The Fall of Man RP

Though he often preferred fighting with his natural weapons, today Rostyn wore a belt around his waist that had sheaths for a sword and dagger. The belt was made of crafted leather and fit him well. It was holding up a loose pair of cloth shorts that allowed him free range of motion and didn't constrict his bushy tail. The shirt was similar, with little design and plenty of room for movement. Despite their simplicity, they were still well-made. It would have been barely enough to satisfy his parents if they saw him.

Business had taken him outside of the city today, and he had finished his job with little trouble. On his way back, he found that he was arriving at a time when traffic in and out of the city was heavy. The brown wolf seemed unbothered by the wait, his body in a carefree stance as he followed a cart with two dead deer pulled by a wolf-like animal ahead of him. Without spending more than a moment looking at her, he knew that she wasn't full wolf, which meant that she was probably mixed with coyote. There weren't too many ways one could mix a wolf with another species.

She met the guard first, and right from the start it seemed like there was a problem. The guard looked over her paperwork and glanced into her cart, but seemed hesitant to allow her entry into the city. And the little coywolf had a problem with that.


"Ya can tell the Queen to shove this shit up her ass then!" Rostyn chuckled, possibly sharing similar feelings over the Queen and her family. Coming from a family that wanted nothing more than to impress the crown and improve their standing in the world, he had developed some dislike for the royal family.

Once a guard himself, Rostyn knew how the job went. It was hardly the guard's fault that there were rules and procedures for entering Collinwood. Seeing the guard's hand move towards the hilt of his sword, Rostyn stepped forward. The coywolf continued to argue regardless of the potential threat. "Might as well let the lady in, friend," he said to the guard with a friendly smile. "She hardly looks dangerous, and if you hold the rest of these fine folks up they might start getting angry." He waved a paw towards the line behind him, filled with animals who were starting to press forward, curious about what was causing the delay ahead of them. The guard seemed to agree, though he had already been handing the paperwork back to the coywolf and waving her in. Rostyn flashed his own paperwork at the guard and received no trouble for his interference as he turned to the coywolf in question.

"You sure know how to make an entrance," he said, the lightest of grins on his muzzle.

There was a voice from behind, asking the guard to let her in, and Semele barely had time to look over her shoulder at the voice before her paperwork was shoved back into her arms and she was ushered forward. Rolling up the parchment in one hand and crinkling it between her other and the cart handle, Semele picked up the handles of her cart and walked forward through the gate. Her green gaze followed the guard who was giving her a hard time - cat, probably a leopard by the spots - and seriously considered how bad it could expose her mission if she spat on his feet.

Luckily, there was someone behind her close enough to where she felt rushed to keep moving. That meant she couldn't punch a guard either. Hell, that'd get her a one-way ticket right into the castle... If her superiors ever needed that, well.

A few feet through the gate, and she heard that voice again. This time, she dropped the handles of her cart and turned to him. "Yeah, I dunno what his fuckin' problem was... This city's going to shit!"

Semele leaned against her cart and began smoothing her crumpled parchment. "And what's the deal with you? That dickface ain't even look at yours." Pfff...

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Rostyn Hart ;D

It was as clear as day to him why the coywolf had been investigated further at the entrance to the city. She practically screamed trouble without even trying. Argumentative, clearly angry. She looked like a troublemaker. And more than likely there was something wrong with her papers. Whether fake or in error, he couldn't say, but his interest was at least a little piqued. His eyes skimmed the cart as she came to a stop, looking over the dead deer she had claimed was for feeding her family. That was an awful lot of meat for one family. Did she even have a way to store it all properly.

"Is it?" he mused aloud over her claim that the city was going to shit. "I hadn't really noticed." Truthfully, he didn't really care. This city was his home only because he was born here, and he had no real attachment to it. He couldn't be bothered to notice if it was going downhill or up.

"It helps to be known," he said with a shrug. She was definitely lower class. He could tell by her way of dressing and talking that she didn't belong in the upper circles. He didn't belong there either, but that was more by personality than birth. Had his family had their way he would be serving the crown right now, rather than mingling with the common folk after completing a job as a mercenary. "It also helps that I was doing work for someone important," he added, remembering that it was most likely the seal on his papers that had given him the easy ride through the gate. Not to mention the fact that he didn't look like trouble.

"Awful large amount of meat you have there," he said with a barely perceptible inclination of his head towards her cart. "You must have  a large family."

Hearing that he worked for the higher ups in town, Semele's eyes might've twinkled. That was a way in. Somehow, this wolf knew the animals her company was trying to watch. A lightbulb started to flicker in Semele's mind. It needed some juice, but ideas started flickering.

She signficantly dropped her voice, stepping closer to the wolf so that he could hear her. "I sell most of it for a couple extra supplies in town." Finally folding up the parchment, she stuffed it into a bag hidden inside the cart. "Ya wouldn't ever think how much animals in town value bein' able to buy cheaper meat and pay wit' somethin' other than gemstones or arrows." She backed off of him, finding comfort in leaning against her cart and folding her arms over her chest.

"Jaela, by the way," she introduced herself, holding out a paw to shake his. "Ya said you work for someone important in town? Any chance they lookin' for anotha employee? I promise I ain't an aggravated mess like this all the time." She offered him a toothy grin. Her teeth were surprisingly clean.

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Rostyn Hart

Ah, so her intentions were less than legal when it came to the meat in her cart. Not that it was his place to judge her situation and not that he particularly cared. He was merely interested. The story backed up his image of her being a troublemaker. He had to admit that he was surprised she had even shared that information with him. Sly as she was, she seemed like the type who wouldn't be so quick to share. He would have to be careful while reading her in the future.

"Smart," he commented, his eyes skimming over the carcass in her cart. "Frowned upon, but smart." He knew how desperate the lower classes could get for food and supplies. Bringing in extra meat to trade for the things you needed was indeed intelligent. He didn't particularly agree with the way the city was run, and he didn't really see a problem with what the coywolf was doing - if she was telling the truth.

He took the offered paw and shook it, taking little value in the given name. He didn't trust much of what the coywolf had said so far. Not with the way she was practically screaming trouble at him. Perhaps it was instinct. Those hadn't been fully bred out of the animals yet. Whatever it was, he knew there was more to her than just a lower class coywolf bringing in extra meat. "Rostyn," he replied in turn, giving his real name. There was no point in hiding it.

"I doubt it," he answered, concerning his employer - soon to be ex employer. "Most people don't hire mercenaries on the regular. Only when someone else pisses them off."


Semele Severa

Semele glanced over her shoulder at the guards at the gate. Neither of them were paying attention to her and Rostyn's conversation, so that was good. But she was disappointed to hear that he wasn't going to share his employer with her. She guessed that something like that required a level of trust, and with them just having met, that wasn't there. Whatever, it was all fine and good.

Considering her actual rebel status, it was probably good that he thought she was just your average underhanded trouble-maker in Collinwood. Yeah, none-the-wiser.

Something that didn't require a level of trust, though, was asking around. "Ay, ya well-connected in Collinwood? Know anyone that does networkin' and the like here?" Boldly asking strangers if they knew anyone worthy was better than asking someone you knew because then, they couldn't ask questions and make assumptions. Assumptions were not something she needed right now. She needed to get straight to the horse's mouth and figure out what the crown knew about the rebels.

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Rostyn Hart c: