(OPEN) The Streets of Ul'Dah

[Nirri]

Noticing the hand movements of the Highlander for him to come closer, his head giving a subtle nod as a form of reply as he stepped closer to the stall. "This'll be fun to see how this entire ordeal proceeds.". His arms crossing infront of his chest as he looks at the large Highlander with an amused expresion.

[IncubusManatee]

"Could not have said it any better myself." Just as cheery as he was a bit before, little to nothing seemed to bother him. Loss, win, he was having a good time. Chuckling again gently as he folded his arms once more over his chest.

[Katanyae]

Kat gasped in mock terror as her blindfold was pulled up.

 

"Ah! Red, don't DO that to me! The sight of you is enough to kill ANY girl!"

 

She pulled it back down and blew him a dramatic kiss - M'wah - before her hands started to play with the shells...a kind of pre-game activity as she addressed the new scents and sounds that arrived.

 

"What's the charge? Well I'll tell you - 50 gil to wager but because you seem like a good girl let's say 20. Find the ball, win the pot! But lose and....dealer takes all!" Said the dealer to the newcomer.

 

Slow circles....circle eight....

 

Kat enjoyed the smell of fruit and honey as the other Miqo'te spoke to her. Her voice had a soothing quality to it, but not one she could place, and she could only hope that the Keeper liked her scent (earthy, fresh rain, odd flowers) as much as vice versa.

 

"Now now Moonie, a good performer never reveals her charms." Katanyae replied. "It's not about what you see so much..." 

 

Laaaazy circles...shhhhhp....shhhhhhhp....round and round...

 

Grinning a sideways grin Kat quickly raised one very tan and slender arm and flexed, addressing the one that smelled like he had a well worn bow. "I'd beat them down!" and without missing a beat went back to sliding her shells. 

 

Round and round...Quickening pace...figure eight...

 

"Where's the ball, Red...hmmm? C'mon...where's the ball...."

 

The arrival of other people had drastically changed her plans. Sure, on a normal day under normal circumstances she could have pulled this off and taken the highlander for all he had. But...she was 'altered'. And had a blindfold on. And there were too many eyes that she could not be certain were on HER when the little red ball was not to be found under ANY of the shells...

 

Yes, the payout was great. And she had to wrestle with herself to resist the temptation - after all, she loooooved risk. But this was too much, and to be honest she had grown to like those assembled. 

 

So Kat smiled, gave the shells one last roundabout and then raised her hands from the table.

 

"Where is that little red bastard" she quipped, leaving the blindfold on. Or forgetting it was even there.

[elisan]

The Keeper of the Moon shifted those golden orbs from the entertainment and pleasant earthiness surrounding the sun-born, drawn to the bowman. She assessed him for a good long moment and then nodded. It would seem they shared either a profession or a love of the arrow's way, maybe both. The female human who watched on with earnest joy was glanced over as well - she smelled like vanilla, medicinal herbs..if Seda had to guess, the woman was some kind of healer. The highlander with his blazing red hair and jovial demeanor received a passing grin, the trace of elongated canines flashing. 

 

Her attention went back to Kat as she smirked, "Where is it indeed.."

[IncubusManatee]

Not letting himself be absorbed into the quips and banter-he focused on the game at this point. Watching the swift motions of the woman's arms and hands working the shells all over the table. Squinting his eyes gently as he watched them move. Several wrinkles showed along the lengths near his eyes-showing just a bit of his age as he waited. Paid attention for once.

 

His face was still a stone visage of joy, smile impeccably there and unmovable. A small chuckle escaping his lips at this point. Raising a single hand to rub his chin as he looked at the three lonely shells, now bereft of hands touching them-as Kat had finally let them go. 

 

Brushing his right hand over his jacket-he moved over to the table. Looking at all three shells in turn. Naturally wishing to reach for the middle one, right hand stopping right over it. "THIS ONE!" He shouted and suddenly went for the left one with his left hand, shaking the table with his sudden motion. Flipping the left one revealed...NOTHING!

 

An empty table was only what was there. He made a small sigh, chuckled softly, and then grinned. "Let me guess, it was the middle one." 

 

Then quickly flipped the middle one which his right hand had been above during this period. Revealing a red ball!

 

"Knew it." Is all he said. Grinning gently as he stepped back from the table. "You've won. Fair Maiden." Bowing his head gently at this point.

[Nirri]

With a shake of his head he'd take a few steps to lean against the large building behind the stall, merely concealing himself from the bright sun and into the refreshing shadows. "I hold no suprise to the fact that you would beat them up.". Holding onto the bottom of the bow to prevent it from being pinned between his back and the crude wall.

 

 

Noticing the lingering gaze of the Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te, he responded in kind by gazing in her direction with a light smile to take her appearance up within his own mind. Merely letting his own lingering gaze rest on her as she looked away to assess the other individuals.

[Katanyae]

"You've won, Fair Maiden"

 

The words ran through Kat like eletricity. Granted, there was something in his tone that implied she won because he threw the game....but that was something the girl could mull about another time. Practice makes perfect...and this time she pushed it a little too far. Still, it was fun.

 

'But it isn't about fun', she reminded herself quietly. 'Enjoy the victories, enjoy the banter and the game....just at the end of the day this is how we feed both our stomachs and our vices.'

 

"Fair what now?" Leaning over to the Keeper she spoke as if confiding with her "I think he's talking to you...."

 

Pulling the blindfold off with a little 'ta-da' motion, Kat's eyes quickly darted to inventory her belongings. An act of habit more than mistrust. Lingering for a moment on the gil she smiled again and shrugged, her palms skyward.

 

"What can I say that needs to be said? A fool and his gil are soon parted" she laughed with a wink.

 

Deftly she scooped up most of the gil in the basket and tucked it away in her bag. Insurance for her now imminent vacation....the itch, the temptation to potentially wager it away was not something she wanted to wrestle with. No. It was time for another game of misdirection, one where attention was turned off the game and herself and on to other things. Kat grabbed her flask and offered it to the few that had gathered. To the Miqo'te, it would smell well aged and strong, laced with a slight hint of dead flower....

 

"Drink? So what brings you all to the marketplace today?"

 

Round and round the shells go.....

[IncubusManatee]

Baer just smiled gently as he leaned back. Folding his arms over his chest as the gamemaster returned to the world. Shaking his head gently at her word's. "Maybe I meant both of you!" Feigning surprise playfully. Widening his eyes like saucers-before just letting them droop back down into their usual look. 

 

Watching the lithe being take off the blindfold with a bit of gusto, and another quippy remark. He couldn't help but respond in kind: "It takes a fool to recognize a fool!" No ill will placed within his word's, but certainly joviality. Opening up his arms he motioned to the other's, then back to Kat. "Play at your own risk, I can assure she doesn't bite-but she probably will sever you from your monetary wealth." 

 

Taking a step back so the others could move up if they wished. Chucking gently once more. Not bothering with answering Kat's last question at this point, acting as if he had not heard a thing and been more focused upon some strange architectural design in the floor.

[elisan]

Seda smirked lightly, shaking her dusky haired head at Kat. "Regardless, I think he's taking his loss rather well".  She regarded the one coined Red a moment before glancing to the other archer and the healer when Kat voiced her question. The drink was politely declined. "I was passing through on business mostly - though it seems there's no shortage of work to do here so I may as well stay awhile and enjoy myself".

[Nirri]

Both hands lift up to the back of his head as his gaze wanders to look up at the bright sky. "I'll pass on the drink and losing all my money. I have no interest in losing my only way back to Gridania.". Merely standing against the wall now without giving an actual answer on why he was present within the streets of the Ul'dah marketplace.

[Katanyae]

Kat smiled a little, and glanced longingly up at the sun.

 

"Well! If there are no more wagers, I think I will attend to other matters" she said, clapping her hands together. She had an air of excited distraction that she made absolutely no effort to hide. Within moments Kat's belongings were packed, the table was folded, and when she walked away it appeared that you'd never even knew she was there to begin with. It wasn't so much that she was in a rush; it was the practiced art of someone that has been trained to vanish within a moment's notice.

 

Her pack on her shoulder, her small table in hand, she turned to those assembled. 

 

"Hey, it was great and all - but I have a date with some sun", Kat said with some sincerity. "If you're interested I'll be down at the docks tonight dipping my feet in the water and watching the moon with a bottle of this or that. If not, well I hope you find what you're seeking here, and may our paths cross again!"

 

With that, Kat smiled and lifted a hand in a wave as her bare feet padded back into the crowd. It was a little like watching a drop of water fall into a stream...at first she was there and then she melted into the hustle and bustle of an average day in the marketplace.

[IncubusManatee]

With that, a rather deep chuckle would escape his lips. "I may see about that later-I have a fight to get to." 

 

Then a sigh would escape the red-haired Highlander's lips as everyone sort of backed off from the table and not dared to spend their money like he did. Which wasn't all that bad. "Well I guess it's time for me to go then! Things to maim, women to please, places to be-all that jibber-jabber." Giving everyone a friendly wave. 

 

Slipping back into the crowd much like Kat. Forming into the waves of people as if he had not even been present in the world moments before...

 

 

---Some hours later---

 

...The ground felt nice on Baer's feet as he walked along slowly. His bag over his bare shoulder. Still clothed in his fight clothes. Simple short's of blood red; matching his hair. And soiled brown strips of cloth wrapping his hands and feet. 

 

But he was at his destination, the docks. Unwrapping the headband from his forehead and holding it in one hand as he looked about for that sly cat-woman. 

 

((Sorry I been slow on the replies. Just got back to a computer after a long bout of moving stuff+Working))

[elisan]

So too did the Huntress move along - winding her way back to some high perch to watch the city bustle....and eventually an ideal overlook was discovered high atop a wall of shipping crates. The vessels coming and going were mildly interesting with their exotic cargo and loud, burly sailors. A flicker of red and more so, the hint of metal that only came with blood, on the wind, caught her attention. Golden eyes directed to the massive highlander from earlier in the day. It seemed he had been speaking quite literally when he'd commented that he had a fight to attend. A glance over his bruises - nothing too terrible though that eye was going to blacken in short order. Seda rummaged in one of her pouches a moment, producing a small cloth wrapped bundle about the size of a large marble. When Baer was just about under her, stopping to look around, she dropped the pouch down with a quiet warning, "Catch Red".

[IncubusManatee]

Either he was really strung out or was more on guard then he appeared. He reacted with a sharp jerk to the side so he was no longer in line with the pouch being tossed to him by the unknown carrying-device assailant. Catching it with his hand that was still holding his headband. Blinking several times before he looked up at the woman above him. "You!" Laughing gently-which sounded quite ragged with how bad his lungs were mangled from the earlier pugilistic rendezvous. "Didin't expect to see you-and are you following me?" A playful tone escaping from his lips once more as he set down his travel bag on the ground. Using his wrapped hands to open up the pouch which he had just been given out of nowhere.

[elisan]

"Following you? No, I was just sitting here enjoying the breeze. Looks like you had yourself a good time". It was hard to tell if she was being serious or sarcastic. A gesture to the pouch, "it makes a paste - put a little on the bruising, it'll help speed things along. It's not a healer's touch, but when you're in the field, and not a healer - it works".  She had stretched out now rather lazily atop the crates, dangling an arm down while her other was bent, chin propped in hand. The lion-like tufted tail lashed of it's own accord as she watched him. "You box?"

[IncubusManatee]

"Ahhh-hhaaahhh. Thank you." He said warmly as he opened up the pouch slowly and looked within. "Probably put it on before sleeping. As I know it probably stings-and I doubt you want to be traumatized by seeing me weep like a newborn babe." Playful grin crossing his face once more as he leaned down and opened up his bag to put the pouch within. Looking up at her as she asked him a question. "Yep. Beat's my old profession." 

 

"How about you? Are you a Gargoyle?" Tone still playful as he looked up at her. Smile never leaving the rather upbeat 'lander.

[Nirri]

With a soft hum the midlander had wandered the hot streets of Ul'dah with some refreshments in between. Having made little effort in starting a conversation with any of the interesting individuals that passed him by, easily finding himself to the calm docks, sitting down on a small ledge not far from the Huntress and the rather huge highlander that was known as 'Red'.

 

 

His right hand withdrawing a small flute as he fell onto his back to gaze up at the distant heavens above, his lips smiling ever so faintly as he rested the flute at his lips and started to whistle a joyful tune.

[elisan]

The chuckle escaped might have had a vaguely purr like quality to it. "Gargoyle?" She made a show of thinking about that a moment, a gold lacquered talon tip tapping her chin before she shrugged. "Perhaps, I do enjoy sitting in high places watching what goes on. Do I frighten you?" The huntress flashed a grin that revealed the faint glimmer of elongated incisors. "Your hard-lost gil is around here somewhere...I can smell her even over your blood". Ears twitched as the soft tones of a flute drifted toward them and those ever watchful owlish eyes pulled from the large hyur to settle upon the not too far off figure with his flute. "That's not something you hear every day".

[IncubusManatee]

"That is unusual." He agreed. Turning to follow the sound of the flute. Standing up slowly from his kneeling position at his bag. Not answering the woman's questions right away. Just listening calmly as he stood there. Looking back at the woman above him. Then back onto the Midlander not far off, playing music with his flute. 

 

Even though it was counter intuitive to sit after just standing, he did so anyway. Plopping down on the ground to relax his sore body.

[Nirri]

With both eyes closed he continues to whistle a joyful tune for a minute, lowering the flute down on his chest as his head turns in the direction of the Highlander and the Miqo'te huntress. Both eyes opening to look at them with a warm smile, "I hope the other man looks worse then you do. I remember both of you. The one that lost all his money and the intresting miqo'te." the tone of his voice matching that of his calm and somewhat happy appearance.

[IncubusManatee]

"Well, he is right now being mended back to health. Since he couldn't walk out of the ring." Voice bright and cheery as he sat down on the ground still. "I may have come in third-as I lost my bout in the semi-finals; certainly was fun though." Chuckling softly now. "Though it is quite funny that everyone remembers me for my monetary loses." A snort would be all that came after his sentence.

 

Looking back at the huntress slowly, he finally deigned to answer her. "Yep, your a gargoyle. And no, your not scary-just make me want to tackle you to the ground. So you and I are on the same level." Then raised a single finger. "Your smelling senses are duly noted for their extreme perception. And especially welcome, because my money sprouted legs earlier it seem's. Monetary loses. Again."

[elisan]

"Tackle me?" Seda let out a laugh before she sat up from her languid stretch across the top of the crates. "You dislike the unpredictability of someone above you hm?" She rolled with the ease and grace that came from a lifetime of practice, dropping to the ground next to him. "Is this better?" A slow blink of those golden eyes as she scanned the immediate area almost absently before looking back to where he sat and then to the flute player who'd addressed them. A polite nod at his recognition of their earlier encounter, "you play well - a shame most of the dockworkers likely wouldn't appreciate the softer sounds as opposed to a rowdy bar song".

[IncubusManatee]

"Oh I don't mind a woman being above me-but I would prefer us to be on the same plane; as my neck doesn't feel all that good right now." He said playfully as she dropped down to the ground. Raising a brow slowly as she peered about. Then nodded with her words towards the Hyur whom was playing earlier. "She's right. They would prefer the sound of their catastrophically out of sync voices over harmony. Pretty sure that when Sailors get in a fight-they just belch their way to victory. Not a single punch thrown."

[Nirri]

"I could say the same. Not one for the loud and rowdy music, in fights I'm not one to throw punches either. So I guess I have something in common with these men." A smile growing on his lips as his hands rest beside his body to push himself into a seated position, gazing out to the water reflecting the sky and parts of the dock that stretch out to the horizon. As if to put more emphasis on his words, his eyes wander over to the bow resting beside him and looks it over shortly.

[Fen]

Sauntering down the path came a Elezen man with messy blonde hair and an ever-present smirk, though notably a weary one. Green eyes twinkled as they caught the light from the lanterns along the road and the greatcoat worn over his shoulders billowed in the breeze. Out of the side of his mouth lazily hung a toothpick and the apparently young man hummed as he went along.

 

Baer might recognize the Elezen, "Fen," if he was able to catch the name, from one or two of the more organized fights in and near the city. He seemed to habitually be paired against male Roes in the ring and was also habitually near-flattened in each case by said opponents. Winning back his entry fee did not seem to be one of his habits.

 

He blinked over to the small group of people, who rather obviously were not the usual dock workers, and perked a brow, "Ah... Hullo," he said with a mild accent as he stepped nearer the people. The coat over his shoulders obscured most of his body, but his face seemed rather bruised as he stepped into the light. Nonetheless, he seemed in good humour.