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+--- Thread: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) (/showthread.php?tid=9011)
Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-20-2014
Gran was restless. Chachanji was off... wherever he went during the day, and the baby behemoth has holed up in their shared room at the Hourglass. He had already eaten the bowl of snacks that had been left for him, chased his tail for a bit, and rolled around on the Lalafell's bed. And now he was bored, and feeling a bit stifled. The room was definitely more spacious than that horrible tiny cage he used to be crammed into, but he was slowly developing that same closed-in feeling and it bothered the wee piglet.
Since he was uncertain of when Chachanji would be back to let him out, however, Gran made the obvious choice of letting himself out and getting some air. He snortled inquisitively to himself as he glanced about the room, seeking the best method of egress. The windows were an option, but they were shut tight to keep out the heat of the Thanalan day outside. He could totally just bash through them, but he still remembered how frightening that Lalafell lady out front had gotten when he had tried sharpening his horns on one of the Quicksand's table legs. Windows were definitely out.
The solution came to the baby behemoth like a bolt from the blue. Trotting over to the provided desk, he pressed his head against the leg of the companion piece chair and set about shoving it across the room. Any folks residing in the adjacent rooms were suddenly provided with the delightful sounds of wood squealing against stone as the piglet pushed the chair into position against the wall. Once that was accomplished, Gran scampered back a couple steps to admire his handiwork before moving to the next phase of his brilliant plan.
Hunkered down, rump in the air and tail whipping about excitedly, the baby behemoth gauged the distance between floor and chair seat. With a determined snort, the piglet leapt up and... halfway made it onto the chair. Scrabbling with his hind legs and making a series of nervous snorts and squeaks, Gran slowly hefted himself up onto the cushioned seat.
Step one: a rousing success! The little porcine fellow allowed himself a little circular victory dance before moving onto the next stage. Again he took that ready position - head down, hindquarters up - before pouncing from the chair towards his next target: the elusive doorknob. His forepaws latched onto the bulbous bronze-hued orb and scrambled for purchase, clawing desperately for a handhold while his hind limbs performed a similar spastic dance against the door itself.
With a sound not unlike a dog toy's squeak, Gran hit the floor. He bounced once, then lay flopped on the unfeeling stone with his little legs splayed in all directions. A sad little squeal, followed by a snort, and the baby behemoth was back on his feet again and eagerly examining the door. He snuffled around its base before noting that his flailings had pulled it open slightly. Padding at the small length protruding from the frame with his wee claws, the purple piglet eased the door open.
That difficult part done now, the little behemoth trotted his way proudly out of the room and down the hall towards the Quicksand proper. Getting in was simple a matter of scampering quickly after one of the other bipeds residing in the Hourglass before the door closed. A quick sneaky-sneak tip-toe past Momodi, followed by a repeat dash out the Quicksand door after one of its patrons, and Gran was out in the streets of Ul'dah.
The midday sun beat down on Gran's porcine form, and the sounds of hustle and bustle reached his flitting ears. The baby behemoth looked left, he looked right, and then he trotted off. Time to do some exploring!
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Steel Wolf - 11-20-2014
Steel shielded her armored hand overhead to beat away the desert sun, grunting at the effort to do so. She had let herself get carried away by drink again, and every joint was laden by the weight of pudding. She was in the area to head to the nearby mines, but didn't see the damage of having a night in her favorite watering hole in the city.
Of course, she knew she would pay for it. The Ul'dah Toll, she referred to it as. It was a typical payment for her.
Walking through the streets near the quicksand, she was used to a variety of odd sights that culminated in to the normal of the city--dancers in the middle of the street, vendors peddling their wares, corners of the walls as meeting rooms for any number of shadowy dealings. This time, however, her eyes fell on a curious sight, even for Ul'dah. A baby behemoth, trotting through the streets as if it was head marshal of a victory parade. She could almost hear a song playing in the tiny porcine's head.
Intrigued, she decided to follow the animal, trying her best to not look too obvious despite her significant height. Maybe it was lost. Maybe it was valuable. Or maybe it would get in to trouble and she would have to bring her axe to bear. Either case, her chocobo Guldblyss hated the heat, and would not complain if she were stabled in the shade a few bells longer.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-20-2014
If Gran noticed the Roegadyn lady following behind him, he made no show of it. After all, there was already so many other things to check out on his spur-of-the-moment excursion! He was familiar enough with the Hourglass, the Quicksand, and the immediate grounds near them - along with Chacha's usual path for them from the tavern to the Gate of Nald - but everything else was new for the petite purple porker.
Even just coming out door that led into the Ruby Exchange rather than the main entrance had bombarded him with a whole litany of new sights and sounds. Bipeds in bright colors bouncing and dancing about, bipeds hopping from stall to stall, bipeds huddling in shady spots to escape the heat. He had only seen such things either on the peripheral, or through the cramped conditions of his old prison. Now he was free to examine everything to the fullest, and little Gran was going to make the most of that!
So, either oblivious or uncaring of Steel Wolf's watchful eye, the baby behemoth skittered to and fro from point of interest to point of interest. Each stop was marked by a snuffling of his nose and an lashing of his tail from side to side in obvious excitement and curiosity. Some bipeds tried to ignore him, others either moved away or tried to move him away with proddings of foot or cane, while the more belligerent (and possibly drunk) dared to attempt remove with a swift kick. It was only Gran's swift little feet that kept his purple hide from becoming a more black-and-blue affair.
"Bloody nuisance! Git, git!" snarled one particularly sour Hyur, who seemed to be caught between the midday heat and the heated words of the Lalafellan merchant he was haggling with. The sharp kick that followed was only barely avoided, and sent the baby behemoth skittering sideways into a troupe of dancing Miqo'te.
Yelps and squeals of alarm arose from both piglet and dancer alike as little Gran ducked and weaved between the quickly jumbling mass of limbs and tails. He scrambled to escape as the dancers sought to keep themselves from being tripped up, and stumbled into the irate crowd of seated observers. From the frying pan and into the fire, it seems.
"'Ey! Someone snag that pig!" One of them shouted angrily, and then the crowd too became quite the dangerous place for the little porker to be.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Steel Wolf - 11-20-2014
Rescues came in all sizes, and "lost baby behemoth in angry crowd" certainly qualified.
Steel moved in to action, pushing her way towards the crowd of oglers to get to the panicked porker. It wasn't an issue to heave her form through the agitated masses, but it was significantly harder to pin down the squirming and trotting mass of purple curiosity.
As she shoved around, she made several grabs at the animal, each time apologizing, swearing and commanding in different measure as she attempted to salvage the situation.
"Hells, Eggplant, get back--s'cuse me. Get back here! Pardon me--oh, sorry that was your...ah...Eggplant! Come here little one--oi! Shove me again you fu--Eggplant!"
Finally she made the best effort yet, managing to get within hand's reach and attempting to scoop the terrified hamlet up in her arms.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Elysia - 11-20-2014
A variety of things had conspired to make Avis cross paths with the purple piglet that day - if 'cross paths' was the right term for it, for she'd practically tripped over the creature. The first of these was fatigue - Avis might have lived in the city for more than twenty years, but this was her virgin experience adventuring out in Thanalan's relentless heat for hours. The second of these: an empty bottle. The third: a scheduled post-hunting appointment with an accursed chiromancer who sat, apparently guilelessly, on stairs near the Ruby Road Exchange.Â
Curiosity had gotten the better of Avis, as usual. She was already late. The fledgling adventurer clambered up with leaden feet and a pair of mildly-trembling hands. Ignoring the light-headedness that was beginning to set in Avis had sat down and gotten her palms read. Her hands were shaking more in the fortune teller's ring wizened ones, though that had little to do with dread at the dire fates that apparently awaited her in the lines of her palm. Â
So the afternoon found a hooded Avis muttering into her palms as she left, picked herself up and stumbled, rather, in the general direction of the Quicksand through the crowd - where, it was to be hoped, she would find substantial drink and morsel available with what gil remained after the fortune teller.Â
"Four children? By the gods. Delightful." Inward eye-roll, rinse, repeat. "Not the same as what the other said last time..."Â
Then a commotion. Shouts, sudden movements. Shoulders. Too invested in her palms, and feeling very faint indeed, Avis did not notice the huge one that came her way, knocking her lightly off her feet. She staggered and thudded awkwardly onto the floor, struggling for control of her limbs - then there was a purple flash, a thud against a thigh, and, wonders of wonders, a baby behemoth's wide behind centimetres from her knee, someone nearby attempting to catch hold of it.
Avis stared at it and smiled widely, wearily.Â
"I'll have you for lunch then," she said, sighing. "After my four children."
[OOC: mild edits to accommodate changes - you two are fast! (;]Â
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-20-2014
Feet. Feet everywhere. So many feet.
Just as chaotic things seemed up on the level of the bipeds, it was an even more convoluted mess down at porcine-level. He ducked, he weaved, he pounced, he bounced. Gran skittered wildly to avoid both leg and the occasional swiping hand that emerged from the irate jumble of faces and torsos overhead.
And the shouting, so much shouting. All of it angry, all of it reminiscent of the baby behemoth's life before Chachanji. He didn't want to be grabbed, he didn't want to be shoved back into that tiny cage, to be shoved back into that life. That drive - that fear - empowered him, gave strength to his little legs. It was that determination that nearly got him out of that upset crowd.
"Nearly" being the key word.
In front of him, the form of a female biped dropped down suddenly in front of him. He tried to dodge, to change direction sharply to avoid her. His wee feet failed him them, tangling up in each other as they all tried different things to escape the collision. The end result was the little porker tripping over himself, bouncing once against the cobblestones of the street, before slamming lengthwise into the woman's leg. With a squeak.
Gran whined a bit from his proned position, kicking his little legs weakly from the shock. The voice of the woman garnered his attention, got his shiny little black eyes open and focused on her. He liked the fact that he heard the word "lunch." He didn't like the way she said it while looking at him.
Gran flailed again, more energetically, trying to get back on his feet. And when he got scooped up in a pair of powerful arms, he flailed all the harder.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Steel Wolf - 11-20-2014
Steel had succeeded in scooping the wriggling purple ball of terrified pork energy. She winced in pain as the creature issued squeals that seemed to rattle the stones of the city walls. Any potential to apologize for "her" pet's commotion were immediately drowned out by the behemoth's protests at being handled.
She tried her best to calm the creature down, her gauntleted hand trying to pet its spikey black hair in as soothing a matter as she could with the weight of the glove and the state of his tiny panicked body. Her arm, powerful as it was, was still bucked and pushed by his ferocity. Baby or not, it still had all of the power inherent of its species.
Finally, Steel had made her way away from the crowd towards what she assumed was a secluded wall side. She slowly knelt down, continuing to pet the animal. By now, she hoped her soothing voice would be heard over the din. She was pretty sure someone had called it "lunch", and though she wasn't sure of the beast's command of common tongue, it was best to try to talk it down.
It worked for Guldblyss back in the day.
"Shhh...there...there, little one. Nobody's going to have you for lunch, sweet. Look...look...okay? You're safe. You're safe...now...now if I let you go, will you promise not to bloody well lose y'self and charge away again?"
She brought her head down to the creature's eye level, golden eyes locking with diminutive, black beady ones. She could feel its little heart hammering like a bird's wings in her arm. Poor thing might have lost a few ponze of fat in this bout of terror.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Elysia - 11-20-2014
The crowd around Avis seemed to her to thin slightly as the piglet, now snug in a tall female Roegadyn's bosom, moved the focus of action steadily away from where she still ungainly sat. She pulled back her hood and allowed herself a few more moments of fresher air and clarity of vision before she attempted rising to her feet again. She wasn't hurt, though that issue of thirst and hunger was still, unfortunately, unaddressed, and she still felt its effects in the continued tremor in her fingertips.Â
She grabbed hold of a passing merchant's sleeve. "Thank you, I could use some help in this," Avis told him, and before the highlander could respond, the adventurer had already hoisted up her weight from the ground by latching heavily into his arm. The highlander appeared startled at Avis's liberties with his arm and apparent treatment of it as a public support structure, but never managed to finish throwing a gruff note of concern at her. For she was making her way towards Pig and, presumably, Owner at a nearby wall, albeit unsteadily, without so much as a backward glance.Â
The sight of their... reunion? (why was the creature still struggling?) and the Roegadyn's affections for the portly beast made Avis smile, however else she felt.Â
"I should apologize for the blunt trauma I might have dealt to your purple bundle," Avis said wryly to her. "I assure you, there are more efficient means of butchering, so clearly 'lunch' was meant in jest too. Calm down, little one."Â
This last line was addressed to the creature, of course. Avis leant heavily against the wall. She knew how she must seem like to others - disheveled, tipsy-at-midday - not that it really bothered her. Well, you've truly outdone yourself today, Avis.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-20-2014
Gran's spastic flailing quelled a bit as he was pet, as soft words were spoken over his panicked squeals. This... this was different from before. Past incidents always lead to be shoved roughly back into his cage, banging from side to side as he was rushed back to the vendor what sold him.
Safe.
He didn't actually understand the word, but the tone with which the Roegadyn said it was comforting in its own right. It brought to mind resting at the foot of Chachanji's bed after a nice supper. The baby behemoth's heart still pounded nervously in his little chest, but he opened up his eyes at least. His met with hers, her soothing calm washing over him.
Oh wait, nope, there's the lady what wanted to eat him. Nope, nope, nope. All the calm went out of the window again as Gran scrambled for Steel's shoulder in a desperate attempt to climb over her to get away from Avis.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Steel Wolf - 11-20-2014
Steel's eyes widened in surprise as the behemoth suddenly decided to climb up her shoulder. Something freaked it out, and she tried her best to keep her hand gently on the scrabbling purple mass while making sure its tiny hooves didn't kick itself off of her shoulder and on to the stone streets.
She looked up at the Hyur woman who spoke to her, trying to issue a bit of a smirk as she fought to corral the behemoth. "Apology would appear to not be accepted, dear. But give it time and soothin' voice--"
Her ministrations were cut off when she took a closer look at the woman. She recognized that face. Pale pallor skin. Glazed eyes. Looking all the world like a drunkard if she hadn't experienced the malady herself.
Heatstroke.
While Steel still tried to keep the behemoth in check, she shuffled her way away from the wall, nodding her head to a shadier spot of the wall she was kneeling at. At the same time, a free hand unhooked a drinking skin from her hip and handed it to the woman. "Shade. Drink. Now."
She then looked over to her shoulder, whispering again to the behemoth. "Shh, it's okay, wee one. She won't hurt you. I promise."
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Elysia - 11-20-2014
Somehow, her presence had sent the creature into panic mode all over again. Avis drew back instinctively, prepared to bow out of the situation (literally) and crawl to the Quicksand, but it was then that the Roegadyn woman took heed of her most ridiculous of plights and extended a drinking skin in her direction. While keeping Pig where he (or she, or it) was supposed to be. That was admirable.Â
"You have my deep gratitude," Avis said gravely.Â
She slumped in the shady corner where the woman had pointed her to, taking care to be at arm's length from Pig. She gulped down great mouthfuls of water in some haste, greatly relieved, and closed her eyes, wishing she could instantaneously will her body out of damsel-in-distress mode. Such refreshing coolness, though. The world seemed to have calmed somewhat.Â
"Thank you," she said again at length, opening her eyes. "You are a wonder. And so is the little one," she added, nodding at Pig still nestled in the Roegadyn's arms. She was feeling slightly better, or at least well enough to burst unexpectedly into chuckles. "You are a very, very intelligent one," Avis said, softly but warmly, leaning in slightly to the baby behemoth and addressing it directly. She hoped it would take better to this. "You are a little scholar of our speech. If I were your mother here, I would be very proud of you, as I'm sure she is."
Mother. Avis shuddered slightly, remembering the predictions of the fortune teller. Didn't her utter inability to communicate in baby talk with Pig display a complete absence of maternal instinct?
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-20-2014
Gran shot Avis a distrustful look from the safety of Steel's arms. He was no longer trying to escape the Roegadyn's arms, but seemed in no hurry to make up with the Midlander either. At best, he would keep an eye on her to ensure she didn't lunge at him suddenly for a taste of succulent behemoth bacon.
Her tone seemed friendly enough, sure, but he had heard similar tones used by the very vendors that had passed him off to the latest patsy. While she complimented him on his knowledge of the common tongue, it was more a matter that he had equated certain sounds the bipeds had made to good and bad things.
Play? Good.
Stop? Bad.
Supper? Good!
Cage? Bad.
The rest of it amounted to little more than a garbled mess that was far beyond the ken of a wee baby behemoth. As such, for all the words said to him, Gran continued to give Aven the ol' stink-eye. At the end of her praise, his response was a single, derisive snort. Such a gentleman.
Though, the little piglet noted, the added height provided from his new position added a whole new vantage point to the strange world of Ul'dah. While he oft made quick, sharp glances the Hyur's way to make sure she wasn't trying anything funny, Gran shifted too and fro in Steel Wolf's arms to look about and snuffle at the air.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Gegenji - 11-21-2014
It was actually from this higher vantage point that Gran caught sight of the elevator further up the exchange. He watched in wide-eyed wonder as it opened, people were ushered into a tiny room, the doors closed and... once it opened again, they were gone! Some strange magicks were definitely at work here and proud Gran would weasel out the truth of the matter!
But first, he had to weasel out of the arms of a rather tall lady. This turned out much less difficult that he had imagined, distracted as she was with the crazy one what wanted to eat him. He actually expected so much more resistance at his departure that the lack of it sent him stumbling over Steel Wolf's shoulder and face-first into the street with an audible squeak. He remained motionless like that for a moment - face and forelegs against the sun-baked stone with the rest of him poised upward into the air - until gravity finally saw him flop fully to earth.
Gran was quick to get back to his feet, though. He shook himself off and, with another glance about to get his bearings, set off prancing up the Ruby Road Exchange for the elevator proper.
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Steel Wolf - 11-21-2014
Steel smiled warmly at the woman as she gulped greedily from her drinking skin. It was a mixture of relief and good natured assurance. Most people new to Ul'dah had heard stories of the sun, but if one hadn't experienced it themselves at length, then they would never fully comprehend. Let alone doing adventurer's work.
"You're most welcome. By th'by, name's Sthalwilf Haemrstymmwyn....or just Steel Wolf if it'd suit your jaw easier." She chuckled a bit, feeling the behemoth calm beneath her touch. The ruse of being its current owner was easy enough to play when it was calmed as it was, but at the same time her mind was racing with what to do next. Surely it was someone's pet, and an exceedingly rare one at that. One of the more well-to-do's fanciful thing? Would it have been missed? And who would have brought such a potentially expensive...or potentially delicious...creature to a place like Ul'dah, where the winds of commerce swept up practically everything that wasn't tied down?
She was diverted by the Hyur's soothing words to the baby...the beast's response of a derisive snort...and then, its BASEjump from her shoulder, on to the stone street, and another high-tail run towards the lift further down the Ruby Road Exchange.
"By the hells...GET BACK HERE!"
Steel stumbled forward in a scrabbling four-limb start as the porker hauled ham towards the lift doors. The weight of her armor and her tight limbs from last night's personal festivities bogged her down and gave the beast a far too good headstart. Plus, the bloody little thing was fast.
OOC: Sorry for the delayed response here...work ate meh. ;-;[/
RE: Running of the Piglets (OPEN) - Elysia - 11-22-2014
Though Pig's reaction to her compliments were less than friendly, Avis did not view this as an affront; instead, her smile widened. She wasn't completely convinced that the creature understood everything she'd said, but its aversion to "lunch" and evidence of some ability to appraise situations made it a commendable porcine specimen - one which definitely did not deserve a place on the butcher's table.Â
She turned to the woman, who'd just introduced herself. "Sthalwilf Haemrstymmwyn," Avis echoed slowly and uncertainly, enjoying rather the unfamiliarity of the syllables and the clumsiness of the language on her tongue. "It's good to make your acquaintance. I'm Avis."
Before she could provide Steel Wolf with suggestions on possible educational opportunities for Pig, however, the purple creature had thrust itself out of her arm, something in the distance having caught its attention. Steel lunged herself after it, leaving Avis still propped up weakly against the wall with an outstretched arm that clutched an almost-drained water skin.Â
"Ah... S... Steel!" Avis gasped after, clambering to her feet as well. Then there were the usual market-goers and merchants to weave through again before Pig's destination became quite apparent to her.Â
Struggling to keep up, and ignoring the faint buzzing still present in her head, Avis called out to the Roegadyn, only a few feet from the elevator.Â
"You want to stop Behemoth Junior!" Avis called. "Purple ball wants to see the world, might just be headed for an airship - do you let him out enough?"