"Alright... This should be enough." I sigh and grumble, getting all the money together into something more controllable. I stole a sturdy bag earlier, so I'm at least now devoid of the discomfort that comes with stuffing it all down my front. Not like anyone is going to suspect anything with a bag like this, though. Certainly not in as public a space as this.
A shop's bell goes off, alerting me to a giggling horde that is rampaging out of a shop. Minding the problem, I keep to the side and wait for them to get out of my damn way. One face sticks out and my patience snaps in two already. It's that woman I punched in the face back when I slipped into town.
She spots me and her face lights up with everything but the gossip girl it was before. She flinches back and her group follows her focus. It all lands on me. I smirk at the even more make-up bedecked woman and give my knuckles a few flexes. It's a comfortable feeling, really. Feeling all that energy go in and out, the way my bones and veins interact with each other.
Such a wonderful way to pass the boring seconds...
"You!" the shrill thing goes, finding her backbone just enough to sort out her footing. Even then, it wobbles. So dangerously thin the strength in her legs is, I could almost whistle, and she'd fall.
"Me." I huff, crossing my arms and knocking the bag behind my legs. I secure myself between a rock and a hard place, keeping it clear of their childish attempts. Should they so try. As if I'd let them get particularly far, anyway.
"WHY I OUGHT TO-!?" it screams, her eyes already going all over the place for what I assume is a police officer. As if they're going to take something like this seriously. Not like I can't outrun them, even if it is the case. She will not be doing anything now, regardless. Some guy has her cupped at the mouth.
"I'm sorry about Mui, you gave her quite the fright the other day." he huffs, keeping a calm smile even as his eyes take on that distinct aspect. Been around it enough to know what an on-guard flexing of the pupils is. Guess he must've thought I was some bloke like him. Turns out, I'm a dainty little thing with arms fit for the catwalk.
"Gave her more than that." I scoff, throwing a gesture out at the odd discrepancy in her makeup. All that extra layering. Oh, I wonder... Really, I do. What are we hiding under all of that powder, foundation, and shadow?
A giggle comes through my teeth, and I watch Mui shiver back into the safety of her group. Whatever girlie stuff it is they do, they get to it. Reassuring her ego, telling her that I am such a vile person. All that nonsense. The boy, however, he gives them a quick wave and moves closer.
He keeps the smile, "So, you're quite the dangerous woman, then?"
"Probably the single most dangerous thing in your life." I say back to him, hooking a paw around the bag handle and stepping closer to him. He unzips his leather jacket, showing off his hard work, and he pats around for something. His fingers slip into a pocket and pull out a card.
"Interested in coming by in a bit, then?" he asks, handing me what now seems to be a business card. A quill tender shop. Oddly specific, normally they're all called barbers. What, no one in Agadton trims their fur when they get their quills polished and pointed?
"I'll consider it. But, I'm also a bit busy myself. Any reason why I should come?" I'm more than happy to ask him, moving closer with a ferocity he's not prepared for. He backs up, eyes wide and a wavering smirk on his face. For a moment, I know his brain is empty. One heartbeat passes, and a chuckle starts to come out.
"Oh-ho-ho! You're certainly a one of a kind. Still, come on by, I would love to talk to you more," he tells me and I flick an incisor over my bottom lip. He barely knows a thing about me and he's hanging around the usual lot who are nothing like me. Don't even need more than my voice to tell that we're not the same.
"Now I know I'm not around much, but is it not still normal to ask a girl her name before taking her places?" I ask and he flashes a line of white at me.
"My apologies, Darl'. Might I know?" this real sweetheart asks me and I roll my eyes as a smirk hooks the ends of my lips.
"Heiya. My name is Heiya." I tell him, moving closer to jab at the gap between his pectorals. His chest goes back and forth, taking it with more reaction than I am applying in force.
"Puhak." he finally reveals with a slight nod and wink sending him off. He gives me a wave and I can't help but return it. My brow cocks and arches, growing without restraint until it hurts.
"What a strange man." I let out, throwing my bag up and catching it. A thoughtful noise bounces in my mouth and I flick the card up. My eyes go over the red body and the fake gold inlay. Whatever this white symbol is, it's lost on me with all this finer detail on such a small scale.
Fine Tips.
I bring a paw up and run it through my quills, minding their feel and texture. I can't help but try and catch a glance at Puhak's distant group, and I even try to find Mui amongst it. They're too far now and I never paid much attention beforehand. Is he insulting the quality of my quills?
I know I don't exactly have access to the finest means of looking after them. They're certainly rougher than everyone else's. Gods and goddesses of it, whichever it is, I'm pretty sure my quills are probably some of the worst in this whole town. The one thing about myself I feel particularly confident about, and it doesn't mean a whole lot when I see them all.
My paw scrunches up and the tips of my quills rattle and shake. I bring my paw to my face and give it a look, uncertain if all the dirt and other bits of filth are from it. I can't tell with the help of nearby glass, either. It's also too mucky or too bright on the inside. Another noise of thought catches between my teeth and I chew on it.
I focus on a mannequin and walk in front of it, doing my best to match its posture. The people on the street are more than uncaring enough to give me my limited space. Each expression, however, my mood plummets and plummets. All the way to the lowest point in the world.
Mui, Puhak and their friends must've gone clothes shopping. Looking around at the very least. Trying outfits they might look cute or good in. Sharing the moment as that is all that really matters at the end of this day and all the others to come long after.
A sigh comes on out, ruining the reflection further, and my back straightens. I best get going, anyhow. Nearly time for me to head back Pops' way, anyway. Out too long and I'll match Mui's handmade makeup blow for blow.
Still, it's a big town and I'm not all that familiar with the neighbourhood. Girl can easily get lost if she's not paying enough attention. A shrug starts my walk and I head on off, thoughts gathering themselves as I do so. I look at the card again, a lengthy mmmmmmm vibrating my throat into a dance.
The street details mean absolutely nothing to me, but I can make guesses. Surely the business itself is similar to the colour of the card? Whatever, I guess. If I find it, I find it.
Not like he's going to be there, anyway. He's out with his friends. Heh, maybe I should find it and then sneak by during the night. Give him a real show of what I meant when I said I am dangerous. Nah, funny as that is, it's not worth the effort at all.
"And somehow all of the effort would be dealing with Pops." I huff, crossing the street and getting a clear view of an event in the process. I linger on the edge of the road, halfway between it and fully getting up on the pavement. My eyes narrow at the banner, and the familiar name of Serelv catches my attention. A pair of legs move and I forget they're even mine.
A competition regarding Serelv Preslav?... What kind? Might just be up my alley. Though, it's certainly not on my side of the road!
"I'M WALKING HERE!" I blare at a horn-roaring car, my strongest arm up in a violent flick of displeasure. Strutting up to the edge of the crowd, I snoop around to find a way to get closer. Whatever is going on, there are no speakers, despite all the other bits of effort present. There's official merchandise and more and it even seems like one of Serelv's personal social circle is here.
I know I recognise that face from somewhere and my instincts are telling me it's a record cover. Wherever it is I recall him from, it certainly gives this whole thing some weight. A degree of weight I only feel more and more as I get closer. Girls and women alike are coming away screaming and crying over nothing more than... Dreams.
"Come, come! Get your tickets, get your tickets for a one in a lifetime opportunity!" Serelv's Groupie calls out, gesturing for money and handing out tickets in turn. I mind my bag and find myself shoved ahead to the table, decked out and glittered in a polished shine. He looks at me, smiling nothing but showmanship's greed.
Another girl smashes over me, throwing her money at him and getting a ticket. Another does and another, battering me down until someone grabs me. I turn and somehow find myself face-to-face with Puhak again. He chuckles, helping me up.
"I never took you for a Serelv fan!" he says, holding me close through the necessity of being stuck in this crowd.
"W-Well, I-I AM!" I struggle to regulate as I hold my bag tight.
"You got the money!?" he asks, pulling us somewhere safer. Seriously, I'm being mauled by girls I would normally knock out in a single punch!
"I DO!" I screech, their energy shaking me to my core as my other danger senses burn and flicker.
"'EY, MATE, A TICKET FOR ME LADY FRIEND!" Puhak roars over the women, catching the closest salesman's attention. Digging about the bag and mindlessly looking for a price, I pull out what I need. I throw it across the table, snatching the ticket up. The crowd becomes nothing more than an obstacle and I force my way through, battering it aside.
"Choke a girl another time, hm!?" I heave in frustration as I zip the bag back up. Puhak stumbles out behind me, a line of red on his brow now.
"Damn... You hurt!" he chuckles, brushing himself down and slicking back his greasy quills.
"Did I get you?" I ask, not hearing him fully.
"You did," he goes, chuckling more as I find a place to sit down. He joins me and I look over the ticket. A thing of solid metal that has a hole punched in and a keychain threaded on through. It may look like gold, but the smell alone makes it clear it's cheap brass. A single sentence of pure black numbers runs across it, along with some other legal hubbub.
So... This is a chance for me to see Serelv Preslav in person? More than that...? Wait... How am I even going to hide this from Pops!?
"Got a lot going on through your head, don't you?" Puhak asks, his eyes minding my expression quite a bit. Almost too much, really.
"Nothing you're privy to." I huff, closing him off as I hook the ticket to my outfit, tucking it away somewhere stable. Puhak looks me over. His brain certainly developed enough to tell that there's something uncanny about me. Perhaps it makes me a curiosity to him, but, whatever.
"Say, how long are you in town, anyway, Heiya?" Puhak asks as I mind the street, not paying him much mind as I otherwise ponder my ticket. It's such a slim chance and I fully understand why there's such a vicious, ferocious crowd right before us.
"As long as it takes for my Mr to sort out a deal. Why?" I answer, then ask, looking his way as the crowd makes him breathless. I know this kind, too. He's got to go back in there. It's enough to make me grin in anticipation.
"There's a bit of a shindig going on down at one of the pools. Was wondering if you wanted to come? You'll certainly liven the place up in a way we're not used to," he offers and my face heats up in a peculiar manner. I'm... I'm being asked to go to a social event...? W-Why!?
"Earthquakes not do that enough?" I ask, my tone needlessly defensive, and he laughs.
"All the more reason for you to come on by, Heiya!" he tells me, hopping up to his feet and setting on back to the journey of buying a ticket or more. I frown at his presence and look around, spotting Mui and her group as they enjoy some kind of drink. Her eyes narrow at me and I return my focus to the ticket. I meet her mean gaze, throwing a sneer into the mix as well.
"I might meet Serelv..." I giggle and swoon, making sure it's out in the open to catch the light of the town.