[Indigo]

A blond-braided, blue-eyed woman of average height picked her way slowly through the garbage and general muck of the Slums, muttering to herself and occasionally adjusting her exceedingly proper flower-topped hat. She held up her blue skirt when she was forced to dirty her shoes in puddles and stepped delicately around mud as well as...well, she hoped it was mud too.

Arabelline had agreed to this one final errand for Indigo: helping that frivolous Wolfie girl find a Snicky. When this was over, she would be able to pack her things and leave--the very thought made her heart soar. To leave that dreadfully improper household forever! No more being woken at the ridiculous hour of three a.m. by the early-morning antics of hooligans and ruffians in the hall outside her neat room. And when she had occasionally visited others' rooms--well! Perhaps she could move in with her sister, who was even more dedicated to propriety than Arabelline herself.

Now, where was that Wolfie girl's tenant, or whoever was being sent?

(Click the image for human form--not bothering with a postcount since she'll be chucked soon.)

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He didn't hate dirt and garbage, but did Wolfie really have to send him out after he'd just taken a shower? And there was an excess of trash as well. And it smelled! It was absolutely horrible, and he couldn't wait to find out what kind of person he'd been stuck with this time.

Maybe some creepy lunatic that eats bees for breakfast. Or some arrogant snob that would whine the entire time and make his life miserable. Oh how he wanted to just go home and be away from all this yucky gucky madness. He himself would go insane if he had to deal with anyone who was anything but normal.

And he wouldn't even bother trying to kill himself, because he knew that would never work. He'd tried. Many times.

[Indigo]

Arabelline's feet were sore. She shouldn't have to walk so far, not in one day. Or ever. It was improper. She was a lady, for Zu'hai's sake! She ought to at least have--a horse, or something! She would sit down, but the only available seats were trash heaps and puddles of muck, which might dirty her clean clothes.

Oh, dear. He was probably the one she was expected to meet. Red eyes, never a good sign.

As she approached him as quickly as possible without stepping in anything, she tripped on something she'd rather not identify and almost fell. She caught herself before she hit that disgusting sidewalk, or whatever was underneath the mess, only to find that her hat had fallen in a deep puddle. At least it was only dirty water and not...something else.

She wrapped a handkerchief around her hand and picked up the dripping, limp hat between two fingers. After looking at it with dismay for a moment, she replaced it on her head as haughtily as she could. It was wet, but it would be so improper to be hatless. Then she waved disdainfully at the red-eyed man, hoping he would take it as a dismissal rather than a greeting.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj sighed. Please don't be her, he thought. Oh please, please don't be her.

He plastered on a painful smile and stepped forward, towards her. He was wincing at the effort it took to keep that smile. He never smiled. It took so much less energy to frown, because it was truthful. "Are you here for the, er, the Snicky hunt?" He held his breath.

Please say no, please say no, please say no...

He never said 'please' or 'thank you', but he would be willing to get down on his knees and beg to any God or Goddess who would listen if it meant this snobby woman wouldn't be part of the Snicky hunt.

But she probably was. Of course she would be. There wasn't any way she wouldn't. It was just his luck.

[Indigo]

Oh dear, he'd approached her. Obviously he hadn't gotten her not-so-subtle hint. Nothing for it but to try to be polite. "Yes. Hello. My name is Arabelline. You will not abbreviate it at all, and if my full first name is too long for you, you will address me as Miss Tamil." She sniffed. "You need to comb your hair. I expect it needs washing as well, although I cannot smell it from here, so that, at least, is good. Your clothing is probably unclean as well."

So much for polite. She couldn't help it; he was obviously so much less proper than her. This would never work. And as for the clothing comments, well, he definitely didn't wash them as many times as she did. He probably didn't care enough to make certain all the spots were washed out before wearing them. And not with bleach, no. Bleach was nasty, and probably even gods abhorred it.

Ah, right. She needed to know his name if anything was to work out at all. "And what, may I ask, is your name? And how shall I address you?" He probably had some sort of idiotic diminutive. Ridiculous that she should have to put up with this--this--!

Even in her head, she couldn't bring herself to swear. It was unladylike.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

He scowled. "Excuse me?" He took a deep breath, feeling a boiling anger inside of him. He'd already been annoyed, possibly pissed off. And now, this lady has the guts to insult him.

"My name is Kaj," he said, letting all the cold, blood curdling anger flow out in his words. "And I just showered before I came here, thank you very much. My clothes are fresh, just washed by my part-time apprentice and might I point out that it's not very possibly for either of us to be clean her considering the current habitat we're standing in."

He fumed at her for a moment before sticking out his hand. "Shake, dammit."

[Indigo]

Arabelline took three steps backward, narrowly avoiding another puddle. "I am not touching your filthy hand! And how dare you suggest that I might be anything less than clean! I am extremely careful not to step in or touch anything that might make me or my clothing dirty! It would be improper to walk anywhere in public without perfect hygiene!" She sniffed again and readjusted her rapidly drying hat.

Oh, and his name was improper too. "Kaj", an insolent fabrication like as not. "It is clear we will not work well together...Kaj." She managed not to say the name as if he were something on the bottom of her pristine shoes.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj narrowed his eyes. It was time to teach this lady a lesson. Though he tries to use it as little as possible, Kaj does have quite amazing speed when he wants. In the amount of time he could have cussed her out, he picked up a piece of soggy trash and continued to stuff it down her shirt.

He stepped away quickly, waiting for the explosion that would come of this. He grinned, sniggering to himself. He hadn't laughed in a long time, and it really did feel good. He watched her, watching her expression, and held his tongue. He would not let himself die of laughter...

[Indigo]

Oh, this...this was unspeakable.

Arabelline removed the trash with two fingers, eyes smoldering, and tossed it aside. She knew it was unladylike, but this was necessary now. Anyway, it was certainly proper. Retaliation was always necessary, and she knew that if she shouted he would only laugh. So it was time to take drastic measures. She struck out with her fist, hard and fast.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj ducked, laughing hard now. He'd really gotten her, and if she ever annoyed him again, he could just remind her and humiliate her. He swallowed his laughter, though, and calmed himself, stepped a couple feet away in case she tried to hit him again.

"Ok, look. Obviously we don't like each other, but we're here to get something done," he stared at her, letting his face settle back into the usual frown. "We need to find... what, a Snicky? Right. The slimy creature. I'm sure you're thrilled about that." He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Just look for it. If you see one, I'll pick it up."

He glanced around and had to bite back more laughter. It was when he looked around that he realized she'd have to move things with her hand in order to find anything.

[Indigo]

Oh, very well. Clearly her propriety and attention to hygiene would earn her only mocking laughter with this Kaj. She would have to abandon it. And, come to think of it, she could get started by digging for signs of a Snicky. Without a word, she rolled up her sleeves and plunged her arms to the elbows in a mound of garbage to begin her search.

"You would have to pick it up anyway, wouldn't you?" she asked, abandoning her impeccable grammar. It was...strangely freeing. "It's your friend it's going to, unless we find two. Then I'll also have to bring one home. And I can carry it myself, Mister False Chivalry."

Let's see...Snickies are snails with spiky shells. Okay. So she'd know if, for example, she stabbed herself on one.

Wonderful.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

Kaj sighed and crouched down, looking under things and poking between others. It was disgusting, yes, but bearable. He'd dealt with worse. Cleaning Wolfie's clothes, for example...

No... must not think of that... He shuddered.

He felt something squishy and jerked his hand away, not wanting to know what it was. He moved onto a different area and continued searching there.

"So," he said. "You don't like getting dirty and you think you're better than everyone else. What gives you the right to be better than me, huh?" He shook his head. "You don't even know me."

[Indigo]

"Better than you? You think I think I'm better than you?" Calm down, Arabelline. Throwing things won't help. "Ha! If I were better than you, do you think I'd really have to spend seven years in school to learn how to live correctly in modern society?" She was going to start shouting anysecond now. "And then--then I get displaced in time and space, and have to take the shape of a horse thing, and try to survive somewhere completely different! How about you try that! Then, then maybe you'll have the right to judge me!"

Well, that outburst was completely unladylike. But who cared? Propriety was so useless here.

[Wolfie_Barrow]

"Oh, sorree! I guess it's my fault you act like I'm scum? Like I'm some kind of bacteria? My life hasn't been easy, either! I get to suffer pain like having my freakin' head cut off and I still won't die!Do you have any clue how many times I've been set on fire and someone has to help me put my ashes back together?"

He threw something at a nearby wall and it made a satisfying  thunk! Of course, what he'd thrown had been some kind of damp cloth, but he'd thrown it so hard jelly would have made some kind of frightening noise.

[Indigo]

Arabelline harrumphed and returned to picking through the mounds of garbage. Obviously she wasn't going to get anywhere with this--this--whatever he was. Come to think of it...not dying? What was that all about?

Pulling out a dirty sock, shaking it, and then tossing it over her shoulder, she turned back to Kaj briefly. "Hey...don't yell at me or anything, but...how can you not die if your head is cut off? That doesn't even make sense." Another thought occurred to her. "Are you undead or something?" Just like that putrid Mustard, she thought. Who...wasn't so bad actually. Hmm.