Roleplay

@SoulLugia11

((Subscribed.))

Tilly sat on the back of the empty wagon, legs swinging over the edge, humming to herself. A few yards away, a fruit merchant was shouting about his fresh goods while simultaneously keeping an eye on her. She tilted her head and gave him a wide grin that screamed I’m going to steal your things. This only served to make the crotchety old man glower harder.

The other merchant stalls were all too aware of her presence, like a flock of birds perched in a tree watching the cat slink by. Tilly’s rugged clothing and overall dirty appearance marked her for what she was; a thief. They just couldn’t do anything about it since she hadn’t done anything. Yet.

The village was a one street rest stop at the edge of the capitol three miles on and it was ripe for the picking. The pouches hanging from a belt around Tilly’s waist were stuffed with all sorts of odds and ends of things she had swiped in the past two days since her arrival. The small stop didn’t have as much to offer as the capitol, but it was a nice change of scenery from the crowded, dirty, capitol.

Here, the forest came right up to some of the buildings. The spring air was fresh and the one street free of human waste and garbage, but it was awfully noisy with the traffic coming and going down that single street. Tilly tilted her head up, brown eyes watching a clear afternoon sky. It was nice to sit here, even if being close to the forest meant running the risk of seeing one of the Shaden, a normal creature twisted into a monstrous version of itself.

Too bad she was the only one who knew where they came from.

Frowning, Tilly returned her attention to the fruit merchant and the basket of shiny red apples at his feet. She had swiped one of his oranges earlier that morning when he had been setting up, but now she was hungry again and those apples were looking saintly right now.

((I'm subbed too! ^^))

"Get up."

Callum groaned and rolled over, keeping his eyes closed. He was making it clear that he didn't want to wake up... that and he didn't want to accept that what had happened to him wasn't a dream. But suddenly, the blanket that had been covering him was lifted, and the next thing he knew, he was being shaken violently, forcing him to wake up. "Are you deaf? I said, get up!" the voice hissed once more. He groaned once more, managing to push himself up, despite his wrists and ankles being tightly bound with ropes. He leaned against the side of a wagon that had just stopped, laying eyes on a rather muscular man with shoulder-length brown hair and icy blue eyes. The man looked rather annoyed with him to say the least. "You're lucky... I could've left ya for the wolves, kid," the man growled.

Callum, or Call, frowned upon being called a kid. I'm seventeen, it's not like I'm six, he thought, annoyed. He fixed the man with a glare. "First of all, I am not a kid," he shot back. "Secondly, I would rather take my chances out there than being 'safe' right here." The man wasn't taking him seriously, because he laughed as soon as Call finished speaking. "Yeah, sure," he replied, chuckling harshly. "You don't look like you could last a day in the wild... not with all them Shaden out there on the prowl. Anyways, we're making a quick stop, I need to talk to one of my associates real quick before we reach the capitol. But before I go, I'm gonna make myself real clear." The man then gripped Call's shoulders and leaned closer to him. "If you even try to escape, I will make you pay dearly," he finished with a serious tone, backing away and exiting the wagon.

Call narrowed his eyes, sighing. How'd I even get here? he asked himself, looking around. The wagon wasn't exactly open, so no one would see him tied up, but that didn't mean he wanted to stay. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the shadows surrounding him, eventually opening his eyes to see a small cluster of shadows in front of him; his magic. He hummed with satisfaction, a small smile appearing on his face for a brief moment. He concentrated once more and transformed the cluster of shadows into a single tendril of darkness. He paused, considering what he was about to do before shaking his head. I'm not going to be a sitting duck, he told himself, looking around for his satchel. He finally spotted it lying out of his reach and willed the tendril to open it and pull out a shiny, silver dagger. The tendril then brought the dagger towards him before cutting the ropes binding his ankles and wrists together, with him grinning as it dropped the dagger in his hand.

Removing the rest of the ropes, he willed his magic to disappear back into the shadows, feeling a little tired already... an unfortunate side effect to using said magic. He then slid the dagger back into his satchel, made sure his grey scarf covered the long, diagonal scar and quickly hopped out of the wagon, walking away as if nothing had happened. He adjusted the sleeves of his black cloak slightly, doing his best to cover up the rope burns on his wrists. He didn't want anyone to know what happened; better yet, he didn't want anyone to know where he was from. He'd either be robbed, attacked, or taken back to the capitol, which was indeed his home. Or at least, it used to be. Running away probably wasn't the smartest decision, but at least he was doing something about the Shaden, as well as hiding the fact that he knew shadow magic. He didn't know anyone else that could wield it, aside from his mentor, who taught him the various techniques he knew... and if anyone else found out about his gift, they would most likely accuse him of being the mastermind behind the plague that transformed normal creatures into monsters, which he definitely wasn't.

He did remember hearing a couple talking about a thief who seemed to know where the Shaden came from. It was a rumor, as far as he was concerned, and he didn't even know where to begin looking for this thief. Besides... that was a little bit of a mean term. He couldn't just go around asking people if they were thieves, that would be unbelievably stupid, not to mention, out-of-character for him. His thoughts were scattered as he walked over to a nearby building and leaned against it, cloudy grey eyes gazing up at the afternoon sky. He brushed a bang of black hair aside, feeling out of place with his pale skin and dark clothes. His clothing was a small sign that he was from the capitol, or at least, that he used to be from the capitol, but he hoped that no one would notice. He glanced down at the necklace he wore, seeing the emerald stone attached to the crescent-shaped pendant catch the light emitting from the sun.

As he collected his thoughts, he realized that he hadn't eaten anything all day. That realization caused him to remember how he ended up this way in the first place; he was attacked by a pack of Shaden wolves, which left him barely able to take a step without falling, taken in by a kind stranger who healed his wounds, and kidnapped on the same day by a friend of his father's, who wanted him back... and not because he actually cared about him.

Sighing, he turned his attention to a nearby fruit merchant who was glowering at a young woman sitting in the back of an empty wagon. He was confused as to the reason, but then it hit him; this woman was probably a thief, judging from her rugged clothing and dirty appearance. The soft side of him came out, thinking that the amount of judgement from these people was a little undeserved. He hadn't seen her do anything that would justify the prejudice, at least not yet. Maybe she just wants something to eat...? he pondered, seeing her frown while looking at a basket of apples. He supposed he could go talk to her, and maybe even get more information on the Shaden if he actually remembered to bring them up.

Before he walked over to the empty wagon she sat in, he approached the fruit merchant and asked him for two apples, taking out the necessary amount of shillings and giving it to the old man in exchange, also applying charm to the mix to erase any questions that he might've raised by his appearance alone. He then made his way over to the empty wagon, noticing that the other merchant stalls seemed to be aware of her presence as well, which made him feel a little protective. He wasn't aware that she had stolen plenty of possessions in the past couple of days. He didn't see what they saw.

Call smiled as he came over, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. "Good afternoon," he greeted, keeping his posture straight. "May I ask what's bothering you? I couldn't help but notice that you looked a little troubled... I'm Callum, or Call for short, if that's easier for you. Would you like one of these?" He then offered her one of the apples in a friendly manner, maintaining a gentle demeanor.

To steal the apple or leave it be? This shouldn't be a question! Tilly thought. That apple clearly needed to be liberated from the crush of other apples in the basket. Besides, the fruit merchant had so many, he wouldn't miss one, right?

It wouldn't be an easy swipe with the old man watching her as he was, but it wasn't a challenge she was new to. The only thing that was causing her to hesitate was that she had already taken an orange and she wasn't one to liberate things from the same person in one day. That was the drawback of this little rest stop, not enough people to pick from, but plenty of it to pick.

A dark haired man in equally dark clothing was approaching the fruit merchant. Tilly’s eyes narrowed, this could be her opportunity to swipe one of those apples.

She was halfway off the wagon when the man made his purchase and started in her direction. Uh oh, time to make myself scarce. Before she could do just that, he was already standing in front of her, offering her not just a smile, but an apple to boot.

Tilly gave him a wary once over. He looked harmless enough, and his smile was genuine; Tilly knew a fake when she saw one, but what really caught her eye was the fancy looking emerald pendant around his neck. Plastering on a huge smile, she plucked the apple from his hand. “That’s mighty kind of you, sir,” she said before letting her smile melt into a worried frown. “I think I made a wrong turn somewhere, can’t seem to find my map either.” Tilly let out a mournful sigh.

Biting into the apple, she looked up at him. “I’m Tilly.” And boy do you look like a sucker, wearing that pendant out in the open. Clearly the poor thing was in need of a new owner if this Callum fellow was going to treat it so.

Callum's smile remained as the young woman accepted the apple from him, however, it turned into a concerned frown when she explained her situation. I don't have my map... I think my captor took it... he thought, wondering how he could possibly help her. Wait, that's all he took from me? Not my dagger, my money, or my pendant, but my map??...What an idiot. At the same time, he wished he still had his map, despite being grateful that his captor happened to lack common sense. He snapped himself out of it and focused on the present, taking a bite out of his own apple.

"Hmm... you must be lost then," he assumed, nodding slowly. "Sadly, I don't have my map on me, it was stolen just recently, so I'm hoping to get a new one soon. So, Tilly, if you don't mind me asking, where were you planning to go before you took a wrong turn?" he asked politely, hoping she wouldn't jump on him for getting into her business. "Maybe I can help you get there, I've been to a lot of places over the past few months... I'm a bit of a traveler, I guess," he added, chuckling.

It was then that something dawned on him. He was wearing an expensive emerald necklace pendant out in the open, outside of the capitol at that. At any moment, anyone could attack him and take it from him, including Tilly, who seemed nice enough to him, at least so far. The only two people he had trusted up to this point was his older sister and the man who taught him how to effectively utilize his dark magic, his mentor. He knew what would happen if the pendant were to be removed from him, and it definitely wasn't good at all.

The reason he wore the necklace, which had been given to him by his mentor, no matter where he was or who was present was because it kept him concealed from the Shaden, some of which could sense his presence because of the abundance of dark magic that he wielded; he wasn't sure how, or why for that matter, but he didn't care. It also helped him keep the magic from corrupting him, saving him from some of the more dangerous effects of said magic. It was still dangerous, and if there was anything he didn't want to happen, especially now, it was a pack of Shaden attacking this village because of him. Well, that and he would be exposed to the darkness within everyone's hearts, hearing voices and either being temporarily driven insane or passing out. Either one was terrible news, but the first one was definitely worse.

He scolded himself soon after he began thinking about the consequences of removing his pendant. Why was he worrying about something that might not even happen? He wasn't usually this paranoid, at least not recently. Focus on the present, not the past, not the future, the present! he told himself. Ugh... well, just as long as that guy keeping me in that wagon doesn't find me soon, I should be fine...

Aw, he’s a sucker and gullible, how sweet, Tilly thought, amusement flashing through her eyes. She was about to respond to his offer when a look of realization shot through Callum’s grey eyes. Her smile dipped into a slight frown, had he seen through her lie? She watched a mix of expressions parade across his face, as if he were having an inward conversation she wasn’t privy to.

“Hey, stormy eyes.” She waved her apple in Callum’s face to get his attention. “I was heading t-” Tilly’s eyes widened when she spotted one of the rest stop’s few guards talking to a richly dressed woman who dripped with diamonds and was angrily jabbing her finger in Tilly’s direction. Tilly’s hand automatically went to the pouch containing one of the woman’s diamond rings. The woman had ten others on her fingers, so Tilly didn’t quite see why she couldn’t let one go.

The guard glanced at her and scowled, hand going to the hilt of his sword as he moved to cross the street towards them.

“I was… Oh yes, I remember now!” Tilly stood up in the wagon. “I’m not lost anymore and I just realized I have somewhere else to be.” She vaulted over the edge of the wagon, ratty cloak flapping behind her. “Thanks for the apple!” She shouted over her shoulder just as the guard barreled past the wagon.

“Stop her! Stop the thief!” The guard shouted.

“I ain’t no thief!” Tilly shouted right back. “I’m a professional appropriating liberator, get it right!” Tilly dodged around surprised people, some making half-hearted attempts to grab her, but their hands might as well have been coated with butter for all the good it did them.

Skidding around the corner of a building, Tilly made a beeline for the woods, the huffing guard coming to a stop as he raised an angry fist as her retreating back.

Callum's attention returned to Tilly when she waved her apple in front of his face to snap him out of his stupor, noting that she had called him "stormy eyes", which he didn't mind that much to be honest. He listened to Tilly as she began to answer his question, but when she stopped, her eyes widening, he became worried. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but he realized that he could see for himself and glanced behind him, following Tilly's gaze to see who had caught her attention. Talking to a guard, pointing in their direction, was a wealthy woman who was practically dripping with diamonds... he thought he recognized her, but in reality, he didn't know this person at all; he assumed she was from the capitol.

He had absolutely no idea what her problem was, but whatever the case, it seemed that Tilly wasn't eager to stick around. His eyes widened slightly when he laid eyes on the guard who was coming towards them with his hand on the hilt of his sword, and when he looked back at Tilly upon hearing her speak, she was already up and running. The guard proceeded to barrel past him towards the thief, but he felt like fleeing the village with her, or at the very least, holding the guard off until she could get away. As far as he was concerned, she had done nothing wrong, so why were they chasing her down like she was a criminal?

Before he knew what he was doing, his legs moved forward and he was running in Tilly's direction, dodging around the surprised villagers while shoving his apple in his satchel. His cloak fluttered and flapped behind him as he ran, racking his brain for a decision that wouldn't get him in trouble. When he realized there were no safe options he liked, he made the choice to stop the guard from making a move to chase her down further. He maneuvered around the guard and darted in front of him, placing his hand on his satchel just in case he needed a weapon. "Pardon me, but why are you chasing this young woman? I don't see a valid reason at this moment, so I need to know the truth," he addressed the guard with a serious tone, glancing behind him to see her making a beeline for the woods. I don't know if that's such a good idea... he thought uneasily, being reminded of the Shaden that could very well be dwelling in there.

Callum made it clear that he was trying to protect Tilly, mentally preparing himself to engage in combat just in case he was put in such a situation. Luckily, he didn't always need his dark magic to fight, but it did give him the upper hand should he need it. He stood his ground, staring up at the guard, unafraid. However, that changed when he saw a familiar man walking around, looking angry. Of course, that same man was the person who snatched him up and attempted to return him to the capitol as a prisoner.

Wow, this just got worse within seconds... that's a new record, he thought, panicking a little. "Actually, I think I'm just gonna get going now, but if you go anywhere near her, I'll be there to stop you," he said quickly before turning in the direction Tilly ran in to leave; that was when he realized that he had just given this guard a threat. To be fair, his simple word choices made the threat seem kiddish, but that didn't change the fact that it was still a threat. He quietly scolded himself for being insolent and stupid as he moved to take a step forward so he could leave. I think I can ask her about this when I catch up with her, he thought to himself. That is, if I even get to her in the first place.

With that thought in mind, he ran quickly towards the woods before the guard could react to his threat, and more importantly, before his captor could spot him.

Tilly chortled, ducking under tree branches and hopping over exposed roots. Above, the canopy was alive with birds, which was a good sign. Silence meant a Shaden was near, and that was something Tilly was not equipped to deal with. Finally she stopped, leaning with hands on knees as her lungs heaved for air, a smile on her face.

Plopping onto her bottom, she removed one of her pouches and upended its contents onto the dirt. Shifting through the assortment of jewelry, Tilly found the diamond ring and held it up to the sunlight filtering through the leaves. “Too bad I couldn’t snag that fancy pendant.” It would have looked nice with the rest of her collection.

Dumping the rest of her pouches into orderly piles, Tilly decided it was time to take stock of what she had, what she would keep, and what she would trade for some food. She doubted anyone would be dumb enough to follow her into the woods, but she didn’t want to risk going near the rest stop either. She’d just sit here and rest until it got dark, then she would creep past and get back on the road to the capitol.

“Hmmm, how’d you get in there?” She held a rock between her fingers. Shrugging, she tossed it over her shoulder.

Tilly had four pouches in total, so there were four different piles scattered in front of her. One for jewelry, one for the coin she carried on her, one for odd knick knacks, and one full of fake money. Everything looked to be in order, but with nothing to do, Tilly set to arranging each pile by color.

Well, today's off to a great start, Callum thought, sighing. He took out the apple he had stored in his satchel and took another bite of it as he strode through the woods. "If only I had my map..." he groaned quietly. He knew what he was doing, but he didn't know where Tilly went. He knew the direction she went initially, but she could've taken a turn somewhere down the line. He didn't have any aura-sensing magic, so he wouldn't be able to find her by sensing her presence, and there were no trails on the ground to follow, such as a trail of bread crumbs.

He looked up, listening to the birds chirping, singing their lovely songs. For once, he was glad for the void of silence to be filled. No dwelling Shaden were close when silence was nonexistent. He considered taking his necklace off and putting it in his satchel, but then he remembered what he was worrying himself to death about earlier and had second thoughts. He started racking his brain for ways to hide the pendant from everyone else. He supposed covering it with his scarf was an easy fix. He stopped abruptly, feeling a slight burning sensation in his ankles and wrists. Rope burns... he mused, just for a second before he found his bearings. He stood close to a tree while adjusting his scarf to make sure his pendant was masked from sight. It involved plenty of trial-and-error, but he was able to do it eventually; he just hoped it stayed that way.

Callum yawned, feeling tired. It was probably due to his use of dark magic when he escaped from the wagon back at the village. But maybe the fact that he hadn't woken up until the afternoon made him feel this way. He always wanted to go back to sleep every time he awakened from his slumber, but he had to tell himself that he had something to live for. What exactly it was, he didn't know for sure. It changed every time. But he knew one thing; he didn't have time to think about that right now. The afternoon sky above would melt and darken into an inky, yet starry sky soon enough, and if there was one situation he didn't want to be stuck in, it would be getting lost in the woods while it was dark. Even though he absolutely loved nighttime, especially taking to gazing at the moon whenever he could see it among the stars, he just didn't feel safe at the moment; he needed to find sanctuary or find Tilly. Either one would work for him, just as long as his pendant wasn't spotted and stolen.

Why are you thinking that, Callum? he asked himself, continuing on his walk once more. I can trust her, right? She didn't try to steal it in the village, did she?...Well, she probably would've soon enough. If it weren't for that rich woman spotting Tilly and sending a guard after her, it most likely would've been stolen... and many people probably would've died. But that didn't happen, and besides, everyone has a reason to do the things they do. Maybe Tilly has a deeper reason for being a thief... or a professional appropriating liberator. If I get to know her better, maybe I'll find that out for myself. That ended the argument in his head as the voices silenced themselves. Now that he thought about it, just because he didn't see a reason for the wealthy woman to be angry at Tilly, that didn't mean there wasn't one. He was just being ignorant at the time; it was usually how he was when it came to protecting someone.

He walked for a little while longer before feeling the urge to climb a tree. He didn't have an important reason; he just liked doing it. Being above the ground was definitely thrilling for him. He was one of the few kids who didn't hate heights when he was younger. He suddenly heard the sound of something hitting the dirt. It sounded very quiet, so he assumed it was something small. He hid behind a tree and saw Telly sorting all kinds of jewelry, trinkets and money. Thank goodness, he thought, nearly sighing in relief. He quickly and silently scaled the tree he was hiding behind, eventually sitting on a thick branch that was a few feet off the ground. "Hey, Tilly," he called to her from above, lightly swinging his legs over the edge of the branch, a small smile on his face. "So what happened back there, huh? I heard that guard call you a... professional appropriating liberator."

He refrained from saying the word thief, just so that he didn't offend Tilly. "That lady back there looked like she hated your guts... personally, I don't see a justified reason, but maybe that's 'cause I didn't stop to ask her. Believe it or not, I had to escape someone too... so here I am." Callum hoped that Tilly would answer him truthfully. All he wanted to hear was the truth. He said everything in a friendly manner, making it clear that he wasn't going to force these answers out of her if she didn't tell him.

Tilly sighed when she realized that she had dropped her apple somewhere in her mad dash through the woods. She glanced over her piles of things and leaned over to begin putting them back into their appropriate pouch.

A voice from above startled her. Tilly’s head jerked up to find Callum sitting in a tree branch, watching her. How in the heck did he find me? And more importantly, why had he followed her? There was no sign of his pendant, but she wouldn’t have been surprised if it was tucked somewhere within the folds of the scarf around his neck. Who even wore a scarf in the spring anyways?

“Stormy eyes! You don’t go sneaking up on ladies like that,” she said, jabbing a finger up at him, not the least bit shamed that he had caught her going through her liberated items. Tilly looked away, returning her attention to putting everything back into the pouches. She held up the diamond ring, letting it glint in the fading sunlight. “She’s mad I liberated her ring.” Tilly grinned. “She didn’t need it, now she’s not so weighed down. She’ll be grateful!” Tilly shoved the ring in with the rest of the jewelry and gathered up her pouches.

Tying them back to the belt around her waist, she stood and brushed off her knees. Turning to peer up at Callum, she narrowed her eyes. “Running from someone, huh? Can’t really help you there, bud.” She glanced away, eyes sweeping the trees. “As much as I’d love to chat, I got somewhere to be.” Tilly really didn’t want to be out here when it got dark.

“So, good luck being a bird up there.” She waved and began to walk away, muttering to herself, “Now which way was that road?”

Callum couldn't help but glance to the side for at least a second when Tilly jabbed her finger at him, scolding him for sneaking up on her. However, he quickly regained his composure and listened as she explained the reason as to why the wealthy woman was angry at her. He wasn't surprised to hear that Tilly had stolen... no, liberated, a diamond ring from her. I don't know if I was expecting anything else, he thought honestly. Now that he thought about it, that lady had more than one ring on her, too many for him to count in the few seconds that he saw her. Surely, she could do without one, right? Maybe it was just his thoughts towards the wealthy and how stuck-up and selfish they could be, despite him coming from a wealthy family. To be fair, his brother hated his guts, his father only thought of him as a tool, and his sister loved him more than anyone else in the world. She was the only decent person in his life leading up to this point, well, besides his mentor of course.

He nodded slowly after Tilly spoke and watched as she packed up her things and began to walk away. He felt the urge to go after her, but then immediately asked himself what the purpose would be. He had gotten his answer, he should be fine on his own now, right? At that moment, he realized that he had one more question for her... and it concerned the Shaden. All he wanted was to figure out where they came from and eliminate the plague at the source before it could mutate to infect humans. As far as he was concerned, it could only affect other animals, such as deer, bears, etc. He knew nothing of an infected human.

Callum then heard her mutter something about a road and decided to follow her. In one quick motion, he hopped down from the tree, landing on his feet before jogging in her direction to catch up with her. "Wait!" he called, slowing down once he was walking next to her. He immediately felt the urge to ask about the Shaden, but he asked about something else instead, missing his intention completely. "Which road are you looking for? I might be able to find it... I know where most, if not all the roads to the capitol are, which is where I'm assuming you're headed...? You are going to the capitol, right? I used to live there before... er... never mind about that..."

Ask about the Shaden, ask about the Shaden!

"Um... I gotta ask you about something else too. It's important..."

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? JUST ASK ALREADY!!

"Do you know anything about the Shaden?" Callum blurted, followed by him blushing a little in embarrassment, courtesy of the multiple voices screaming simultaneously in his head. Oh geez... I could've asked a lot more professionally... he thought, wondering how this was going to go. He noticed that he couldn't hear as many birds singing as he did before; sure, there were still some there, but it wasn't as abundant. Oh no, please no... I don't need another Shaden attacking, okay? Can you be on my side today, Lady Luck? he prayed, shivering lightly.