AHHHH I JUST REALIZED MACHALI IS A GUY I'M SORRY!!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while, I have been very busy with school and life in general. Sorry for how long it is.

After finishing at the mechanic's stall, Kristjan and I began walking around the market again. I am still amazed by the amount of diversity that is contained in such a small space.

After we've been walking for a while, I began to notice that Kristjan is on edge. He was a naturally observant and suspicious person from living on the streets for most of his early life, but today he seemed worse. He kept glancing around as if he was looking for something, and was generally distracted whenever I tried to show him something.

Finally, I grab his arm and force him to meet my eyes.

"What's wrong with you?" I say, shouting a little to be heard over the din of the market.

In response Kristjan pulls me over into a semi-deserted corner where we can talk without yelling.

"I'm looking for someone," he says quietly, lowering his eyes.

"Who?"

"Norman," he replies, scanning the crowd over my head. "I was hoping that he would be here. I didn't even get to say goodbye to him when I left to go look for you."

I don't say anything for a moment. I'm surprised that I didn't guess it earlier. I knew that Kristjan missed the blacksmith for whom he had been an apprentice for so long, because I could tell when he talked about him that he loved him like a father. 

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"It didn't seem very important," Kristjan shrugs. "We came to the market to look for the Power of Hoof, and I figured you wouldn't want something distracting us while we were here. I was hoping to try and find him discreetly."

"Well, you weren't very discreet about it," I say, laughing a little.

He smiles. "Will you help me look for him? He should be in a blacksmith's stall."

I nod. "Of course."

~

About thirty minutes later we find Norman.

We are walking along a side street full of vendors selling various metal objects and weapons. I want to do nothing more than stay there for hours on end and just browse, but I know how important it is to Kristjan that we find Norman.

I am looking at a tantilizing array of clockwork machinary when I feel Kristjan tense beside me.

What's wrong? I think to him.

Look over there. By the stall with the bright blue roof. It's him. He thinks back.

I look at where he directed and see a blacksmith's stall. A customer is obscuring my view of the owner, but finally they move away and I catch my first glimpse of Norman.

He is older than I expected, probably in his late sixties. His bald head glints with sweat, and his face seems to be stuck between a grimace and a glare. He's tall, almost as tall as Kristjan, with broad shoulders and strong hands.

I turn to Kristjan. Well, are we going to just stand here gawking or are we going to go and talk to him?

When I get no response, I sigh and grab Kristjan's arm, dragging him towards the stall.

We reach it just as Norman is completing a transaction with another customer. He looks up as we approach, his eyes glazed over with vague disinterest and boredom.

That look disappears when his gaze moves on to Kristjan. Immediately his face changes to, at first, surprise and shock mixed with joy. That quickly is swallowed by a look of anger and resentment.

He turns away and begins to work on something behind him, completely ignoring us.

I look at Kristjan and see that his face has gone completely white. On his face is an expression I have never seen before, and I spend a few seconds staring at it before I shake my head and drag him closer to the stall.

"Excuse me," I say to Norman's back. "Excuse me, I'd like to-"

Suddenly Norman turns with a huff. He completely ignores me, staring instead at Kristjan.

"Well, boy," he says in a gruff voice. "Finally come back, have you? Finally come back after leaving without no notice or warning, just gone in the night?"

"Master Norman, I-" Kristjan stammers.

"Don't Master Norman me, you ungrateful brat. You don't care what you leaving did to me. It's not easy to go back to being without an apprentice so suddenly, especially at my age. If you had been more responsible you would have thought about that, about how my business would do without you. Now you show up, suddenly, without any warning and with a girl in tow and you expect me to be welcoming and jolly glad to see you. Well guess again, boy, because that isn't happening!"

Kristjan looks as if he is about to say something but I get there before he does.

"Um, excuse me?" I say yet again. Norman's gaze switches to me, still looking just as rage-filled. "First off, I would appreciate if you didn't refer to me as 'a girl in tow', okay? I am extremelly independent, and if anyone is 'in tow', it's most definitely Kristjan. Second, it is very impolite to interupt someone, and I'm afraid that is what you just did. Third, please let Kristjan speak without blowing up."

I nudge Kristjan, and finally he jolts out of the haze that he has been in since we first saw Norman.

He starts to speak, explaining why he left so suddenly and how he didn't want to cause Norman any trouble. I have to admit, it warms my heart to hear about how he was willing to leave to look for me. I know that I would have done the same thing.

He finishes and Norman is silent for a while. Finally he speaks.

"Where are you staying while in Mer?" he asks.

Kristjan shrugs. "We haven't found a place yet."

"Well, I have a small apartment rented out for the remainder of the market. You're welcome to stay there."

Kristjan nods his thanks.

"Now, you both move on. You're blocking my stall from customers, and I intend to get as much business done as I can while I'm in this wretched sea town."

Kristjan smiles the first real smile I've seen in a long while and together we move back into the chaos of the market. 

I'm feeling sort of like I did when I posted my Minor Announcement thread... It's hard to focus and to come back, although chillhop helps.

Rose~

Sybill and I wander through the market, primarily window shopping. She convinces me to purchase a pair of cookies, which are admittedly delicious, although the vendor keeps finding ways to turn our short conversation back to baked goods and the waiting customers, thwarting my attempts to learn anything of the Power of Hoof or the Animals. 

I suppose it is inevitable that we come across the Power of Hoof booth.

It is utterly swamped. All that can be seen is a sign overhead, telling the reason, and even that has perched on it several animals and small children, who simply kick their feet and laugh when hands reach up from below. 

"There it is," I shout, half drowned out by the crowd. "I can push through, but would your ribs be okay?" 

Sybill~

I shake my head and say farewell, before slipping back up to Rose.

"There it is," Rose shouts , struggling to be heard over the clamor and chaos of the crowd, "I can push through, but would your ribs be okay?"

I look back at the crowd , failing to hide the fear that leaped into my eyes for a few moments. 

"I....don't know!" I call back. It would be amazing to see the Power , but it's possibly a fake and...the crowd looks wild and dangerous.

I take a step back.

~~~~~~~~~~

Star~

The events of the day are starting to take their hold on me. The pirate ship, the automaton lady, the street fight....

Weariness overcomes me, and I sink further into the foldable chair. However, when I look up, I see customers. I straighted my grey fur and adjust my blue wings.

"Hello!" I call. " Care to buy something? "

There is a pair of people. The one is a young boy, with silver eyes and ginger hair. They look like they might be healers.

~~~

Ta-da.  I did my best to describe Leo and Nakai. Also, Star is a Dolor Felis, an upright cat species. She's mostly grey with some white markings and blue eyes. She also has a unique, rare, and magical trait --Blue, glowing wings. And she has purple blood....meaning she blushes purple!

"Don't tell me our booth is next to it." I mutter. He grins and drags me further through the crowd. "I won't tell you, then."

i can barely see our booth though the sea of people swarming around something next to it. I knew it would be here, but I didn't think that we would be literally right next to it.

I squint through the crowd, ignoring all the people in it--my real focus is on the Power itself. I can only catch glimpses.

If it's a fake, it's a perfect fake. I've made and seen enough to know that this is the real deal. Whoever's selling it knows exactly what they're doing. It looks exactly as it does in the pages of legend, and everyone here knows it. There's yelling, and even some crowd members waving money in the air. Everyone wants it--everyone wants power. 

Who knows what the artifact does? I've heard vague legends of unicorns and infinite power. Some even rumored it to give you three wishes--like a legend from my own homeland.

He tugs on my arm and I snap back to attention. "Let's get to the stand." He reminds me. I nod. Standing here will only attract pickpockets.

Selena Evadere~

I stand there soaking up the attention. Everything is going just perfectly. The crowd is unbelievable, stocked with tourists and interested buyers. There are so many that just want to look that the people with the real money are being shoved away.

Darya gives me a sidelong smile.

"Hold up folks!" I shout exuberantly. "Before we start taking bids on the Power I'd like to get rid of these here birds! Any takers?"

The crowd is hesitant for a moment before it decides to take the bait. Soon enough the chickens are being handed off to enthusiastic buyers, the Power--having been boasted long enough--now safely under the care of Darya.

---

:/ Sorry I've been absent for a while. 

Whisper~

We all duck out of the tent. I don't really care about the Power. It's obviously a fake. After all, if somebody had the Power of Hoof, why would they be selling it? I smirk at the crowds gathered at the Power's tent. I turn away from the tent. I tuck the bulging money purse under my tattered skirt.

"I'm going to go buy myself some proper clothes." I call over my shoulder as I walk towards a clothing tent. The others reply agreement. Throwing aside the entrance flap, I am blinded by a bright array of fantastic colors and patterns. After a few seconds of blinking, my eyes adjust to the radiance around me. I pick out a pair of leather trousers, some good boots, a large peice of soft, black material, and a black, sleeveless shirt. A plump woman eyes my wings from behind a counter. I walk up to her.

"Changing rooms are over there, deary!" She points a well-rounded finger at a secluded segment of the tent, the inside if which is hidden by a draping cloth. I slip in, securing the cloth so that nobody can slip in after me. Soon, I stand in the clothes I picked out, tying the piece of material around my hips. I smile at my reflection on a nearby mirror. The curtain moves.

"Deary, would you like to primp up a bit? I have a comb and some cleaning oils here for you!" The fat woman's voice penetrates the cloth separating us.

"Um, yes ma'am. That would be very nice. Thank you." I reply. She giggles and slides the comb and the oils under the cloth, along with a bowl if water and a rag. I strip back down and clean myself with the water and the oils. When I'm done, I redress and fix my hair, parting it one one side and braiding it. When I step out of the changing room once more, I look and feel completely new. I thank the fat woman profusely and give her two prices of platinum, leaving her gawking at the metal in her hands. I smile as I walk up to my new friends.

"I'm back!" They turn. Kimiko's jaw drops, Machali smiles, and Moonlight makes a purring sound that I can only guess means approval. Pani merely nods and gazes at me thoughtfully. Apparently I look better than I expected. I beam. For the first time in what seems my entire life, I am happy. Now, I have friends instead of oppressors. Now, I am beautiful instead of beaten. Now, best of all, I am free.

~~