Post by Matthias on Mar 31, 2015 16:20:28 GMT -5
The last time Matthias had been in the human city he had been much younger and much smaller, and he had huddled under cloaks and heavy layers of clothing so no one could tell he was anything but completely human. He had been too frail to do anything to defend himself if anyone questioned who or what he was and he had been paranoid that was actually possible. Now he had none of that fear and he strode through the human streets with brazen abandon. He wore relatively little for human tastes, just pants so long his tail could rest over the top and he had clawed them off below the knees to fit his distinctly inhuman lower legs. He hadn’t bothered with wearing a shirt, instead just casually tugging a lightweight cloak over his shoulders so his indecency was a little less of an issue. He didn’t like restrictive cloth stopping the growth of his wings or the movement of his tattoos. He had three of those now, the dragon on his breast, the octopus on his left forearm (meant to be on his hip but Matthias had forgotten where he wanted it), and the whip between his shoulder blades.
Matthias held his head high and didn’t bother to look anyone in the eye as he paced evenly through the crowed, and the air he exuded made it almost feel as though he felt the people pressing past him were beneath him. In reality, he was just completely apathetic. He didn’t really care what anyone thought of him, and any hounds that met his gaze had raised their chins at him but said nothing, taking from the sword at his hip and across his back that he must have been some kind of mercenary, and Matthias was just barely brawny enough to pull it off. Matthias had left his animals outside the city, but the small golden firelizard Pattie had come and sat herself on his shoulder as he walked, and she kept breathing delicate strands of flame when she decided she wanted more attention. He was eye catching, with his flashing blue scales and his blond and white hair dramatically windswept, so eye catching that no one noticed the skinny shifter man with his head low and heaving clothes covering the brands and scars across his body trailing a couple feet after the half dragon.
Which was, after all, entirely the point.
Pontius had been the equivalent to an older brother to Matthias when they had been enslaved together, and Matthias had a deep seated guilt that the coati shifter had remained a slave for so long after Matthias had escaped that life. At least he seemed to be doing well, Rosalind’s treatment had helped heal the freshest wounds and after eating and drinking properly Pontius turned out to be quite fit himself. He had even upgraded to a fresh axe that he stuck into a loop in his belt, one that didn’t splinter in his hands but still had the distinct shape of a woodcutter’s axe, not a battle one. He was adapting to his life in freedom slowly, and Matthias had decided that they needed to make it official, as it were. Get Pontius papers so if anyone found Pontius and saw how clearly he had been a slave they would not attempt to enslave him once more.
Matthias could make that sort of document easily enough, but in order to make it believable he needed to use a preexisting official document as a reference. Which was why, for the first time in a long time, Matthias was heading to Derrek’s old home. Where the man had lived when he was still a human, before he . . .
Matthias put a hand on the sword at his hip as the house came into view, and he made a beeline for it. No one questioned him entering the abandoned building and Matthias was careful to let Pontius in first before he followed in himself and let the door close with a small click.
Pattie chirped in distaste before she sneezed and Pontius looked around in mild disgust. ”This place is a wreck. What makes you so sure you can find what you’re looking for in this dump?” The coati sneered as he raised a hand to his mouth to keep from breathing dust. Matthias swallowed his tongue and tried to ignore the pangs of nostalgia in his gut.
”It’s here,” Matthias said. His voice was much deeper and a little more draconic than when he had lived here, it rumbled through the old fireplace and over the disused pans hanging from the wall with an imposing rumble, ”I just need a few minutes to look around.”
”Whatever you say,” Pontius rolled his eyes and hopped easily onto the first step on the stair, trying to avoid stepping his bare feet onto the grime of the main floor.
Matthias held his head high and didn’t bother to look anyone in the eye as he paced evenly through the crowed, and the air he exuded made it almost feel as though he felt the people pressing past him were beneath him. In reality, he was just completely apathetic. He didn’t really care what anyone thought of him, and any hounds that met his gaze had raised their chins at him but said nothing, taking from the sword at his hip and across his back that he must have been some kind of mercenary, and Matthias was just barely brawny enough to pull it off. Matthias had left his animals outside the city, but the small golden firelizard Pattie had come and sat herself on his shoulder as he walked, and she kept breathing delicate strands of flame when she decided she wanted more attention. He was eye catching, with his flashing blue scales and his blond and white hair dramatically windswept, so eye catching that no one noticed the skinny shifter man with his head low and heaving clothes covering the brands and scars across his body trailing a couple feet after the half dragon.
Which was, after all, entirely the point.
Pontius had been the equivalent to an older brother to Matthias when they had been enslaved together, and Matthias had a deep seated guilt that the coati shifter had remained a slave for so long after Matthias had escaped that life. At least he seemed to be doing well, Rosalind’s treatment had helped heal the freshest wounds and after eating and drinking properly Pontius turned out to be quite fit himself. He had even upgraded to a fresh axe that he stuck into a loop in his belt, one that didn’t splinter in his hands but still had the distinct shape of a woodcutter’s axe, not a battle one. He was adapting to his life in freedom slowly, and Matthias had decided that they needed to make it official, as it were. Get Pontius papers so if anyone found Pontius and saw how clearly he had been a slave they would not attempt to enslave him once more.
Matthias could make that sort of document easily enough, but in order to make it believable he needed to use a preexisting official document as a reference. Which was why, for the first time in a long time, Matthias was heading to Derrek’s old home. Where the man had lived when he was still a human, before he . . .
Matthias put a hand on the sword at his hip as the house came into view, and he made a beeline for it. No one questioned him entering the abandoned building and Matthias was careful to let Pontius in first before he followed in himself and let the door close with a small click.
Pattie chirped in distaste before she sneezed and Pontius looked around in mild disgust. ”This place is a wreck. What makes you so sure you can find what you’re looking for in this dump?” The coati sneered as he raised a hand to his mouth to keep from breathing dust. Matthias swallowed his tongue and tried to ignore the pangs of nostalgia in his gut.
”It’s here,” Matthias said. His voice was much deeper and a little more draconic than when he had lived here, it rumbled through the old fireplace and over the disused pans hanging from the wall with an imposing rumble, ”I just need a few minutes to look around.”
”Whatever you say,” Pontius rolled his eyes and hopped easily onto the first step on the stair, trying to avoid stepping his bare feet onto the grime of the main floor.