Rainblade-Ryalors Open Vulpinsula & Surroundings Westisle Cultural Appreciation Day

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna smiled at Ivo, the vision of the life he proposed deeply appealing, but... No. He was right; they both had too much drive, too much ambition, to settle quite yet. Even if they were together, if they embraced who and what they were openly, they couldn't leave behind this life quite yet. Perhaps they could moderate it; she could shift her focus back toward the white-collar side of crime, letting Falun handle the dirty work. Was that what Vito was going through? she wondered. Did he want to settle down, enjoy his last remaining years with his family, wash his paws of the dirty business? She actually could respect that. Perhaps he'd had the right idea after all.

She squeezed Ivo's paw, smiling as she looked to him. "You're right," she advised him softly. "I don't think either of us are ready to give up our ambitions quite yet, but... well, maybe we don't have to. Vito raised a family while running the Furotazzis, after all, and there are plenty of power couples in Imperial history: Vladimir and Verethian, Gordon and Sken, the Ryalor-Rainblades - 'Gates, two different pairs," she remarked. "Falun and Tanya, and the current pair, Talinn and Dusk. It's not an easy life," she allowed, "but I think we'd both get bored with an easy life, wouldn't we?" She looked to Ivo with a smile, the prospect of facing the unique challenges of their life as a pair far more appealing to her.

~~~

Mileya paused at Asta's request, taking shelter with her against the alley wall. "Sorry," she apologized, a little of her southern Fyadorian accent slipping through in the way she extended the 'ee' sound. "I forgot how heavy those things are." She looked down at it in concern. "Is it alright?" she asked, worry in her voice. "It didn't hit anything as we ran?"

~~~

Daniil's smile, buoyed by delight at the vixen's kind and supportive words, faded as the pair returned to the square and found it empty. He furrowed his brow, looking about for Asta or for his sister's signature gray fur. "I don't know," he remarked. "Asta! Miriya!" His voice called out across the square, hoping that they'd hear him in the commotion of the crowd. He felt a sudden impulse to grip his sword, mitigated only by the food in his paws. "They can't have gone far," he told Caden, looking about for any sign of them.

~~~

Aramaeus nodded along with the squirrel's explanation, trying to obscure that he had no idea what he meant at all. While he deeply admired politicians like Mayor Freedom who managed to make positive change happen, the dance of power in back rooms and private conversations that made politics run was simply impossible for him to understand. Aramaeus thought of the world in rules, regulations, restrictions; all of that was far too murky and nebulous for him to feel comfortable with.

"I see," he commented. "And what exactly is it that you believe I'll be bringing to your, ah, capital?"

 

[Ivo Suresight]

With a squeeze of a paw and words that fully reinforced Ivo's line of thought, beaming with joy he entered into the Dancing Lily. He did learn quickly to ignore funny looks given him and Marianna, especially when he was with her. Alone, he would bother stabbing them with precise quips, but now he just passed by them with her walking a known path to her room.

As soon as they got there, leaving all the other beasts behind the closed door, Ivo put down the packages and moved to fully embrace Marianna. "We're used t' hardships, easy life would've mellow us... and me likes us bein' sharp. Yer right. Keepin' paws in everythin', knowin' and pullin' 'em strings... I think we can enjoy it without riskin' too much..."

He then chuckled and brushed her muzzle with his paw, holding it delicately to look into her eyes. "An' speakin' of risk... Are we goin back to the festival? Or dare ya risk lettin' me stay for sum rest." His voice was both sultry and adoriation, he wasn't just speaking with lust for her. " 'Cuz, 's much 's I would love ta enjoy you... Me thinks I woulda want just havin' more time with ya. After all, 's good to be a proper couple before we'd become a power one."

@Marianna Furotazzi

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn let out a relieved sigh as the clam battle was put off. He was reasonably sure he could hold his own against one of them -- but together, they'd have him beat! The foxkit reached out to take Mariel's paw -- but in an overhand grip, as if he were arm wrestling -- not as if he was shaking paws. These small little details were very important to young foxkits, who absolutely shunned anything that didn't look as masculine. Like kimonos.

Finn rolled his eyes dramatically at Cricket's mention of Ruffano. "I'm choosing to not respond to that!" he said indignantly, and gave his sash a final snug. "Right then! We have our means of liberating the muffins..." he said, looking to the bunting. "We have our means of infiltrating the facility..." he said, looking to Cricket. "All we need is the location -- and a distraction," he said, looking to Mariel. "Cricket can open the door from the inside, and let me in. Then, we can begin getting the muffins out!"

 

[Orina Emberkin]

@Mileya Ryalor

Asta carefully unbuckled the case to check on the instrument within. "Seeming to be okay," she said after giving it a thorough look. Closing up the case again, the jill took note of their surroundings. "Um, you knowing where we are? I getting lost easy in this city. How you thinking we find Caden and Daniil?"

---

@Daniil Ryalor

Caden turned in a full circle as he searched for his daughter and Daniil's sister. Biting his lip in concern, he went to the fountain and stood upon the edge of it to put himself a full head above most beasts in the square.

"I don't see any sign of them." He stepped back down. Approaching a rat who sat on the other side of the fountain, Caden waved to her. "Good afternoon. I was wondering if you saw a vixen and marten jill here playing a koto not too long ago?"

The rat twitched her whiskers. "Aye, I caught 'em just as they were leaving. Went that way maybe five minutes ago, left in quite the hurry; the vixen looked like she'd seen a ghost." She indicated a street not far from where Caden and Daniil had just come from. Caden threw an informal salute, smiling at the doe.

"Thank you, marm. You're most kind." He tilted his head at Daniil and the pair began walking in the indicated direction.

"What do you make of that?" he asked his partner, worry in his eyes. "Sounds like something spooked Mileya. Anything you could think of that would send her running?"

---

@Aramaeus Lemon

Fun, Aramaeus, you'll be bringing a great deal of fun. Orina couldn't say it aloud, of course, but the game she played with the inexperienced and clearly far out of his depth todd was of great amusement, nonetheless.

"That depends on you, my friend. What do you think you have to offer?"

 

[Mariel Rustyfangs]

Mariel was very careful to not get her paw fur tainted with ink. It would be very easy to later figure out she was responsible if she didn't look into that. Her mom taught her well how to be good at the criminal matters. The kitten actually admired how much her mother knew on that specific thing.

Listening to the banter between the two she felt slightly ignored. But fortunately her suspicion that the foxkit was a bit too good so far struck well as he spoke of the plan that she... didn't present. "Oh Finn. Ya got it wrong! You will be the distraction! You are a fox kit, a guard is a fox, surely they will help out their own kind more eagerly! 'sides, you look important in that whole kimono." She giggled before continuing. "Also, we need to climb the window. Cats are great climbers as everyone knows, and so are geckos! We will do better coordinating that. Now come with me dear heroine and unexpected clam ally! We have to free the cupcakes from their prison!"

@FinnianBrightfur @Cricket

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

Marianna kissed Ivo's pawpad as he brushed it across her muzzle, nuzzling into his paw as she considered. A part of her ached to take him to bed, to lose herself in his embrace... But no. Their whole life couldn't be tumbles in the sheets and capers in the streets. Sooner or later they needed to learn how to be open with each other, to simply exist paw-in-paw. "You're right," she confirmed, reaching up and taking his paw in her own, kissing the back of it as she kept eye contact. "We need to do more together and be more together. So," she inquired, putting her other paw in his, "where would you like to go? You've been so good in treating me today, giving me so much of your time and attention. I haven't been quite the same." She smiled as she added, "I heard there were some stalls selling Fyadorian art, maybe even a few urban pieces, if you'd like to improve your collection."

~~~

Mileya looked about, getting her bearings. "I don't really know," she admitted. "I don't spend much time in Bully Harbor; I'm always in Amarone. Besides, the city isn't safe to go wandering alone as a femme." She stated it as if it were common knowledge. She looked back in the direction they'd come from. "I guess we could go back and try to retrace our steps," she suggested. "If we keep our eyes out, we can probably avoid my cousin."

~~~

Daniil looked about, frowning, trying to see what could have spooked his sister. "I'm not sure," he stated doubtfully. "I know there's a few beasts that Mileya would run from, but none of them are in the Harbor. At least," he amended, "none should be in the Harbor. I don't really know what the one looks like, though; that happened..." He hesitated. "...that happened to her in Alkamar. If the beast responsible were here, he'd have to have snuck into the country." He scanned the faces of the foxes in the crowd, trying to see if any of them looked suspicious, but there were simply too many foxes about for him to successfully profile.

"Come on," he suggested, nodding in the direction the rat had indicated. "Maybe we can catch up to them before the food gets cold."

~~~

Aramaeus straightened, trying to think through what he had to offer. "My command of the law and jurisprudence is far above the norm," he offered. "Honestly, but for the money required in such an endeavor, I could easily have sat the exams to become a barrister. All self-taught, of course," he added, gesturing with his paw to dismiss the thought of formal education. "The tuition at the University of Length is unimaginable, especially for law school. I could never work off that debt in a hundred years."

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo very much got excited at the prospect. His tail went from a slow wag of pleasure to fast wag of excitement. "Ya sure? I would love nothin' more!" He exclaimed with pure joy as he moved and lifted her up in a hug. It took him a moment and a spin before he put her down again. He did remember one thing however. "I mean... I've overspent today already. But I'd love me even sum window shoppin'! An' also well... yer too kind t' jus' make it 'bout me. Less make sure yer also gonna see somethin' ya like... So we gotta also visit a place with 'em manual crafts."

Letting her go finally, he still kept her paw in his, ready for more of the day to come. "After ya love. Am yours for whateva' we decide."

@Marianna Furotazzi

 

[Cricket]

Silvery eyes downcast as she worked on fishing out the bunting and shaking it dry, Cricket held her tongue. Childish pride nagged at her against the brassy tone of a beast younger than her outlining and correcting plans, disliking the feeling of being made the feline’s lackey. In the absence of a better plan, however, and that they had been recruited in by her, there really was no sense arguing. It was a solid idea, and climbing was far easier a task than distraction. Poor Finn, left with the hard work again. Not that she was generous enough to swap, of course – in that respect Mariel’s logic was perfectly sound.

Drying scaly paws, the gecko ensured the camouflaged material was neatly wound, as she had seen beasts on the dock do with ropes and lines, and flashed the pair a cheeky grin. “Alright, lead on brave explorer! Oh – wait…Uh…If we get all these cupcakes liberated, ain’t we supposed to have somewheres we can hide them, too? Where are we takin’ them once we have them?”

@FinnianBrightfur @Mariel Rustyfangs

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

As if the suggestion to be the diversion stung him, Finn recoiled a little bit. "Augh. Iff'n you want a distraction, why's it ~gOttA~ be me?" he asked, his voice breaking at a rather inopportune moment. The foxkit groaned, and slapped a paw to his face. "Yep. I get it." Adapting a third party voice, he spun up a dramatic line of reasoning. "We need a distraction! But who can we send in that's dressed like a friggen' clown, and SOUNDS LIKE ONE ~ToO~?"

And as if the universe took joy in tormenting him, emotional outbursts only made his vocal predicament worse. The fox sighed exasperatedly, and raked his paw backwards through his headfur. Fighting it only made things worse. "Awright... where is the place? I'll be yer distraction..."

 

[Mariel Rustyfangs]

Mariel again was asked for something she did not anticipate for. Gates, how was her mother in her prime doing all this? She managed to rob banks and her own daughter couldn't even plan out a simple cupcake heist? There was both respect for what her mother, Naika did in the past so the two could survive, as well as the annoyance at her own lack of skills.

Of course she wouldn't show it. Finn throwing a tantrum was perfect momentary distraction, and a funny one at that as his voice cracked in a way Mariel found cute. Thanks to it, despite giggling at the kit, she could think for a second and give her answer. "Well my stalwart heroine, I do have two places we could go to in them Trenches... we jus' need to either carry the bunting and look like we know what we are doing, or also take some flour bags to mask our loot for the time we will spend going there!"

It would mean showing the two she was really a middle class. Fortunately, her mom showed her each hidden entrance to he trading house. It wouldn't be too hard.

Then there was just a case of execution. "Well follow me then! we just need to get to one of the warehouses in Local Docks. Oh and dontcha worry Finn. I think your cute like that and what better distraction than somebeast cute." She offered with another giggle. Albeit she was genuinely thinking what she said. The kit was antithesis of most she was taught by her mother, but Mariel just assumed that all rules had exceptions. Finn was one of them.

@Cricket @FinnianBrightfur

 

[Orina Emberkin]

@Aramaeus Lemon

Orina clapped a paw on the todd's shoulder, steering him with her as they went through a busy intersection. "Self-taught, hm? Now there's a beast with drive and talent."

They were out of the red light district and weaving their way through the crowd, which was denser the further they moved towards the central area of the festival. "Though I believe you'll find that, if you don't have the financial assets, finding your way into the University can also come down to making the right connections and leveraging them properly."

---

@Mileya Ryalor

"Retracing our steps seeming like a good idea." Asta nodded, picking up the koto again and slinging the strap over her shoulder. "Caden getting very worried easy about me in the city. He saying like you say, that it isn't safe for femmes, or most beasts in some places. Won't let me going out alone too far from our house."

---

@Daniil Ryalor

Caden stepped out alongside Daniil as they went in the direction indicated by the rat. He recalled Daniil having mentioned something that had happened to Mileya that made it so she was comfortable only around malebeasts whose inclinations tended toward other males, though he had not pressed for details. He knew well enough from Asta's experience that such things ought to only be broached carefully and with great consideration.

"Let's hope it wasn't any such beast that caused her and Asta to run," he said. Even the thought of it had his hackles rising. "And let's hope we find them quickly. I don't like the idea of them out there without one of us with them. The festival seems safe enough, but Asta doesn't know the city well, and I expect Mileya hasn't spent much time here, either."

 

[Marianna Furotazzi]

It turned out there were several crafty booths all close together, in an arrangement that made it easy for both Marianna and Ivo to find something of interest. Not only was one booth selling a wide variety of Fyadorian art (including a few scenes of urban life), but they were also selling brushes, ink, and sheets of the thin rice paper used for such paintings, and for a few gilders were doing introductory lessons to Fyadorian brush painting. In the booth immediately next to it, scrolls of Fyadorian calligraphy were similarly on display, as well complete calligraphy sets with brushes, ink stick, inkwell, and tiny porcelain dish for wetting and cleaning the brushes. There were dictionaries of the Fyadorian language and primers for beginners, as well as introductory lessons for reading and writing.

Marianna looked over the offerings with wide eyes before looking to Ivo. "I can afford for us to splurge a little more," she offered him, "if you'd like to pick something up, and if you wanted to take a lesson."

~~~

Aramaeus blushed at the mention of going through the training to become a lawyer. He really would love to do so, but... "I'm afraid that, despite my general frugality, I would not have the independent wealth necessary to maintain even a minimalist lifestyle throughout my enrollment," he informed the squirrel regretfully. "Nor would the distance between Length and Bully Harbor allow me to commute. I'm afraid that some dreams are destined to stay as just that."

~~~

"Your father is very smart," Mileya agreed. "Honestly, I never even go into the Trenches without an escort, and 'Gates forbid the Slups. Come on," she invited, offering Asta her arm. "This will be our adventure for the day."

The pair walked arm in arm for a bit, following the sound of Fyadorian music and the smell of steamed dumplings. "You know," Mileya remarked, "if you keep performing with the orchestra, there's a shot at getting to stay in Amarone. Musicians who catch the Empress's eye are invited to stay at court, to perform upon her request. It's not exactly an easy life, living under her eye; she's not cruel, but she's..." She struggled to come up with an appropriate term. "Mercurial, I think? She amuses herself by keeping those around her on their toes, so no one knows what she's thinking. It is at least comfortable, and pays very well - and it's far safer than Bully Harbor."

~~~

"She hasn't," Daniil confirmed. "She doesn't even like coming here if I'm not there to meet her. And she's definitely not suited to dealing with the kind of beasts that you and I face." His paw tightened on Requiem's hilt, his anxiety supplying all manner of atrocities that could befall his little sister in a place like Bully Harbor. He started to pick up his pace, his head whipping about as he jogged in the direction indicated.

 

[Ivo Suresight]

Ivo for his part was thrilled to continue the day with Marianna. Though calligraphy wasn't his strongest suit, he presumed that those and all the writing matters will be fun for Marianna. He himself truly wanted to try however the way the Fyadorians did art. Of course, they could just go to their respective hobbies. Ivo just didn't want that really. If they were to be truly together, he had to learn supporting his dear in all her passions and vice versa. Besides, should they elope to Fyador, he could use some basic knowledge of their writing system.

"Hmm, how 'bout we go t' both calligraphy an' art lessons? Am fer sure gonna enjoy art, would love t' see ya doin' it too! An I assume ye would be interested in writin' which I am curious 'bout, an find it practical." He voiced his thoughts, preferring honestly doing things with Marianna than buying up items. "I can get me sum art an' writin' items at other occasion. Skills're more valuable an' time I getta spend with ya is priceless."

 

[Cricket]

“What was that?”

With confusing jealousy already simmering in her guts, Cricket was loathe to embarrass Finn and thus put herself in a worse light: unfortunately for her, his vocal cracks meant that she was fighting a losing battle. Snout averted, she made a vain attempt at a cough to mask the shaking shoulders as giggles overtook her.

Their wildcat companion seemed keen to make a move and had an answer ready: a fact both reassuring and one which warranted a slight squint – as much as lidless eyes could manage. The Trenches? That was a strange choice for another kit. Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers and being able to stash their ill-gotten gains would probably be best done somewhere the adults wouldn’t expect. Perhaps there was more to this kitten than she had thought.

“C’mon cute one,” the gecko snickered, nudging Finnian before adjusting that side of his…whatever the outfit was called, she hadn’t been listening. “You’ll do great. If you get really stuck just make a noise like a bird and I’ll come around.”

@FinnianBrightfur @Mariel Rustyfangs

 

[FinnianBrightfur]

Finn's ears flitted back against his head, and he shot Cricket and Mariel a disapproving look. Though he didn't mind being teased much, this was the sort of talk that would spread like wildfire aboard the Hide. Once the others saw him as cute, there'd be little he could do to shake that sort of reputation. Everywhere he went, there'd be little snickers and whispers of "look, it's the cute one".

"Oh, you two have your fun then!" he huffed, tail flicking behind him in mild irritation. "But what goes around comes around!"

In good cheer, the foxkit followed the group as they navigated their way towards the warehouses by the docks. Finn knew the area well enough, though he didn't know which building Mariel was referring to until they drew closer to it. That's when his ears pinned right back against his head. Catching Mariel and Cricket by the collar, he tugged them back into an alley.

"Awh gates, it's Mr. Larsen, the baker!" he hissed. The foxkit peeked out from behind the building, and held onto a gutter as he surveyed the scene. A few trays of cupcakes were just being carted off as they arrived, leaving the short bakerfox alone outside the building.

"Mmmfhhh... I don't wanna steal from Mr. Larsen... this better not come back to bite me in the tail!" he muttered to himself. "Cricket, he's gonna recognize you if he sees ya. You better wear a mask or somethin'... I'll handle him. You and Mariel get into the building!"

Without waiting for agreement, Finn peeked out a second time. "Gah! He's gonna head back inside. I'll distract him, get inside the building!" he hissed, before dashing out from behind the wall. As he rushed off to intercept the bakerfox, he remembered the requested signal. "Augghh... yeah, iff'n you hear something sounding like a ~diStResSeD~ flamingo, you'll know it's me..."

"H-hey! Hey Mr. Larsen! You'll never guess where I've been!"

 

[Mariel Rustyfangs]

Finn was doing great, already taking the initiative. Mariel was almost offended when Finn grasped her collar and pulled her back, yet he had a reason. The baker who was just there knew them! That could indeed be a problem, but Finn, before she could say a thing, moved to talk with them. This was... both good and bad. Mariel fortunately could avoid making a sound, but she wasn't too happy about such brash actions. Maybe red fur made foxes hot-headed?

Either way she had turned to Cricket. "Okay, if this baker know you... better to not keep you close to the outside I think. I will handle putting them cupcakes into the bunting and you will be bringing them from the warehouse to the window. Deal?" She asked while sneaking around a few stray sacks and barrels to the side of the building she at first spotted the opportunity. then she extended her little claws and hugged the wall, as the claws got into the stone and wood, Mariel was able to surely climb up to the window hoping that Cricket would do the same.

Once up and inside the building, indeed, Mariel could see their goal. dozens, nay, hundreds of boxes filled with delicious cupcakes. The kitten couldn't help but purr and drool for a second before shaking it off and turning to the gecko again as she took the bunting and slowly prepared it for the cupcake heist. "Well, the place is yours! Just as promised, all cupcakes we could ever want. Now, if you wanna change and have me running, last change to say so."

 

[Korya]

Korya was not enjoying herself. At least, not at first. Turns out, being extremely tiny and also blind in the middle of a festival full of sights was not conducive to remaining un-stepped on and enjoying said sights. She'd been bounced around the streets so many times just trying to get to cover that she'd scored twelve goals in games she didn't even know existed.

Bruised and weary, the little cat sat beside a barrel of rain water on some corner street, while beasts shuffled around her calling out this and that - cupcakes, kimonos, ~ooh, how pretties~ and every other fairground concept flew overhead. None into her maw. Her tummy rumbled, not with a satisfied purr, but a distressing gurgle. If she couldn't get home without being kicked and bowled into another district, she'd surely starve to death.

Starve, no. Maybe drown. She climbed up the side of the barrel and tapped her paw inside it. It was nearly full. She dunked her head, just to get a moment's peace from the clamour. She gave serious thought to just crawling inside and spitting water out at whatever passed by...

"Oi, what's with the barrel?"

"Eh?" she said, flicking water off her ears and pointing her face upwards. The voice was male, deep, rugged, jovial, and smelled like frosting and rum.

"The barrel? What kinda game is it?"

"It's... uh... game...?"

"Aye, what d'ya win?"

Korya's tail curled back and forth as her brain raced, trying to catch up. Luckily, her brain existed on a street not packed too full to move.

"Shrimp. Shrimp dunking. Yeah! If you dunk your head in, you try to catch a shrimp, and if you get a shrimp, it's... you win... um... a free cupcake!"

She gestured vaguely off to the side, where maybe there were cupcakes, and maybe there weren't - she would certainly never find out.

"But..." The male's voice drifted off for a bit. "Ain't they already free?"

"These ones... the ones you win... are the exceptional fifty-gilder cupcakes. So you can pay fifty gilders for one, or you can catch a shrimp, and get one free." Korya nodded sagely. "Also! It costs one, er, three gilders to dunk yourself!"

The gilders tumbled into her paw before she could even open her fingers all the way to grab them. There was a splash, a few chuckles from nearby, and then a rather worryingly long wait before the male came up, gasping.

"'nother go!" He howled. "I fink I almost got one that time!"

"You got it, mister! Good luck!"

Korya beamed as three more gilders spilled into her paws. Maybe this festival wasn't so bad after all...

 

[Orina Emberkin]

@Aramaeus Lemon @Daniil Ryalor

"Never say 'never', my friend." Orina winked at Aramaeus.

In front of them, the wildcat Stealthblade subtly parted the crowd for the pair. Another pair of beasts, a grey fox and white marten, appeared from around a set of vendors stalls, moving at a rapid pace. The marten collided with the cat, deftly spinning against her so that he was between her and the vice minister.

He halted his progress with profuse apologies. "Terribly sorry--" He stopped, staring at Aramaeus.

Caden felt as though somebeast had run him through as he looked upon the fox who so thoroughly reminded him of a specter from his past. For a moment he panicked, paw going to the hilt of his sword. The Stealthblade moved rapidly behind him, catching Caden by surprise, and before he knew what was happening, she had him facedown on the ground, his swordpaw twisted behind his back. The other Stealthblade, a muscular weasel, flanked Orina and Aramaeus, sword drawn on Daniil.

---

@Mileya Ryalor

Asta considered Mileya's words. On one paw, the thought of Amarone and meeting the Empress was thrilling to her. On the other paw, living away from Caden in a country she barely knew sounded daunting.

"Maybe," she said carefully. "It could be interesting to try. Though, even Bully Harbor is so different than what I knowing. What is being in Amarone like? Other than safer, I suppose."

 

[Anastasia Ryalor]

Anastasia moved with a quiet, skillful grace through the thronging crowds, always effortlessly a step ahead of whatever obstacle might be in her way. She hummed happily as she did so, knowing that the main feast of her day was soon approaching. It had been dreadfully boring, recently, with her father cracking down more on her expeditions to Mainland Fyador, and just when some things over there were getting interesting. Oh, well, she supposed-he would get distracted again soon enough, and her plans could then continue. Once they had a foothold on the mainland again, then things would get really interesting.

Out of the corner of her eye, though, she caught something interesting. There was a very diminutive kind of wildcat next to a barrel, with a small crowd beginning to form around her. Intrigued, the youngest member of House Ryalor jaunted over to see what all the fuss was about. Watching the event, she smiled, and a devilish gleam appeared in her eyes. Trotting over to a local seafood vendor, she quickly spoke a few hushed words to them, and, quickly, retrieved a living shrimp, in a small, wooden cup, which she carefully concealed beneath her kimono. Returning to where the wildcat was, she waited for the male fox to come up again-empty handed once more.

“If you do not mind, good sir, if I could have a try?” She said, smiling winningly at him with her natural Fyadoran beauty.

Sheepishly, the male fox nodded, and Anastasia glanced into the eyes of the cat as she moved to place three gilders in her paw, subtlety adjusting her movements as she did so. Ah, this one was blind-even more interesting...and fun.

As she dunked her head into the water barrel, a quick slight of paw, one of the first things she had mastered as a young kit, saw the shrimp swim into the water barrel. And, almost as soon as it was free, it was recaptured by the one who had originally purchased it in a dramatic flair of water-such that no one would notice the small, little wooden cup slip out of her kimono, falling soundlessly out of site behind the barrel to look like one of the many items of trash littered about this day. Beaming, she held it up for all the bystanders to see, wriggling as it did in the air, before placing it in Korya’s paw.

“Looks like I caught one…” she purred “...now, about that fifty-gilder cupcake…?”

@Korya

 

[Korya]

Korya sniffed the shrimp in her paw. Still alive, it squirmed and tickled at her whiskers. And more importantly, it was an actual shrimp.

Three things flitted through her mind just then:

Whatever I say comes true. I am Empress of the universe itself. I command all things that are and ever will be. My powers are limitless and I am the most important being to ever exist. Behold, Korya, the Eternal, the Effervescent, the Elegant, the Efficacious, the Elevated! Bask in my splendor, mortals, and melt thy eyes in my radiance, that you may become as like me as you can ever hope to, for who among you in your pitiful, short, pointless lives can ever hope to achieve the brilliance of my ultimate power! Shrimp summon! May it rain shrimp forever upon the lands!

The next went along the lines of:

Cor, how dirty are these barrels, they got their own ecosystems?

The last thought was muffled by a hardy CRUNCH and an infinitesimal shriek of shrimp-pain as she stuffed the sea creature into her maw and tore away with her teeth like a starved, feral animal.

Licking her chops, she flicked her tail and ears about and gestured off to the side again.

"Mr. Kindleboots, we have a winner!" She beamed widely, fangs gleaming. "Mr... Kindleboots? Hello? Mr. Kiiiiindlebooooots?! Oh no! Where has he gone with the cupcakes?! Does anyone see him?! Big old badger, wears clogs? Anyone?!"

She burst into tears as the crowd murmured in confusion and suspicion.

Korya wailed. "Someone call the Fogeys! I've been robbed! The big mean badger robbed the poor blind girl, only trying to make a living in this harsh, cruel world!"