Neither Snow, nor Rain, nor Heat, nor Demons

[Kender Bard]

Streak Morrison was one of the few couriers available these days. Many others had taken one look at all the dangerous to be found on the roads and in the wilds as of late (and sometimes, in the major cities themselves) and decided they suddenly wanted to be farmers.

But not Streak. And just because Naruta was going to the abyss didn't mean that people still didn't want to get messages through. If anything, there was at least triple the workload and with less hands to carry it, that meant Streak was making an absolute killing in fees. At the expense of his well-being.

He walked into the tavern known as the Merry Maestro, blinking in the slight gloom of the place. It was midday and so not terribly crowded. Streak was just fine with that. He strolled in and took a seat up at the bar, pulling out a couple of coins and setting them down as he asked for an ale. He was thirsty, his mouth tasted like road dirt, and he was looking forward to just resting for a bit. With a relieved sigh, he dropped his bag of letters and scrolls at his feet and surveyed the tavern to see who else was there.

[Deleted]

Kai had found his life getting increasingly difficult since the troubles began; people weren't so inclined to stop in the street to hear a passable bard sing, and tavern owners were getting choosier about who they let stay - after all, you never knew who might make you trouble these days.

It was by chance that he saw the courier flop at the bar, bag of letters at his feet, and that was all it took to get an idea. He felt guilty for what would be a cheap sort of con... not even a con, really, as a three year old would see through it, but he had been raised honest and not to beg. His family would be ashamed to see him now. Still, he squashed that thought firmly down under the much more important 'but I have to eat to live' thought, and slid out of the corner where he had been idly tuning one of his instruments.

His good wing twitched slightly as he 'accidentally' caught his foot on something invisible and went crashing to the ground with a yell of pain. Somehow managing to skid right across the floor and knock the bag of letters all over the place, which he immediately began to shove haphazardly back into the bag with an apologetic and innocent look at the man above him.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry... it's okay, no don't get up, I can handle this! I'll have your letters as good as new in no time. I'm not usually so clumsy, it was the hunger and the thirst making me light-headed... "

He proffered up the bag with its letters... not too neatly... jammed inside with a big smile.

"But I saved your wares, surely that might be worth a drink and a bit to eat?"

[Kender Bard]

Streak was off his stool and on the floor the instant he saw all his goods go flying. He was snatching them up as fast as he could, muttering to no avail, "No, no don't touch them! I have them!"

When they both stood, he jerked the bag out of Kai's hand and looked him over with considerable suspicion. Mostly he was looking for any telltale signs that Kai had stolen some of the letters. There was no way of knowing which ones would be worth anything, but a desperate thief might hope to grab one that contained valuable information.

Not seeing anything, though, he sat back down with a sigh, this time keeping his bag firmly on his lap. It was awkward and didn't help his mood greatly. "And what, praytell, has it so that you can't feed yourself? You have my thanks for helping to set to right what you knocked askew in the first place."

[Deleted]

There were no signs to indicate Kai had stolen anything at all. He was shirtless, and so there would be nowhere to store them, unless he stuffed them down the laces of his breeches, which would have been quite obvious.

Getting to his feet, Kai leaned heavily on the bar and gave an overly loud sigh. One hand over his stomach as if to quell the rumblings which were obligingly making themselves heard right around then.

"I gave my last coppers to a poor orphan boy for a loaf of bread, his little sister, scarce a toddler, was so thin as to be just bones. Take pity on a charitable soul, please?"

[Kender Bard]

Streak resisted the urge to groan, a sound catching in his throat. I'll bet you did. But in the off chance the man was so ridiculously kind...

Streak sighed and pointed to the seat next to him. "Go on, sit down. I'll get you a bite to eat and a mug of ale. Forces, though, if what you said is true what are you? A Generous priest of Soahc? You know I heard they'll give things away until they starve to death."

[Deleted]

Kai's eyes were practically shimmering with unshed, grateful tears as he remarkably regained his strength. Standing upright again, he reached out and tried to grasp Streak by the shoulders to properly express his gratitude.

"You've saved my life. I thought I was about to die, and then you came along... Forces, but I think you must be some kind of guardian spirit."

[Kender Bard]

Streak grimaced and fidgeted in the other man's grip. "Let's not get carried away," he told the other man. "Sit down, will ya?" He rubbed the back of his neck a little before holding out a hand to shake. "My name is Streak Morrison, courier."