(M) The Sliding Tavern

[Merlin]

Peter's attention was caught by the prone man. "Jeeze, I hope not."

He knelt next to the thief and lifted the box off his head. It chimed with the sound of broken glass. The back of the man's head was matted with bloody hair. Peter couldn't tell if he was breathing or not, so he grabbed his shoulder and turned him over. "Mr. Thief?" he said anxiously. "Wake up." He gently shook the man's shoulder.

Reggie was watching alertly **Careful, bro. He could be faking**

[brucedabold]

Red reached live animal marketplace. She knew of their impending arrival for several blocks due to the overwhelming smell. But she was surprised nonetheless from the sheer plethora of caged and uncaged beasts. There was everything. From common chickens, cows, and goats to platypuses, unicorns, and creatures that looked like some god being had on stock extra limbs, tails, horns, eyes, mouths, and various other organs and had decided to just start randomly assembling them to quickly get them out the door.

The demoness stopped in her tracks and gawked at the cacophony of sounds, smells, and sights.

[Tikkeni]

"Yay!" Sir Tikk rubbed his head against Leonie's a few times then began rumbling a loud purr as he propped his chin on top.

[Aisling]

Aisling did some brief dream-walking but again found little to interest her.  She actually got some rest, fae-fashion, with senses still on alert.  The knocking of pirate animal heads wasn't that straining, but she hadn't had much time to get rest for many days.  The outside view with the curled up beast remained uneventful.  No one was inside the Tavern's main room save for the tentacled siren.  No people were flying through the air above the buildings.  And the bard's song, barely perceptible, even to her keen ears, was indeed soothing...

[Aries Jordan]

The fallen thief groaned and muttered "Wuzzamaroo," before rousing enough to feebly push Peter away from him. 

Leonie tied a bandanna around her face to help keep out the stench of the cattle market and caught up with Red.  She gaped at the variety of livestock available for sale. 

"We're not feeding Rikerg any unicorns!" she insisted, but then looked closer at one of them.  The horse's hair had been plastered white, and the horn, she suspected, was made of glass.  "Although I think they're fake," she added.  The animals with extra limbs, however, looked very real.

[Tikkeni]

"I prefer my food pre-dead, less work.  Did we lose Peter?"  Sir Tikk twisted about to look around for Peter and Reggie.

[Merlin]

Peter sat back on his haunches and watched the thief warily. "Can you sit up?" he asked.

Reggie directed a growl at the thug. **Come on, Pete. He's alive. Let's go.**

"I suppose so," Peter answered, standing and drawing his hood up over his golden curls. He snapped his fingers to catch the woozy thief's attention, then held up two fingers in the peace sign. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

[brucedabold]

The first thing on Red's list was a wagon with driver. She found a suitable one in the shape of a lanky teenage boy with bright green eyes and a storm of black hair with a two-axle open wagon pulled by a water buffalo called Floyd. The boy's name was Gamalt. She pressed a gold coin in his palm and told him to follow her as she shopped. He was stunned for a full three seconds before enthusiastically agreeing.

Floyd and Gamalt followed the demoness as she prowled the market. She picked up a cage of laying chickens, two hogs, a box full of giant pearly snails, a bucket of eels, a crate full of land crabs, several geese, and a milk goat. All of that, along with some bags of feed, went on the wagon.

She then turned at her compatriots. "Anything else you can think of?"

[Tikkeni]

Sir Tikk goggled at the animals.  "Do we eat these?  I mean my food came I mean COMES in a can so.....you aren't going to make me kill something for food?"  If possible Tikk looked slightly pale at the thought.

[Aries Jordan]

"Shove 'em both up your arse!" the thief groaned.

Meanwhile, Leonie ambled along in Red's wake, fascinated and slightly nauseated.  There was nothing going on in this market that suggested anybody had even heard of a Humane Slaughter Act or a Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.  The livestock, crowded together in filth and scared half to death, made an unbelievable amount of noise and stench.  She was pleased when Red bought the laying chickens and the milk goat, it was easy for her to think of them as having been rescued.

"Yeah," she answered Red.  "Where the hell is Peter?"

She burst into giggles at Tikk's squeamishness and petted him.  "Oh, my goodness, you're a wuss puss.  No, we won't make you kill anything yourself."

[Tikkeni]

"Oh thank goodness!  Mistress wanted me to catch mice.  CATCH!  I mean...barbaric.  I kindly relocated them to a pleasant field behind the house."  Tikk sighed happily as he squirmed under the petting.

[Merlin]

Peter's brows lowered slightly at the thief's crudeness. "Oh, yeah, you're fine."

**I can bite him again if you like** Reggie said eagerly, bouncing around a little bit.

"Stand down, tiger," Peter said in amusement, turning away from the thief. "Where to?"

Reggie turned his back on the thief as well, to pointedly kick his back feet at him in disdain. He sniffed around a moment, catching Red's distinctive scent. **Follow me, Pete!**

[Aries Jordan]

"You know what," Leonie said to Tikk, frowning a little as she gave additional skritchies, "no offense, but you're too... civilized to be a cat.  Is it possible you've been turned into one?"

[Tikkeni]

Sir Tikk blinked a few times.  "I don't know, I mean all I remember is being a cat.  Mistress told me about me being a kitten....and how she chose me because we had the same, well at least close, death date."  Sir Tikk's ears drooped a bit as he added.  "But that didn't turn out right, did it?"

[brucedabold]

"Last I saw, Peter was checking on one of the 'official' robbers," replied Red to Leonie. "Hopefully, more trouble hasn't brewed."

The demoness waved at Gamalt to follow as the group headed out from the market. There had been the usual vendors and beggars trying to receive some of Red's bounty, but she glared at any accosters with glowing red eyes. She was nervous off the tavern grounds and wanted to get back as soon as possible.