Post by Judith on Mar 27, 2009 23:56:29 GMT -5
Myara weighed the hat in her hands, held it up to the light, turned about every which way. She let the plumes tickle her nose—the shop's proprietor had sprayed it with some irritating perfume, but that would wear away after a few weeks. Besides, the crown was wide enough to cover her ears without chafing them. The shop keeper cleared her throat and Myara looked up with a start.
"Ah, right," she said, embarrassed. "This looks like a fine hat. I'll buy it."
The shopkeeper nodded and wrote up the price; it was an expensive hat, but Myara would manage. What food she couldn't buy, she could hunt down. She doled out the money and left with her new hat.
As much as she wanted to switch hats right away, Myara was in the middle of a busy marketplace. Even if the majority of people passed her by, somebody was bound to notice the two fox ears poking out of her head. But... her ears felt awfully itchy. Her current hat was made of wool and it was all she could do from twitching them. The solution, then, was to rent a room at an inn and change in the privacy of her room.
With this in mind, she wove her way through the crowd, keeping one hand on her head so that her old hat wouldn't slip off. Just as she was arriving at the inn, however, somebody tapped her on her shoulder. Myara craned her neck around to get a look at the stranger.
He was tall and he grinned and he smelled like sweat and urine. Myara's nose twitched, longing to scrunch up in a sneer. The man toward her politely and began to speak.
"M' name's Eirol. I'm part of a guild, y'see, and we're recruiting members. Itz a guild for huntin' down demons and killin' em. I noticed th' bulges in your hat and I thought, 'that gal must be a shapeshifter,' an' so I thought that maybe you would—"
"No, thank you," said Myara. "I'm not interested." She turned away, unnerved. Was her old hat really so small? Glancing around to make sure nobody else was looking, she put on her new hat, then slipped the old one from under it. There, that was better. She wriggled her ears and smiled when the hat didn't budge.
Meanwhile, the man was thinking. At first he had been disappointed, but now he looked determined.
"Look, miss," he said, "we just need one more member to complete the battalion, and if we wanna attack our targets by the right time, we need to get one more member as soon as we can."
Myara shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't accept your offer. I've nothing against demons. In fact," she said as she blinked, "I may as well root for the demons, as your kind commanded the dogs that killed my mother."
The man was starting to get exasperated.
"Now, little lady," he growled, "I don't know what happened to your mum, but I know I need to recruit a new member if I wanna keep my place in the guild. Now please, for the love of th' angels, please join th' guild."
Myara just walked away, hiding herself in a tangle of passerby. The man growled and pounded his fist in his hand. It was no use; if he wanted to recruit her, he'd have to swallow his pride and ask for his help...
There were a few more things she needed to buy before she could go out of town. As long as she was well-stocked on potion ingredients, she would be able to hold her own outside the city. She might even be able to go deep enough into the forest to practice her other forms. Her father had mentioned getting a tutor—but where would a shapeshifter willing to pass on their secrets reside?
Shaking the thought from her head, Myara walked over to the potionry stalls and glanced over the wares. There was a good stock of liquid fire this year; if she bought a few liters of it, she would have enough material to make exploding potions for a few months.
She was about to pay for the liquid fire and breakable flasks when the stall beside her exploded. A great chunk of wood hit her on the head, and her vision faded to black.
"Ah, right," she said, embarrassed. "This looks like a fine hat. I'll buy it."
The shopkeeper nodded and wrote up the price; it was an expensive hat, but Myara would manage. What food she couldn't buy, she could hunt down. She doled out the money and left with her new hat.
As much as she wanted to switch hats right away, Myara was in the middle of a busy marketplace. Even if the majority of people passed her by, somebody was bound to notice the two fox ears poking out of her head. But... her ears felt awfully itchy. Her current hat was made of wool and it was all she could do from twitching them. The solution, then, was to rent a room at an inn and change in the privacy of her room.
With this in mind, she wove her way through the crowd, keeping one hand on her head so that her old hat wouldn't slip off. Just as she was arriving at the inn, however, somebody tapped her on her shoulder. Myara craned her neck around to get a look at the stranger.
He was tall and he grinned and he smelled like sweat and urine. Myara's nose twitched, longing to scrunch up in a sneer. The man toward her politely and began to speak.
"M' name's Eirol. I'm part of a guild, y'see, and we're recruiting members. Itz a guild for huntin' down demons and killin' em. I noticed th' bulges in your hat and I thought, 'that gal must be a shapeshifter,' an' so I thought that maybe you would—"
"No, thank you," said Myara. "I'm not interested." She turned away, unnerved. Was her old hat really so small? Glancing around to make sure nobody else was looking, she put on her new hat, then slipped the old one from under it. There, that was better. She wriggled her ears and smiled when the hat didn't budge.
Meanwhile, the man was thinking. At first he had been disappointed, but now he looked determined.
"Look, miss," he said, "we just need one more member to complete the battalion, and if we wanna attack our targets by the right time, we need to get one more member as soon as we can."
Myara shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but I can't accept your offer. I've nothing against demons. In fact," she said as she blinked, "I may as well root for the demons, as your kind commanded the dogs that killed my mother."
The man was starting to get exasperated.
"Now, little lady," he growled, "I don't know what happened to your mum, but I know I need to recruit a new member if I wanna keep my place in the guild. Now please, for the love of th' angels, please join th' guild."
Myara just walked away, hiding herself in a tangle of passerby. The man growled and pounded his fist in his hand. It was no use; if he wanted to recruit her, he'd have to swallow his pride and ask for his help...
---
There were a few more things she needed to buy before she could go out of town. As long as she was well-stocked on potion ingredients, she would be able to hold her own outside the city. She might even be able to go deep enough into the forest to practice her other forms. Her father had mentioned getting a tutor—but where would a shapeshifter willing to pass on their secrets reside?
Shaking the thought from her head, Myara walked over to the potionry stalls and glanced over the wares. There was a good stock of liquid fire this year; if she bought a few liters of it, she would have enough material to make exploding potions for a few months.
She was about to pay for the liquid fire and breakable flasks when the stall beside her exploded. A great chunk of wood hit her on the head, and her vision faded to black.
