Post by Vesper on Jul 24, 2008 3:38:22 GMT -5
Involved:
Talis, Male Golden Tabby Tiger
Selini, Female Cheetah
Sri, Male Wolf
Aduro Aurum - Via Valde
The night's just coming on; although the sunset has been creeping up on the city for hours, it's only now that dark has reached the area visible above its high walls. Many of the vendors by the temple have begun to pack up their wares. Those with telekinetic abilities in particular help others, so that slender poles and fabrics and more delicate things swing through the air-- there's an air of organized chaos to the whole affair, which is conducted, of course, with a great deal of shouting and talk. Other vendors, however, have remained open, and instead simply light lamps as natural light begins to fade.
Sri and the other members of tonight's watch are just now replacing their counterparts, and the wolf is a bit slow to wake up; he'd been napping almost until it was time for him to report for duty. Along with the night watch, many other animals are waking up as well-- the city -hardly- sleeps as soon as night comes on.
This is, arguably, the best time of day when you're living in the middle of a desert. The city is lush, and cooler than it would be without so many plants around to provide shade, but right after sunset is when it's most comfortable. It's too late to be hot, and too early to be cold. At least one citizen is taking advantage of this fact, although you'd have to look up to see him. The ever-elusive Talis, who Sri was sent to look for some time ago, is much closer to the temple than anyone might realise--he's right above it, in fact, on its roof. Stretched out on his side, he gazes down into the still-busy streets through eyes that are only half open. He looks like he might be dozing, but every so often his ears will turn towards some interesting sound, or, less frequently, perhaps he'll blink.
Ah, such a grand sight. The temple, I mean. Lovely. Nothing quite like it anywhere else in Maiestas territory, and certainly nothing like it outside of Maiestas. The inside's nice too. Especially since she can avoid some of the heat of the day in there. Of course she could spend all day in there and seem like a /very/ pious healer, she could pray into the night. But. It's time to come out. The blue cheetah pads silently from the temple, scarcely bothering to glance around herself. Stalls and their keepers, selling things. Some of them are closing up for the night -- not too interesting -- indeed, it's downright boring. But Selini's never been easily amused. The healer's head is held high, her steps light and confident as she takes her leave, tail swaying casually behind her. She passes a glance to the left as a stall vendor smiles and wishes her a good evening. A brow arches and the healer continues on her way, all but ignoring the friendly words. What's so good about it, anyway? And here she might've continued on, but for the fact that she runs into something -- or rather, someone -- her confident stride comes to an abrupt halt as she's nearly knocked backwards. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" the cheetah pipes up, her ears flattening. She passes this vendor by before he can complain. She just wants to get home before anything /else/ can happen...
Sri, on the other hand, -is- easily amused-- he's quite happy to linger by the temple, watching the vendors work-- he loves to watch them taking down their stalls. Which isn't to say he's not alert to other things, of course. The cheetah striding so purposefully through the mess wouldn't normally catch his eye: after all, who -doesn't- have things to do? Save that the vendor, a baboon, snarls after her, flashing his long teeth.
While some guards prefer to hang by and watch unless things get out of hand, and Sri himself has certainly do so on more than one occasion, the baboon is making a bit of a ruckus. He sighs and ambles into motion, heading after the cheetah. For now, at least, Talis goes unnoticed-- the wolf doesn't usually look -up-.
However, the small drama playing out below doesn't go unnoticed by the ductor. Talis' ears flick forward, and he turns his head to get a better look at Selini, as well as the indignant primate that's bumped into her. He doesn't rise for now, but his expression is just that bit more attentive all of a sudden--either he's looking for entertainment or he's waiting to see if he'll need to intervene. Sri's trotting after the cheetah doesn't go unnoticed, either; he doesn't recognise the wolf specifically, but he moves like a guard, and that gives the tiger even less incentive to rise. There's no need for two to get involved in something so minor.
What, is he /still/ going on back that? Selini releases an exasperated sigh, her golden eyes rolling in minor annoyance. Her tail curls as her stride stops and she glances over her shoulder, both brows lowering as she eyes the baboon with a disdainful glare. He doesn't look too pleased. Well! He shouldn't have been in her way! "You got a problem? Take it up with the guard," she states with small sneer, "but you're unharmed and," -- she doesn't bother to face the primate, but she happens to see someone coming towards them -- "Well, would you look at that. Here comes one now," the cheetah flicks her tail towards the dark wolf. He moves like a guard. And she's sure she's seen him on watch a few times before. She cants her head in the wolf's direction, in case the little tail-flick is too subtle for the primate. "Take it up with him, monkey," the healer says bluntly, a soft snort sounding as she lifts her chin and prepares to strut away again.
"Hey now--" Sri starts, "I can't imagine it's a smart idea to be disrespectful of the vendors. With all those votives they've got a lot of weight with the Goddess, to be sure--" half-grinning as he says it, but stern all the same, keeping an eye on the baboon particularly. Then his head lifts: someone's calling him, it's clear-- even if the other s can't hear it. "I'll be back later to keepan eye on things--" t othe baboon. "Good evening-" t othe both of them and he trots off, quick.
Sri has disconnected.
Selini quirks a brow at the wolf-guard. A lot of weight with the goddess, eh? They're just votives. The cheetah snorts again, though whether it's at her own thoughts or it's directed at the way the situation was handled by the guard... well, for the monkey it probably just seems to be the latter. Swishing her tail as though to finalize the matter, Selini makes to leave the 'poor' vendor to his stall, her head held high. And that just seems to be a little too much for our baboon vendor. Maybe he's just having a bad day -- or maybe self-righteous, arrogant /cats/ like Selini bug him anyway. He probably figures she's some kind of hypocritical- well, it doesn't matter. The vendor is fuming, and once the wolf-guard is well out-of-range, he persues the slender feline. Rather quickly. "Hey!" he calls after Selini, and as cat turns to monkey, the vendor balls up a fist and /swings/ it at her. "What th-" Selini's words are cut short as a monkey-fist collides with... air? "What's that for!?" Now the healer is the indignant one. "Come /on/ Surely you know better than to hit a /girl,/" she prompts, brows lifting. Monkey-boy tackles her.
Still largely out of the public eye, Talis has craned his ears forward a bit more. It's impossible to say how much he can actually hear from his position, since the streets are still at least somewhat noisy, but he seems engrossed in the little scene. He watches impassively as Sri turns and moves away.
And then the fool of an ape makes his move. Talis sighs, sending a quiet rush of air from his nostrils, and finally rises to his feet. He descends slowly--there are so many decorative carvings surrounding the Sanctus Basilica that even the most inept of climbers would have no trouble at all getting down, as long as they don't mind stepping on the heads of a few religious figures on the way. The ductor clearly does not. "Is there a problem here?" His voice rumbles out of the gathering shadows, and it's followed shortly by his body, his stride unhurried. His reaction seems a little underwhelming, considering that the fight's already broken out, but then again he is large enough to--
Just wade in and try to bat the monkey off, like so.
"What- hey! Get /off/ me!" Selini shrieks as she's knocked to the ground by the force of the blow. The baboon just /threw/ himself at her. Of course she's on the ground. And yowling, hissing, and making all /sorts/ of racket to draw attention to the pair. She doesn't really care who's watching at this point -- or care whether they're helping or not. She's rather /unhappy/ about her current predicament, but she's not really worried so much as she's /angry./ She's a healer for crying out loud! And a girl. Didn't he know better? "Stop acting like you were raised in the wild!" the cheetah snarls, all the while scuffling with the vendor.
It really is rather ridiculous when one thinks about it. After all, this fellow -- this primate -- is (or was) working a stall selling goods for worshippers in the temple. It's doubtful he'll be able to sell goods here after this, of course. Then comes a deep, booming voice. Or at least something loud enough to distract the baboon for a few short seconds.
Selini sees her chance here and promptly aims a kick with one hind leg towards the vendor's mid-section, while at the same time searching for the voice's source. "Thank Akasha! Get this idiot /off/ me!" the healer cries, aiming another kick. Baboon-boy isn't quite moved by Selini's kicks -- she's not particularly powerful that way -- but he does move when he realizes that whatever -- whoever -- it is talking... is bigger than he is for sure.
Not to mention, Talis is now actively trying to insinuate himself into the scuffle. He looks rather unamused, his ears turned to display the prominent eyespots on the backs of them. "She came from the temple," he observes mildly, aiming a right-handed swat at the baboon. It isn't his dominant paw, but it will, more than likely, still be hard enough to send the ape flying if it hits. "I'm sure the rector would be thrilled to know that you're attacking his faithful. Shall I fetch him so that you can explain such rash actions to him directly?" The tiger even spares a brief look in Selini's direction--checking for injuries, maybe. He's clearly not too worried about the primate retaliating, but then, why should he be? A baboon may have long teeth, but they're still small in comparison to one of the larger cats.
The baboon's eyes widen and he scrambles to get away from Selini and -- he hopes -- the appearance of the tiger's paw moving towards him. The vendor isn't quite fast enough (which may or may not have been do to the possibly deliberate entwinement of Selini's forepaws around one of the baboon's legs) and he's clipped by the aforementioned paw. True to prediction, the monkey's sent flying forward and stops with his face to the ground. But he's no longer pestering the 'helpless' cheetah.
Speaking of which... Selini makes her way to her paws with as much dignity as she can muster, her chin tilted up just the slightest bit as she regards psycho-ape. He definately deserved that. With a lash of her tail, Selini turns to observe the tiger.
Meanwhile, the ape rubs his snout before rising slowly to his feet and casting a wary eye on the largest of the two cats. His eyes widen. "Th-the rector? N-n-no! There's not need," the vendor says hurriedly, going from indignant to meek and humble in the span of a few seconds. He bows his head, first to the ductor, then towards the healer. "Please accept my humblest apologies."
Selini turns her eyes from the tiger to quirk a brow at the monkey. She's been roughed up a bit, but she /is/ a healer. "Now I'll have to clean my fur again..." she mutters under her breath, her ears settling back. She flicks a cautious eye to the tiger then dips her head. "I guess this's settled then... I'll pray Akasha forgives you for how you've treated me, a simple /healer./" Selini adds this with a flick of her tail. Yeah. That'll show him.
As soon as the two of them are separated, Talis moves to place himself neatly between them, his eyes back on the primate. Even a creature with poor night vision might be able to see why he used his right paw--his claws are out, and the ones on his left paw gleam unnaturally. Metal. Well, that would answer the question of who /he/ is. It's arguably worse to run afoul of the ductor. At least Hesito is predictable; stay devoted to Akasha, and the temple will leave you alone. But Talis will occasionally take a personal interest in his charges. He snorts, eyeing the baboon with a subdued sort of disdain. "Your /humblest/," he repeats dryly. "Of course."
His ears perk when Selini speaks, and the smile that finds its way onto his face is thin and rather humourless. "You may want to make sure you know who you're attacking next time. You could find yourself in need of a healer one day." His eyes turn to the healer in question, and Talis regards her contemplatively for a brief moment. "I assume you're capable of treating your own injuries if you have any." It's not really a question.
If Mr. Attack-the-Cheetah wasn't trembling in his fur before, he is now. A cheetah is a signifigantly smaller feline than this giant creature before him. The vendor barely reaches Talis's elbow when he stands upright. Down on all fours he's quite a bit smaller than both felids. He just looks big because of his fur. The vendor lowers his gaze -- the words of both cats have his mind reeling in horror at what he's done. "Oh, oh my. I must pray to Akasha, I-" and she's a /healer/!? The ape is dreadfully silent. Even if he doesn't particularly feel bad for /her/, he's definately worrying about his own fate. "It /won't/ happen again," he assures the ductor with a deep bow, his elbows to the ground.
"It'd better not," Selini adds coolly. She's got the big bad tiger on her side. Well, not really. But she's still an over-confident little thing. And the monkey would be totally right to keep thinking she's arrogant and self-righteous. She definately is. But that's another matter for another day. Selini's tail curls behind as she dips her head towards Talis. An amused smirk forms on the blue cheetah's face, "Ah now, what kind of healer would I be if I couldn't?" she replies evenly, a dry, humorless chuckle leaving her lips. "Now. If you'll both excuse me -- I do believe I was off to do better things than scuffle with some ape." With a final swish of her tail, the cheetah starts to make her get-away once more, but not before glancing over her shoulder at the ductor. He probably deserves a lot more respect, but... she's not about to lower herself to monkey-boy's level. Is he grovelling? "Fare well," she offers the tiger with another dip of her head -- she's /not/ good with respect -- then turns to continue on her way as if her little scuffle had never happened at all...
As for the baboon? He trembles as he rises. He spares one good look at those claws -- big, metal, and more than capable of harming -- before fleeing back to his stall. He needs to pack up.
Another guard might offer to escort Selini home. Talis, however, doesn't seem to think she needs one--or perhaps he just doesn't want to volunteer himself. The tiger closes his eyes for a minute, and when they open again he rolls them skyward before turning away from the baboon. "Go pray, then," he grunts over his shoulder. "There are witnesses. They'll gossip. The rector will hear." For all that, though, he seems largely uninterested in the primate now that all traces of his spine appear to have evaporated.
"Farewell," he returns the cheetah's salutation curtly, and pauses a moment before he adds a traditional saying: "Akasha's blessings." He's watching Selini as he says it--his expression is bland but his gaze is unsettlingly direct, and curious.
Selini makes no indications that she's heard the ductor's final words. A traditional saying. Of course she's heard it before. It would be polite to return them. Or perhaps she really doesn't hear them. Not that there's much of a difference between not hearing and choosing not to hear. Her tail swishes casually behind her again and her step is light and confident. A vixen -- a witness to the whole scene -- stares as the healer pads on by and, in return, recieves a dismissive look: there's nothing more to see here. What an interesting evening this has turned out to be... she's a little worse for wear, but she's a healer. She'll mend. She can't say the same for one temple vendor's reputation, however. The sun is setting and the city is preparing for a whole new breed of nightlife to come about. But Selini can't settle for just walking away: before she's completely gone from sight, she whips her head around to cast one more glance on the tiger to find his gaze on her. She inwardly chuckles to herself. Yeah. Interesting night. The healer turns away. Time for some dinner and a nice bath.
The lack of response doesn't seem to ruffle him. It would probably anger Hesito, or even one of the priests, but Talis seems bizarrely satisfied when the cheetah opts to ignore him. Is it possible that she just didn't hear? Perhaps. But he finds it unlikely. Still, when he moves again it's not to go after Selini--at least not at first. Instead he swarms up along the intricately carved statues, back towards the roof of the temple. This is easy enough for any big cat, even ones that aren't good climbers--the hard part is getting down again. From there, however, he has a good view of the streets, and the buildings in most parts of the city are shoved together closely enough to allow easy access over the roofs. Is the fact that he goes in the same direction as Selini mere coincidence? Assuredly. The ductor must have more important things to do than stalk random citizens he finds interesting in some way or another.
And yet, here he is, in a place most people wouldn't think to look, moving along with a purpose. Maybe he's just decided to patrol up here tonight.
Her path leads her west on the Via Valde, away from the Sanctus Basilica. She moves in a light, aloof manner. Does she really believe herself to be so high in life above others? Perhaps. Or perhaps she knows she's anything but, and therefore strives to be what she's not. She suddenly begins to move northwards, towards the bazaar, but suddenly hesitates. Her white-tipped tail curls just the slightest bit, then flicks as though to shrug something off. She debates altering course, to the Viridis Arbor. But something tells her she'd be better off simply heading home. She's not telepathic as her father was, but she definately has a feeling. Yeah, just a feeling. That she should /actually/ head home and maybe get cleaned up. She's looking a little like a scruffy street urchin that's been around the block one-too-many times. But since when has /she/ cared about her own appearance so much? The healer's stride suddenly falters, and she comes to a stop in the middle of the darkening street. The plants are far more interesting. Maybe they need some water? No. She needs to go home. She lifts a paw to move on.
There aren't, of course, any torches up here on top of the buildings--and so Talis is cast into shadow, but his silhouette keeps pace with the cheetah, moving on silent, padded feet. It could still be written off as coincidence, perhaps, except for the fact that he stops when she does, and waits patiently for her to begin moving again. If his presence goes undetected, he'll simply follow Selini home, with no obvious motive except to satisfy his own curiosity. Detours like this are why he's so difficult to find most of the time--past ductors have never spent their evenings ghosting around after random citizens of the city.
It's nothing. Lashing her tail as though to finalize her own thoughts, the healer continues on her way again. Her pace picks up the slightest bit. It's getting dark out, and though there's torchlight and she's sure she could hold her own if she had to throw some water at someone, even she's wary of being out alone after dark. Or at least... she appears to be, from what any onlooker could deduce from her movements. After all, Selini's a bright girl. Her ingenuity has gotten her places before. And it's gotten her out of trouble just as much. She's nearly reached the bazaar when she turns towards one of the smaller dwellings. She approaches the house silently and then, as if some thought has crossed her mind, the cheetah pauses and chuckles softly as though amused. "Hmm. Akasha's blessings..." Indeed. Then she slips inside in a few swift movements. She's safe at home. If she suspects she's been followed, the only indication would've been those words. But then again... she could simply be musing aloud to herself. She'd heard his words back there. Inside her abode, she grins to herself. So. /That's/ the ductor.
This is clearly the end of the line; Selini has reached her home. Talis still makes no move to come down off of the roof he's stopped on, so it appears that he has no intention of bothering her. But his eyes are alert as he surveys the area surrounding her dwelling, noting the part of the city it's in, and distinguishing landmarks around it--trees, fences, anything. Finally they come to rest on the building itself once again, and the tiger blinks, slow, seeming to commit it to memory. Then he's off again, on whatever actual business he may have to take care of.
Talis, Male Golden Tabby Tiger
Selini, Female Cheetah
Sri, Male Wolf
Aduro Aurum - Via Valde
The night's just coming on; although the sunset has been creeping up on the city for hours, it's only now that dark has reached the area visible above its high walls. Many of the vendors by the temple have begun to pack up their wares. Those with telekinetic abilities in particular help others, so that slender poles and fabrics and more delicate things swing through the air-- there's an air of organized chaos to the whole affair, which is conducted, of course, with a great deal of shouting and talk. Other vendors, however, have remained open, and instead simply light lamps as natural light begins to fade.
Sri and the other members of tonight's watch are just now replacing their counterparts, and the wolf is a bit slow to wake up; he'd been napping almost until it was time for him to report for duty. Along with the night watch, many other animals are waking up as well-- the city -hardly- sleeps as soon as night comes on.
This is, arguably, the best time of day when you're living in the middle of a desert. The city is lush, and cooler than it would be without so many plants around to provide shade, but right after sunset is when it's most comfortable. It's too late to be hot, and too early to be cold. At least one citizen is taking advantage of this fact, although you'd have to look up to see him. The ever-elusive Talis, who Sri was sent to look for some time ago, is much closer to the temple than anyone might realise--he's right above it, in fact, on its roof. Stretched out on his side, he gazes down into the still-busy streets through eyes that are only half open. He looks like he might be dozing, but every so often his ears will turn towards some interesting sound, or, less frequently, perhaps he'll blink.
Ah, such a grand sight. The temple, I mean. Lovely. Nothing quite like it anywhere else in Maiestas territory, and certainly nothing like it outside of Maiestas. The inside's nice too. Especially since she can avoid some of the heat of the day in there. Of course she could spend all day in there and seem like a /very/ pious healer, she could pray into the night. But. It's time to come out. The blue cheetah pads silently from the temple, scarcely bothering to glance around herself. Stalls and their keepers, selling things. Some of them are closing up for the night -- not too interesting -- indeed, it's downright boring. But Selini's never been easily amused. The healer's head is held high, her steps light and confident as she takes her leave, tail swaying casually behind her. She passes a glance to the left as a stall vendor smiles and wishes her a good evening. A brow arches and the healer continues on her way, all but ignoring the friendly words. What's so good about it, anyway? And here she might've continued on, but for the fact that she runs into something -- or rather, someone -- her confident stride comes to an abrupt halt as she's nearly knocked backwards. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" the cheetah pipes up, her ears flattening. She passes this vendor by before he can complain. She just wants to get home before anything /else/ can happen...
Sri, on the other hand, -is- easily amused-- he's quite happy to linger by the temple, watching the vendors work-- he loves to watch them taking down their stalls. Which isn't to say he's not alert to other things, of course. The cheetah striding so purposefully through the mess wouldn't normally catch his eye: after all, who -doesn't- have things to do? Save that the vendor, a baboon, snarls after her, flashing his long teeth.
While some guards prefer to hang by and watch unless things get out of hand, and Sri himself has certainly do so on more than one occasion, the baboon is making a bit of a ruckus. He sighs and ambles into motion, heading after the cheetah. For now, at least, Talis goes unnoticed-- the wolf doesn't usually look -up-.
However, the small drama playing out below doesn't go unnoticed by the ductor. Talis' ears flick forward, and he turns his head to get a better look at Selini, as well as the indignant primate that's bumped into her. He doesn't rise for now, but his expression is just that bit more attentive all of a sudden--either he's looking for entertainment or he's waiting to see if he'll need to intervene. Sri's trotting after the cheetah doesn't go unnoticed, either; he doesn't recognise the wolf specifically, but he moves like a guard, and that gives the tiger even less incentive to rise. There's no need for two to get involved in something so minor.
What, is he /still/ going on back that? Selini releases an exasperated sigh, her golden eyes rolling in minor annoyance. Her tail curls as her stride stops and she glances over her shoulder, both brows lowering as she eyes the baboon with a disdainful glare. He doesn't look too pleased. Well! He shouldn't have been in her way! "You got a problem? Take it up with the guard," she states with small sneer, "but you're unharmed and," -- she doesn't bother to face the primate, but she happens to see someone coming towards them -- "Well, would you look at that. Here comes one now," the cheetah flicks her tail towards the dark wolf. He moves like a guard. And she's sure she's seen him on watch a few times before. She cants her head in the wolf's direction, in case the little tail-flick is too subtle for the primate. "Take it up with him, monkey," the healer says bluntly, a soft snort sounding as she lifts her chin and prepares to strut away again.
"Hey now--" Sri starts, "I can't imagine it's a smart idea to be disrespectful of the vendors. With all those votives they've got a lot of weight with the Goddess, to be sure--" half-grinning as he says it, but stern all the same, keeping an eye on the baboon particularly. Then his head lifts: someone's calling him, it's clear-- even if the other s can't hear it. "I'll be back later to keepan eye on things--" t othe baboon. "Good evening-" t othe both of them and he trots off, quick.
Sri has disconnected.
Selini quirks a brow at the wolf-guard. A lot of weight with the goddess, eh? They're just votives. The cheetah snorts again, though whether it's at her own thoughts or it's directed at the way the situation was handled by the guard... well, for the monkey it probably just seems to be the latter. Swishing her tail as though to finalize the matter, Selini makes to leave the 'poor' vendor to his stall, her head held high. And that just seems to be a little too much for our baboon vendor. Maybe he's just having a bad day -- or maybe self-righteous, arrogant /cats/ like Selini bug him anyway. He probably figures she's some kind of hypocritical- well, it doesn't matter. The vendor is fuming, and once the wolf-guard is well out-of-range, he persues the slender feline. Rather quickly. "Hey!" he calls after Selini, and as cat turns to monkey, the vendor balls up a fist and /swings/ it at her. "What th-" Selini's words are cut short as a monkey-fist collides with... air? "What's that for!?" Now the healer is the indignant one. "Come /on/ Surely you know better than to hit a /girl,/" she prompts, brows lifting. Monkey-boy tackles her.
Still largely out of the public eye, Talis has craned his ears forward a bit more. It's impossible to say how much he can actually hear from his position, since the streets are still at least somewhat noisy, but he seems engrossed in the little scene. He watches impassively as Sri turns and moves away.
And then the fool of an ape makes his move. Talis sighs, sending a quiet rush of air from his nostrils, and finally rises to his feet. He descends slowly--there are so many decorative carvings surrounding the Sanctus Basilica that even the most inept of climbers would have no trouble at all getting down, as long as they don't mind stepping on the heads of a few religious figures on the way. The ductor clearly does not. "Is there a problem here?" His voice rumbles out of the gathering shadows, and it's followed shortly by his body, his stride unhurried. His reaction seems a little underwhelming, considering that the fight's already broken out, but then again he is large enough to--
Just wade in and try to bat the monkey off, like so.
"What- hey! Get /off/ me!" Selini shrieks as she's knocked to the ground by the force of the blow. The baboon just /threw/ himself at her. Of course she's on the ground. And yowling, hissing, and making all /sorts/ of racket to draw attention to the pair. She doesn't really care who's watching at this point -- or care whether they're helping or not. She's rather /unhappy/ about her current predicament, but she's not really worried so much as she's /angry./ She's a healer for crying out loud! And a girl. Didn't he know better? "Stop acting like you were raised in the wild!" the cheetah snarls, all the while scuffling with the vendor.
It really is rather ridiculous when one thinks about it. After all, this fellow -- this primate -- is (or was) working a stall selling goods for worshippers in the temple. It's doubtful he'll be able to sell goods here after this, of course. Then comes a deep, booming voice. Or at least something loud enough to distract the baboon for a few short seconds.
Selini sees her chance here and promptly aims a kick with one hind leg towards the vendor's mid-section, while at the same time searching for the voice's source. "Thank Akasha! Get this idiot /off/ me!" the healer cries, aiming another kick. Baboon-boy isn't quite moved by Selini's kicks -- she's not particularly powerful that way -- but he does move when he realizes that whatever -- whoever -- it is talking... is bigger than he is for sure.
Not to mention, Talis is now actively trying to insinuate himself into the scuffle. He looks rather unamused, his ears turned to display the prominent eyespots on the backs of them. "She came from the temple," he observes mildly, aiming a right-handed swat at the baboon. It isn't his dominant paw, but it will, more than likely, still be hard enough to send the ape flying if it hits. "I'm sure the rector would be thrilled to know that you're attacking his faithful. Shall I fetch him so that you can explain such rash actions to him directly?" The tiger even spares a brief look in Selini's direction--checking for injuries, maybe. He's clearly not too worried about the primate retaliating, but then, why should he be? A baboon may have long teeth, but they're still small in comparison to one of the larger cats.
The baboon's eyes widen and he scrambles to get away from Selini and -- he hopes -- the appearance of the tiger's paw moving towards him. The vendor isn't quite fast enough (which may or may not have been do to the possibly deliberate entwinement of Selini's forepaws around one of the baboon's legs) and he's clipped by the aforementioned paw. True to prediction, the monkey's sent flying forward and stops with his face to the ground. But he's no longer pestering the 'helpless' cheetah.
Speaking of which... Selini makes her way to her paws with as much dignity as she can muster, her chin tilted up just the slightest bit as she regards psycho-ape. He definately deserved that. With a lash of her tail, Selini turns to observe the tiger.
Meanwhile, the ape rubs his snout before rising slowly to his feet and casting a wary eye on the largest of the two cats. His eyes widen. "Th-the rector? N-n-no! There's not need," the vendor says hurriedly, going from indignant to meek and humble in the span of a few seconds. He bows his head, first to the ductor, then towards the healer. "Please accept my humblest apologies."
Selini turns her eyes from the tiger to quirk a brow at the monkey. She's been roughed up a bit, but she /is/ a healer. "Now I'll have to clean my fur again..." she mutters under her breath, her ears settling back. She flicks a cautious eye to the tiger then dips her head. "I guess this's settled then... I'll pray Akasha forgives you for how you've treated me, a simple /healer./" Selini adds this with a flick of her tail. Yeah. That'll show him.
As soon as the two of them are separated, Talis moves to place himself neatly between them, his eyes back on the primate. Even a creature with poor night vision might be able to see why he used his right paw--his claws are out, and the ones on his left paw gleam unnaturally. Metal. Well, that would answer the question of who /he/ is. It's arguably worse to run afoul of the ductor. At least Hesito is predictable; stay devoted to Akasha, and the temple will leave you alone. But Talis will occasionally take a personal interest in his charges. He snorts, eyeing the baboon with a subdued sort of disdain. "Your /humblest/," he repeats dryly. "Of course."
His ears perk when Selini speaks, and the smile that finds its way onto his face is thin and rather humourless. "You may want to make sure you know who you're attacking next time. You could find yourself in need of a healer one day." His eyes turn to the healer in question, and Talis regards her contemplatively for a brief moment. "I assume you're capable of treating your own injuries if you have any." It's not really a question.
If Mr. Attack-the-Cheetah wasn't trembling in his fur before, he is now. A cheetah is a signifigantly smaller feline than this giant creature before him. The vendor barely reaches Talis's elbow when he stands upright. Down on all fours he's quite a bit smaller than both felids. He just looks big because of his fur. The vendor lowers his gaze -- the words of both cats have his mind reeling in horror at what he's done. "Oh, oh my. I must pray to Akasha, I-" and she's a /healer/!? The ape is dreadfully silent. Even if he doesn't particularly feel bad for /her/, he's definately worrying about his own fate. "It /won't/ happen again," he assures the ductor with a deep bow, his elbows to the ground.
"It'd better not," Selini adds coolly. She's got the big bad tiger on her side. Well, not really. But she's still an over-confident little thing. And the monkey would be totally right to keep thinking she's arrogant and self-righteous. She definately is. But that's another matter for another day. Selini's tail curls behind as she dips her head towards Talis. An amused smirk forms on the blue cheetah's face, "Ah now, what kind of healer would I be if I couldn't?" she replies evenly, a dry, humorless chuckle leaving her lips. "Now. If you'll both excuse me -- I do believe I was off to do better things than scuffle with some ape." With a final swish of her tail, the cheetah starts to make her get-away once more, but not before glancing over her shoulder at the ductor. He probably deserves a lot more respect, but... she's not about to lower herself to monkey-boy's level. Is he grovelling? "Fare well," she offers the tiger with another dip of her head -- she's /not/ good with respect -- then turns to continue on her way as if her little scuffle had never happened at all...
As for the baboon? He trembles as he rises. He spares one good look at those claws -- big, metal, and more than capable of harming -- before fleeing back to his stall. He needs to pack up.
Another guard might offer to escort Selini home. Talis, however, doesn't seem to think she needs one--or perhaps he just doesn't want to volunteer himself. The tiger closes his eyes for a minute, and when they open again he rolls them skyward before turning away from the baboon. "Go pray, then," he grunts over his shoulder. "There are witnesses. They'll gossip. The rector will hear." For all that, though, he seems largely uninterested in the primate now that all traces of his spine appear to have evaporated.
"Farewell," he returns the cheetah's salutation curtly, and pauses a moment before he adds a traditional saying: "Akasha's blessings." He's watching Selini as he says it--his expression is bland but his gaze is unsettlingly direct, and curious.
Selini makes no indications that she's heard the ductor's final words. A traditional saying. Of course she's heard it before. It would be polite to return them. Or perhaps she really doesn't hear them. Not that there's much of a difference between not hearing and choosing not to hear. Her tail swishes casually behind her again and her step is light and confident. A vixen -- a witness to the whole scene -- stares as the healer pads on by and, in return, recieves a dismissive look: there's nothing more to see here. What an interesting evening this has turned out to be... she's a little worse for wear, but she's a healer. She'll mend. She can't say the same for one temple vendor's reputation, however. The sun is setting and the city is preparing for a whole new breed of nightlife to come about. But Selini can't settle for just walking away: before she's completely gone from sight, she whips her head around to cast one more glance on the tiger to find his gaze on her. She inwardly chuckles to herself. Yeah. Interesting night. The healer turns away. Time for some dinner and a nice bath.
The lack of response doesn't seem to ruffle him. It would probably anger Hesito, or even one of the priests, but Talis seems bizarrely satisfied when the cheetah opts to ignore him. Is it possible that she just didn't hear? Perhaps. But he finds it unlikely. Still, when he moves again it's not to go after Selini--at least not at first. Instead he swarms up along the intricately carved statues, back towards the roof of the temple. This is easy enough for any big cat, even ones that aren't good climbers--the hard part is getting down again. From there, however, he has a good view of the streets, and the buildings in most parts of the city are shoved together closely enough to allow easy access over the roofs. Is the fact that he goes in the same direction as Selini mere coincidence? Assuredly. The ductor must have more important things to do than stalk random citizens he finds interesting in some way or another.
And yet, here he is, in a place most people wouldn't think to look, moving along with a purpose. Maybe he's just decided to patrol up here tonight.
Her path leads her west on the Via Valde, away from the Sanctus Basilica. She moves in a light, aloof manner. Does she really believe herself to be so high in life above others? Perhaps. Or perhaps she knows she's anything but, and therefore strives to be what she's not. She suddenly begins to move northwards, towards the bazaar, but suddenly hesitates. Her white-tipped tail curls just the slightest bit, then flicks as though to shrug something off. She debates altering course, to the Viridis Arbor. But something tells her she'd be better off simply heading home. She's not telepathic as her father was, but she definately has a feeling. Yeah, just a feeling. That she should /actually/ head home and maybe get cleaned up. She's looking a little like a scruffy street urchin that's been around the block one-too-many times. But since when has /she/ cared about her own appearance so much? The healer's stride suddenly falters, and she comes to a stop in the middle of the darkening street. The plants are far more interesting. Maybe they need some water? No. She needs to go home. She lifts a paw to move on.
There aren't, of course, any torches up here on top of the buildings--and so Talis is cast into shadow, but his silhouette keeps pace with the cheetah, moving on silent, padded feet. It could still be written off as coincidence, perhaps, except for the fact that he stops when she does, and waits patiently for her to begin moving again. If his presence goes undetected, he'll simply follow Selini home, with no obvious motive except to satisfy his own curiosity. Detours like this are why he's so difficult to find most of the time--past ductors have never spent their evenings ghosting around after random citizens of the city.
It's nothing. Lashing her tail as though to finalize her own thoughts, the healer continues on her way again. Her pace picks up the slightest bit. It's getting dark out, and though there's torchlight and she's sure she could hold her own if she had to throw some water at someone, even she's wary of being out alone after dark. Or at least... she appears to be, from what any onlooker could deduce from her movements. After all, Selini's a bright girl. Her ingenuity has gotten her places before. And it's gotten her out of trouble just as much. She's nearly reached the bazaar when she turns towards one of the smaller dwellings. She approaches the house silently and then, as if some thought has crossed her mind, the cheetah pauses and chuckles softly as though amused. "Hmm. Akasha's blessings..." Indeed. Then she slips inside in a few swift movements. She's safe at home. If she suspects she's been followed, the only indication would've been those words. But then again... she could simply be musing aloud to herself. She'd heard his words back there. Inside her abode, she grins to herself. So. /That's/ the ductor.
This is clearly the end of the line; Selini has reached her home. Talis still makes no move to come down off of the roof he's stopped on, so it appears that he has no intention of bothering her. But his eyes are alert as he surveys the area surrounding her dwelling, noting the part of the city it's in, and distinguishing landmarks around it--trees, fences, anything. Finally they come to rest on the building itself once again, and the tiger blinks, slow, seeming to commit it to memory. Then he's off again, on whatever actual business he may have to take care of.