----------------------------------------------
RESPITE TRAINING GROUNDS - LATE MORNING
----------------------------------------------
Piper wanders along the roads of Respite, having gained very few leads on what she needs. If anything, the croc feels strangely ignored, though she doesn't really blame the town guard for being less than ideally helpful at the moment. She grunts out a sigh as the training grounds slide along beside her, drawing her eye. Her step slows as she watches those inside going about their newly-toughened training, humming to herself.
Gareth is currently busy sparring with one of the guards, helping them train against someone with fast and potentially unpredictable moves. The two move and tangle as they both strive to exchange blows, though Gareth is definitely landing more hits than he's taking, and it's not long before the guard falls back a couple of yards and calls a time out before flopping over onto their rear, exhausted.
Piper watches the sparring match, her gaze moving between the guard and Gareth, though it tends to linger on the wolf a little more. Looking about, Piper locates the gate and heads inside, calling over the fence as she makes her way inside. "No time out in fight. Sit like that, and captured or worse." Her eyes lock on the guard as she rounds the fence, stopping some distance short of the ring. "In short, you've died. Go rest."
Gareth gives a little flourish of his wooden sword as the two disengage, only to look around at Piper upon hearing her voice. He nods at the guard after a moment and dismisses them. "Go on, get some rest. Ye earned it after the last four rounds." He waits for the guard to get up and shuffle away before he turns and waves at Piper, "Good to see ye, Piper. Any luck on yer search around town?"
Piper hums, turning to Gareth with a half-hearted shrug. "Not really. Bath house stories aren't straight any more. Too long, probably forgetting. Guard are too busy. Missing captain apparently knows the file. So... Useless for now." She looks after the guard as he walks by, chuckling her three notes. "Four rounds? You weren't going easy, hm?"
Gareth smirks as he glances over at the guard, then nods at Piper. "Not when these fine fellows need to be as sharp as possible to keep their heads on their shoulders. Better they get exhausted now, when they've got time to recover than take a permanent vacation." He sighs and gives Piper a sympathetic look after a moment, "Unfortunate, lass... maybe Louma can get things sorted for ye once we get her and the others back."
Piper grunts, nodding. "Louma. Right, will remember." She and Gareth seem to be catching the attention of some guards on break. Fair, the two do stand out, even if Gareth might be a more familiar fixture now. "Meant to ask you, now things are calm." She settles her stance a bit, her heavy tail propping her up. "Remember James saying anything else? Talk about other bounties?"
Gareth tilts his head. "Other bounties? Other than the one that was here in town? Nah, we didn't really talk about anythin' all too important." He pauses, then gestures at his left shoulder, "Though, I do remember him showin' off this mark o' some sort on his shoulder. Didn't really get a chance to ask him about that, though."
Piper grunts, nodding. Her look sours slightly at the mention, though not cast at Gareth. "Ay, a brand. Traitor's mark. Not lightly given." She grins toothily at Gareth. "Runt was on track to be top military, until he earned that. Started bounty hunting before losing his rank, used soldiers, issued orders to take bounty targets. They all got the brand, even if they didn't know."
Gareth blinks at that bit of news, his brow furrowing a little. "Huh... he certainly didn't seem shy about showin' it, and he did say he was on track to be a general before he'd left the military." He thinks for a moment, "...The way he made it sound, he was makin' it seem like he quit voluntarily."
Piper laughs, shaking her head. "Hardly. And took others with him. Traitor." She sighs, calming a bit as she looks aside. "Still, big brother. Can't hate him if I want to. Brought shame, but never turned away from family. Always helped if needed." She looks back to him. "Others, not so much."
Gareth shrugs and waves a hand. "Nah, I understand, lass. Hard to hate someone who's shown ye and yer family nothin' but kindness, especially if they're part o' that same family, aye?"
Piper offers a smile, nodding. "Ay, you're right. Still, good that not all are the same. You are different from him." She glances down at the ring Gareth is still standing within, chuckling. "How is that shoulder?"
Gareth takes a moment to slap a hand (lightly) against his shoulder, only flinching just a little from the impact. "It's healin' up pretty well. The town's doctor really knows how to tend to wounds, and make sure it all heals properly. Not goin' to be in proper shape again fer a little while still, but I should be good to go by the time the guards head out on that rescue mission."
Piper hums, standing a bit upright. Her injuries no longer sting, though she can feel the slight tightness of the fresh scars under the scales. "Hm, not quite ready for sparring then? Shame. Could show proper adapting to them."
Gareth rolls his shoulder a bit, not quite as able to get his full range of motion without the stitch pulling at his skin a bit. "Honestly, I'd accept a spar, but I can't move me left arm too much without riskin' tearin' the stitch out." He nods at the guards nearby, "I don't really need to worry against them, but somethin' tells me I'd probably want to have me arms fully ready before we go a few rounds."
Piper tilts her head slightly. She takes a step forward, sighing. "Shame, might tear it anyhow." Her eyes narrow slightly. "Else how long do I wait? Something should happen, after all. To a thief and liar. If not a cell, at least some bruises."
Gareth blinks at Piper's change in demeanor. He's almost instantly on alert as he starts to watch Piper's moves. "A thief, maybe, but a liar? What makes ye think I've been anythin' but truthful with ye so far?" He takes a moment to point at Piper with the (wooden) sword, "Ye best watch yer accusations, lass. Or else have somethin' good to back them up with."
Piper turns her body, closing the gap between them slowly while she starts to walk in a circle around him. "Met Fury in a tavern. Good drinking partner. Nice enough to be up front about a small heist of yours. It did seem strange. Spear in James' coffin, not among his things. Honor gesture for military. But as said..." She grunts.
Gareth actively turns to ensure Piper stays firmly centered in his vision while also backing away to keep a certain distance between them. He does his best to maneuver so that he's not stuck between any nearby walls and Piper, as that'd probably end very poorly for him. Instead, he almost casually drops the wooden sword and kicks it out of the arena, freeing his hand up in case he needs to draw his own sword fast. "Ye mean the contract to take yer brother's spear while he was still alive? Sure, I took it. Don't see the problem, though, since I took it while he was still alive, and he got it back to get buried with him."
Piper lets a growl rumble in her throat, only briefly tracking the discarded training weapon as she continues her pacing. Her sleeves tighten around tensing muscles as her anger builds. She really is trying to suppress her emotions, but something ticks in her mind, a metronome that keeps repeating 'killer, liar, killer, liar...' "Took it for Louma. She'll get hers. Distraction, disarming. Left him vulnerable, maybe? Intentional? Hard to believe you right now."
Gareth shakes his head as he maintains his carefully planned distance from Piper. The guards around the area are likely starting to take note that something's brewing in the arena. "Hardly, lass. Nothin' in the contract about killin' yer brother. Whoever did it timed it to pin it on me, but I got cleared o' bein' the suspect."
Piper takes a turn, taking two steps and closing the distance between them, though her hands remain forcefully lowered. Her tail thumps angrily on the ground behind her as she comes to a stop with Gareth in her shadow. "Why keep it from me? Sympathy was just words?! Weeks. WEEKS you had, but find out from Fiora!" The hurt in her voice clashes with the anger in her eyes, clenched fists shaking at her sides seeming to be where both emotions have chosen to meet.
Gareth squints at Piper as she strides forward, and he quite pointedly puts his hand on his cutlass' grip. He doesn't draw it, since he sees Piper's arms are still kept down, but with her demeanor, he doesn't quite trust her to keep herself in check. "Weeks, because o' two reasons: first, the theft wasn't related to his death, or if ye want, I could tell ye what I ate on the mornin' he died if ye think that's also related. Second, why am I goin' to talk about a contract that's months done, and moot anyway since he got the spear back not that long after?" He stares evenly at Piper, "And ye best back off a bit if ye want this to remain civil, lass."
Piper huffs, "Relevant by proximity. Said conversation with him was civil. Said you heard him shouting at staff. The in-between would have been nice to know." She narrows her eyes at the warning, though pulling her snout away from him slightly. "One hint of blade against scabbard, you're down." She remains still, testing him. Piper knows Gareth is actually likely to get a slash in before she lands a blow, truthfully.
Gareth definitely knows he can get at least one good hit in if he decides to draw, but opts to keep things in place for the moment as Piper draws back oh-so-slightly. "The conversation with yer brother was nice and enjoyable, not just civil. Fer a military man, he was easy to get along with. As fer what we talked about, there was nothin' o' particular importance. Definitely no reason fer me to... turn a blade against him, at least." He shrugs a little, not daring to leave himself even remotely vulnerable for a moment, "The rest o' things, it's all in the guard reports fer the investigation, and there's not much because no one knows what happened in the locker room after I left the bathhouse while he was yellin' at the clerks, not even me..."
Piper growls, her head moving slightly when he shrugs, the croc tense as all hell at the moment. "That's all?"
Gareth snorts. "What else is there? Ye already seem set to try somethin' to me fer somethin' I didn't do. If ye do, I've all the right to fight back in defense." He lifts his hackles for a moment, growling a bit more ferally in turn, "I understand ye're upset with yer brother's death, but I had no hand in it. I've been honest with ye from the start."
Piper thuds her tail on the dusty ground in frustration, shaking her head slightly. "Honest, only when asked. Helpful, to a limit." She breaks the stalemate, taking a step back and starting to turn away from him. "I want to believe. Will keep looking." She pauses in her turn, cold stare on him. "It better not come back to you again."
Gareth hums as he watches Piper stepping away, not quite ready to unwind yet just in case it's a feint. "It won't, Piper. I can guarantee you that. As fer not tellin', ye'll forgive me fer keepin' me business to meself unless directly asked, because ye don't stay alive nor make money in bounty huntin' if everyone everywhere knows what ye're doin'."
Piper nods once, but otherwise doesn't acknowledge Gareth as she turns to head out of the training grounds, still frustrated as can be, but now also stuck questioning Gareth's trustworthiness as well as herself for doubting him. Not helpful to dissipating that frustration. She heads towards the bathhouse, hoping to run into some more useful information there this time.
Gareth slowly releases his grip on his cutlass, staring at Piper's back as she leaves the training grounds. Once she's turned the corner and vanished from sight, he grunts to himself and looks around, finally noticing all the guards that are staring at him. "What? If any of ye have somethin' to say, out with it. If not, get yer arses back to trainin' fer the rescue mission." He glares at the guards until they've all gone back to doing what they were doing earlier, then turns and goes to leave the training grounds as well, fully intending to find a certain giraffe to have some words with.
----------------------------------------------
RESPITE FALLS MARKET - AFTERNOON
----------------------------------------------
Fiora walks out of the market, devouring a piece of fresh fruit she's picked up for an afternoon snack. She's got a pretty predictable schedule around the town by this point, morning jog, snack in the market, over towards the training grounds to teach a few sessions, then either meet Brun at the bar or head back to their new house (not quite yet a home, but getting there.)
Gareth stalks through the marketplace, searching for a very specific person as his earlier talk with Piper continues to play back over in his mind. One little detail that remains constant, though, is that he'd probably not be doing this right now if Piper decided for even a moment to just lay him flat with a punch. Thankfully, the market isn't too crowded, and it's with relatively little difficulty that he spots Fiora and starts making his way over to her.
Fiora swallows the last bite of her quick lunch, and perks up as she spots a familiar face walking towards her. She increases her pace to meet up with the wolf that much faster, "Gareth! I'd heard you were back in town! Good to see you all in one piece after that nasty business with the caravan! Wish I'd been there! But by all accounts, you didn't much need me." She leans her neck down to give a conspiratorial stage whisper, "Heard there were Silver-Talon on the ride over, eh? Heh, bet that was a sight."
Gareth has a rather uncharacteristically sour look on his face, but nods in response to Fiora's query. "Aye, quite a sight. I'll tell ye more about them in a bit, though." He jerks his head off to the side, away from the stalls, "Come on, I need to talk with ye about somethin'."
Fiora spots the look after a moment and nods, raising an eyebrow as her head lifts back up. She shrugs, and starts walking along with Gareth in the indicated direction. "I mean, their funeral, whoever those attackers were."
Gareth remains quiet until the two are well away from the occupied stalls. "Been hearin' some fun things, since I got back, lass. I heard ye were gettin' chatty with one o' the people comin' in from the same caravan as me, even." He stops and turns to look at Fiora, "Makin' fast friends, aye?"
Fiora tilts her head, "Eh? I mean, yeah, sure? I've not really gotten to talk to many of the folks coming in. A couple of the Bairnell guys gave a debriefing that I got to overhear, but I wouldn't say I made friends with 'em. There was that big gator lady who stopped by the bar. Said she'd been travelling with you. Seems a bit intense, but cool. She wants to throw down against Fury, armor and all. You should totally swing over and watch!"
Gareth nods. "I'm aware ye've been gettin' chatty with Piper, lass. Maybe a bit too chatty, even." He squints at Fiora for a moment, "Especially when ye tellin' her about the contract to take her brother's spear fer Louma got me this close to havin' me head pounded into me chest when she found me helpin' out at the trainin' grounds earlier."
Fiora 's expression drops at that, as several conflicting emotions run across her face. "Eh? What, cause I told her the truth? Sheesh, Gareth, he was her brother! She deserved to know everything we knew about the matter."
Gareth 's frown deepens. "And it's thanks to that that she thinks I had somethin' to do with James' death because o' the timin'! I've been cleared o' suspicions fer the past several months already, and that little slip almost got me twisted into a pretzel, or worse, lass, fer somethin' we both know I'm innocent o'."
Fiora crosses her arms, "She hardly seemed the type to rush off for revenge without proof, she practically said so herself to me! Said she likes you, got a good heart in you. Honestly I'm surprised you didn't tell her about it beforehand... telling her was the right thing to do here."
Gareth shakes his head. "I didn't tell her because it was a moot point, nor did it seem worth botherin' about when she's more concerned about her brother dyin', especially since he went back to Orela with all his gear anyway." He scoffs after a moment, "And was that before or after ye told her about the contract?"
Fiora snorts. "Before. Hell, I'd think the contract would be proof enough. We weren't hired to kill him. And taking out another hunter is against Guild Codes. There's a hell of a lot more for us to lose than gain there." She sighs, pausing. "The whole thing just bothers me... it's like someone was purposely making it look like you did it. That in itself is worth exposing. Not like the guards scratched all that deep into it. Maybe Piper will."
Gareth snorts in turn. "I barely managed to talk me way out o' gettin' me face punched in, Fiora, even with the rules and the like in place, and all the details that worked in me favor to prove me own innocence, Piper was a single move away from tryin' to attack me." He takes a moment to slap his injured shoulder again, stewing anger being enough of an anesthetic to keep him from feeling it, "And with the injury I have from the caravan attack, if she did attack me, I probably wouldn't be standin' here right now chewin' ye out fer almost gettin' me killed."
Fiora 's self-righteous facade cracks at that bit, her expression dropping. "I... ah... shit. I... I seriously didn't think she'd go that far over things, Gareth. I really just... you know what I'm going through with family right now. He was her brother... we both know he deserved better than he got." She sighs, slumping slightly, "And you know I'm shit for keeping my mouth shut when it's what I think is right."
Gareth nods stiffly. "I know, and ye know we'll be helpin' out once all this stuff involvin' those saurs is over and done with. Can't imagine Piper will get very far gatherin' information durin' this sort o' crisis." He shakes his head, "I can't say I'm too happy about it, but what's done is done. Just be careful next time, alright? Because next time, Wrath might just wind up bein' called Wraith."
Fiora sighs, "Yeah... sorry for the mess. Glad you didn't lose your arm, head, or anything else. If that had happened, Fury would be better called..." She pauses, scrunching up her mouth for a minute to think. "Shit. All I can think of is furry. Yours is way better."
Gareth tries to hold in a chuckle, but an amused snort still breaks through his anger, and his expression clears a bit in spite of himself. "...To be fair, lass... ye're already pretty furry. I mean, not as furry as I am, but still furry." He looks off to the side for a few moments, then sighs, "...Anyway, what's done is done. I'm alive, Piper knows the truth o' that, and the three o' us want to figure out what actually happened the day James died. Just movin' forward from here, aye?"
Fiora nods, breaking back into a grin. "Aye. Just you, and me. And Piper. And like... the dozen other ladies you brought back from Sarn."
Gareth rolls his eyes a bit, but doesn't try to counter the point anymore. "Aye, exceptin' one problem. Lianne, the stingray that gave me this blinded eye, got captured on the way back to Respite early, from the sound o' things. Piper, Sammi, Phoebe and Aelia are all safely in town because we were travelin' together."
Fiora 's serious expression returns. "Yeahhh... She must have been taken in the first caravan raid. Captain Louma went missing from their first search. If you wanna volunteer for the real party though, I'm pretty sure that frilled lizard is taking names right now. Pretty sure, cause my name's already on the list."
Gareth lets out a bit of a laugh. "Already intendin' to sign up, lass. I know they've got a pretty sizable ranger section, includin' some folks with pistols and long rifles, so I figure I could help out with that side o' things." He falls silent for a moment, "...Heh... haven't been in an engagement on this scale in a really long time."
Fiora hums, "And never for me. It gets the blood pumping for sure, but... shit... there's a lot of lives on the line. It's all fun and games when we're smashing up cartel dens and if we screw up the only folks checking out early are the two of us, but this is... a lot."
Gareth hums, nodding slightly. "Mmh... there's only so much we can do, o' course. Just need to do what we can to take care o' the folks next to us and those nearby, but hope the rest come out o' things as safely as they can."
Fiora nods, casting her eyes down at Gareth. "I'll do what I have to. I'm still struggling to find my place in Respite, but it's definitely becoming 'home' for me." She gives a short chuckle, "Is this the point where I tell you Brunilda and I are dating now?"
Gareth tilts his head curiously. "Are ye, now? I guess ye and Brunilda managed to figure things out between the two of ye, hm?" He quirks up a bit of a grin, "I'm guessin' the idea o' makin' this town somethin' o' a home base is workin' out, then."
Fiora hums, crossing her arms again and trying to look serious, but this time failing to a much greater degree. "Hmmm, yes, well... yes. And mostly yes. No? It's... ugh. It's still complicated. But it's also sorta... nice. It's all something I never really had before. Not since I was little, anyways."
Gareth shrugs. "Ye'll figure it out some more over time, I'm sure. If ye're both serious about it, ye should be fine."
Fiora chuckles, "You know I don't do things half-assed... So long as Brun can keep up, and so far that's definitely not been a problem for her."
Gareth chuckles a bit, his earlier anger all but gone at this point. "Sounds like ye've got some interestin' stories to tell about how the two of ye managed to work things out while I've been gone. Care to tell, lass?"
Fiora grins, "Of course. Maybe in exchange for a few stories of what all happened over in Sarn, of course."
Gareth nods, smiling. "Sounds like a fair trade, then. If ye've got the time, maybe we could go to the Minnow and get a drink or two while we swap stories." He gives Fiora a light nudge, "I'll even pay fer the first round. How's that, hm?"
Fiora laughes, "Well, you know I'm not one to pass a free round or a good story. Let's do it." She stretches her neck, then changes direction to head towards the Minnow.