Errands [Open to one, maybe two people]

Lyra had a day off, something that didn't happen very often. However she did something she really never did. She left the castle and had traveled to a city called Annapolis. The city was located in Maryland and it overall seemed very nice. Lyra was walking through an outdoor market place. Even though it was her day off she was going to buy some extra supplies for her Mistresses return. For all she has done for her, Lyra felt like it was the least she could do. Usually it was some special spice to add to her dish. But she wanted to do something extra special. She was sure that her mistress would return and she wanted to get her a gift as well, but she couldn't afford much. She walked through the market place looking at different gifts. She had about 25 dollars saved up. It wasn't much but it was something.

The rather quiet outdoor Annapolis marketplace had its monotony broken up for a few moments when the purring engine of a heavily customized Kawasaki Ninja announced its arrival in the bike parking.



A few motor enthusiasts pointed to take pictures, albeit from afar- the biker woman who got off it wearing shades didn't seem all too friendly, but proved to be none too hostile either. She was there like everyone else to do her market errands, although doing it in such style. She headed immediately to the produce, and picked out a few fresh vegetables- clearly a health buff- then heading over to the spices area, carrying her basket of goods.

She seemed to be extremely well off given her attire, a biker's jacket and pants, yet her demeanor suggested a quiet personality- she wore no jewelry nor makeup, yet was pretty. Her appearance belied her real age as well, remarkably fit and energetic. She carried herself with a quiet dignity, and the weight of many, many troubled thoughts. She was also friendly enough to the sellers, and paid in fresh, crisp bills.

===

Ellie Wong

===

((words: 179))

Lyra at this point held a paper bag full of groceries. Different fruits, veggies and seafood where stuffed into the bag. So far she enjoyed herself, although she only have around 4 bucks left. But she stood out in the crowd. With her young appearance and her strange clothes people tended to notice her. Heck she didn't even wear shoes. She looked at the remain change in her hands as she walked. She wanted to get her mistress a gift but she had over spent on ingredients. However she didn't pay attention where she was going and crashed right into a group of not-so-nice-looking men. Her groceries flew all over the place and she quickly dropped to her knees collecting them, picking up whatever bit of money dropped too.

"Hey watch where you are going!" said the man, his two friends turning to face her. The man looked angry and when Lyra stood up he noticed the change in her hand. "Where you trying to rob me!" The man snatched the remaining change from her hand Lyra shrunk back a bit.

"W-what? I wasn't trying to rob you sir, it was an accident I swear." said Lyra, scared, some tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Please I'm not lying that's all I have left." The man just shoved her, sending her flying to the ground and causing her groceries to fall out of the bag again.

"You really think I am going to believe that?" said the Man, his two friends now surrounding her. "I am going to turn you in for thievery, but first I think we need to rough you up a bit so we can get the point across." Lyra held her arms over her face, expecting the worse. She couldn't fight, she had lost a majority of her powers when she got bit.

The people of the community looked on in shock as a scene of violence began to unfold in their otherwise peaceful marketplace. Parents hid their children from viewing the scene. A few people stood by, others motioned to respond.

“Someone should do something...” The murmurs started.

“This used to be such a nice neighbourhood...” Someone said to their companions.

“Picking on that defenceless girl...” more said.

“Someone should call the police.” Another remarked, sure enough someone began getting their mobile phone.

The incident began to draw the attention of the people around. A police siren could be heard in the background- sure enough, a police car was driving in through the market’s road. An unusually swift response- or perhaps unusually informed. Their eyes too fell on the trouble that was starting. Their arrival was of course, deliberate. The police car stopped.

Ellie was simply paying for fresh mushrooms when she turned around to see the men about to cause trouble in a public space. Clearly they were far too oblivious to the consequences of acting violently in a public market. Calmly but clearly she spoke to the man about to cause trouble, her voice carrying a slightly irritated tone “Excuse me gentlemen, but is there a problem here?” She looked at Lyra then at the men, assessing the very poor odds.

“I think there’s something terribly wrong with several grown men about to attack a lone girl. You should leave. Now.” She adjusted her yellow, translucent shades for emphasis, staring not only at the man in the lead, but at the others as well.

"Oh F**k. Dude she's got a gun!" One of the men caught a glimpse of the holstered inside the agent's coat, and promptly told his fellow.

=====

((words: 315))

Lyra closed her eyes, expecting the worse. But nothing happened, so Lyra opened her eyes. There was another women standing in front of her and was staring down the 3 men, eventually causing them to run. Lyra blinked blanket and stared at the women in admiration.

"T-Thank you..." said Lyra quietly, collecting her fallen groceries again. Although after she collected the food she began to look around again. After a few moments it became frantic. "No! They took it!" said Lyra, referring to the measly amount of money the man had grabbed from her. She had hoped that they would of dropped it but they didn't. Lyra felt heart broken, not because of the money itself, but what she was going to use it for. Not to mention for her that was a good amount of money saved up by her standards. She didn't even want to get paid in the first place, but Marie gave her some money anyway, not much though. She really didn't need to buy anything anyways. It was mostly in case she saved up enough to treat herself to something small. She was mostly provided for.

But Lyra stood back up, a sad look on her face. "Great, just great. I was going to get her a gift but now I can't." she muttered to herself.

The men were long gone now, but Lyra took to long to notice her missing money for Ellie to do anything. The agent sighed, relaxing her demeanor to be kind, picking up a stray clump of asparagus, which was thankfully wrapped.

"Here you dropped this." She offered the vegetable back to its owner, and Ellie began sizing up the girl, who was starting to act strange. "Are you alright?"

((words: 87))

Lyra took the asparagus from the women and placed it in the bag. She sat on a nearby bench. A majority of the crowd that had collected on the spot had disappeared. A few people stayed behind, talking to the police that appeared shortly after. Lyra just sat on the bench, feeling down hearted.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine..." said Lyra. "I was just going to spend the rest of the money I had buying a small gift for someone who has done a lot for me."

Ellie looked at Lyra for a few moments, and sighed internally. She could have had stopped those men, but over petty change it wasn't much worth the hassle on law enforcement- or on her day off.

"That's sad to hear..." She started, finding herself sitting next to the strange girl. "...Would you like to get something to drink? Maybe I can help you."

Ellie always had a soft spot for young people. She decided to introduce herself. "My name is Ellie. Who might you be?"

The woman asked if she could help her in anyway. Lyra responded with a smile that masked her sadness. "Thanks but I am fine." said Lyra meekly. "If anything I should be thanking you for your help." She paused a bit. The woman introduced herself as Ellie. "I'm Lyra." said Lyra, with the same smile on her face. She rested her head on Ellie's shoulder, something she wouldn't normally do especially with a stranger. But she felt in a particularly down at the moment. She reached into the bad of groceries she bought and pulled out a pair of apples she had decided to treat herself with. She took a bit out of one and offered the other to Ellie. It was the least she could do.

"Do you live around here, Lyra?" She asked, seating wit Lyra and politely accepting the apple. She wondered about the strange girl as she rested against Ellie, making the agent slightly uncomfortable due to her aversion to physical contact. She reigned it in and made no show of it, however.

"Your friend seems quite important if you wanted to buy her a gift. Can you tell me about your friend?" Ellie took out her swiss knife and adeptly peeled the apple, then slicing it into four pieces. handing Lyra a slice.

((words: 95))

"I live up north, near the ruins of New York." said Lyra. Well to be technical she lived above them but it was close. She took a bite out of the apple she had and refused the piece Ellie tried to give to her. "You can have the entire thing, I don't mind." said Lyra, sitting up on her own. Lyra simply nodded at Ellie when she said that her friend must be important.

"She helped me when I was in a rough time." said Lyra. "I didn't even know her until then, but I was living on the road and in a lot of pain." Lyra looked at Ellie with a radiant smile, a tears slightly forming. "I was in New York at the time, years before it got destroyed. I was in central park and I was cold, hungry and in a lot of pain. I was only 12 at the time. The pain I was feeling was intense and racked my whole body. Between that, my lack of sleep at the time and the cold I felt my consciousness slipping. But then she found me and made the pain stop. She fed me and took me in and gave me something to do. Since then I rarely feel pain and I would gladly do anything for her. But I don't get a lot of money and I usually spend it on groceries on days like today. I usually just put some extra flavor in the food I make for her but sine I had extra I thought I could get her a small gift as a token of my thanks. Even tough I know that a small gift like that would never amount to the gifts she has given me. But I guess that's not happening now."

Ellie shrugs and begins downing the meticulously sliced apple, discarding skin and seeds and tossing those into a nearby waste bin. She listens to Lyra's description intently, seeing as she came from the New York Area. She was a bit curious about her now.

"Your friend sounds like a good person, Lyra. I understand why you'd want to give her a gift."

Ellie stood up and went to a small gift shop owned by an old man, and looked around for some simple trinkets that would seem appropriate.

"Can I help you, dear?" The attendant asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for a gift." She responded, then found something appropriate.

Ellie returns to Lyra, offering her the pair of shell bracelets. "Here, let this be my gift to you and your friend... Lyra, can I at least offer you a ride home? My bike is pretty fast."

Lyra was confused when Ellie stood up and walked up to a near by store. She saw Ellie buy two shell bracelets and return, giving one to her and telling her to give the other to Elena. Lyra's eyes widened and slipped one of her wrist and put the other in her pocket. She then jumped on Ellie giving her a huge hug. "Thank you." whispered Lyra. She pulled away and nodded. "Yeah, I would like that." even though she could probably fly home in a fraction of the time but she liked Ellie, she was kind. Also she never been on a bike before and she saw curious on what it was  like.

((No we didn't take off yet... ))

Ellie escorted Lyra to her heavily modded Kawasaki Ninja, and handed her a very sleek, spare helmet less bulkier than standard riding helmets... helping her put it on. Ellie then produced her touch screen phone, and opened it to the MapApp. She showed Lyra the map of northern New York City, demonstrating how easy it is to point and drag.

"... Can you tell me where you live?" she asked.

After putting the grocery bags in Ellie's bike, Lyra was handed a helmet and Ellie's phone. She slipped the helmet on, making sure it was securely on then took the phone. Lyra had limited experiences with cell phones. She never needed one and they were pretty much non-existent in the castle. She struggled with the phone but eventually found a place in New York for Ellie to drive to. It not like someone could drive up to the castle anyway. She handed the phone back to Ellie and attempted to get onto the bike.