Night, 8th Ashan 718
The first trade had entered the city to-trial and thus, it was finally safe to leave Viden. Many of those who had overwintered in the northern fortress hastened to make preparations for their departure, many intending to leave early on the 9th. One such party was set to return to Rynmere, including one little blonde girl by the name of Lyssia.
"So when we get home, do I get a present, Mama?" she asked her mother excitedly, bouncing up and down on the spot, her nightdress fluttering. "Can I get something fun to play with?"
Her mother rested her hands on her shoulders, trying to still her giddiness. "Calm down, Lyssia! Yes, you'll get something nice when we get home but only if you're very good during the trip back. You'll have Leeloo to keep you company in the meantime and then maybe when we get home, we can get you a real pet," the woman explained, a slight frown causing her brows to crease. "Speaking of Leeloo, you haven't put her to bed yet. She has to go on the ship tonight so she has to be in her cage. Off you go, quickly now then you can say goodnight to Papa."
The "doll" in question was in the room with them, among the rest of the toys that lay scattered over the nursery floor. The child pulled a face at the mention of the Tunawa but she did as she was bid, grabbing Leeloo up roughly so that she could get her into her cage as fast as possible. As she carried out the task, she continued to chatter, already eager to talk about what would effectively be the little woman's replacement. Lyssia had grown tired of her doll slave seasons prior, even before her family had chosen to come to Viden. Still, her patience with Leeloo had only grown thinner since then so that she hardly wanted to spend any time with the plant woman. These trials, she'd play with her for a few bits and then toss her to one side, sick of the sight of her. Even now, she had no interest of looking at her, hardly paying attention to what she was doing.
"Can I get a puppy? Or a kitten? We can bring it on ships with us a-a-and I can play with it all the time and it'll be really fluffy and cute and I can squish it!" she thrilled, shutting the cage and absentmindedly fiddling with the lock. If she'd been interested then she would have been sure to check it but she'd grown lazy, not truly paying attention to what she was doing and thus, while she set the lock, she didn't secure it properly. If the Tunawa wiggled the metal...
The girl lifted up the cage, presenting it to her mother who passed it to a porter as she ushered the child out. She had to get Lyssia to bed before she grew so overexcited that she became overtired and wouldn't sleep properly at all. Her mind on her daughter, she didn't check the lock either but simply left Leeloo to the care of another. The porter carried her out and set her on a cart with a number of other bags. There were just a few more things that needed to be added to the stack but in the meantime, he covered them in a waterproof tarp. The snow had been falling quite thickly to-trial and it wouldn't do to have the cargo wet through en route to the Docks.
Trudging off through the snow, his footsteps soon receding, Leeloo would realise the opportunity that was before her. She might not be able to squeeze her whole body through the cage's bars but she could manage an arm. It'd be a tight squeeze and a bit of a stretch but if she could just reach the bolt that held the door closed, she could wiggle it free of its holdings. It would be slow and might take some bits - and goodness knew when the porter would be back - but it could be done. Then it would just be a matter of getting off the cart, a drop of more than a yard into snow that would likely come up to her waist. If she wanted the best chance, she'd have to pilfer from the belongings of her owners - former owners.
One of the nearby bags carried the scent of perfume, one was canvas with some crude painting done on the outside and the last was a sturdy leather one. The perfumed bag carried many layers of beautiful clothing of silk, satin and velvet, as well as some silken scarves and wraps, and some fur-lined leather gloves. Tucked within those layers was a jewellery box that contained an assortment of earrings, brooches, necklaces and rings. The child's bag held a few of Leeloo's gaudy dresses - quite different from the pretty lace-trimmed one that she currently wore - but gaudy or not, they might provide a little extra warmth in this cold weather. In addition, there were some art supplies: pencils, charcoal, some paint. There was also some wool from her mother's attempts to teach her how to knit, although the knitting needles would take more digging to find. The father's bag contained some clothing as well but upon digging, a carefully wrapped weapon would be found, a slim, fine blade. For a human, it would be small, slight and easily hidden but to a Tunawa, it was like a sword.
Leeloo would only have a few bits to take what she could before the porter would return and reduce her chances of escape. She would have time to investigate each bag, to gain a general sense of what was there but she wouldn't be able to investigate all of the deeper items: she would only be able to choose one. There simply wasn't enough time and even now, she'd be able to feel the chill air biting at her skin and tearing through the dress she wore as if it wasn't there at all.
"So when we get home, do I get a present, Mama?" she asked her mother excitedly, bouncing up and down on the spot, her nightdress fluttering. "Can I get something fun to play with?"
Her mother rested her hands on her shoulders, trying to still her giddiness. "Calm down, Lyssia! Yes, you'll get something nice when we get home but only if you're very good during the trip back. You'll have Leeloo to keep you company in the meantime and then maybe when we get home, we can get you a real pet," the woman explained, a slight frown causing her brows to crease. "Speaking of Leeloo, you haven't put her to bed yet. She has to go on the ship tonight so she has to be in her cage. Off you go, quickly now then you can say goodnight to Papa."
The "doll" in question was in the room with them, among the rest of the toys that lay scattered over the nursery floor. The child pulled a face at the mention of the Tunawa but she did as she was bid, grabbing Leeloo up roughly so that she could get her into her cage as fast as possible. As she carried out the task, she continued to chatter, already eager to talk about what would effectively be the little woman's replacement. Lyssia had grown tired of her doll slave seasons prior, even before her family had chosen to come to Viden. Still, her patience with Leeloo had only grown thinner since then so that she hardly wanted to spend any time with the plant woman. These trials, she'd play with her for a few bits and then toss her to one side, sick of the sight of her. Even now, she had no interest of looking at her, hardly paying attention to what she was doing.
"Can I get a puppy? Or a kitten? We can bring it on ships with us a-a-and I can play with it all the time and it'll be really fluffy and cute and I can squish it!" she thrilled, shutting the cage and absentmindedly fiddling with the lock. If she'd been interested then she would have been sure to check it but she'd grown lazy, not truly paying attention to what she was doing and thus, while she set the lock, she didn't secure it properly. If the Tunawa wiggled the metal...
The girl lifted up the cage, presenting it to her mother who passed it to a porter as she ushered the child out. She had to get Lyssia to bed before she grew so overexcited that she became overtired and wouldn't sleep properly at all. Her mind on her daughter, she didn't check the lock either but simply left Leeloo to the care of another. The porter carried her out and set her on a cart with a number of other bags. There were just a few more things that needed to be added to the stack but in the meantime, he covered them in a waterproof tarp. The snow had been falling quite thickly to-trial and it wouldn't do to have the cargo wet through en route to the Docks.
Trudging off through the snow, his footsteps soon receding, Leeloo would realise the opportunity that was before her. She might not be able to squeeze her whole body through the cage's bars but she could manage an arm. It'd be a tight squeeze and a bit of a stretch but if she could just reach the bolt that held the door closed, she could wiggle it free of its holdings. It would be slow and might take some bits - and goodness knew when the porter would be back - but it could be done. Then it would just be a matter of getting off the cart, a drop of more than a yard into snow that would likely come up to her waist. If she wanted the best chance, she'd have to pilfer from the belongings of her owners - former owners.
One of the nearby bags carried the scent of perfume, one was canvas with some crude painting done on the outside and the last was a sturdy leather one. The perfumed bag carried many layers of beautiful clothing of silk, satin and velvet, as well as some silken scarves and wraps, and some fur-lined leather gloves. Tucked within those layers was a jewellery box that contained an assortment of earrings, brooches, necklaces and rings. The child's bag held a few of Leeloo's gaudy dresses - quite different from the pretty lace-trimmed one that she currently wore - but gaudy or not, they might provide a little extra warmth in this cold weather. In addition, there were some art supplies: pencils, charcoal, some paint. There was also some wool from her mother's attempts to teach her how to knit, although the knitting needles would take more digging to find. The father's bag contained some clothing as well but upon digging, a carefully wrapped weapon would be found, a slim, fine blade. For a human, it would be small, slight and easily hidden but to a Tunawa, it was like a sword.
Leeloo would only have a few bits to take what she could before the porter would return and reduce her chances of escape. She would have time to investigate each bag, to gain a general sense of what was there but she wouldn't be able to investigate all of the deeper items: she would only be able to choose one. There simply wasn't enough time and even now, she'd be able to feel the chill air biting at her skin and tearing through the dress she wore as if it wasn't there at all.