A Favour from a Barber to a Sharp-Edged Woman

[Bobbie]

Theodore Barker was finally a free man. It came as a surprise, as it had been made very clear to him that he would be imprisoned for the rest of his life for his heinous crimes, yet here he was only nine years later, being transported aboard a military ship. The same procedure was followed as the day he was taken to the prison nine years ago - under direct request of a well-respected nobleman, Mr Greene no doubt, the location of his imprisonment was to be kept secret even from Theodore himself, and so he was transported alone and with a black bag over his head. Unfortunately, hearing the waves did not provide much insight other than that he was no longer on Strawberry Hill.

As they reached their destination, the ex-prisoner was taken onto dry land and his restraints removed as he was allowed to see his surroundings. “Here we are. I don’t know what possessed the chief to sign an early release for you, but I don’t need to warn you that if I catch you make one wrong move, we’ll be hounding after you within seconds to throw you back in jail where you belong… so you’d better be on your best behaviour.”

Theodore stared at the officer who gave his warning with a bored expression. He had long given up on telling everyone that he was innocent. He had always been on his best behaviour since the moment he met his wife, who would be quick to slap his wrists if he was anything but. Sighing, he took his belongings as they were returned to him, a simple bag with his set of razors and his wallet - which had conveniently been emptied of all its currency. “Thanks…” he grumpily uttered before turning around to make way to his wife, but he only took a single step forward and then he froze, unable to recognise these streets. Then he saw the sign.

“Toroa!?” He blurted out, spinning around to face the officer again, but the uniformed man was already back on board his ship and raising the gangplank to prevent Theodore from following. “There’s been a mistake! I need to be on Strawberry Hill Island, not Toroa!” he shouted across the distance that separated him from his only chance at getting home.

The chuckling that came from the officer confused Theodore, but the next words to come from the officer explained everything: “Mr Greene sends his regards!”

“That slimy fat worm…” was one of the less creative things Theodore responded with, as he watched the officer sail away and leave him on a foreign island with absolutely no money or means of getting by. Well, perhaps that wasn’t true, he did have his set of razors and, thankfully, the clothes on his back, but he felt it would be highly unlikely that anybody would pay him for a random shave out in the streets.

The muscular man hooked his razors onto his belt as he faced the city once more, a frown perpetually pasted on his ungroomed face. For a moment, he simply stood there, eyeing his surroundings as he tried to formulate some sort of plan as he reeled himself in from a potential fit of rage.

First things first, he thought to himself, No point standing around and waiting for the heavens to open up and suck me through a wormhole that will take me directly to my wife… as nice as that would be. Theodore began walking through the streets, paying attention to the signs that he passed to get an idea of what he was moving toward. I can’t afford to sneak my way onto a free ride, I’m sure they would just be waiting for me to try that… while the idea of it seemed perfectly doable, if he got caught, he would immediately be stripped of his freedom once more, and that was enough to prompt the man to stick to legal means of travel, at least until any other secure alternative would present itself.

Money, food… he paused as he went through a mental list of things he needed most right now, glancing down at the t-shirt he had, characteristically a size too small. It was also a t-shirt that he had been wearing for a few days on the ship now, but he had no other to change into. Sighing once more, his disdain for the wealthy only grew further and he continued walking.

Surely there had to be some sort of charitable event somewhere on this island - did they do nothing to care for the downtrodden? He walked for a long time, keeping his eyes peeled for any advertisement of an open buffet or something similar, something that would undoubtedly show off a wealthy family's generosity and financial status for the sake of publicity more than it did for the purpose of being kind, the dreaded realisation that he might actually be stuck here for more than a few hours crept it, and it made him groan and roll his eyes.

His stomach seemed to have a similar response as it let out a loud growl, as it had been craving proper food for the past nine years.

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

Officer: #96c272

[Cat]

Myra 1

Young lady Raven was overwhelmed by many tasks. She was trying her best, but when she solved one thing another tree occurred and she didn´t count letters into it. She completely ignored them and found one sympathetic corner in Gabriel´s office for them.

She stared at the doors and was trying to come up with some idea. Myra was trying to remember why she arrived here but was too tired to remember.

“I should do something…”

She muttered and looked at the pile of letters and shook her head. She wasn´t prepared and whoofing from outside meant only one thing. It was time to walk the dogs! It sounded like the task; she was able to do.

The young lady stood up and looked outside the window. At the first glance, she was sure she didn´t want to do it because she saw the postmaster. That traitorous dogs were whoofing at him not because they wanted to walk! She frowned.

“Fine, I will read today´s letters…”

She growled and observed leaving the postmaster. Myra with an expression suited for someone´s funeral came down to pick up three envelopes. It looked promising because usually there were more letters.

Myra slowly returned to the office, sat down, and took the first letter. Some naïve guy wanted to came and learn martial arts. Myra didn´t finish the letter and put it aside. It was time for the second letter. She read it once and took the envelope, but it was addressed to her.

She raised eyebrow and read the letter second time. Young lady Raven wasn´t sure why should she be interested in one released criminal or why someone wrote her about him. She opened the third letter and in half of the letter returned to the second one. She had to admit, that this was more interesting then another martial arts enthusiast so it was time to find the ex criminal

[Bobbie]

The hungry man kept his eyes open as he continued to wander the streets with very little indication of where he was going, until he finally spotted a colourful, hand-painted banner.

‘Gulliver’s Travelling Generosities’

Visit Central Square to have a helping hand extended to YOU!

Because YOU matter

Staring at the bright letters on a yellow backdrop, Theodore couldn’t help but wonder if the poorly outlined artwork was even painted by the wealthy man himself or if he got some underling to do it for him, underpaid or not paid at all, no doubt, perhaps even forced to do the work.

With a little scoff, he shook his head, but couldn’t believe his luck. Locating this event couldn’t have been easier as there was even a drawing of the man’s moustached face in the right corner of the banner for the sake of recognising the man's face. Clearly wishing to make a spectacle of his wealth and have his generosity be a widely recognised gesture, there were more than enough signs around that would take the wandering ex-prisoner right to the place he needed to be, and he wasn’t the only one heading there. Some people spoke of this Gulliver individual like he was some kind of god, sent to save them of their poverty and they thanked some mystical being for sending him to Toroa island. All those people got was an eye-roll from Theodore, though he couldn’t blame these people for their ignorance. They were desperate and in need of somebody to believe in and keep them going. It was sad to see that they turned to such a figure who was likely part of the cause of their suffering, but his sympathy was truly reserved for those who made it clear that they were not visiting Mr Gulliver by choice, but out of necessity.

These people showed no loyalty or blind worship toward the man as if he were a golden idol, as did the previous group of people. No, these were plagued with an anger and spite that Theodore himself was familiar with - they were very well aware that they had been scorned by the rich, and this very man was a part of that category. Yet they were also hungry and desperate, and this conflict urged them to internalise their ill feelings into a perpetual frown on their faces that immediately communicated their dissatisfaction with life.

Theodore fit in with neither of these groups. He could never see Gulliver and his kind as anything close to a saviour, but rather a wolf who preyed upon the poor and used them to make his own name more grandiose. However, he was not in such a situation of the other set of people either, he was not living in poverty, he was simply in a temporary difficult situation.

As he reached the Central Square, he saw that several tables were set up all over the open space with items stacked upon them and one sharply dressed individual at each, handing out a few. They must have been Gulliver's workers. Eyeing the contents of each table, ranging from reading materials, utensils, children’s toys, and, on the largest table of all with the largest group of people flocked around it, a wide variety of food items.

It was a sorry sight… as he stood there, Theodore knew that he couldn’t take any of these items. Anything that he took, a starving man, woman, or child will be without. Of course, he already knew the nature of this event when he set out on his walk to this place, and so, he soon fixed his eyes on the real target that he was here for - behind Gulliver himself, who stood on a pedestal to oversee the event and offer a forced smile or wave from his distanced and safe location, was a tent with a sign that read 'reserved'.

“Hel-lo…” the supposedly reformed criminal sang quietly to himself and began to roam the area, scouting about to inspect how heavily guarded the tent was. As he moved around quietly, it didn’t take him very long to determine that there were two guards at the front, one on either side of Gulliver, and only one more stationed at the back of the tent. Judging by the lack of human shadows to be seen through the fabric of the structure, there was nobody inside. Cautious of making his presence known through suspicious circling of the tent, he didn’t walk around it more than a single time before creating some distance to watch from afar. It would only be a matter of time until one of the hungry people there got greedy and stirred up a ruckus. In fact, it happened soon after he even had this thought, as a scream filled the air.

“Give it to me, I had it first!” a woman shouted as she was in a tug of war with a homeless man who was clutching onto the other end of a large bag of rice.

As chaos broke out, Mr Tedd made his move, sharpened razor in his hand. He only needed a brief moment for the guard to look away, and the woman’s shriek was enough of a distraction to prompt him to do just that. Moving quickly, the barber swiftly cut a slit in one of the four fabric walls that made the tent, and he was inside.

“Thank you very much for your travelling generosities, Mr Gulliver. A helping hand that I really needed, because I do matter.” He silently muttered to himself, mocking the slogan on the banner as he looked through a couple of bags. Not planning on taking more than he needed to both ensure his greed didn’t get the better of him and also to limit the chances of being caught, he took a bit of this and a bit of that, stuffed everything into one rucksack, and he was out of the tent before the guards had even grasped what was going on among the people, as the spat between two grew into a heavy brawl.

With a bag of fancier snacks that must have been reserved for his meeting with the more important people of Toroa, as well as some clothing and a few pieces of jewellery, Theodore was quite disappointed to find that the wealthy man was actually not stupid enough to leave his money lying around for him to snatch up.

Nevertheless, Theodore left the scene without being noticed, his straight razor back on his belt, and a warm feeling in his heart as he had to admit to himself... stealing from the rich certainly did feel good.

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 2

There was one big problem. She needed to look for an unknown criminal without knowing where to start her manhunt. Young lady Raven sighed and opened the window. It was time to enjoy the benefits of her raven form.

She waved with her wings, and everything seemed much easier as she left everything down below her. Myra flew down to the port and hoped that the ship with the ex-prisoner will be still there, but the ship was gone. It wasn´t long since the vessel departed, because she could see it.

“Kraaaa”

Myra smiled. This was exactly what she needed to improve her mood. She landed on a lamp and looked around. Nothing suspicious, so the question was, where will someone freshly release go? She was thinking and observing people on the ground.

Sailors were preferring local pubs, so their way was easily estimable. Was Mr. Theodor like them and wanted t to celebrate his freedom? Probably yes. Myra was flying down when she noticed a colorful banner promising help.

Raven landed on it and was thinking. There was only a slight chance, that her prey would be reasonable and will miss the opportunity to celebrate freedom after all those years. BUT there was still a chance. The true was that the criminal in better clothes and well-fed will be harder to find than the drunken one.

Myra was enjoying her small hunt. She needed to decide quickly. This decision was hard to make, but she spread her wings and followed the crowd to a small square. The situation there was simple, some local politic wanted to be more popular so she bought some food and clothes. The whole crowd had to listen to him, while they were waiting in line for their share.

Young lady Raven landed on the roof and waited if Mr. Theodor show himself in the crowd. There was only a small chance and miss Raven wasn´t patient. Her target was probably drinking at a local port and she was only overthinking everything.

“No… there you are”

Myra muttered to herself as she noticed a thief with the face from the poster she got in the letter.

She patiently waited and observed the man, who was entering the tent from behind. It was amazing, how easy it was. When the criminal left, she grabbed him for his shoulders and landed with him on the roof.

“Once criminal, every time criminal, aren´t you?”

Myra released him and observed his reaction like a cat prepared for a hunt. Will he run or will he try to talk to a talking bird? She wanted to play little longer.

[Bobbie]

Perhaps the thief had celebrated too early, as a sudden thud on Theodore’s shoulders and before he knew it his feet were no longer on the ground. Nearly dropping the bag and losing its contents, he quickly grabbed onto it as he struggled for a moment in the large raven’s grasp, until he realised that breaking free while so high up in the air would not be a good idea.

It wasn’t until he was released on the rooftop that he could really process what just happened - he was lifted into the air by a large raven… a large raven that was talking to him.

Staring at her in disbelief, Tedd’s mouth, framed as it was by a perfectly styled goatee, was left open for a few seconds, though no sound came from it. He suddenly felt like he had missed so much of the world in the past nine years, entirely lost and confused as to what was going on here and what this creature was. Finally, he shook his head and straightened up, the backpack securely on one shoulder while his other hand immediately went for his razor.

“Look, I don’t know what nightmare that piteous child dragged you out of to send you here after me…” he started, wrongfully assuming that this was a part of Greene’s plan, and perhaps he had succeeded at achieving his goal; Theodore was creeped out and a little bit worried. The guard was very clear, if he was caught breaking the law, they would be hounding after him in the blink of an eye, and this raven certainly did stay true to that time schedule. “But you just dumped me here on some island that I don’t know, without any food and money. If you throw a hungry piranha in a tank with other fish and no food, it’s going to do what it needs to survive and that will be your fault, not the piranha's.”

Hesitating, he began to move backward toward the edge of the roof, razor in hand. Preferring not to physically harm anyone - human or not - he glanced down to catch a quick glimpse of what lay below to weigh his options before turning back to Myra.

“I’m not going back to prison…”

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 3

He was staring at her. It was such a boring reaction. She hoped for more from a life-sentenced criminal, but still, there was a chance for some fun. She hoped so. Myra decided to be generous and gave some time to the thief.

And indeed, patience seemed to be the key because her target started moving, and HE started SPEAKING! Young lady Raven was proud of herself and of her self-control. She wasn´t offended when he called her part of someone´s nightmare, quite opposite. It was so interesting to listen to what came to the mind of this thief, so she stayed silent.

“I do not recommend you try to jump there”

Myra commented behavior of that man, who was approaching the edge of the roof.

“Unless you have wings … which you obviously haven´t.”

It seemed that he was afraid of prison. She wasn´t sure why, because there was always some way out. But it wasn´t her problem.

“But don´t worry, the price of your head is too low for me to send you to prison.”

She said with an amused voice.

“But it seems you have an interesting story to tell, and I have some spare time and food. What do you think? Or is a piranha afraid of sharks?”

The Raven asked politely, but the refusal wasn´t an option. She was decided and lazily spread her wings. She wasn´t in a hurry and the second option was to play with the mouse and cat.

[Bobbie]

Mr Barker frowned as Myra rightfully warned him not to jump unless he was prepared to go splat on the pavement below. It was indeed far higher than he expected it to be and he had no guarantee of surviving an attempt to clamber down. Furthermore, this was a bird. He was currently held hostage by a bird… as ridiculous as that sounded, he had to acknowledge it, as it did put forward a set of challenges that were very different to being up against a human assailant.

The next two things that Myra said were both relieving and unnerving - so had there been a better reward more satisfying to her, she would indeed send him back to prison. Then she mentioned him having an interesting story to tell, which led him to believe that she must have very little to do with Lawrence Greene, the man who framed him nine years ago and now deposited him on this island… it was either that, or he did not share any details with this hired… raven.

“Is that what you call yourself?” He asked, the irony not missed on him that a creature of the sky was labeling herself one of the sea. “A shark?” With a chuckle, Tedd shook his head, pointing at her with the razor in his hand. Was he afraid of her? The answer was yes, she had just lifted him a significant number of feet into the air and dropped him on this rooftop, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. If that wasn’t enough, who in their right mind wouldn’t be afraid of a giant talking omen of death?

However, this feathered creature claimed to have food… and Theodore was quite hungry.

“What do you want?” The barber and ex-convict asked as he sighed at the same time, his weapon lowered as his large shoulders slumped. “If you weren’t sent by Mr Greene, then why did you target me? I’m just trying to find a way to survive here. I would like to get home to my wife, that’s all… but I don’t have any money for the ferry.”

At this point, he folded up his razor and put it back on his belt. In truth, he couldn’t imagine it would be very useful against such a creature anyway, and while he had a lot of anger and resentment toward certain people, he couldn’t bring himself to harm an animal.

“Whatever this is, I don’t want to get mixed up in it. Yes, I stole some food, because I was left here with nothing, but other than that, I’m keeping my nose clean. So…” Pausing once more, he watched the raven, his calm demeanor washing over him once more. His frustration was betrayed only by the hint of sarcasm in his next statement. “If you would be so kind as to provide safe passage back down to street level, that would be brilliant, thank you.”

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 4

Young Raven was amused. She was thinking if everyone will be so funny when she took them on a short visit to some roof. Maybe she should try later, but not now. She still had her cute piranha.

Myra was so generous and waited until the barber finished talking.

“Oh, I am not planning to release you now. Later sure, but I want that story of yours.”

She flew up and grabbed the poor barber again. She wasn´t heading down. She flew swiftly above the streets of the city and wasn´t planning to stop.

“You know, someone wrote me a letter, that you will be released on this island. No money included. Just information that you will make a lot of mess here. I hate when someone is trying to use my services without paying.”

When they almost left the city and the forest closer and closer, she changed direction. Young lady Raven landed on the balcony of the old mansion, which was for few weeks under her command.

“But after all, I hate boredom, so would you be so kind and tell me your story?”

Myra released the thief on the balcony and opened the doors inside. It led to a big dining room. A wooden table and chairs were all covered by fabric to protect them from dust. Myra or anyone else wasn´t usually using this room, but it was quite suitable for letting stranger inside.
The young lady finally transformed into her human form, while she was still moving towards door out of the room. She was almost ignoring poor barber in her self confidence for a while.
“I am waiting”

She said and finally find what was she looking for. Myra rang the bell on the small cabinet beside the doors to call a servant.

[Bobbie]

Unlike Myra, Theodore was not the least bit amused by this turn of events. On the contrary, he was quite frustrated and disheartened as he saw that returning home to his wife any time soon was becoming more of a dream and less of a reality with each passing second.

“My story’s not-” the barber was cut off as the raven was suddenly up in the air again. As she flew toward him, he instinctively moved backward to get away from her, his heel hit the ledge of the rooftop and his entire body nearly toppled over - until he found himself in the grasp of the large raven and hurled into the air again. Her crow’s feet slammed into his body with a hefty thud, her talons a lot sharper than he expected them to be as it felt like they were cutting into his shoulder and collarbone.

Then he was up in the air again.

As he hugged his backpack close, he could feel his grip on it beginning to slip, and some of the items fell out and rained down onto the city as they flew overhead. Tedd cursed beneath his breath as the glistening diamonds on a piece of jewellery sparkled in the distance among some food items as they all fell further and further out of sight, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. One arm was wrapped around the bag, his hand clutching it as tightly as he could, while his other hand was gripping the massive bird’s leg in fear of being dropped.

“This is insane!” he grumbled, hopeful that all of this could be some kind of twisted nightmare, but the throbbing pain just below his left collar bone, the bird’s pointed toe digging into his flesh, was a sharp reminded that it was not.

At last, Lady Raven found a spot to release him upon reaching the balcony. Tedd landed on his feet, but grabbed onto the railing to maintain his balance - everything was spinning after that ride and it took him a moment to regain his bearings. The hunger that he felt earlier was now a blessing - had he eaten anything proper, it would probably no longer be in his stomach by now.

Watching his captor enter the room, her transformation into a human form caused his jaw to hang open in astonishment for a moment. He’d never seen anything quite like it - nor like her.

The woman’s verbal prompt elicited a sigh from the barber as Tedd realised that playing whatever game this was to her seemed to be the only way out of it.

“Okay… My story…” he paused for a few seconds, not quite sure where to start, nor that it would be as exciting to her as she seemed to anticipate. “I was framed for murder, theft and money laundering… spent the last nine years in prison for crimes I did not commit, and was just told that I’ve been granted an early release. Greene, the guy I mentioned earlier, was the wealthy neighbour, the one who set me up in jealous rage of our success, while his own business was failing and overshadowed. I don’t know what else to tell you - I shouldn’t be here, I should be on Strawberry Hill Island.”

Sighing once more as he tried his very best to remain calm and not lose his temper - which he felt he was doing a very good job of so far - his eyes were now fixed on Myra. He followed her into the room while he spoke, but didn’t dare touch any of the furniture or the fabric that covered it.

“I’m not here to cause trouble, or whatever it is that the letter says. I want nothing more than to get off this island and go home.” As tempting as it was to try and appeal to the woman’s human side in search for sympathy, he somehow doubted that he would get very much from her. Adjusting his bag on his shoulder, he frowned and put forward a more daring question instead. “What else is stated in the letter?”

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 4

Her quest was unexpectedly quit. He stopped demanding anything else and he was staying behind. Myra smiled because there were only two options.

The first one was, that he suddenly died because of a heart attack. The other option was that he simply accepted the rules that she gave him. Luckily, the second one showed to be because her guest started talking.

Young lady Raven victoriously smiled and listened to the story.

“Sit down, please. Be my guest”

She turned at the barber and pointed at one random chair. Despite his story seemed to be more boring than expected, it was still like from some novel. She likes novels and that meant she wanted more details … and maybe find some way to make his story more like one of her favorite novels.

“Slow down, please. You wanted something to eat, or am I wrong?”

Myra asked with a smile, but she wasn´t expecting a denial. She will be pretty angry if her offer will be turned down.

A few moments later the servant showed up. He was surprised when he noticed the unknown man. He was trying to hide his surprise.

“How can I help you? ”

Myra sighed.

“Just bring me something to eat and drink for my friend.”

Myra looked at the servant without moving until he closed the doors.

“Excuse him, I don´t have visits often. So you have to love your wife pretty much after all those years?”

She grabbed fabric on one chair and swiftly tugged it.

“How are you planning to leave this island?”

Myra was obviously curious.

“Aren´t you worried that your ´friend´ will send you back to prison?”

She was asking with the curiosity of someone who obviously didn´t completely understand the problem of being in prison. It was something new to Myra.

“Oh, why don´t you escape from prison?”

[Bobbie]

Tedd tried his best not to stare at the woman before him, who had just been a large bird soaring through the skies only moments before, but that was proving to be quite the challenge. Nevertheless, his curiosity was not quite as strong to make it an impossible task, and as he was invited to sit, his attention turned to the indicated chair.

Scanning the seat like it was some sort of deathtrap, he stood still for a second or two. He didn’t want to sit, and he didn’t want to talk. All he wanted to do was go home... but he had no means to do so yet.

Taking a deep breath, he walked to the chair, taking his backpack with him and he sat down as cautious as a man treading a minefield. Once he was seated and saw that nothing exploded, he placed his bag on the floor between his feet and sat back, watching her. 

“Yes, I do.” He was about to continue with a polite refusal of her offer for food since he had managed to steal some from that tent back at the village square, although he wasn’t quite sure how many of those food items actually remained in his bag and hadn’t fallen out while he was being transported through the air. Perhaps it was luck that he looked at her when he did, as the look on her face was enough to suggest that declining such a generous offer from her would be a grave mistake. “Thank you,” the barber made sure to add with a weary smile.

Then the servant entered the room and Mr Barker couldn’t quite determine if the shock on the man’s face was genuine surprise or terror of whatever ordeal was in store for him next at the mercy of this lady.

Dismissing his fears, he relaxed his shoulders and focussed on Myra's words. The mention of his wife instantly brought a more honest smile to his face and he nodded. “Yes, I do love her very much. The past years apart have been hard on her as much as on me, I’m sure. I look forward to seeing her again.”

His eyes followed her as he spoke, watching the fabric pulled away so swiftly in a single practiced movement. Everything about this woman was very precise and clinical, including the manner in which she asked her questions that were direct and fed on recalled information. Likewise, this room had its furniture covered to remain protected, kept in almost pristine condition, and her movements were graceful and calculated. Yet, although everything that she appeared to do seemed with purpose, some of her questions were… odd.

“A simple ferry off the island will do.” Theodore started with her first question of the three, after waiting a moment to see if any more would come. “I don’t have any money on me for a ticket though, so I hoped to…” hesitating, he wanted to say ‘find’, but he was sure that they were both capable of reading between the lines to understand that he means ‘steal’. Reconsidering his word choice, he took a different route. “Earn a little something… there must be somebody, somewhere on this island, who needs a haircut or a beard trimming. As for being worried about being sent back to prison, I have no intention of making the same mistake twice. If I stay out of trouble, there’s no reason my release should be revoked.”

Another pause followed as he thought about how to respond to her last question without a sarcastic remark. Why don’t I just escape from prison…? Does she not understand how prisons work, or is she completely oblivious to the limitations of humans who do not have wings? For the first time, Tedd wondered if he was looking at a woman who had the ability to transform into a raven, or a raven who could present itself in the shape of a woman.

“I… can’t.” Controlling the confusion that threatened to reveal itself by means of a deep frown was hard enough without having to come up with an elaborate answer to her question. The answer should be obvious. “There will be a lot of security, I’ll never make it past the recess gate,” he added, perhaps in an attempt to rationalise her question.

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 6

Myra sat down and listened with interest to the poor barber. She didn´t interrupt him for a while. He looked funny when he was confused by her questions. After a few years in prison and he was still so naïve.

“Oh, I am really sorry to break it to you...”

She said and looked at him with a sign of compassion, but her smile remained.

“Your plan has one small mistake. You need money to buy permission to work as a barber on this island Otherwise, you will break rules …”

She sighed.

“So, you basically need money to earn money, and if you steal anything, you can end up in prison again.”

Young lady Raven tried to explain. She gave him time to fully understand his situation. Her silence was interrupted by a quiet knocking on the door.

“Come in”

A servant entered the room with a tray with a glass jug and a few different dishes. He looked around and was uncertain because one piece of fabric remained on the table. Myra didn´t move and observed him without intent to help him. After a while, the servant was able to put the cloth down and put the tray on the table.

Myra nodded and smiled at him. He showed a few almost acrobatic skills while solving the problem with a cloth.

“Thank you, it will be probably all for this moment.”

Young Raven looked at her guest.

“You should eat. Everything is better after good food.”

Myra pointed at the table and was amused. Of course, she was able to help him She also had enough money to solve his problem, but the story of the barber should have some interesting plot.

She still has to decide if she will be good or bad in this story.

[Bobbie]

When Myra pointed out the flaw in Tedd’s plan and explained his predicament, the barber merely stared at her, an uncontrollable frown forming on his face once more, as only one thought repeated itself in his mind at that moment.

I hate this place…

As she paused, he remained silent. Of course, there was always the possibility of working unregistered, and that would be breaking the law, but people did it all the time. It only becomes an issue if one would get caught doing it, and most customers wouldn’t report a man for simply offering his services on the street. That meant the real person he had to worry about was her.

Tedd had yet to understand why he was really even brought here in the first place.

The knock was quite a welcome distraction as he couldn’t have been more glad to have the woman’s eyes off him. It was only in this short amount of time that he allowed himself show more obvious signs of frustration and desperation. Without producing a sound, he mouthed his complaints before reaching up to rub his stubble out of habit, averting his gaze and trying to think of a quick solution, but none seemed to come to mind, other than one. One which didn’t depend on him, but this very obviously wealthy woman.

After the servant’s acrobatic display, Mr Barker recollected himself and shifted his attention back to Lady Raven. Following her pointing, he looked at the food that his empty stomach cried out for.

“Is there a price tag?” Perhaps missing his wife made him more impatient than he usually would be, as he decided to be frank and get straight to the point. He reached out for a piece of bread nonetheless, beginning to eat it plain and unbuttered as it was, whether there would be a cost for doing so or not.

“You are aware of my situation and clearly very familiar with the law, so we both know that I have no way of seeing it through without breaking a few rules or without help.” The food in his hand was swallowed up fairly quickly as he truly was starving, so he reached for a second one. “You don’t strike me as the kind of respectable person to extend a hand for free, so...” The barber’s thoughts seemed to follow a similar strand, as it was clear that he was already indebted to the woman as it was, whether she wished to offer anything further than a meal and silence, so he put forward the important question.

“What's the price for your help?”

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706

[Cat]

Myra 7

Myra was smiling, but she bent her head to the left and narrowed her eyes when she heard his question instead of thanks. No, she will not e the good one in this story. There was no way for this impertinent man to leave this island so easily.

“Are you doubting my good intentions?”

She asked with a smile on her lips.

“No, there was no price tag.”

She replied and straightened her head.

“And before you ask, it also isn´t poisonous...”

She added with an even sweeter smile. She observed the man with a smile and listened to his speech, which contained another insult.

“Let me think for a while.”

She didn´t hurry. Was there something that she wanted and could be fun to observe? As she observed the involuntary visitor of this island, she remembered her first visit… and the first night that she spent in detention.

“I will help you and I will also let you stay here for a while … but you will help me get one folder when the time comes….”

Young lady Raven observed the poor man before her. He will be perfect as one of her first attempts for creating a novel story applied in real life. The man who wants to return to his wife.

“Don´t worry, you will be safe here. I suppose that I am not the only one who got a warning letter from your old friend. But if you wish, you are free to leave. After you finish your meal, don´t ruin my reputation of my hospitality even more.”

[Bobbie]

Mr Barker stared at Myra, unable to hide his frown as well as a little flinch as it appeared that he may have offended her. Could anybody really blame him for being sceptical of an act of kindness from a stranger? Let alone one that snatched him from the road and flew him up onto a rooftop in the form of a raven, before dropping him off on her balcony?

With a soft sigh, he was about to apologise, until she mentioned that the food wasn’t poisonous. Unsure if this was her actual intention, her words only planted a seed of doubt in his mind as he looked at the second roll of bread that he was currently eating, causing him to slow down.

“Right…” he muttered, quietly, and glanced at her smile. It was a sweet smile, but it was enough to make him uncomfortable, which was only amplified by her long silence as she took her time to think about her response before offering it.

As her answer finally came, he immediately scoffed at how her price was named at last, a favour for a favour, but the barber was quick to clear his throat and mask his gesture behind the act of nearly choking on his last piece of bread.

“Offering me a place to stay is very generous,” he tried to mend his last mistake of appearing ungrateful. In truth, he would have loved to leave, but he wasn’t naïve enough to believe that she would allow him to do so without making his life more difficult, which he had no doubt that she had the power to do. He had nowhere else to really go anyway. “Thank you, if it’s not any inconvenience to you, I will take you up on that offer, miss…?” he prompted her for her name, but didn’t linger on the thought for too long.

“What might this one folder be, anyway, if I may ask?” He asked, shifting in his seat before hungrily reaching for a handful of nuts.

---

Theodore Barker: #aa6706