Bobbing for Apples

[Escke]

The sky was a merry light blue. The sun filtered through the occasional puffy white cloud, dripping its warm rays onto the Avaren Marketplace. While both shopkeeper and customer were grateful for the sun's embrace, it didn't change the fact that the town was rather chilly, what with being so soon after the winter solstice. It wasn't snowing, which was a blessing, but that warm sunlight just didn't do the trick to shoo away that winter chill. The shop-keepers, those with shelter, did their best to keep warm, while the more poor and less lucky folk were forced to bundle up and deal with it. Likewise, the customers were (mostly) dressed appropriately, extra layers with gloves on their hands and boots on their feet.

At one of these stalls, near the center of the still-bustling marketplace on this brisk winter's morning, was a commotion.

There were about a dozen people crowded around one small stall, and the prize? A basket of late-season apples, obviously ripe and very sweet looking, as well as crisp. They were selling fast, these imports, and soon there would be none left.

From between a rather porky woman and her equally porky sun, a slender and pale hand, followed by a matching arm squeezed its way through. The hand, relying on something akin to scent, patted around the rim of the basket, verifying it was the right one. A moment more, and the hand dipped into the basket, finally grabbing an apple and slipping back from between the rather hefty mother-son pair.

On the other side, the hand was greeted by none other than the approving, cool stare of the always golden-haired Escke. While not a sign of royalty, at least, not in this case, the hair was obviously well cared for. Well, as much as one could care for hair with a minimum income, but that was how it went. Closer to the scalp, of course, it looked very healthy, yet the further down it went the more it seemed to get tired, to wilt, until the very ends (which reached her waist) were something akin to a straw-like mess.

Stepping around the fat woman, Escke approached the shop-keeper, paid her share for the delicious looking apple, and slipped away from the crowded station.

Deep blue eyes scanned the pinkish apple, and she finally took a small, delicate bite. Well, again, as delicate as one could be. It's hard to look dainty when you're eating an apple. Go on, try it. It's impossible.

It was delicious. Slightly sweet, hint of tang, crisp skin without that unfortunate bitter taste that came with many red apples, and a easy to bite yet firm inside.

Holding her basket close, she continued to stroll through the market, eyes wandering from stall to stall.

[Orca]

The dog threaded its way through the crowd, paws finding places to step where a human's boot could not. He paused for a moment once free of the throng, his plumed tail waving gently over his thickly furred back as he luxuriated in the sunlight, white-brown-and-gray streaked face turned upward.

He stayed still only briefly, and then just as quickly was off again, the bag looped almost carelessly around his neck swinging at chest level, occasionally bumping into him as he paced the streets.

Orca wasn't really one for crowds, no, not he. He hadn't grown up in a city, and even after a couple years living in one, he hadn't yet become accustomed to the masses of people that so constantly roamed the streets. So many and all in one area. Who had ever thought that was a good idea? Not him, that was for sure.

Luckily, so many people gathering like this attracted real strays, so just one more went more-or-less unnoticed by the casual eye. Sure, his fur was a lot cleaner, and yeah, if you actually looked at him, you'd notice that while his breed wasn't one you could actually place, he definitely wasn't an ordinary mutt, what with his long hunter's legs and powerfully built body, but that was only if you looked, and not many people had time to do that, not with the best items selling out quickly and vendors waving products around like it was going out of style.

So, he was safe, more or less, and in all honesty he would've been fine completing his morning jog in complete inconspicuousness, but then--

Kitty corner to where his puppy paws were placed, he caught sight of a certain booth that couldn't be ignored. Jerky strips, oh yes. He could buy a couple of those, and they'd be a tasty snack later for him and the boss. That just meant he had to, you know, be human for the purchase. He swung his pointed muzzle around, and then after a moment's deliberation, dashed between the knees of some fat boy and under the nearest stall, where the heavy cloth hung over the tables provided at least a semblance of privacy. A moment later a boy emerged, the small crowd gathered around the stall taking no notice of his magic trick in their eagerness to purchase the rapidly diminishing basket of apples.

The boy was slightly taller than average, with brown hair thick as the dog's had been that hung shaggily past his chin in choppy layers. The eyes that immediately fixated on the jerky booth were wide and blue-green in color. His age would appear to be late teens; his clothes, simple and a bit dusty, but not rags poor. The bag he'd worn about his canine form's neck now swung carefree at his hip, although he kept a hand close, in case any pickpockets got any ideas. So focused on his goal was he that he didn't exactly watch where he was going, and barely a pace from his destination he ran smack-dab into a blonde girl.

"Ah!" called the shapeshifter, somewhat startled but nothing hurt no more than his pride. "Are you okay? I'm sorry!"

[Escke]

Escke, of course, had been too busy being enthralled with her apple to really pay attention to her surroundings. She hadn't noticed a jerky stand, and furthermore, she hadn't noticed the boy heading towards the jerky stand. So happy was she, with her bites of apple in her mouth, that she was completely taken by surprise when they collided. Her hand flew up, and so followed the apple. The unfortunate thing here is that the apple, unlike her hand, was not connected to her body in any way.

The delicious apple, that rare, perfect apple that one chances upon every hundred apples, flew into the air.

It flew over the stand.

It disappeared, presumably rolling away between the feet of dirty children and the occasional beggar or pickpocket.

Forlornly she stared after her apple, blue eyes sad as they scanned the head-polluted horizon.

"It's okay..."

My apple...

She turned from where her apple had flown over the rainbow and turned to the scruffy boy she'd run into. It was her fault, really. She should've been paying more attention, and she knew better than to walk as she ate, especially if she was eating an apple. It just took concentration, concentration that should've been applied to paying attention to her surroundings.

"I'm sorry I ran into you," She apologized, not knowing that it had been the other boy's inattentiveness that had led to her apple evaporating. "I wasn't paying attention." Her head cocked as she scanned the boy. Was this one of the unfortunate wandering youths that seemed to plague the city? Of course, she had been one, too, but that was besides the point.

"Do you need any help?" Ever helpful, she kept her basket close. There was nothing in it, but more than once she had arrived home only to find some sort of garbage tucked into her basket. Really, the nerve of some people.

[Orca]

He was fine, she seemed fine, but the precious cargo she'd been holding was not. It flew away like it too could form wings out of air and was quickly out of sight. The girl informed him it was okay, but the gaze she cast the runaway apple's direction was despondent.

The shapeshifter felt immensely guilty, but before he could apologize more, she apologized, and then even went to such lengths as to ask if he needed assistance. Who was she, this girl that looked like a waif-child, but spoke like an adult?

"N-no, it was really my fault," he told her, trying to explain. "I saw the jerky, an' I wasn't really lookin' where I was goin', an'..." What a terrible excuse. Because of his selfishness, he'd cost her her snack. Maybe even her lunch, hey, he didn't know her circumstances. "Um... C'mon."

The boy grabbed her arm and trotted back over to the apple stand, pulling her along with her. He was stronger than he looked, mostly due to living most his life with mountain-folk who didn't know the meaning of 'idleness', but he kept a somewhat loose grip on her petite wrist, not wanting her to, you know, start freaking out or anything. He wasn't trying to kidnap her, he just wanted to--

Aw, hell. The basket, once so full and popular, was now empty save for a few bottom-dwellers that didn't look appetizing at all. They were gray-tinged and wormy, and Orca didn't think she'd appreciate those types of apples at all.

"Oh no..." He released her, and stood looking around for a moment, growing slightly desperate. "Umm, do you like anythin' else? I'll buy ya somethin' else to make up for it, really I will!" His tousled hair grew more messy by the second as he swung his head to and fro, searching for a suitable market stall. "Do you want... fish? Bread?" Another long pause, as his original goal -- and the whole reason he'd shapeshifted in the first place -- again caught one of his wide teal eyes. "...Jerky?"

[Escke]

He tried to correct her, tried to assure her that he was in the wrong (even though it was quite clear, to her at least, that it was her fault), and then suddenly he was holding her wrist. She held in a yelp, not wanting to attract attention, but still scared nonetheless. Where was this boy taking her? Was he going to take her away?

These fears were quickly faded away as Escke once again found herself in front of the stall that had been selling the apples, only to find, with similar dismay as her companion, that all of the good had been taken.

"O-oh, um, no, no thank you-" She tried, but he seemed intent on talking, on getting her something to make up for the apple he'd destroyed.

"No thank you," She starteda gain, this time without interruption. "I don't, ah... Eat all that much meat. Anyway, a gift is unneccessary. Thank you very much, though." How nice of this street-kid to offer to make up for what he did? This was what she liked to see. An improving youth, declining crime rate. That was what Avaren needed, because it desperately needed some fresh faces in its leadership. Not that she knew much about politics. She preferred to stay out of that whenever possible, because it just caused too many fights. No, she was fine with her part-time 'helper' duties at the local Church, and helping out the local youth in finding new homes and jobs and proper training.

So, this boy was a prime target.

But how to phrase this awkward question? Best to start with the basics, she supposed.

"My name is Escke, by the way. What's yours?"

[Orca]

She declined his offer in a most gracious manner, claiming she didn't eat meat. Orca didn't know how that was even possible; after all, meat was pretty much the staple of his more or less healthy diet, and considering the majority of his alternate forms were carnivores... Yeah, you get the point. Meat. Well, he couldn't exactly force her into accepting his repayment, though he made a quick note in his head to find her another day and bring her an apple, soon as they were in stock again. That'd be good, right?

But anyway, introductions.

"Oh, umm, I'm Orca?" He wasn't sure why his statement turned into a question like that, but it probably had something to do with the fact he had the lamest name ever. Simple, two syllables, worked fine for the folk back home, but out here he'd been mocked repeatedly for it. Just because his name wasn't ass-long and didn't have at least two apostrophes in it... Well. She had a nice name, short like his, but with a more fitted-to-the-times flair. Escke.

He gave her a quick lookover, not in the way a boy would normally check out a girl, but just to get a feel of who he was talking to. Plain dress, pretty blonde hair, big blue eyes... Not all that average, really. The basket under her arm bespoke someone with the money to go market shopping, rather than, as he'd originally assumed, someone with only a few spare coins for a snack.

He felt a little better about the whole nearly running her over and losing her food thing.

"A-are you sure you're okay? I really am sorry about, umm, before, an' all..."

[Escke]

"Please don't worry about it," She said, smiling although she was still truly sad about the loss of her apple and the further disappointment of finding that there were no apples left. It would be alright. There would be more apples in the future, of course.

"But, Orca, is it?" She asked. Definitely not a name for a boy who lived in the city. He'd probably even named himself, poor thing. She needed to do something for him, and she needed to do it quick. "Do you..." How to do this politely? "Have a place to stay, at the moment?" She looked him up and down again, chewing the inside of her lip before she smiled. "Do you need something to eat?"

[Orca]

He blinked a bit when she began asking him all those questions, but tried a hesitant smile back. It didn't go so well, but hey, at least he tried, right?

"Oh, umm, I..." Where to start? "N-no, I live out in the... the watchtowers? Out West?" He took a deep breath, tried to compose himself. Man, all these people. "I work for Lord Azrael?" Please please please let her know about him, at least. Being Azrael's little guard/errand boy -- or whatever he was -- wasn't enough to be of any notice, he knew that, but surely the great seer would be a little more known. Right?

Why was he out here again? Right, because the rest of the company was in town procuring supplies and whatnot, and he'd taken the tiny bird form and flown along. An adventure, or something. Not turning out so well, though.

"I'm really okay," he tried to assure her, though his increasingly frazzled state wasn't doing much to help. "I have money for food, and, umm, yeah. I'm good."

A slight pause; he stared at her, slightly baffled. "W-why do you ask?"

[Escke]

The watchtowers? Lord Azrael? She looked him over, trying to decide if that was simply a very elaborate cover story or just the truth. It didn't seem likely, of course, but he had been rather quick to offer to pay for a replacement apple. That meant he had money, and probably enough to be comfortable paying strangers back in that way. Was he really the assistant to someone on the city council?

She wished there was some sort of magic floating text that she could just read, but this wasn't so.

"Oh, you know. I just want to make sure you're eating and sleeping alright..." She said, voice mildly regretful. It seemed she had no choice but to let this boy go on his way. She couldn't just kidnap him.

"Are you sure you're alright on your own, Orca? You don't have to lie to me, you know."

[Orca]

"L-lie?" His voice very nearly squeaked. "I'm not, why would I, whaaat?" His ma, bless her poor dead soul, had raised him to be many things, but a liar was not one of them.

He took a second and finally managed to calm himself, trying to think like the wolf would think. In a way, it was a shapeshift of its own, just, you know, not the physical sort. She was just trying to help him, wasn't she? He didn't need to get so p-p-panicked over a little thing like that. Sure, he could do this.

"I really do work for Azrael," he told her, tone slightly resentful. Man, no one believed him when he told them. He was quite aware he didn't look much more than a skinny mountain kid, but, c'mon, a little faith never hurt, right? (Yes, yes it did.) In fact, it was really only when he was with Azrael, like literally physically at his side, that people finally took his word.

"I can wield a sword? And, umm, do other stuff." He waved a tanned hand vaguely, hoping she wouldn't ask him to expound on that. People around here would probably be more understanding that a bunch of backwoods superstitious folk, i.e., the village he'd grown up in, but you never knew. "I'm really fine. Really." Emphasis on the really.

[Escke]

Well, she hadn't meant to hurt his pride when she'd said that. It was just a little farfetch'd was all, leek and everything. And aww, he fancied himself a little warrior. That was just adorable. Even though they had a similar age, she couldn't help but feel for him in a 'big sister' kind of way. It was just how she was, these days. Once upon a time, it had been a very different outlook she'd had on life, but those times had mostly passed.

And all thanks to the teachings of a certain former Grandmaster.

But that was another story.

"Ohh, I see..." She said, doing her best to sound proud of him. Her fingers still twitched. He needed a good brushing and some proper hair care and a nice suit. He would be adorable. "Well, I suppose I should let you go on your way, then..."

[Orca]

"Oh, right..." He had stuff to do, after all. Errands to run, jerky to buy. She probably had been in the middle of Important Things herself, before he'd ruined her apple and her day. Oh man.

"It was nice... meeting you?" Yeah, meeting. You could call it that. "U-umm, are you gonna be okay doing your, umm, shopping? I mean, alone? I mean..." What did he mean? Just because she was a small, cute girl didn't mean she was going to get robbed just by going out shopping. Right?

He could've totally affirmed that 100% back home, but out here, in this big city... Ugh. The shapeshifter let his words drift there, unsure what to add on, but equally unsure if he should just leave. She'd have to initiate things, whatever she chose.

[Gabriel]

Gabriel slipped through the crowd, hood up, eyes gleaming in the shadow. Crowds he didn't like much, but the conversation was always good for him. He listened with vague interest, hearing nothing he hadn't already heard, or nothing of use. The real goods would be in the taverns, or deeper in the market, but for now ...

It was on one of his listening moments he heard a voice he recognized, and frowned, tilting his head to find it again. Ah. There he was. Smiling faintly, Gabriel pressed forward to find that one. Who was the woman? He didn't recognize her, but then, he had little time for those who had no use to him. She didn't look useful. Perhaps Orca was on a job?

Maybe he should hang back. Hmm. Na, it didn't look like the case. It looked, more like, that Orca fancied her. Cute. Gabriel resisted the urge to roll his eyes and pushed through the crowd, shoving with his shoulder. Protests fell on deaf ears. The best way to draw attention was to ignore everyone, even if it only fell for a moment.

Why did he want attention? Because it amused him. Sometimes. Most of the time he liked to keep out of it, but every now and then he could use a few faces to catch the eye of. People he could visit later. Gabriel came up behind his acquaintance and nudged his arm.

"And what have you got here?" Gabriel said, raising an eyebrow. His face held little expression, charcoal hair sort of ... everywhere. The scars still remained, things he might have found the solution to but had no desire to remove. Nah, they were amusing as well. He eyed the girl with interest, wondering.

What good such a little thing be? She looked fragile, even. He tapped his fingers against the knife sheath at his belt, under the cloak and out of sight. Orca looked a bit nervous, but no surprise as of late. Gabriel understood Orca's dislike of the city, even if he thought it a little silly. He could have gotten over it by now, couldn't he?

[Escke]

How chivalrous! He was worried about her wellbeing, now. He was a good boy, and that made her happy. She smiled at him, deep blue twinkling out at him happily. It really was a shame she couldn't take this boy home with her, dress him proper. It wasn't that she felt some strange need to, it was just... It felt right. Everyone deserved to be dressed right, and to do good. That was just how things were, or rather how they should be.

"Oh, no, I should be okay." She nodded at him, maintaining her smile of approval. "Thank you very much, though."

And then, the other one showed up.

She wasn't sure what to think of this guy. He was a little less scruffy than Orca, of course, but something about him was off-putting. Maybe it was the asymmetrical scars on his face, maybe it was the way he'd just described her as an object of sorts.

She didn't say anything to the new boy. If Orca wanted to, he would introduce them. It was obvious she had no place talking while he was around. What a dick. Her face remained quite neutral, of course, even when it came to him. There was even still residue of her smile on her face, after all.

[Orca]

She, again, said no, and he was left feeling both relieved and a little guilty. He'd offered, so it wasn't his fault if- if something bad happened, right? I mean, you wouldn't think something would, not on such a nice day like this, but he knew from experience even terrible things could happen in good weather.

"O-oh," he started to say, but the word had barely left his mouth when someone nudged his elbow, making him jump. He flinched back, but caught himself as he saw who it was, his expression of total unease immediately melting into one of recognition and slight cheer.

"Gabby," he greeted the man, a tiny smile lighting up his face as he leaned into the other, latching onto his arm. The touch of strangers was likely to give him panic attacks, but with the few he trusted, touch, even something simple as this, was calming, and usually helped to get his head straight. It had something to do with all that time he'd lived as his alternate forms; it messed with his head a little. Oh well.

"Oh, umm, this is Escke, I, umm, sort of ran into her, haha..." Sort of? More like literally. His seafoam eyes flicked from the girl and then back to Gabriel, showing a tinge of awe whenever they lingered on the other male. "W-what are you up to, Gabby? Busy day?"

Hey, good for him. He was making conversation and everything.