Rainblade-Ryalors Private Zann's Alley/Backyard Boys Will Be Boys

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

Bracing coastal winds and a clear bright sky shone as ever they had back on his home of Kutoroka, though the city streets of Bully Harbour were a world apart from what the fox had come to know. A pawful of times in his youth, whether by insistence or necessity with scheduling, he had followed his parents out for a few short trips to other villages and coastal cities but even these were a far cry from what he had seen. It was loud, dirty and vibrant; overwhelming in many places, underwhelming in a few, and laced with a subtle hint at danger which caused his adventurous heart to beat all the faster. Already he had lost five guilders on a game of dice and been upsold on some meat-on-a-stick which was absolutely like no meat he had ever tasted.

Aye, he could get used to this. A fox with a spark of courage could make a name for himself here.

Having parted from his sister to speed up their shopping for necessities, insistent that he need not be watched, the tall fox had picked up a few bits and pieces in preparation for their boarding of the Hide when she should return. It had taken him little time to grow distracted with exploration, however, and without really realising it Lorcan’s paws took him on a ramble. Through narrow alleyways and broad thoroughfares, he took in all he could. Every half-ruined sign, every missing brick or cracked stone spoke of stories beyond his years. What excitement had a city like this seen over the years? Which of the tales were true?

Meandering took the fox further into the city proper, though he was thoroughly unconcerned with being lost: all he had to do, he reasoned, was head for the smell of the ocean. Engrossed as he was in his own exploration, head craned back to read the signage outside of one building (was that weathered patch damage or had a plaque been there once?) he failed to pay much notice to the aggressive shouts (they seemed commonplace here) until he was nearly knocked off his paws on collision with a stranger.

“Oi!” Steadying himself by attempting to grab at the other beast, he was relieved to know his supplies were slung over his shoulder – and then took note that the beast who had run into him was another fox. At once he played up his ire, if only for self-preservation. “What d’you think you’re doing?!”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun wasn't a natural sprinter, but he'd learned the art of it running from the Fogeys across the years. He'd been caught plenty of times, spent a few nights in a cell for brawling or other petty crimes while his father or sister arranged bail, and, eventually, started to get the hang of getting away.

Today he was sprinting with a bloodstained sack of gilders in his paw. One of the shopkeepers at the edge of the Trenches had been especially defiant about paying his protection fees this month. It wasn't until the Fogeys showed up that Falun realized it was because the shopkeeper had found a Fogey who would do the job for less. Of course Falun had to clock the shopkeeper with his own sack of gilders; that was just professional discourtesy. That had bought him precious seconds to get away, though, and now the Fogeys were hot on his tail.

He managed to climb up over a stack of crates and hop a wall between two rows of houses, taking off again. As he came out of the alley, though, he knocked straight into another fox. The sack, already strained by the exertion of its use as a weapon, split down the middle, gilders pouring out in a cascade. Falun swore as the gilders, some of them bloodstained, bounced everywhere, passersby greedily leaping to snatch them up. There was no way he could recover those in time, but...

"Hold this," he snarled at the other fox, shoving the bloody bag into his paws. There was still blood on Falun's knuckles, of course, but there was nothing he could do about that. All he could hope was that the Fogeys were in an indiscriminate mood and would ignore that this fox was orange rather than Falun's golden fur. Then, he took off running.

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

Indignation stamped on his features, Lorcan stood in stunned silence as the other fox took off, mouth agape, as the cogs gradually clicked over. He ignored the rabble fighting for the spilled coins, staring at the retreating todd’s back.

On delay his hackles rose and nostrils flared as he recalled the attitude with which the stranger had snarled at him. The cheeky sod.

That the other was being pursued – and those after him were swift on the approach – occurred to Lorcan in the moment about as much as dropping the bloodied bag gripped in his paw. Claws digging into the material as though he might crush it, he took off in hot pursuit of the stranger. When he caught up, he convinced himself, he’d smash his snout in.

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun, fortunately, wasn't the fastest runner, though he was certainly a troublesome one. Overturned vendor stands, toppled barrels, and ripe tomatoes rolling across the cobblestones formed a trail behind him, and Lorcan turned the corner just as Falun seized a stack of crates and, putting his shoulder into it, sent them tumbling into the alley. He swore as he saw his pursuer. "Go 'way!" he snarled, waving the beast off. "Y' wanna get us caught, ya daft git?" He turned and spotted a pair of Fogey constables pointing down the alley at him from the other direction. Swearing, he scrambled up the remaining crates and onto a small roof, then pulled himself onto the higher one covering the second story.

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

By now Lorcan was far too incensed by the strange fox to consider stopping; if anything the dismissal, snarled as it was, only served to spur him to increasing his pace. Fangs bared, the young fox tore off down the alleyway with hardly a glance to the pursuers for he had failed to listen properly to what he was being told. Neither understanding this nor recognising the uniforms of the Fogeys, he registered them only as other beasts likely just as angered.

Tough for them: this one was his.

Though he was not particularly athletic, Lorcan’s strength propelled him onwards. Vaulting over one crate he began scrambling clumsily up the others, keenly aware that his struggle was costing precious time.

No sooner had he gotten a grip on the roofing tiles somebeast got a grip on him, seizing a footpaw. Without thinking Lorcan twisted around, slamming the free footpaw directly into the Fogey’s snout. At once they dropped back to the alley with a shout of pain, nose fountaining blood.

Freed of the front-runner, Lorcan dragged himself up onto the roof and followed the path of the stranger. Heights never bothered him, but his quick eyes proved far more capable than his footpaws as he tried to navigate the delicate roofing system.

“Get your brush back here an’ face me!” he barked.

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun had sprinted across the long series of conjoined and narrowly divided rooftops , gaining a bit on the other fox. He heard the sounds of a scuffle, and turned, taking a bit to catch his breath, still walking backwards. Maybe the Fogeys would arrest the other fox and he could get away freely. He scowled instead as the Todd scrambled up over the roof, pursuing him still - and now with a couple of Fogeys on his tail.

"'Gates," he swore, still pacing backwards. "Y' daft idiot, yer gonna get us both-"

His footpaw met empty air. He flailed, trying to regain his balance in vain, then tumbled backwards off the two-story building. Fortunately for him, just beneath the first floor, there was an awning set up. Less fortunate was what the awning was covering, and what was destroyed as Falun came crashing through. As Fogeys closed in from the street level on the dazed mafioso and from the roofs on the ill-situated bystander, a merchant's plaintive cry rang through the air:

"MY CABBAGES!"

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

Daft idiot?! Coming from the todd cheeking him that was rich. Lorcan continued his far less graceful advance, fangs bared and hackles raised; a shout was on his lips when the other fox plummeted from view. Momentarily bemused, Lorcan bounded forward a few wobbly meters to see where the fox had ended up. “What did you…”

Noise behind drew his attention and Lorcan turned to stare, then glower at the similarly-dressed Fogeys now making their way across the room after him. “What’re you lot staring at me for?! It’s this bast-”

In a beautiful display of what must from the ground have looked like a performance piece, the distracted fox took a step back and managed to perform the exact same plunge that Falun had taken seconds before. He hit the mess of canvas, cabbages and fox with a thud, initially stunned prone before he began flailing. “G-Gerroff!”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

The Fogeys, for their part, were momentarily stunned as well by the sheer inanity of a second fox landing on top of the first; then, a few of them cackling in giddy glee, they descended upon the pair, paws and manacles reaching to grab them. "Stop resistin'!" one of them started yelling, and then truncheon blows started raining down on the pair, intent upon subduing the hapless todds by force.