Snake in the grass.|Rivenway | Ronduin

[Kender Bard]

Ven backed away slowly but kept Shabi in his sight. What to say... Well, I wouldn't really say friend, now would I?

~Not friend~ Ven hissed back. ~Pandora's companion.~ He lifted his head and looked in Pandora's direction. ~See?~ Pandora's bestial traits weren't very noticeable, but fortune would have it, she chose that moment to make a grimacing sneer of frustration, revealing her fangs.

[Toyoll]

Shabi turned his regal head and spied the one named Pandora.

-She searches for dear Nariobi?- At this his throat flattened slightly, partly out of reflex, partly out of anger.

He returned his attention to the smaller snake, -I have come to help Nariobi. But to do this...- Shabi lowered his head, -I must help your companion.-

-Do not be mistaken, small snake. I will not simply lead them to dear Nari. Nari is my beloved friend. Nari deserves better than trapping. Nari is intelligent, Nari will flee. But I must warn Darin-man and companion Pandora.-

Serpents can not express their emotions as humans do, their scaled armour paralyses their faces, but in that instant, if one were to really pay attention, they would have seen just how sad the proud King Cobra was.

-Poor, poor Nariobi's mind is broke. Nari does not understand what happens. Nariobi is two people.
Dear, sweet Nari is childish.
Cold, bitter Nariobi is dangerous.-

Shabi crawled backwards a few inches and he spread his hood with a hiss, -Shabi will not tolerate the hurting of Nariobi. Shabi's venom can kill elephants. Shabi's venom can kill 8 men with one strike. Shabi is more dangerous than silly little asp.-

He tucked away his hood and turned his back on Ven, -Small snake will also be smart and tell Darin-man and companion Pandora that Nariobi carries my venom in her fangs.-

With those parting words, Shabi sped off into the croud once more.

[Kender Bard]

Ven didn't like being talked down to but he did not voice anything in response to it, nor rise as if to challenge. Shabi was, really, the master in this confrontation. When the cobra left, he felt a sense of relief and made his way back to Pandora, coiling affectionately around her ankle, suddenly acutely glad to have such a level headed mistress and friend.

"There you are," Pandora breathed, moving out of the crowd to lean against a building. "Have you found her?"

Ven worked his way up her body. ~We're dealing with a stranger circumstance here, Pandora. The one we hunt is called Nariobi. She has a kinship with cobras, and her bite is as deadly as their own. But she is... two people in one skin.~ He had trouble framing it exactly in a way that they could both comprehend. Pandora was quick to understand, though, and she frowned. ~Her protector and friend will not abide us hurting her. I don't know if we can kill her without someone else dying. I do not believe I could protect you from him.~ It pained him to admit this. Pandora stroked his head reassuringly. ~What will you do?~

"Talk to Darin," Pandora sighed and started to head back. "The trail has gone cold anyway. I'm sure we can find her again if we must." She headed back to where she'd last seen Darin.

[Devon]

Darin was now standing where she had left him, instead of going to an inn like he had said earlier. "Well, did you find her?"

[Kender Bard]

"We need to talk," she said simply, holding out her hand to him. "Come on, and we still need to get you healed and rested."

Once at the inn, she sends for a healer, who comes to patch Darin up. While he's being tended to, Pandora talks about her find. "I didn't find her, no, but Ven spoke to her companion, some cobra." Her voice quavered just slightly, almost without her notice. She cleared her throat. "He informed Ven that this girl, Nariobi, isn't all there in the head." She twirls a finger by her temple. "But to complicate matters, she's also got a deadly bite. It only takes a few drops from either her fangs or her snake's and you can kiss your-"

The healer gave Pandora a warning look.

"-..behind goodbye."

[Devon]

Darin nods along to the information while the healer patches him up. "Well I like my behind..and yours so we'll have to figure something out. I got the same impression from the girl when I met her, she really did seem like she was missing something in her head. This may sound weird, but maybe instead of using force..we just talk to her."

[Kender Bard]

Pandora didn't look so sure. "Okay so we talk to her, and then what? 'Please stop killing people, kid, it's really hard to get the stains out.' I don't think that's going to work."

Normally healers stay out of the business of their clients, but this one spoke up very softly, so only Darin could hear, "Sensatia has mind healers. Maybe if you can get a hold of them.. or bring her to them, they could heal her."

[Devon]

Darin looks to the healer and nods his thanks. "A mind healer may be able to help, but finding one quickly may be a problem. Then there is the risk of getting Nariobi near the mind healer, she is unstable she may try and hurt the healer. What do you think Pandora? Is it worth the risk? To be honest I don't want to put the girl in an early grave..sure she killed a boy, but she isn't like that woman back in Khelek."

[Kender Bard]

Pandora sighed heavily and rubbed the back of her neck as she moved about restlessly. Deep down, a part of her didn't care if the girl lived or died. She tried to squelch that bloodthirsty, cold part of her. "I don't know, Darin. It couldn't be done quickly. I don't want to kill her either. Is there anyway you think we can subdue her without getting ourselves killed in the process? I mean.. I mean we could tie her up or something.."

Her voice went kinda weak at the suggestion though. She understood how cruel it would be to lock the girl in a room.

[Devon]

Darin sits up and stretches out his arms. "You don't sound excited about locking her away, so that idea is out. We just need to restrict her movements long enough to calm her down, if we can't do that she'll never listen. What about taking her to the water, the middle of the water she has no place to run. We tie her up and take her out there..she is out in the open with plenty of room to breathe, she just can't run away until we're done with her."

[Kender Bard]

Pandora chewed on her lip and nodded. "Let's try to coax her out there first."

"No running," the healer advised Darin as she gathered her things and left, leaving the man mostly healed and bandaged.

[Devon]

Darin nodded to the healer with a look of disinterest on his face about not running. Standing up he gathers his things and looks to Pandora. "Ready to go?"

[Kender Bard]

"Already?" Pandora replies in surprise, and then shakes her head ruefully. She should have figured he'd jump into action. "Okay but we have to find her all over again. I don't think we should split up this time either. Sound fair?"

[Devon]

"Sounds more than fair. Darin waits for her to leave the room first so he could follow her, but a small grin comes across his face. "It is so nice to have a woman that cares."

[Kender Bard]

Pandora sniffed indignantly and turned up her nose in a scoff, but did nothing to rebuke the claim. She really did care, and it was getting harder to shrug off and pretend she didn't feel how she did towards him.

Walking out, she occasionally would glance back at Darin to make sure he was doing okay while leading him around the city. "We don't have any leads, though. I don't think she would have left, not if her Beast wants us to do something about her. Any suggestions?" All the while she kept her eyes peeled for the dark places they passed.