Great Haven - sup

>Leap onto the flag hanging down the wall and scramble to safety!

Voices from the wall behind you? Who's speaking, the bricks? Can bricks talk now? Are your ears magic? Or are you just going crazy?
>Politely ask the wall to pipe down.

Get down on that platform with the jug.

Okay. This situation isn't as unmanageable as you think it is... You're not very used to being out in the daylight, and they're probably not used to seeing Hiiri at this time of day, either. You figure that jug platform is a more natural place to sit, so you step down.

Tell them you're a customer.

You also try not to be so awkwardly silent, like you have been for the majority of this exchange. "...I'm not here to cause trouble, I swear," you reason. "I'm just... trying to count my money."

The peddler looks puzzled. "...I'm sorry, but I don't accept payment in rocks."

"S-someone else is holding it for me," you say, hoping that that would be enough. "I hope... I hope you don't treat your other customers like this."

He ruminates on that for a bit, before giving you a warning. "...Alright, listen. I'll be happy to accept payment for whatever when you show me some real money. But I've got my eye on you until you do." He then turns to the other peddlers, to talk about something too quiet for you to listen to.

Try to separate each voice and pinpoint where each voice is coming from.

But there's still one thing ringing loud and clear in your ears - those voices. You count four, distinctly; every once in a while there is a fifth. Two of them are awfully close in the wall behind you, and the other three are quite far off, at least one street away. But you can hear them clear as day, and they're communicating. You haven't really started to listen until that hawren ceased to harangue you, but you can tell there is some sort of organized event going on.

Suddenly, it hits you. It's a Hiiri raid group.

You recognize that someone must be waiting in the jug beside you. And you're calling a lot of attention toward this area. The hiir inside the jug doesn't sound too happy. "Can someone figure out what's making this platform move so much?" Her voice cuts the air around your ears; it sounds like she doesn't like having to interrupt her conversation, but she continues, "The vendors around here don't sound happy, and it's getting me anxious."

She's clearly not the only one getting anxious. You're conflicted; would you say anything back, or just keep yourself quiet?

>Leave, go find Maya. Whatever the raid group is planning to do you're probably going to get blamed for it when it happens. Seeing as you're the only Hiiri out in the open right now.

You'll probably prevent the most bloodshed by letting the Hiir know the merchants are too suspicious to continue with their raid today. It's not your fault, you're new in town.

You'll probably prevent the most bloodshed by letting the Hiir know the merchants are too suspicious to continue with their raid today. It's not your fault, you're new in town.

seconded

You'll probably prevent the most bloodshed by letting the Hiir know the merchants are too suspicious to continue with their raid today. It's not your fault, you're new in town.

seconded

thoided

>make your acquaintances with the local Hiiri
>recognize one of them, it's the outcast!

Hey I did a pixel for Raoul. I was thinking about doing either a snow hiir (the snowman he made) and/or hat and tunic version. What do you think?

Where are his arms?

He's lifting them up in the air. I made em a little too nubby I guess.

EDIT: New version. Changed his arms, made his feet bigger and added his bag.


EDIT EDIT: Outfit (its kinda rushed, had lots of trouble with it)

I think it would help if you moved his bandana onto his body and then his head to where his bandana is. Raoul doesn't really have a neck.

SpoilerShow

Hey I did a pixel for Raoul. I was thinking about doing either a snow hiir (the snowman he made) and/or hat and tunic version. What do you think?

He's lifting them up in the air. I made em a little too nubby I guess.

EDIT: New version. Changed his arms, made his feet bigger and added his bag.


EDIT EDIT: Outfit (its kinda rushed, had lots of trouble with it)

Woowowow!!

I seriously can't say enough how much I appreciate stuff like this @@ Thanks a lot!!

Tell them that the merchants are too suspicious.

You close your eyes. A tinge of panic strikes your heart.

Like this, you can pinpoint almost exactly where the other Hiiri are - but, as you've been silent, they would have no idea that you were even there. So, in your attempt to be as helpful as possible, you speak up. Your ears twitch and turn just so... and your voice rings as clearly as those around you.

"It's not safe." you rehearse in your head. "You guys need to go home. If you try anything, the merchants are definitely going to catch you."



There's silence, and then a commotion as the others try to figure out who this new voice is, and why they're apparently out in the open. You try to quell their frustration with a sheepish apology. You're sorry. ...Maybe you don't sound sincere enough. You're really sorry.

You would offer them your money to make up for it, but what's the point of that if the one person you thought you trusted ran away with it? You didn't want to give it credence until now, but Maya has been gone for hours. She walked away, and you barely gave it a second thought. You just sat there and fantasized about all the armor and food that money could buy you. If you weren't such a clumsy idiot, you would have followed her, taken the money and ran away while you still could. But instead, you counted your rocks until sundown, and told yourself she would be back. And now it's gone forever.

And now these people get to starve, just like your clan did.



There is a rustling from the pot.

"Who the hell are you?"

It's not your fault.

"I-I didn't mean to..."

> Just be a bawling mess for like... 10 minutes straight. Pot lady is trying so hard.

>both of you: get chased off by a suddenly appearing hostile and bond over a series of narrow escapes where you help one another

So I did another pixel art. Hope you enjoy!

> Just be a bawling mess.

You turn away, tail still tucked between your legs. Hell, you can't even bear to look up to her. You can feel the weight of disappointment pounding in the form of a stare against your back. And in time, you're sure, the weight of dozens more.

But, you've been through this feeling many times before. As much as you'd like to, you can't simply stay silent. Silence is just as bad as saying the wrong things. And anything you could say could be the wrong thing. You don't even know who this Hiir is, and you've already ruined your first impression - the seconds between seeing her face and now felt like hours, as if you were making up for the lost time waiting for Maya to come back.

You want to tell her your name, or at least what you're doing there, but you choke on your tears. If you managed to open your mouth at all, you fear the only noise you could make is a low, warbled -



"AAUUgghh, dammit, dammit!!"



There's a shattering of clay behind you, and you turn back around to see the culprit: and arrow had itself buried into the hip of your new acquaintance. Grain spills out onto the platform and onto the ground below as she struggles to escape from the shattered pot - and she's swearing up a storm. She must be gathering all kinds of attention - and that arrow means that somebody was already watching her.

And you.

...You feel like you might faint.

SpoilerShow

So I did another pixel art. Hope you enjoy!

Pleaaase you're too kiind <3

> take the arrow off.

Do not do that ^ that makes the bleeding worse. Rather work on getting medical attention, after getting both of you out of the archer's line of sight. Speaking of, you should probably look up and somewhat left to see where the archer is.

>Notice that all her friends have scattered and ran away, it's up to you to carry her to the relative safety of the alleyway!

>Flee from immediate scene. Find a good place to at least partially hide from the source of the arrow.

> Cauterise the wound with your flame magics.

>Carry her with you ASAP! Drag her if you must, but most importantly, use your instincts to find the best hiding space for the both of you!

> Well, this isn't gonna look good for you. They're gonna assume you're with them. Time to panic and plead.

> Magic: Be uncontrollable.

Your heart pounds as a whirlwind of emotions washes over you, yet you somehow manage to step up and help the injured hiir free herself from the shattered pot. She can stand on her forepaws, but the weight of the round itself applies enough leverage to keep her off balance. Not to mention, it looks incredibly painful.

In between the sounds of each of your labored breaths, she speaks to you a second time. "...Kid, I don't know what possessed you to leave the tower, but if you want to go out with your elders, you're gonna have to play by the rules." She pauses for a second, biting her lip. "...I need you to break the arrow so I can move, but don't pull it out. And be quick, before the archer reloads."

Break the arrow near the base.

Your arms shake as you take the arrow between your teeth, careful not to make the wound worse - it's too thick to break right now, but hiiri have a knack for breaking things. The wood splinters easily as you gnaw, and it's rough on your dry mouth - but in seconds, the fibers are thin enough for you to bend with your arms, and it snaps in two; the lurching motion causes her some visible pain, but she shrugs it off. You barely have time to be impressed. Just then, you hear the heavy thunk of another arrow hitting against stone, missing you both by a generous margin before clattering to the paved ground below. A gust of winter's chilling wind just moments before must have knocked it off course.

See where the archer is.

You look toward the arrow's source, and spot a pair of silhouettes standing guard on the tallest nearby building, though you think only one is an archer. They'll be able to see you on the rooftops... and the ground won't be much help either, as the shopkeepers are doubtlessly well aware of the situation by now, packing up their things as they prepare to defend their product. You're wide open; all you can do is run and hope they don't hit their mark.



Suddenly, your thoughts are interrupted by a snap of the fingers. "You twit, are you even listening to me?" The lump in your throat keeps you from speaking; her voice must have faded into the radio chatter of hiiri talking through the air. "Go to the roof and get inside. Listen to your clanmates - they'll tell you how to get in. And for sky's sake, keep your ears up so you can hear them."

You stare at her blankly, like an untrained pup to its owner. It hurts to keep your eyes open.

"You can't stay here. You need to leave. Now."

You choke. She's frustrated.



She slaps you. "Go home to your mother."


____





The chieftains in Arioch are a lot scarier than the ones back home. But at least they're nicer... sort of.