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Post by Briar on Feb 28, 2020 22:34:47 GMT -6
"You know, Yeo-reum, I don't know about this one."
Standing by the quest shop, Aubrey was deep in thought. He was keeping an eye out for... well, for a troublemaker, if he had the story right, but it seemed like such a harmless little thing to leave candy out for people. It was that time of year, and weren't admirers a good thing, so long as they kept it harmless? There wasn't anything in that candy, was there...?
Or, anyway, they were supposed to be keeping an eye out. In practice, it was more that Yeo-reum was people-watching with his usual carefree good humor, and Aubrey was trying to figure the situation out, and thinking himself in circles.
Yeo-reum made a rumbling noise that could have meant anything. Well, anything but 'hey, there he is, we found our guy', anyway. Aubrey figured he'd sound a bit more excited if that was what it was.
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Post by Briar on Feb 28, 2020 22:37:42 GMT -6
But Aubrey did take it as his cue to keep talking, even as he reminded himself to look up and scan the crowd. "I don't think it's that... I mean... Candy is nice, right? Maybe they just meant it as a gift. I know it might be a little creepy to do it this way, but..." He shook his head, sighing. "I just wish I knew what they want to do with the person, if we catch them. It feels bad to just... I don't know."
Again, Yeo-reum rumbled. Aubrey supposed he might as well take it as agreement, or sympathy at the very least. Smiling, he said, "You get it, don't you?" Even if he didn't, it was nice to think that he did. "We'll go easy on them. You aren't scary anyway." It wasn't that Yeo-reum didn't have the capacity to be, since he was big and had all those teeth, but...
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Post by Briar on Feb 28, 2020 22:41:08 GMT -6
It was just hard to think of anyone as frightening when they went out of their way to make silly faces or jazz hands. Apparently it didn't offend this particular Tat's dignity to fool around like that.
Maybe it was also just that Aubrey had lived with him for so long. He knew that Aster didn't find Avander intimidating, but it was a good thing for them that most people still did.
But then, Avander was trained to menace other creatures, and to menace people if he really had to. Aubrey didn't think he'd ever seen Yeo-reum hurt anyone except by accident, and even then it didn't happen much anymore.
"Do you see anyone suspicious?" he said.
Yeo-reum inclined his head. He might have understood the question, but he certainly didn't provide an answer. "No, I don't either," Aubrey said. "I guess it wouldn't be that easy, or they'd have caught them by now..."
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Post by Briar on Feb 28, 2020 22:44:06 GMT -6
They'd been standing here for the better part of an hour now and nothing had really happened. And it was entirely possible that Aubrey was just bad at this. He'd never taken a job of this particular nature before, and his skills as they were now mostly pertained to getting plants to grow. He'd never been much of a lookout, and after spending his youth on an extensive and relatively quiet private property, the hubbub and distraction of crowds often threatened to overwhelm him now.
But he suspected he wasn't the only one they'd asked to do this, and that the point was more to have more eyes on the task than anything. It took the pressure off when he thought about it like that.
... Still, he could feel himself losing focus. "Do you think we should try somewhere else? Like that other shop, the one we haven't gone to before?"
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Post by Briar on Feb 28, 2020 22:47:19 GMT -6
What was it called again? The Hunter's Lodge? He'd heard about it when it opened, but he hadn't had a chance to use its services. Or rather, the problem was more twofold: firstly, he couldn't even afford their services, so it wasn't really worth thinking about. There were bills to pay, food to buy, and Aubrey was still just scraping by haphazardly. Which brought him to his other problem, which was that he could barely handle the number of creatures he had as it was.
But now they had a legitimate reason to go, and the pinch of his coinpurse was enough, he thought, to keep him from making any rash decisions. "I think a change of scene might be nice. Let's go, Yeo-reum."
Yeo-reum looked a little surprised when Aubrey began walking off, so maybe he hadn't been listening as well as Aubrey had hoped after all. Still, he did follow, after a moment.
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Post by Briar on Feb 29, 2020 20:18:09 GMT -6
Navigating through the city was no more confusing than standing watch at the quest shop; there were plenty of people out and about this time of day, especially as the weather warmed up and it stopped being quite so unpleasant to be outside. For the most part, Aubrey was glad of it, since he disliked the cold himself, but it was fast becoming one of those days where he wondered whether it had actually been a good idea for him to move out so close to the hubbub of the city center. He didn't dislike it the way Aster did, but sometimes he felt that he understood a little better now where Aster was coming from, living out in the remote area that he did.
Even the presence of Yeo-reum didn't deter people much. Creatures weren't an uncommon sight on the streets here, and as long as they didn't cause trouble, they generally didn't attract attention.
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Post by Briar on Feb 29, 2020 20:21:36 GMT -6
But Yeo-reum, for his part, simply picked his way through with patience. After a while, Aubrey fell into walking in the space immediately behind him, since it was easier to ford through the crowd that way. At least Yeo-reum had the advantage of his height, whereas Aubrey tended to get lost in a crowd pretty easily.
The only relief it afforded Aubrey was a brief respite from looking for the perpetrator behind the candy pranks, but he hadn't been doing a very good job with that anyway.
It took them a lot of navigating and doubling back, but eventually they found the right shop. At least, Aubrey hoped it was the right shop. He couldn't read all that well yet, so even if there was a sign, it wouldn't help him much. But, well, it looked like a lodge, which was what the name of the place was, and there weren't any other lodges anywhere near here.
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Post by Briar on Feb 29, 2020 20:24:23 GMT -6
And Aubrey would know, since they'd been wandering back and forth in this general area for a while before they found this place.
"I really hope those two ladies aren't too upset if we don't manage to find the person they're looking for," Aubrey said. "At the rate we're going, I'm not sure if we're going to." They'd lost a lot of time getting here, so maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to change locations after all. But now that they were here, it would be even more pointless to go back.
Aubrey gave himself a moment to admire the trimmings of the lodge, while Yeo-reum peered inside the windows at the customers, startling a well dressed woman inside. Seeing what he was doing, Aubrey tugged on one of his forelegs to encourage him away from the window. "Come on, leave them alone. We're here to find someone for the request, remember?"
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Post by Briar on Feb 29, 2020 20:28:58 GMT -6
Yeo-reum gave a huff that seemed to suggest he was put out by Aubrey stepping in and ruining his fun, but he didn't put up any resistance as Aubrey urged him away. "Do you see anyone suspicious?" Aubrey asked him. At that line of questioning, Yeo-reum's gaze wandered back to the window again. "Oh, I guess it's possible they're already inside, huh? Is that what you were looking for?"
Yeo-reum adopted a very solemn expression, while Aubrey felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Now, why don't I feel convinced? But you're right, maybe we should take a look. A second look, for you. Don't scare anyone though, okay? If we mess with the customers, the shopkeepers might get angry and tell us to go away."
Yeo-reum maintained his Very Solemn Look, to which Aubrey couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay. Let me know if you see anyone, okay?"
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Post by Briar on Feb 29, 2020 20:32:01 GMT -6
Which led to the two of them peering in through a window--- a different one than the one that Yeo-reum had previously chosen--- with Aubrey trying to be discreet about it and Yeo-reum absolutely not bothering with any pretense of not being nosy. He wasn't plastered to the glass like he had been last time, but anyone looking out would have very clearly seen a Tat-lung looking in.
Maybe he had the right of it, since Aubrey couldn't see very much the way he was, trying to stay hidden. Cautiously, he straightened himself a little. Hopefully, the sight of Yeo-reum would be distracting enough that they didn't notice the top of Aubrey's head peeking up at all. After all, Yeo-reum was very colorful, and he had that big shock of a red mane to help him stand out.
The shop was a little busy, but certainly not packed. It was easy to pick out the individuals within.
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Post by Jack on Feb 29, 2020 22:47:46 GMT -6
You have rolled a Success! Your QP will be added to the bank, and your prizes will be sent to you shortly. You may continue roleplaying if you wish (take the following info into consideration when continuing roleplaying ;3).
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After all that hard work (including whatever you did afterward) you are given your first glimpse of whoever has been leaving those horrendous notes...
A young boy wearing a sweater and shorts was holding a little box of candies and a card when he was glimpsed sneaking suspiciously close to the building, and then when he was spotted he tried to run away! After running directly into Jolyne, he turns around, looking sheepish. A tongue lashing by Odoshi later, and the boy was trying to defend himself- "I am not trying to uh, trying to be weird or anything!" He finally shouts, the poor thing couldn't be any older than ten. "I just want to open a candy shop! We were thinking about Selling Vakrah stuff too, but I knew that we needed to uh, advertise!" He looked really sheepish. "I thought y'all would be okay with it, but I was too embarrassed to ask!" He hangs his head in shame.
Who knew that the Vakrah Incident was a misunderstanding all along? The tiny entrepreneur was let off lightly by the two prickly shop keepers all things considered, and told that he can ask any time he wished (it was better than frustrating everyone at least).
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