dinner and a show

[xymore]

Xymore was glad to be a God, most of the time. Like right now, they were trying to say he had broken out of the jail and stolen all of the captain's spare change when he took the keys. But they hadn't been able to find any keys on him, nor any money. In fact, they were still trying to find proof for the stealing of bread (Stale bread, mind you, not even very high quality, no matter what the "Fancy Bakery" claimed to sell.) which had got him thrown into jail in the first place. This trial had been going since mid-morning, though, and it was going on evening, and Xy really wanted something to eat.

With a slight huff, he stood up from the table. "I'm telling you, the good captain merely forgot to lock the cell I was kept in before he left for the night. And he probably lost the keys somewhere." At that line, the shackles they had put on his wrists fell off. "You see? He's the only one to touch these shackles, and he forgot to lock them too. A wonderful man, the good captain, but a tad bit forgetful." he nodded sagely to the judge, a solemn look upon his face. "I think he'll even notice the keys are still in his front pocket, and he only thinks they're gone." after saying this he gave a little cough, mostly to cover the grin spreading across his face at how easy all this had been. "And the baker. Sweet, lovely lady she is, must have forgotten she slipped the coins I paid for the bread with into her front apron pocket." With that, he grinned charmingly at the judge. "Now, am I free to go?" The judge looked a bit startled at all of this, taking a moment before opening his mouth to speak when a cry of surprise could be heard from both the captain and the baker. The keys had been an easy enough thing to let go of, he stole them on a regular basis. The coins were also stolen, and it did hurt him to have to give the terrible cook any money at all, no matter if his own pocket was fuller than before, the purse of some passerby outside having been pocketed.

"My-my keys! Why you rascal, I'll have your head! Too old to be playing these sorts of games with the guards, you are! A grown man gone pick pocket!" the captain's cries were the loudest, nearly covering up the baker's startled cries. "My pocket, it's full of coins! my oh my, how could I have forgotten all them?" The aghast judge just gave him a short nod before shaking his head in wonder. "You've done it again, Mister. Never yet had you come into this court and not spent all day looking for evidence only for you to have proof you're innocent just before dinner."

"It's a skill, your honerableness." Xy said with a smirk and a bow before heading out into the city. "Dinnertime it is, where should I snatch my meal tonight?" He looked around the bustling street, heading down a likely way, looking around for somewhere to eat and someone to eat with, he really did hate meals on his own. They happened far too often these days, and there was no real reason, not like before, when people would avoid him like the plague for fear of his sticky fingers rather than just avoiding the scraggly man walking down the road.

As he walked down the street, he remembered fondly those good old days, when he could simply fade away in shadows, when he was much too skilled to be caught, unless he got caught on purpose. Nothing like not being worshiped to force you not to enjoy what you did, or even excel at it. Seriously, he had returned keys and given away money, just so he could avoid a death sentence? He had been caught, and more than once. It was almost depressing, so he forced himself to think about the number of people with purses not nearly well-guarded enough who were walking down the street of this mostly crime free city. As he glanced around, noticing for not the first time how clean the place was, he wondered what he was doing here. Not a place full of shadows, and with much too lawful a citizenship for a likely chance of recruiting a loyal follower. But people were trusting enough he had practically an entire city of people that never expected him to slowly steal away their fortunes. In the month he'd been here, his small endless bag had a small fortune added into it, and all just by a purse here, or ring and bracelet there. It would have made him smile, had there been anyone to brag too. Another thing he missed about high priests, they had to listen to you go on and on and on about all the fun times you had stealing things.

Finally, he found a likely looking place for a meal, an inn that looked almost rundown, it was as closed to ill repute as he had found in the city. He entered, still looking too mismatched and out of place, but hey, he was a god, and had money, even if he wouldn't actually pay for the meal, they could deal. He would change for no one. Now he glanced around the inn, he wasn't going to have dinner alone, even if he wasn't going to be able to brag as much as he wished.


Words: 933
Tags: lara
Wearing: fancy yet worn outfit, think captain jack sparrow
Notes: Dinner with a god, ? and holy crap o.o i think i rambled a little there, didn't mean to make it so long.

[LARAELLA JANSYS MILNER]

The Imperial City was by far Lara's favorite of the cities in Illicag. It was clean, friendly, and relatively free of crime compared to other places in the realm. The Queen was clearly doing a fine job of running not only her city but her entire country under all the pressure that she had been going through. Only once had Lara been in the company of the young Queen but it was enough time for Lara to quickly find respect for the petite woman. The Champion of Tempus moved cautiously through the city, her level of alertness being raised ever since she had become the protector of the Codex. The book was of vital importance to the world and though she was not the rightful keeper, she was on a mission to find the man that was. If it fell into the wrong hands, a portal to the lower planes would tear open and unleash all the demons of the Nine Hells upon Illicag and that was the exact reason why Lara was guarding it with her life.

As she moved through the streets, she kept a careful watch on the people that passed her by. Though the city was much safer than most, there were always those people that did not live the same lifestyle as she did and would steal, maim, and slaughter without hesitation. She could feel eyes on her as she moved toward an old tavern in the distance, a place where she craved a meal. She knew she stuck out like a sore thumb with her magestic armor, sword at her side, and the symbol of Tempus tattood on her temple. Her name was known by many in the land but she hoped that she could make it through the night without anyone bothering her too much about her title. She neared the tavern and hesitated a moment outside of it. They were not her cup of tea as sharing company with whores and drunks wasn't her thing but she was hungry and she had ate the last of her bread and berries for breakfast. A room for the night would have been nice as well but money was scarce for a person that could not accept reward or charity and she ended up sleeping in a barn of an old widow's that was a faithful follower of Tempus. A barn was no luxury room but it was a place to sleep away from the elements and prying eyes. It pleased Lara to know that kindness was still present in the world that was slowly being taken over by darkness.

Pursing her lips in slight disgust at the tavern, she stepped inside and surveyed her surroundings. As she suspected, there were a handful of men that were sloshing their drinks around while grabbing up on the barmaids that were clearly flirting. A dog lay in front of the fire, likely belonging to the barkeep as anyone that brought an animal in would have probably been kicked out. There was also an oddly dressed man stood but a few feet from Lara, apparently checking out the company as well. It seemed that she would not be the only one that would be sticking out tonight. She gave the strange man a slight nod of her head in silent greeting as she moved passed him and made her way straight to the bar, waving the barkeep over as she neared. "I'll have the cheapest meal you have. Water as well," she instructed, watching the man as he quickly went in the kitchen to get her meal. A sigh left her lips as the stench of ale burnt her nostrils and it took all she had to not tell the men off about their drunken ways.

WORDS: 626 OUTFIT: SIG IMAGE TAGGED: XYMORE NOTES: RAWR

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[xymore]

Nothing in the tavern area really caught Xymore's eye. Nothing, that is, until he saw what he could probably accurately call a paladin walked in. Ordinarily, well, not ordinarily, but in the past that was becoming far too distant, Xymore would have seen a servant of Tempus as something to steer clear of, or at least avoid for the most part. But Xymore was, quite frankly, beginning to be bored of the normal people that ate, drank, and never did anything fun. At least smiting evil was something he could begrudgingly accept as a challenging career. He was evil himself, he knew how slippery he and his fellow slimy bastards could be.

Besides that, he knew she had to live on what she found, or on charity, since no reward other than many thanks and perhaps a meal could be had for her heroic deeds. A smile formed on his face as he saw her sit and, yes, he did here her ask for the cheapest thing they had. This could be fun, if he played it right. He couldn't let her know how evil he was, that could mean smiting, and even as a god he found the experience distasteful, but a small chat wouldn't hurt, much.

Carefully, he made his way through the crowd - such that it was. A passing barmaid received a kiss on her cheek, and a man who was already particularly drunk lost his purse. But nothing obvious, it was habit but he was not going to let it cause him any distress, not until after his meal. Finally taking a spot next to the armored woman, he gave her a smile, the first real sign he acknowledged her. Then he gestured for the barman with the wonderfully light air of someone with money and used to having servants wait on him. “Your most expensive meal, and a pint of your finest.” he said, his eyes never looking away from the young woman. “In fact, make it two meals, my treat for a servant of Tempus.” his smile grew a bit wider, in a mostly friendly yet slightly predatory way. “A pleasure to meet you, miss, please, call me Xy. What is a-” he hesitated, needing the right term, knowing the wrong one would end in that smiting he was trying to avoid, “-an upstanding young woman like you doing in a place like this?” He gestured around at their surroundings, “I mean no disrespect to it, but it is hardly a suitable place for someone like yourself.” His eyes twinkled a little, with the inner laughter at his own personal joke, and though it was a somewhat guarded look, he made sure it was not going to make her think he was suggesting anything untoward. In fact, the thing she should be most worried about was his plan to pay for the meal with stolen money, that was, if he paid at all. If he had a choice, which while eating with a hero of Tempus, Xymore didn't, he would of course never dream of paying. But the sacrifice of a few stolen silver would be worth it to have an interesting dinner conversation that wasn't just about this city.

words: 542
tagged: lara
notes: xD

[LARAELLA JANSYS MILNER]

Lara took her attention off the barkeep for a moment to take a look at the man that had sat down beside her. It was the same man that had entered only moments before her, the same one she had passed upon entering and gave a friendly smile. There was an odd tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach, one that confused her. Usually, when she was near evil beings, a sharp pain would errupt in her core as a warning but never something like this. His words when he first approached the bar sent off an aura of arrogance and Lara turned her head from him in slight annoyance. Arrogance was never a good thing in her book, something that most paladins agreed on. But the words that he spoke next caught Lara a bit off guard and forced her to turn her head back to the oddly dressed man that clearly knew who she was. "Your kindness is much appreciated but I will have to decline." She spoke softly, falling into her usual routine. It was more than common for her to deny aid from people but if they were persistant, she would eventually give in. It was no use fighting the stubbornness of people that only wanted to help her. The corners of her mouth twitched into an awkward smile as he mentioned her being more than out of place in the tavern.

"While it may be out of my comfort zone, the meals here are cheap. I haven't the heart to beg a widow for a meal when she barely makes it by." She replied quickly, her heart aching for the poor woman that had been kind enough to let her stay in her barn. It was a life that she was more than use to by now. She slept in odd places, ate things that grew in the wilderness that most people would cringe at the thought of ever putting near their mouths, and spent her life living for others and never herself. Sleeping in a barn was an upgrade to the cold and damp nights that she had spent out in the forests and at ruins. Absentmindedly, Lara ran her fingers over the worn wood of the bar, trying her best to make out some rather vulgar words that were carved into by drunks for the last few years. "If I may....What brings you here, kind sir?" She questioned curiously while still having her guard up. He may have come off as a seemingly nice guy that was just pitching in to help but the feeling in her gut made her wary. Letting her guard down was not an option at this point. "I'm Lara, by the way."

WORDS: 454 OUTFIT: SIG IMAGE TAGGED: XYMORE NOTES: ITS SHIT SORRY

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[xymore]

“You can't decline” his words had a bit of bite to them, daring her to defy him, but Xymore didn't press the issue, instead giving half a smile. “My kindness is rare enough, besides it's bad manners to decline.” With a clink of one of the silvers from the drunks purse, his pint of what passed as fine ale and her mug of water were delivered quickly by the barkeep. He sipped his with a slight grimace. It was better than the piss poor beer they served, but barely. At least it lacked the taste of grime that all too often lingered in unwashed cups. He nodded as she spoke, remembering his glory days, days when he'd get a little enjoyment out of his day with little things like stealing the meal a widow was about to offer to a paladin such as she and feed it to the crows.

The days when he could do little things like that to spread a little bit more evil in the world between helping ardent followers steal the gems of kings were long gone, though. And he did his best to push thoughts of those wonderful times out of his mind. Reminiscing about being nearly unstoppable didn't do a god in the mortal realms any good. He took another long swig of the ale before he began to answer her. “Miss Lara.” He couldn't get any farther as he looked at her, proud features, strong, and blessed by her god. He frowned as he looked at her, contemplating for a moment. He was no god of lies, and it wouldn't hurt to tell her the truth, besides which, there wasn't much she could do anyways. “I came here to find hope, you could say. Or maybe I came hoping to find entertainment. But I haven't found much of either. I used to be a powerful man, you see, and I used to have a home in every city. But here, in this bright, white city, it's gone. Not even a shadow of what it was. For old times sake I came here, but I probably shouldn't have. Everyone's more aligned to Tempus' way of thinking here. And he and I never did see eye to eye.”

It was rambling, a bit, and more than he wanted to tell her, but the words made their way out anyways. At least she had been touched by a god, she could understand that mystical part of him, that power that was held in a deity. The words were spoken with contempt, and a hard sorrow was in his eyes. Once upon a time he may have been welcomed, albeit cautiously, even into the castle, for fear of who he was and what he could do. But now, even with a war raging, and the power, perhaps, to take for the lady who fancied herself dark queen that which she so ardently searched for. He knew what it was, all the gods did. And he knew that once upon a time he could have and would have snuck along, swiping it from it's careful keeper. But no, he was forgotten by that dark mistress, and his followers numbered barely more than a handful. Perhaps it was the way this city was so lawful now. No thieves guild could thrive where a building of shadows looked out of place. Tempus was one of those to blame for his demise, but then, so were any of the gods. The gods he was aligned with weren't out to help him, and he had never helped them. A solitary god, hidden in shadows, and taking things from friends and enemies indiscriminately.

It wasn't what was supposed to happen, being forgotten. But his followers had forgotten and now there were thieves and pick pockets roaming the streets that didn't even know his name. And here he was sitting in a run down tavern that wasn't nearly as run down or seedy as a run down tavern aught to be, conversing with one of the current champions of Tempus, drinking bad ale. “At least the ale never changes. In a place like this, you ask for the best and it still tastes like crap. The few things consistent in life, aye?”


Words: 714
Tagged: lara
Notes: bitter god r bitter