OOC: Ever had one of those days, weeks, years? ;) ~~*~~ The sky was grey, a flat slate grey that pressed down on the city of Drache like the lid on a box, making it dark and dreary as the rain drizzled down. It wasn't heavy rain but steady, light drizzle. The kind that soaked you right through to the skin and made you damp all day. Shyne was cold, the rain had seeped through her uniform, the cloth clinging to her skin, making her feel like she might never get warm. She was grounded again, all the rides being out for the day, dropping supplies in the quarantine zone. There had been enough riders for today and being the junior member of the squad she'd been given the joys of traffic duty. The old guy who performed the school crossing, like old guys in countless cities over many ages who performed the same task, had an appointment with the barber surgeon to have a boil lanced. And guess who had to fill in for him? Yep, Shyne stood outside the elementary school in the blkdragon district and ferried children across the busy street. Four times she'd trod in horse manure and the smell just wouldn't go away. It clung around her like an eager lover, assailing her senses whichever way she turned. "You stink!" several bright sparks had informed her as she walked into the street and stopped a cart and a wagon for them to cross the road. Then she saw a scuffle outside the school, and waded in to rescue the poor kid who was aparently being picked on by some bigger kids. "Gimme all yer money, or else," she heard someone mutter. Shyne steamed in, dashing across the road, just avoiding the manure shovellers cart. And it was about time they came, this street was filthy. She grabbed the two bigger kids by the scruffs of their necks. "Give the little kid his money back!" She growled at them. "But Miss," One of the boys started to protest. "You heard me!" The two bigger boys handed over the money in their fists and Shyne let them go, she bent over the little one and patted him on the head. "You alright kid?" "Course I'm alright, you just helped me pinch their lunch money," he laughed and kicked her hard in the shin. "OW! You bloody little.." But he ran off off as she clutched her leg and hopped up and down in pain. She started to chase the little ... ankle biter and ran straight into a rock hard chest. Looking up she noted that the man must have orc blood or something, he was around eight feet tall and built like a brick wall, and of course her day was about to get better. "That's her, Dad! She made me give my money to that bully." Shyne groaned softly and looked up. "Can we talk about this?" she asked with a weak smile. "I'll talk, you listen!" The irate father gripped her by the scruff of her uniform and pulled her up so they were eye to eye, her feet dangling several feet above the cobbled street. Burn him, her mind screamed. Can't she muttered to it, can't fry members of the public without a good reason. "You can give my boy back his money, missy, and apologise to him quick smart," the father growled in her face, his breath like a cesspit that hadn't been cleaned out for a month. "Anything you say, Sir," she squeaked as his grip on her collar almost strangled her. Why did the guard have to be nice to the public again? ~To set a good example~ she heard the voice of Commander LeCarde telling the recruits in her head. "Oh yeah." Shyne counted out the amount the boy had taken. "It was more than that." The child looked at her belligerantly. "This much more?" She turned out her pockets, dividing her money in half and offering it to the kid, one eye on the huge son of a .. Dad. "That much," said the little treasure, snatching all the money she had on her and sidling behind his huge father. "Now hang on a minute..." "You got a problem with that, missy?" The father made a meaty fist with one hand and pressed it close to her face for her to admire it. Showing off the size, muscle tone and matt of black hair that clung to the back. The kid poked his head round his father's huge legs and stuck out his tongue. "No." She watched them walk away with her cash. Great now she was damp, broke and she probably had a bruise on her shin the size of an egg. Still, on the bright side, today couldn't get any worse and it was time to go off duty. Shyne crossed the road and began trudging over the rain soaked cobbles towards home. Just as a hay cart pulled by several frisky trotting horses came speeding along the road and splashed through an enormous puddle, coating Shyne with filthy, muddy water and completely soaking her through... "Oh bloody hell!" ~~*~~ JaxyS :) _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. -- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] with "unsubscribe dragontales" in the body of the message.
