Rolling Out

[loxy]

Date: March 5th, Thursday - Week One
Time Frame: Late morning
Place: Troll Market
Status: Very much open

Out of all the stands and kiosks in the market, Loxy was positive she had the dumbest troll for an attendant. She had told the creature so several times, hoping to anger him enough that he would release her just to be rid of the pukis. While he didn't seem to appreciate her opinion, he had also appeared to ignore most of her comments, despite her increasingly rude behavior. Normally Loxy was very benign, sweet even, but being put on display in an old bird cage was not conducive to a pleasant demeanor.

Sighing, the tiny woman grumpily sat down along the edge of the cage, letting her legs dangle out between the bars. She fixed her dress accordingly, throwing another brown-eyed glare to the troll. Loxy banged a small fist against the door of the cage, a futile and childish gesture; the only thing separating her from the world was a bit of knotted twine. Of course, every time she made any progress on undoing the knot, the lumbering beast would make another and laugh at her attempts to escape.

"You know," she said at length, the hint of an Irish accent to her voice, "I hope there's a Fae market somewhere, where they put trolls in cages. See how you like it." He apparently didn't like that, as one of his meaty knuckles rapped against the bars, shaking its occupant and earning a huffy 'oooh!' in response. The troll grunted, pleased with himself, before returning to his business of hawking his merchandise - Loxy included.

Her irritation began to melt away as an idea popped into her head, inspired by the rude actions of her captor. Alright, so she couldn't untie the knot before he noticed, but what if she could knock the cage off of the stand? She got a look at the distance between the table and the floor - not a nice drop for someone her size, but she could stand to get a few bruises. The cage was too heavy for her to try and fly away while in it, as she had quickly discovered upon being trapped.

First, get off this blasted table, she thought wildly, the idea of freedom being so close causing the adrenaline to run through her body. Figure out how to get out later. Standing up, Loxy gave one last look at the troll before she was engulfed in a ball of fiery light, and proceeded to rock the cage by slamming herself from side to side against the bars.

It wasn't a great feeling, bashing herself against the thin metal rods that made up the bird cage. All passersby could see was a reddish-orange ball flying about and letting out the occasional 'ow' or 'oomph'. Some would consider it comical. The owner of the stall, however, didn't find it funny, and one grubby hand reached out to snatch the cage back..

..and missed as the dull metal thing hit the ground, jarring the ball of light back into humanoid form, a disheveled Loxy taking its place. Before the troll could come round and grab her back up, she scrambled to the side of the cage and began using the bars like a hamster would use its exercise wheel, throwing the cage into motion and rolling into a crowd of market-goers.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim rarely felt out of place. On the contrary, his job was to blend in with the crowd and become an anonymous and unrecognizable face. But on this morning in the Troll Market that was hidden under the Brooklyn Bridge, Kasim was standing out like a sore thumb. His pressed suit, bald head, and the not-so-inconspicuous bulge of his Glock underneath his coat made him an exception in the morning crowd of fantastic folk.

One of the agents needed something but were unable to leave the Bureau, so Kasim was elected to go and find it in the Troll Market. He had the description written down on a scrap of paper in his breast pocket and a bit of money in the other. He reached in for the former and read it over once more, taking care not to become too engrossed in the scrap of paper. He had his Glock for a reason, and that was because of that Elven prince who was still at large, and while he probably wouldn't be easily identified as being associated with the BPRD, he was human.

There was a sudden ruckus and the nose of something metallic hitting the ground. Kasim's hand plunged into his jacket but did not withdraw as he looked to see what it was, and if it was a threat. He saw nothing, but all of the sudden felt an impact on his foot. The dark man looked down to see a metal cage had rolled right into his right loafer, and inside it was -- If Kasim had not seen many fantastic things in the previous months, he would have wanted to know why a Barbie doll was being kept in a cage. He looked to his side to see a troll making his way over, and then he looked back down to the tiny humanoid being that was trapped.

[loxy]

There was very little the female could do to change the cage's path - no one thought to install a steering wheel, or even a tiny helm, that would have come in handy in situations like this. All it took was one quick look over her shoulder, and the next thing she knew, her progress had come to a sudden halt.

Snapping forward, Loxy craned her neck back to take in the obstacle before her: a human (or a creature disguised as a human), looking just as perplexed as she. There was no time for introductions as her ears picked up on the lumbering footsteps of a troll, and Loxy only needed one guess to figure out which troll it was. Panic seized her; if she didn't get away now, there was no telling what the beast might do to her. This could very well be her last chance at escape, even a stupid troll wouldn't trust her in a cage again. He'd stuff her into a jar like a bug.

The mental image of being locked away in a glass prison caused Loxy to cry out, and she turned her attention back to the human who had impeded her escape. "Let me out!" she yelled up at him, clinging to the bars. She wasn't going to be kept in a glass jar like a science project, she couldn't, she wouldn't...

Having worked herself up into a frenzy, the pukis threw herself at the cage door, immediately setting to work on the knotted twine. It was difficult to work in such a state of mind, and more than once she took her sharp canines to the string in an effort to undo the mess. "He's coming, he's coming!" she cried at one point, small hands fumbling with the knot. "Gotta get out, out, out!"

[Kasim Chionesu]

"Let me out!"

Kasim's eyebrows rose to his scalp as the small person beckoned to be set free. He looked from the raven -haired female to the troll that was lumbering towards them. "B-but--" He stuttered at first. He could pretend this was none of his business and go about finding what he came for. But he couldn't just do that, could he? If she was a fairy or pixie, she was clearly sentient, and sentient beings should not be left in cages.

"He's coming, he's coming! Gotta get out, out, out!"

The troll had closed the distance between Kasim, the cage, and himself, so the suit could only do one thing at the moment. He bent over and grabbed the top of the cage before turning back to see the troll almost breathing down his neck. Kasim did an almost comical convulsion and kicked up his heels in a run.

As he dodged around a fish vendor, trying to take advantage of the fact he was smaller in size (at least width) from the troll, he cradled the cage in one hand as his other worked to untie the knot. "I uh...I..." Kasim breathed, but what was there to say in a moment like this. "Almost there!" He made a final tug on the knot and the string was finally undone -- Just in time for the troll to collide with him. "Oomph!" Kasim hit the ground of the Troll Market hard and the cage went flying -- But the door swung open.

[loxy]

Loxy had thought, from the hesitant stuttering, that the human would be of no help to her. With the troll bearing down on her, the pukis was close to tears, and when the cage was hoisted into the air, she was sure her escape had failed. But it wasn't the grimy hand of the troll that had begun working on the knot - it was the human!

Her nearly hysterical demeanor was replaced by frantic hope, watching the much larger hands make quick work of the knot that had thwarted her thus far. Not wanting to be in the way, she snatched up her tiny parasol (it had been rolling around the bottom of the cage up 'til now), closed it, and eagerly bounced on the balls of her bare feet. With freedom so close, thoughts of revenge entered her mind; that troll would get a beating around the head, neck, and breast area, as one of her previous masters would have put it. Just as soon as her savior, her hero, could get that blasted knot undone...

The next moments seemed to go on in slow motion. She saw the twine fall away from the door of the bird cage, and a large smile split her face. The troll ran into the human, with the resulting force sending him to the ground and the cage into the air. Loxy used the momentum to burst through the door just as it flew open, now a ball of light flying directly for the troll while it was disoriented from its collision.

"Charge!" the tiny female giggled madly, flitting around the troll's head and delivering several blows with her parasol. The grubby hands made to grab her, but Loxy was too fast - few things could rival a pukis in flight, especially one bent on annoying the hell out of someone. Each time she swatted her ex-captor, she'd add an insult to the injury. At one point she flew directly behind one ear and bit down on the fleshy lobe as hard as she could, laughing as the troll brought a hand to his ear in an effort to squish her.

The scene lasted briefly, as the troll quickly grew weary of trying to recapture the creature, and it lumbered off after throwing a glare to the dark-skinned human. Loxy also turned her attention to the human, practically squealing in delight as she clung to his upper arm, as close to a hug as she could give. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she cried, suddenly very energetic now that she was free. She released his arm only to sit upon his shoulder, oblivious to the fact that she was invading the man's personal space.

Loxy made a show of straightening out the wrinkles in her dress before looking at the male more closely (which was easy to do, given her close proximity). There was something like adoration shining in her eyes, which, from a human standpoint, could be slightly scary. "Name's Loxy. I kinda owe you my life, human. Any way I can repay you?" It was straightforward enough, though chances were he didn't know she was a pukis just from seeing her. He had every right to claim her as his servant; indeed, her parents would have thought it rude that she hadn't offered immediately upon her release. Loxy, however, wasn't as old-fashioned as the ones who had raised her. She waited on his shoulder, looking every bit like a lady with one knee hooked over the other and parasol in hand.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim felt whatever had been on the ground before him was ground into his coat -- and some foul-smelling liquid splashed into his face. He groaned, but his hand plunged into his jacket, gripping his Glock and preparing to draw it. The troll was certainly going to punish him for freeing that teeny female from the cage. What have I gotten myself into? he wondered silently to himself. He sat up, Glock drawn, only to hear a small voice.

"Charge!"

With chocolate eyes wide and jaw dropped, Kasim watched as the tiny bring flitted around the troll's head so fast, she was almost a blur. Small but resounding, "Whacks!" rang out as she pummeled the troll's head with her parasol. The suit took this opportunity to scramble to his feet, Glock still in hand, and watch as she bit the troll behind the ear. Her giggles and overall demeanor reminded Kasim very much of Tabby -- except highly concentrated and in a fantastical form. The troll gave up, casting Kasim a glare that made him note to keep a weather eye open for the troll on the way out of the market. Suddenly, he felt pressure on his left arm.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Faster than Kasim could bat an eye, the small being had embraced his left bicep and then rose to sit on his shoulder. He chuckled, despite himself, and finally found words that were more affluent than his previous attempts. "You are quite welcome, um...ma'am." He smiled, his lips stretching widely over his white teeth. Now that there were no cage bars between them, and she wasn't assaulting a troll, Kasim saw that she did not bare wings, like a fairy, and her ears were like his, except scale to her size. She looked very much like a pale human female with dark hair and brown eyes. He was a bit hesitant that she was sitting on his shoulder, for he had seen her teeth do their work on the troll's ear, and in this close proximity she could do the same to his. He holstered his Glock and buttoned the bottom button his jacket.

"Name's Loxy. I kinda owe you my life, human. Any way I can repay you?"

"I'm uh...very pleased to meet you, Loxy." He turned his head slowly to make sure the troll wasn't regrouping to maybe make both of them into a pulp, but seeing nothing, he turned his head back to Loxy, turning his neck as best as he could to look her in the face. He was a bit taken aback by her question. He simply did what he thought any decent human being would do. She was apparently perfectly aware of her surroundings and herself, so why should she be caged? "I um... I don't believe so, thank you. I don't believe that anything with a mind of its own should be caged, do you? I'd hope you'd do the same if that were me." He chuckled a deep chuckle and cocked his head to the side exactly. "And pardon my question if it's rude, but you don't look like a fairy...May I ask what you are?"

[loxy]

Wait, had he just called her 'ma'am'? Eeew. While Loxy would not deny that she looked like a woman, in reality she was a kid by the standards of her species. Being called 'ma'am' made her feel.. old. Still, the smile didn't leave her face even as her nose scrunched up, and she couldn't help but chortle a little.

If she picked up on his discomfort, she didn't show it; she had no intention of harming her rescuer. And while he glanced around to check for the troll, Loxy was looking for a possible meal. Anything small that she could carry away without the vendor noticing would be ideal, as she did not want to impose upon the human by asking him to purchase food for her. What was a human doing in the Troll Market, anyway?

She held back her curiosity for now, giving Mr. Hero her undivided attention when he spoke. Loxy tilted her head to one side when he explained his actions. True, sentient creatures did not deserve to be kept in cages, but that did not stop perfectly decent human beings from keeping and breeding pukis to sell as tourist novelties, did it? The denizens of the fantasy realm were just as bad, if not worse; humans, at the very least, did not consider Loxy a delicacy.

"I'd hope you'd do the same if that were me." Smiling widely, Loxy made no mention of how it would be quite impossible for her to physically rescue a being that was several times her size (unless, of course, it was just a matter of picking a lock). She understood his point, but felt no less indebted. Best to just follow him around until I find a way to make myself useful, she decided silently, though if she did that she wouldn't be able to sit on his shoulder. He was far more comfortable than that damned cage.

Glad she wasn't the only curious one, the female waved her hand as if to say it wasn't rude at all. "No, no, better to ask than to assume the wrong thing," she grinned, knowing most people mistook her for a fae of some sort or a pixie. "I'm a pukis. Traditionally we stick around households and steal things for our masters, but I was never much on tradition," she admitted, shrugging her shoulders.

"My turn," she piped up, figuring he could answer a question now that she had done so for him. "What is a human doing in the Troll Market? They're usually pretty good about not letting any in to these things." Of course, 'they' was a vague term - there wasn't so much a guard as there was a very guarded secret as to the entrance and the way of getting in. One market she attended required people to hum an old elven poem while spinning in a circle - very odd crowd, that one.

[Kasim Chionesu]

"I'm a pukis. Traditionally we stick around households and steal things for our masters, but I was never much on tradition."

"A pukis?" Kasim repeated. "I have never heard of pukis but I am pleased to meet you. And there's enough time for tradition when you get older, right?" She didn't appear very old, and Kasim hoped his attitude would be accepted (though given the chance, he would have taken the tradition route of being a husband and father himself). "You don't mind if I mosey a bit, do you?" He still had the scrap of paper with the needed potion on it, but he hoped that she didn't think him brisk or rude. It was then he suddenly realized that while her knew her name, he had yet to introduce himself.

"Forgive me, but I'm afraid I've been a bit rude. My name is Kasim Chionesu." He offered his right hand before realizing it was far too large, and instead extended his index finger. "Now we're properly acquainted."

"My turn, What is a human doing in the Troll Market? They're usually pretty good about not letting any in to these things."

"Believe it or not," The suit side-stepped a passing creature with a tinker's cart, "I am currently acting as a glorified errand boy." He chuckled slightly and slowly pulled the piece of paper from his inner pocket so as not to jostle Loxy. "I have a...co-worker who needs the Mead of Mordred for a project." Kasim thought it best not to divulge too much information. She already perfectly observed that he was a human, and what if she was of Nuada's ilk? Not that he didn't trust her, he just...well, you never knew, right? And besides, he was mostly right: the fantastic agents WERE his co-workers, so he wasn't lying to her.

[loxy]

Loxy was not at all surprised that he hadn't heard of her kind; certainly when people mentioned small beings capable of flight, fairies sprung to mind before anything else. He had at least known enough to figure out what she wasn't, which was just as helpful. Grinning at his choice of words - mosey, that was a good word, not many points in Scrabble, though - she waved him on, not minding in the least. She had not had much of a chance to observe the Troll Market from her prison, and enjoyed looking around from her place on his shoulder.

When he introduced himself, Loxy couldn't help but giggle at his faux pas of offering his entire hand. Still, she gladly shook his index finger. "Kasim," she repeated, trying out his name. She gave a nod, as if in approval. "Thank you for saving my life, Kasim. Gods only know what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along." Her voice was heavy with gratitude, and laced with the tiniest hint of fear. It didn't reach her eyes, however, as they were too busy taking in the sights.

Loxy tilted her head to the side, as Kasim was probably the best dressed errand boy she'd ever seen; she assumed it wasn't what he normally did. Either that or he got paid very nicely for fetching things. I fetch things, she thought brightly, though Kasim could obviously fetch things much larger than anything Loxy could carry. Speaking of fetching..

Without warning, the pukis left Kasim's shoulder, darting between two bickering creatures who stood in front of a stall filled with food. Loxy returned a moment later, taking up her perch again, looking quite proud of her newly acquired meal. A cherry, dark red and of a decent size, had been carried away with ninja-like speed.

"You must have a fun job, working with this kind of stuff," she replied, giving a vague wave of her hand, indicating the many oddities of the market. She nibbled at the cherry, trying not to be uncouth in front of the human. Still, it had been a while since she had been properly fed, and every now and then a nibble would turn into a chomp. She was very careful not to make a mess, on herself or Kasim's suit.

After sufficiently stuffing her face, Loxy gave a contented sigh but held onto the half of the cherry she had yet to devour. She was hesitant to get rid of the fruit after her previous experience, and simply spun the stem between her hands. "Are any of your co-workers like me? Y'know," she turned sheepish, raising one hand over her head to indicate height. "Little?" Because if they were, Loxy would have a way to repay the man; she could be his assistant, or secretary, or something. The group of pukis that raised her had made sure she had a decent head on her shoulders, and it seemed only right that she somehow make it up to him.

Well, that and it would be nice to find someone her own size to snog.

[Kasim Chionesu]

The initial hesitation and perhaps spark of fear (Loxy's teeth did look rather line minuscule ivory daggers) at the pukis sitting on his shoulder had faded away. Kasim was pleased to find another being on the planet who seemed to smile as often as he did, and she didn't seem hostile or threatening -- though as he had observed, she certainly was not one to be trifled with, even for her small size. Indeed, still a smile lay on his lips. He made sure not to brush his left shoulder against anything so that she would not be jarred.

"Kasim. Thank you for saving my life, Kasim. Gods only know what would have happened to me if you hadn't come along."

A faint hint of a raspberry hue flared up in Kasim's cheeks and it appeared that he may say, "Aw, shucks." His smile shrank in size and his teeth were hidden from view. "You are welcome, Loxy." He paused and then added, "If you think it's possible, I'm sure you and I could orchestrate a jail-break for any cell-mates?" He was entirely sincere with his suggestion, though he didn't know how Manning would react if he were to learn of it.

She left momentarily and came back holding a cherry. Kasim wasn't sure where it came from, but since he technically did an act of thievery by freeing her from his cage, he was not going to ask, nor preach about anything moral in terms of ownership. And who knew, maybe the troll had just been feeding her birdseed.

"You must have a fun job, working with this kind of stuff."

"It can be...interesting." Since she was in such a close proximity to his ear, Kasim could hear Loxy chewing and eating her cherry, which was kind of unnerving. "I certainly believe my life hasn't been boring for a single moment since I took this job." Though it had been some months, Kasim's memory of mundane life before the Bureau had faded easily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Loxy held the half-eaten cherry. He didn't see that her clothing had any pockets, nor any pocket big enough for her to stow the fruit. "I have a handkerchief if you'd like me to keep that for you for now." He pulled a white handkerchief from his suit pocket and cupped it towards Loxy, not only for the red fruit but also for her to clean her hands on.

"Are any of your co-workers like me? Y'know, Little?"

Kasim's smile widened once more to show his teeth. "I am very sorry to say that all of my co-workers are human-sized or larger." He paused and continued, "Well, there was an incident with tooth faeries about sixth months ago, but I wasn't involved, nor are there any of those lurking about. And I don't think they'd have the right temperament to fit in either." He chuckled deeply and spotted a cart containing stoppered bottles being pushed by what may be a hag. "Ah, it looks like I may be in luck."

[loxy]

"No, none that I know of," she giggled at his suggestion to bust out other similarly imprisoned creatures. While Loxy wasn't unfriendly by any means, she had been traveling too much to make strong bonds with anyone. There had been one or two decent friends made along the way, certainly, but none of her own size. To her knowledge, no one ran around trying to cage human-sized creatures to be sold on markets.

When Kasim offered up his handkerchief to stow away her half-eaten meal, Loxy gratefully handed it over. "You know, you'll never be rid of me if you keep up this nice streak," the miniature female teased as she wiped the last of the cherry juice from her hands. Too late, she suddenly felt bad for staining his previously pristine handkerchief. Again her mind wandered to what she could do to repay this man.

Loxy figured it was a long shot, asking Kasim if he worked with anyone her own height, but it never hurt to ask. Part of her was a little afraid that he worked with things even bigger than humans. If it wasn't for her speedy flying abilities, Loxy would have been squished many times over. She crinkled her nose at the mention of tooth fairies. "No, not very friendly," she sniffed, disapproval evident in the gesture.

Approaching the hag, Loxy looked at the various flasks and containers the cart held, wondering if she would indeed have what Kasim was looking for. What had he said it was, something that started with 'M'. She had no idea what the stuff looked like, and some of the bottles lacked labels. The hag no doubt knew which wares were what, but communication would be required unless Kasim spotted the proper item. Loxy's mind wandered to exactly what his co-worker needed it for (being the nosy creature she was), which led her thoughts back to his job.

Her interest in the various bottles faded as an idea came to mind. Oh yes, she was having lots of those today. Biting her lip, she regarded the man for a moment, debating on whether or not to ask. "Well, if you needed a smaller person, I could help as a way to repay you. But it's no big deal if you don't," she added quickly, not wanting to impose upon him further. Even if Kasim didn't mind, he probably had a boss to answer to that would have final say anyway. Still, she could make herself useful and hopefully be in a cage-free environment.

[Kasim Chionesu]

Kasim smiled widely. "Well that's good." Two jailbreaks in one day might be a bit taxing, especially if any disgruntled trolls got closer than the one Loxy had warded off. And Kasim had a sneaking feeling that when Manning heard about the earlier incident the FBI agent would be reprimanded. Ah well, it was worth it, especially to be able to talk to such an interesting being.

"You know, you'll never be rid of me if you keep up this nice streak."

Kasim laughed, gently wrapping his handkerchief around the small fruit and replacing the linen to its previous place. "It's my nature. And you never get anywhere good being nasty to people. I think." Well, there was Stalin and Hitler and their mass genocides in positions of power. Ok, that was a bad example. Kindness worked best in Kasim's case. "And from the astonishing amount of firepower you had against that troll, I wouldn't say it'd be a bad thing." He grinned.

"No, not very friendly."

The suit found Loxy's sniff a bit humorous and he chuckled. As he looked over the bottles, the hag seemed to be eying Loxy. Kasim turned that shoulder away from her as he showed her the paper with the name. The hag nodded and pulled out a squat round vial with a golden liquid inside. Kasim pulled out the money he had been given but the hag mumbled something. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You can have the cart for her." She nodded at the pukis. Kasim pulled away.

"She is her own person, m'am."

The hag scowled (or Kasim thought she scowled. She already had a scowly countenance when she approached. "All of that, then." She pointed to the money. Kasim handed it to her, thanks her, and pocketed the vial. He turned away just as Loxy spoke.

"Well, if you needed a smaller person, I could help as a way to repay you. But it's no big deal if you don't."

Kasim turned to look at the little woman. "Oh. Um, I don't know, honestly. In the tier of my job, I'm more of the low man on the totem pole." He bit his lip and maneuvered away from the cart. "But um..." He didn't feel very secure giving Loxy a yes or no. "I always think they're looking for new fantastic beings, and you certainly are nothing I've seen before."