The Starting Point|Haven, Ilyamen

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri woke up, got dressed, and walked outside. Anything during those long hours was a complete blur to her excited and glee filled mind. She might have eaten breakfast, she may have just grabbed orange juice. She couldn't quite remember anything, not even her dreams. All she knew was that it was early, very early. Earlier than she was used to. There was still some tinges of purple in the morning sky, and the sun wasn't hot yet, merely warming the ground. Shiri leaned against the wall, watching the merchants unroll their awnings and set up their wares. Every now and then, she would glance at the doorway, anxiously waiting for Zimri to wake up. Her backpack was full, and she was so excited, she couldn't even remember what she packed. Her violin case was held in her right hand, and it felt weightless in her grip. She felt as if she would float away at any moment, and butterflies pecked and flew in her stomach, turning over and over in her mind.

[aivea]

Zimri wakes up and makes his way outside while carrying his guitar. His head ached from a hangover which he decides not to mention. Seeing Shiri, he forces himself to quicken his pace and offers an apologetic half-smile.

"Morning, Shiri. Didn't mean to keep you waiting," the guitar player says. "Shall we go?"

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri grinned as brightly as humanly possible, and said, "Of course!" She glanced around her, almost spinning in the center of the street, and began to walk. After a few feet or yards, she began to twirl in the street again, glancing around at the markets around her. With a sheepish grin, she asked, "Er, which way do we go?"

"There's so many ways to go..." she said to herself as she looked around her, more confused over her city than she expected. She clung onto the violin case as she kept shifting her eyes around, with a huge grin on her face, and a dreamy, sparkling look in her eyes.

[aivea]

"I heard it was to the southwest of here, almost directly so," Zimri says quietly. "You can dance more before we start walking, though. I don't mind watching."

If his head didn't feel like it had been stepped on by a dragon, he probably would be more than happy to join in what looked to him like some kind of dance of glee. A normal sized bug decides to crawl along the ground near Shiri the moment she holds still.

[girlwithcandy]

"Right! Southwest! All right, starting now! For real, this time!" she said as she began to march gleefully down the street, sometimes stopping to spin around, and look at where she's been. A bug, a relatively tiny thing, crawled in front of her when she paused. "Oh, a bug. I guess it might want to get out too? That'd be interesting..." she said to herself with a big grin.

She sidestepped the bug, trying not to squish it. "There we go, no harm done!" she said as she walked forward, a grin on her face, and a spring in her step.

[aivea]

The bug continues on its way down the street, unknown to the two bards it really was trying to leave Ilyamen in order to live in a place with less competition for bug food.

"You're awfully excited," Zimri says, catching up to Shiri and rubbing his forehead. "By the way, just what happened last night? I feel like my head was munched on by a dragon."

He follows beside her, trying to drown out his hangover with her enthusiasm.

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri continued to grin. "Well yeah! I mean, I'm actually leaving! You know, something new and exciting? Doesn't happen often enough, really," she said.

Her expression fell a little, but she quickly recovered. "Oh, nothing much. Just some drinks, really. In celebration of raising enough enough funds, you know. Maybe you had a bit too much, or something? I wouldn't know, I don't keep track of other people's tabs," she said with a shrug as she walked down the street.

[aivea]

Zimri nods, "Yep, can't live live stuck in a rut. As for 'some drinks', I'm starting to think even a few sips is a bit too much. Wasn't expecting you to watch my tab... I just wanted to know if I did anything too odd."

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri thought about it as she walked. "Well, as far as other drunks are concerned? Not really, no. Maybe some lost judgement, a little too much talking, that sort of thing. Nothing odd about that, when you think about it," she said.

"As for specifics, I think it violates the Drunkard Code to discuss what occured when you were drinking. You know, unless it was something important, like killed someone or hooked up with someone you barely know. That sort of thing."

[aivea]

(Time for them to run into a little trouble.)

Zimri perks up enough to laugh and say, "It probably does."

Tailing them from the bar was a young man named Bitter who remembered seeing the amount of coins the two bards had received. He catches up and pretends to be hurt and in need of help when Zimri notices him.

"Ow my leg..." Bitter says in what sounded like an honestly hurt tone.

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri's grin faded a little, and she looked slightly worried as she spoke to the seemingly injured person. "Oh dear...what happened? Do you need a doctor or healer? Need any help? What's wrong?" she asked.

[aivea]

"I slipped while on the stairs this morning... It's been hurting to walk and I can't balance right even since," Bitter says, keeping up the pained tone.

Bitter falls toward Shiri so her coin purse was next to his hand and opens it enough to discreetly extract some of her coins. In the mean time, he continues to pretend to be in pain and unable to keep his balance with a wary hand close to the Wind sign on his thigh in case he was caught. Zimri is standing on the wrong side of Shiri to see Bitter's actions.

"We might want to get him looked at, Shiri," Zimri says, becoming worried as well.

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri glanced down at Bitter, a bit less worried. "Well, if that's all...we might just want to drop him off at a doctor's or healer's...Oh man, I can't remember where one is, do you?" she said, turning to Zimri.

"Well...We can take you to a doctor or something, but you have to pay for it, I'm a bit strapped for cash right now. Sorry...just not feeling all that charitable with money today," she said, eager to move on.

[aivea]

"Thanks anyway," Bitter says with a smirk, having finished transferring Shiri's money from her coin purse into his pocket.

Zimri has approached enough to see Bitter's smirk and says, "You're not really hurt are you?"

The bard uses his Wind abilities to create a burst of speed so he can tackle Bitter without the thief noticing.

"Caught?" Bitter asks quietly.

[girlwithcandy]

Shiri shot a glare at Bitter when she caught up to them, and dropped down near his head, crouching slightly, and her left hand slowly balling into a fist. "Give me my money back. You'll be sorry if you don't, I promise you that," she said, her voice still rather cheery, all things considered. "I mean, I'm not much a blackbelt, but I'm sure a punch or kick to the ribs would hurt, right? So come on, be a good little caught theif and give me my money back," she continued, still smiling slightly.