”I knew this was a bad idea,” Sorren muttered, peering cautiously around the stack of ancient barrels the pair had chosen to hide behind. He never should have bargained with a pirate, but he hadn’t really seen any other option at the time, and now here he was assisting in the robbery of a weasel of all things. The pirate, Mira, was mute, and in exchange for his freedom, she wanted a way to speak. While he couldn’t give her voice back, he could give the power of speech to something else, so she agreed. The furry white creature in question was currently stuffed into a little cloth sack and was squirming and hissing in disapproval. The elf crouched to the ground and set the bag down, opening it ever so slightly to peer at the beady eyed rodent. Clearly it wasn’t pleased with the fact that it had been snatched from its cozy home among royalty to accompany a mute pirate.
This was probably both the absolute best and the absolute worst idea she had ever gone through with. By far. And that was saying something, all things considered.
Mira could only smile at Sorren in return, too excited to bother signing a proper response for the elf. Her hands were shaking much too hard anyways. Wiggling her fingers, Mira tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ears and reached a hand into the sack containing her prize. She had to feel around for a moment before finally grabbing the little demon of an animal. Thankfully it was mostly bark and no bite (she’d given it a quick flick in the face when it tried to snap its little teeth at her) and suddenly went quiet as it practically shrunk with fear when she pulled it up by the scruff. ”Alright, deal’s a deal and you promised” she reminded him with her free hand. “Now do your thing so we can get it talking. And hurry.” A full grown woman and yet the notion of possibly having a ‘voice’ again made her feel all bubbly.
Sorren grumbled darkly when she prompted him to hurry, casting another nervous glance down the alley before taking the little creature from her and setting him on the dirty cobblestones in front of him, keeping a firm but gentle hold of it as it tried to wiggle away from him. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could get back on track and away from this mess. The mage furrowed his brow in concentration, his hand starting to glow, causing the weasel to squeak in surprise and protest, which suddenly turned into a stream of curse words rather than animalistic noises. He was rather surprised at the little rodent’s foul mouth, but then again, he should have expected nothing less. He had used the spell before, but usually it was on horses or dogs, and he always revoked it soon after. It wasn’t permanent anyway, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. It lasted a week or two at most. “There, that should do it,” he said, picking up the weasel by the scruff and handing it back to her, “Now we should probably get out of here before the guards find us, because there is no way I’m sitting in a cell again for the next week,” he stated, peeking back out at the street as he stood up once more.
Without further ado Mira decided to try out her new companion. Using one arm to hold it up against the space connecting in between her chest and shoulder (as one might a small dog) she turned her back to Sorren so he couldn't see her hands and rapidly spelled something out with her fingers. “For what?” it asked her with a twitch of its muzzle and Mira just might have laughed if she didn’t believe the noise to sound so repulsive. She shook her head and signed a few more things while the weasel watched her movements with surprising attentiveness. Mira stopped and turned back around, watching the weasel expectantly as it looked to the mage. “She says ‘thank you.’” The smile on her face could have cured anything. “And you’re the ugliest thing she’d ever set eyes upon.” Mira’s face turned from bright to stunned in a second before shifting to a scowl. She threatened to flick the weasel once more before he amended himself. “No she didn’t.” Satisfied, Mira relaxed a bit and started signing once more before pausing. There was a distant but distinct sound of approaching knights, their metal armor clanking noisily as they began heading in this direction. Mira lurched forward to grab Sorren by the arm and yanked him behind as she darted in the other direction.
Sorren watched quietly as she turned rapidly signed to the weasel, before turning back around, her face being as it translated what she had said. The elf couldn’t help but crack a smile at her excitement and apparent glee when it spoke, even though the whole situation was pretty stressful. “You’re welcome,” he said with a nod, then raised a disapproving eyebrow at the weasel when it added another snide comment, chuckling with a shake of his head at the brief exchange that occurred between the two before it corrected itself. At the sound of metal against stone, he turned his head to locate the source of the noise. ”Is that-?” but he didn’t get to finish his sentence because Mira grabbed his arm and dragged him swiftly along behind her, a few elvish curses escaping him as he stumbled to pick up speed to keep up with her. In all his hundred years of living, he had never been on the wrong side of the law, so this whole experience was entirely new to him, and he wasn’t really enjoying it. If it was up to him, he would have given her a stray cat or something that wouldn’t get them arrested, but no such luck. He dearly hoped that they wouldn’t get caught, and if they did, maybe he would be able to talk his way out of it again.
