59th of Searing, 120
Eating full meals every day had an extraordinary impact on the Rath. Before his eyes, he saw some muscles develop on his worn, labored body and saw an increase in the speed of his healing. It was either the introduction of meats to his diet, or it was the fact that he hadn't worked at all in the past few days. Most of his time was spent resting, or walking around in search of cheaper meals for him and Cojack.
[indent=30]Additionally, Arkash had been scouting a venue to hit. There wasn't much in Lower Nivenhain, but Arkash didn't necessarily need to stick to the city's slums. With his new clothes, he could pass for a commoner with relative ease. That was, as long as people kept their distance.
[indent=30]Arkash didn't sweat, so his odor wasn't putrid, but it wasn't particularly clean, either. Most of the people in Outer Nivenhain at least smelled as though they bathed, and weren't nearly as dirty as the far majority of people in the Lower districts. So, Arkash had bathed that morning It gave him the chance to check over his scales and pull off the dead ones that were shedding, as well as check on his scabs and scars.
[indent=30]All in all, Arkash brushed up well, save for the fact that he was a Rathari in a human-dominated city. At the very least, Arkash could pretend to be a traveler from somewhere far away. That would mean that he was also nameless but implied that he was significantly more wealthy than the lost souls that crawled around lower Nivenhain. People would be willing to do business with him, at least.
[indent=30]He'd had his eye on a hand mirror, something he could use to peek around street corners without committing himself to the move. The problem was that it couldn't be too cheap of a mirror. It wasn't worth heisting the store if all they sold was meaningless garbage, as that implied their coffers were shallow.
[indent=30]So, Arkash was window shopping in the outer district. He'd stopped for some meat from the butcher's earlier and ate it raw in an alley somewhere out of sight. Eating raw meat, he knew, was something that most humans found unsettling.
[indent=30]He wanted to remain as inconspicuous as possible, well, as inconspicuous that a Rathari could be. He smiled often and greeted those that he passed on the street. The response he often received was typical, a turned-up nose. Very few were interested in small talk with him, but he persisted. He had to maintain the illusion that he was a traveler, just passing through on their way to somewhere else. In a way, he was. Arkash had no intention of remaining in that wretched city.
[indent=30]It almost baffled him, the state of the streets in Outer Nivenhain compared to Lower Nivenhain. The Lower District was covered in potholes, broken stretches of road and abandoned buildings were resting on just about every corner. Windows were boarded if they weren't barred, and it felt so gloomy that not even sunlight could illuminate the darkness there on most days. Meanwhile, the Outer district was reasonably clean, bustling with people. The food was fresh and the homes were in good repair. Nothing was broken or bent out of shape and there was so much light bleeding into the streets that the architecture appeared to glow.
[indent=30]He was walking past a window while he admired the warmth of Outer Nivenhain, which was when he spotted a mirror in one of the windows, framed with silver. Arkash's brows perked, and he looked up from the window to inspect the sign. It appeared to be a general store of sorts, but Arkash couldn't read common, only Ithmi.
[indent=30]With a furrow to his brow, he returned his gaze to the window. It didn't look as though there was anyone serving at the time, which he found curious. With a sigh, he adjusted his brown leather belt, his backpack's straps, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.
[indent=30]The door's upper frame rang a rigged bell as it passed, which Arkash took note of. The bell acted as a call to the owner, who approached from a doorway behind the counter. Arkash was set on edge at the sound of footsteps but he didn't let it show. Instead, he pointed his gaze to the various wares that waited on the shelves.
[indent=30]Shortly after, a rather jolly, light, feminine "Welcome!" Graced his earholes, only to be followed up with an "Oh-!" of shock. Arkash looked to the source and found a rather plump woman of bright red hair and fair skin. She wore a yellow dress with white accents that brought out the brightness of her blue eyes. As a nameless might have guessed, she wore plenty of make-up.
[indent=30]Arkash stared at her uncomfortably for a moment, then spoke. "Hullo!" with a wave. He wasn't entirely sure if his accent was convincing or not, but she furrowed a brow at him.
[indent=30]"Yes, hello. Do let me know if you find something you like, won't you dear?" Her eye was on him. As he'd expected, his reptilian nature left an impression. He had to somehow put himself beneath her. An idea crossed his mind...
[indent=30]"Bet? Dwy'n eb shared?" Spoke the Rath in Ithmi. "Ehhh... No common," he clarified.
[indent=30]The woman rolled her eyes. "Fucking grockles..." she muttered under her breath, then shook her head. Part of Arkash struggled to suppress just how surprised he was at the brazen rudeness of the woman, but he managed a slight tilt of his head in place of any verbal retort. "See wares. You want. Tell me. Yes?" She spoke with a clear, demeaning voice.
[indent=30]Arkash tilted his head again and squinted. "Oke," he nodded, then looked about the room. As he began to walk and inspect her goods, he could feel her gaze upon him, it felt as though she'd burned holes in the side of his head. But what did he care? He was just a harmless wanderer, looking for... What was he looking for?
[indent=30]Of course, he wanted the mirror, but to steal. If he inquired its value and it went missing the next day, he'd surely be to blame. It would be best if he bought whatever it was he asked the price of, so it had to be cheap... But not too cheap. Perhaps he was overthinking?
[indent=30]His yellow eyes ran over the goods. He had to pick something, it would help settle in her mind that he was just an ordinary customer and no one of suspicion. If he left without buying anything, it would surely suggest to any real investigator that inquired that he was vetting the venue.
[indent=30]With a hum, he crossed his arms and pursed his lips firmly. There were a variety of nick-nacks laid out across the tables, from miniature antique-looking clay sculptures to oversized, large, carved wooden spoons. It was only when he took an actual interest in the items that he found one particular ornament that he liked. It was a carved clay sculpture that had been painted to look like a wintery hill complete with a glass ball that sat on top. Inside was a four-legged horse that was rearing up on its back legs. Cojack was brown and white, but the ornament still made Arkash think of him.
[indent=30]The Rathari smiled a little and picked up the ornament. It was no bigger than an orange, how much could it be?
[indent=30]"One thousand," spoke the woman as he presented it at her desk, casually.
[indent=30]ONE THOUSAND FARTHINGS!! He screamed internally. Though, he didn't let his shock show. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and asked a simple, "bet?"
[indent=30]The woman sighed, then ran through a series of charades where she tried to illustrate the numbers with her fingers. "One," she held up a single finger. "Zero," she simply formed an 'o' with her thumb and index finger. "Zero," she spoke again, and simply shook her hand to indicate another of the same number. "Zero," she said again with a tone of finality and repeated the hand gesture.
[indent=30]Arkash continued to stare. He didn't like her much, admittedly, so he decided to let her run through the motions again. "Bet?" he asked with a shrug and a turn of his hands.
[indent=30]The woman groaned audibly and bent down behind the desk. Arkash grinned, for his rouse was genius, and evidently quite effective. When she came back up, she showed the lizard a one-thousand farthing bill. Arkash couldn't help but widen his eyes. She just had those sitting around? "Is that too expensive?" She asked with a tilt of her head. She'd noticed his surprised expression.
[indent=30]Arkash tilted his head again, then muttered another phrase in ithmi before he fetched his wallet from his pocket, and began to withdraw farthing notes. It took a total of fifteen notes of various sizes and left Arkash with almost nothing, but the transaction was done. Arkash bowed his head to the woman respectfully and collected his prize.
[indent=30]She muttered something behind him, but he took no note and exited the store quickly. He did, however, take note of how far the door opened before the bell above rang, then pushed out onto the streets where he walked to the far end of the window. There, he made use of his eyes, which were on the sides of his head, to eye the woman as he walked by. The notes he'd given her to pay for the item, she locked in a drawer in the counter. It was the third from the top.
[indent=30]That was the only glimpse he could catch of the place that she stored her money before he passed by casually without drawing attention to himself. Arkash sighed and slipped into the next alley, where he placed his ornament in his bag. He hadn't stolen it, so Cojack couldn't hate it... Even though Arkash planned to steal back the money he'd used to pay for it. In that Alley, Arkash crouched behind some crates and began to remove his unnecessary articles of clothing. All he had to do was wait for the cover of darkness.
Eating full meals every day had an extraordinary impact on the Rath. Before his eyes, he saw some muscles develop on his worn, labored body and saw an increase in the speed of his healing. It was either the introduction of meats to his diet, or it was the fact that he hadn't worked at all in the past few days. Most of his time was spent resting, or walking around in search of cheaper meals for him and Cojack.
[indent=30]Additionally, Arkash had been scouting a venue to hit. There wasn't much in Lower Nivenhain, but Arkash didn't necessarily need to stick to the city's slums. With his new clothes, he could pass for a commoner with relative ease. That was, as long as people kept their distance.
[indent=30]Arkash didn't sweat, so his odor wasn't putrid, but it wasn't particularly clean, either. Most of the people in Outer Nivenhain at least smelled as though they bathed, and weren't nearly as dirty as the far majority of people in the Lower districts. So, Arkash had bathed that morning It gave him the chance to check over his scales and pull off the dead ones that were shedding, as well as check on his scabs and scars.
[indent=30]All in all, Arkash brushed up well, save for the fact that he was a Rathari in a human-dominated city. At the very least, Arkash could pretend to be a traveler from somewhere far away. That would mean that he was also nameless but implied that he was significantly more wealthy than the lost souls that crawled around lower Nivenhain. People would be willing to do business with him, at least.
[indent=30]He'd had his eye on a hand mirror, something he could use to peek around street corners without committing himself to the move. The problem was that it couldn't be too cheap of a mirror. It wasn't worth heisting the store if all they sold was meaningless garbage, as that implied their coffers were shallow.
[indent=30]So, Arkash was window shopping in the outer district. He'd stopped for some meat from the butcher's earlier and ate it raw in an alley somewhere out of sight. Eating raw meat, he knew, was something that most humans found unsettling.
[indent=30]He wanted to remain as inconspicuous as possible, well, as inconspicuous that a Rathari could be. He smiled often and greeted those that he passed on the street. The response he often received was typical, a turned-up nose. Very few were interested in small talk with him, but he persisted. He had to maintain the illusion that he was a traveler, just passing through on their way to somewhere else. In a way, he was. Arkash had no intention of remaining in that wretched city.
[indent=30]It almost baffled him, the state of the streets in Outer Nivenhain compared to Lower Nivenhain. The Lower District was covered in potholes, broken stretches of road and abandoned buildings were resting on just about every corner. Windows were boarded if they weren't barred, and it felt so gloomy that not even sunlight could illuminate the darkness there on most days. Meanwhile, the Outer district was reasonably clean, bustling with people. The food was fresh and the homes were in good repair. Nothing was broken or bent out of shape and there was so much light bleeding into the streets that the architecture appeared to glow.
[indent=30]He was walking past a window while he admired the warmth of Outer Nivenhain, which was when he spotted a mirror in one of the windows, framed with silver. Arkash's brows perked, and he looked up from the window to inspect the sign. It appeared to be a general store of sorts, but Arkash couldn't read common, only Ithmi.
[indent=30]With a furrow to his brow, he returned his gaze to the window. It didn't look as though there was anyone serving at the time, which he found curious. With a sigh, he adjusted his brown leather belt, his backpack's straps, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.
[indent=30]The door's upper frame rang a rigged bell as it passed, which Arkash took note of. The bell acted as a call to the owner, who approached from a doorway behind the counter. Arkash was set on edge at the sound of footsteps but he didn't let it show. Instead, he pointed his gaze to the various wares that waited on the shelves.
[indent=30]Shortly after, a rather jolly, light, feminine "Welcome!" Graced his earholes, only to be followed up with an "Oh-!" of shock. Arkash looked to the source and found a rather plump woman of bright red hair and fair skin. She wore a yellow dress with white accents that brought out the brightness of her blue eyes. As a nameless might have guessed, she wore plenty of make-up.
[indent=30]Arkash stared at her uncomfortably for a moment, then spoke. "Hullo!" with a wave. He wasn't entirely sure if his accent was convincing or not, but she furrowed a brow at him.
[indent=30]"Yes, hello. Do let me know if you find something you like, won't you dear?" Her eye was on him. As he'd expected, his reptilian nature left an impression. He had to somehow put himself beneath her. An idea crossed his mind...
[indent=30]"Bet? Dwy'n eb shared?" Spoke the Rath in Ithmi. "Ehhh... No common," he clarified.
[indent=30]The woman rolled her eyes. "Fucking grockles..." she muttered under her breath, then shook her head. Part of Arkash struggled to suppress just how surprised he was at the brazen rudeness of the woman, but he managed a slight tilt of his head in place of any verbal retort. "See wares. You want. Tell me. Yes?" She spoke with a clear, demeaning voice.
[indent=30]Arkash tilted his head again and squinted. "Oke," he nodded, then looked about the room. As he began to walk and inspect her goods, he could feel her gaze upon him, it felt as though she'd burned holes in the side of his head. But what did he care? He was just a harmless wanderer, looking for... What was he looking for?
[indent=30]Of course, he wanted the mirror, but to steal. If he inquired its value and it went missing the next day, he'd surely be to blame. It would be best if he bought whatever it was he asked the price of, so it had to be cheap... But not too cheap. Perhaps he was overthinking?
[indent=30]His yellow eyes ran over the goods. He had to pick something, it would help settle in her mind that he was just an ordinary customer and no one of suspicion. If he left without buying anything, it would surely suggest to any real investigator that inquired that he was vetting the venue.
[indent=30]With a hum, he crossed his arms and pursed his lips firmly. There were a variety of nick-nacks laid out across the tables, from miniature antique-looking clay sculptures to oversized, large, carved wooden spoons. It was only when he took an actual interest in the items that he found one particular ornament that he liked. It was a carved clay sculpture that had been painted to look like a wintery hill complete with a glass ball that sat on top. Inside was a four-legged horse that was rearing up on its back legs. Cojack was brown and white, but the ornament still made Arkash think of him.
[indent=30]The Rathari smiled a little and picked up the ornament. It was no bigger than an orange, how much could it be?
[indent=30]"One thousand," spoke the woman as he presented it at her desk, casually.
[indent=30]ONE THOUSAND FARTHINGS!! He screamed internally. Though, he didn't let his shock show. Instead, he tilted his head to the side and asked a simple, "bet?"
[indent=30]The woman sighed, then ran through a series of charades where she tried to illustrate the numbers with her fingers. "One," she held up a single finger. "Zero," she simply formed an 'o' with her thumb and index finger. "Zero," she spoke again, and simply shook her hand to indicate another of the same number. "Zero," she said again with a tone of finality and repeated the hand gesture.
[indent=30]Arkash continued to stare. He didn't like her much, admittedly, so he decided to let her run through the motions again. "Bet?" he asked with a shrug and a turn of his hands.
[indent=30]The woman groaned audibly and bent down behind the desk. Arkash grinned, for his rouse was genius, and evidently quite effective. When she came back up, she showed the lizard a one-thousand farthing bill. Arkash couldn't help but widen his eyes. She just had those sitting around? "Is that too expensive?" She asked with a tilt of her head. She'd noticed his surprised expression.
[indent=30]Arkash tilted his head again, then muttered another phrase in ithmi before he fetched his wallet from his pocket, and began to withdraw farthing notes. It took a total of fifteen notes of various sizes and left Arkash with almost nothing, but the transaction was done. Arkash bowed his head to the woman respectfully and collected his prize.
[indent=30]She muttered something behind him, but he took no note and exited the store quickly. He did, however, take note of how far the door opened before the bell above rang, then pushed out onto the streets where he walked to the far end of the window. There, he made use of his eyes, which were on the sides of his head, to eye the woman as he walked by. The notes he'd given her to pay for the item, she locked in a drawer in the counter. It was the third from the top.
[indent=30]That was the only glimpse he could catch of the place that she stored her money before he passed by casually without drawing attention to himself. Arkash sighed and slipped into the next alley, where he placed his ornament in his bag. He hadn't stolen it, so Cojack couldn't hate it... Even though Arkash planned to steal back the money he'd used to pay for it. In that Alley, Arkash crouched behind some crates and began to remove his unnecessary articles of clothing. All he had to do was wait for the cover of darkness.
