The Ward's Guard

Fischer scoffed, and looked down to pick at the table. 'Is that the only reason?"

"Hey, excuse me. Can yo- Oh, I see you're busy." "Hi, yes, hello! Do you think that you c- Sorry, didn't mean t-" Placing her hands on her hips, Nida chewed her lip as she regarded the crowd that bustled in front of her. She had been lucky enough to find this one alcove that served as a safe spot from the nearly unstoppable momentum of the crowd, but now she couldn't get anyone's attention. They all looked like they would rather be anywhere than where they were currently walking, and that was no way to live a life. It took every ounce of willpower she had to not raise her gaze to the city above her, since she knew that she would only gawk until unavoidably someone would ram into her. There was just so much of it, and everyone was busy looking at their shoes! It made sense why they did that, since being distracted by that majestic sight would only lead to trouble, but it was strange not to see more simply standing and staring as she had done. The city folk were weird. The large woman's pondering was stopped suddenly by a tapping on her shoulder, and when she looked around, she saw a shorter man trying to shout for her attention. "Oi! You Marrtyk?" "Yup!" She bellowed back, trying to be sure that he heard her. "Here for House Khayin!" "Hush it. ya dunder-bucket!" The man said with a glare. "Contact sen' me. Said ya need a scorpion's tail ta kill the beast." Nida perked up. "Hey! That's th-" She cleared her throat, realizing once more where they were. "I mean, only if you want to truly live." "Please tell me ya won't be like this all the time." Tilting her head, the large woman raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" "Yeah, he's gonna 'ate ya." He turned, and started off into the crowd. The man walked with a practiced casualness that would have made Nida overlook him If her eyes weren't already following him, as he seemed to blend in and sway with the crowd. Unsure whether or not to follow him, Nida stood still for a moment before following his lead, trying to match his casual manner. However, her bulk seemed to knock over every other person, and she ended up spending more time apologizing than trying to blend in. This was going to be a fun day. The alternative would be far less enjoyable, so it had to be a fun day. --------- Taking a deep whiff as the coffee finished brewing, Contact closed his eyes, hoping beyond hope that someone had finally discovered his wish, and poisoned the cursed drink. When he took a sip, it tasted disappointedly normal. Sighing deeply, he dragged his feet as he went back to his desktop to sort through the countless minor tasks that were assigned to him. The short man found himself hoping that if someone had poisoned his coffee, they had been cruel enough to make it tasteless the more he looked through the mess that was his job for the day. His fatal musings were interrupted by a sudden tapping on the door, which opened before he could call out a response. Bringing in a horrible smell that could only be described as awful came Contact's runner, a messy man with several missing teeth that passed for normal in this wretched place that was called a city. Contact didn't even bother trying to hide how he turned up his nose at the man, trying to bury away the smell by lifting up his mug. "What is it now, Runner?" Showcasing his holey smile, the Runner grinned. "I believe that I have your Martyyk, C." "Martyy-" Contact blinked. "Oh, the replacement for Hansey?" "Yeah. Just figured I'd give ya a few minutes to prepare yourself, mentally." Standing up, contact shook his head. :"I work with you idiots, she can't be worse than this." Chuckling, Runner stepped out the door. "Ya might be surprised, C." He called out, but Contact couldn't quite make out what he was saying until he came back in. "-and if ya just hold ya nose, he won't even blink an eye." Following right behind the disheveled man was a behemoth of a human, foreign in build and complexion in every way that Contact could imagine. Walking up to her, Contact was very conscious of just how short he was compared to her, coming in at barely 5 feet. "You're . . . big." The woman smiled. "Thanks. Are you my contact?" Ignoring her question, Contact began to investigate her arms and the armor that covered them. "What creature did you have to murder to make these glorified bracers." "Ok, first-" She raised a chitin coated hand "-if this were armor, they wouldn't be just bracers." Waving her away, Contact continued to investigate, proceeding to poke and prod the plating. "Yeah, whatever. You can't wear these everywhere, they'll attract too much attention." "Oh, they don't come off." They're uh," she said with a pause, trying to remember the word. "You guys have a different word for it, but I just call it Alkhiata." "You speak without a heavy accent, and yet you're from the fringe." Trying and failing to fold her tailored arms, she glared at the smaller man. "I'll have you know that my home is well-" "Oh hush," he cut her off. "No one will care. You're different, so we have to find a way to get you to fit in." The woman growled, but forced herself to take in a deep breath. "Fine. Obviously we ate the wrong tobak, so my name is Nida." "Bad move," Contact said, waving his finger. "We don't deal with names around here. Company policy or whatever. You will call me Contact, and I'm your new boss until you're reassigned out of my hair." Looking a touch nauseous, Nida cleared her throat. "I thought that I wo-" "Up ba ba ba. I don't deal with questions until after I have my coffee." He walked back to desk to pick up his mug, but pointedly didn't take a drink out of it. "Now, you and I have work to do, beginning at a second home of mine that I would love to see burned to the ground. 'kay?"

Taking in a deep whiff, Nida got her first good smell of the glorious city of New Lere, and she nearly retched at it. The fault might have been with her for chartering a trip on the cheapest available ship to avoid any trouble with money, but she didn't care in the end. Even if she ended up in the dumps, it had to be better than back home. If only she hadn't forgotten the directions given to her over getting to the city; she was downright awful at winging it as she went. Just as the small ship touched in at a dock nearby the river's outlet into the ocean, Nida began to disembark. She waved to several of the crew members as she made her way to the gangplank, only to stumble across the captain as he was preparing the cargo to be moved ashore. "Ho there, Marrtyk!" The captain waved her down. "Leaving us so soon?" Nida gave a quick and sloppy salute. "Yes sir, hate to cut things short." The older man grunted. "Been a lot easier on us with you about. Ya sure I can't pay ya to stick around? Could use some of your muscle." "Nope, sorry sir. I'm here on business." "Alright, just keep away from the law. They'd deport ya back to your deserts in a heartbeat." She furrowed her brow as she considered the statement. "But I'm a citizen. Why would they deport me?" The captain chuckled. "A Marrtyk a citizen? Might wanna try a different story. But do try ta stick to the undercity, 'kay?" "Not entirely possible, sir. But I'll see what I can do." "Good, now kindly get out of our saltin' way." Nida looked around, and realized she had been standing right in the path of a number of dock workers. "Oh, sorry!" She called out as she jumped out of their way. "Didn't mean anything by it!" The captain shook his head. "Just be gettin' a move on. I might still be here if you're looking to book a passage back home." "Sorry, sir." Nida stepped away towards the gangplank, looking towards the city she had just arrived in. "I think I'm already home." The large woman stepped down the gangplank, determined to find this "Contact" she had been told to meet up with upon entering the city. Surely, she could find someone to help her. People were bound to be friendlier here, it was a certainty.

"Not as fragile as my wife." He smiled at her, holding her hand gently. "But enough about us."

Caden grunted. "I am not soft," he protested. "I am the feared and respected general of the realm." He glanced towards Fischer, who nodded. "Uh, yes." The soldier agreed with his commander. "Strong and fearless."

Caden cleared his throat. "Right, yes. Caden Praetorium, general to the King, Scourge of Anadlas, yadda yadda yadda." He turned towards his food again, but paused and looked towards his wife. "Good enough?"

The man jumped, dropping the leg of a beast that he was eating so heartily. "Yes, what? Sorry." He furrowed his brow. "I mean, yes dear?"

Caden nodded distractedly, taking another bite of his food.

Fischer chuckled softly.

Fischer sat in the most professional manner he could, still avoiding Nico's gaze. Caden himself sat at the head of the table, digging in to the waiting food.

Caden stood up, groaning as he stretched. "Yes, dear. I'll be right there." Fischer stood behind Riva, and off to Nico's side while avoiding eye contact with the man. He sincerely hoped that this dinner would go by as quickly as possible.

"I am a sanctified follower of the Sacred Flame, my friend." He gestured towards his traditional robes. "We care little for worldly things such as wealth, so I have very little."

Pior sighed. "Now I'm talking with a cat. This would be so much easier if I had a drink."

Well, I've finally started Owl House, and as they say at a certain well off Fast Food chain:

Fischer hung back, staying to Riva's side and keeping his stance professional.

While he could have easily held his ground against her, he begrudgingly let himself be pulled along. "I am having second thoughts about this," he mumbled to himself.

"I'm not sure that the lady of the house should be greeting people at the door. Uh, ma'am."

"Have ya at least seen Hot Eyes?"