direction, misdirection [search thread; Fox!]

[Kat]

Sayaie was Morgana’s favorite city out of the two cities she visited. While Zephyrus insisted that they need to travel to Chydyn sometimes, to diversify their clientele base and to rest their old tricks, Morgana never felt that the arboreal city offered them any advantages. No, Sayaie was the better city. The people were more open to watching theatrics and art, and thus they were more willing to fund the magic shows that Morgana and her father and partner, Zephyrus preformed. The people in Sayaie, Morgana swore, were just more gullible than the people of Chydyn. It was almost as if the more urban location bred more faithful, less skeptical, people. From what she knew of Itnala, it would probably be closer to Chydyn in gullibility, or lack of gullibility. In fact, Morgana assumed that Itnala would be even more skeptical, as she bet hard working people like fishermen were very difficult to persuade. Perhaps that was why the pair had never traveled to Itnala. When Morgana asked, Zephyrus only replied that the city was not profitable. That there was no reason for them to go. Morgana had always wanted to travel to the fishing village, as she had been everywhere else in Pohono, almost, besides the newly established Eyrie and Itnala, and she wanted to see the whole of Pohono.

”It would be just like fortune telling, except the opposite. You would read the woman the same way, though.”
Zephyrus had been talking for at least a few seconds while Morgana’s attention had been focused on her thoughts and her eyes directed at the people they pasted in the crowd. She liked the people of Sayaie. They all looked as if they were interesting and unique people. She often watched them when she traveled in the city, as if she hoped to glean concepts and ideas for her own costumes from the other people. Really, though, she was interested in the professions of each person, or at least with what she could guessed each person worked. There were artists in Sayaie. There were craftsmen in Sayaie, and smiths, and workmen. Chydyn was a small town filled with guards and farmers. Itnala was only populated with fishermen, but Sayaie—Sayaie had a few of everyone. And certain people with certain professions were easier to con than other people. Women, for example, were much more likely to fall for the tricks of deception and of well-crafted, directed deception then men. Women with wealth, even more so, except for those women who could read, who tended to be harder to deceive in the same way as the uneducated, but education was not a completely limiting factor, and not all rules of thumb were true for all cases, in fact, most rules of thumb have exceptions. She turned to her father, glancing over his familiar, but wrinkled, thin face, before she shrugged her shoulders and plastered a nonchalant look of tedium across her face. Her lips lifted into a small smirk, flashing him a glimpse of the gap between her teeth.
”I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening to anything you said. You’ll have to repeat it. What is like fortune telling but the opposite?”
Morgana lilted as she dropped her shoulders. Her lips turned into a larger, although still smug, smile.

Zephyrus sighed, and his ice blue eyes turned into an over-dramatic roll. His daughter could be rather difficult and distractible. To increase the issue, Morgana possessed the ability to look absolutely enthralled when she failed to pay attention. She was quite good at acting with her facial expressions, at least to the point where she could fool most people, including, if he was not paying attention, Zephyrus himself. He knew his daughter; he knew he should know his daughter well enough to assume she might drift from his conversation. The girl began to stroke the top of the crimson-dyed corset which covered the top part of her body, as she turned her gaze towards her father, away from Sayaie. She peered at Zephyrus from behind a curtain of golden waves which had flopped into her face when she shelled her body towards the man, with her gray eyes, currently the color of silver.
”I told a woman you could communicate with the dead, like act as a medium. It would only require you reading her and saying what she wants to here. I’m sure you could do it.”
The magician replied, and to prevent a near-by man from trampling on his midnight-purple, velvet cape, he grabbed it and wrapped it across his body. Morgana shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head to the side to gaze at an fruit stand behind her father. Even though her attention was directed elsewhere, Zephyrus knew that Morgana had heard his comment and was contemplating an answer.
”Well, you already told the woman I would do it, so I don’t really have a choice.”
Morgana chirped briskly as she returned her head to the straight position. She turned her gaze back towards Zephyrus. She looked slightly exasperated, and her eyes flashed with her displeasure. It was not that Morgana was not willing to perform the act, but she was not pleased that her father had already offered her services.
” I figure I’ll need to wear the gauzy, long, lilac skirt, and perhaps a veil? We used to own one, but I might have used it for something else. I haven’t seen it in awhile.”
The girl added, accentuating her words in a way which showed her frustration. Her father shook his head, clearly disregarding her thoughts on the matter. Morgana huffed, her body puffing while she released exasperated air.

The two people now passed the fruit stand which Morgana had been eying earlier. She looked at the fruit, before she smiled and moved towards the stand. She dramatically dropped her gaze towards the ground, her expression coiling into a confused stupor. She turned to the shop keeper, her eyes widening innocently.
”Oh, sir, I think you dropped something.”
Morgana said, as she flashed him a shy smile and kept her gaze hesitantly lingering on his feet. Zephyrus watched with amusement as his daughter twisted a lock of her yellow hair around a finger. Her other hand drifted slowly towards the stand, keeping it low and in the shadows of the table. The man glanced down, looking in a confused manner at the ground, and in the second that his attention was distracted, Morgana grabbed an fruit from the stand and slipped in into the pockets in her skirt. The dark purple skirt had been tailored without the pockets, and Morgana had modified it so that the slits and extra carrying space was obscured by the folds on the skirt. She had made it so that she could quite literary ‘pocket’ items, like she had with the fruit, The extra weight changed the way the skirt sat across her waist. It was a satisfying feeling. The man turned his attention back to Morgana and he looked even more confused than he had before. He opened his mouth to speak, but Morgana shook her head quickly.
”I am so, so sorry. I must have been incorrect. I hope I did not inconvenience you in any way.”
The man smiled back at her and shook his head.
”Don’t worry about it, miss.”
The man replied, and Morgana turned and walked away, keeping her gaze half way between looking up and looking down.

Zephyrus had watched the whole scene, and he shook his head at his daughter. He was displeased with her; she could read it on his face, almost hiding the small smirk of pride at the corners of his lips.
”You shouldn’t do things like that, Morgana. You’ll get us caught, and we’ll be in trouble.”
Zephyrus scolded, but Morgana shrugged, her lips tightening into a carefree grin. She glanced around for a second, mentally judging the distance between herself and the fruit stand. She tucked her hand into her cotton pocket, before she removed the fruit. After polishing the fruit on the hem of her skirt, Morgana bit into the fruit, her eyes sparkling with pride and pleasure. She had done an exceptionally good job. She chewed the bit for a few seconds, relishing the crunching of the fruit between her teeth.
”I love this town.”
Morgana announced, as she took her second bite of fruit.

[Fox]

Sayaie had been his home for nineteen years. Then he had gone on that fateful hunting trip into the mountains, bonded to Seronaph, and became one of the first twenty-four simourv riders to ever fly in Pohono's skies. Now, Eyrie was his home and his life, and K'ean could no longer imagine life without his pesky, sarcastic partner by his side and in his head. But even though things had changed so much since he had lived in this city as Kalean, some things you never forgot. Watchfulness was one of them, and throughout the day K'ean had kept a close eye on his pouch of diasks. Crime had never really been a problem in Pohono, but pickpockets weren't unknown, especially in Sayaie proper. K'ean was thankful that he had never been a target of those nimble fingers, but that wasn't going to make him assume that there were none. At present, the young man wore his rider garb, heavy padded jacket, riding harness and even sword, though he lacked the physical presence of his partner. Seronaph flew high overhead, circling the town lazily. He could land on one of the guard platforms if he so wished, but the view from there wasn't half as interesting. He had always liked the hustle and bustle of Sayaie.

In that, K'ean differed greatly from his simourv. The crowds that thronged the streets were a trial, and the only thing that kept him from stalking straight through them all and high-tailing it out of there was the presence of the woman strolling leisurely at his side. Danica, his older sister, was ever amused by her baby brother's sour face. She knew he didn't like the crush of the market; why else had he spent so much time with Mother in the forests when they were children? He had never played with the other boys like she did; had preferred to be on his own. And now he was a rider, and far above them in status- Danica nearly snorted at her own thoughts- but still when forced to go shopping he acted like a sullen child. "Buck up, little brother. We're almost at the smithy." She said cheekily, speeding up so that she outdistanced him. Stubbornly, he kept to the same stalking pace.

"I don't remember the way being this long..." he grumbled, glancing moodily at the stalls around them. Well of course he didn't. Danica had taken the long way, just to see his discomfort last longer. Up above them both, Seronaph approved, and the waves of amusement that rolled down their shared connection made K'ean rather suspicious. His sister and his simourv were rather a lot alike, after all. "You've taken me in circles, haven't you?" He chewed out suddenly, catching her grey eyes with his own icy blue. In her face, he saw his suspicions confirmed, as the most innocent look possible floated across her features. His sister was never innocent.

Danica skipped ahead further in an attitude more becoming of a ten-year-old girl than a twenty-three-year-old woman, and the grin she sent K'ean only served to make his head hurt. "How could you say that, darling Kalean?" She asked with a mocking pout, and then suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, look, there's the smithy! Wait here, kay?" And then, with a winning smile, she darted sideways into the shop, leaving her brother standing in the middle of a throng of people, with a black scowl on his face. Sometimes Dani makes me want to throttle her. He thought viciously, not really meaning the sentiment, but only saying it because it accurately described his frustration and exasperation towards his older sister. Why? I like her.[/color] K'ean snorted at the reply. Of course. Seronaph would like her, she was right up his alley. Huffily, he paced over to the shop door and leaned against it, crossing his arms across his chest. As he stilled, with his watchful eyes and languid posture, he looked more like a sentinel or a bouncer than a rider home to see his family.

Surveying the crowds indifferently, K'ean could feel his red looking through his eyes, the interest that the simourv tried to cloak serving to somewhat alleviate his bad mood. There were familiar faces in this crowd, some exceedingly so and some were just a faint niggling feeling in the back of his mind. K'ean didn't approach them, though. They belonged to a different life and a different person. He wasn't Kalean any more. It was an almost depressing thing, to have to leave a life behind, but he had responsibilities and problems far outweighing that of a small-town hunter and middle child. Now, the koxi were his problem, and he knew how to fight them. Sensing the agreement from his bonded, K'ean's eyes began to drift again, until suddenly they were pulled to a halt at the sight of a pretty blonde girl talking sweetly to a shopkeeper. In the skies of Pohono, the large red simourv also perked up at the sight of the girl. Yes. This one. Mine. That one will stand.[/color] What? That girl? K'ean frowned as his eyes darted over her flamboyant outfit, but pushed himself off the wall nonetheless. Dani wouldn't mind if he left. She was a big girl and could take care of herself.

Taking a step forward, K'ean's eyes remained on the girl as she turned and left the stand. He followed, hands in his pockets, right up until she stopped to speak with an older man. Then he saw something that made his eyebrows shoot up and his steps quicken. The girl drew an apple out of her skirt, one identical to the ones that the stallkeeper had been selling, and, after a quick glance around that anyone other than K'ean would have missed, she took a bite. No money had changed hands at the stall. Suspicion flaring, the rider marched straight up to the outlandishly-dressed pair, and cut straight to the chase. "You stole that apple." His voice was flat, and uncompromising. Blunt. In his head, Seronaph sighed. And his bonded always said that he had no tact.[/size]

[Kat]

Morgana relished the apple. She made sure that her pleasure of obtaining and eating the fruit was written across her face in an obvious and exaggerated manner. She crunched on the fruit, engulfing it with her lips, leaving red wax on the apple’s skin, before cloyingly biting a fourth time. Her eyes danced, both because she genuinely liked the taste of the fruit, and because she loved the fact that she had gotten away with taking the fruit and that her father was so displeased. He rolled his eyes at her as he watched her eat the fruit. Deception was a thrill. When Morgana was able to manipulate people not to notice her actions, not to watch her carefully enough, she felt a wonderful rush of adrenaline which she could not seem to gain from any other activity. Of course, the rush increased when she was on stage, as the thrill of acting and performing compounded the wonder of misdirection, but she could get small thrills from little deceptions, like stealing small items through manipulation. While her one hand held the apple, the stray hand drifted back into one of the hidden pockets. She wiggled her fingers in the seaming, relishing the fabric against her fingers.

Gray eyes turned to Zephyrus even as she kept her head forwards. Even though he was displeased, Morgana enjoyed the fact that she had peeved him. She was a loyal daughter. She supported him and followed him through successes and mistakes. She allowed him to order her around, to boss her around, and to force her to play assistant to his master. She rebelled only in the smallest ways, like stealing fruit, which no one would miss anyway. But a voice interrupted Morgana’s moment, causing her to stop mid-bite. She withdrew the apple from her lips, leaving a large bite mark in the skin, a white blemish in the shape of her teeth. Morgana turned slowly, wheeling around hesitantly brandishing the apple in the palm of her hand. She turned it so that the bite was obscured, even though the girl knew the man had already witnessed her take the bite. Zephyrus had noticed the man behind them, even while his daughter neglected to hear the sound of footsteps over her overconfident crunching. He loomed protectively over Morgana, stepping in front of her slightly so that it was clear he would not let the man harm the girl. His hand slipped behind her to tap the small of her back, and as she understood the signal, she leaned towards him so that her ear was positioned in front of his mouth. Zephyrus leaned down only a little bit, but enough that his mouth hovered at her ear.
”He’s been following us since you left the fruit stand. He must have seen you take it.”
Morgana heard the note of satisfaction in her father’s tone. He was glad that she had been caught, and Morgana did not like the implication.

There was no way the man had seen her take the apple. Morgana had done the action perfectly. Her theft had been a brilliantly executed performance, a flawless and seamless misdirection, and her hands had moved quickly. Her lips turned into a small, haughty scowl, as she pouted her large lips and squeezed her light brows together, but that expression only lasted a second, before Morgana shrugged it away and shook her head indignantly. Her eyes brightened, and she fixed her face into a glowingly innocent smile.
”I don’t know how you saw me—“
Morgana accused, even though her voice echoed in a sanguine, sweet, overly syrupy manner. She bit her lip, pulling her bottom lip, red with stain, under her prominent white front teeth. She should not have made the statement. It was almost an accusation, almost a question, and definitely an incriminating inquiry. She just had to know. She just needed him to affirm that he had seen her, that he had caught her, and explain how he had seen her. She was a curious being, and she was proud, and the thought of being imperfect, of her act possessing such a damning flaw, bothered her terribly.
”But I would like to think that I didn’t steal the apple. I borrowed it.”
Morgana added. Her smile became larger; but it also became softer and more amused. She turned her feet inwards. It was a subtle change, but it made her appear a bit younger, a bit more innocent.

Gray eyes scanned the man over, her accuser. Was he a guard? Would he report her? She could pay for the apple; she had the diasks, if only barely, but she still might have to pay penance for the theft. People never took well to dishonesty. They seemed to think that it was a crime even when all the loose ends were tied up. People were very silly. Once the apple was compensated for, there was no harm to anyone involved. His uniform was strange, though, foreign to Morgana at first, until she allowed her mind to drift over possibilities. As she realized what he was, why he was wearing such unusual clothing, her eyes widened and her mouth opened into a small ‘o’ shape.
”You’re one of those simourv riders, right? Do you often track down petty criminals? I thought you guys did more dramatic thing, like fight koxi.”
Not even Morgana, with her impressive control over her expressions and tone could cloak the wonderment and awe in her voice. Her eyes flashed upwards as she tried to find the great beast that this man must ride. She saw the red circling above them, and she was impressed. It was amazing to be in the presence of such a huge and amazing creature, in the presence of a man in command of such a huge and amazing creature. Her words were sarcastic, as she tried to use the cynical tone to cloak her awe. It only half-worked.

Zephyrus seemed less impressed than his daughter, who he still stood over, protective, bristled. The man almost threatened his daughter, and if this man reported Morgana, Zephyrus might get in trouble as well. He did not wish to be an accomplice.
”You were following my assistant. I hope your intentions are not the sort to shame your honorable position.”
Zephyrus growled. He made a point of not calling Morgana his daughter. He always made this same point, because he needed to ensure Morgana could be a sexualized being. It was an important part of the act; she had to be pleasant to watch, and if the patrons of the show knew she was the magicians daughter, then the whole situation became somewhat creepy and uncomfortable. Besides, if she got in trouble, he would be less liable if she was an employee and not a family member. Morgana inwardly cringed at the designation. She would have preferred that he had claimed her as his. Large animals, even simourvs, did not impress Zephyrus, who crossed his arms and lifted his nose. He was a small man, but he tried to look as intimidating as possible. Morgana raised her brows, a gesture K’ean could see, but that her father could not see, before she rolled her eyes. Her father was being dramatic, and until he acknowledged her, she would not support him, even in his need to protect her.

[Fox]

The older man in the purple cloak shifted closer to the girl, and K'ean leveled him a raised eyebrow. What was he to her, her husband? Lover? Father? He was certainly old enough to be the last, but what father in his right mind would let a daughter out in the odd outfit that the girl was wearing? But well, with that purple cloak the man did look more than a little strange. K'ean mentally ticked off the possibilities. They were extremely flamboyant, the girl was adept at slight of hand, and he would bet his last diask that they weren't all that well off, despite the fine material of their clothes. Performers of some sort, almost definitely, and if they weren't then K'ean would eat his riding harness. It was just his luck, of course. Seronaph would search the candidates who would give him trouble; Talia, Reiths... Things just kept getting better.

Something that was almost a smile- albeit a wry, exasperated one- flicked across his lips as the girl uttered the most incriminated statement she could have made under the circumstances. "Doesn't matter how I saw you. Are you planning on returning that apple with two bites taken out of it, then?" Because it was a given that the stall owner wouldn't be happy, and that was an understatement. He raised one eyebrow archly, face falling into a distinctly bored expression. The girl's subtle shifting of posture flew right by him, missing its mark almost entirely as K'ean wasn't the type of guy to be swayed by youth or innocence. He knew what he had seen, and he had Seronaph to back him up. The girl had stolen the apple. There were no two ways about it. He wasn't entirely surprised when she recognised his uniform either, since you had to have lived under a rock your entire life to not understand what it meant to see a person wearing a padded jacket and harness. A roll of his eyes made it plain, though, that he was fast losing patience.

The older man's comment did nothing to bank K'ean's temper. "Excuse me, sir." He began with a tightening of his lips, blue eyes flashing at the insult. "I had no intention of dishonour, unless catching a petty thief is something that would 'shame my position'. In fact, I am here to make you both an offer, if the young lady will first return and pay for the apple she stole." The voice that he used was flat, uninterested and distinctly deadpan; the one that he used when dealing with errant children and his sometimes annoying sisters. At some point his spine had straightened from its former, more relaxed position, giving him an official air. Further, K'ean had wiped his face clean of almost all expression, as he made his clarifying statement and now he observed the man and his 'assistant' (The snort in his head wasn't entirely his own) with a blank, distracted mien. If he had to, he would pay for the apple, but it wasn't as if they cost a fortune. Either way, he wouldn't be turning the girl in to the Guard. That would cause far too much trouble to extract her again, but he would make sure by any means possible that he wouldn't take her back to Eyrie with the memory of a theft unpaid for hanging over his head. Grimly, he stepped aside and gestured towards the fruit stall, eyes settling not on the girl, but on some place a little bit over her head. "Now, please, miss."

[Kat]

Morgana felt that she had a right to know how the man had seen through her brilliant and well executed plot. He was being annoying and selfish for not explaining to her the error in her actions, and she deserved to be informed. She needed information if she wished to be the best performer that she could be. While Morgana acknowledged that right now, the man would not provide her with the information she needed, she promised herself that she would weasel it out of him, even if she had to string the conversation along for a long time yet. Morgana wrinkled her nose, brought an obstinate gaze towards K’ean. The man was even difficult enough to roll his eyes, which inspired Morgana to perform the same action with an irritated joy. The only way to deal with this problem of a man, was to treat the conversation like an unfortunate game. If he was going to be difficult, so was Morgana, but she would do it with a polite and forced smile.
”Well, no, I was planning on returning just the core. Why would I waste the apple on potential purchasers? I want to enjoy every minute of this apple.”
Morgana questioned as she raised both her eyebrows. After her eyebrows were raised, Morgana turned her gaze towards the apple, which she bit slowly and methodically, wrapping her lips around the flesh, and biting, producing a loud crunch. As she bit the apple, Morgana watched K’ean the whole time, pleased with herself. The tips of her lips, seen around the apple, were turned into a satisfied and self-congratulating smirk, as she took her grand bite.

Zephyrus shrugged his shoulders as K’ean spoke. He still did not trust the man, and the magician’s lack of trust was blazed on his face. He turned his nose upwards, towards the sky, while his eyes clouded with distaste. While Morgana appeared outwardly insulted and a bit peeved, Zephyrus appeared calm and proud, like the other man had insulted his sensibility, but not reached the point to make him angry, only moderately miffed. Morgana crossed her arms, her face turning into an obvious pout, as she childishly shook her head. Her hair flapped around her face, sending loose, blond tendrils into her large, almost-blue gray eyes. She was absolutely not going to return the apple. She had gotten away with the theft. The store owner had no idea that the apple was missing, and he thought that Morgana had been a nice and friendly girl who wanted to help him. She liked when people thought she was nice, when people liked her, and she did not want to spoil her carefully preserved reputation. Zephyrus and Morgana had only just arrived in Sayaie, and she did not want to leave so soon. But if she returned the apple, or rather paid for the apple, she would have to admit to a theft, and then the guard might be involved and she might get in enough trouble to have to flee her favorite city.
”Why would I return the apple? Both of us, I mean, the storeowner and I, are better off if I don’t return it. I mean, right now, he has no idea that I violated his trust or his space, and he will never have to know. If I pay him for the apple, he knows that I stole something from him, which is a violating and unpleasant realization. I mean, I can understand needing to return an object if it’s worth a lot, but this apple isn’t worth that much at all. Therefore, I see no reason to comply with your request.”
Morgana spoke quickly, but her diction was strong and tight, which made her words easily understandable. She had been trained to speak on the stage, which meant she spoke clearly even when rushing through her words. She finished her statement with a small flourish of a smile, and then she placed her hands on her hips, pulling up her chest defensively.

Morgana then shrugged her shoulders, her hands slipping from their position on her hips to the insides of her pockets, no less defensive looking, but a bit less aggressive and stand-offish.
”Besides, there is nothing you could offer me which would interest me. I’m pretty happy where I am.”
Morgana added. She looked at the apple, and bit into it again. She was pretty pleased with her display of obstanence. Other than Zephyrus, no one bossed Morgana around. She was her own person, an independent person, and she was ruled by no one. Zephyrus stepped forwards, standing in front of his daughter, and looking up at K’ean, who was much taller than the smaller man.
”Any offers you have for my daughter you will tell to me.”
Zephyrus stated, undermining his daughter’s thoughts of her own independence. She wrinkled her nose, scrunching her face together, and sighed. She could take care of herself. Her father was impossible, sometimes, caught between being a father, a boss, and a companion, with no idea how to be any of those properly. Some day, Morgana mused, he should make up his mind.

[Fox]

K'ean was not a happy camper. This girl and her boss or father or lover or whoever he was-- K'ean really didn't give a damn-- talked too much, their costumes hurt his eyes, and his patience had already been tried once today by his dearest sister. Who would not be able to find him since he had moved a bit of a distance from the smithy and the crowds were rather thick. The redrider did not relish the thought of having to either find his sister or find his way back out of the city without a guide; the streets had changed somewhat and all the landmarks he was used to were gone. Despite having been born and bred in Sayaie, K'ean could not confidently say that he could find his way around the city proper all on his own without getting hopelessly lost. He had never been much for the crowds, neither then nor now, and having to stand in the middle of a particularly bad crush of people, arguing over trivialities with this oddball pair was really making his head pound. Above him, Seronaph could almost begin to feel predisposed towards liking this girl, if she could bring out such a reaction in his bonded. She just kept talking and talking and talking until K'ean was about to snap; the clues on his face were unusually telling, what with the muscle jumping in his cheek and the narrow line of his lips.

The last straw was when the older man, despite the ludicrous height difference and the absolute ridiculousness of his garb, stepped in front of the girl and from his words he might as well have declared that K'ean was about to proposition his daughter for an evening of entertainment. Unable to stop the irritation from overflowing, K'ean's lips curled into a sneer, eyes narrowing to blue shards, and he tilted his head up ever so slightly to make it seem like he was looking down his long nose at the man. It wasn't hard; the girl's father was a good deal shorter than him, and stepping closer really only compounded it. When he eventually spoke, his voice was ice. "As I said, sir, any offer that I have to make will wait until after your daughter goes back and pays for the apple that she stole." With this, he fixed a flat glare at the irritating culprit in question. Truthfully, he had no idea how to make the girl cooperate short of grabbing her arm and dragging her kicking and screaming back to the stall, but that would make a scene and likely result in, at the least, some Guard involvement. It would be far too troublesome to have to pry a Candidate out of their grasp. Especially if in the process K'ean ended up running into his father.

"K'ean? Where did you get to, I couldn't find you." The young man had been so busy glaring at the sources of his encroaching headache that he hadn't even noticed his sister's approach from his right, and he started as she rested a hand briefly on his arm. To a stranger observing the comfortable gesture, they might well have looked like lovers and not siblings; Danica and K'ean both shared the same tall, willowy build, but her black hair, grey eyes, and mischievously angular face were at odds with K'ean's softer, lighter colouring and features. He turned to the woman beside him, the ponderous frown on his face loosening slightly at her curious gaze. "Sorry I had to disappear. Something came up." He said flatly, unbending enough to offer her a small, reassuring smile, before rapidly becoming serious again as he turned back to the father and daughter. An idea had blossomed and begun to taken shape in his mind at the sight of Danica; his mischievous, prank-loving, off-duty Guardswoman of a sister. It was rather ridiculous that he had forgotten about Danica's being in the Guard. But hey, he had never seen her in that capacity before so it wasn't all too surprising that intellectually he hadn't made the connection until she was standing right in front of him. Her, he could deal with.

Stepping slightly off to one side, his tone and stance suddenly turned formal, though a slightly self-satisfied smirk played at the edges of his mouth. "Guardswoman, I saw this girl steal an apple from the stall two rows down from the smithy. You can see it in her hand now, with several bites taken out of it. If we go back to the stall-owner and ask, he can no doubt attest that this girl came up and distracted him for no apparent reason. And I'm sure a fruit-seller could recognise his own produce." Explanation over and done with, K'ean turned to raise an eyebrow in the general direction of the soon-to-be Candidate. Beside him, Danica frowned in confusion. There was obviously something more that was going on here, otherwise her brother wouldn't be making such an enormous fuss about an apple. "An apple." She repeated dubiously, shooting K'ean a look that plainly said she wished to be told what was going on. Still, though, a job was a job and the young woman sighed, her hand settling to rest on her hip in a distinctly no-nonsense manner. "Well, mistress, do you refute it? We could go check with the fruit-seller if you'd like." Even though K'ean doubted the girl would want to. The man at the stall could only confirm what was already no longer a question in any of their minds. His face soured, though, when Danica added wryly, "though personally I can't see why my brother would get so worked up about a little thing like this."

Forgetting himself, K'ean scowled. "I'm not about to take a petty thief back to Eyrie to stand for Altaph's clutch when I saw her do it." Grumpily, the young man crossed his arms over his chest in a way now more similar to an annoyed younger brother rather than a highly-respected simourv rider. Very smooth, Mine. Such a way with words.[/color] Seronaph heaved a gusty sigh. And K'ean hadn't even noticed yet that he'd just given away their purpose. [/size]

[Kat]

The man was a friend with a guard! Great, Morgana’s day just kept getting worse and worse. And the man, the man was absolutely infuriating. Were all riders this horrible? Morgana was not sure she wanted anything to do with these people. Why, this one, this man, ruined all of Morgana’s fun. He was a fun destroyer, and Morgana did not like it. She wrinkled her nose unhappily, and lifted her head in defiance. Then, Morgana stared at the guardswoman, who was tall and graceful, but not as intimidating as Morgana would have expected. The girl’s lips tightened into an unhappy line. Her hands drifted back to their position on her hips, her elbows creating an impressive bend of her arms. The apple was still clasped in her left hand, and so it rested against her hip, the bites facing outwards so that the sticky flesh would not infect her clothing. She liked this skirt. It had the biggest pockets of any of her skirts, and the pockets were incredibly useful.
”You’re like a bottomless pit of no fun!”
Morgana announced to K’ean, before she turned her attention to the guard, shelling her body away from the man, who she had already decided might be likable if he was not such an ass—an overly moral, straight laced ass.
”Nah, no need to talk to the stall seller. I took the apple. I didn’t realize it would create such a stir.”
Morgana announced. She shrugged her shoulders and relaxed her arms. Of course, Morana had not expected anyone to even see her, but she could not have extrapolated that even if someone had seen her, that he would care as much as the rider. Zephyrus tensed as his daughter admitted to her crime. He had not wanted his daughter to admit to the issue, as he did not want her to get in trouble, mostly because he was responsible for her, if she did get into trouble.

The guard identified K’ean as her brother. That was interesting information. If Morgana was going to interact with the awful man again, then she might use it, but she was pretty sure she was going to avoid him, and probably all the riders, as a general rule of thumb.
”I don’t really know either. It’s not like there aren’t enough apples. I refuse to return the money myself; I have a reputation to uphold in this town, but here is the money which would cover the apple’s price, a bit more, even, so you can do with it what you wish.”
Morgana announced as she reached into her pocket and pulled out seven diasks, which she held out to the woman. She knew that the apples were around four or five diasks. They were not expensive fruits, which made the man’s bothersome pestering all the more confusing. The apple seemed so worthless compared to all the trouble he was putting into it. Morgana shrugged again, her lips turning into a small smile, which was not a pleasured smile, more a neutral, disappointed smile. She did not feel that she should have to pay for the apple. She should get away with it.

Then, the man announced something completely obscure to Morgana. He spoke with terms she did not understand. Morgana’s eyebrows pulled together, and her mouth opened slightly into an opened-mouthed pout.
”What do you mean by that? I’m not standing for anything.”
Morgana said, and her voice sounded much less confident, much less powerful, and extremely confused. The woman, guard or not, seemed much easier to talk to, and much less difficult, so Morgana turned to her, her eyes wide and baffled. Something, Morgana did not understand was happening, and the man suddenly had a new reason for heckling the magician’s girl. If only Morgana understood what it was.

[Fox]

K'ean's look as the girl admitted to taking the apple was one of triumph, and he shot his sister a smug grin. There. He was right. He liked being right; it was such a satisfying feeling, and it didn't often appear whenever he was around his extremely contrary family. It was extremely hard to suppress the childish retort of 'I told you so!' from slipping past his lips, and he only just managed to avoid that embarrassment. The man deliberately ignored the girl's comment on his being a bottomless pit of no fun, seeing as he knew he was at this point in time. It was hardly surprising that he should take petty thievery seriously; K'ean had been brought up with a strong sense of morals, and he especially didn't want to have the prospect of searching a candidate who had stolen something in his line of sight. He remained smug as the girl offered up the diasks to cover the price of the apple and more, raising one eyebrow at the last. Well, at least it would appease the fruit-seller.

"Thank you, mistress, I'll pass this to the stall-owner. I'm sure he'd be happy to let this go with the extra encouragement." Danica's voice was wry, one corner of her mouth lifting in a crookedly amused grin. She wouldn't take any of the diasks herself, and unwittingly she voiced aloud K'ean's own thoughts on the matter. The young man sobered a moment later, though, as the girl's confusion and voiced questions brought to his notice that in his irritation he had let something slip. "You're on your own for this, brother." The muttered words that rose from his sister as she turned to leave were barely given an acknowledgement as the look that he turned on the girl grew suddenly more pleasant. He had no problems with her now that that problem with the apple had been settled, and K'ean was of the type that once a problem had been settled, he saw no reason to bring it up again.

With a faint sigh, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, scrutinising the girl in a faintly detached way. Mentally, he sent, Ypu're sure, Seph? and the red, on his umpteenth circle of the sky above Sayaie, snorted inelegantly, the sound travelling down to his rider. Of course I'm sure. She'll stand. Now stop dawdling and tell her or I'll do it myself.[/color] Unwittingly, K'ean had been staring into space with a slight frown on his face as he conversed with Seronaph, and now his face tightened into a grimace. Coming back to the present, his blue eyes shot first from the older man, her father, to the daughter and in that instant made the decision to disregard the older man altogether. It wasn't his decision to make, after all, and this girl was more than old enough to choose her own path without it being dictated to her by a parent. "I don't think I've introduced myself." He offered gently, well aware that what he would say might come as a bit of a shock. "My name is K'ean, and my red-- the one you saw above us earlier-- that's Seronaph." K'ean spoke directly to the girl, head lowered slightly so that he could catch her eye from his greater height, trying to look encouraging but in all honesty coming off as slightly awkward. "There's a clutch of eggs on the sands in Eyrie; tawny Altaph's clutch, and my simourv thinks that you could be a candidate for when they hatch in a few months." Passing overhead, Seronaph's mental voice was broadcast to all three standing in the group, with complete disregard to common courtesy. I don't just think it, little one. I know, you'll stand. Come back to Eyrie with us.[/color] [/size]

[Kat]

Morgana was still confused, and she was still unhappy. She did not like that she could not figure out what the blasted man wanted. Morgana liked to control a situation, and right now, she not only felt out of control but also stupid, a combination of traits Morgana did not like to experience. Her nose remained permanently wrinkled. It crinkled at the bridge, and Morgana’s bright eyes, almost blue, mostly gray, slanted into a narrow grimace. At least the guard woman left. That was a positive change, as the presence of the guard made Morgana uncomfortable. The man looked as angry and bitter as she, as he stared into space, which only made Morgana feel more uncomfortable, more unsure of herself, as she stared into a distant face. And then, the man’s demeanor changed, and Morgana found herself rather baffled at his kindness, or at least, to his introduction. She bit her lip, even though she knew the action with pitifully obvious and readable. She was confused, and it showed across her face and stance, radiating from her body in waves. In many ways, it was all too much to handle. She was having a normal day, a perfectly dandy, wonderful, amusing day, and then this man came in and not only ruined her fun, but upset her delicate sense of normalcy. She did not like it. She did not like it one bit.

And so, Morgana was forced to introduce herself to the man. She tightened her lips, pulling them into a forced, thin smile, and stuck out her hand. If she was going to be acquainted to the man, she needed to do it correctly, even if she did not want to do so. She was still mad at him, really, for being an ass.
I’m Morgana, and that man is my partner, Zephyrus.”
Morgana replied, gesturing crudely to her father, who would be upset if she introduced him as her father. Partner was easier, for the most part, as it distanced themselves from each other, which was generally the way Morgana and Zephyrus wished to interact and remain. The man, K’ean, was uninteresting, but the simourv—he was something. Morgana had never seen one before, and she lifted her head, turning her eyes to the sky, and stared. She did not mind if the man found her posture, he staring, inappropriate. She wanted to absorb the form of the simourv if she could. He was so massive! Morgana stared at Seronaph, as she absorbed K’ean’s words.

Even though the girl found the simourv awesome, a great creature, she was not sure that she wanted to be near him. He looked dangerous. And them, K’ean announced that she would stand for the next clutch. She could not decide if that was good or bad. She did not like the thought that she would have to leave her life to abandon her studies. Ever sense the riders emerged into the understanding of the world of Pohono, boys and girls around her age became obsessed with being riders. All of them dreamed of it; all of them but Morgana. And now that she was presented with the opportunity, she was not sure that she wanted it.
”A candidate for bonding? What makes you think I would want that?”
Morgana questioned, and she wondered the same thing, herself. Why was it assumed that anyone asked would drop their lives to be bond. She was her own person, and independent person. Maybe a simourv would ruin her state.

[Fox]

K’ean couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. For a blank moment, he stared at the girl- Morgana was her name- completely disregarding her father in the whole matter. The man’s officious manner and apparent disregard for his daughter’s independence raised the young man’s hackles in a way that little else could. At least his own father, despite his long list of faults in K’ean’s eyes, had never tried to limit his daughters in such a way. Danica and Rilla had grown up on equal footing with K’ean, then Kalean, and had surpassed him in some fields due to their own skill and hard work. He didn’t begrudge them for it. That attitude of his father’s as well as his mother’s strong personality had instilled in the young man a profound respect for the fairer sex, and it remained as the reason he spoke clearly and pointedly to Morgana and not to Zephyrus, her partner and father though he might be.

”Why would you not?” He blurted, his disbelief plain on his face for a single, confused instant, before his mind caught up with his mouth. A grimace slid across his face and K’ean fell back into the comfortable cadence of formality. It was a mode he was the most familiar with, especially when dealing with a situation like this. ”Forgive me. I understand if this is a bit… sudden.” He hesitated suddenly, coming up with a blank as to how to deal with a candidate who wasn’t certain she wanted a candidacy. When her eyes averted upwards to stare at the circling form that was Seronaph, K’ean’s gaze followed her. For a moment longer, even after she began to address him again, his eyes remained on his simourv. On his face there was peace, as he touched on the whirlwind of thoughts and impressions that was so closely linked to his own. There were a thousand and one reasons that he could give her as to why she should do this. Why bonding to a simourv was worth leaving everything you’d ever known behind you. But he wouldn’t. There were just some things that you had to have faith in; that you had to feel to believe.

Eventually, after a moment of silence in which the young man simply watched the red dot circle above them, K’ean returned his blue gaze to Morgana’s. In his eye there was a look of sympathy. That she doubted this at all made him pity her, almost. He could well understand why she might, but the young man simply could not comprehend being without Seronaph now that he had him. She would understand with time. ”I cannot tell you why you should, Morgana.” He admitted, his brisk tone returning to curb the gentleness of his tone. But, as he went on, he offered her a small smile that held both encouragement and the barest dash of pity. ”What I can tell you, though, is that if you ever ask any rider-- Any one—none of us would ever do things differently. We don’t regret leaving our lives or our families behind for this. For them.” A brief tilt of his head and a flicker of blue eyes skywards left no doubt as to whom the man was talking about. It was as sentimental a speech as he had ever given, but oddly K’ean didn’t feel any embarrassment. The wash of gratitude and grudgingly expressed love from his simourv was more than enough to banish any thought to appearances. In the end, K’ean found himself appealing almost slyly to the girl’s curiousity. ”If you come with us, then maybe you’ll understand.”

[Kat]

Morgana barely listened to K’ean. She really did not care what he had to say. He was not about to change her mind. She did not want to go to the Eyrie. It was a strange place, filled with people who would not understand her craft, who were as stuck-up and stiff as this man. What an unpleasant place it had to be. The fact that it had just produced such a man was reason enough to avoid it. Morgana was not a fan or rules or structure. She lived life the way she wanted to live it, and she refused to be tamed by any creature or organization. Why, if she bonded, would not she be selling her soul to another creature? She would be allowing a simourv to control her. Morgana was not suited to such a life. Maybe other people found that order was a positive to a situation, but Morgana found it limiting and thus irritating. She was about to step forwards and decline K’ean’s offer, as tactfully as her unmannerly self could manage, but instead Zephyrus stepped in front of his daughter, and shook his head.
”I’m sorry, but she’s not interested.”
As Zephyrus spoke, Morgana became irritated, and in that moment, she realized for the first time K’ean had addressed her and her alone. He had talked to her about becoming a candidate. He was talking to her directly, as if he believed it was her choice. And the fact that her father talked over her, talked about her and for her, was suddenly contrasted with attention of the man. She turned her gaze towards her father, her eyes flashing angrily, before she turned her attention towards K’ean again. For the first time that day, she looked at him in a serious and contemplative manner. In the blink of an instant, Morgana decided that she needed to take his offer seriously. He took her seriously. He offered her freedom, a luxury her father refused to allow her.

And then, Morgana’s position changed about what she wanted to do. While she had no desire to become a simourv rider, she did want to be free—free of her father’s restrictive vision for her. She had been wishing to define herself away from her father for years now, and she had been thinking of how to get away from him for months, trying to separate herself in a way which would allow her to love him still, and not divorce herself entirely from his existence. Morgana loved her father. She loved him more than she loved anyone else, but she knew that her father held her back. He would never allow her to leave him and start her own act. He would never allow her to leave her for any reason. She would always be attached to him for as long as she lived, and without severing their bond completely, she would never find a path of escape. And Morgana had struggled with this fact for months, mulling it over in her head as she tried to conceive a plan distance herself form her father without severing her bond. Now, this rider had quite literally provided Morgana a way to achieve everything she desired. And she did not have to become a rider for her plan to work. She could go to the Eyrie, stay for a few weeks, and then leave the Eyrie, relocate to Sayaie, and be a free woman without alienating herself completely from her father.

Morgana moved swiftly, her eyes flashing with determination, and stepped in front of her father, which positioned her quite close to K’ean. She could see his chest heave in and out with breath. She raised a hand, so that she blocked her father’s face with her hand.
”I’ll go to the Eyrie and stand at the hatching. Zephyrus, I’m seventeen; I’m perfectly capable of making my own choices. I think it would be negligent to pass up this opportunity. What if I bond? It could be a life changing experience. Why would you bar me from that experience?”
She announced, and even though she addressed her father, Morgana kept her gaze focused on K’ean. She was liking her idea more and more. It was perfect. Morgana’s words worked perfectly on her father, who sighed, dropped his head, and submitted in posture. She was right. If he forbade her from taking this chance, and she really wanted it, she would never be loyal to him again. He had to humor her, or she would forever resent him, and that would make her bitter and useless. A bitter, angry woman was not one which could be easily controlled, daughter or not. She would come back to him, besides, because she belonged with him, and there was no way this Eyrie could provide her with a home and a family like he could. He had always been there for her, always protected her, and so she would return when she was disappointed, neglected, and rejected. There was no way his daughter, of questionable moral integrity and little physical strength, could be a simourv rider. It was impossible. Morgana was spoiled. She would not take well to being rejected and neglected, and she would come back.

Morgana turned towards K’ean, her eyes now growing excited. Her plan was coming together in her mind. She would play the Eyrie’s game for as long as it took for the hatching to become imminent, and then she would leave with the story that she had decided to abandon the Eyrie after she was rejected at the hatching. It was a perfect way to detach herself from her father. She could start her own show, train her own performers, maybe even make a troupe.
”But I have a bird. I can take him, right? I’m not sure I can bare to part with him.”
gent and cruel to prevent her the chance at such an honor. The thought of leaving Hamlet, her raven, with her father was unpleasant to Morgana. She knew her attachment with the bird was too strong and limiting, but she loved him more than she loved most living creatures, or really most people. She did not think that her father would treat Hamlet the way he deserved to be treated, which was utterly spoiled and beloved. If Morgana could not take Hamlet, she would have to make other arrangements, as owning Hamlet was not quite worth the loss of the freedom she was about to gain, but she would need a few days to find a suitable new owner for the magnificent bird. She smiled, for the first time, quite truthfully and sincerely, as she gazed up at K’ean. The life she wanted was becoming so possible.

[Fox]

K’ean watched the girl closely and through his eyes Seronaph watched her also. She didn’t seem like she wanted to go to Eyrie, and she was by far the most difficult to convince thus far. There was no way that the redpair could force her into becoming a candidate, but there was no denying that it was very, very important that she did. Dealing with Morgana was almost like dealing with an extremely skittish, dangerous bird of prey. One wrong word and she would shoot into the sky, never to be seen again. And, well, K’ean had never been the best speaker. He preferred to act, to show, rather than to convince with sweetness and honey-coated words. Unfortunately, it was becoming plain that this girl was adept at using them to her advantage, and K’ean was beginning to draw a blank. In his mind, Seronaph snorted, indignant, that she would dare to doubt them or refuse, but even the red could not produce an idea that would sway Morgana to their side. Well, he couldn’t come up with anything short of abducting her to Eyrie, which K’ean would not allow. Honestly, his rider was such a spoilsport sometimes.

When Zephyrus spoke, the reaction in K’ean was immediate. His expression shifted imperceptibly from faint puzzlement to cold affront. This was worse even than the man’s earlier accusation of K’ean being interested in Morgana for purposes that were not entirely honourable. That he could understand (though not entirely forgive) because it was simply a natural suspicion when a man turned up to speak to an attractive, teenaged daughter. And Morgana was pretty; just not in the way that K’ean preferred. She was too two-faced; too contrived. He hoped that bonding with a simourv would curb that, but you never knew. The hatchlings tended to choose people either very similar to themselves or different but eminently suitable. His voice when he addressed the older man was a low, chilling hiss. ”If she is not interested, sir, please give her the dignity of telling me herself.” A faint curl of the lip, combined with an uptilt of his head that left K’ean well and truly looking down his nose at the much shorter man, completed the picture of disdain. He might have said more; his tongue was already poised for a verbal flaying, but at that instant the girl in question cut in, saying essentially what the redrider had been wanting to say only, perhaps, in a more civil tone that K’ean would have managed. It seemed that the man’s ill manners and attempt to control the girl had ended up to K’ean’s benefit after all.

As Morgana completed her speech, the young man’s raised eyebrows and faint smirk communicated triumph. ”You are welcome to bring your bird and whatever other pets you’d like.” He said politely, dipping his head in acknowledgement of her decision. ”Just bear in mind that you’ll probably be sharing a room with another candidate, so try to make sure he doesn’t cause too much trouble.” There had, after all, been two candidates left standing on the sands when a blue and a little green had Impressed two people who were not candidates. One of them had been a girl, though K’ean wasn’t familiar with her at all. But, bringing himself back to the present, the girl would first need to gather whatever clothes and supplies she would need to go to Eyrie. Normally, K’ean would have offered to let her travel by herself, but frankly, he didn’t trust Morgana not to simply have agreed just to get her off his back. They could still find her again; Seronaph knew her now, and he could definitely feel her, but it would be troublesome. ”Gather whatever belongings you have then, Morgana, and I’ll meet you there when you’re ready. You won’t regret your choice. ” Briefly, K’ean pointed to Sayaie’s main gate, the largest opening in the wall surrounding the city and providing protection from the koxi. Traffic moved in and out, but there was a guard platform stationed almost right over it. Then, job done, the young man sketched a shallow bow to her, sent another icy look at her father, and turned on his heel to make his way there. A large shadow passed overhead as Seronaph also angled himself towards the platform. He could land there. But, as always, a few parting words were in order. Be quick, little one. We’ll be waiting.[/color][/size]