Cordovan and Giselle, miscommunication

There was a few more rustles and Christi popped out from behind a bush.

Cord's mouth dropped as he saw her. Seeing his weird surprise and disregarding it, she went on to say. "I saw you stand up for that Sheila."

Cord about to clear up the misconception, he in fact was just doing the work of his father, rounding up some loose property but was interrupted with a single furry digit to his lips. "shh, I know its taboo but I to have something that's not... accepted." her eyes stared off as dreaming of her knight in shining armor.

"but what you're doing is so much more mysterious. So what's the plan?"

Cordovan's inner thoughts "she thinks I'm mysterious?" shaking off the hormonal euphoria "we've got to find Giselle" his voice sounded unsure.

Christi "you're right we've got to make sure shes not hurt," she got close to Cord giggled then said "your such a humanitarian." Cordovan tried to gather his thoughts but Christi bounded off looking underneath shrubbery and behind tree branches.

Christi was turning to be a little bit more bubbly then Cord had first anticipated. "are all girls like this?"

"what" Christi said lifting her head up and having a large amount of twigs in her hair.

Cordovan suppressing a snicker said "oh nothing, just thought I saw something over-"he pointed a direction and Christi bounded off towards the point.

Cord sighed to himself. "I can't even tell if she likes me or if shes this flirty with everyone." cordovan smiled inwardly. "if I hang out with her enough maybe she'll begin to like me..." in his mental torpor Cordovan sat back, after all who could resist this.

Cordovan's gaze went high in the tree's were he saw the faint outline of-of "Gis?!" on a branch leaning over the little stream. Well that could be a little embarrassing, she might have seen the whole experience.

"what where!" Christi said as she ran up next to Cordovan, "right there I think."she then smiled punched Cord in the shoulder. "you little devil you, you gave her a nick name. That's so quite!" Then Christi ran off before Cordovan could say a thing.

A few moments later Christi had climbed the tree tackled Giselle (out of the tree and onto the bank) and licked her face twice before cord had even gotten close to the scene. Thank goodness Christi was Cordovan's age though two heads taller, curse this Stout shortness gene. She still was probably crushing Giz though, just not as bad as it could have been, but still.

"Giz are you alright!?" the words just kind of slipped out. Cordovan slapped his head, oh bother that almost sounded as if I cared about a Sheila. Pulling her out from under Christi "come on we've got to get home." then mumbled something about how humans would never be as good as Nimfurry. "There that should make me sound cool."

Sarid

(Here goes the improvisation.)

*In a nearby town a few days before the event that nearly cost Giselle her life*

I walked into the tavern as all good adventurers do when looking for work. The Retiray bartender scoffed when he saw me.

"Aren't you a bit young to be wandering about alone?" He asked.

I glanced at him from under my hood and shook my head, "I'm not as young as my height would suggest."

He obviously didn't believe me but if I was going to buy something he didn't care. There had been many scarred by the war and if I had been pure Retiray I still would have been a child, by height and birth age, as it was I was on the cusp of adulthood. I wandered to the job board they had posted up and pointed at one of them.

"What's that one say?" I asked curiously.

"You can't read?" The bartender asked, not very surprised.

"I just can't read nimfurrian," I countered. "I can speak it just fine, and speak Retiran and common and a few other languages, but I only learned to read and write common and Retiran."

"Well ok," The bartender shrugged. "But I can't read that either. The person who brought it in hasn't left town just yet. If you hurry you can probably catch him."

"Which direction?" I asked.

"Towards the nimfurry border," He said. "Good luck kid."

I nodded and swiftly turned to the door and stepped outside. Instead of being outside the tavern I was on the edge of town. I saw a nimfurrian walking alone with a pack of supplies. He was quite startled to see me appear in front of him.

I heard a noise and dropped to the ground and disappeared in the knee tall grass, that's my knees. I could see the nimfurrian was surrounded by bandits, a mix of races.

"We know you have money nimfurry," One of them spoke. It looks like a Retiray. "We don't have much love for your kind so you'd best just give us the money and we'll let you walk away."

I crawled closer and sprang to my feet in the midst of them. I didn't want a fight. They laughed at me for a few moments.

"This isn't any of your concern boy," The leader said. "Stand aside or be destroyed."

"Give it your best shot," I tempted. "However, I doubt you could take Creeltak Firsome in a fight even if you had one arm tied behind his back."

"I don't know that name," He spit on the ground. "You don't even have a weapon."

"I guess I should translate that name into his common tongue name and introduce myself," I stood up straighter and lift my hood down off my head. "My name is Sarid Steelclaws. My father was Uther Steelclaws, I was trained by the legendary Kindra in her tower of magic. Still want to fight?"

The entire group took a step back when I said his name. They turned and started to leave. The leader glanced back, "This isn't over."

"Thank you for saving me," He stammered. "How can I repay you?"

"That job you posted in the tavern. What was it?" I asked.

"Lord Stout was looking for a new property manager," He answered. "It pays well and you'll be given other luxuri..." He stopped mid sentence as he realized what he was saying.

"What kind of luxuries?" I asked.

"Uh, you probably aren't interested," He answered.

I grinned and put my hood back up, "It's funny, you probably are trying to figure out how something lower than the scum of the earth can save your life and ask for nothing in return, but I do ask for one thing."

He gulped, "What's that?"

"Silence." The word was poignant enough for him to understand my meaning. "Now then let's get you safely home and you can introduce me to Lord Stout. I'll be interested in meeting him, I've heard good things about him and I want to know for myself if it's true."

cordovan

Cordovan reflected inwardly at what he had just said. In truth Cord and Giz were friends for a long time, ignorantly playing fun games and learning about the great big world that this place was turning out to be but the fun games didn't last. Cordovan listened in on a conversation of his father with grandpa Stout.

---flashback--

"Now son, you know humans are the closest things we have to demons, don't ya? Just kill 'em off and be done with it. They can't be trusted."

"But father, they have great potential-"

"To do what? kill us all? Just like how they destroyed their own civilization! No my boy, they have skill for chaos, destruction comes naturally. No my son, scorched earth is all they know and what we must give them."

"...father... I'm pulling through with it, regardless."

"Your mad, my son, humans can't even stand the hand of organization under themselves and yes they did create us, by accident might I add. But my son, our creators are no saviors. They need to pass like an old rag, it is the Nimfurry's turn to organize."

"With respect, the decision has been made. This province is going to be a slaved state whether you like it or not. The benefits out way the chance-"

seeing the warning in his fathers eyes "if they are indeed stronger they deserve to survive."

Gramps stout turned to the door in mild disgust. "your grandmother died from the hand of one of thoughts Creator-ish slime I'll have no part of it." holding back hatefully words he left and echoed "I'll be on the mother Island If you want me. and, good luck... you'll need it."

--present---

Despite the truth, Cordovan longed for the days of his younger youth when things never had a color of white or black, and the world seemed like a peaceful place with out a problem anywhere and rainbows around every corner.

When he got to where Giselle was about to be pummeled, he saw that a female had already broken up the fight. He presumed it was the angry guy's wife. The crowd started to diminish as Cordovan approached the angry guy. The guy was now arguing with the female, and didn't notice Giselle run away. When he spotted Cordovan he eyes turned a firery red. "You're family is going to pay for my things. Especially the eggs, those are hard to come by these days."

"Of course, of course. Just send us the bill." Cordovan faked a smile and turned away from the guy to find Giselle.

Looking on the ground where she had been, and then looking off into the distance where the tracks lead. "she's heading to the fields." Cordovan muttered to himself. "the same place were we used to play tag. "

Cordovan meandered to where he knew she would likely be. Hands in his pockets and a look of annoyance across his face. "better get this over with."

After traveling for a while and now in the fields Cordovan saw some movement in the bushes. "Giselle, if that's you, you're in big trouble." then muttering under his breath. "not to mention the stuff I'm going to have to go through."