Uh Oh...

Bandit gulps. These are not good odds. If he fights these beasts here and now the lizard is going to make a pelt of him! "Um...maybe we can talk about this..." he offers with a coy smile. Zee raises a single paw as a signal. As one the beasts close in on the otter and fox to seize them and toss them them out of the tavern despite William's apparent lack of interest in the situation. On the bright side they aren't trying to kill them.

Yet.

The Fang and Claw Tavern has seen better days. With a war lord to the south, an imposing army of woodlanders to the south east the tavern has hit a dry spell in activity. The beasts here number no more than ten. A pair of scraggly stoats sit in the far corner of the tavern. A small brown furred squirrel sits in the opposite corner with a hare and a mouse on either side. They too are armed with an assortment of daggers and short swords, each wearing what ever armor they can get their paws on, which is mostly bark leather shoulder and knee pads.

The friendliest looking beast is the monitor lizard behind the counter. Small for her species the fat bellied reptile can still tower over most others.

Into this scene a youngish looking otter walks in. He peeks around, then looks for a place to sit quietly.

The otter's presence does not go unnoticed. Conversation stops, the beasts begin to stare a hole through the young otter until he sits down. Conversation promptly resumes there after, as little of it there is. Coming in from the door behind the otter a blue scaled lizard, bare chested save for the harness to his iron shoulder pad steps in. The monitor lizard serves her fellow reptilian first before even glancing at the otter.

Filling up a mead for the lizard the bar keep lumbers over, slightly hunched due to her weight. "Well good afternoon sssunshine." She says witha hiss. "What'sss your poissson?"

William looks up, but cannot reply. He pulls out his notebook, and writes, "Water please."

The big monitor lizard leans forward, stomach grazing the top of the table. One paw is place on the wood table, the other folded behind her back while grasping a note pad. She peers intently at the otter with what could be a mock look...or perhaps the intent to devour him. It's hard to tell with monitors. "Sorry hun...but /what/ did you just come into /my/ tavern to order?"

Meanwhile behind the otter the door opens a third time. A brown furred fox appears. He wears a vest that leaves the small of his back, his sides, and his yellow furred middle exposed. A cutlass is at his side. Bandit the fox glances around the tavern, taking in the beasts. The one he is looking for is here...

William points to the word 'water' and grunts.

The monitor lizard snorts and leans backwards, stalking back to the counter she departs through a back door grumbling about water loving otters. "You would think she would have to go draw the water from a river." The fox says out loud behind the otter.

William peers at the stranger fox suspiciously.

Bandit leans back from the suspicious look. And begins to turn away for another table to sit at. It is here that the lizard at the bar turns his head in the fox's direction. Bandit yelps slightly and quickly sits down at the same table as Willaim, purposely sitting with his back facing the reptile. "So, fancy meeting you here...person i obviously came here to meet." The fox chuckles nervously, waiting for the lizard finish narrowing his eyes at the fox and turn back to his mead.

William frowns, then writes, 'Who are you?' in his notebook. The otter is generally distrustful of foxes.

This generates a raised eyebrow. The fox guesses the otter must be mute. Or odd. Either way he replies with a shrug, "Just passing through. I won't be here too long." The monitor lizard returns from the back room, she sets the mug of water on the table rather rudely. Claws on her hips she address the fox. "Don't tell me you are having water too..." Bandit gulps nervously, "Is it...free?" The monitor lizard rolls her eyes as she stomps away from them. "Huh, I guess not..."

William glares at the fox. He takes a sip of water, then writes, "Who are you?"

Bandit the fox leans back in his chair, one arm hanging over the side, balancing on the heals of his foot paws, "Just call me Bandit. Don't mind if I just sit here for a moment?" He tries to lean back in his chair until he can watch the lizard at the bar upside down. He has to catch himself from falling with his foot against the underside of the table.

William leans closer, and studies the fox. "Are you a bandit?" he writes.

Bandit leans forward to read the otters writing. He isn't the best reader he admits, "Am I a Bandit?" The fox leans back and crosses his arms, chuckling slightly. "Actually..." He watches the lizard spin in his seat. Finishing his mead and standing up to stretch. "I must admit I am curriousss as well." Zee the reptile says, claws on the hilt of a morning start at his side. "What? Did you think Zee would not ssee you following him? What do you two want?" The fox gives Zee a confused look. "Two? What do...oh." He says, realizing the Lizard must think that the otter is in his party.

William looks confused and looks around. He has no idea what the lizard is talking about. He quickly jots down, "What is he talking about?"

"He thinks your with me." THe fox explains nonchalantly with out taking his eyes off the lizard. Crossing his arms Bandit gives a smug grin. "Well, since the cat's out of the bag, I'm Bandit...and I'm aiming to bring in that bounty on your head Zee." The lizard nods curtly and smiles as well, "Oh? You iz bounty hunters...how nice."

William shakes his head vehemently, grunting and waving his paws. He is *not* about to get caught up with something as hazardous as bounty hunting.

"Whatsss wrong with your friend?" The lizard says with a confused look. "Oh, he's not with me. He's just some beast I accidently pulled into this...sorry about that by the way." Bandit says with a nervous chuckle, nice work fox. Zee however fails to fall for this obvious ruse! "You really think you are going to be enough to collect the bounty on my head?"

The fox's paws drift towards the hilt of his cutlass. Standing up to his full height he says with an arogant smirk. "I think I can take on one lone lizard." Tilting his head to the side the reptilian bandit asks curiously, "What makes you think I am alone?" At the snap of his claws all the beasts, ALL of them, rise from their seats. The stoats, the woodlanders. They pass various bemused smiles at the otter and the now-not-smirking fox. Bandit gulps. So much for an easy bounty...

William just remains seated. The otter thinks if he just acts disinterested, nobeast will notice, especially if he can't talk. He prepares himself to drop under the table if need be.

Bandit gulps. These are not good odds. If he fights these beasts here and now the lizard is going to make a pelt of him! "Um...maybe we can talk about this..." he offers with a coy smile. Zee raises a single paw as a signal. As one the beasts close in on the otter and fox to seize them and toss them them out of the tavern despite William's apparent lack of interest in the situation.

On the bright side they aren't trying to kill them.

Yet.

William frowns. The otter takes a hint, and immediately drops under the table, and tries to crawl away. He isn't going to stick around.

Zee laughs with his arms cross infront of his chest. The otter is given a bit of a reprieve, at least for the moment. For it may only take two beasts to sieze Bandit but it takes four of them to carry the fat vulpine to the door. Each bandit grabbing a limb they carry him out the door, across the road, and toss him into the river, kicking and screaming all the way. Zee laughs again, switching views from the fox to the fleeing otter, "So...my ottery friend...what sssshall we do with /you/?" He stands close to the doorway but makes no motion to grab William.

William of course cannot reply, he just peers at the lizard, making straight for the door. The beasts here are insane, clearly, and he is not going to stick around to find out just how insane they are.

The bandit beasts are too busy walking back to the tavern to bother harrassing the otter. By then Bandit is dragging himself out of the river. His fur, his clothes, even his sword if possible are soaked to the core. With a defeated sigh Bandit leans forward onto all fours and shakes hismelf dry, sending water dropplets sailing towards the fleeing otter. "You! Why didn't you stop them? Huh?" The fox says angrily as he stands to his full height. "Some bounty hunting partner you turned out to be."

William looks at the fox incredulously. He grunts with anger, then points at his throat. He then gestures angrily.

The brown furred fox leans back slightly then shakes his head, waving the otter off with a growl. Looking at his drenched clothes he sighs, He's going to need to get those clothes dry before nightfall. He doesn't have the money for a room at the inn, so its a night by a camp fire for him it looks like. Leaving the otter to his own devices he heads east, away from Ferreval.

William shakes his fist at the stranger fox. Taking advantage of him, getting him kicked out or nearly killed. This is why the otter doesn't trust foxes... And he never even got to finish his water.

_____________________

William

A quiet, reserved young otter, with blue eyes and light brown fur, wearing a simple outfit of pants and a tunic.

Bandit (ME)

The fox known simply as Bandit certainly has the appearance of one. The young fox stands the average height for his species with a stocky build and wide shoulders. The vast majority of his pelt has a light brown color with some specks of grey around the edges where his fur changes color, like his paws which are dark brown, or the strip of light yellow fur that travels down his neck, chest, and stomach.

A vest made from cloth with bark leather sewn into the short sleeved shoulders adorns the fox's chest. It reaches down jest below the bottom of his chest and has no buttons, leaving the vulpine sides, the small of his back, along with his chest and belly open to the elements. Under the vest Bandit wears a shoulder harness that stretches across his middle and hooks onto his belt to help hold up the hilt of his cutlass.

The harness cuts tightly into his fur, especially around his belly which has grown fleshed but not obese.

A pair of green pants wrap around the fox's plump waist and his digitgrade legs. The cloth pants have bark leather knee pads wrapped around them. His feet are left bare while the fox's hands are covered by black finger-less gloves.