Robert and his Amazing Squirkiks - RPLOG
Participants
Date
19/8/477
Log
A small crowd has gathered around a young man who has set up a small tent with a banner declaring himself as Robert teh Magnifusent! The R at the beginning is backward and everything. The young ferret is parading around in front of the tent, touting his performance as adults look on with indulgent smiles.
"Step right up!" he squeaks, "And be amazed by Robert's superb squirkiks!"
Sylera sighs in relief as the gates come into view. Certainly it had been much to long since she had last visited the city and the betta's feet ached from walking. As she gets closer however some sort of commotion draws Sylera's attention, making her veer off towards it. "Hmm what's this now?"
Lucasiel had heard about the little show taking place outside, and has decided that it'd be a lovely thing to spend the day watching with her daughter. She was out of her armour, for once, and didn't even have her axe with her! Instead, she was dressed in a simple outfit of black trousers and a white blouse. Her pink-dress clad daughter was sat upon her shoulders as she makes her way closer towards the ferret, smiling. "Hello there! We have come to watch your show!"
Flora's tails flick lightly behind her, and her ears twitch as she looks out over the area, smiling faintly as she watches the ferret and raising a brow in curiosity. "What... What exactly was Flora dragged out here for?"
A small, cloaked person slips out of the gate, having heard some commotion from down the street. Mostly covered by a dusty cloak, this figure has a long tail trailing behind him and an appropriately-sized and much-used lute strapped over his back. Scampering towards the gathering crowd and ducking under people's legs when necessary, he surveys the situation to see if there is any profit to be made here. Fingers twitching, he finds a nearby post to lean back against with a good view ofto the action and unslings his lute. Tipping his head up, the small folk is revealed to be a reptile of some sort, with tan scales and bright eyes. He flicks his gaze about for a few moments before strumming on his instrument and making tuning it.
Little Robert grins at the gathered crowd and skips to the flap of his little tent and flicks it aside. Inside the tent is a wire cage filled with about a dozen chittering squirkiks! "Ladies and Gentlemen!" the little guy squeaks, "You are about to see something that would astound even the great King Good himself!" He has obviously been practicing his patter
"These little creatures will amaze and astound," he says, "as they perform feats of acrobatics and skill!"
Sylera hmms as the crowd grows even larger, setting the end of her staff firmly into the ground and brushing a bit of dust off her robes. There are a few vaguely familiar faces in the crowd but for the most part it's mostly strangers. "The King himself?" It almost sounds skeptical but the tone is just shy of that as if the betta had seen several unlikely things herself. "Well then you have my attention regardless."
Lucasiel glances over towards Flora, giving a polite nod as she offers her hands up to her daughter to hold onto. "Squirkiks, huh? Well, I look forward to seeing this, certainly! Not every day I see trained critters playing around."
Flora raises a brow, her tails still swaying from side to side, and her eyes settling upon the various beings in the crowd. Her eyes set upon Lucasiel for a moment, before she observes the crowd and, much like she did with the training beings at the bandit-camp, weaves and moves through the gathered crowd without bumping into a single being.
"Flora is... Not often amazed, no. Flora will wait and see, yes," she rumbles, tails swaying as she sticks her hands into her pockets.
Shliek wiggles his fingers after tuning his instrument and reaches into his tunic with one of his hands to remove a brass bowl whicih he spins on his index claw before placing on the grass next to himself. He strums his lute again, a little louder this time before starting to play a cheery tune.
Robert, the ferret, produces a little wooden recorder and places it to his lips, piping out a bright dancing tune. Next, he kicks a little lever that pops open the cage of squirkiks and the little vermin flood out of their cage!
Instead of scattering, like most squirkicks would if faced with such a gathering, the little rodents start putting on quite the show! They run in little circles and build squirkik pyramids, and one even seems to be balancing on a little wooden ball!
Shliek does not seem to be much of a draw in comparison. Only a few members of the crowd even look his way. Those who do give him sour looks for trying to draw away the kid's crowd!
A separate tune drifts from the fridges of the crowd, making the betta crane her head for a moment. Catching a glimpse of the fellow with the lute. But as the first tones of the ferrets recorder spirals out Sylera looks back towards the stage in time to see the lever kicked. As the squirkiks leave their cage the betta tenses, ready to intervene should they try to enter the crowd, but after a few moments giggles as they begin their routine. "Oh my, they do seem trained don't they?"
Lucasiel watches quietly, while her daughter does so much more... Excitedly. Clapping and cheering for the little display, and pestering her mother to make sure she's watching. "That certainly is quite interesting, yes! I rarely see anything trained so well! Let alone these flighty creatures. Impressive, sir."
Flora wags her tail again, raising a brow and flicking her ears lightly. "Well... Flora hasn't seen them do that before. But amazing... Flora isn't sure yet, sorry," she rumbles, tail flicking lightly as she simply watches the squirkiks move about... Surely, there has to be something more to amaze this feline.
Seeing that his playing wasn't going to make him some coin on its own, Sh'liek stands up, taking two tiny daggers out from within his cloak and starts to stand on one foot, balancing one dagger on his tail and the other on the end of his tail.
Robert starts to play a different tune and the squirkiks all bound toward him as he slides an open box from the tent. The rodents dive into the box and emerge carrying various bits of wood and metal. In a matter of moments, the creatures have erected a small model of Good Castle! They then bound away and return to their acrobatics.
Sylera hears the excess music die off and sighs. While normally she loved music it was something very different when two different pieces were trying to compete. The short folk's next bit though is completely obscured by the crowd, and even if she did see it more than likely the betta would still be watching what is going on up on stage. "Oh my!" Sylera claps her hands in amusement as the vermin start assembling the model. Doing tricks was one thing but building!?
The little model gets another enthusiastic round of applause from Marianne, while Lucasiel studies it pensively. Tricks were one thing, but something like -that-? That was rather odd indeed. "Hmmm. Might I ask how you accomplish all this after your performance, friend? It's a very interesting talent!"
Another raised brow, and suddenly, Flora does seem interested in the squirkiks, her tails swishing behind her and her eyes cast over the squirkiks curiously. "This is not... Normal behavior for a squirkik, no... And they don't appear to be little golems... Hrmmm," the she-cat mumbles, watching them, watching Robert, and trying to figure out what is going on.
Shliek growls and picks his daggers back up, having failed to balance them for any amount of time. What's so great about some silly squikiks anyway? It's not even like that Robert guy is doing anything himself. Seeing his attempts to make some coin here had failed, he can at least try to mess up the other guy, right? Setting his battered lute down, he pulls his cloak tight over himself and tries to blend into the crowd.
Robert just winks at the crowd and continues to play as his squirkiks start to scamper in complicated patterns and to perform wilder and wilder acrobatics. He can't stop mid-performance, after all!
Sylera watches eagerly as the mass of vermin moves faster and faster. Certainly this was a sight to behold, and one that the betta would like to learn the trick behind.
Lucasiel continues to watch quietly. What a curious thing! Idly, she fashions up a little icicle, which she nibble on thoughtfully with the corner of her mouth. "What do you think, miss Flora? Unusual, innit?"
Flora taps her chin momentarily, her ears flicking lightly as she watches the squirkiks with curiosity... Suddenly, she pulls a scorcher from one of her pockets and... Points it at the squirkiks? Or rather, before them. She pulls the trigger, and a red dot appears in front of them, dancing around momentarily, while the feline observes the results.
No matter the result, the scorcher is tucked away again after only a few moments, and the feline continues watching curiously.
Crouching down with most of his body obscured by his cloak save for his trailing tail, Sh'liek waits for the opportune moment. Legs shift as observers move to get a better view, and Sh'liek keeps a keen eye towards his target, the castle replica. When he spots a perfect line of sight, a second during which he thinks he can get a clear shot, he flips a dagger in his hand and lets fly, trying to topple the castle with a blunted dagger. As soon as he throws it, he moves to obscure the source of the projectile, not waiting to see if it even hit.
While Robert's little friends don't react to or even seem to notice Flora's light show, there is quite the reaction as a knife slices out from the audience and spears the little ferret's recorder right out of his hands! The Squirkiks suddenly stop their antics and look around as if confused, then, as one, they explode into frenzied action! Some scurry toward the audience and some away, but scurry they do! The knife thrower is not noticed in the hubbub. "No!" Robert cries, "Quick! I need a flute or something! Anybody!?"
Sylera blinks in surprise as a red dot mysteriously appears and the stage and waggles about before disappearing again. Was it all part of the act? As the knife scythes outward she gasps, who would dare draw weapons here!? The betta pushes through the crowd towards the poor ferret, hand digging into a pouch. "Here try this!" She pulls out a loop of bells such that might be worn about an ankle or wrist, like a tamborine, and tries to throw it to the performer.
Lucasiel narrows her eyes as she spots the knife fly into the instrument. She doesn't have one of her own, but she quickly moves to Flora's side, pulling Marianne down from her shoulders as she goes on alert. She wasn't sure what was happening, but if there was a threat, she was prepared to deal with it.
Flora doesn't have any flutes, but soon, she pulls out both scorchers, trying to herd what remains of the squirkiks back to the table, trying to make them chase the little red and green dots in front of them. If she's successful, well, that remains to be seen... She seems remarkably unfazed, so far.
Shliek growls at himself for being such a poor shot, but quickly realizes that he managed to accomplish what he was trying to do despite missing his target. Reappearing on the opposite side of the crowd from where he threw the dagger, he stands amongst the other crowd, feigning surprise at the panic ensuing and watching to see if he might yet turn some profit.
"No! No!" moans Robert as he lets the bells fall to the ground, "It has to be something with notes! Even a lute or anything! Please!" The little ferret starts to panic as his squirkiks escape, tears running down his face.
Sylera frowns and pats about her person. A performer she might be but given that the betta had been traveling she didn't have much in the way of extra possessions upon her. "I've little else to offer I'm afraid besides my voice." She cries back before raising her voice in a brief refrain.
Seeing as nobody had any instruments... And Robert seemed terribly upset! Lucasiel sighs and turns her focus inward, drawing upon her math to try to do something... Well, a bit out of the ordinary for what she usually did. She tries to fashion up an instrument for Robert, and, if successful, would quickly offer it to the ferret.
Shliek hears Robert's words and frowns, remembering his lute that he set down by his post. Not wishing it to be stolen by some do-gooder, he melds out of the crowd and scampers back towards his original spot to claim his stuff before someone else does. He hears some peculiar sounds behind him, but pays them no mind.
A flick of the ears, and a soft sigh. Flora puts her scorchers away again, and simply watches the going-ons, silently observing as Lucasiel procures her instrument, her tails flicking behind her in curiosity...
"It will have to do!" the little ferret squeaks, taking the icy flute from Lucasiel and starts to play a piercing little tune. The squirkiks that have begun to terrorize the crowd quickly stop what they are doing and perk up their ears. One by one, they succumb to the call and scurry back to the cage. Robert kicks the door shut just as the little ice flute gives up. "Uh," Robert stammers as the makeshift instrument drops from his cold fingers, "Thanks for enjoying the show?" The ferret gives a nervous smile to the crowd and nudges the little jar on the ground in front of the tent.
Sighs in relief as someone manages to toss the ferret an instrument. Moving forward the betta drops a few crowns into the jar before peering at the ice flute. "Who would do such a thing...?" Her eyes sweeping the crowd before turning back to Robert. "That aside though I am quite curious as to how you managed to train them."
Feeling that there is no more he can accomplish here, Sh'liek begins to stride off back into the comforts of the city, idly strumming his lute in tune with his steps. Perhaps he didn't make any profit, but at least he had some fun!
Lucasiel offers a few crown up to her daughter, gesturing her forward to deposite the crown in the tip jar for the show. "Yes, I'm rather curious, myself! I would love to know if you were willing to share."
Robert looks on with relief as a number of those gathered in the crowd drop some coin in his jar. "I was afeared that nobody would give me anything after I lost 'em like that!" he says. His countenance darkens, "But if I find the greasy little squick that tried to ruin the show, I'll wreck him!" The little ferret retrieves his earnings and scratches an ear as Sylera and Lucasiel ask him about the show. "I just play while I teach 'em," he says, "They learn real good while I play, and they remember when I play that tune again." He grins happily at the women. "Da used to do it fer the plowhorse when Ma wasn't watchin'" he says, "Figured I could do it with my squirkiks!"
Sylera taps a finger against her chin. "That is... Interesting. Like using hand signals but with sound?" She ponders for another moment then shakes her head. "The thing that gets me is how did you get them to do it in the first place? They aren't the most tamable of critters."
Lucasiel strokes her chin in thought, helping her daughter back up to her shoulders, now that it seemed like ther was no threat. "Hmm. Unusual. I didn't know that squirkiks would respond to sound conditioning. And it clearly wasn't a magical instrument that did it..."
"Told ya!" Robert says, "They learn better when I'm playin'!" The ferret puffs out his chest. "Only me and Da can do it!" he continues, "None of my brothers er sister got the knack!"
"A family trait...?" Sylera murmers then shrugs. "That is most interesting. Though I don't suppose there is anything odd near where you live? Strange stone or metal work perhaps?"
Lucasiel furrows her brow at that, humming. "I see. That is still very curious, you know. Something in the land wouldn't cause it, I think... I could be wrong. Perhaps something in the blood? Maybe it's like one of those... Eh, sacred families. Like the kitsune, or maybe the phoenixes. But something with an affinity to animals or something?"
"Dunno, lady," the ferret says, "Just somethin' I can do." He thinks about Sylera's question. "Nah," he says, "But there was somethin' like that where Da and I used to go fishin'!" The little guy starts to take down his tent, getting ready to head home. "Thanks a bunch for yer help, Lady," he says to Lucasiel.
That got the betta's attention. "Where you use to go fishing? Where might that be?" It could be nothing but... Maybe.
Lucasiel bows her head towards Robert and turns to take her leave. "I see! Good day to you, then. And no problem. I am happy I was able to help save the show!"
"Yeah," Robert says as he packs away his tent and loads his squirkiks and tent on a small cart, "I could show you the place. It's not too hard to find!" The ferret starts away toward Oldwater Farm. "I gotta get home for now though," he says, "Ma'll worry! Bye!"
Sylera nods. "Well if you are unable to do it now then just send word to the freeswords when you're able to. Sylera is my name." The betta reaches over to retrieve the bells she had tossed from the stage.
Lucasiel pauses and glances over her shoulder. "Yes, I would be very much interested in seeing that sometime! But for now, I need to get the little one home for a nap, I think. Farewell for now, Robert." She offers a wave to the other woman, as well, before wandering off back towards the city.
