47th of Searing 120
As Arkash crouched beside the pale, he took hold of the tin cup and inspected it with his right eye. The left still had some trouble focusing, and it had become a habit over the past few days. The metal of his eating utensils never seemed to wash out, and whenever he drank from that cup, he could taste the tin on his palette mix with the mouthful of whatever it was that he drank. Though, Cojack never complained of the taste.
[indent=30]With a sigh, Arkash dipped the cup in the clean waters that were still in the pale, then lifted its contents to his mouth, where he knocked it back and swallowed the fluid. His lips curled a little in disgust and his eyes shut tightly before he loosed an almost-pained exhale in relief. It was done, he wouldn't need to do that again for a while. The rath smacked his lips and clicked his forked tongue against the roof of his mouth, where he could still taste the tin.
[indent=30]"Come on... It's not that bad," spoke Cojack from his bed. His voice was waning again; he'd need more medicine soon. Arkash shook his head.
[indent=30]"It's gross," he spoke in turn, then sighed. With one claw, he collected the handle of the pale, and carefully stood with a press into both his feet. He took great care not to spill the pale, and walked to his father's bedside, and refilled the cup before he offered it to the sickly horse.
[indent=30]They always shared utensils, as whatever sickness Cojack carried wasn't catching. But, Arkash's spit was dangerous. As long as he didn't get any of his slobber on the cup, it could still be reused.
[indent=30]"Thanks, Ark," spoke his father, who happily accepted the cup and calmly drank from its contents. "Are you going out again?" he asked after swallowing the first mouthful.
[indent=30]"Yeah, I work tonight, dad," didn't he work every night? Cojack didn't need to ask all the time.
[indent=30]"Ah, right..." he spoke as he brushed his boney fingers through his mane. "...Soon?"
[indent=30]"Yeah,"
[indent=30]Cojack exhaled a little, then drank some more from the tin cup before he looked up at the reptile. "You'll be careful, won't you?"
[indent=30]Arkash grinned. "I always am, Dad."
[indent=30]It was clear that Cojack had some reserves on the exchange, and Arkash could hazard a guess that it was to do with the injuries he showed up with some two weeks ago. But, neither of them said anything further on the topic.
[indent=30]"I was thinking," spoke Arkash again as he offered his hand to collect the cup once his father was done. The older rathari put it in his son's claws and hummed inquisitively. "We should go for the caravan instead'a the walk. There's less risk, and the only other thing we've gotta pay for is the food then."
[indent=30]Cojack stared at him for a moment and thought. "...Caravan's expensive," he declared.
[indent=30]"We can almost afford it, should be outta here in early Ash," offered the lizard with a turn of his claw. Again, Cojack had some reserves on the idea but spoke none of them. Akash with his keen eye just smiled a little, then put the pale down beside his father's bed, along with the cup. "Just think about it, okay? I've gotta go."
[indent=30]"Alright..." Cojack smiled weakly, then nodded. "Have a good night, son. I love you."
[indent=30]"I love you too," spoke the young Rath in return, as he collected his one-strapped bag and walked to the front door. Once he was ready, he let himself out into the twilight.
Indeed, Arkash was headed to work. He'd only managed to go for a run earlier that day as he'd gotten plenty of sleep and woke early. But, he had intentions of maximizing his productivity with his time. he still had to form a plan B when it came to dealing with the Thompson Brothers. That plan B was to form an escape route, a path he could run easily before somehow getting out of their reach, either by worming his way into a small nook or cranny or by climbing where they couldn't get him. It had to be somewhere within running distance. So, if he could manage to get there from his home after already exercising that day, he'd definitely be able to outrun them on a day where he's better prepared, surely.
[indent=30]Again, the lizard limbered up and performed some dynamic stretches. Keeping his muscles loose was key in preventing injury via pulling a muscle, which would be quite disastrous this close to the Thompson Boys' next visit.
[indent=30]Once he was ready, he lowered his upper body and weighed his tail for support, then broke into a sprint. If he were truly running from the brothers, he wouldn't be easing into the sprint form a jog, he had to be quick like a flying arrow. So that's what he did.
[indent=30]The roads in lower Nivenhain were dotted with potholes in the cobbled paving. Some stretches of road had been completely erased of their paving altogether and were just stretches of dirt that eventually blurred back into cobbled roads. It was on those stretches of dirt that Arkash realized something; his claws were ripping up the ground as he went, like little rakes. A glance over his shoulder saw those same flecks of dirt flying in an arc before hitting the ground. Even better, his grip on the raw earth was far greater than on the cobbled road.
[indent=30]Arkash took note to come this way for the actual plan, as he might have been able to temporarily blind the Thompson boys with stray sprays of mud or dirt.
[indent=30]Then he turned, and the weight of his tail carried on in the direction he had been heading. The result was a panicked spin, followed by a slide where Arkash's leg came parallel with the ground. His claws naturally shot out to grip a stone and pulled himself back to his feet without losing too much speed. Again, he built up momentum, but his legs were growing tired. He had to stop soon.
[indent=30]On a whim, Arkash turned the general curve of his momentum and propelled himself into an alley that aligned well with his trajectory. He bumped into the far wall, but it barely slowed him, and he continued to bolt forward. it was unlikely the Thompson boys would be dumb enough to follow him into an alley in lower Nivenhain, but in case they were, he needed an escape plan. Up ahead, he saw the outline of the street. There were various crates and barrels. Lines hung overhead that people would hang washing on... And the far wall was completely barren, save for a downspout.
[indent=30]'The downspout', he decided, and continued to run at it. in a sudden, explosive burst from his legs, the lizard leaped at the pole, and gripped the bar with his claws. At once, his feet scrambled for something to hold, but found nothing! The grind of keratin against steel sounded, and the Rathari slid to the ground before he dropped in a heaving, exhausted mess.
[indent=30]If it weren't a test and the real Thompson boys had been chasing him, they would be kicking his skull down the alley at that moment.
[indent=30]Arkash had managed to save a lot of time by running that far to work, and there was no one out at that hour, so the Rathari picked himself up, dusted himself off, and decided to attempt the jump again. The same result followed, and he slid to the floor. The problem wasn't that he wasn't going fast enough, but that he couldn't jump high enough. Perhaps if he could jump twice?
[indent=30]Arkash glared at the downspout for a good long moment before an idea came. Again, he picked himself up off the floor and took perhaps twenty paces back. Once he was ready, he broke into another sprint, turned a little, and headed directly for the corner. There, he jumped toward the wall and brought his foot forward. With his toe-claws ready, he kicked downward off the wall and propelled his body higher. With that added height, he managed to grip the downspout, His feet found grip on one of the bracing bars for the body. He'd done it.
[indent=30]There was no time to practice climbing, else he'd be late to work. So, he let himself down and grunted at the impact on his bandaged feet. A peaceful walk on the way back would see him cool off and brush up ready for his shift.
[indent=30]Hopefully, Barry had some pastries left over from the past few days. With all the running he'd done, he'd need the energy to regain his strength. Even with his head injury, the young Rath found himself growing stronger by the day. His and Cojack's future outside of Lorien was looking more and more promising with every passing day. They were going to make it.
As Arkash crouched beside the pale, he took hold of the tin cup and inspected it with his right eye. The left still had some trouble focusing, and it had become a habit over the past few days. The metal of his eating utensils never seemed to wash out, and whenever he drank from that cup, he could taste the tin on his palette mix with the mouthful of whatever it was that he drank. Though, Cojack never complained of the taste.
[indent=30]With a sigh, Arkash dipped the cup in the clean waters that were still in the pale, then lifted its contents to his mouth, where he knocked it back and swallowed the fluid. His lips curled a little in disgust and his eyes shut tightly before he loosed an almost-pained exhale in relief. It was done, he wouldn't need to do that again for a while. The rath smacked his lips and clicked his forked tongue against the roof of his mouth, where he could still taste the tin.
[indent=30]"Come on... It's not that bad," spoke Cojack from his bed. His voice was waning again; he'd need more medicine soon. Arkash shook his head.
[indent=30]"It's gross," he spoke in turn, then sighed. With one claw, he collected the handle of the pale, and carefully stood with a press into both his feet. He took great care not to spill the pale, and walked to his father's bedside, and refilled the cup before he offered it to the sickly horse.
[indent=30]They always shared utensils, as whatever sickness Cojack carried wasn't catching. But, Arkash's spit was dangerous. As long as he didn't get any of his slobber on the cup, it could still be reused.
[indent=30]"Thanks, Ark," spoke his father, who happily accepted the cup and calmly drank from its contents. "Are you going out again?" he asked after swallowing the first mouthful.
[indent=30]"Yeah, I work tonight, dad," didn't he work every night? Cojack didn't need to ask all the time.
[indent=30]"Ah, right..." he spoke as he brushed his boney fingers through his mane. "...Soon?"
[indent=30]"Yeah,"
[indent=30]Cojack exhaled a little, then drank some more from the tin cup before he looked up at the reptile. "You'll be careful, won't you?"
[indent=30]Arkash grinned. "I always am, Dad."
[indent=30]It was clear that Cojack had some reserves on the exchange, and Arkash could hazard a guess that it was to do with the injuries he showed up with some two weeks ago. But, neither of them said anything further on the topic.
[indent=30]"I was thinking," spoke Arkash again as he offered his hand to collect the cup once his father was done. The older rathari put it in his son's claws and hummed inquisitively. "We should go for the caravan instead'a the walk. There's less risk, and the only other thing we've gotta pay for is the food then."
[indent=30]Cojack stared at him for a moment and thought. "...Caravan's expensive," he declared.
[indent=30]"We can almost afford it, should be outta here in early Ash," offered the lizard with a turn of his claw. Again, Cojack had some reserves on the idea but spoke none of them. Akash with his keen eye just smiled a little, then put the pale down beside his father's bed, along with the cup. "Just think about it, okay? I've gotta go."
[indent=30]"Alright..." Cojack smiled weakly, then nodded. "Have a good night, son. I love you."
[indent=30]"I love you too," spoke the young Rath in return, as he collected his one-strapped bag and walked to the front door. Once he was ready, he let himself out into the twilight.
Indeed, Arkash was headed to work. He'd only managed to go for a run earlier that day as he'd gotten plenty of sleep and woke early. But, he had intentions of maximizing his productivity with his time. he still had to form a plan B when it came to dealing with the Thompson Brothers. That plan B was to form an escape route, a path he could run easily before somehow getting out of their reach, either by worming his way into a small nook or cranny or by climbing where they couldn't get him. It had to be somewhere within running distance. So, if he could manage to get there from his home after already exercising that day, he'd definitely be able to outrun them on a day where he's better prepared, surely.
[indent=30]Again, the lizard limbered up and performed some dynamic stretches. Keeping his muscles loose was key in preventing injury via pulling a muscle, which would be quite disastrous this close to the Thompson Boys' next visit.
[indent=30]Once he was ready, he lowered his upper body and weighed his tail for support, then broke into a sprint. If he were truly running from the brothers, he wouldn't be easing into the sprint form a jog, he had to be quick like a flying arrow. So that's what he did.
[indent=30]The roads in lower Nivenhain were dotted with potholes in the cobbled paving. Some stretches of road had been completely erased of their paving altogether and were just stretches of dirt that eventually blurred back into cobbled roads. It was on those stretches of dirt that Arkash realized something; his claws were ripping up the ground as he went, like little rakes. A glance over his shoulder saw those same flecks of dirt flying in an arc before hitting the ground. Even better, his grip on the raw earth was far greater than on the cobbled road.
[indent=30]Arkash took note to come this way for the actual plan, as he might have been able to temporarily blind the Thompson boys with stray sprays of mud or dirt.
[indent=30]Then he turned, and the weight of his tail carried on in the direction he had been heading. The result was a panicked spin, followed by a slide where Arkash's leg came parallel with the ground. His claws naturally shot out to grip a stone and pulled himself back to his feet without losing too much speed. Again, he built up momentum, but his legs were growing tired. He had to stop soon.
[indent=30]On a whim, Arkash turned the general curve of his momentum and propelled himself into an alley that aligned well with his trajectory. He bumped into the far wall, but it barely slowed him, and he continued to bolt forward. it was unlikely the Thompson boys would be dumb enough to follow him into an alley in lower Nivenhain, but in case they were, he needed an escape plan. Up ahead, he saw the outline of the street. There were various crates and barrels. Lines hung overhead that people would hang washing on... And the far wall was completely barren, save for a downspout.
[indent=30]'The downspout', he decided, and continued to run at it. in a sudden, explosive burst from his legs, the lizard leaped at the pole, and gripped the bar with his claws. At once, his feet scrambled for something to hold, but found nothing! The grind of keratin against steel sounded, and the Rathari slid to the ground before he dropped in a heaving, exhausted mess.
[indent=30]If it weren't a test and the real Thompson boys had been chasing him, they would be kicking his skull down the alley at that moment.
[indent=30]Arkash had managed to save a lot of time by running that far to work, and there was no one out at that hour, so the Rathari picked himself up, dusted himself off, and decided to attempt the jump again. The same result followed, and he slid to the floor. The problem wasn't that he wasn't going fast enough, but that he couldn't jump high enough. Perhaps if he could jump twice?
[indent=30]Arkash glared at the downspout for a good long moment before an idea came. Again, he picked himself up off the floor and took perhaps twenty paces back. Once he was ready, he broke into another sprint, turned a little, and headed directly for the corner. There, he jumped toward the wall and brought his foot forward. With his toe-claws ready, he kicked downward off the wall and propelled his body higher. With that added height, he managed to grip the downspout, His feet found grip on one of the bracing bars for the body. He'd done it.
[indent=30]There was no time to practice climbing, else he'd be late to work. So, he let himself down and grunted at the impact on his bandaged feet. A peaceful walk on the way back would see him cool off and brush up ready for his shift.
[indent=30]Hopefully, Barry had some pastries left over from the past few days. With all the running he'd done, he'd need the energy to regain his strength. Even with his head injury, the young Rath found himself growing stronger by the day. His and Cojack's future outside of Lorien was looking more and more promising with every passing day. They were going to make it.
