Conflagration and Flagellation (Open)

A long, hungry sea voyage leads to strange cravings. Retief wasn't sure why his mind had latched onto apple fritters as the food he desired most when the ship pulled into port. He had spent the past fortnight huddled up in his hammock with a bucket, alternately refusing to eat altogether one night, then demanding a grand feast of fish the next. The journey had left him in a miserable state, left alone most nights with only abdominal pain and his schemes to occupy his mind.

The crew were throwing lines onto the pier. The pine marten could hear shouting and the tramping of footpaws above his cabin as he waited for the ship to make berth. Retief felt he couldn't wait another minute to get something fresh and sweet to wash away the taste of hard tack, and the foul liquor he'd had to make insincere toasts with at the captain's dining table. Hence, apple fritters.

The pine marten stretched his cramped limbs as he left his cabin, and wobbled precariously down the ramp from the deck to the pier. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and the stinking wooden hulk as possible. He was a mountain beast born and raised, not a seafarer. Retief caught sight of an officious looking rodent almost as wide as he was tall scuttling from berth to berth with sheafs of parchment and a quill stuck between his large round ear. The pine marten strode after the little harbourmaster, and spun the bumbling creature around with one swift paw.

"Ahoy there, my good harbourmaster," Retief said, his face splitting into a sharp, toothy smile that glinted with gold and insincerity. "Where might a refined and discerning gentlebeast find a good apple fritter at this time of day?"

The rodent pushed his round spectacles up his nose and blinked up at the pine marten. "Is 'e a slave?"

Retief blinked. He was feeling sluggish and tired, not to mention a little frustrated after the voyage. He could feel his patience quickly slipping away, and his fake smile with it. "What? I'm asking you about fritters, stout dockworker of mine. We can discuss that other kind of business over a pint later if you're interested."

The rodent pointed with one chipped, ink-stained claw behind Retief. "'Im wot's carryin' yer luggage. Is 'e yer slave?"

Retief knew without looking that the harbourmaster was referring to Benjy, who was indeed carrying the pine marten's sea chest. What puzzled him was why the chivvers this dense little ball of a creature was refusing to address the pine marten's question.

"Why yes, he belongs to me. Not for sale, though if you're looking for slaves-..."

"Eyrr Spit is a free port, mistah," the rodent interjected, drawing himself up to his fullest and most unimpressive height, the tips of his ears barely coming up to Retief's belt. "Anybeast wot sets footpaw on our soil is master of 'is own fate, and 'is chains of bondage are ferrever broken."

Retief could feel a headache coming on. He had been feeling optimistic about today, he really had. He could feel his paw itching to take hold of the cat o' nine tails on his belt. "Well, lucky for me we're not on your 'soil' yet, we're still on the pier. Now about those fritters, my rotund rodent, or indeed any fresh fruit, surely a beast of your... prestigious girth has some idea where such treats are procured?"

"I oughta kick yer tail off me pier," the harbourmaster. The little rodent then gave Retief a hideous grin, his eyes narrowed to glinting slits. "But I think me'n'th'lads will 'ave a bit of fun first. If we punch ye 'ard enough, mebbe that nice gold tooth'll come out. Think we'll take all yer nice rings too, beast like you don't deserve all them ill-gotten jools."

"Of all the zhipperfriskers I've got to put up with," Retief sighed. He turned to Benjy, and winked. "I guess I'm under arrest then. Ah, woe is me, my heinous crimes catching up to me at las- RUN!"

With a shove that sent the harbourmaster flailing head-over-heels off the pier and into the harbour, the marten and his otter slave took off as fast as their weak, having-spent-a-fortnight-at-sea legs would carry them.

And so began another usual Monday for the port city.

Or maybe it was tuesday. The days easily blurred together when one worked nights.

Rioko stirred from her slumber and stretched across her bed of pillows and soft blankets where she lay for a good moment longer. Given the choice Rio would have layed there all day but the growl of her stomach motivated her to get up.

It was hard to say exactly what kind of lizard Rioko was. Rio was a small lizard, about the size of a rat. The scales of her back were soft with a red color. Her under belly from her tail, over her midriff and to the middle of her tail was gold. Her appearence was youthfull but clearly in adult hood.

The appartment she lived in had only one room, bed kitchen and all. The plaster was cracked and there was a small hole in the floor off in the corner. But the room was lavished with furnature of decent quality and trinkets. Rugs, wall decorations, and small items of value that one might find hard to believe existed in such a poor setting.

On the dresser by the window there was a small jewelery case containing bracelets and rings and necklaces far beyond the lizards wealth.

Rioko gazed upon them and smiled. It was a pitty she could not wear them in public...

Again a growl from her stomach promted the lizard to get on with her day. In a matter of moments Rioko was dressed in a vest and sash. Both were made from silk. The vest only covered her front, hanging down across her chest in a V shap until the tip came to top of her belly which was admittedly starting to look well rounded since her move to the big city.

The sash hung down to her knees both in front and in back and was held up by a cloth belt.

Applying some oil to her scales to make them shine Rioko clasped a golden bracelet on her tail for added decoration before stepping out to greet the new day.

Before going for breakfast she planned to stop by the town crier to hear the news of the day. After a succesfull job last night the lizard wondered if she would be mentioned at all. After all, she worked hard to snatch that necklace from that mannor. It would be a shame if no one got to appreciate her hard work in theivery...

Just down the street from Rioko's appartment, and in turn only a block away from the harbor, another beast greeted the new day.

Derwyn could not help but stand out among the crowd. While the beasts that walked by him might have been dressed in tunics, shirts, and even trousers, the ocelot wore a green and black kilk and covered his upper torso with a sash and half cloak.

He looked positively out of place both with his bright orange fur with black and grey spots and stripes. It didn't help that his snout hung open in wonder at the city around him.

It was his first trip into the big city and it showed. Badly.

The feline was so overwhelemed by the sight of these tall three story buildings around him that he stepped out into traffic with out looking both ways, not even seeing the ferret drawn cart baring down on him until it was too late.

He turned for the cart and his ears fell flat. Like a deer stuck in headlights all he could do was watch his doom barrol onwards toward him. Derwyn made a pitifull and frightened 'mew' until he felt someones claws dig into his arm and pull him back to the side walk.

The ferrets driving the cart did little but cuss at Derwyn as they passed by. The red scaled lizard who had pulled the beast to safty had more choice words for him however.

"Idiot! What are you trying to do? Git yerself killed?!" Rioko hisses and slaps Derwyn up side the head.

Until about fifteen minutes ago, when Retief set his footpaws on the dock, the world beyond the Kaldr Mountains and the Land of the Rekkr had been no more than black ink on a dusty map. Now, Eyrr Spit was all around him, a thousand sights, sounds and scents all bombarding the pine marten's senses at once. Retief felt truly out of his depth here; he had imagined the port would be much like Vandr Bustadr's shoreline; dank, shabby and mostly quiet. He had thought it would be a matter of hours at most to track down his brother; a blind pine marten would stand out like a sore claw back home. Here, amongst all this colour and movement, his brother could be right around the corner and Retief would never know.

The further Retief looked, the more confused he became. He had understood the harbourmaster's clear position of authority on the pier, but the hierarchy of the harbourside was almost impossible to decipher. Traders were setting up stalls and nobeast was demanding protection payments from them. Some lizard was peddling foreign books and no censors were coming to set him on fire. There were decorative archways, but they hadn't been furnished with the severed heads of the city's enemies. Who kept order around here? What was stopping everybeast from stabbing and looting, if there was no fear keeping them in line? There were some guards on the street corners, but they didn't even have any artillery. How did they expect to stop any drunken riots in the local pubs without a flaming ballista bolt primed to make a messy example of somebeast? Retief could only think of one plausible explanation.

"This town is insane," Retief said.

The pine marten's confident stride slowed to a meandering stroll as the minutes ticked by. He wandered the streets, gaining some small pleasure out of breaking some unfortunate pickpocket's claws. Thieves were thieves no matter how different the culture was here. Retief knew his flashy earrings and gold trimmings would catch some attention, but what was the point of having wealth if you dressed like every other miserable wretch without even a copper to their name? A Schuhart did not stoop to dressing like a commoner.

Retief stopped. "That's it!"

How foolish he had been! His brother wouldn't just disappear into the crowd. A Schuhart always stands out, whether through looks, charm or daring deeds. His family's home had an entire wall dedicated to teaching this lesson; Every Schuhart was destined for some greatness to add to the glory of the family name. Redrick may have been blinded, but Retief had always looked up to the courage and resolve of his brother. He was certain that he would soon hear news of a blind pine marten doing great things in Eyrr Spit. All he had to do was find a town crier, and no doubt some word would come to him of his brother's whereabouts.

It took a while longer than Retief would have liked, but he spotted a town crier ringing his bell down a busy cobblestone street. The pine marten hurried to catch up to him, but before he could call out, a tight knot of pain flared up in his guts. With a strangled cry, the pine marten hunched over, hugging himself tightly. He snarled, baring his teeth, his ears going flat against his head. He still hadn't eaten since the voyage. Right now, he wasn't sure if he wanted to eat a whole feast or be violently sick.

The pine marten jerked in surprise when he felt a paw on his shoulder. He looked up to see the curious, whiskery face of Benjy. The otter's eyes were wide and searching, he was leaning over his master as if trying to sniff out the source of the trouble. With a raspy hiss, Retief shoved the otter's paw away.

"Don't touch me," Retief growled. Benjy immediately went back to his usual habit of gazing at the ground instead, submissive and blank-faced. Retief grunted as he slowly straightened back to his full height. The pain was fading, but the hunger remained. He needed food. Apple fritters had proven to be impossible to come by, but he had to eat something before his stomach devoured him from inside. A ferret drawn cart was rolling down the road, and it looked like it might be loaded with... apples!

Retief couldn't see who was in charge of the ferret slaves. Another weird cultural difference with this city, the slaves seemed to go about their tasks without any slave drivers with whips supervising them. Shrugging, the pine marten took his whip from his belt with practiced ease, and cracked it at the scurrying footpaws of the ferrets as they drew near. The effect was instantaneous; with a cry of alarm, they shuddered to a halt.

"Slaves, where is your master? I should like to purchase some of these fine apples," Retief announced grandly. The ferrets were less than impressed. One of them stepped forward, ogling the pine marten's whip.

"Wotcher call me? Slave? Who 'dya fink ye're talkin' to, tree weasel?"

Retief's eyes widened, but he caught ahold of himself. His jaw had nearly dropped at being backchatted by the slave. He felt vindicated in his opinion that this city was completely bonkers. Tree weasel? He couldn't let such an insult go unanswered. He would have slain the ferret where he stood, if not for the pine marten's impeccable sense of etiquette. The slave was not his property specifically, so it would be wrong for him to kill it or damage it. However, it was clear the ferret needed to be disciplined, and Retief could do that quite easily without leaving any permanent marks.

The ferret's squeal pierced the noises of the city like a knife, accompanied with the sharp crack of the whip. Retief allowed himself a small smirk. That had felt good, especially after having such a frustrating morning. He began to coil up the whip, wondering why everybeast kept staring at him. Then again, he was superbly skilled at whipping. They were probably just admiring his finesse and precise technique. Except a few of them were now running away with tears in their eyes. Retief shook his head, bemused.

"This town is insane."

The ocelot let out a growl as the lizard slapped him up side the head. After all who doesn't like being slapped up side the head?

Derwyn quickly let his growl cease though. Rubbing the back of his neck he appologized, "Sorry. Sorry. Thank you...thank for not letting me become street paste. I guess the city just kind of overwhelmed me. I'm no here...see and..."

The ocelot looked about the sidewalk of the street and noticed that the lizard was missing. She had started walking away almost imidietly after slapping the cat.

"Miss! Miss wait!" Derwyn said, the quarter staff being carried in one paw was slanted over his shoulder and in the crowd came dangerously close to hitting those around him.

Rioko paused calmly at the corner and turned to the halfway to the ocelot following her. She wasn't a beast who liked weapons. Weapons were messy. And gained peoples attention.

Besides, nature provided her with a perfect set of weapons already. Her teeth, her claws, her razor sharp wit.

She bared the former of the list in a half smile half snarl at the approaching occelot. "Something I can help you with kitty?"

The ocelot stops a few feet away and pauses to catch his breath after sprinting to catch up with her. Clapping his paws together Derwyn leaned forward and bowed to the lizard. Rioko had to admit, the action caught her off guard.

"You have my gratitude for saving my life." Derwyn said happily.

"Oh...well then. That's...that's fine. Think nothing of it." Rioko began to turn away but the ocelot continued walking by her side.

"Oh! But I can't do that! That was very kind of you! Honest! Thank you so much! If you hadn't saved me I would probibly be dead! If there is anything I can do to repay you please let..."

The lizard scowled as she walked forward, "You can go away for starters..."

"oh..." Derwyn said slowly. For a moment the beast looked like he really would go away. But then instead he asked, "I don't suppose you could do me one more favor? See...I'm lost."

Rioko sighed deeply. Pausing to rub at her nose bridge. She was about to express her regret at not leaving the cat to be run over but she was cut off by a loud scream and the crack of a whip from just ahead.

It seemed a pine marten was cracking the whip on his employees. Quite litterally. Or he was a random crazy person trying to rob the apple cart that had almost ran over poor Derwyn.

"Is this...normal here?" Derwyn asked Rioko. the lizard didn't answer.

"Bloomin' wicky-chivvers! It's that crazy pine marten!"

Retief rounded on the startled town crier with a look of indignation. He was close to raising his whip again, but something the crier said gave him pause. The pine marten's eyes narrowed, and he advanced on the little mouse as if he was about to pounce on his prey.

"What do you mean, that crazy pine marten?"

The town crier nervously doffed his feathered cap, then crammed it back between his large round ears. "B-beggin' yer pardon m'lud-..."

"I'm not a lord, I work for a living," Retief interrupted, in the sort of weary tone that suggested he'd said that exact phrase more times than he cared to count. He tucked the whip back onto his belt, which calmed the mouse's irritating stammer.

"Er, well, there was this pine marten a few weeks ago..."

Retief felt a paw clamp down on his shoulder. The town crier's voice died in his throat, as the mouse's eyes became fixed on somebeast standing behind the pine marten. Retief could hear heavy breathing in his ear, and smell fishy breath. He froze. Whoever had just grabbed him was big. He could sense just from the way the paw was crushing his shoulder, its owner must have stood a whole head higher than him. Retief did not like being outsized.

"Redrick, I thought we agreed you were not to draw attention to yourself in public," the mysterious beast's voice growled in his ear. Retief's jaw did fall open this time, his mind going blank. Redrick. The beast had called him Redrick. He had been mistaken for his twin brother. He didn't dare turn around. If he did, the beast would notice his eyes had not been blinded. So, he stayed still, his back turned.

"Ah, er... I grew impatient?" Retief offered lamely. The paw relaxed its grip, and Retief heard the creature behind him give a sigh.

"Redrick, just lie low until the ball tonight. I thought you would have bought your costume by now. Don't forget the mask, or they won't let you in. Meet me by the Fountain of Avarice." The voice was smooth, deep, and refined. Retief thought it was strange such an aristocratic accent could be emanating from such a huge, intimidating creature. He was guessing from the scent it was a feral cat.

"The... ah, Fountain of Avarice. Got it."

The paw on his shoulder slid down until it was pressing heavy against Retief's narrow chest, as if the beast behind him was trying to keep him from escaping. The pine marten could feel the feral cat's whiskers brush against his ear as he whispered, "Do you need help finding your way back to the manor?"

Retief slowly shook his head, and before he could work up the courage to say anything else, the beast was gone. Retief turned around slowly, making certain that the stranger was gone. The town crier had disappeared too, leaving Retief alone with Benjy. The ferrets seemed to have abandoned their cart. They certainly hadn't seemed afraid of him, so... ah. They had probably run off at the sight of the feral cat. Retief could only guess what kind of dangerous beasts his brother was consorting with now. If that cat made him feel afraid, he could only imagine the terror the feline instilled in lesser creatures. Retief gave Benjy a look, and the otter promptly began looting the apple cart. Fair game as far as the marten was concerned, since the food had been abandoned.

"There's more to this than meets the eye," Retief muttered to himself. He mulled over the conversation again in his head. His brother was expected to turn up to some kind of masked ball at a manor. So, Retief would have to go too. He needed a costume, and somebeast that knew where the ball was actually being held. What the Fountain of Avarice was, Retief couldn't even guess. The pine marten began to walk back up the street, absentmindedly chewing on a pilfered apple.

"Come, Benjy. We've got to find somebeast who knows where that ball is being held!" Retief said loudly, looking over his shoulder to make sure Benjy was still paying attention to him. It was at that moment that the young Schuhart walked straight into somebeast.

"Right then, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this is most certainly not normal." The ocelot used his hands to gesture at the marten while he talked with Rioko.

"Yeah. You can say that again." The lizard shrugs then begins walking down the street. As interesting as the scene was it didnt effect rio nor did she want to stick around for the guards to eventually show up.

She rolls her eyes when she hears the ocelot following after her. With a sigh she turns on her heel and thrusts a claw towards the cats nose. "What? Why are you following me? Don't you have something better to do?"

The ocelot leans backward, gently pushing the dangerous claw away with his paw. "No. Not really. And you look like you know where you are going. Aaannd you are the only person here to actually stop and talk to me. Everyone else just sort of...walks by when I try to ask them for directions."

"I can see why." The meaty lizard crosses her arms and rubs at the bridge of her snout, "Oh boy you really are new here. They probibly thought you were trying to rob them."

"Really? But...I...wha...why would they think that?"

"Well...who else would stop to grab their attention?" Rio says casually. She has seen many scenes where a beasts asks for help only to lead their 'rescuers' down a dark ally and beat them over the head for the coins in their pocket. She even participated in one or two schemes.

The idea however seemed to be completely forign to this ocelot. "Not to mention your get up. Did you just come from the sticks or something?"

Derwyn raised an eye brow to the lizard but said nothing. He could find a few replies for a beast that chose to wear clothing that left the vast majority of her underbelly to public view.

Instead he narrowed his eyes and began to reply when he caught sight of something behind the lizard. " Um...miss..."

Rio however continues to talk over the ocelot even as he tries to flail his arms about to get her attention, "Listen mac. I don't know what village or little tribal yurt you came from, but this here is a city. You can't rely on others to hold your hand here else they will just lead you off into an alley and mug you." Derwyn was now biting his claws and trying to point to something over her shoulder.

Rio raised an eyebrow to this, "Are you even listening to me? You need to pay more attention! Not to mention how rude it is to completely ignore a beast when they are talking to you, you wont last five minutes here if you don't pay attention to your-"

The word surroundings was lost as Rio was nearly bowled over by an unseen beast. her body went ridgid and her eyes widened with shock. Then reflex took over.

Rioko was a shady person who lived and worked among shady people. So she fell back on the one tried and proven response for preventing beasts from grabbing you from behind.

It was not a pretty sight, one that made Derwyn gasp and cringe even if it diddn't connect.

With out thinking Rioko spun on her heel, her claws came down towards the shoulders of the marten for leverage as she brought her knee up to his middle, expertly aiming for below the belt as if she had done this before...

Retief had not gone two steps into his new scheme before being assaulted. Something had him by the shoulder, and a sharp blow to his abdomen resulted in him spraying chunks of apple and spit over his assailant with an undignified gargling yelp. His first instinct was to lash out with his claws, before stumbling back, tripping over his cloak and hitting the flagstones rump-first.

Benjy, to his credit as a loyal slave, jumped in front of his master, baring his teeth and thumping his rudder loudly on the ground in the universal otter gesture of spoiling for a fight. Retief meanwhile had managed to get a piece of apple lodged in his throat, as the assault had come mid-swallow. He coughed and wheezed and banged his fist on his chest in a futile effort to relieve himself.

Hearing his master choking to death, Benjy slowly backed away from the lizard, his dark eyes watching the strange creature's every move. The pine marten was on all fours by now, his eyes bulging as he came to terms with the fact that his mortal coil was about to unravel thanks to a piece of fruit. If Retief ever thought about how he wanted to die, his mind probably thought of something terribly romantic, like dying for love or honour. Maybe even something poetic and ironic, like falling in battle against an army of escaped slaves. A fruit-related death was just humiliating.

Benjy drew back his clenched webbed paws, and brought them down hard on his master's back. There was a small 'pop' as the otter inadvertently shifted Retief's spine back into shape, and a splutter from the marten as the offending fragment of fruit left his throat at speed. The pine marten gasped for fresh air, grunting as he twisted his back this way and that, audibly cracking the bones.

"B-...Benjy..." Retief coughed. He looked up at his lifelong companion, his icy eyes meeting the slave's warm ones. "I could have died. Don't take so long next time!"

Benjy nodded humbly. It was only when the pine marten broke his gaze to stagger to his footpaws that the otter allowed himself a small, private smile at a job well done. Benjy had known Retief long enough to spot when the marten was secretly pleased with him. Either that, or Benjy was just deluded. It was hard to tell, but given the slave had actually opted to save his master's life, there must have been some camaraderie between them.

"As for you," growled Retief, laying eyes properly on the lizard for the first time. "Do you know just how much trouble... you're..."

Retief trailed off, staring at the lizard as if his father's ghost stood there instead. Benjy gulped. He recognised that glint in his master's eye. It was the look Retief wore when he wanted something, usually an expensive slave. Lizards might have been rare here, but they were downright impossible to find back in Rekkr. That made them valuable commodities, and Benjy could almost hear the gears turning in his master's head.

"Ahem. My apologies, I suppose it was my mistake after all," Retief said, abruptly switching his tone, his face brightening up with a slick, toothy smile that showed off his gold fillings. "What sort of gentlebeast would I be to begrudge your, ahem, reaction to my inattentiveness? Allow myself to introduce... er, myself. Retief Schuhart, Esquire, pleased to make your acquaintance, ahem, however accidental it may be."

Retief then noticed where the rest of the half-chewed apple chunks had gone, and his tail instinctively tucked between his legs. He was not making any good first impressions today.

(OOC: Argh, sorry this took so long! Got caught up in things quite badly, hope you're still up for this.)

(Oc course! I laughed out loud at that XD i will tey to reply by the end of the week.)

Rioko might have taken some grim delight in knowing that she was considered valuable. Perhaps less so as an item.

At the moment though she was more focused on the apples redecorating her vest and scales.

Rio had been ready to appologize profusely for her obviously well aimed blow.

Now she merely stood there, giving the marten a cross between a soul stealing look of anger and a look of utter pitifull hopelessness.

"Oh! Um...well then." Derwyn coughed politely from beside the lizard. "These city greetings sure are exciting. Are you ok miss?"

Rioko replied by twitching an eye and figeting.

"I'll take that as a possibly meeting. And you good sir, are you...ok? We would not want your wipping skills to diminish..."

"One hour." The ocelot raised an eye brow as the portly lizard finally spoke up. "It took me...an hour...to get this outfit ready." Rio looked herself over and stuck out her tongue in disgust, "Ewww...i have marten spit all over mai scales..."

"Er...here." ever the gental beast Derwyn took off the sash about his chest. He only realized after handing it to rio to wipe herself down that he may not want it back...