River Rats (Open)

[Lydia]

Ah, the river. That mighty force, the torrent of rushing water pouring endlessly on... It was indeed a majestic sight, but it was almost entirely lost on Lydia, who stood, cloak wrapped tightly and hood up, staring at the many boats waiting at the Ryerde docks. One would take her out of here... But which one? She had to find the right boat to stow away aboard, since her meagre supply of coin certainly wouldn't cover river fare. Boats were ridiculously expensive.

So the Pupil analyzed the many boats, looking to find one that would likely miss her presence or would be easy enough to dupe. Her eyes flickered from vessel to vessel, from captain to captain, never lingering more than a few seconds. There were no good boats here. Perhaps if she disguised herself as a poet, or something, she could get passage aboard one of the more 'uppity' looking boats? There had to be a way.

Or wait...

Her eyes alighted upon large crates, each one stacked on top of the next. Two men were coming and going, lifting the crates and carrying them off to the hold, where they were dumped unceremoniously and shoved in to make huge rows. Perhaps that was her ticket - become cargo. But what type of boat? What type of cargo? The pupil had no idea which would be best, and so for the moment was reduced to simply watching as the men kept up their task, telling crude jokes and jostling passersby out of the way.

"I've gotta pick..."

[Wei]

It had been a good bit of time since Ostia. Wei had made a good bit of coin off that last tip, but he took a few wounds from it to. The memory of the beast claws mad his shoulder ace in pain as he walked along the shipping area. Wei had received a letter from his friend Elpis and was on his way to give his old pale a visit. It was nothing special, but a simple social call so he was in no rush. However he was going to need to take a boat. He had saved enough money for the fair and then some so he was not in a desperate mood. The trade in this area however was quite good from what he understood and most of the gold in Lycia flowed though this place.

"Well hopefully I can catch a ship", spoke Wei as he walked with his hands in his pocket. It was a bit cold to him with the wind coming off the river. With his jacket collar held up and his eye's focus ahead Wei's visioned was tunneled. However that did not stop his ears from picking up on things and one thing in particular it picked up on was a familiar sound.

"I've gotta pick", spoke a voice. The sound caught Wei's attention and made him turn around. There he saw a familiar face and a familiar set of bright blonde hair.

"Hold on a second", he spoke aloud as he began to walk toward the young maiden. "If I remember correctly your name is Lycia", he spoke as he moved to get the pupil's attention. His arm began to ache again as his mind sifted back to the zombie she killed and the one that clawed him. It was a painful experiences that he was sure he did not want to experience again.

[Lydia]

"Hold on a second."

Well, damn. Looks like something blew her cover... What on earth could it be? Silently summoning up some energy, she turned around, eyes cold and ready, in time to see a familiar clump of red hair and the face from Ostia.

Wei.

"If I remember correctly, your name is Lycia."

"Close. It's Lydia, and you are Wei. You're the one that helped me away from the Revenants in Ostia. That was fun... I learned quite a lot. So, what brings you here to Ryerde?"

As she spoke, Lydia turned and kept walking slowly, looking at the different piles of crates and trying to find the best place to stow away.

"I assume trying to catch a ship, but the question is to where you are going... And what class you're intending to travel. You seem like you have not a care in the world save the cold, so I would venture to assume you're sailing in a cabin. How nice it must be, in a room all by oneself, sailing down the river in comfort and ease. Indeed it must be. But I? I must travel freight... And so I'm trying to pick the best freight to travel with. Indeed."

The pupil gave a wry chuckle, looking over at some crates that contained bags of sugar. Those might be the best option yet, especially given that sugar was soft and didn't warrant much watching... She could camp out there unseen for the whole journey. Yes, perhaps the sugar crates were her lifeline.

[Wei]

"Oh sorry, Lydia my bad", spoke wei as he rubbed the back of his head. He watched the young girl for a moment wondering what in the world she was doing. Why was she near the cargo. It was then she began to start to talk about Wei and his use of his coin. It was true he was planning on buying passage on a boat, but the way she talked about it made it seem like he was some kind of rich king. He just had enough money for the fair it was nothing fancy. Though he was beginning to wounder if she had what it took to gain passage. The way she talked seemed a bit envious and not to mention her placement amongst the cargo.

"Wait a minute", spoke Wei as he placed his hand over his face. Something told him that this was not going to turn out well. The last time he got involved with her she threaten to kill him with a knife. Then to make matters worse he put her on his back. What in the world was he thinking then and what in the world was he thinking now. Why did he not just simply leave or go buy that ticket? Why does he always have to stay and talk to her? Wei was really starting to hate hormones.

"Lydia, you are not planning on hiding inside of cargo are you? You do know that is called being a stow away. If you get caught they will throw you overboard into the river or worse turn you into the guards. Those are the nice options for what I heard. Pirate ships and dirty merchants have been known to sell stow always into slavery. I would not recommend it, especially if you are hiding inside of cargo. Merchants really hate it when they loss there wears."

[Lydia]

"Hiding? No, no, I'm not hiding. Merely disguising my presence. You know? I'm going to get down the river, just like this sack of sugar is. Nobody will lose anything, nobody will gain anything, I'm just... along for the ride. You know? Simple. I just have to wait my turn until they unload me again, then off I go, quick as a wink. Nobody will care, nobody will know!"

Laughing at her obviously foolproof plan, Lydia raised her hands and shrugged at Wei, another idea floating into her head.

"Hell, Wei, if you wanted to keep me company you just tell me which ship you're boarding and I'll hop in a crate for that one. We can talk to each other, and nobody will think anything besides that you're crazy, since you're talking to a crate!"

The pupil swiveled, turning deadly-serious eyes to the red-haired boy who seemed to keep showing up in her life like some sort of guardian angel that always had to get a word in. He reminded her of someone else, but she couldn't recall at the time. Nali... Nani... Navi... Something like that.

"Listen, Wei. I have to get down the river. I don't care how I get down it, as long as I get down it. I do not have coin to pay for a fare, and I sure as hell aren't about to sleep my way down the river, so hiding in a crate is the only option I have, unless you have some brilliant solution hidden away."

[Wei]

Wei gave a long sigh as he looked at the maiden. He really wanted to save his gold, but he could not let her do this. He knew letting her hide in cargo was going to end bad. He had that feeling about the entire situation. Though he was not sure if it was his six sense or just his hormones acting up again. What was with him and blondes anyway. She already showed him that she was crazy, but even then he was sure he felt something toward her. "Come on follow me", spoke Wei. "I can pay for your fair along with mine. Just don't expect a first class cabin or anything like that."

Wei began to walk toward the ship. He was beginning to calculate the cost for buying his and her fair. He had enough, but that would kill all of his spending money. Next time he saw Elpis he was going to have to take up a local job if he wanted to do something big. Then again it was Elpis. He was never the flashy type. He probably wanted to go fishing or use him as a distraction so he could pick pockets. One of these days somebody else was going to catch onto what he was doing. Wei feared that his friend would end up in chains for the rest of his life, or worse end up dead. You can only steal so many times before the nobles get tired of you.

"So you don't mind me asking why you are going down the river do you", spoke Wei toward Lycia as he began to walk. What in the world was going through this women's mind. The last time he saw her she was blowing off zombies heads. He wondered what in the world she was up to now. That and... Wei stopped for a moment as he turned to look at the maiden's arm. He wondered if she had been cutting herself again. That could not be good for your health.