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Post by M&M&M on Oct 8, 2014 5:03:12 GMT
The afternoon sun glared down onto the sands of the Cleyran Desert, baking it's residents in a scorching wave of heat. There was no rivers or oasis' in sight, save for cacti, bleached skeletons of various creatures, and the ocean of golden sands. Daring travel through the environment was a single caravan pulled by a duo of chocobos. Holding the reins of the birds was a large chubby seeq, a leather-skinned and pig-like race who has a love of fortune as well as battle. It appears to show his disdain for the choice of work as he spat out onto the sands and cursed.
"Son of a bitch, I knew I shouldn't have traveled on the noon, but 'noooooooooo', prick just HAD to have his shipment of rum and Burman coffee quickly as possible. If he doesn't give me a good tip for traveling in this heat, I swear I'm gonna be pissing in his drinks.." He said, utterly groaning as he fanned himself with one hand. Sweat was pouring down his brow, where only a paper thin sheet of cloth protected him from the sun's rays. One of the chocobo's squawked when he absent-mindedly pulled the ropes.
"Shut it! Wasn't talkin' to you!" He yelled. He thought he saw the bright yellow bird gave an angry glare at him, then inwardly promised himself to make the bird it's dinner if it pulled any more behavior problems. Seeking a distraction, the seeq looked behind him to view the inventory in his caravan. Open crates of fruit, and nearly over a dozen barrels of alcohol and coffee filled the inside of the dark shady room. The cargo all gave off a strong and almost overpowering odor, most likely created from the heat being beamed at them. Knowing everything was in order, the merchant wrinkled his nose and turned back toward the desert.
In front of him through squinted eyes, he can see a glimpse of the giant white stone walls that protects the port city and it's familiar markers. Across, much to his pleasure, he can also see the glistening blue ocean behind it. The chubby man blew a sigh of relief and grinned. "Well. At least the ride's been smooth so far; no fiend attack yet and the cargo is safe. Nothing can go wrong now..."
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Eudemic
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 8, 2014 6:31:17 GMT
The small coyote girl made no attempt to contain her scowl as she heard the driver grumbling to himself. Again. It was like he couldn't go ten minutes without complaining about his traveling conditions. . . "At least you get to have some fresh air, stupid." she thought jealously.
Adelaide wasn't entirely sure -why- she had decided to jump in this guys cart, but she found herself regretting it intensely. While being tucked in with its cargo did allow her to enjoy some shelter from the glare of the desert sun, it provided almost no protection from the heat. Still worse, however, there was no airflow; trying to breathe through the strong odors of alcohol and fresh coffee was difficult on its own, but the sticky-sweet scent of fruit just made it worse.
Sighing softly, she quietly raised her canteen to her lips (the girl knew the thing was just as empty then as it had been for the past hour, but still felt the need to try again), then did her best to slowly shift into a different, though equally uncomfortable, position. . .
And in doing so accidentally caused a bag of coffee, one she had pushed aside as she first snuck aboard to make room for herself, to roll back into place; pinning her and loudly rattling a small crate full of what were presumably bottles of rum.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 8, 2014 7:19:40 GMT
"WHAT THE-!" The merchant gave out a surprised yelp as he heard the noise from behind him, pulling at the reins and putting a sudden halt to his chocobos movements. He looked behind him, fearing the worst about his inventory. But instead of seeing broken crates and emptying barrels, he see's the piddle-paddling of feet under a rubble of a bag of coffee and several crates of fallen fruit. In that moment, his emotions turned from terror to anger.
"Fucking...a stowaway!" He hissed. The large fat creature got up to his feet with surprising agility. He then jumped down into the soft sands and stomped his way towards the back of the caravan. The merchant nearly ripped the cloth meant to shade and hide everything in the back just to peer inside. With piercing eyes, he glared at the little coyote girl for a moment. Nevermind the fact that it was just a child, the little one dared to steal a ride from him without his permission or without paying.
"Get over here you little..." With his chubby hands, he grabbed hard with both hands around the collar of the poor girl; pulling her out of the inventory haphazardly and then holding her up with her back against his convey. It was almost as if he was about to choke her. "You are in a mess of trouble!" He said angrily, spit flying from his mouth and into the kit's face. "If there's one thing I hate worse than fiends, it's thieves! You know what we do to little bastards like you in my land? Well? I should leave you out here to shrivel in the damn sun." The seeq took a moment to pause, almost curious to hear what she had to say, but in truth he was also looking for a reason to punish her out here where no witnesses are available.
"Got anything to say, little one? You gonna beg for forgiveness? Like all the other cutthroats that's caught in the act with no where else to run?"
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 8, 2014 7:46:21 GMT
Adelaide was almost relieved to have been un-pinned by the cart's owner, at least until he hoisted her up by her collar and re-pinned her against the side of the vehicle. As the seeq started yelling in her face, calling her 'bastard' and 'cutthroat', accusing her of stealing from his cart, she started writhing in his grip; clawing at his wrists, closing her eyes, and trying not to think about how awful his breath smelled.
"Get your hands off of me you damned pervert!" the coyote barked loudly, interrupting his questions almost as soon as they'd begun.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 8, 2014 8:22:30 GMT
"Pervert!? How dare you!" The man yelled back and showed more of his fangs in annoyance. He then started to shake the girl.
"Who the hell would wanna touch a dirty little bitch like you? You'd have more luck with a Fang tha-OW! Hey! Stop that!" The merchant was beginning to feel the pain in his hands as they were fiercely dug into. He tried to shake her off even more to get her to stop, but that only seemed to increase the damage done. Despite his hardened skin, any type of armour would eventually give way with enough force put into it. When he began to see blood, he dropped the little coyote onto the sands and brung his appendages closer to his face.
"Damn it...damn it! I was supposed to harvest pickled squashes today! You have any idea how much extra pain these will give me? What on Gaia is your problem, kid?" He stopped and stared angrily at her, allowing her a moment to think of her next action.
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 8, 2014 9:14:30 GMT
"My problem is that I'm alone in the desert with a sweaty guy who is trying to manhandle me." Adelaide replies in an attempt to sound confident, despite her sharp breathing and the clear tremor in her voice.
Slowly, shakily getting to her feet the girl rubbed the base of her tail where she'd fallen. Quickly glancing around she notes the ocean and the city in the distance. 'I guess if I get left here I might still be able to walk it. . .' thinks the coyote, 'Meh. Whatever.'
On an impulse she turns back to the driver, she puffs out her chest, and she looks him dead in the eye. "You're probably going to leave me here now", the girl says, "which I'm fine with, I don't want you feeling me up again, but before you go I want to say that I didn't want anything to do with any of your cargo. And that if your birds are fine pulling you around on that cart I can't see what difference I'd make to their load."
With that Adelaide turns her shoulder to the seeq and begins a slow walk towards the walls.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 9, 2014 3:06:03 GMT
"Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere!" The merchant practically sprinted over to the girl. Forgetting the heat and the obscene amount of sweating pouring from his head, he ran over and grabbed her once again. This time he made sure to take hold of her arms to prevent any more damage to his already battered hands.
"You saw that mess you made back in my caravan? The fallen fruit and the spilled coffee beans? You didn't think I noticed it? Yea, you're not getting away with that, you're going to pay for all that, one way or another!" His grip painfully tight on the coyote girl, he began dragging her back to the convoy.
"Ugh, and who knows how much fruit your filthy fur contaminated. I'll make you work for every single gil, little girl. First I'll have you pick up everything you messed up and clean every single of dust. Then I'll-gah!" The merchant fumbled ahead, almost making him lose Adelaide in the process. The seeq looked down, thinking his right foot sank into some kind of water puddle. The sand under him felt unusually soft around him, but underneath his feet, he could touch a particularly hard surface. Distracted, he took a moment to move himself and ponder what's underneath; his mind raced for ideas and excitement welled up as he thought he had stepped onto some buried treasure.
Then he felt whatever's beneath him vibrate, and he immediately understood. His excitement gone, replaced with terror.
"Shit!" The merchant's eyes nearly bulged from it's sockets. Instinctively, he threw the coyote roughly towards the sands and ran back to his caravan. Just as he jumped to get his massive body back up front, the sands exploded abruptly behind them as if a mine had been detonated. Soon a large draining crater began to form and two massive opposing bladed appendages crawled it's way out. Now fully introduced, the Antlion, who's face a hellish mask of fire and anger, glared down at it's preys with beaming yellow eyes and bile dripping from it's powerful jaws.
"You want to walk back? Fine by me! Good luck running from that!" The merchant yelled out, apparently shooting a parting shot to her. Then he flicked his reins and his chocobos charged ahead without any complaints. There, poor Adelaide was left to decide on what to do next.
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 9, 2014 5:40:10 GMT
A wave of terror washed over Adelaide. She was an eleven year-old girl, all alone again, and standing before what (compared to her) may as well have been a wrathful god; it was all she could do to not just collapse then and there.
Being snapped back to reality by the seeq's speedy withdrawl, the pup took what he said as advice and quickly began a mad dash for the city gates. Some part of her, deep down, was aware that it was too far to run, and that she was too slow, but all she could think was 'I am going to die'. So she ran.
'I can't fight it. . .'
'I can't hide from it. . .'
'It is going to eat me.'
Sobbing, feeling like her chest was about to burst, the coyote continued running through the desert as fast as her legs could carry her. . . Until suddenly tripping over her own feet.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 9, 2014 9:43:57 GMT
The antlion growled then began to sink back down into it's sandy tomb, it's humongous body creating a large golden mound just over the surface. It began to lurch forward where the caravan and poor Adelaide was heading. Despite it's size, it ability to shift in the sands was akin to that of a fish in it's home waters. The distance between her and the fiend was quickly lessening and showed no signs of slowing down.
In a mere moment, Adelaide found herself harshly bumped from her feet and standing right on top of the heap. Was it going to attack from below? Is it going to drown it in the dunes? Is there an immediate escape from what's to become? No doubts these were the thoughts inside little girl.
However, in the time it took for her to be placed on top, she found herself sliding and fell back to the surface. The antlion had apparently not thought of her as a sufficient meal, instead going after the far more heavier and numerous prey ahead. The heavy ploddings of the chocobos and the loud constant curses coming from the fat merchant made it easy for the fiend to track them all down.
It was only a matter of time before the giant insect finally closed in on them. Once it thought it was sufficiently close, the antlion created a large syphoning sand trap. The cart was derailed and fell to it side, throwing out creates of supplies and fruit scattered amongst the sand. The pig-like seeq too fell and found himself drawn into the pit alongside one of his chocobos. The other bird has been lucky enough to escape; the merchant has released their binds in his shock and allowed the chocobo to dash away in a random direction. The sounds of the fiend's growls and clicking mandibles from below created a frightening experience for the merchant who could see it very clearly.
The man shrieked and desperately clawed to the surface of the desert, but found the blocks of sand he grabbed onto only disintegrate into useless clumps. In his desperation, he saw the little stowaway and pleaded to her. "Help! Help me! Please! Come over here and pull me up! I-I'm sorry for what I said! Don't leave me here to die!"
Someone else echo'd his cry for help. The lone yellow chocobo too flapped it's wing's in frantic display, spraying it's feathers in the air by the dozens. There was a easily grab-able harness still attached to it's head and beak, which would make pulling it out much more manageable. One could argue that the girl could rescue the creature instead.
"Forget about the bird! I can get more! Hell, I'll buy you a chocobo if you help me! I'll do anything! Plea-hee-hee-hease!!"
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 9, 2014 23:30:57 GMT
Still crying, Adelaide had only just raised herself onto her hands and knees when her ears were filled with a sound almost like that of running water, soon followed by the driver's shriek. Looking up she witnessed one of the birds running off as second great hole opened in the ground, swallowing up sand and seeq and his cart. He and the second chocobo were clawing desperately and the sand and screaming in terror.
Still in a state of shock and overcome by fear the girl could only look from one to the other. She found her body moving of its own accord, it felt like she was watching another person pick themselves up off the ground and run towards the hole with tears soaking their fur, trying to grab the closest of the two victims. She watched herself as she took hold of the chocobo's harness and pull, the driver's pitiable cries having become barely a whisper against the overpowering sounds of the bird's squawking and the antlion's roar.
'What is that girl doing. . .? Why isn't she helping the cart-driver. . .?' Adelaide asked herself as the scene unfolded before her.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 10, 2014 4:46:23 GMT
The girl, despite her emotional distress, possessed an extraordinary amount of strength. Getting a good grip on the harness, the chocobo was given enough pull and incentive to climb out of it's deathtrap. Using Adelaide as both direction and leverage, it hurriedly scraped it's way forwards with it's hind legs over the slippery sands. The feathered friend swiftly reached the top of the sand trap and managed to walk a few paces before dropping head first into the sands from exhaustion.
But the merchant was not so lucky. The man cried and screamed at Adelaide, his words were trying to drill into the female's logic of why she'd save the chocobo's life before him. But the exact speech he said was lost, her unknown trance making his voice almost foreign to her. His grip lost and strength waning, the seeq fell further down into the awaiting mandibles of the antlion and screamed anew as he felt his feet become pierced by it's jaws. Knowingly catching it's prey, the antlion began to lessen it's strength of the sandtrap and soon both the fiend and the merchant became enveloped in the dune. Just as darkness came to him, he felt the insectoid claw at his legs. Then his back. Then his neck. And then the merchant felt no more.
There was now an eerie calm in the air around them. The harsh exhausted breaths taken from the both of them were now the only sounds heard. The pit they had escaped from now has been filled and almost looked as tho their whole ordeal had never happened. except for the evidence of half buried feathers and splots of blood all around. With what energy the chocobo left, it craned it's feathery neck and rubbed itself at the coyote girl's feet. Before it laid it's head on the ground, it gave out an almost inaudible 'wark' towards it's new friend. Many moments passed on, leaving them to gather their strength and ponder what happened.
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Eudemic
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 10, 2014 5:45:01 GMT
'I didn't die.' Adelaide thought, her mind otherwise in a thick fog as she lay in the sand. 'I knew I was going to die, but I didn't die. I'm alive. . .'
Still terrified and unable to breathe, the girl lay in the sand shaking, sniffling, trying desperately to come to terms with what had just happened. Staring up into the clear blue sky, she raised one of her hands and looked at it. She relaxed somewhat, seeing not only that it was still moving but also that it was moving according to her wishes, and continued to reach upwards. The coyote rolled over and looked at the chocobo she had rescued as her mind began to clear; she began to remember what had happened only moments before.
'I didn't die. . .' Adelaide thought again, crying all the while but then unable to hide her wide grin or contain her laughter. As the girl sat up she began laughing harder. She looked down at the bird and, still laughing, the whole thing played out again in her mind.
'That pervert was going to do. . . something. Then that animal . . . We ran. . . He couldn't escape. . . I didn't save him. Why didn't I save him?'
Her affect suddenly became much more sober at that thought. Sure, he was some kind of sex-fiend and had threatened her, but she knew that neither of those things had entered into her mind when she had left him to die and instead saved the bird laying next to her. She had let him die for no reason at all.
After a moment the girl shook her head in attempt to clear her mind, looked towards the ocean and the port town, and then back down to make sure the chocobo was alright.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 10, 2014 7:47:43 GMT
When the coyote looked towards the port city, he see's a cloud of dust forming at the now open city gates. At such a distance, she can see at least half a dozen riders heading towards their location. Even the saved chocobo, originally sitting right next to Adelaide, raised it's head up in their direction in curiosity. It appears the fiend attack from earlier had not gone unnoticed among those that man the gates as lookouts. It was a shame that they came too late.
As they came closer, they could be described as five riders total, each wearing white-dye'd leather armour of differing races with sword and shield equipped. None of them sheathed their weapons out, but they had their hands held onto it's hilts as if expecting danger. The group split up once they were close enough; 2 broke off in opposite directions to scout around the coyote girl and the downed caravan. One of the chocobo riders, a middle aged male nezumi with brown fur, carefully rode up to Adelaide. His expression was that of concern, looking down at her with eyes looking for any wounds.
"Uh, hello there, young lady. Are you alright?" He said with an almost nervous voice. It's almost as if he was trying with great care to talk to the coyote, or it was his first day on the job. Or possibly both. Swiftly, he got off his saddle and landed onto the sands. There he went over and knelt down in front of her. "My um...name is Caine. I'm a guard for the port city. We heard about a possible fiend attack here, and was wondering if you can tell us exactly what happened here. Do you understand?"
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 10, 2014 8:11:51 GMT
Adelaide blinked in response to the guard's question, and then cocked an eyebrow at him. "What exactly happened was that some guy tried to cop a feel of me and then he got eaten by something, along with his cart. He was scared and tried to let it eat me, but I'm fine now." she replied almost sarcastically as she stood up, trying to appear as though she wasn't still badly shaken by recent events.
"Do you have any water, Mr. Guard? I haven't had anything to drink for hours. . ."
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 10, 2014 11:09:04 GMT
"Oh uh, y-yes actually. here." The nezumi actually paused that moment is surprise. When he heard there was a fiend attack on the desert and was sent to check, he had expected to see civilians ripped asunder or survivors shaking and crying in fear. Instead he saw the opposite, where the coyote girl was standing upright and speaking as tho she was talking about what she had for lunch. Recovering, he reached down to his waist and pulled out a canteen, then handed it over to the girl.
"Heh, tough little runt, ain't she?" One of the other riders chimed in, a pale-skinned human male gave a cheeky smile to the both of them. He was listening in on the conversation nearby and checking out the merchant's chocobo that Adelaide saved. "If we had more people like her, the desert would've seen a big drop in the fiend population by now. What's your name, kid?"
"Ah yes, we'd like to hear that as well." Caine continued his line of questioning, making sure he waited until the coyote was done drinking. "And I'd also like to hear if that chocobo is yours, it seems quite attached to you." As if the feathery friend understood, it waltzed over and rested it's head on top of hers. The cute display bought a smile and chuckle from the guardsmen.
"Alright, that answers that question. Now for the other question; where are your parents? Were they with you when this attack happened? Do you have any loved ones in the port city, is that why you came?"
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 10, 2014 19:54:44 GMT
Adelaide glared at the guard making the comment about her being a "runt", not answering his question about her name and instead just pouting as she accepted the canteen from his comrade. She immediately began to drink what seemed to be the most delicious, beautiful, gorgeous water she had ever tasted in her life, but choked at the mention of the chocobo's owner. "It belonged to the cart-driver." she said tightly, returning a mostly empty canteen to the guard, "I saved it. Does that mean it's mine now?"
'Why are they asking me all of these questions? I told them about the fiend and the pervert getting eaten, why are they asking about my parents?'
". . . I don't know if I have any loved ones. Why does it matter to you guys anyway?" the coyote asked, looking from one guard to the other.
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 11, 2014 1:16:34 GMT
The coyote's sharp behavior continued to off-put the guards, the human's smile waned a bit and even the brown burmecian seemed to be at a loss of words. "Oh uh...well you see...we just wanted to make sure. We wanted to make sure we know where to take you for safely and let them know you're alright. But seeing as you don't have any guardians, this could be complicated..." Caine rubbed the back of his head, turning his head away. He found himself becoming uncomfortable around her, as if some spell was making her becomming more and more unsightlier with each passing second.
"But as for the chocobo. Seeing as it's attached to you, I guess you can keep it. Provided of course no one ever files a claim on it. I don't see any brands on the fella so..."
"Guys, ya done interrogating the tyke yet? I think we got all the info we need here and I wanna get back for the any fiends decides we're targets." One of the riders pulled up to the trio and stopped. The woman wore the same uniform as them and was a black and white spotted ferret. She proceeded to look down at the child and wrinkle her whiskered nose. "Ugh, you smell like coffee and over ripe fruit. You definently need a bath. How about we take you back to HQ for a shower and a hot meal. Say uh...can you ride that bird or do you need help?"
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 11, 2014 5:54:31 GMT
At the mention of a hot meal Adelaide's demeanor suddenly shifted, and the look on her face made her excitement at the prospect of a shower very evident.
The female officer looked positively angelic as the coyote looked up at her. "I've never ridden a chocobo before, but I've always wanted to learn how." she replied, clearly entranced by. . . something.
'Why did I say that? I've never even thought of riding a chocobo before. . . Maybe I just got excited by that free meal and finally getting clean. . .?' thought the girl, trying to make sense of herself. She was very hungry, and hadn't had a chance to bathe in almost two weeks. That must have been why she said it.
"Do you think you could show me how? Or would it be better for me to ride with one of the guards?"
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Post by M&M&M on Oct 11, 2014 11:19:07 GMT
Both of nezumi and human were completely taken off guard by the change of face Adelaide has shown. They were gawking with surprised eyes and almost gawking mouth. Just on what on Gaia did that guard have that they don't?
"Sure, don't see why not. Little one's are always curious at your age." The ferret women didn't think her odd at all, not having to witness her earlier behavior with her compatriots. "First we need to get your friend down to your level so.." Before she could finish, the chocobo that the girl has rescued eagerly went to the coyote's side knelt down. Tho the adult bird's girth will prove tricky for Adelaide to fully jump onto however.
"Well aren't you two special!" The guard gave ruffling pat onto her own chocobo. "See that? Why can't you be that friendly to me? That's how you treat a lady." Her own chocobo merely snorted, which made her chuckle. "Alright, alright. Anyways, let's get you on top..." The ferret guard reached out with both hands pushing under Adelaide's armpits, picked her up, and carefully placed her on top of the chocobo.
"Seeing as you don't have a saddle, it's best you cling your legs down and tighten on it's stomach so you don't fall down. Kick it VERY gently if you want it to move. Remember that, don't want to make a mistake of telling it you want to race! I'm gonna hold it's harness and lead it for you, so you can get used to it's movements. And...let's go." The ferret tugged slightly and the chocobo got up on it's hindlegs. With a moderate pace, the guard woman led Adelaide in the port cities direction, both of her male colleagues following closely behind. It's proving to be a slight bumpy right for the beginner, feeling as tho her tiny body was having the hiccups.
"Name's Terry by the way. Not the greatest name in the world, but it does me well, heh. How about you? Can't keep calling you 'kid' the whole trip. And what yer chocobo's name? And watcha came to our little town for? Is it the beaches? Or the tourism? Sorry If I'm over loading ya, I rarely get to talk this much, the guards here are all sticks in the mud."
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Post by Eudemic on Oct 11, 2014 16:49:38 GMT
'It doesn't matter. I'll finally be clean. . .'
By the time she'd gotten up on the bird the pup seemed nearly in a trance. She seemed to be following the instructions, but seemed to be developing an almost glazed-over expression and quickly paying less and less attention to what the ferret was saying.
'Hot food. . . hot shower. . . Which one do I want first? Maybe I should have them both at the same time? Hmmm. . . I wonder if they would let me take a shower, and then eat while I'm soaking in a bath? Well, they're city guards and not a bathhouse, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Wait. They never said the shower would be hot! I hope it's hot. I would love it if I could get a hot shower. It had better be hot or I swear I'll cry. I'm so tired of cold water. . .'
"Huh? Sticks in the mud?" Adelaide asked, the guard's questioning interrupting her reverie and breaking her dreamy expression, "I'm sorry, I didn't really hear what you said. . . Teresa? And will it be a hot shower?"
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