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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 27, 2008 6:09:32 GMT -5
"Mm?" he glanced over his shoulder, surprised as she spoke. He hadn't been expecting her to wake up so quickly, talk about being a light sleeper. The thief had just lifted a large scroll from amongst the trinkets, this seeming to be what he had been looking for. "It's been morning for a while, yeah." he laughed softly, moving to kneel in the middle of the room with the scroll. He glanced up at her as if to check if she was alright - that and the shadows last night had hidden her beauty somewhat, but the light showed every detail. And he was memorising every feature even as he turned his attention back to the scroll, unrolling it and pinning it to the wooden boards with some misplaced darts to keep it open.
It showed a detailed map of Cressa, each district and key points labelled accordingly, along with the palace sprawling towards the north end of the map. The work put into it was easily seen, it must have taken someone hours to plot all those points, to find all that information. "Hmm.." the thief sighed softly as he found where they were, which was shown with a small red dot. "If we start here and ask around, we might get some idea of where your friend could be, if he's in Cressa." he mumbled, mostly to himself.
It was about now when Layla poked her head into the room, seeming quite surprised that Phoenix was awake and smirking a little. "An' I was all riled up to jab you awake." she gave a mock sigh, "Whatever will I do now?"
Phoenix grinned up at her from the floor, cracking his knuckles as he leant back to observe the map. "You could fight Big J out of bed?" he suggested, even Layla paling at the mere thought. Big J was like a goliath, and he wouldn't get up until he damn well felt like it. Nonetheless, Layla disappeared from the room, sighing heavily. It had to be done, she supposed.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 27, 2008 6:29:08 GMT -5
"Hmmm, oh...alright." She nodded as she let her fingers play through her hair, blinking in an attempt to clear the sleep from her eyes as she glanced out of the window, as if to confirm that it was morning and it was light outside. "Morning came too quickly, can't it go away for a while and come back later?" She asked, sounding rather hopeful that one of the trinkets in his room would be able to do just that. She breathed out a sigh as she smoothed the creases out of her dress, stretching out once again in that feline manner of hers before moving to sit cross-legged on the edge of the bed and look down at Phoenix. Ugh, she needed a wash...and a change of clothes...and maybe some breakfast, but she had to remind herself that she was in the slums and she probably wouldn't get any of those things.
She peered down at the map and the lines that sprawled over it, looking surprised really. "I never realised that Cressa was so big...how did anyone draw a map of all of it?" She tilted her head, lost amongst the hundreds of little lines, the only part of the map that she recognised being the sprawling palace, and that was somewhere that she didn't want to go back to. "They'll be sending the guards out to look for me soon...they'll have realised I'm gone by now..." She murmured to him incase that helped his planning at all, glancing up to smile at Layla lightly as her head popped around the door.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 27, 2008 6:40:42 GMT -5
He couldn't resist a chuckle at her first sentence; she sounded almost like a child then, asking for the sun to go away or something. He smiled lightly as he gazed over the map, deft fingers dancing over the lines as if to check where they could go and, more likely where the guards would be patrolling (these areas were marked in blue). He doubted they would actually come into the slums of Cressa until things got really urgent; of course they wouldn't have expected their princess to get so far away from the palace on her own. But she wasn't on her own, was she? "It's a big place, I'll agree with that." he nodded a little, removing the darts so the scroll curled back up again. Phoenix lifted it from the floor then, returning it to the shelf and turning around.
"Ugh, mornings." the thief didn't really look like a morning person did he, not really quite knowing what to do from here. Usually he'd talk through grunts to whoever decided to speak to him, lying dazed in the hammock for a few minutes before dragging his ass to the tiny bathroom at the back of the inn. You could practically see the tiny threads of courtesy holding him together as he smiled at Rory; she was the only reason he'd gotten up so quickly in the first place. Amazing, what a pretty girl could make him do. "You want to change your clothes or anything? You'll kind of stick out looking like that." he told her as he leant back against the wall, folding his arms. "I'm sure Layla has something you can wear."
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 27, 2008 7:02:40 GMT -5
She was always dazed when she first got up, used to people ushering her about to get her washed and dressed and generally ready for the day before being rushed off for breakfast with a group of women who were all too perky in the morning while Rory was still trying to wake up. She usualy didn't have to think until mid morning when her lesson's began, and even then she generally didn't have to pay too much attention to what was being said. Having to wake up and think was a shock to her system, especially after she had only had a few hours of sleep. Poor Rory needed her beauty sleep.
"Ugh, mornings." She agreed with him, picking up the comb to lazily brush her hair, glancing down at her dress. "I like this dress..." She pouted just a little before nodding to him. "I suppose I could change it, but...will Layla's clothes fit me?" She tilted her head a little, not having paid enough attention to the figure of the other woman to be able to compare them. "This is the simplest dress I have...at least I managed to change out of my ball gown or I really would have stood out."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 27, 2008 7:44:32 GMT -5
His eyes widened as she mentioned that the dress she was wearing was the simplest dress she owned - people would MUG you in the slums to steal a dress like that and be able to sell it on the black market... hm... that didn't really say much about where he lived and grew up, did it? He glanced over her fleetingly as she asked whether Layla's clothes would fit, smirking lightly. He was a womaniser, he could already tell that they were near enough the same body type! "They'll fit, don't worry about that." he nodded to her, hiding a yawn behind his hand as Layla, on cue, walked into the room.
"Big J is up! You owe me a bronze piece for makin' me do that." she announced proudly and smirked at Phoenix, who waved her away as if she was talking to quickly for his brain to handle.
"Layla... clothes? Rory?" he pointed blandly between them, the girl luckily having known Phoenix for long enough to know what this meant. And he'd explained Rory's situation to her (leaving out the princess and the wedding part, obviously), and he must have done a pretty good job of it since she didn't smack him, only smiled lightly at Rory and nodded.
"Alright, don't strain yourself now, Red." she rolled her eyes and motioned for Rory to follow her - Phoenix was already wandering out of the room dazedly, grunting a good morning to Big J who seemed in a similar mood as the large man thundered down the stairs. Layla giggled, glancing over her shoulder at the princess. "You'd have thought I didn't take care of them, wouldn't you?" she smirked.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 27, 2008 8:10:27 GMT -5
But she was a Princess, of course she owned clothing that some people would kill for. One of her dresses probably cost more than a slum dweller would ever spend on clothing in a life time, but that also explained why Rory didn't understand the value of money. That didn't really say much about where she was brought up either, it was a wonder that she wasn't a spoilt brat with the value put on posessions and owning things up at the castle. In her world you weren't even worth talking to if you didn't fit in with the lastest fashions, and borrowing someone else's clothing was...unthinkable, which probably explained why Rory seemed a little reluctant to borrow an outfit, even if it did help her blend in.
She smiled up at Layla as she appeared again, arching an eyebrow at Phoenix before rolling her eyes at him. He really was odd sometimes, and obviously wasn't a morning person. It would probably take him until mid day to wake up properly. She rose to het feet, slipping her shoes back on before moving to follow Layla out of the room, shaking her head a little. "You would think that they hadn't slept at all before you woke them up, tsk, men."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 27, 2008 15:41:47 GMT -5
Layla smirked at her, leading her out of the room and down the corridor towards her own room. This put them just a little behind Phoenix, who shuffled into the bathroom and slammed the door after him, grumbling about being awake. "I know, and I never get any thanks for it either." she laughed, wandering in through a door to the left of the bathroom into a rather large room in comparison to Phoenix's, which wasn't that small to begin with. The was obviously Layla's room and, considering she was the land-lord, you could expect it to be a little larger than everyone else's.
"Right... clothes..." she mumbled, not seeming to sense Rory's reluctance in borrowing clothes from others - slum dwellers may be very secretive, but they were altogether pretty easy going when it came to the whole, 'what's mine is yours' concept, seeing as most of them didn't have that much to begin with. The girl walked to a small wardrobe in the corner, tugging open its doors and peering inside. "Well, take your pick." she smiled over her shoulder, "It's not much, but it's enough."
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 27, 2008 16:57:01 GMT -5
The room may have been large for the slums but it was practically the size of Aurora's wardrobe, maybe a little smaller if truth be told. The again, she had stopped comparing her world to this one, they were too different to be comparing all the time...and her experiences in her world did nothing to help her here. It was hard to believe how different the societies both were yet how similar they could be at the same time. She guessed that you still got the same types of people, just in different situations.
She peered over Layla's shoulder to study the garments, running her fingers through her hair. "I don't really know what people wear around here..." She murmured as she tilted her head to the side a little, unable to decide what to choose. She didn't even know what colour to wear, especially seeing as she knew nothing of fashion in the slums...or maybe that should be the lack of keeping up with current fashions. "Or what colour...or...anything..." She blinked finally, shaking her head a little. "Could you pick for me?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 28, 2008 7:53:51 GMT -5
Layla admittedly looked a little confused when Rory spoke about not knowing what 'people wear around here', lifting a brow and tilting her head at the princess. Fashion didn't really exist in the slums, and if it did it was very minor - nobody would really care about your hairstyle or what you looked like so long as there was work to be done. On the rare occasion that people were allowed to dress up or look their best, the slum-dwellers were simply thankful for the opportunity; they didn't judge.
"Um... sure?" she nodded slowly, delving into the tiny wardrobe and drawing out a simple green skirt that fell just to the knees and a white blouse with shorter sleeves, holding them up. "These should be okay... the colour doesn't really matter here, sorry." she murmured, still seeming kind of befuddled. She was almost as odd as Phoenix when she came to clothes, the thief refusing to go out if he 'felt too average'. The guy had an ego, what could you do huh?
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 28, 2008 15:19:00 GMT -5
Rory gace Layla a blank look as she told her that colour didn't matter here. How could colour not matter anywhere? Oh no, that was a totaly alien concept to her. How could colour not matter? Wait a second, if colour didn't matter then did that mean that...that fashion didn't matter? How could fashion not matter?!?!?! Rory wasn't an overly vain person but she couldn't stand the idea of not looking presentable. She was a Princess, how could she leave her room looking less than her best? Living in the slums really was going to be harder than she had ever expected.
You could practically see the cogs in her mind whirring as she studied the clothes, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. Green didn't suit her, it didn't do with her eyes. Aurora was more a fan of blues and purples, or shades similar to that anyway. "That skirt might be a little...short...people would be able to see my legs!" Rory murmured and blushed lightly. Ohhh, the mere idea of almost showing her knees was scandalous. She turned her attention to the wardrobe again, slightly dismayed to find that practically all the skirts were that length. Oh no! What would she do?
"Hmmm, what about these?" She asked, selecting a pair of wide legge and high waisted black trousers and a light purple, short sleved shirt. "Would that be alright?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 28, 2008 15:37:31 GMT -5
Okay, now Layla was moving more from the puzzled 'This girl is kind of quirky and odd' scale of things to the 'DANGER CRAZY PERSON' scale, though she managed to contain it well as she replaced the skirt and blouse, brows knotted together in confusion. "That's fine, yeah. You shoulda said so in the first place." she told her with a light laugh - oh well, she'd met crazier people. Hell, Phoenix lived there on a regular basis, and with the other wide variety of customers there you couldn't get a more eccentric lot of people. "I'll leave you to change then, I've got things to do." she gave her a light wave and left her to it, wandering out of the room. That girl really was an oddity, where the hell did Phoenix get them from?
It was about at this point when the news was beginning to spread, even down to the slums that there was some kind of uproar at the castle, something to do with a missing princess. Most people were in a sort of disbelief at the moment, but troops of guards were being dispatched around the noble districts in about an hour, apparently, so it sounded serious. Layla frowned lightly as she caught a snippet of conversation to do with this, the cogs turning in her mind as she tried to put two and two together. But... not even Phoenix would be that stupid! She laughed to herself, shaking her head and going about her business again. Stealing a princess? Yeah, right. He was more likely to actually settle down into a long-term relationship than go and mess with royalty.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 28, 2008 16:30:38 GMT -5
Rory was one in a million, even she couldn't deny that. She was just a slightly rebellious noble thrown into the slums, of course she was going to seem odd to slum dwellers like Layla. Then again, someone like Layla would seem just as mad and out of place if she found herself in the palace.
Rory changed rather quickly, tucking the shirt into the trousers, looping her own belt back around her waist. This material was cheap and rough, and the clothes didn't fit quite right...but they would have to do. However, if this blending in plan didn't work now she would be coming straight back up here and changing back into her dress.
She left the room once she was convinced that she looked alright, heading down the stairs to find Layla, pausing half way down as she caught fractions of the conversation. So they knew that she was gone now? They had spread the word quicker than she had imagined they would, Rory actually looking worried as she stood there on the stairs, listening to the conversation.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 28, 2008 16:53:17 GMT -5
"Eavesdropping on harmless slum-dwellers eh? I didn't think you had it in you, Rory." It was almost as though Phoenix had snuck up behind her like a ghost; his footsteps hadn't even made the stairs creak. He moved to stand just behind her, barely giving her time to react and glancing down the stairs to the few people who were talking. The transformation in five minutes from the person who had dragged himself across the hall to the Phoenix standing behind her now was unreal - he seemed completely put together and wide awake, green eyes bright and alert as he glanced from person to person, taking in what they were saying.
"Guards? Psht, they're nothin'. We only gotta start worrying when they're sending big groups straight into the slums, and I doubt they'll do that till they've scoured the entire noble district. By which time we'll hopefully get you to that friend of yours." he murmured, thinking to himself and eventually brushing past her to continue down the stairs. "Well, no time to waste." he murmured, motioning for her to follow and brushing his bangs out of his eyes, his hair miraculously back in its plait again. He looked as though he was going to walk straight out of the door - breakfast meant nothing to Phoenix, he rarely ate anything until past midday, when sheer hunger stopped him from continuing working.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 28, 2008 17:35:55 GMT -5
Rory jumped slightly as Phoenix snuck up behind her, obviously surprised as she glanced over her shoulder at him. How had she not heard him sneaking up on her? Maybe she had been listening too closely to the others to hear him. "I wasn't eavesdropping." She murmured to him, shaking her head, "I was just listening to a public conversation that happens to be of interest to me." She nodded, as if her take on things made listening in on someone else's conversation totaly acceptable. "Sneaking up on people isn't nice either. You made me jump." She pouted lightly, moving to follow him down the stairs as he walked past her.
"Hmmm, I hope you are right." She nodded to him, really seeming worried by the news that the guards were looking for her already. Her stomach felt as if it were being tied in knots, which made her rather glad that Phoenix wasn't stopping for breakfast; she wasn't sure that she could stomach food right now. "Is it a good idea for me to go out where everyone can see my face? Don't I need a cloak or something?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 4:49:44 GMT -5
"I sneak up on people for a living." he reminded her with a soft laugh, pausing at the door at the mentioning that she'd need a cloak. "That's a good point, I'll be right back." he murmured, turning and striding back up the stairs, waving haphazardly to one of the patrons, probably 'Big J' himself, since the man was hunched over the table as though he'd been squeezed in there and couldn't get out. The group who were talking had continued now, their voices slightly lower and hushed. Apparently the palace didn't want to cause panic or uproar, and they wouldn't send out the guards until they were absolutely positive she wasn't still in the castle. And then they'd only patrol the noble districts; if worse came to worst, they said, they'd hire a private bounty hunter to find out what had happened to her. Clearly the inhabitants of the castle didn't believe the princess had left of her own accord.
This was the scariest thing about slum-dwellers; all manner of shady character could be found in the slums, each more shrouded in mystery than the next. And some of them knew things normal townspeople, even the nobles didn't, and some got the news faster than you would expect.
Phoenix's footsteps were light now as he wandered back down the stairs, a light grey cloak folded over his arms. It was much like her other one disregarding the fact that this one had obtained a lot more wear and tear, and it was of a much less fine material, but it would do. "Here, even though it's a shame to hide such a pretty face away." he smiled down at her. There was the true proof he was awake; as long as he could flirt, he was conscious. Then he stepped past her, pulled open the door and stepped out into the square.
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