[Freezair]

Halvard stopped in his tracks, and turned back to look at the girl. He was not the only one to have noticed. Hector came to a stop too, and seemed to be eyeing her out of the corner of his gaze. Hector hadn't felt the handshake, but Halvard was now sure. Something was a bit... different, about this girl. Was she robotic? Of course, if she was and was still learning about the world, it would probably be rude to bring it up. If she wasn't yet ready to be open about her robotic-ness, it wasn't his place to force her. But even her companion looked a little troubled.

"Why, yes," Halvard said. "People often go to places simply to see what they're like, to visit, and sometimes to see friends. You... do not get to do this, much? Do you not like to leave your house? Or... or is there some other reason?"

Halvard's heart thumped. A part of him worried that he had perhaps stumbled onto something more than a simple errand.

Quietly, Hector moved closer to him. A grim look crossed Hector's face, but it wasn't for Halvard. It went somewhere off in the horizon, just above the heads of their two companions.

[GrayGriffin]

Huul glanced at Ajor. "Ajor...don't say anything right now."

"Yes, Huul."

Now Huul turned to their two companions. "First of all, we do not have many friends outside our house. And the house is where we feel more comfortable. That's all." Meanwhile, the fur on the back of his neck was rising. All that was technically the truth, but...there was more to it.

However, he was distracted from his own thoughts by Hector's gaze. He turned around as well, trying to see what the man was looking at. Beside him, he could see that Ajor had tensed up again. This time, he didn't ask her to relax.

[42, 42]

[Freezair]

Halvard did not miss Huul's warning. Something about those two was suddenly "off." Halvard had hit a nerve. Huul was defensive and hiding something. You didn't have to be a living lie detector to see that.

But how to deal with it? How to best ensure the girl's safety? Right now, it almost seemed to Halvard as if... As if the man Huul was the source of Ajor's distress. Did he look slightly fearful as well? Halvard couldn't tell, but to keep the girl from harm, he was going to act as if that was the case. But if he jumped to conclusions, he could end up harming an innocent. He could be a victim too. Victims often tried to act as if nothing was wrong, out of fear of what might happen to them.

If he attacked, well, Halvard had few doubts that he could overpower this man. Even Hector probably could, simply by dint of his size. But Hector, of course--Hector, who had never trained in combat, and Hector, with his affable attitude--did not sit down and think such things out the way Halvard did.

"Hey, buster, if you're doing anything funny to that girl, my brother here carries a sword at all times and he knows how to use it. You better know who you're dealing with, you got that?"

Hal sighed mentally. Yes. Thank you for making sure he knows exactly who I am. Oi.

[GrayGriffin]

[Huul's in Wombear form, just so you know. And I only just noticed that I forgot to write out Ajor's speech quirk. I am so inconsistent with that.]

Huul's fur immediately all bristled out at Hector's statement. "Me? Hurt Ajor? How...how can you say that? How can you even hint that I may have inclinations in that direction? Ajor, tell them, have I every done anything to hurt you?"

"Huul has done no-thing," agreed Ajor. "Huul would not hurt me. I would not hurt Huul. We are too..." Here she paused, as if trying to figure out what, exactly, were the right words to say, "...im-por-tant to each other. I need him."

Part of Huul groaned. Yes, what Ajor was saying was all technically correct, but the implications it gave were completely wrong! How best to correct them... "I need her too!" he exclaimed, panicking a bit now, before realizing what he had just said.

"You do not need me," replied Ajor. He could feel his heart freeze.

"Ajor, be quiet again," he said. Then he looked up at the two men. "If you want to talk more about this, we can't do it here." He had already blurted out something that he had never intended to say, not even to Ajor.

[43, 43]

[Freezair]

((A-whoops.))

Hector had already thrown suspicions into the open. And the Wombear was already making the usual denials. "I swear I don't know anything," trying not to look guilty. But Halvard's expression changed. The 'bear was willing to play along and answer questions, it looked like. Hector's heart immediately softened, and he looked sympathetic to the two. "Hey, fella, you were just acting defensive and a little funny. You told her not to say anything, so I worried about her, you know? Like you were forcing her to clam up--"

"Hector, please." Halvard gritted his teeth. If the man was a victim as well, if something was wrong, or if Halvard was just being paranoid... he did want to do something. It was inhuman and in-Lucain to just leave someone to suffer, if something was wrong. But he did want to approach this with some safety. "I would like to choose the place we talk. Just to be sure that you won't try anything. But I can promise you, I mean you no harm unless you give me reason to."

A small satchel hung over Halvard's shoulder. He undid the top flap and pulled out a battered, crumbling old book, with water-damaged edges and fraying corners. The gilt lettering was rubbed away in places, but the title was still visible: "THE OLD FURY GUARD HANDBOOK."

"This is the handbook of the group of guards I belonged to. You may not have heard of them, but I can promise you--we were mighty, and true, and we always stand up for what is right. I may not be one of them any more, but I keep this book with me at all times because I still adhere to this code. I warn you now, if you do try to hurt this girl, I will not be gentle. But if you are troubled, then I will do everything in my power to help you. Do you understand?"

[GrayGriffin]

Halvard tilted his head at the man's suggestion that he pick the place they talk. "Fine. But if I don't like it, then I'll ask you to find another. That's acceptable to you, right?" Talk of a sword had definitely made him uncomfortable, and he flinched again when Halvard opened the satchel. However, he relaxed upon confirming that the book was not a weapon.

Funny, he thought, as Halvard began to talk about how much trouble he'd be in if he was hurting Ajor. That was what I was just about to say to you. Still, upon hearing the next part, he felt an odd sense of relief. "I do not know if you can help us," he said, purposefully failing to mention whether or not there was actually a problem in this situation. For now, he'd let Halvard draw his own conclusions.

Ajor, meanwhile, had also bent to look at the book. "Those are your rules?" she asked slowly, looking somewhat confused. "They are...out-side of you?"

"I'll explain about that later too..." muttered Huul. Still, he figured that these people were smart-they might be able to figure out something already.

[44, 44]

[Freezair]

Was this girl merely sheltered and hurt? Or was she, in fact, some sort of android? The way she asked about his rules being "outside him" made him think that hers were programmed in or stored on her hard-drive. Strange as it was, Halvard smiled. "Yes. The rules aren't technically a part of me, no. But I do keep them close to me at all times so that I don't forget them. And one of--well, several of those rules, actually, talk about making sure the people you're helping feel safe. So Mr. Huul, yes, you may reject the place I bring you to. But I hope it will suit you."

Halvard turned them around, away from the market, and lead them down the shoreline. Where the beach was soft and pliant, there were many people sunning themselves or simply strolling along the coastline. But Halvard lead them north, to where the ground grew rockier and tough. The area was slick with algae, and the rocks were rough on the feet. A few tidal pools littered the area. Hector knelt down to Huul.

"...Hey. Are you doing OK? Some of these rocks are kinda high. You want a helping hand to get over them? I could help carry you, probably. Just tryin' to be neighborly. Since my brother seems to think you really are OK."

[GrayGriffin]

Huul had not expected them to move closer to the shoreline. While he flinched a bit at seeing that they were approaching a larger concentration of people, they soon moved away from that area, towards someplace much more quiet.

"Yes...this is acceptable," he said at last, even as he moved towards the rocks. "You don't need to worry about me," he added at Halvard's offer of help. "It's actually easier with claws, I think." He was already crouching into a more quadrupedal stance, allowing him to traverse the slippery terrain quite smoothly. Ajor, behind him, was having little trouble as well. While her human disguise had the illusion of shoes, she was actually barefoot, with claws that could grip the stone quite easily.

[45, 45]

[Freezair]

On one large rocky flat place, Halvard stopped. He waited for the others to catch up. Soon they all joined him. He held out his arms and waved them around, indicating the space around them.

"There. I hope this should do," Halvard said. "As you can see, we are quite far from anyone who might overhear us, provided we talk in normal tones. And few people come this way voluntarily, so not many people would come here simply to pass on by. They wouldn't hear us either. However, should either of us feel threatened... it should be quite obvious to any onlookers what is going on, since we are in the open. And should we yell, anyone could come assist us quite easily. Does this suit your needs? Is it secrative enough for you?"

Hector couldn't help but nod. "This is actually pretty clever, bro. I like the way you think."

[GrayGriffin]

Huul walked onto the flat plain with some reservations. However, as Halvard explained his logic behind selecting it as a neutral meeting place, he had to admit it was a good choice.

"Very well," he said. "This place is acceptable." He settled down on his haunches, but Ajor remained standing, before finally dropping into a more crouched position, that seemed somewhat uncomfortable for a humanoid creature.

"You won't understand unless we tell you everything...so, Ajor, you can reveal yourself fully." He was already trying to glimpse ways to run if they called out, or otherwise tried to come after them.

"Yes, Huul." She reached a hand up to her chest, touching the amulet. There was a shimmer, and the girl faded away to reveal a Kirund. Pausing again, she then proceeded to shift, taking on a fully quadrupedal form and stretching out over the rocks.

[46, 46]

[Freezair]

Halvard looked at the girl's true form, and understanding filled his face. "Ah. You are a Kirund, then. I noticed your manner of speaking and wondered if you were, perhaps, an android. I was mistaken. But I do understand them to be a... created species." He wondered if the term "artificial" was considered offensive to them. He hadn't met enough experiment pets to know for certain. Perhaps it depended on the creature; maybe some minded it and some didn't.

Hector gave her a small nod. "If you and Huul are both going to be in animal forms, would... would you prefer Halvard and I switched as well? I know some people find it awkward or uncomfortable, conversing with humans while in pet form. And vice versa. I'm going to just hazard a guess and say that Huul possibly doesn't mind too much? He didn't seem to mind being with you in human form. But maybe he does, and you were only human for the utility of it. Either way, I don't mind. Neither does Halvard... right, Hal?"

Halvard nodded. He'd been switching between his forms with great ease since childhood. Changing now was nothing.

((Fun fact: Technically, only robots which resemble males can be called androids. A female robot is actually properly known as a gynoid. But Halvard isn't the sort of person who would know this.))

[GrayGriffin]

Huul raised an eyebrow at the "created" comment. "Artificial being or not, she is still just as alive as you are. As long as you remember that fact, it does not matter how you wish to term her way of being alive."

"I don't mind what form you want to be in," replied Huul. "It's just better for Ajor if she retains her natural form. And I suppose you have guessed right-Ajor was merely in a human form for convenience. Most people still get nervous with a Kirund walking among them."

"It is not a hu-man form. The hu-man form is an i-lu-sion made by Doc-tor," added Ajor.

"That too," agreed Huul. "I suppose 'anthropomorphic' would be a better descriptor."

[47, 47]

[Freezair]

"I did not doubt that she is alive," Halvard nodded. "Indeed, even were she a robot, I would still consider her a being worthy of protection. It is a shame that many people fear your kind," Halvard said, with a nod at Ajor. "Whether born, hatched, created, or built, it is my firm belief that a person is a person, and all people are worthy of respect."

"You can say that again," Hector agreed. "So... Now that we're in a safe place, can we... talk about your story some?" Hector scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, I don't wanna be forceful. Talk when you're ready. But I bet my brother really does want to help you. He's the kinda guy who--"

Halvard shot him a look. His eyes were suddenly wide.

"...Well, uh, trust me. He's a good guy."

[GrayGriffin]

"Well..." said Huul, pausing for a long time. It was clear that he was not sure how to begin. "Ajor, can you tell them your part of the story first?"

"O-kay. I was made to be a ser-vant. That is why I can turn in-to an an-thro-po-mor-phic form. Huul was made with me in the labs. One day, Mas-ter came be-cause he wan-ted a ser-vant. I was cho-sen. Huul came with me. Now I work for him. Huul helps me." She said all this with a straight face, not even seeming to stumble over the word "anthropomorphic" despite her decidedly odd pronunciation of it.

"Yes...that's part of the story. I wasn't 'made' like she was, though. I...I remember that I existed before the labs. I know something about how the world works. But...I can't remember anything specific." For the first time, Huul got closer to the others-perhaps they hadn't been looking at his face clearly, and he had kept it kind of hidden. However, now it was clear that his left eye was whitened and glassy, and the mouth on the same side of his face sewn into a grotesque grin-shape. "I was...modified, there. This eye can see the future, or the past, if I let it. But...I've hardly ever used its power. My purpose is to care for Ajor." He paused again, waiting to see the reaction of the two men.

[48, 48]

[[Urgh, I forgot which of my pets I sent to buy Ajor, and the Marketplace post is gone. Great.]]

[Freezair]

"So... you are a servant now." Halvard bowed his head. "Or do you mean to imply... a slave?" Halvard's mouth became a thin line. "Unwillful servitude of a sapient is illegal in Evelon, you know. As it currently sounds, your situation is against the law. If that is the case, I would very much like to help you make a case against your employers." Halvard's hand went to his side, but did not hang limp. Instead, it rested against the pommel of his sword. The dark brown scabbard almost seemed to be a part of him. If he and Hector had transformed, the silvery white of the blade would have been the same color as his wingblades as a Lucain. Many wrongdoers had felt the edge of that blade and lived to regret it.

"Putting in that eye can't have been legal," Hector said with a shake of his head. "I know there's some scientist type who operates in a legal gray area on pets, but they're generally consenting. I mean, obviously I can't know for sure, but that cut? It doesn't look like you were consenting..."