RP:A Short Guide to Hellhound Obedience Training

This is a Healer's Guild RP.

Summary: Sabrina has a lot on her mind, including a cheeky Knight presently laying unconscious on the Riverbank. The appearance of Thamalys could be good news - after all, somebody has to drag the Chevalier up to the House of Ara - if only that brass-necked Hellhound of Rohk behaved. Sadly, this is not the case, as the Mongrel forces the trio to a cumbersome climb uphill. At the end, Rohk gets a free meal, Thamalys finds himself short of a halberd, the Knight is dropped on a sofa, and the Master Healer has an awful lot on her mind still.

Larket: Riverbank

Thamalys stood tall against the chilly air, his right arm stretched to reach as highly as possible as to grasp some invisible tree branch hanging low from the sky. Was it a proper yawn, that silly gesture surfacing on his face? Possibly, and yet a most peculiar sight would have stopped the Blue so abruptly he barely managed to stay upright. Less then twenty meters away from the honed route of his usual afternoon stroll, the Avian distinctly notice the Master Healer herself, in the most queer company of... a body? "By the Wind, what is going on?" he would have muttered while trying to cover the distance with a few only of those immense strides of his. Rather odd picture as usual, if one would have had eyes keen enough to notice the spiralling collection of tattoos, shaped as ivy leaves and branches, covering most of his skinny features, the Avian also could not fail to notice a rather annoyed hellhound restlessly pacing near by. Definitely no good sign. The battered leather wrapping his legs at odds with the pearly white of the evidently new shirt, Thamalys did not care a bit about caution or indeed decency. The fact that he did not boast any sort of footwear was also on the bizarre side, although not nearly as much as the massive halberd laying against his back. Some steps away only from the trio, the Blue would have come to a stop, his feet already deep into the oozy mud of the riverbank, his eyes nailed on Sabrina, arms wide open as to implicitly ask for some sort of explanation. In a sudden inspiration, the silly one would have eventually uttered: "Why, lovely weather for a stroll along the River, is it not, Master? Or is there something more serious going on in here? Who is that lad, by the way - if I may ask? Now, now, Rohky dear, no need to growl at good ol' Tham. Fancy some sweet?" One swift move, and a trio of dried apricots would have been produced from his pockets, laying swiftly after on his open hand.

Sabrina is staring at her newest charge, rolling her eyes and scoffing somewhat that she had to answer for this most peculiar scene. “The idiot kissed me.” She gestures to the form of the Larketian knight laying just there, having been thrown several paces by non other than the bruiting hound. And no, he didn’t want no damned apricots, but if something smelled beefy in that bag and the lanky fool was offering, far be it for the beast to deny such a foody donation. Thamalys is stripped of his bag via a pair of sneaky twin tails circled around his line of sight and the beasty takes off to the woods to inspect his booty. The Guild members would have explained on some level the Elfess’ disposition by now, if not vaguely, that contact was strictly forbidden and with good reason. One reason being the passed out gent not too conscious at the moment.

Thamalys was about to pull together a decent enquiry, when the cheeky mongrel managed to run away with his valued satchel. "Hey! No, wait, there is... stuff in there!" he would have cried toward the already distant shapes of the hound, only to turn quickly to the Elfess while still pointing his ring finger to the sprinting beast. "There is foxglove in there, and opium, and I cannot even remember how many other lethal... what?!" he would have froze his jaw wide open, a bit of tongue actually sticking out as if squarely hexed. "What do you mean he - kissed - you? He mad, or what? No, not important... Rooooohk! Roooooooooooooohk, for pity's sake, come here!!" And without any further ado, the Blue would have just abandoned his direct superior in the attempt to rescue his precious stashes while hopefully avoiding to be bled to death by the Elfess, would something had occurred to the equally precious hound.

Sabrina was left standing there with a body too heavy to lift and no assistance in getting him at very least under shelter. Wait… did he say opium? “Hey! She calls after him. “You aren’t going to catch a hellhound in this terrain!” Trees would be on Ro’s side, and besides, he would return the precious bag (likely filled with drool and snot) when he was satisfied it held no real gems. She is still there, her hands thrown up in this chaos with the body of a knight at her disposal. She took to rolling him, with great effort, back toward Ara. Alone.

Thamalys was already battling against thorns and bushes when the Elfess' recall made his way through the noise of the river. "Oh, well..." he would have whispered, pivoting on his heels to get back to what it had all the qualifications to be labeled as a proper crime scene, "... let us just hope he would be clever enough not to poison himself...". Moments after, the Blue reached the odd sight of the Master Healer wheeling the not-so-slender features of the not-especially-clever lad uphill. "You are obviously right about Rohk. I reckon he can take care of himself. Now, let me try and help. Alas, this one is too heavy for me to be carried flying..." he said actually stomping a muddy feet on Reinhardt's back, probing whether the body would have in fact rolled with little effort. Not a chance, it seemed nailed into the soil. "Well then..." he let go a huge sigh, only to undo with a gentle, swift motion the laces holding the halberd steady on his back. "If you could be so kind...", proceeded, offering the massive mix of wood and steel to the Elfess, the whole thing being almost twice as tall as her, "I think I can shoulder him to the House without too much fuss... is he going to be ok, you reckon?"

Sabrina was happy he came back, well… maybe happy was a stretch. This evenings series of events were a waste of precious time and resources… plus that idiot kissed her. That thought would linger for some time. She holds out her hands to the halberd, only to have it surrendered in a fashion that nearly brings her face-first to the mud below. She drops it, needless to say, not being one who was often associated with strength as a, well, strength. She is not amused, but deep down inside she is grateful. The halberd is dragged with all her might as she trails behind the Avian. “He’s just knocked out, he’ll be fine by morning.”

Thamalys huffed and puffed while trudging gracelessly up the hill, the path toward the House apparently ten times longer than he could remember. "Splendid, splendid..." he would have conceded between one groan and another moan. "The obvious question come to mind, Master..." he would have even added, face down, his white braids cascading in front of his eyes, very little room for looking ahead but then, he would know that track blindfolded even. "How did this bulky one dare to... kiss you? - If I may, that is..." Of all the things he could think of in relation to Sabrina, he would have never counted any sort of contact. Why, anyone could have told some Elfesses would have had better left alone...

Sabrina is huffing too, still weak but upright and that was what his sacrifice was for. “I think he thought I was dying.” She says in between breaths. Which she was, but that was inconsequential. “And please just Call me Sabrina, like everyone else.” It was weird, she was never one for titles. “I need to stop!” An announcement sounds before she throws her head back, having a hard time to catch her breath. “Just a minute.” She sits down, now on the grassy path, with the halberd perched on her lap. Ro is trotting up beside them, a half-filled bag dangling from one of his tucks. Apparently, the thing got stuck and most of the contents were lost in flailing. His tails wrap around the halberd, which is dragged between the Knight’s form and his carrier, prying the weight unto his own, and with no respect to the Knights honor also drug him off ahead and unceremoniously drops him at Ara’s door. Face-first, probably to prove some point.

Thamalys limited himself to frown at the sharp explanation. Not that he was hoping for some more detail, to be fair - just to assess whether the chunk of meat he was presently transporting deserved some of his sympathy. At this stage, then, not quite. "Oh, of course!" he would have shortly after yelled back the Avian at the Elfess' request, letting go of the mighty weight laying on his shoulders, the whole of the lad connecting maybe a bit too hard with the stony soil - well, he could not even care, could he? Just then, when the Blue decided the time was ripe for stretch his arms that much needed not to definitely cramp his shoulders, the four-legged bandit made is way back. "Oh, no..." he would have muttered halfway between a sad realisation and a cheerful feeling, now that clear it was he would have to spend some time looking for his precious flasks and boxes spread along the riverbank. "Here, let me see whether there is still something in there..." he went on while trying to carefully snatch back the satchel from Rohk, in the meantime shaking his head as if scolding a kid - he knew better, though. You do not want to mess with hellhounds in general, especially not those both clever and strong enough to carry knight and weapon right up to the House. Eventually, he turned to Sabrina, taking a seat himself a good couple of meters away. Rummaging through the depths of his bag, his whole attention focused on rare herbs now evidently lost into the woods, he still would have found the time to voice something else. "Were you? Dying, I mean? Oh, by the Wind, I would have to get back to Frostmaw to fetch some more of that excellent snowdrops..." Whether the last words were meant to ease the weight of the question, difficult to say indeed.

Larket: House of Ara

Sabrina sighed. “In a manner.” She stands again, maybe too soon for the Avian’s liking, but up by the door to the House of Ara Ro had taken to the end of the staff to which the halberd was connected. “No!...nooooooo, Ro.” She broke into a sprint, it would be difficult to know if the man’s weapon was replaceable with currency or no. The hound looks up, uncaring but quizzical as to what she could possibly be bitching about now. His tongue pushes the handle from his lips, letting the mauled piece fall to the ground, coated in mud. Three sets of eyes of eyes shift naturally to the sideward tilt of his head. Just then he pops up, his hind quarters raised and front paws on the ground. He takes up the halberd and darts just out of reach. The Elfess stops her foot. “Put. It. Down.” He remains out of reach, but for all he knows this game might end with a feast!

Thamalys followed with his eyes only that quite enlightening demonstration of dog obedience training - well, sort of. He would have let the Elfess go on with her quest, but the Blue was not one to take advantage of anybody's else kindness, despite a bit curious still about what exactly she meant with 'a manner' of death. Thus, up he leaped, his wings twitching slightly, restless, long strides taking toward the doors, some distance behind the breakaway. "Sabrina, please! No need to worry - or to prevent that rascal to have some fun. In fact, it was time in any case for that particular one to get a new pole..." He would have reached the Elfess in front of the door of the House, now, a preoccupied look surfacing within his skinny features. "Not that we are in need of weapons these days, though...". He shook his head, slowly, pacing toward the entrance. Halfway, he would have stopped, turning to the playful - well, to an extent - mass of the hound and soon after teasing him with a soft, yet perfectly audible call: "Well, you scoundrel. You can keep toying with that stuff, but it is not that much of a flavour, is it? On the other hand, if you get it back I may have some stew left, waiting on my desk, begging to be finished. Interested?"

Sabrina is winded, resting her palms just over her knees, thankful it wasn’t a family heirloom or something. The pole is instantaneously dropped, left in his wake with no effort to return it since his reward was already offered. Upon approach, Rohk would reel back, taking both massive paws to land heavily on Thamalys chest. If he was met with success, the Avian would be hard pressed to negotiate his way from under a near two-ton pin. “Four…” Damn, she couldn’t even catch her breath before sitting right there on the ground with her hands crossed in her lap and staring up to the starry skies. “Four quarts of brandy and a whole spit-roasted hog.” Oh how he did love those dwarvish delicacies and the unholy halfbreed is already on his way to Craughmoyle, leaving this mess in his wake. Upon arrival his order would be waiting- it was the go-to bribe to keep him in line. Surely, they were used to him by now.

Thamalys could only watch in awe while the huge cur pinion him to the very soil. While rising his right arm to the sky, as if to implore some for of help from the Wind himself, the Blue let go of a loud gasp, the moment his wings found themselves squashed between ground and hound. Avians do not like being pinned on the ground - especially by the panting, drooling lump of an hellish beast. Well, who does? Luckily enough, though, Sabrina knew what to do. With a massive sigh of relief, the Blue tried to regain some stance, catching his breath first and then painstakingly standing up, both hands clumsily trying to get rid of the dust covering him from head to - bare - feet. "Well, I suppose that nobody could refuse such an offer..." was it a true grin, the one curving up the thin lips of the Blue? One moment only, an idea indeed, then the tasks at hand would have brought him back. "Oh, I almost forgot...", he added by casually pointing a bony finger to the still unmoving form of the man sprawled near by. "Where should I bring this one? I am afraid we do not have these many beds to spare, not for a foolhardy knight that dare too much indeed". In the meantime, off he went to collect what did remain of the weapon, much of his efforts dedicated to clean the steel from the sticky due of drool and dust.

Sabrina was out of beds, Ara only housed fourteen, not counting her which was taken up by a secret charge, and Emilias sub-zero décor. “The couch?” Was she asking him? Probably not. She gets up again, ready to follow them inside and see to the Knight’s current state on her own. There would be little commotion when they went inside, Reinhadt earning a few downcast shakes of head, not for his foolish actions but by the ideas behind them. It was a rather public plight the Elfess had with those of the opposite sex. Romantic involvement was pretty much her nemesis.

Thamalys nodded, not entirely convinced the broom closet would have not been a much better option for storing the Cheeky One. However, the halls of the House waited at such a small distance away that the Neophyte felt the dire need to just obey. As such he resumed once more his daily duty as mule, picking up with a low grumble the Knight and, more or less elegantly, bringing him within those walls, just a few days ago tidy and spotless, and now cluttered and soiled. So much that was to be done still... later. The Avian would have just turned back to the Elfess, silently inquiring with a dip of his head whether she wanted indeed to proceed with the ides of the sofa. Having hopefully received some sort of confirmation, the Blue kept going, darting his gaze here and there to evaluate the overall conditions of the Guild's stronghold. The puffy shapes of the ancient divan are within his reach already. Picking up some momentum, the Avian dropped the body - amazingly enough still perfectly unconscious throughout pesky hellhounds and broken halberds - in the - frankly quite smelly - dark cushions, a loud thud only receiving in exchange for his services. Bringing both hands on his back, as to massage those sore muscles, he would have eventually addressed Sabrina asking for permission. "Delivered, ma'am - Sabrina. Would you need anything else?"

Sabrina approaches him from behind, laying a skilled hand along his back. What little she could offer in repair to torn muscle fibers she did so sparingly. “I need you to take it easy from here on out, and take from the Guild reserve to have that weapon repaired.” She steps around the lanky Blue and sits on the edge of the couch, pushing the hair from the Knight’s face. Maybe his little escapade had some effect on the Elfess after all. She mumbles further over Thamalys’ defensive piece. “One can never be too ready these days.”

Thamalys witnessed the Elfess taking the lead of the case - he felt so tired, he just gladly thanked the Wind for it. "Thy will be done..." he uttered in a low rumble, far, far too low if compared to his usual tone. Truth was, Sabrina was not the only one definitely not used to anybody's touch - not even when proffered with a noble intent such hers. The Blue tensed up immediately, his wings almost giving in to the temptation of unfurl, the lightest glaze of liquid blue dripping gently from his tattoos, thousands of golden sparkles lighting up the solid blue of his eyes. Less than an instant, then the Avian would have moved away, possibly a bit too abruptly, shortly after producing a clumsy bow and clearing out already of Elfess and Knight. "Till later, then". Eying briefly the two, the Blue would have then taken the way to his room, the muffled sound of his long uneven strides reverberating across the halls - much to ponder in his mind, after a well deserved nap, that is.