Rejuvenation Part II: New Faces

[Cirrus]

The raft barely held up as the newly acquainted pair, Alek and Jack, found themselves on a new island. Jack had handled a stranger seemingly popping out from nowhere and landing on his vessel rather well, and the two had hit it off, quickly becoming amiable. Now, they have arrived on the island inhabited by the Pirate's Market, something many would call sheer luck. Alek, you see, is in dire need of a boat. Seperated from his crew, the 23,000,000 bounty head needs to get back...
____________________________________________________

Alek left it to the momentum of his previous exploits to carry them to the shore. They were a lot closer to the island now, and as such the cyborg could see a lot more than he could before. His green eyes could make out the shapes of what appeared to be market stalls in the street and the faint noise of shouts and haggling reached his ears. Wondering what kind of place this was - there didn't seem to be anything going on other than shouting in the streets - Alek decided to ask Jack; perhaps his acquaintance would know a little more about this place than he did.

"Jack...what is this place?"

Pre-empting an answer, Alek continued;

"It looks like some kind of...market?"

The "Checkmate King" was unfamiliar with the term; back on Skypiea he had been to young to even witness any transactions taking place, let alone distinguish between a store and a market stall. Now, he was intrigued, and as such would suddenly run off with a childlike demeanour, curious of all the things he could find here. The adult in him still had some say in this however, and as Alek ran, he realised that he could possibly find a boat here.

A way back home...

Thoughts of his nakama flooded his mind, and for a brief second, the hints of a tear could be seen forming in his eyes. However, as everyone knows a king should appear strong and courageous in front of all of his subjects, and since Alek was obviously the ruler of this place, everyone was his subject. It would not do to show weakness, and crying was a weakness. A heavily irrational and masochistic credo, he knew, but Alek believed it nonetheless. And now, as he ran through the over-populated streets of the Pirate's Market, he wondered how he was meant to obtain a new vessel.

The captain of the Chess Pirates didn't have any money on him. Alek had no real way of raising it, and he was sure all of the frugal people here weren't willing to just blindly donate to a stranger. Sighing, Alek realised that there was only one thing for it. He'd have to commandeer his own ship. This was a negative solution for the cyborg, because he was a wanted man. He'd seen the bounty poster - clear as crystal - and now everyone would know his name. If he went out into the open and did anything illicit, he would have the world breathing down his neck all over again. Grimacing at the last time that happened, Alek continued on his way, only suddenly remembering that he was meant to be travelling with someone.

"Jack? You still there?"

He whispered, not daring to turn around in case doing so left him conspicuously out in the open. Alek crouched down low, his eyes darting furtively while his hands groped the wall next to him; he wasn't going to expose himself now.

[❰ Misha ❱]

Jack's eyes locked forward as he snuck around the streets behind Alek. He wasn't a wanted man, but he remembered that Alek was and Jack had no desire to need to cause a scene so quickly.

"Jack...what is this place?"
"It looks like some kind of...market?"

Jack's mind continued to be watchful and he remained silent to Alek's question and continued his own assessment.

- We'll have to find a way to disguise Alek, it could be trouble if he is found. I can slip through this city easily, but it would be too troublesome if someone willing would see Alek.
Maybe I can slip in and find a disguise to give to Alek.

Jack continued his thoughts silently

- We'll also have to find a ship, there is bound to be something we can easily buy...err steal. I'm pretty sure Alek doesn't have any money, most pirates don't, though I'll have to ask later on when we get there if we'll need to steal some things.

Jack took a quick look at Alek.

- He won't be happy when he remembers we also need to find food; With no money, we'll have to steal since begging is out of the question, unless...

"Jack? You still there?"

Jack snapped back to reality and responded, "

"I'm here Alek."

Jack caught up to Alek and lightly grabbed Alek's shoulder and looked around that no one was paying attention and spoke in a whispering voice,

"Alek, Its your choice how we do this.." Jack paused for a second, "However, We might need to mug someone for money or steal. Don't forget that we also need food, as well as a ship before anyone spots you."

Jack tried to speak with a urgent tone.

[carlton]

Lyra had done it again.

Sleep swimming was one of her worst qualities. She had many bad qualities, she thought, but this one was indeed of the most harmful.

The mermaid Lyra was on an adventure to find a "great king." This adventure led her across the Grand Line to the South Blue. But how she got there, she couldn't remember.

The Calm Belt was a dream. Swimming with the sea kings was not a problem for Lyra. Most were friendly toward her. The thing that scared her the most though was that she had made it that long way unconscious.

The feeling was back.

Lyra found herself in the sewers beneath the market. How she got there, again, she hadn't the slightest idea. There was garbage in her hair and she smelled something awful. She was petrified.

Despite her misery, Lyra figured that she had better learn more about where she was. She scrambled up the sewer wall and fell, trying to reach the small grate to the surface. She slumped back down to the ground by the dirty water and sighed.

But then, she heard voices. A great smile spread on her face. She looked up to see the recognizable silohuette of a shoe.

"Alek, Its your choice how we do this.." a man said from above. "However, We might need to mug someone for money or steal. Don't forget that we also need food, as well as a ship before anyone spots you."

"They're gonna kill someone," Lyra immediately assumed. Her eyes were huge and round. She covered her mouth with a squeak, realizing that they might have heard her from above. But she smiled in the knowledge that they probably could not reach her anyways.

Lyra curled back and hugged her tail. She breathed quietly, wondering in a strange curiosity about who the strangers actually were.

It did not occur to her then that she did not know how she was going to get out of there. But that would come in time.

[Cirrus]

"I'm here Alek." Came the reply. Jack touched Alek's shoulder moments after, slightly startling the cyborg. Alek jumped, and turned sharply, all too ready to deliver a lethal blow to his acquaintance. Once he recognised the devil fruit user - and in this low light of the alleyway it wasn't easy - he berated him, saying;

"Don't do that! You startled your king! If I didn't know you, that may have been considered treason." Alek muttered, completely forgetting that he was the one who incited Jack to confirm his presence, and turned back around. He crept forward, eyes peeled for anything dangerous. Jack spoke again, but this time the captain of the Chess Pirates wasn't spooked. Perhaps it was the content of the speech, but whatever it was forced Alek to remain calm.

"Alek, Its your choice how we do this...However, We might need to mug someone for money or steal. Don't forget that we also need food, as well as a ship before anyone spots you."

The cyborg nodded, understanding Jack's concerns. He had in fact been thinking about this earlier, but the same suggestion coming from a different voice helped shed a new light on the situation. He contemplated the barbarous act of 'mugging' someone, as Jack had so crudely put it, but quickly dismissed the thought. It didn't matter how much he wanted his bounty to go up; attacking innocent people was not the right way.

"If there's no other choice, then I guess we may have to forcibly extract money from someone, but that's a last resort okay? I don't want the Chess Pirates being known as a despicible crew. I think we may have other options...maybe you sell something? You know, you could work for the money...like all of these other vendors out there..." Alek trailed off, his thoughts disturbed by the sound of moving water. He hadn't noticed before, but to the left of where he was standing was a shallow embankment, and then open waters. Parts of this island appeared to be waterways, and it was that reasoning that allowed Alek to think that he was currently above a canal.

Bad...if things turn bad we can't come back through here...or at least, Jack can't..

Showing some kind of concern for his acquaintance's safety, Alek urged Jack to hurry up and come away from their current position. If anything went wrong, then he would be the first to hear about it. The cyborg glanced at the waters again, and this time he came away confused. The water he could see was fairly calm, calm enough at least, to drift into the depths of ambient noise. In short, he could have ignored them. Nothing had happened to make the bounty head focus on his surroundings, which lead Alek to one conclusion:

There was something in the water.

[❰ Misha ❱]

"If there's no other choice, then I guess we may have to forcible extract money from someone, but that's a last resort okay? I don't want the Chess Pirates being known as a despicible crew. I think we may have other options...maybe you sell something? You know, you could work for the money...like all of these other vendors out there..."

Jack lips pursed at Alek's suggestions before answering them in a whispering tone as he stayed beside Alek -
"I don't have anything that anyone would want to buy and do we really have enough time to work for money before someone spots you. You don't need to worry about the crew if I attack someone, no one will be able to connect it to the Chess Pirates so long as I'm not seen attacking them and I don't have a bounty yet so your bounty won't go up, I won't let the person see me so no one will be able to tell."
Jack stopped speaking for a moment

"I understand that this should only be a last resort, but at the moment we're running only on a small amount of time. There isn't enough time to get the money by working and we have no other options. We need money for food and a ship as soon as possible, there are bound to be some nobles I can snatch a few hundred Beli off of."
Jack spoke quietly, skillfully downplaying the money he would need to steal and unattentive to what Alek had noticed.

[carlton]

Lyra’s smile faded rapidly. As she listened to their conversation, she realized that these men were indeed criminals, but not the kind that she had originally thought of. They were people who were just trying to get by and she felt sorry that she had made an assumption of them.

The one mentioned something about one of them being a "king." Her heart raced. It was her dream to find a "great king." Was this the one?

Lyra knew that she had to do something. She had to find out more But what could she do? It was then that she remembered the gold coins she had found while scouring the bottom of the ocean. They were only enough for a night’s rest at an inn but they were something.

Lyra hugged her backpack and stared intently at the grate above her. She clambered up the wall and managed to grasp the grate above her. She held onto it with all of her strength with her one hand. It was painful but she gritted her teeth and bore it.

Lyra reached through one of the holes with her other hand and held out several beris with an open palm. She peeked out with her huge eyes and gasped, like a goldfish breaching the surface of its tank for food.

“If I might be of assistance,” Lyra meekly said, “I found these coins… if they are any use that is.”

It likely looked odd, seeing a hand suddenly appear from the ground, but despite the oddness, Lyra wanted the troubled men to be at some ease. But in this act, she did not consider that she was could have been putting herself in great risk.

[Cirrus]

(OOC: See if you can spot the allusions to Shakespeare! )

"I don't have anything that anyone would want to buy and do we really have enough time to work for money before someone spots you? You don't need to worry about the crew if I attack someone, no one will be able to connect it to the Chess Pirates so long as I'm not seen attacking them and I don't have a bounty yet so your bounty won't go up, I won't let the person see me so no one will be able to tell." Jack's reasoning was faultless, but Alek still wasn't convinced. To him, it was like one of those scenarios where the conscience is split into two halves: the bad half, the devil, and the good half, the angel. Right now, Jack was being the devil. The temptation to just give in, do wrong, mistreat some innocent civilians was great, and the cyborg found it hard to resist.

Jack seemed to understand this, because the devil fruit user added;"I understand that this should only be a last resort, but at the moment we're running only on a small amount of time. There isn't enough time to get the money by working and we have no other options. We need money for food and a ship as soon as possible, there are bound to be some nobles I can snatch a few hundred Beli off of." This would sweeten the deal for the captain of the Chess Pirates. The mention of food and a ship reminded Alek just how much he missed his nakama. The supplies onboard the White Queen were exquisite, and the boat itself was homely - despite the fact they stole it.

"You're right. I don't like it, but you're right. We're going to have to...steal something. To think, that a king would steal from his own people! Oh! Such foul a day as I have not seen!" Alek wailed, voicing his despair in one of his more poetic outbursts. His little dramatic rant over, the cyborg continued walking. He looked down for most of the journey, depressed and anxious about the terrible deed he was about to commit. It was because of this that the 23,000,000 bounty head caught sight of the hand sticking out of the ground.

"What? What mysterious creature is that, not from this earth and yet is in it?" he said. It would seem Alek was in a poetical mood today, once again saying something as simple as 'what's that?' in the most superfluous phrasing he could think of.

The hand was obviously feminine, and within its lithe fingers lay several coins. The solution to their problems was literally right under his nose. The cyborg crouched down, inspecting the money carefully, as if this was somehow a trap laid by the marine Captain Richard J. Paul. Alek never allowed his mind to wander far from that subject; the man whom had brought him close to his demise was not something he would ever forget. The 'Checkmate King''s green eyes danced over the spectacle, money being something he hadn't seen in a long time. After a short space of time that would seem to be aeons to the cyborg, he took the coins. As soon as he did so, however, a voice resounded; echoing softly. This told Alek that the source of the voice lay within some kind of confinement, and, judging from the canals, must have been within a pipe or sewer of some sort.

“If I might be of assistance," said the voice, meekly. It was defininately a female holding out the coins, the deluct tones told the cyborg that much. The voice paused, as if intimidated by the very strangers she was offering to help.

I found these coins… if they are any use that is.”

"Thank you, mysterious voice from the water." Alek replied quickly, placing the coins in his pocket with a chink!

"But if I may, I would like to request an audience with such a fair...maiden?" ventured Alek. He still asked if the voice was female - it always helped to be sure; besides, after his haphazard adventures, anything was possible.

"My name is Alek Sorenson, captain of the Chess Pirates and wanted head of 23,000,000. Some call me a knight, others; a king." He stated proudly. Alek would pause for a second, before something else to say came to his head. Remembering his acquaintance in all this, Alek promptly turned around and said,

"Oh, and if may be a knight, then this is my squire. Meet Jack M. Caesar, mysterious voice from the deep."

[❰ Misha ❱]

(OOC: Nope, can't find where from. Though to me it looked like you were quoting A Midsummer night's dream or maybe Hamlet.)

"You're right. I don't like it, but you're right. We're going to have to...steal something. To think, that a king would steal from his own people! Oh! Such foul a day as I have not seen!"

Jack's eyes faltered for a second. He truly didn't want to steal if it could be avoided, but Jack's other idea would require a lot of trust from Alek, and Jack didn't want to have to put him on the spot to decide on such a plan. Jack was serious in whatever he did and survival came first, but for a bit, Jack decided to give the idea a try.

"Alek..."
Jack began before his eyes caught movement and turned to the hand sticking up from the grate in the ground.

"What? What mysterious creature is that, not from this earth and yet is in it?"
The poetic response caused Jack to raise his eyebrow a little, but Jack allowed him to do the talking

The hand held several coins at which Jack was truly left speechless.
“If I might be of assistance,"
The voice was feminine, but Jack was more focused on the coins and the hand offering them at the moment before he could consider it.

"I found these coins… if they are any use that is.”

Jack stared at the few coins the hand held out. It wasn't much, but it was a good enough start and considering the fact that the stranger was offering it to them was more than Jack could've hoped to ask for.

"Thank you, mysterious voice from the water."

Jack paid attention as the coins vanished into Alek's pocket.

"My name is Alek Sorenson, captain of the Chess Pirates and wanted head of 23,000,000. Some call me a knight, others; a king."

A bounty... a bounty. Jack's other idea rung in his head. It was a long shot, but Jack decided that if the lady was willing to offer the few coins, she must've overheard their conversation. Jack wasn't a soft person but he decided that maybe this time a favor should be rewarded, If Alek was willing for it.

Jack looked at Alek for a brief second and rose his eyebrow before Alek continued speaking.

"Oh, and if may be a knight, then this is my squire. Meet Jack M. Caesar, mysterious voice from the deep."
Jack rose his eyebrow at the "Squire", but kept silent on it.

"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Thanks a bunch for the assistance."

Jack kneeled down to the hand and spoke
"If I might ask, why are you so willing to give us the few coins you had?"

[carlton]

OOC: I wish that I knew more Shakespeare. DX

"But if I may, I would like to request an audience with such a fair...maiden?"

“Yes?” Lyra asked. He was talking to her! How exciting.

Lyra pressed her face up to the grate to get a better look at the men. Her big, brown muddy eyes blinked in wonder at them. Her usually bright white hair was stained with dirt and grime. They were younger than she had originally thought and not so bad looking either. She, however, was not in her best condition. But her beauty could somewhat be seen past the filth.

Alek, especially, mesmerized her. The king of her dreams was rather blurry and obscure but she could see him in his place. She was no prophet but she believed the dream held value. His eyes were so pretty; she hoped that he was the one.

"My name is Alek Sorenson, captain of the Chess Pirates and wanted head of 23,000,000,” he proclaimed. “Some call me a knight, others; a king Oh, and if I may be a knight, then this is my squire. Meet Jack M. Caesar, mysterious voice from the deep."

“Hello, King Sorenson. Hello, Squire Jack. I am Lyra Fortuna Sao. But you may call me Lyra or whatever you like,” she said weakly. Her grip on the grate was loosening. She pulled her hands forward and hugged the grate to keep holding on. She swished her tail back and forth in the air to balance herself. It was hard to see past her face so at this point they likely thought that she was human. She was not terribly concerned about her identity though, given how much Alek meant to her. She merely kept smiling at her new acquaintances.

"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” Jack said to her. “Thanks a bunch for the assistance. If I might ask, why are you so willing to give us the few coins you had?"

“I don’t need beri to live,” she stated rather plainly. In the South Blue, there was plenty of shellfish and material to go around “You two seemed like you were really down in the dumps without it. So why not give what I don’t need?”

Lyra grinned obnoxiously.

“Besides, it has always been my dream to meet a great king and play a song for him. You sure seem like one, given your reputation. Of course, I didn’t want to meet you like this.”

Lyra’s arms scrambled a bit as she held on desperately to the grate. She frowned and looked down pitifully.

“It would have been a lot nicer if I hadn’t had ended up down here with you up there. I’m so sorry for wasting your time.”

What Lyra didn’t realize was the grate was simply held in by nuts and bolts. It wouldn’t be terribly hard to reach the surface with the help of Alek and Jack.

[Cirrus]

(OOC: All incorrect guesses. The allusions are all relating to Macbeth. ;D Now, find the King Arthur one!)

“Hello, King Sorenson. Hello, Squire Jack. I am Lyra Fortuna Sao. But you may call me Lyra or whatever you like,” Alek nodded at the girl's reply. She had since agreed to meet with him formally, or at least, more formally than talking through a grate, and as such Alek's outlook had brightened considerably. She seemed to be more focused on the cyborg than on Jack, and rightly so, at least that's what Alek thought anyway. He was a king, and she was his subject. She should be admiring him. The two locked eyes for a moment, and Alek grew uncomfortable in his...

Curses. I'm not wearing a shirt. What is this feeling then?

Wishing to be free from this novel emotion's grip, the cyborg broke his stare. He had no reason to put forward as a guise for his true motives, but luckily for the captain of the Chess Pirates, Jack seemed more intrigued than he was in the lady in the grate.

"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance,” said Alek's 'squire'. Jack seemed none to bothered about the cyborg and his semi-fantasy world, big things must have been on his mind. Alek pondered this a little, wondering just what it was that made the devil fruit user so...

Interesting...

The conversation continued without him, but despite this Alek remained focused on the words. In chess, every little detail is important, and this skill - the skill of observing - was becoming quite the handy little tool.

“Thanks a bunch for the assistance. If I might ask, why are you so willing to give us the few coins you had?"

“I don’t need beri to live...You two seemed like you were really down in the dumps without it. So why not give what I don’t need?”

Alek nodded, acknowledging Lyra's reasoning and agreeing with it. If he had been of a lower status, he too would have done the same in her position. Good for him then, that he was obviously a king and just gifting money was simply out of the question. The next part of the conversation particularly tickled his ear, not only because of its content, but also because of the sheer conviction and confidence of what she said. Alek would look shocked for a second, but cover it up by nodding enthusiastically.

“Besides, it has always been my dream to meet a great king and play a song for him. You sure seem like one, given your reputation. Of course, I didn’t want to meet you like this.” Someone had called him a king. No one called him a king. This was a new breakthrough. Alek stood, mouth so wide open that he could have swallowed them both - and more - without even the slightest of problems, and then would suddenly close up again as if nothing had happened. He formed plans in his mind, wondering where this would lead. If there was someone out there whom was willing to accept his royalty, then he would want that person around.

Changing the subject for now, Alek said;

"It's nice to meet you, generous Madam Lyra. This may fall a little bit beneath your person, but, what is it you are doing in a sewer? Why talk through a grate? Is it not more proper for a lady to be in a cleaner environment?"

Alek, being a Skypiean by origin, hadn't yet learned the meaning of tact.

[❰ Misha ❱]

[b"]It's nice to meet you, generous Madam Lyra. This may fall a little bit beneath your person, but, what is it you are doing in a sewer? Why talk through a grate? Is it not more proper for a lady to be in a cleaner environment?"[/b]

Jack smiled slightly at Alek's comment but remained trapped in his thoughts for a few seconds afterwards

"It might work....but Alek would have to trust me. 23,000,000 beli is enough money to get a ship and plenty of food, if we're smart about it though." Jack mulled over in his head while Alek spoke to Lyra for a second

"No, It might be a better idea not to. I'll mention the idea to Alek but I won't try for it. Its too risky of a plan to think about."

Jack snapped from his thoughts to look at Lyra beneath the grate. Alek did have a point, it might be easier if they could talk while not looking down at her. Jack continued to think for a second.

"If you want, we can easily get you out of there. It would only take a second." Jack spoke with a calm and soothing tone.

[carlton]

"It's nice to meet you, generous Madam Lyra," the king said. "This may fall a little bit beneath your person, but, what is it you are doing in a sewer? Why talk through a grate? Is it not more proper for a lady to be in a cleaner environment?"

Lyra did not see anything wrong with Alek at all. She merely kept smiling and gazing at him

“Well, I don’t really like sewers,” she began. “They’re rather disgusting. When I sleep though, I often move around where I don’t want to. I woke up down here so I guess I came here last night.”

"If you want, we can easily get you out of there. It would only take a second." Jake said to her.

“Oh! That would be wonderful!” Lyra nearly sang. Her eyes sparkled at Jack. But she became so excited that she actually lost her grip and fell.

“Ouch!” Lyra squeaked as she hit the floor. She pressed her hands against her now aching hips. She brought her tail in and moaned slightly.

Lyra looked something like a serpent down there, with nearly glowing eyes and a dark atmosphere about her. The mermaid’s tail was curled on the dirty ground. The orange of it clashed with the gray dark. But her beauty could still be seen, hiding behind the ugliness that the sewers brought. She peered up at them and smiled pitifully.

“I guess that you can lift that fence thing now. If you please,” she said with a laugh.

It was apparent that Lyra did not think too much about revealing herself to the two men. Either she trusted them a whole lot or she was too ignorant to consider the danger. She was simply too happy to be in their presence.

[Cirrus]

(OOC: 'lady in the grate' ≈ 'lady in the lake' U.U)

“Well, I don’t really like sewers, they’re rather disgusting. When I sleep though, I often move around where I don’t want to. I woke up down here so I guess I came here last night.” replied Lyra. The latter part of her respones confused Alek somewhat - various refrences to aquatic travel were made - but he dismissed it for now. His main focus was to 'free thy maiden from thine imprisonment'. For some reason, Alek's behaviour had taken quite a quixotic turn, and his mind was fully occupied with performing chivalrous deeds, regardless of the impracticallity of introducing yourself to a complete stranger when you were a wanted man.

"If you want, we can easily get you out of there. It would only take a second." Jack suggested a more direct approach to having a more formal meeting with Lyra: get her out themselves. Alek supposed this was a better idea; there was no guarantee that there was an exit in the secluded area of the back streets of the Pirate's Market.

"Yes," Alek said, "That would be best." The cyborg was slightly preoccupied - he had thought he had seen another shadow dart across the wall - and as such his comments sounded slightly indifferent.

“Oh! That would be wonderful!” said Lyra, clearly excited about the prospect of being up on the surface. Her mirth perplexed Alek; what was so amazing about being on land? The question would have to wait for an answer, as in her joy the still fairly mysterious girl lost her grip on the grate and fell to the sewer floor with a faint Splash!

She groaned a little, then looked up, and the sight the cyborg saw stunned him. Lyra had somehow transformed into a sparkly creature of the dark, and what Alek had assumed were legs had transformed into a golden (although muddy) tail. Her eyes glinted in the shadow the grate cast on the sewer, and an enigmatic and supernatural air surrounded her. This 'change' seemed did not seem to effect her and she even laughed about it, saying;

“I guess that you can lift that fence thing now. If you please,”

"Yes...certainly..." Alek trailed off, getting to the task at hand. He bent down and gripped the grate's rails with a strong hand. The captain of the Chess Pirates easily crushed the rusted iron with his mechanical arm, pulling the grate from the nuts and bolts that held it in place. After helping Lyra out of the sewer, he would say;

"Madam, your form...it has been changed!" Alek didn't appear to be the most shocked man in the world; the people in Skypiea did have wings, after all, but still some surprise would be present in his expression.

"What sorcery is this?"

[❰ Misha ❱]

"Yes...certainly..."

Jack's heterochromatic eyes gazed down at Lyra with a slight intensity for a few seconds before his lips curved in a genuine smile

"Well, This is a surprise." Jack's smile widened, "I was wondering why you were down there but this was not one of my guesses."

The serpent-like Lyra garnered an almost speechless facial reaction from Jack.

"Well, at least you're safe now. We'll work out a way to keep..." Jack trailed off for a second because he suddenly had a striking feeling of gazes being leveled at him from all sides.

The staring gazes at Lyra left Jack a little unsettled. There were quite a few men and even a few women staring at Lyra and some were even starting to stare at Alek. Jack flexed his fingers slightly as his nerves and brain began to kick in their input to the situation.

"Ummm.... Alek. I think you'd better get ready." Jack's eyes scanned the growing crowd. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jack suddenly spotted a few armed men advancing on them. They were large and carried short swords on their hips, but Jack focused on the fact that the men had their hands gripping them.

Jack moved quickly and turned to face the men and stood in a battle stance, ready for a fight.

[carlton]

OOC: Ack! Sorry! I forgot to answer your question. Also, does Alek have wings?

Lyra thought that they would remove the grate peacefully. When Alek broke it, her face was shocked to say the least. She finally got a better look at the men, who were not much older than her and actually good looking.

“What sorcery is this, indeed! Your arm… it’s nothing like I’ve ever seen!” Lyra exclaimed and then looked toward Jack. “And your eyes! How fascinating.”

Lyra brushed herself off on ground level. She curled her tail in and removed as much dirt from it as she could. Her fan tail shimmered in the sunlight. She whipped her white hair and put it behind her ears. It waved to the edge of the bottom ofher neck. She removed a long, shinning instrument from her backpack. It was a golden flute. She sniffed the fresh air and grinned.

“Well, I suppose that appearance doesn’t matter. I bet that being part robot or whatever you are makes you greater. Now I can play you a song!”

But Lyra was interrupted by the sudden onset of people. She looked at the threatening men surrounding them. It did not occur to her in the slightest bit that they might be staring at her. She gripped her golden flute and moved her head cautiously.

“Guys, you might want to conceal yourselves a bit better. I think they recognize you.”

Lyra was not the smartest fish in the sea.