Roaming via Rumour [Open]

[Kyrie Blaze]

"I don't know where I'm going...I've been alone so long."

Sorrowful and deep blue eyes were fixated on the middle-aged woman before her. She received a kindly, concerned smile in response. The kitchen was warm in the light of candles, and she had a glass of sweet water in her hands. Soft hands, small hands. Everything about the twenty year old seemed so delicate, enough that she looked to be a very young girl, fresh into her teens.

"I'm scared."

She hiccupped in that soft but higher-pitched voice. A child's voice. It trembled with innocent fear.

"You don't have to be scared anymore. You can stay with us, Kiyr."

The tears that the blonde blinked up with at her current 'saviour' were real. They had to be. A matter of survival, a ruthless survival, yet she never took more than she needed to get by for a few days, until she found her next target to dupe. But still, she disliked preying upon people that had suffered loss. And it was obvious this woman and her husband had.

The door opened, heralding the arrival of that man. Kyrie muffled a squeak and looked back down at the water.

"Hester, Hester? You won't believe what I heard today..! There were three transport trucks that passed through the city, all of them with the emblem of the green dragon. They were headed towards Olympus. And the Dragon's territories! They may be looking to do handouts, I don't know. It may be worth the chance..."

Ah, the benefits of being seen as young, or not noticed at all. It made others complete blabbermouths around her, figuring she was too naive to pick up on things on her own. She always kept her ears open for rumourmills and what became of them. Three seemed a bit too much, but then, Mathew Amtrum had his reputation.

"And I think we should--oh."

At a gesture from his wife, the man finally noticed Kiyr.

"Hester..?"

"Her name is Kiyr, James. She's been alone and barely scraping by since....well, since Barker did this to everyone. I thought she could stay with us, but we only have the one extra room..."

"I--Hester, I don't know..." A pained look overcame his face as the girl in question looked up, blinking those wide blue eyes. "No. I'm sorry, I can't bear it. We can take her to a shelter tomorrow and move on to see if we can catch that truck."




They had argued. Kyrie shook her head as she shouldered her small pack after placing the items she had taken. It wasn't much, some matches, a vial of iodine for water (along with vitamin C tablets to take the taste from the water and add some value once the iodine had had time to work), leftovers, and some canned and non-perishable foodstuffs that added a pleasant weight to her bag.

She slipped away in the middle of the night, her task done.

"I still think three trucks is too much. Too much attention and risk."

But she was going to find out, and make her way back to her 'base'. But she needed some more supplies, first. And her clothes would need alternates. Something pretty but easy to move in, even under her body wrap. That dress was tucked away, leaving her in serviceable, dark pants and a shirt around the same colour; hair bound in a braid and tucked beneath her shirt.

She stuck to the trees and fields, the out-of-the-way paths, not trusting to walk in the open and garner attention she didn't need or want.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai was hanging out at the drop off zone right at the edge of Dragon territory, not really sure what he was doing there.

"I thought hanging around Matthew would be beneficial but this? I'm a stand in at a drop off that no one cares about."

Rai plopped onto one of the boxes the truck had dropped off and sighed.

"There isn't even anything to do... I'm so freaking bored!"

Rai would sit there for awhile longer before stretching walking around a bit and then sit on another box, lather rinse and repeat. All the while grumbling and complaining.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Before leaving the safety of a stand of trees, Kyrie looked around the area, as was her habit.

How interesting she should find someone with several boxes at the edge of Dragon territory. A trap? Perhaps. She melted back into the shadows a step or two and picked up a weighted piece of wood--nothing special, just simple deadfall that had been splintered in half, as well as two rocks of quality size.

Her ears caught his exclamation, and she settled to watch his movements for a brief span of time. When she was satisfied there wasn't anyone else around, she edged to the side and in one quick motion, hurtled the section of branch behind a mound of rubble.

Klack, clatter, clop!

It seemed large enough for someone to scrunch under cover, there. She waited, lowering herself into a crouch to see if her fortunate happen-upon would take the bait.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai was still muttering about this crappy predicament when he heard a loud noise somewhere off to his side.

"What the hell?"

Rai asked himself aloud. He started to go check out the noise when Matthew's word rang in his head If anything goes missing by the time I get back I will beat you so badly you will wish the Sudeki clan was wiped out so they wouldn't have to feel the beating. Now Rai liked a good fight every now and then to stay loose but he didn't like committing suicide, so he just assumed it was some sort of animal that had been poking around in the area. But he was now more cautious, he had started to move around the boxes unsystematically so as to not walk the same path more than once, and he had stopped talking altogether to make sure he could hear anything going on around him. Prepared to fight if he needed too.

[Kyrie Blaze]

From her position at the cover of the trees, Kiyr frowned, her brow furrowing. She gently tossed one of the rocks to her other hand, slowly rose, and chucked that around the same area.

There was definitely something there!

"Go check it." She muttered under her breath, immediately sinking back down into position.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai was starting to get really suspicious now, he didn't like the fact that there was something thing over there.

"Hey who's there?!"

He called out hoping for a response picking up a rock in his hand, after a moment of silence he tossed the rock over where he had heard the sound hoping to spook whatever was over there, hopefully and animal. Those caused no threat to him.

[Kyrie Blaze]

This guy...just wasn't falling for it. There wasn't enough time in her mind to play this game and bait him out, but for what it was worth, it was a pleasing challenge that he didn't simply fall for it. Kiyr puffed out a breath of frustration, but brightened as he stooped to pick up a rock. 'Go on, throw it.'

He turned and did just that.

As he released his rock, Kiyr threw hers, aiming for his temple on his now-unguarded side. But she didn't stick around, slipping back into the shadows with all the quiet finesse of someone used to being silent on the move, angling back the way she had came, snatching a sparse handful of dirt and a couple more small rocks. The rocks were transferred to her other hand, the dirt sprayed to make noise as she diverted from that path completely.

One would be expected to make noise after rushing away.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai was able to see the rock last second the only foreseeable way of dodging the rock would be to follow through with his throw and send his whole body, rolling to a standing position he got into a fighting stance staring in the direction of where the rock had come from seeing the dust cloud going off to one side, and smiled.

"You're a tricky one aren't you? But if you are looking for a fight then I would formally request that you come out and face me. I don't like the whole hide, attack, hide again routine."

He would back up to the boxes so as to have a better view of the surrounding area as well as the precious cargo under his protection. Waiting for some sort of reply.

[Kyrie Blaze]

The poor Dragon Apprentice would find no reply forthcoming!

Why give away her carefully guarded position?

Once she had gained a different position than the one she started out with, however, it was a different game altogether. She ensured she had cover, so she wasn't seen from the road. Shirt and pants were quickly and quietly divested, and the simple but nice dress put back on. Her braid freed to let her hair tumble around her shoulders and face. Her pack was deposited in the high branches of the tree she was nearest, stuffed tight against the trunk before she lowered herself.

She didn't double back so much as that she made her way towards where she first started out, and set the rocks down, making noise like an ungainly teen would when moving through the underbrush.

Here goes a gamble.

She shrieked, causing a bird or two to take flight, just as she started running for the road through the bramble.

"Get away from me!"

It wasn't hard to look terrified. She'd had plenty of practice. When she emerged from the trees, she stumbled, scrambled against the sparse grass, all the while inwardly cursing that her dress had a few more scrapes on it. But, overall, it just added to the image. She checked behind her, gave a slight sob, and when she looked ahead to Raikotsu, her expression brightened.

A youthful hope.

One a child would give to a parent she knew after being taunted by a bully. She scrambled to her feet and dashed towards him, her footfalls audible.

"Help!"

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai would see the girl running towards him not but a few years younger than him by the look of her, she was running towards him screaming for help, and Rai was no such person to deny the cries for help.

"Whats wrong?"

He asked the girl with a gentle tone in his voice so as to sound like someone that was earnestly trying to help.

[Kyrie Blaze]

Once she looked back over her shoulder, running harder. When she neared him, however, she flung her arms out, catching him around his waist with a sob, and used that to halt her forward momentum and hide behind him, peering out fearfully towards the trees. Her hands slid back, clenching at the back of his shirt.

"Don't let him take me a-a-againnn..!" It was a muffled wail, broken by breathing that was bordering on hyperventilation.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai was caught off guard by her grabbing him, and hiding behind him. He was feeling really uncomfortable and gently removed her from his shirt and brought her to look him in the eyes.

"Who is after you? What do you mean he is trying to take you?"

[Kyrie Blaze]

The bobbing sniffles and sobs were a little tricky to keep up; she wanted them believable, not over or underdone. But when he tried to pull her in front of him, she struggled and resisted, shaking her head wildly back and forth, sending her hair skittering to and fro in the air.

"N-N-N-N-Nooo-ooo. Don't..!

She sniffed and rubbed a tear-stained cheek against the sleeve of her dress before blinking up, and then looking over her shoulder.

"I g-got away. But I don't ma-ake it too far. Ever." The last word was a hushed whisper, coupled with another glance over her shoulder as she tried to edge back around him. To be 'safe' behind him. "He always waits. He never comes out until he's sure he wins."

She hiccuped.

"He's had me for a long time. He makes me...m-makesss m-me..."

A couple fat tears rolled their way down her cheeks. Obviously she couldn't finish what she was saying.

[Raikotsu Sudeki]

Rai wouldn't let the girl get behind him, eyes were the doorway to the soul they said and he wanted to see what her hurt soul needed so that he could more easily comfort her but something she said bugged him...

"He makes you what?"

He said cocking his head to the side blinking a few times, complete confused.

[Mathew Amtrum]

"Yes, what does he make you do?"

Mathew asked as he rose out of the stone. Behind the boxes. A curious lift of his eyebrow as he surveyed the scene. His arms crossing in front of him, silently waiting for one of them to speak up.