Trapped Within Freedom

[PunkWolf]

The city streets bustled with insane amounts of activity. The never-ending flood of people constantly moved with dizzying amounts of colors. They all wore great hues of reds, greens, blues, and even pinks, like a drunken rainbow, it was enough to make anyone squint. But all the bustle and hustle of the city was good for one aspect. It meant confusion was abound everywhere, and no one would notice a tad bit more.

Jahden leaned against the cool, shadowed wall of an alley. He didn’t step into the crowd, on account that he’d most likely stand out a great deal with all the dismembered fragments of the rainbow running about. No, it’d be best for him to stick with the shadows. He stood quietly, not moving; if you didn’t move, you didn’t get noticed, and now was not the time to get noticed, especially counting on he had numerous coin pouches heavy with silver that was not his own. It’d be best for him to stick with the shadows.

He was patient enough, after all he planned to wait until nightfall to make haste out of the city, if not stopping at a few pawn shops on the way. But that all depended whether he got some food or not. If not, he’d spend his night doing a bit of ‘grocery shopping’ instead of ‘merchandise shopping’ as he’d like. …where was Gobi?

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[Re'a]

[ ooc ] You know what, eff it. Replying!

"C'mon, little guy. Let's find your human," Ninaome cooed to the lizardbat in her arms. She had found the thing while browsing a fruit vendor; it had scratched at her exposed ankles for a piece of an applecherry she was holding and inspecting for bruises. The Water Tribe girl smiled down at it as it fluttered its wings, as if in response. She loved animals. It was a wonder that she hadn't found a companion for herself in her travels around the world. She was a loyal nationist, though, and would have preferred an animal indigenous to her nation. Since almost none could be found that would have enjoyed a stroll in the hot, humid streets of Tra Ti City, she was stuck with temporarily adopting lost pets. The animal suddenly began to squawk and wrestle with her confining grip on its body. "Do you see your human?" she asked it, almost expecting an answer in return.

[ ooc ] Please excuse any godmoding! =3

[PunkWolf]

[[Gobi hisses at the godmoding of the Staffy Master but happily plays off it ^_- ]]

The small creature’s breast heaved frantically. He was so very confused and angry. What had he done wrong? His large ears pinned flat against his skull, trying as best he could to block out the strange noise of the voice of the stranger that now held him. The Lizardbat didn’t recognize human speech, it wasn’t his native tongue, but that didn’t mean he didn’t comprehend some of it. He didn’t understand everything, but few choice words were known to him, such as: down, up and especially, no. But these were the only foreign noises from friend that he understood; the rest was given as a series of whistles or clicks that only friend used. And now he tried so hard to block the unwanted voice of the stranger who kept him prisoner. All that he could understand from her was a garbled mess of noise. And every time he heard it, his chest heaved more frantically.

Was this punishment? Had he disobeyed friend in some way and now this was punishment? No, friend wouldn’t do that, he had done nothing wrong! It was this stranger, this horrible stranger was trying to keep him from friend! The small thought made him squirm hastily, trying to free himself, but he was held at an odd angle in the stranger’s arms and his maw was muffled beneath a fold of clothing on her sleeve. The whole situation only angered him more. Even though the creature was still but a hatchling, the temper of his species showed as he clawed at her clothing, his talons not yet sharp enough to rip to her skin. The Lizardbat hissed through its closed jaws, its tail lashing like an angry cat behind it.

He had been sent by friend this morning, sent into the mess of strangers to get food. And he knew what to get, the young Lizardbat’s training was always fresh in his mind. Stay hidden, out of sight and out of the way, see which carts attracted the most people then choose from there, the rest he learned naturally from instinct. Be fast, swoop in to kill, don’t miss, get out even faster. He had done it plenty of times before. But this time was different, this time he made a mistake. As he swooped down to grab from a choice selection of sweet smelling food, he was attacked. A Lynxcat had leapt from a gutter above and carried him to the ground. Lucky, the young Lizardbat escaped all harm but a few cuts and bruises, nothing greatly wounding. But the Lynxcat had torn the leather pouch fastened to his chest by friend, thus, spilling all his catches for the day onto the ground and making the pouch unwearable.

As the Lynxcat had turned to pounce upon its ‘prey’, he turned and fanned his bright dewlap and underwings upon the cat, sending it scurrying away in fear. But all was not yet well, as now he was at the mercy of hundreds of strangers’ stomping footsteps. And just as one nearly missed his tail, the Lizardbat struck out with his foretalons.

And now he was here, struggling pathetically in the arms of a stranger who was keeping him from friend. He twisted and turned, fluttered and kicked, until, finally, his head and neck were free from the confides of the stranger’s sleeve. Now, jaws wide open and tiny, needle-teeth glistening with the warm sunlight, the Lizardbat struck like a snake, biting swiftly down onto the hand of the stranger.

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[Re'a]

[ ooc ] *wrinkles nose* I would have preferred you not RPing Gobi like an actual character...more like an occasional inputter just to move the story along. This is an Avatar/Human RPG, after all. But, *sigh* I'll let you do it. Try to bring in Jahden next post please.

Ninaome's only show of pain was a sharp inhalation and a soft output of breath and a curse. She swiftly let go of the animal, a flash of anger coloring her as-of-yet content judgement of its demeanor. She had not done anything wrong in picking it up. Maybe it did not like being held. But that was odd- a lizardbat would not be scavenging for fruits among humans, especially in Tra Ti City, unless it had been trained to. It would be used to the feel of human skin against its own. She glared at the thing and inspected the bite wound on her palm: three tiny pinpricks dotted her skin in a half-moon shape. A pinhead-sized dot of blood had pooled and already dried in each wound. She was fine.

"If you don't want my help you should have said so!" she said, partly exasperated by the rude treatment she had received and partly annoyed that she still expected an answer from the nonsentient creature. The Water Tribe girl turned away from it and crossed her arms. All around her people hurried past and shouted in loud voices at vendors two feet from them, all of which added to the din of midmorning traffic in the market. She was bumped several times and degressed into an increasingly bad mood. She had only wanted to help the thing.

[ ooc ] *hides* I still feel bad about gdmd'ing!

[PunkWolf]

[[My apologies, I had planned the previous post leading to Jahden's entrance anyways. Shall try best to refrain from doing it again.]]

As soon as the stranger’s grip loosened on his body, the small Lizardbat sprang from her arms, and opened his wings to fly to safety. But alas, he was not yet free, as one of his curved back talons snagged onto her clothing and he prevented from escaping once again, only this time, he was captured in a very unconventional way. The whole situation sent the creature into a panic. Fits of high-pitched squawking and soft puppy-like snarling began continuously pouring from his tiny snout, needless to say, attracting a great deal of surrounding attention. And the small ruckus was heard all the way in the back alleys.

Jahden looked up from the dingy alley floor at a familiar sound. He strained his hearing momentarily just to make sure he was not mistaken. And there was no mistake, that high-pitched yapping that he heard was Gobi; his Lizardbat familiar. Without hesitation, Jahden entered the thick crowd. Winding through the rude array of people, possible notions of exactly what was taking place streaked through his mind. Had Gobi been attacked by one of those d**nable Lynxcats? Had he gotten stepped on or hit by some person with a Lizard-phobia? Or maybe he had even gotten himself captured by one of those terrible (Jahde had to refrain from shivering at the very thought) foreign Fire Nation meat vendors who seemed to put anything and everything on their menu? Whatever it was, Jahden knew it couldn’t be good, after all the only other time he had heard Gobi create such a panic was when he was pinned beneath the claws of a Baboonleapord.

So Jahden hurriedly weaved between the bustling populations of Tra Ti City. He did his best not to shove or to aggressively bump someone out of his way; he was still trying to lay low. Though it might as well be as effective as a Earth bender attending an Air academy. The rest of the crowd was still brightly colored in mid daylight, and he was still dressed in his dark night-life attire, long, black, illegal cape flowing behind him as he hurried. No, one couldn’t say that he fit in.

As the squawking of his familiar grew louder Jahden subconsciously felt for his knuckles that lie zipped within one of his coat pockets, just in the event that he did have to fight of a Lynxcat or Fire Nation vendor. But as he finally caught a glimpse of the situation, he couldn’t help but mock both Gobi, and the girl that he was attached to. And as Jahden neared, the sight of friend sent the young Lizardbat into even more a fury, pulling and tugging violently on her clothing.

[I'd post more but I want to see her reaction first, lol ^~^ ]

[Re'a]

[ ooc ] Punkers, you've got to know how much I like your attitude. *hugs*

Ninaome squealed initially at the tug on her blue shirt and then, rolling her eyes in exasperation, she reached for the Lizardbat as it beat her mistakenly with its wings in its attempts at freedom. "Calm down, you dumb animal!" she said to it, trying not to hurt it with her haste at getting it free. "There. Moon Spirit above are you edgy!" She looked around at the crowd and looked down at her feet. She hated being stared at like that. She put down the Lizardbat and shook her head at it, hoping to convey her feelings for it. She knew right away that she did not want a creature like it for a pet, if she ever came across one. She followed the creature with her eyes as it scuttled away to the waiting figure of a young man dressed in black. Her light brown eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down before deciding to approach. "Is this one yours?" she asked, half a smile playing suspiciously on her lips. A small sealskin pouch on her hip held water, enough to Bend if she needed to get out of a dangerous situation. She casually popped open the top as she smoothed her shirt of wrinkles created by the panicky Lizardbat, hoping he had not seen the gesture. It had been very incognito and smoothly done, and plus his eyes would probably not be on the plain pouch.

[PunkWolf]

[[well, my original idea was to have Gobi get stuck in her hair, but I figured that would be too cruel]]

Jahden watched as Gobi was released from the threat-less trap he had entangled himself in. As soon as the small creature’s claws clinked on the stone street, he scurried hurriedly to friend. And friend, who was Jahden, watched with hidden amusement as the Lizardbat leapt onto his baggy pants and clawed his way up to his shoulder. As Gobi used him as a human ladder, Jahden could feel the sharp talons of the Lizardbat’s toes through his clothing, but, due to being exposed to it every day, he was used to it. Gobi now sat on his shoulder, wheezing and hissing lightly, creating sounds that somewhat resembled apologetic whimpering.

His attention was quickly brought away from Gobi as the girl who the lizard had snagged walked up to him. Naturally, Jahden straightened his posture to appear taller, and took a defensive step back. It wasn’t out of fear or disrespect, he was only a cautious person, and of course he had to be, hiding from the law as often as he did. With her approach, the Lizardbat straightened his posture as well. Now, with Jahden to back him up, Gobi had become even more fearless than before and hissed violently in her direction before slinking behind Jahden’s neck, much like a cat might, peering narrowly at her with snarling wrinkles in its velvet fur.

Before answering her question, Jahden glanced quickly around. Seeing no security patrolling the crowded streets, he decided it wouldn’t hurt to spare a few harmless words.

”Yeah, you could say he’s ‘mine’.” he motioned up to the Lizardbat with one hand, only to have it snapped at by the worked-up creature. Jahden didn’t like the idea of “owning” an animal, but he knew what she meant by her words. He looked around again, making it seem casual, just to be sure there was no risk of anyone recognizing him.

[Re'a]

Soothed by the fact that his first words, arguably the most important when meeting someone new, were not threatening or rude, Ninaome let her hands fall to her side briefly, before bringing up her right hand for a shake. "I'm Ninaome, from the Water Tribe," she said pleasantly, meeting his eyes in a quiet sort of introduction. Her dark eyes were friendly but the tightness of her mouth gave away her dislike of the Lizardbat and the embarrassing situation it had just put her in. People were still glancing curiously at them.

The young woman dug in her bag for an apple she had stored there. She bit off a piece and held it out to the squirming creature. "Here. You can trust me," she said to it. She hated it when animals did not like her. She glanced back at the older boy and smiled. "This is okay, right?" Her smiled dazzled.

[PunkWolf]

Jahden acknowledged her welcoming gesture and offered a hand of his own. He shook it firmly, nothing too extreme for a first meeting though. ”Jahden…and Gobi.” He jerked his head slightly to the creature perched on his shoulder. The small Lizardbat trilled highly as it recognized its name; its feathered head thingyed as he looked curiously to his master. Jahden, in turn, thingyed an eyebrow at Gobi and released Ninaome’s hand. He watched her with slight interest as she rummaged through her bag for something. Suddenly, a thought hit him. He had just given a complete stranger his name without a second thought. His eyes shifted to the few groups of people in the market while she wasn’t looking. Jahden allowed a small grin, wondering if a bounty had been placed upon his name yet. But seeing no sudden shifts in the crowds or quick turns of heads with the sound of his name, he relaxed slightly.

His attention was brought back to Ninaome as she pulled what she was digging for in her bag, a shiny red apple. He watched her take a piece and hold it within Gobi’s reach, coaxing him with kind words and the ‘temptation’ of food. Jahden laughed silently, smiling at her attempt to gain back the Lizardbat’s trust. It wasn’t a mocking smile, and it wasn’t an amused smile, it was only a kind smile that showed silent laughter in his eyes. He didn’t say anything. And she had just finished asking whether it was okay or not when Gobi leaned forward, sniffing at the small chip of fruit, before sticking out his tiny pink tongue in disgust and reclining his head like a child that had been offered broccoli instead of sweets. This was when Jahden chuckled.

”Don’t be offended,” his kind smile remained. ”He’d more likely prefer a Riverelk steak than a ripe apple.”

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[PunkWolf]

OOC:::
AAAAHHH!!!
I DELETED YOUR POST!!!
...AND I DON'T KNOW HOW!!!!
....*cowers* I'M SORRY!!!