Sometimes.....just a kindness is enough

"But why?" Alicia nearly squeaks. Fred came up behind her and hugged her while she trembled. She had just regained her father. Why did he want to leave?

"Alicia," Natthias says tenderly. "I need to seek forgiveness for the wrongs I did. I feel like God won't smile upon me until I prostrate myself before him. To do that properly, I must fast and pray in a proper church. Else, the gifts that God gave me.....will no longer be mine to use."

Alicia bows her head, tears rolling down her furry cheeks. She then nods, understanding. The great majority of her and all descendants of Prestor John were attributed to Divine gifts from above. Alicia bowed to the necessary....for her father COULD AND WOULD not be talked out of seeking penance in a church.

*************************************************************

Nathias sighs as he walks into the town of Walants. Supposedly a "Shadow town" as Fred had called it, it was a cesspool of corruption and sin. Natthias could practically feel the desperation and greed radiating from the surviving locals. If HE was the king of this benighted nation, he'd have cleaned out this rat-hole long ago, for it was an affront to God (in Natthias' mind).

Right now, he was just looking for a church. That is something that this section of town seemed to be lacking. What it is not lacking is action.

In fact, some action was heading his way right now.

"But what do you want?" asks the nervous sounding hooded figure as he backs into a wall as two large thugs corner him. One plays with a sharp knife while the other holds a blackjack.

"I want a new fur coat!" the blackjack man shouts, grabbing the cloaked figure. The hood and cape fall away and to the side to reveal.....a bright rust red figure who has a fox tail and a fox's ears sticking out of a tumble of red hair. The demi-fox looks only like he's just entered his teens, but that is of little concern to Natthias.

"Put....him....Down." Natthias says in a calm, reasonable voice. "He's done nothing to you, as far as I can tell. Now, why are you molesting him?" The punks turn and only see a simply dress man with olive skin and black hair stand before them (albeit a tad on the tall side).

"Bugger off, gov!" growls the knifer. "We's just having fun!"

Both pause in dismay as a sword seems to appear out of nowhere in Natthias' hands. It is a golden two handed bastard sword, and it's edge seems pure and clean....and SHARP. Nathias twirls his sword in one hand, and then quirks an eyebrow. When the thugs hesitate, a blurring *WHOOSH* noise is the only clue as to why each is holding....half a weapon. The thugs take one look at him, and then at their ruined weapons, and scream in terror. The little demi-fox is still picking himself off the street when he feels a strong hand lift him to his feet. The demi-fox looks up at the smiling man who saved him, and gets conflicting feeling from him.

On one hand....there seems to be an aura of.....goodness to him. But on the other hand....there's a smell of the lycanthropic beast (as well as other signs that a lycanthrope can tell another lycanthrope from way off). It is a smell that makes the little fox pant a bit in fright.

"Are you okay?" the kind man with a subliminal menacing odor asks.

"Sure, yeah," the fox says. "I....guess I owe you one?"

"Just doing what is right and just under the Law of God," chuckles the tall stranger. "By any chance do you know where a decent church is?"

"Down this block and to the left," replies the demi-fox.

"Thank you," the man says. "Before I go, my name is Natthias ....Natthias John."

"Red Oak," the demi-fox says, suddenly smiling. "And I'm glad to meet you."

"I too am glad to meet you," the man says in a clipped, strangely accented voice. The man blinks at a sudden thought. The smile on Red Oaks face congeals a little because he knows the Deals about to take place. Nothing was free, especially in this town!

"I have a rather unusual favor to ask of you," Natthias says. Oak blinks at the words because......the man is serious about it being a favor....not a debt! Leaning closer, so as to not be overheard, the man whispers what he wants.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" gasps the demi-fox in shock.

The demi-fox shakes his head in wonder as the man smiles. Despite the smile, Red Oak can tell.....he is quiet serious.

1. So the small demi-fox finds himself wandering about in the nearby woods, heading in the general direction the man had given him.....

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