Misplaced Childhood [Ragnar]

[Lief]

[Iori Layth]

She had been wandering Carannia's streets for days, yet Regulus assured her that they would be okay.

In his infinite wisdom, he had procured for them some food lifted from one of the stalls; Iori had watched the brave little lion prowl over to the cart and deftly steal fruit and bread before the merchant could notice, bringing it back to the small child who giggled and hid behind a wall. She leaned in to whisper to the stuffed animal, who at this point was sat at her side guarding his loot.

"You are such a brave, bold lion!" she assured him, before helping herself to a chunk of bread and some berries from their stockpile of stolen food. Whatever he retorted must have been hilarious for the girl began to giggle uncontrollably, before lifting her free hand up to cover her mouth before anyone found her hiding spot.

Settling her back to the wall she popped a small red berry into her mouth and savored its flavour. She might have been thirsty had their spot not been beside a large ornate well. While it was more for visual purposes at this point - this was Serenno, after all - it was still fully functioning and provided her with enough water to survive under the sun.

[member='Ragnar T'uuth']

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

Ragnar , walking the busy market stalls looking for food to travel with notices thru the bodies a curious stuffed lion floating by itself among the stalls, he tries to follow but loses the small creature in the crowd, he finds what he needs and out of curiosity looks around to see if anybody is looking before snatching three apples from the stall, suddenly the stall owner begins shouting in a language he doesn't understand, so he runs for it bobbing and weaving through people before jetting into an alley way not far in front of him, his foot bumping into something rather small, looking down horrified he sees a small child looking down at his boots, he looks further and sees he has crushed the berries she had next to her in his haste

 

[Lief]

Crunch.

Bread and berries were both suddenly flung away from Regulus as they were stomped underfoot, Iori herself being partially knocked aside by the fleeing stranger. A gasp escaped her lips as the little Lion crept closer, quietly apologising to the girl he had failed to protect. But she didn't care, her Lion had brought her food and the loss of it was not his doing. It was--

She peered up and glared to the man, before immediately cowering back. He was like nothing she had ever seen before, and the sight of him terrified her. Blinking up at him her mouth remained slightly agape. She clung onto Reggie for dear life, no longer caring about the food they had lost to the pavement.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

Ragnar hurries to his wits, thinking of what to do, he quickly reaches down and grabs the girl and cups her mouth, grabbing the bear from her to stop her from screaming as the security passes just feet from where they now reside, not knowing how she will react he takes out an apple out of his bag and shows it to her then places it next to her, before letting go, he lifts the bear to his face and recognizes it from earlier, his mask hiding his expression as he kneels back down and asks her why was this floating? having never dealt with kids before the tone of the question probably came out in a demanding tone, he releases his hand from her mouth to let her answer still holding the bear

 

[Lief]

Without warning a hand clasped over her mouth, and her eyes widened. She made to scream but it was muffled and barely audible outside of her own head, no thanks to the weird man with the metal face. But it was when he committed the greatest sin of all, when he stole Regulus from her, that things turned on their head. Iori lashed out at him, her hand reaching out towards the stuffed animal greedily. No one could take him from her! No one!

The sight of the fruit had her confused, hadn't he just trampled their food? He released her mouth and she was about to scream until she saw he still held poor Reggie hostage. Her brow creased into an utterly distressed frown, fingers flexing and unflexing in the lion's direction. "Give him back" she whined, careful not to yell. Who knew what this monster would do to her friend?!

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

Ragnar held the bear just out of reach and asked her again why was the bear floating, he thinks for a moment before coming up with a thought that almost terrified him before coming to his senses, no this child was much to young to control the force he says to himself, coming up with a plan of devious intent if it was true. Ragnar looks at the girl with his metal face knowing it fully terrified the child and told her to make it move again and he would give it back.

 

[Lief]

She growled ever so slightly as the man continued to hold Reggie away from her. As scary as he was, he was holding her bestest friend in the whole entire Galaxy within his grasp! A frustrated murmur left her as she tried to stand on her tippy toes in order to reach for him, straining greatly in the process. "Give him back" she whined once again, before listening to what he asked. "He is alive!" she tells him, "You can't treat a person like that!"

With frustration abound the young girl kicked at his ankle to try and get him to drop Regulus, who in turn began to struggle against the man's grip. Were Ragnar capable of sensing the Force in action he would feel it wrap around the Lion, yet the girl's expression made it obvious that she had no clue she was the cause of the teddy's motion.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

The girls words fall on deaf ear till she begins to say stuff like "he is alive" and "you cant treat a person like that".
right before he feel the small kick on his ankle and the bear begins to move against my grip, my sense abound with force energy, i can feel it course thru my veins.
My eyes grow wide as i step back away from the small creature before me, letting go of her as the bear still struggles against my mechanical hand unable to get free. Ragnar's mind runs with thoughts before pulling a knife out and places it close to the bears neck, the red hot blade only millimeters from the fur and I demand she to calm down before i kill her bear, he begins thinking of the next part of his plan almost immediately.

 

[Lief]

He stepped away from her, taking the lion with him, which only frustrated her more so. She stepped after him, that is until the monster pulled out a blade and set it to Reggie's neck. With a whimper she halted in place, brows furrowing once again in distress of the situation. "Don't hurt him!" she whimpered, staring up at the scary man who held Regulus' life within his grip.

The little girl did not quite know what to do. Her stomach grumbled hungrily, and the heat of the summer sun burned against her skin. Even so, in that moment the protection of her friend was all that mattered. "Please... Don't hurt Regulus..."

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

I peer at the small creature before me that is so concerned with her stuffed toy, my knife ready to strike. I tell her she has to come with me if she wants her lion back no fussing and no yelling or you shall never see him in one piece again. my mind races about the answers she will say making sure she has no choice but to say yes to my demands. i begin moving closer going deeper into the alley way so nobody sees us as we negotiate.

 

[Lief]

Another whimper.

The little girl nodded her head to his demands, moving with him as he crept into the alleyway. She had very little in the way of concern for her own safety, just wanting to ensure that Reggie was going to be okay. He had come to be her whole entire world! "O-Okay..." she whispered, having mellowed entirely and no longer trying to put up a fight. The Lion in his hands couldn't die, especially not given that she was stranded out here without anyone else for company. Or anyway of getting food. There was no choice, really.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

feeling relieved at the answer I put my knife back on my belt and grab the girl by her shoulder leading her deeper in to the alley way till coming out the other side, I place the lion in my bag and zip it closed locking it away out of the sight of the small creature now in my possession.

i think to myself that I have not eaten yet and take out one of the apples that i had stolen earlier, removing my mask giving the first sight of my face to the young child.
i look at the apple with a lustful intent as i bit into it, a muffled moan can be heard from behind the apple not having tasted fresh fruit in almost two years.

i look down at the child and sigh loudly as I offer her a bite of the half eaten apple remembering i had crushed her food earlier not wanting her to go to waste before i can get her in a ship

 

[Lief]

She bites back a small yelp at being shoved around, watching him hide the lion from her by cramming him into a backpack. The audacity! How could anyone harm a helpless animal in that way? Squirming against his grip of her shoulder ever so slightly, she followed him through the alleyway, gaze downcast as though she had been chastised.

The man didn't seem to be wanting to talk, which suited her just fine. A broody, almost grumpy look had set upon her expression. She felt lost and lonely without Regulus in her arms. When he halted and removed the mask the girl tried to step away from him, her eyes wide. There was a man's face beneath the metal!

When he offered down the apple she looked to it in distrust, clenching her jaw and looking away from him almost immediately. She agreed to go with him, but that didn't mean she'd play ball every step of the way. She'd rather go hungry than eat without Reggie doing the same.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

I hold the small creature with a firm grip, as she denies my apple. I scoff at the girl as a bring it back to my mouth finishing in two great bites then tossing it aside.

I replace my mask not wanting to be seen out in the open, I push the small girl along with me heading down a ramp, the crowd seems to thin then almost disappear as we enter the docking bay unnoticed, I look around frantically noticing a small ship with its hatch open for cleaning. i suddenly reach down and pick up this small but surprisingly heavy girl as i make a run for the hatch.

 

[Lief]

His tight hold of her shoulder was becoming rather painful at this point. The child scrunched up her face and tried to relax the tense muscles to no avail. Kicking up a fuss would not end well for her or Regulus, of that she was certain, so she grit her teeth and put up with it as the man finished off his apple and then pushed her into motion.

As the crowd thinned out she peered around frantically, hoping that someone might see them there - the misplaced hand firmly upon her shoulder, for one thing, could have alerted somebody... Anybody. Right? Without warning she was plucked from the ground, a small yelp escaping her lips before she could hold it back. Her eyes closed as she felt squashed against him in his haste to flee the world and the view of its inhabitants. And somewhere deep inside she realised that he was not going to set her back on the ground.

She began to struggle in his arms, yelling out into the empty hangar which held the ship. Her parents wouldn't be able to find her if she left this world!

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

The girl struggles against my grip as i unceremoniously put her in the ship not knowing there was a drop on the other side as i dropped her in i crawl in behind her locking the door behind me, I look around the ship, seeing if there was a holding place, THE CARGO HOLD I THOUGHT TO MYSELF so i rush to a panel on the floor knowing basic lay out of the ship we had just commandeered. i walk back over to the girl still laying on the ground from the fall, i grab her by the back of the neck forcing her in to the hole locking the door above her.

i begin looking for the control panel and start to initiate the start up sequence no doubt alerting the dock master in the control tower, i frantically start up the ship, backing up before it has a chance to warm the engines, the shackles of the ship breaking as i begin to leave serenno

 

[Lief]

Still kicking and screaming she found herself unceremoniously dropped down against the metal hull of the ship. The air and fight knocked from her, she lay there for a moment trying to recatch her breath. Fleeting thoughts of grabbing her teddy from his satchel and fleeing before the ramp could rise were snuffed out as he grasped her by the neck, dragging her first to her feet and then down into the cargo hold.

The drop down had her twist her ankle, a yelp - not unakin to that of a wounded animal - escaped her lips. "Reggie..." she whimpered, as the light from up above was quenched in the slam of a hatch. Feeling her way through the dark she tried to make sense of her surroundings, yet her eyes were not well adjusted for the task. Instead she curled up, lamenting the loss of Regulus and all hope of her family ever finding her. After all, Iori could hardly commandeer a ship of her own.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

I frantically press the start up sequences like i had done a thousand times, my experience was coming in handy i thought to myself and my pay shall be even sweeter once i obtain it, i begin turning the ship ready to leave the atmosphere long before security can arrive behind me or in from of me to stop me on the long journey i am now taking up.

the ships engine roar to life and take off at a blazing speed heeding no concern for the passenger in the cargo, the ship shakes as it punches through the atmosphere, i look down to my pleasant surprise to find this ship was equipped with weapons and shields, it was a short but wide ship painted orange and black by the previous owner, had wings on it but a short nose, the inside had enough room to contain a holotable as well as room in the wing to stand off to the side and two sleeping quarters. the mess was small but had all the essentials for long space travel as well as a tracking device which i promptly disabled, the head was also bit small but it will have to work thieves cant be picky in a situation like this. I look upon the dash board and find the ships name and it says gracefully along the top "The Miranno" before getting up to check the food storage and water levels

 

[Lief]

The ship rumbled around her, before she was flung back against the hull. As they ascended from the spaceport the cool air began to cling to her, causing the small child to shiver and tremble uncontrollably. While there were heated vents up in the living quarters, down in the cargo hold the atmosphere which surrounded the vessel seeped in causing the temperature to drop drastically. To most this was a positive thing, it kept any perishable supplies in good condition; after all, the cargo hold was not meant to sustain lifeforms for very long.

Her searching hands met what felt like a bolt of cloth, and without any care for the ship's cargo she pulled and tugged until it tumbled down around her. She lay atop it, to provide some insulation between her body and the icy floor below, before wrapping herself in it. Curled up she closed her eyes and waited, teeth chattering even with the thick substitute for a blanket.

[member="Ragnar T'uuth"]

 

[Ragnar T'uuth]

as i was checking the water levels and food storage i discovered they were both filled to the brim, happy about what i had discovered, i begin looking around the ship to get the lay out of it in my head and i turn the corner finding the two sleeping chambers so a thought flashes through my mind and i begin to walk over to the cargo hold with loud foot steps from my boots certainly echoing thru the medium sized chamber below. leaning down to open the locked hatch i fling it open with a loud bang, flooding the hold with lights from the ceiling and directly upon the girl that was now covered in what seems to be tarp, i reach down grabbing her by the arm and raising her up to the living quarters and begin to shove her toward the living quarters i had just discovered, my metal fingers gripping tight through my glove locked in place so she cant get away from me. Not like she had much place to go anyways, we were now off world.