[i][color=FF0030]What the hell happened to this place? Everyone's on edge, and the entire city feels like it's going to go up in flames.[/color][/i] These, and several similar thoughts, traveled through the young harpy's mind as she entered the city of Azure Strand for the first time in more than a season. The entire vibe of the city made her usually-ruffled feathers stiff, as if she was preparing for the worst. She had known this city was renowned for it's criminal activity, and that's why she trusted it as easily as she did, at least when it came to holding her cart and horse. Money spoke the loudest in this town, and she was a somewhat-known merchant (among merchants) who had always been good to her word, so, payment was all-but assured, so long as they kept her stuff safe.

It wasn't the condition of her horse and cart that bothered her, though. She had yet to go pick it up. No, the very air of the city seemed stiff, the shadows, darker, and everyone seemed to keep to themselves even more than usual. What's more, the Knights seemed to be getting the worst of it all, so, she assumed that they had done something to cause it. [i][color=FF0030]Could they have tightened the laws of the place?[/color][/i] she wondered, gazing at a group of Knights walking perpendicular to her own path, watching as everyone seemed to avoid them like the plague. It was at this point that her ears picked up the sound of a crowd gathering, and her attention was turned to a man standing atop a crate. Even though she was some ways away from the crowd, she could see and hear him clearly. Sometimes, it paid to be who she was.

After he finished his speech, she checked what coin she had on her, not including that special sealed box she kept for emergencies only, and shrugged. It would be nice to get back into the market with a bulk auction, especially if it was going to be private. Privacy meant discounted goods for special buyers, and that was something she was more than willing to take part in. It wasn't like she was going to go after anything specific, or anything particularly dangerous, but auctions generally sold bulk for less than street vendors, assuming competition wasn't ridiculous. Besides, worst case scenario, she could always dip out and buy from a standard merchant, and a single silver was a small price to pay to potentially find a great deal.

In fact, her own business-centered mind had distracted her, that she didn't notice the crowd scatter about her, some avoiding her simply because of what she was, though, most just seemed to be moving back to their own individual tasks. In particular, a rather large man bumped into her, an orc, it seemed, and knocked her back. She would have fallen completely over, but caught herself with a flap of her wings, the updraft pushing her back, and her talons catching the stone paving underneath her, straightening her to an upright position, and she smiled, somewhat embarrassed, to the man that had ran into her.

[color=FF0030]"Oh no, I should be the one apologizing,"[/color] she said, her voice, while somewhat bashful, was quite melodious in nature, [color=FF0030]"I shouldn't have been just standing here. I should have gotten out of the flow, or gone with it."[/color]