konti were beautiful, even the ones who could stomp his ass. But he had stopped for his fortune, not to proposition her...

It was the offered hand and information that made him forget the throb of his instep. His foot dropped gingerly to the ground and he gave her his hand, curious as any cat, but not possessed of nine lives.

"All right," he said, trying not to sound grumpy about it. After all, information was his favorite thing to get from a person.

by **Sondra** on March 2nd, 2011, 6:36 am

The aura from the necklace was surprisingly powerful, but had no malice about it. On the contrary, it was overwhelmingly peaceful. There was some tinge of the inexpressible radiating from it, perhaps even divine.

Sondra gave a brusque nod of her head to Hadrian's assent, letting go of his hand quickly as possible. There, she'd patched things a bit. Enough to avoid him squealing to the knights about her unnecessary outburst.

With little else in the way of guidance, Sondra started up the stairs for the third tier. This wasn't the glamorous portion of the city, but it was the most common for residents.

After winding mechanically through the proper halls, she stopped at one door and fumbled for her key. The interior was typical, but for a unique pile of furs and decoratively tied bones, the work of Cathan. A hearth burned low with a small cauldron over it.

Half kicking the door shut, she mumbled, "Make yourself comfortable."

Sondra removed her shapeless coat, and the illusion of greater breadth. She was stronger than most Konti, but could not escape all the traits of her race. Her gloves followed the coat.

"Hope you like overcooked stew."

Moving to the hearth she stuck her bare hands into the fire, moving the logs about for a bigger fire.

"So, uh, how'd you come across the boys? They don't strike me as the most social."

by **Hadrian** on March 3rd, 2011, 5:14 pm

He could not help but wonder after the purpose and power of her pendant, whether it was Konti magic, or a divine heirloom. It seemed impolite to ask, though, and they were already on shaky ground despite the armistice. He hobbled manfully up the stairs behind her, trying to ignore the pain in order to learn more about this woman and, well, everything. Since everything was interconnected, everything was everything, but it would probably be better not to get into philosophy just then.

There was no judgment on her residence. Though his father lived among the most privileged outside the Knighthood, Hadrian owned a modest cottage in Zeltiva near the University and so it wasn't like he was rolling in nilos and mizas.

"Thank you."

Due to his foot, he did sit down in a chair near enough the fire to enjoy its warmth but not so close that he would crowd her. It was odd to see her act domestic after nearly giving him a beating, but most people were more than one dimension. He looked over Cathan's furs and bones, wondering if they would actually go hunting or not as the Kelvic seemed to wish. Hadrian hunting? That would be interesting.

"Well, Cathan came upon me meditating in Stone Garden," he said, not wanting to squal on the Kelvic, who was hunting cats, "and Kendall found me at Kova's Well doing a bit of research, so I really didn't do anything to deserve the honor. I was just at the right place at the right time. And you?"

by **Sondra** on March 12th, 2011, 5:46 am

Sondra merely grunted understanding when Hadrian explained how he came across her new roommates. She forgot how small Syliras could be sometimes. They were all crammed into a massive castle. The Konti wondered why she didn't see more familiar faces. A question anyone with a passing knowledge of Sondra could easily answer.

"I travelled with them. I had come from Sunberth and we intersected near Zeltiva. It's chancy business traveling alone, and chancy business falling in with strangers."
Her look was direct and honest.
"I was lucky."

She shrugged.
"But then, I'm not half bad at spotting a truly bad egg. When you see them enough, you come to have a gut feeling. It's like a whiff of rotten food. I'm not infallible. Even when I get a solid read..."

Sondra was meandering now, perhaps on purpose. She'd promised him knowledge, but she was going to make the topic flow the way she wanted.

"I see the what, but not always the why. The what is knowledge, the why is wisdom."

Suddenly switching topics, Sondra bluntly asked, "What's your take on Kendall and Cathan?"

by **Hadrian** on March 16th, 2011, 2:34 am

Hadrian was content to listen to her stream of consciousness utterances, nodding as appropriate and observing her natural habitat as well as her behavior within it, though he tried not to stare. It was a bad habit, but one bred of keen interest in his surroundings rather than any intentional creepiness. Not that the distinction often saved him from unhappy looks from those involved.

Now that he had her talking, he found that they agreed on a good many things, though he had to wonder if she thought he 'stank' as she put it.

"Kendall and Cathan?" He paused, considering. "I agree with your assessment." But after a moment, he knew that would not be enough of an answer and even though part of him wanted to play coy just to give as good as he got, he took the high road and spoke plainly. "Cathan is very refreshing. Innocent of a lot of the things I dislike in most people, loyal and good. I would be happy to have him as a traveling companion. Kendall... I knew... him... vaguely. When I was a student in Zeltiva." He was not sure what Sondra knew about 'the accident', nor Kendall's original gender. "I want to help him."