Watch Where You Wander [Closed]

[Tshaka re Hafra]

The hairs on the back of Tshaka's neck stood on end. Her instincts told her they were being watched. She looked around trying to find the source of the feeling. She didn't see anyone but was sure she was being scrutinized. She saw a change on the man's face, had she been figured out? She had a few choices, fight, flight, or something drastic. 

She decided to tell another lie. She drooped her shoulders and her eyes turned soft. She stepped closer and mumbled, "I'm sorry..." She started to bring fake tears to her eyes. "I thought you could help. He's after me, not you." She lowered her eyes to look at the ground, "I made a mistake once. I was married for a day. And Shatak, my husband, beat me within an inch of my life, so I would forever be obedient." She looked out absently in the distance to try and sell her lie that much more. "I... I killed him. I slit his throat in his sleep... And that man somehow found out about. He's been blackmailing me, and hunting me, for months now." She turned back and looked Behn in the eyes. "You looked like someone who could help. I panicked. I shouldn't have involved you." She turned away, making it look like she was going to leave. "I'm sorry," she mumbled once more, "I'll deal with him on my own." 

[Krogan Plank]

Krogan walked through the streets of Zeltiva with a pipe in his jaw, puffing and grunting unintelligiably at the various beggars asking for coin. People were out and about, activity and trade was high. Krogan could almost smell the fat pouches of gold pieces as they were handed between traders and customers. In that account he also felt his own coinbag being terribly light to his hip.

As he scruffled across the alleys he could feel the effect of those mugs of ale he had drinked in the nearby tavern. He cursed inwardly as his wooden leg struck a nearby barrel and toppled it over. He was going to look like a fool if he kept walking around like this.

Passing across to the next street, something else caught Krogan's eye. In the corner of his sight he spotted something strange, and when he turned, he saw a six-armed woman only a few yards from him.
Krogan's brow shot high from curiousity, his jaw hanging slightly loose.

The Eypherians were a strange people all the same, and were it not for the woman's fine features, he would likely have strolled on. Even though he found her appearance to be a bit appalling, she had a certain.. Exotic beauty. Or perhaps he was not as picky as he once had been. Krogan felt the old lust creeping up through his legs again, already starting to picture very improper images with this woman. Without much thought, he started to approach her.

As he neared within few yards of her, he saw she was speaking with a tall and broad-shouldered fellow. Suddenly he hesitated. What if he would loose track of words? Would she even be able to understand his sluggish talking? He shook his head wildly, as if to shake the thoughts out of his skull. Too much thinking only hinders a man from acting, he had always told himself. But suddenly she turned and walked away - right towards him! Krogan did not expect this, and stood surprised for a moment. Then he cleared his throat.

"Well then! Ain't every day one sees ye six-arms on this soil," He almost yelled, his rusty voice a little louder than planned.

[Iasc]

Iasc dropped down low as he stalked the two people ahead of him. A low centre of gravity would help him he felt, cause him to make less noise maybe. The last thing that he wanted was to attract any unwanted attention, although the fact that he was moving around on his hunkers meant that people were beginning to stare at him in passing. Iasc slowly made his way towards the two people, trying to use those around him as human shields so he could hide from view. When he finally made his way within hearing distance he hid behind a nearby corner hoping that they didn’t see him.

Luckily, he had managed to just about catch the end of their conversation. The man threatening to leave and the woman stretching her story further. Now, it appeared that Iasc was after her. He was slightly impressed of the woman’s ability to come with a new story so quickly, when things weren’t going the way that she had originally hoped. It took a special kind of ingenuity, however, he couldn’t condone her behavior at all and felt that he had to put an end to it before something went horribly wrong.

Iasc was angered by how far he had let this go. This woman was a pathological liar it seemed and the youth needed to know why. Why did she seem to love feeding off the poor man’s paranoia? He had to find out. He was about to confront them again. Maybe if he could keep his head this time Iasc could talk to the woman and quell the man’s fears. It was a risky move but he felt that it had to be done. He was about to leave his safe hiding place, the arrow head held between his index and middle fingers in case things turned ugly, when another man appeared. A big man with a long beard. The most remarkable thing about him being that he walked on a wooden leg. He burst onto the scene declaring loudly to everyone that they were among a six armed woman. There was a distinct lack of subtlety in the way he yelled. The arrival of the man made Iasc turn back behind the corner, again biding his time before he would show his face.

OOCHey Krogan, could you put a link to your character sheet under your picture please.
Thanks.

[Behn]

Behn felt the world around him audibly fade as he honed in on Tshaka's story. It was so believable, and despite how she fooled him, it made everything fit together. Evil, wickedness, he swore that he wouldn't be these things, but to deny a woman who genuinely needed his aid, it would make him no better than the man that (he was led to believe) was hunting her. Behn stood there in silence for a moment as he listened, she said he looked like somebody that could have helped her. Could he not? He was young, healthy, strong. She was the kind of woman his wife was. He failed to save his wife, perhaps this could lift the burdens of evil from his chest, at least a little. "Wait..." Behn reached out, snatching Tshaka by the hand, which one he wasn't sure, but it was to make sure she didn't leave. His mind was changed, he was rejuvenated, he was the Hero. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Behn winced as a man approached. Bearded, hitch in his step. Behn didn't like the look of this, and the way he shamelessly flirted with the woman he was trying to help didn't help ease the situation at all. Behn stepped past Tshaka, placing himself between the Eypharian and the Drunk (he could smell it and see it once he approached) and held out his palm, the sign given to stop. "Friend, we are very busy at the moment. You need to leave." Behn was aggressive now, his paranoia wasn't faded, but altered more into a feral or animalistic anger. Already he was thinking of maneuvers to not only avoid a conflict, but to get the Spider-woman out of danger. A drunk could never be predicted, especially one of formidable size and skill with weaponry. Behn took a step back, putting himself closer to Tshaka in case he needed to grab her and move with haste. "Uh, ma'am, do you know this man?" Perhaps he should have asked the question in the first place, just to make sure he wasn't about to trade punches with the best brawler in town or, perhaps, an off duty guard of Zeltiva. Even a salt-worthy sailor would have probably been more than Behn could chew.

[Krogan Plank]

Krogan stood in place, leaning his head back as to look the tall fellow in the eye. He squinted his one scarred eye and widened the other slightly; feeling the other man's approach as a challenge, he reacted by instinct and replied in the confrontal way with his body language.

"And who be ye to throw orders aroun' eh? Can a man not walk where he wants on these free streets?" Krogan said, gesturing outward with his arms in an attention-bidding manner. He had talked slowly and loudly, almost stamping every word down to counter his sluggish talking.

The half-drunken pirate grapped the large buckle of his belt to keep his hands on something, spreading his legs slightly as to stand solid and firm on the ground before Behn. This sort of situation was nothing new to Krogan. This lad should not have the satisfaction of intimidating him away, nor would he want the people walking the streets see him scurry off like a kicked dog. Rather loose a tooth or two then.

Krogan snorted loudly and spat black spittle on the ground infront of Behn as a final add to the scene he was creating, then raised his head and regarded him in an aloof and awaitingly posture.

[Tshaka re Hafra]

"No, I've never met this man in my life..." She turned, turning on the tears, as she began heading down the alley. She thought she saw a figure duck back behind a corner of the alley. Her curiousity and concern piqued, she wondered how she could find out who it was without drawing suspicion from Behn. She saw an open door leading into a building, she cried out, "I need to be alone..."

She wandered into the building, surprisingly finding no one around. She found a set of stairs, strode up it, and began looking for a window. She found one on the appropriate side of the window, peered out, and saw a familiar looking man crouching behind the corner. He actually followed us, this is too perfect. She quietly made her way back to the alley door, made herself seem hysterical, and ran out to Behn. She latched onto his arm pointing down the alleyway. "That man is following us! I was crying in that building and saw him out the window!" This lie came easier than most, since it was a truthful lie. She huddle close to Behn, terror on her face.

[Iasc]

Iasc slowly stepped out of his hiding place. He had had enough of this woman and her tricks. It had gone too far. Someone was going to get hurt soon unless he could stop it even though he felt that this wasn’t his fight. Convincing the man would be hard. It was clear that he was deep in a state of paranoia and very vulnerable. Iasc wasn’t sure if he had the word power of the Eypharian. It would only take a few chimes to find out. He eyed the three down the alleyway, the woman in the man’s arms and the peg legged man nearby. He clutched the arrow head in his hand concealed from their view.

“Wicked Woman,” he shouted. His voice was free from the nerves that he felt. He tried his best to make it sound confident and in control and felt that he succeeded. The few people that were in the alleyway turned their eyes on him just as he had desired. He hoped he could now reveal the lies behind her words. “What do you want with me... with him? What have we ever done to you. Talk to me straight and don’t hide behind your tears and seductive ways.” As he spoke he grew more and more aware how poor he was with words. They had never been his forte, always preferring numbers and symbols instead. He began to feel his confidence slightly wavering, but he continued regardless.
“Tell me why you play on this poor man’s mind. You seem to wish me dead by his hand without even knowing me, or at least I do not know you. All I wish is to have a civil word with you.”

He saw the tears roll down her face. They seemed to be so genuine. Iasc wouldn’t have minded to be able to act like her. Although, in this situation, he didn’t need to act. His words were real, unlike her hollow ones. He had to believe that the man would see through her fictitious feelings.

[Behn]

Behn took a step towards the cliche pirate, Mr. Krogan Plank, and he pointed across the street. There were already several wandering eyes lingering on them as people passed by, mostly keeping to their own business as the conflict was going on. Behn smirked, he wasn't going to back down from this. "Behn Gaeris. You have my permission to walk these streets until your good leg falls off your body or your tree stump splinters, but walk away from us now. You are lingering in business that isn't yours. You don't look particularly smart, so take my advice and get out of here before..." Behn turned around as Tshaka came running back to him, hysterical at that. Was she crying? Behn felt her latching onto his arm, which was an interesting feeling given she outmatched him by four full working limbs. He stared at her, inquisitively at that. "Didn't even notice you move. You get around." Behn took a step back from Tshaka, though did not wrench his arm from her awkward embrace. She was doing so many strange things in such a short amount of time (plus he was starting to wonder if this sudden panicky crying was even legitimate) that it was getting annoying. In fact, his was being annoyed enough to alost forget his paranoia. That was the interesting thing about Behn, he was a little bipolar himself. With the approach of Korgan, a more dominate, manly, aggressive Behn had come out of his cage. "How about you stand right here until I get rid of the cripple here. Once we've gotten all drunks out of our way, we'll find somewhere to settle and figure out what to do." Behn nodded to himself. Behn spun around, pushing Tshaka behind him in a defensive manner, sadly putting her closer to the drunk. At least, at this point, Plank wasn't as big of a threat as the man stalking Tshaka. Behn held his left hand back, holding onto Tshaka's hand as his right hand shot forward, pointing a threatening quivering finger towards Iasc. "You can talk to me, but you'll leave the girl out of this. Say what you want and leave this place. There's lots of people here though, I'd suggest you don't do anything you might regret others seeing."

[Iasc]

Iasc began to walk the short distance between himself and the other people. He dropped the broken arrow head that he had been holding and outstretched his arms, with his palms facing up to show that he meant no harm to anyone. He had had enough of this shyke and petch the responsibility that he felt towards this man. If he had no problem running around after the six armed manipulative bitch, falling for her every false feeling and evil word, then that was his problem, and what a problem it was. If the man turned up dead in the gutter tomorrow because he couldn’t open his eyes and see what was right in front of him then what right did Iasc have to keep him from his destiny or his fate, or whatever other word you want to call it, no matter how moronic it was.

Anger rose in him as he walked. He could feel it bubbling inside him waiting to explode in the form of a barrage of insults directed at any and all people around him, especially the Eypharian. When he was a few feet away he stopped and spoke to Behn. “I will speak with you.” His voice was calm, much calmer than he felt. He waited for the man to extricate himself from the woman’s hold and then Iasc brought him over to the side of the street out of earshot of Tshaka and Krogan Plank.

“I’m going home now,” he began, quite bluntly. “I advise you to do the same thing. Go home and forget this day, forget me and by the gods forget that woman. I don’t know her and neither do I trust her. She seems to be playing some sick joke on us and, to be honest, I am tired of it. You are clearly very vulnerable but I couldn’t care less anymore. I have no responsibility to help you here so I shall be leaving now. If I wake tomorrow and find you dead I will not give it a second thought. Goodbye, sir.”

With that he began to walk away leaving this mess behind him and feeling much better to be going back to the university.

OOCDo you wan to continue this thread? Tshaka hasn't been on in a while so I don't know if there is much point. If you are happy to leave it here could you put it in for grading.
Thanks