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Post by Linx Exotic on May 5, 2008 21:21:45 GMT -5
After a long period of sustained activity or three, Archon was too exhausted to go anywhere interesting. Obviously, the only option was to go to the garden and be alone for a little while.
He lay down on a bench with his knees over one end and just waited for someone to come along and bother him, his tail swishing about from its position protruding from beneath the armrest. The spring provided for a great view of the crimson buds of the garden's numerous, young trees, but the mouse had his eyes closed. Folding his paws on top of his chest, he decided to just relax and forget about the day. He also forgot about his sheathed sword hanging off his belt on the open side of the bench, looking rather conspicuous.
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Post by briala on May 5, 2008 21:28:40 GMT -5
Briala hummed lightly as she entered the garden, a place she had previously been unaware of. Immediately, she was assailed by the sweet scent of flowers, and a butterfly fluttered past her head, brushing her head with gossamer wingtips. Already, Briala liked this place; it was peaceful and pretty and quiet...
Even though there was somebody here already. A mouse, with a sword hanging next to him on the bench he was sprawled across, had beat her to this lovely place. Briala pouted for a second, then decided it really wasn't worth pouting about. After all, it's not like the mousecould throw her out, could he? She continued on her way, still humming under her breath and running a paw lightly over the different flowers and leaves.
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Post by Linx Exotic on May 5, 2008 21:36:18 GMT -5
Archon stopped relaxing when he heard a beast humming; it sounded female, but he wasn't quite sure. This constituted his finally being bothered, and he cracked open an eyelid to see who was disrupting his reverie. It looked like it was that otter he'd heard so much about, but that wasn't enough to make him get up. Hey, it's that one who slashed Gore...
He eventually did rise from the bench, mainly because he was going to end up doing that anyway. Tucking his scabbard back behind his flowing coat, the mouse headed over to Briala with a smile. "And I'm not alone in these gardens, finally! Wow!"
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Post by briala on May 5, 2008 21:41:46 GMT -5
Briala leaned into a flower, squinting slightly as she tried to examine the tiny petals. A sudden burst of pollen sent her reeling back, grimacing and wiping away at her now-gold face. "Well, that's just lovely," she mumbled at the same time as the mouse stood up and walked over. She shook her head, and a shower of gold dust fell away. She sneezed slightly, but felt all the pollen was gone. Luckily.
"I'd say the same thing, but I never was alone in the gardens," Briala replied cheekily, laughing slightly at herself. "I'm Briala Dawnstar; I'm from the Fort. You?" She was always curious about the beasts that lived outside of the Fort.
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Post by Linx Exotic on May 5, 2008 21:48:17 GMT -5
"I'm Archon," the mouse cheerily responded, neglecting to mention that he already knew the name. He shrugged a bit to adjust his coat's position on his shoulders before continuing. "It's good to meet you... Uh... Are you enlisted? I swear I've seen your face somewhere before..." He hadn't, but it was a decent way to learn a few things about her occupation and the like. It also tipped her off that he was enlisted himself, but that wasn't actually a problem.
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Post by briala on May 5, 2008 21:51:59 GMT -5
"Hullo Archon. Yup, I'm enlisted. Still sort of new, which might be why you don't fully recognize me. And why I don't fully recognize you," she added wryly. Clearly, Archon did work up at the Fort, and had seen her before. However, he only looked very vaguely familar. It wasn't saying much, since Briala was horrible with faces, but still... "I'm a just a warrior, though. You?" she asked absentmindedly. She didn't know what, but something about the mouse screamed he was someone important. Not that Briala ever paid attention to those sorts of things...
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Post by Linx Exotic on May 5, 2008 21:58:14 GMT -5
"A just a warrior," Archon repeated slowly. It sounded a bit funny, but then again, beasts tended to make funny errors like that in conversation once in a while. That one served to buy him time to formulate a response, too. "I'm a warrior, I guess... I'm a squad captain, which is fun, pay is excellent... Oh, and I co-own Exotic Weaponry. You know, with Linx." That was the only part that actually mattered. He was close to Linx. The Linx.
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Post by lorki on May 5, 2008 23:20:55 GMT -5
"Hey, look at that its my mousy!" The smooth sleek yet purposely singsong-ish voice called from the entrance to the garden. Sleet entered at a slow stride, picking a bright orange flower as she did. She toyed with it, rather then one of the many knives on her belt, a bad habit she wasn't looking to break. The ferret wore a dark navy shirt, the odd style of shirt was much like a tank top,but very long and with a low back. It slanted to one side on her tannish trousers and was tied on the other side.
As she got closer she sized up the otter, as she did every beast she came across. Her eyes darted about, carefully taking in points to remember about her. Sleet was an assassin always, never letting go of the instincts that came with her job, but she let a smile break over her face, her black eyes soft, "Who's your friend, here, Archon?" She asked, placing one paw on the bench to lean on it and with the other she twirled about the flower.
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Post by briala on May 5, 2008 23:51:41 GMT -5
Briala made a slight face as Archon repeated her mistake. She had inhaled some pollen, and had been trying to hold back a sneeze. Meh, too late now. "Squad captain? Sounds fancy. And working with Linx? Sounds..." she trailed off, unsure how to finish that. After all, her own experience with Linx (who, to her chagrin, she found out was actually important) wasn't exactly pleasant. Well, not for him. "Interesting," she finally finished her sentence, deciding that could be a good word for it.
A slightly musical voice rang out, and Briala turned quickly, one paw automatically going to one of the daggers at her waist. As usual, she carried around her two curved daggers, though she had taken to leaving her bow and arrows in the barracks when she was in the village. They were a bit too bulky, and she didnt' really need them.
The owner of the voice was a dangerous-looking ferret. Not dangerous because she looked like she was about to attack, but dangerous because it looked like, if it did come to an attack, she would have no problem taking care of herself. The otter and the ferret sized each other up, and Briala noted the odd clothing and assorment of knives on her belt. Briala herself was wearing simple, light blue clothing, loose and comfortable and easy to fight in. Old habits are hard to break.
The ferret smiled and, as usual with Briala, she smiled back. "I'm Briala, a warrior from the Fort. It would be foolish of me to assume you two haven't met, but I don't think I've seen you before. Who're you?" she asked in a polite, almost formal tone. It seemed there were two ways Briala greeted new people: blithe insanity and polite formality.
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Post by lorki on May 6, 2008 17:40:10 GMT -5
"Sleet." She answered shortly, her eyes now on the orange flower she grasped. "I haven't seen you before either. Warrior, eh?" She mused, all the while keeping her gaze lazily on the blossom. the fort had an impressive amount of fighters, but she figured trade was slightly important, and very beneficial financially as well. She'd never liked the economy nor had she ever liked anything like an army, patrol or horde. Solo suited her well.
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Post by Linx Exotic on May 6, 2008 17:45:47 GMT -5
"There's a warrior here for every, what, ten civilians?" This was only a slight exaggeration. The total fort compliment was at about 400 done with basic training, while there were just over 5,000 villagers to compensate. This proportion remained more or less constant, but the military had been growing a lot faster lately thanks to increased trade and thus more tax revenue. Archon found himself watching an increasingly well-populated barracks, which had extended its capacity only by furnishing the attic. "You have a pretty good chance of finding them. And about one in forty beasts here is on duty and in uniform, either training, patrolling or on wall duty. Fun, eh?"
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Post by briala on May 6, 2008 17:51:29 GMT -5
"Lots of numbers. Good odds though, hmm?" Briala mused as Archon replied, almost mechanically, to Sleet's polite inquiry about her being a warrior. She never really thought about the fact that a lot of the beasts she saw in the village were warriors from the Fort. It felt interesting, to be part of the statistics.
"Well, I'm not here on training, and judging by your early preoccupation, you aren't either," Briala said to Archon in a teasing voice. She cocked her head, looking at Sleet as she absently twirled around an orange flower in her paws. "What about you? On patrol, or training and whatnot?" Briala wandered over to a thin, small tree covered in tiny blossoms. Curiously, she tugged on one of the branches, and a shower of flowers fell on her head, to her chagrin. "I never learn, do I?" she murmured to herself, giggling slightly.
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Post by lorki on May 6, 2008 18:00:21 GMT -5
"No." Sleet said, shrugging. The ferret switched paws, one black mitt now resting on her knife belt, the other toying with the flower. "Actually, I spend my time running around and killing for money." She said matter-of-factly. She normally would tip-toe around the fact that she was an assassin often, mercenary occasionally, but what was the worst that could happen? And with her eyes still glued to the flower, she wasn't paying much attention to the situation either way.
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Post by Linx Exotic on May 6, 2008 18:11:37 GMT -5
"Which is actually illegal except for those with public bounties on their heads... Not like there aren't a lot of beasts with public bounties on their heads," Archon amended when he realized that his comment made the fort sound a lot less hospitable to beasts like Sleet than it was. He still had a few things to say, though. "For the record, though, most of the time it's not a capital offense that you have to make up for, just bringing someone in. Even if you do make a kill, though, you gotta give them the body... Which is why it stays here, Sleet."
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Post by briala on May 6, 2008 18:39:26 GMT -5
"Bloodthirsty beast, ain't you?" Briala said wryly to Sleet, arching her back and reaching up to pluck a twig from the branch above her head. She brought it back down to eye level and began to examine it intently, as if there was was something vitally important about that twig. "I don't kill unless I have to. Much less mess," she remarked in an offhand tone. She could never see any point in killing someone who hadn't done anything to her, no matter what they had done in the past. Naive, maybe. But better then having her daggers constantly coated in blood.
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