What You're In For

[Patrick]

Patrick needed a moment to regain his full awareness even with the amount of adrenaline coursing through his skull, that last brief head bash something he didn't count on doing so suddenly given the moment. With a brief pinch at the inner corners of his eyes which connected to his nose bridge, he shook his head a couple of times just to help orient his thoughts on the surrounding area. They were high up for the moment but how long until someone pinned them down? Clearly this on the run business was something he hadn't done in a long while, granted his last avoidance of any 'authority' was under the guise of Raimeus's own cronies.

But they were mere goons compared to this lot here, and now with beggars determined to cast more stones; the both of them needed to clear out before- Hey wait a damn tick! Where on earth did the sailor girl go? One glance over his shoulder and he noticed she'd been on the move already, her own instinct likely kicking in as she moved to get away. But she seemed injured or something, from what he could see there appeared to be something wrong. Just as he stood to try and pursue, something wickedly unexpected then unfolded. From below within the alley a... a...

"Holy SHIT!!" Were the words that burst from his lips as he teetered back a little, practically falling onto the slant of the roof beneath him. It looked to be a figure of a blazing woman soared into air, into a sort of levitation before him as he quickly sauntered onto his feet in retaliation. He heard the thing speak words to him but barely acknowledged them, clearly panicked that a floating mass of flame approached him out of the blue. Immediately Patrick ran for the rooftop Lorena had already cleared herself onto, and he felt an incredible drop into momentum from the moment he started for the edge. Just as his next couple of footsteps landed near that point, he bent his knees and jumped into a propelled angle towards his destination.

And then he brought hands first forward so that he'd catch the ledge of his next rooftop. He felt gravity pull against his weight as he nearly slammed into the side, using the toes of his feet to support him when he managed to secure his grapple onto the edge. As fast as his body would allow in that time Patrick pulled hard, to haul himself over onto the roof and hopefully get away from that thing which approached him. The Rharnian exhaled as he'd held breath during the climb up, and he quickly looked from the fiery woman who was now his bigger concern; to whatever options awaited him down below. He could try to swing down from a sign post on the building, though he doubted he'd be so lucky as to manage that without a hindrance.

Then he saw her.

Lorena curled at the edge of a wagon filled with hay, with an arrow lodged within the side of her hip. "That's not good!" He muttered with another glance shot at the burning creature, his nerves still jittery from seeing her appear out of nowhere. Sure enough he didn't hesitate at this chance, since it'd put him close enough to help her if he could. Thus Patrick pushed from his hands and knees into a short-lived sprint, as within two seconds from his move he hopped to fall over the side; and down into the wagon of hay below.

[Ghoul]

Modbomb!

Ignoring her usually had a heavy price to be paid. And maybe he would have already paid it if she didn't find the man's actions surprising. He'd met her gaze and then looked away; fear was good. But then he'd spotted that woman in the wagon and went into tossing himself to another rooftop. Stupid. But funny, in a way. Maybe that was all there was to this, rather than the bold encroaching of territory. If she followed along, how entertained would she be?

However, she wouldn't be kept entertained for long if that woman was dead and the man proved himself to be a right bastard. Then, then she would need to deal with him and she was sure he wouldn't want that as much as she did. She watched Patrick struggle for a moment longer, stooped there on the rooftop as the flames around her subsided. Biting absently at the nail of her thumb, she glanced down at Lorena. She would need that wound looked at quick.

Surely Patrick remembered what someone bleeding out looked like.

"She need help." She made sure she was heard. She remained relaxed, unbothered. "You want help?" It was less than rare for Lyde to help anyone. It was an anomaly. And if she was offering, it meant that there would be something in return. Nothing was ever truly free in this world, after all. Beneath all that ennui, was the barest of eagerness in her eyes. Not that Patrick would see from where he was. And perhaps it was better that he couldn't.

[Patrick]

Patrick's fall to where Lorena soon became an observation matched with the known already, as it became perpetually obvious as to what wounds she suffered. Even worse it became imperative that she gained immediate help, though from where did the arrow come from he did wonder... The flaming woman's body seemed returned to normal, albeit a state of being he hardly considered her's now that he saw her other form. A wicked thing she had to be, and the weight felt in her heavily accented words of choice no less. He didn't want help truth be told... he wanted out of here, far away back to his room so that he could be on his merry way. Never let it be said his day always took a weird turn before the end, and now he stood here playing the part of some roguish hero...

He hopped over Lorena's body using the sides of the cart, the smack of leather into stone felt under his feet the moment he went over. Upon seeing her he wanted to help but to also run... they were just strangers after all. Yet the past stung hard in his gut and kept him frozen in his tracks, so much for thinking of this lady as a stranger. Deep down Patrick wanted to help her... how though seemed to fall short without...

He sighed hard as he looked from her up to the red-headed woman on the roof, a begrudging look cast up her way before he focused back on Lorena. He had to be careful about it given the point of the arrow's entry; but with an arm brought to slide under her neck, and another beneath her thighs, Patrick slowly scooped the unconscious lady into his arms with caution focused on that arrow. She definitely needed it looked at soon, and there was no telling if they were still going to be pursued. His options were limited to either running with her, leaving her behind, or enlightening the notion of this stranger helping.

What if she didn't intend to actually help though? Patrick knew good and well how treacherous hearts can be, no matter how promising of good they could prove to be. But with such limited options he swallowed hard, another stern look shot to the firedancer above as he called out to her.

"What do I have to do exactly?" His tone sounded apprehensive, but obviously he'd considered the best course of option.

[Ghoul]

Modbomb!

There were worse deals out there to be made. Really - Lyde had seen them go down plenty of times. But then, the deal she'd made to end up here had been one of those. A grin cracked the mask of her expression at his answer. What wouldn't he need to do? The grin turned impish, the biting of her nail more purposeful than before. She hopped about a moment, a bird restless with the possibility of a meal, before deeciding it would be best to be on equal footing.

"Need close wound, yeah? Can do. You owe me favor, afterward." A cackle, but not quite, left her. He'd be pleased and she'd be on step closer to freedom. But she was getting ahead of herself. Hopping down from the ledge seemed an easier feet for her, a slight roll onto the balls of her feet as she landed. However, the limp that followed had little to do with a botched landing. Little embers wafted down with each step as she got closer. This close up, she looked no more than twenty arcs old, perhaps younger. Scrawny with mousy brown hair and an uneven smattering of freckles. A burn mark stretched over the side of her neck. It looked an awful lot like a handprint, if not smeared in some places. Like she hadn't held still. "Give look-see."

Regardless of being given permission or not, she would crudely inspect the wound with little care for whether she woke Lorena or not. "Girl pretty. Lucky man. Wound bad, though; unlucky girl." Removing the arrow would not be too difficult a task, but it would certainly not be a good idea to do it out in the open. Rather than waste time, Lyde stared Patrick down a for a trill as her hand was soon coated in flames.

"You owe me." It was all she said before placing her hand over the wound, sealing it with the arrow still lodged inside. No time to remove it, after all. The fabric around the area was singed when she pulled her hand away, looking up to Patrick. "You owe me. I take you place to deal with this better. Keep up." Much like a dog leading someone off, she bounded forward and then waited, turning back to see if he was keeping up.

[Patrick]

His only response with the question of the wound closing was to nod, as he still had a hell of a time seeing this woman up close now. Moments before she seemed like a blazing inferno, so listening to her was difficult due to his thoughts on her and humanity. "Yeah yeah." He finally remarked after her cackle over the favor, he almost panicked though when he saw the lady reach for the wound however. Was this going to wake Lorena up? Was she going to be pissed later? Then again what other good could he do? He still practically seemed squeamish at the sigh of blood, had he not the willpower to persevere when it counted.

Poor Lorena... Somehow he couldn't help but feel bad for the woman in his arms, were she not likely in pain he probably would've enjoyed it better. But calling him a lucky man? Honestly he figured anybody would be lucky to be picked out by a lady as fine as Lorena... however seeing her knack for trouble earlier that day certainly made clear her personality. A rebellious if not an unrestrained heart accompanied by mischief. A literal cut of the same cloth from Patrick almost, though he couldn't spare the thought of how dainty she was.

What happened though set his hairs on end when he witnessed what the woman did, her flame ridden hand pressed onto the area where the arrow rested. It may have done the job for now, but imagine how hard it would be waking up to a burned wound resealed? Even he thought he felt the heat in his side when he watched, and Patrick could've sworn he heard Lorena whimper as she fidgeted in his arms. With a clenched jaw and eyes closed he sighed through his nose, almost ready to say something but not quite sure what. With that done to help her for the time being, Patrick opened his eyes to look at the pyro-woman once more. His expression a reluctance of trust with a bit of spite hinted, he finally found the words to say in a low-tone of voice. "Okay, what's next?"

Sure enough that favor she wanted, or so he expected it to be right away. However she wanted to go somewhere else, to lead him away to a place they could retreat to; so that Lorena could receive the rest of the help she needed. To follow though? He so wanted that to be the questionable favor in mind, to worm his way away from the thing before him. To Patrick someone like the pyromancer hardly seemed human, certainly exceptional to the standards that deemed them to be. Being indebted to one such as her made his stomach uneasy, nevertheless he followed her as she started to lead the way. He was hopeful this wouldn't turn into something he'd later regret.

[Kasoria]

Review Rewards

Name: Patrick

Points awarded: 15

Knowledge:
Running: Dashing To Catch Someone That's Falling
Acrobatics: Catching Someone Before They Hit The Ground
Detection: Noticing When Someone Is A Troublemaker
Running: Avoiding Apprehension By The Lae
Running: Putting As Much Distance Between You And Your Pursuer
Running: Chasing After Someone
Running: Tucking Into A Slide Over The Ground
Acrobatics: The Concept of Powersliding
Strength: Hoisting A Person Over You
Endurance: Taking Blows To The Gut Like A Champion
Unarmed, Brawling: Using Your Head As A Weapon
Unarmed, Brawling: Breaking Out Of An Opponent's Constraint

Renown: 5 points, for leading some thugs on a merry chase through Scalv

Injuries: Minor bruising, no biggie

Notes:
Ooooh, nice moves! Patrick really does have a Quill-esque vibe about him, but there's an edge there hinting at a more grounded personality. Also loved how he reacted to a Floating Fiery Person. I mean... what do you say?

If you have any questions, comments or concerns in regards to this review, feel free to PM.