Felicity's Lunch Party

[Diana]

It is a beautiful sunny day on the Wine Estates of one Felicity DeBarbarac! The purpose? Felicity loves social gatherings and collecting money from her rich and snooty upperclass friends for giving to the unfortunate. Her Lunch Party this lovely afternoon was all about saving the Bottled-Nose Dragon.

Right this moment, Felicity was smiling away and pouring a glass of lemonaide for an old Countess. The woman looked a million years old, and it was a shock she was still alive.

"Well, Countess! I am so glad you could join us today! The dragons will appreciate your donations!"

 

[Jack Shade]

Women and their fund raisers. Lifting a beaten iron flask, Ryden toasted the event with barely held contempt. It was almost a pleasure to rob the 'gracious lady' blind. Slipping through row after row of grapes, gleaming purple eyes staring blankly at his unlawful step, the thief made his way toward the house itself. These days, especially with the victory of the Unirix army at Prawz, defenses were lowered and people felt at ease within the 'undefeated empire'. Not that it was a thief's job to point out who was wrong in the history department, but as long as there were enemies to be fought and goblins in the Deep Mines...no one was safe.

Idly he paused, no more then a well dressed servant in a sea of opulence, and stared at the lady Debarbarac. Pretty woman, but clean people made Ryden nervous. People weren't meant to be naturally clean...it was unsettling...as though not even the dirt of the earth would dare touch them. Give him a girl smeared with mud any day...but these scented women only added to his general discomfort.

 

[Diana]

Dressed in light pink and bright yellow, Felicity looked like a puffy flower as she bustled from table to table. Everything was going without a single hitch - most of her parties did! Laughing at a joke she had heard a million times already, a sudden noise caught her attention!

"ARF ARF ARF ARF ARF!" A big hairy sheep dog tore through the crowd of people knocking over chairs and guests with wild abandon! He seemed to have caught wind of something!

Felicity snatched his collar as he went by. "Goodness Toby! You're causing a scene! Excuse me, everyone, I'll be right back." Having the dog firmly by the leash she guided him back towards the house.

 

[Jack Shade]

Slipping in through a window no doubt open to invite the company of wind, the thief slid over a table and onto the polished floor. The kitchen was a bevvy of silver, but mostly just trinkets compared to what might be held beneath locked lids somewhere above...personal bedchamber perhaps. Pausing only to grab what was left in easy reach, Ryden moved toward the majestically sweeping staircase...choosing to utilize the uniform he wore as a means of conveyance without question. He'd be in and out before the guard noticed that there was one too many servants running around.

At least that was the plan.

 

[Diana]

"You're such a wicked little thing. We're just going to have to keep you inside today." Felicity rambled on as she spoke to the dog. Tugging him along by the collar, she didn't even notice the man that was creeping up the steps until she had made it to the top and had Toby tugging on her to turn back around.

She finally paused, peering back with a mild curiosity! "Shouldn't you be outside serving snacks?"

 

[Jack Shade]

Caught...the word was so much less threatening when spoken rather then practiced. Forcing a smile, Ryden gave a short bow...his mind racing. Unless she took an unprecedented amount of interest in who she hired, he might be able to scrape by with wordplay. The dog growled...of course it did, they always growled at him...damn fiends.

"Apologies M'lady," he said with a short bow, "A squirrel scampered inside not a moment ago and scurried up the stairs...I was just making sure to catch it before it got itself into more mischief."

The lie was...mediocre. Ryden was more the get-in and take kinda guy...talking was usually left to a partner. But since this job was solo, he hadn't someone to cover his tracks with silvered words.

 

[Diana]

"Oh! We can't have that then. Toby, hunt!" Felicity released the shaggy dog's collar. With a loud bark, he sprang in to action! But not zooming down a hall like the lady was expecting, but rather he made a bee line for the waiter! Afraid that the big silly mutt got the wrong impression on what he was hunting, Felicity tried to make a quick grab for him. The awkward movement on the stairs had her catching a heel on her own skirts, leaving Felicity giving a startled yelp as she feel face first towards her doom!

 

[Jack Shade]

Presented with choices he'd never expected (or wanted) to make, Ryden found himself the target of a creature more hair then flesh and his lovely mark quite possibly in for a painful accident.

While he had no love for the nobility, Ryden wasn't truly a cruel man. He hadn't killed before, hadn't hurt someone intentionally...it was not personal, the job he did. Really it wasn't. In and out...steal and redistribute. His job title was his job description.

So trying his best to avoid the lumbering creature with a side feint and a lunge, Ryden managed to barely catch the back of her ludicrous gown in hopes he could pull her away from her forward momentum.

Unfortunately for him, the slight manuever he'd used had hardly set Toby off his game. The loyal animal barked and barreled into Ryden, knocking both he and Felicity down the staircase in a tumbled jumble of clothes, skin, and hair.

Cracking his head rather painfully on the marble at the bottom of the stairs, Ryden was probably the last to notice his woefully tangled position with the lady he;d been attempting to rob.

Toby followed gamely, barking triumph at a captured prey as he danced around the two...unsure of how to attack one without hurting the other.

 

[Diana]

OOOMPH! Felicity had seen her life flash before her eyes! All those parties, that brilliant food, that pesky dog! But as she and the waiter landed in a fluffy of skirts and painful bruises, she was relieved to be in one piece!

"Oh no, oh no, are you okay? You saved me life!" Oh, I am so sorry! Toby, stop that nonsense! Here, let me help you!" The bouncing dog stopped his barking, but was hovering with a wildly sniffing nose while Felicty clambered to her own feet. She made a big fuss about shooing the dog out of the way while she helped the waiter get up to his feet.

"Here, come upstairs with me I will put you to bed! It's the least I can do for my hero!"

 

[Jack Shade]

Struggling to his feet and attempting the difficult task of keeping the woman between him and the excitable dog at all times, Ryden nodded vigorously. Amending a little stumble into his step never hurt, in fact, this was much a throwback to his days as a pick pocket. Play the person, not the role. Fops and dandies played roles, thieves played people.

"But your event...I couldn't possibly..." Dripping sincerity and worry into his already shaken voice (Who could blame him after THIS shenanigan?) Ryden attempted to walk from her with the supposed intent of continuing his 'duties', but stumbled painfully into the staircase.

Taking care to keep himself above the dog's level of influence, Ryden looked at Felicity with knitted brows and a drooping frown.

"Perhaps...perhaps just a moment or two M'lady," He muttered at last, sighing his dissapointment.

Model servant he was...shame that he'd be serving himself soon as she turned her back.

 

[Diana]

Felicity wasted no time in ushering the poor waiter up the stairs, down the hall, and to one of the rooms. Toby was making such a racket, she had to chase the dog out and quickly close the door after him.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know why he's fussing so much today! Normally he's much more well behaved when company is around." Bustling about like a bird, Felicity produced a small glass from a nearby cabinet and filled it with some sort of brandy. She brought it back and handed it to him.

"Here, drink this. It should make you feel a little bit better. You're more than welcome to stay in here until you feel up to returning to work! I couldn't have you trying to serve anyone if you can barely stay on your feet."