as written by Tiko and Script
Shelby rapped loudly against the oaken door of the Windcrest jailhouse. It wasn't a particularly large building, and mostly served as a place to toss local drunkards to sleep it off, but it was perhaps the last place Oriel expected to be taken this morning.
Oriel had already been filled in on his assignment, and of his and Arrow's side-trip in taking a young boy to locate his father in Lutetia, but no one had made mention that the nine-year old child would be locked up in a jailhouse of all places.
After a minute the door opened, and a gruff looking man stepped aside to let them in.
"Been expecting you guys. He's down the hall there," he said as he pointed them in the right direction.
The boy in question was sitting on the floor of one of the jail cells with his arms folded over his chest sulking. The other cells all sat empty except for one with an overweight mountain of a man snoring loudly, and in comparison the dirty boy dressed in worn out rags and leathers looked remarkably out of place.
____
"Wait," Oriel said as Shelby rapped on the door. "He's in jail?" he asked, blinking in surprise. The blonde-haired gunslinger had been expecting to be on his way to the orphanage, not the jailhouse. "What trouble has he gotten into that's landed him in here at his age?"
After the gruff looking man let them in, he cast a glance down the corridor at his soon-to-be charge. He looked much as Oriel had expected - albeit perhaps a little more dirty and ragged. The orphans in Windcrest were by no means kept in luxury, but most of them at least had one set of intact clothing.
"I... think maybe a trip to a clothes store and a shower are in order before we set off." he remarked to Shelby with an amused raised eyebrow, before adding in a quieter voice "What do you know about him?"
____
"He was picked up by the militia, stealing again. The orphanage matron says he's been terrorizing the other children, and there was nowhere else to put him up for the night," the man at their backs explained.
"Can you let him out?" Shelby asked?
"Yeah sure. He's hasn't tried to hurt anyone, just needed somewhere to cool his heals for the night," the man replied as he moved past them to unlock the cell door.
"Eirik, do you remember me?" she asked.
The boy was still sulking but he looked at her a moment. "Yeah."
"This is Oriel. He and his friend are going to be taking you on a trip."
"Where?" he asked.
"To Lutetia."
"Where's that?"
Shelby shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. I need you to take Oriel back to the orphanage to get your things, alright?"
"I don't want to go."
____
Oriel smiled to Eirik, crouching down to his height. "Hey there!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "It's nice to meet you, Eirik. We're going to be going to find your dad! It's gonna be fun, like an adventure!"
Inwardly, he was grimacing. Terrorizing the other children? 'I don't want to go'? He had a feeling this wasn't going to be as simple a task as he'd expected.
"Gotta be better than this smelly old jail cell, right?" he added, before glancing at the jailor, "Er, no offense."
____
"I don't have a dad, and I don't want to go," Eirik replied bluntly.
The boy didn't seem remotely impressed with Oriel's efforts to make it sound exciting. He had plenty of excitement and adventure right here in Windcrest.
Shelby gave Oriel a comforting pat on his shoulder.
"I'll leave you two to get acquainted. I need to get back."
____
"Well, that's the thing. We think you do - that's why we're taking you to Lutetia. That's where we think he is." Oriel said, maintaining his smile despite the urge to scowl at the kid's rebuttal. "I -"
He glanced up when Shelby patted him on the sholder, giving her a slightly sour look. "Right, uh. Thanks." he said, running a hand through his hair.
Oh boy.
"C'mon, Eirik." he said, turning back. "Aren't you even a little curious about finding your dad?"
____
"Fine," Eirik relented as he stood up and followed after Oriel.
"Heh, good luck with that one," the warden said as he showed the pair out. "Oh wait, I almost forgot..."
He headed back inside for a minute before returning with a sheathed hunting knife that looked about as big as Eirik's forearm. "He had this on him."
____
Oriel looked at the knife, and then back at Eirik. Then back at the knife. Ohhh boy.
"I think ... we can just leave that here." he said, more than slightly taken aback. "Uh, let's not with the knives from now on, 'kay Eirik? You're not going to need them while you've got me and Arrow around."
Shaking his head, he made to lead the boy out into the street.
____
Eirik said nothing in response, and seemed suspiciously cooperative all of a sudden. Though it would seem likely that Oriel would need the aforementioned luck, because they scarcely made it halfway down the street before the unusual sound of aircrafts overhead provided the kid with a momentary distraction. He swiftly, and likely unexpectedly, knocked a stack of crates down in front of Oriel and took off at a run. Eirik it would seem had very different ideas about going anywhere with Oriel.
____
"What the- Dammit!" Oriel exclaimed, yelping as the crates fell across his path before starting after Eirik. "Eirik! Get back here!" he yelled after the kid, "Don't make this difficult!"
His cloak flowed out behind him as he ran. It was likely quite the spectacle, seeing a respected Knight of Le'thorian chasing after a street urchin. Oriel knew that he needed to catch Eirik before he got into the winding back-alleys of the city. He had the advantage of leg-length in a straight dash, but the kid's smaller size and better knowledge of the streets would make that a moot point if he got off the main roads. To that end, he sprinted for all he was worth to try and grab hold of his charge as quickly as possible.
____
Oriel had longer strides than Eirik, but the boy hadn't intended to outrun Oriel. Not in the strictest sense of the word anyways. If there was one thing Eirik knew, it was Windcrest. He knew every niche and cranny, every rock and foothold... both on the ground, and above.
It was the walls he ran for, hooking his foot into a drainage pipe before trying to leap from it to an overhanging lip of a nearby building where he could pull himself up out of Oriel's reach to make for the rooftop.
One would almost wonder if the boy was part monkey.
Shelby rapped loudly against the oaken door of the Windcrest jailhouse. It wasn't a particularly large building, and mostly served as a place to toss local drunkards to sleep it off, but it was perhaps the last place Oriel expected to be taken this morning.
Oriel had already been filled in on his assignment, and of his and Arrow's side-trip in taking a young boy to locate his father in Lutetia, but no one had made mention that the nine-year old child would be locked up in a jailhouse of all places.
After a minute the door opened, and a gruff looking man stepped aside to let them in.
"Been expecting you guys. He's down the hall there," he said as he pointed them in the right direction.
The boy in question was sitting on the floor of one of the jail cells with his arms folded over his chest sulking. The other cells all sat empty except for one with an overweight mountain of a man snoring loudly, and in comparison the dirty boy dressed in worn out rags and leathers looked remarkably out of place.
____
"Wait," Oriel said as Shelby rapped on the door. "He's in jail?" he asked, blinking in surprise. The blonde-haired gunslinger had been expecting to be on his way to the orphanage, not the jailhouse. "What trouble has he gotten into that's landed him in here at his age?"
After the gruff looking man let them in, he cast a glance down the corridor at his soon-to-be charge. He looked much as Oriel had expected - albeit perhaps a little more dirty and ragged. The orphans in Windcrest were by no means kept in luxury, but most of them at least had one set of intact clothing.
"I... think maybe a trip to a clothes store and a shower are in order before we set off." he remarked to Shelby with an amused raised eyebrow, before adding in a quieter voice "What do you know about him?"
____
"He was picked up by the militia, stealing again. The orphanage matron says he's been terrorizing the other children, and there was nowhere else to put him up for the night," the man at their backs explained.
"Can you let him out?" Shelby asked?
"Yeah sure. He's hasn't tried to hurt anyone, just needed somewhere to cool his heals for the night," the man replied as he moved past them to unlock the cell door.
"Eirik, do you remember me?" she asked.
The boy was still sulking but he looked at her a moment. "Yeah."
"This is Oriel. He and his friend are going to be taking you on a trip."
"Where?" he asked.
"To Lutetia."
"Where's that?"
Shelby shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. I need you to take Oriel back to the orphanage to get your things, alright?"
"I don't want to go."
____
Oriel smiled to Eirik, crouching down to his height. "Hey there!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "It's nice to meet you, Eirik. We're going to be going to find your dad! It's gonna be fun, like an adventure!"
Inwardly, he was grimacing. Terrorizing the other children? 'I don't want to go'? He had a feeling this wasn't going to be as simple a task as he'd expected.
"Gotta be better than this smelly old jail cell, right?" he added, before glancing at the jailor, "Er, no offense."
____
"I don't have a dad, and I don't want to go," Eirik replied bluntly.
The boy didn't seem remotely impressed with Oriel's efforts to make it sound exciting. He had plenty of excitement and adventure right here in Windcrest.
Shelby gave Oriel a comforting pat on his shoulder.
"I'll leave you two to get acquainted. I need to get back."
____
"Well, that's the thing. We think you do - that's why we're taking you to Lutetia. That's where we think he is." Oriel said, maintaining his smile despite the urge to scowl at the kid's rebuttal. "I -"
He glanced up when Shelby patted him on the sholder, giving her a slightly sour look. "Right, uh. Thanks." he said, running a hand through his hair.
Oh boy.
"C'mon, Eirik." he said, turning back. "Aren't you even a little curious about finding your dad?"
____
"Fine," Eirik relented as he stood up and followed after Oriel.
"Heh, good luck with that one," the warden said as he showed the pair out. "Oh wait, I almost forgot..."
He headed back inside for a minute before returning with a sheathed hunting knife that looked about as big as Eirik's forearm. "He had this on him."
____
Oriel looked at the knife, and then back at Eirik. Then back at the knife. Ohhh boy.
"I think ... we can just leave that here." he said, more than slightly taken aback. "Uh, let's not with the knives from now on, 'kay Eirik? You're not going to need them while you've got me and Arrow around."
Shaking his head, he made to lead the boy out into the street.
____
Eirik said nothing in response, and seemed suspiciously cooperative all of a sudden. Though it would seem likely that Oriel would need the aforementioned luck, because they scarcely made it halfway down the street before the unusual sound of aircrafts overhead provided the kid with a momentary distraction. He swiftly, and likely unexpectedly, knocked a stack of crates down in front of Oriel and took off at a run. Eirik it would seem had very different ideas about going anywhere with Oriel.
____
"What the- Dammit!" Oriel exclaimed, yelping as the crates fell across his path before starting after Eirik. "Eirik! Get back here!" he yelled after the kid, "Don't make this difficult!"
His cloak flowed out behind him as he ran. It was likely quite the spectacle, seeing a respected Knight of Le'thorian chasing after a street urchin. Oriel knew that he needed to catch Eirik before he got into the winding back-alleys of the city. He had the advantage of leg-length in a straight dash, but the kid's smaller size and better knowledge of the streets would make that a moot point if he got off the main roads. To that end, he sprinted for all he was worth to try and grab hold of his charge as quickly as possible.
____
Oriel had longer strides than Eirik, but the boy hadn't intended to outrun Oriel. Not in the strictest sense of the word anyways. If there was one thing Eirik knew, it was Windcrest. He knew every niche and cranny, every rock and foothold... both on the ground, and above.
It was the walls he ran for, hooking his foot into a drainage pipe before trying to leap from it to an overhanging lip of a nearby building where he could pull himself up out of Oriel's reach to make for the rooftop.
One would almost wonder if the boy was part monkey.
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