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Entry tags:
First Encounter...
Roll with it...
Shocked, and stunned into sudden paralysis, Fox couldn't stop thinking, "Is that woman truly my mother?" Senses
finaly flaring, she instinctively began moving. She had to get closer.
Hells! She'd have marched straight down to the caravan, and ask the question herself, but her better senses intervened, prevailing over the years of pent up need.
Instructing her 'eyes and ears' to keep watching the caravan and inform her of any changes, she tossed a few coins into the air and sprinted down the hill, leaving the dump behind. Fox wanted to try getting close enough to follow the wagons, unnoticed, as they crossed through streets. Finding where Rodrigo dropped off the women and girls, would be a bonus.
Fox hadn't thought he could replenish his -stock? - this quickly, but these chickens dancing into the settlement belied that thinking. The women seemed plucked from varied continents. Amador, and maybe some from Darliynia. The first were small and slender, and the second, dusky skinned and dark haired, with a very fluid way of stepping. Fox had seen this type of walk before, but she couldn't quite place where.
Deftly weaving her way in and out of the carts and other small caravans without drawing attention to herself, Fox edged closer and closer to Rodrigo's. Feeling a slight tug at her sleeve and thinking it an inept pick-pocket, Fox grabbed and twisted the offensive hand with authority. The child yowled, and thrusting a slip of paper toward Fox, piped a pitiful, "Puh-uh-lease, let go, si-sirr. You're hur-ur-ting me!"
Instantly contrite, Fox apologized while fishing for a coin to give the grubby child for their trouble. Placing it in the child's hand and thanking the urchin once more, Fox moved away from the crowd, reading the cipher.
[Tonight. Highballers Lane at the 12th chime. Ask the Jester for Maggie. Don't be late.]
Well, that's damn cryptic thought Fox, looking around for anyone watching or acting strangely. Nothing untoward caught Fox's eye, or set her teeth on edge, and she was slightly disappointed that whomever sent the missive didn't stay to see the deed accomplished.
Quickly finishing her errands, Fox headed for a visit to Angel's children's Mission and Good Eats. Seeking counsel from Sister Sara and gathering her friend Newt to guard her back was an imperative. This could be one of Rodrigo's traps set specifically for her and wouldn't be the first.
After all, Rodrigo still had to feel butt-hurt over her blowing up one of his gambling establishments, but Fox didn't take kindly to the Highballer's forays into the sex trade, or to the part he played in her father's death.
What motive hid behind his bringing her mother to Delphi, now? Did he have her all this time? Almost ten years have passed since Fox saw her mother being thrown by a bomb blast, and carried away in the smoke and fire afterward. Fox's father had scooped Fox up from where she lay, and ran in the other direction.
Her father changed that day, becoming morose and reckless. Fox, although only seven, understood her father's heart was crying. He didn't count on losing his wife, partner, and mother of his child, and he didn't count on his inability to keep his family safe. It almost broke him, until Fox threw a rare tantrum, reminding her father she needed him for her survival.
********
Shrugging the memory away, Fox turned up a side alley and ducked through the backdoor of the Mission. Hectore, busy at the fry station, with his back to the door, didn't notice her. She moved lightly out the kitchen door and did a quick search for Sarah.
She found sister Sarah deep in a conversation with a pair of Highballer customers. Halfway there, recognizing the Baller- every fiber in her being turned to ice. Sarah's voice hitched at catching sight of Fox, but quickly went on. However, Fox's luck had run out.,
Rodrigo raised his head, looking every bit the cat who drank all the cream.
"Ahhh Fox, please join us. I'd like you to become...reacquainted... with someone." Rodrigo's voice dripping with venom, invited.
"Why are you here?" Fox, replied with equal rancor, refusing to look at the Baller's plus one. It was Sister Sarah who answered the question.
"Because the Mission is neutral ground. He knew once your little birds told you about who his caravan brought in, you would be paying him an unsolicited visit, and he's still recovering from the last time you, uh, dropped in. He's trying to avoid that."
Sarah, looking pointedly at Fox, finished with, "I've agreed to allow the Mission to be a go-between. I'm trusting the Mission will not become another place of war?"
"Fox, please. Listen to what he and his, ... companion... have to say." Sarah's voice trembling now with tension.
Sniffling, and feeling a bit betrayed, Fox wiped her face of emotion, and casually slid into the booth next to Rodrigo's "companion". Cozying up, she spat her next words with all the longing and pent up anger of ten years.
"Alright, I'll go first. So, Mother, you've got to tell me, where have you been all these years, and why are you
turning up, now??"
Other Stories in the Fox Saga:
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/5988.html Fox in Henhouse 1)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/5837.html Chickens Flew The Coop 2)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/6248.html Newt 3)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/7843.html DNA 4)
Shocked, and stunned into sudden paralysis, Fox couldn't stop thinking, "Is that woman truly my mother?" Senses
finaly flaring, she instinctively began moving. She had to get closer.
Hells! She'd have marched straight down to the caravan, and ask the question herself, but her better senses intervened, prevailing over the years of pent up need.
Instructing her 'eyes and ears' to keep watching the caravan and inform her of any changes, she tossed a few coins into the air and sprinted down the hill, leaving the dump behind. Fox wanted to try getting close enough to follow the wagons, unnoticed, as they crossed through streets. Finding where Rodrigo dropped off the women and girls, would be a bonus.
Fox hadn't thought he could replenish his -stock? - this quickly, but these chickens dancing into the settlement belied that thinking. The women seemed plucked from varied continents. Amador, and maybe some from Darliynia. The first were small and slender, and the second, dusky skinned and dark haired, with a very fluid way of stepping. Fox had seen this type of walk before, but she couldn't quite place where.
Deftly weaving her way in and out of the carts and other small caravans without drawing attention to herself, Fox edged closer and closer to Rodrigo's. Feeling a slight tug at her sleeve and thinking it an inept pick-pocket, Fox grabbed and twisted the offensive hand with authority. The child yowled, and thrusting a slip of paper toward Fox, piped a pitiful, "Puh-uh-lease, let go, si-sirr. You're hur-ur-ting me!"
Instantly contrite, Fox apologized while fishing for a coin to give the grubby child for their trouble. Placing it in the child's hand and thanking the urchin once more, Fox moved away from the crowd, reading the cipher.
[Tonight. Highballers Lane at the 12th chime. Ask the Jester for Maggie. Don't be late.]
Well, that's damn cryptic thought Fox, looking around for anyone watching or acting strangely. Nothing untoward caught Fox's eye, or set her teeth on edge, and she was slightly disappointed that whomever sent the missive didn't stay to see the deed accomplished.
Quickly finishing her errands, Fox headed for a visit to Angel's children's Mission and Good Eats. Seeking counsel from Sister Sara and gathering her friend Newt to guard her back was an imperative. This could be one of Rodrigo's traps set specifically for her and wouldn't be the first.
After all, Rodrigo still had to feel butt-hurt over her blowing up one of his gambling establishments, but Fox didn't take kindly to the Highballer's forays into the sex trade, or to the part he played in her father's death.
What motive hid behind his bringing her mother to Delphi, now? Did he have her all this time? Almost ten years have passed since Fox saw her mother being thrown by a bomb blast, and carried away in the smoke and fire afterward. Fox's father had scooped Fox up from where she lay, and ran in the other direction.
Her father changed that day, becoming morose and reckless. Fox, although only seven, understood her father's heart was crying. He didn't count on losing his wife, partner, and mother of his child, and he didn't count on his inability to keep his family safe. It almost broke him, until Fox threw a rare tantrum, reminding her father she needed him for her survival.
********
Shrugging the memory away, Fox turned up a side alley and ducked through the backdoor of the Mission. Hectore, busy at the fry station, with his back to the door, didn't notice her. She moved lightly out the kitchen door and did a quick search for Sarah.
She found sister Sarah deep in a conversation with a pair of Highballer customers. Halfway there, recognizing the Baller- every fiber in her being turned to ice. Sarah's voice hitched at catching sight of Fox, but quickly went on. However, Fox's luck had run out.,
Rodrigo raised his head, looking every bit the cat who drank all the cream.
"Ahhh Fox, please join us. I'd like you to become...reacquainted... with someone." Rodrigo's voice dripping with venom, invited.
"Why are you here?" Fox, replied with equal rancor, refusing to look at the Baller's plus one. It was Sister Sarah who answered the question.
"Because the Mission is neutral ground. He knew once your little birds told you about who his caravan brought in, you would be paying him an unsolicited visit, and he's still recovering from the last time you, uh, dropped in. He's trying to avoid that."
Sarah, looking pointedly at Fox, finished with, "I've agreed to allow the Mission to be a go-between. I'm trusting the Mission will not become another place of war?"
"Fox, please. Listen to what he and his, ... companion... have to say." Sarah's voice trembling now with tension.
Sniffling, and feeling a bit betrayed, Fox wiped her face of emotion, and casually slid into the booth next to Rodrigo's "companion". Cozying up, she spat her next words with all the longing and pent up anger of ten years.
"Alright, I'll go first. So, Mother, you've got to tell me, where have you been all these years, and why are you
turning up, now??"
Other Stories in the Fox Saga:
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/5988.html Fox in Henhouse 1)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/5837.html Chickens Flew The Coop 2)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/6248.html Newt 3)
https://dmousey.dreamwidth.org/7843.html DNA 4)