Chapter 1: Adventures in Babysitting

"That sounds like a plan," Tom agrees. "If nothing else, I can ask my dad if someone from the Watch can help us who she belongs to..."

As he considers this for a moment, his mouth creases momentarily into a frown before he shakes it off and suddenly brightens.

"But I suspect this is a good mystery for us to solve on our own!"

He turns to Selena as she steps forward and addresses the Anwyn, looking her up and down.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you a friend of the girl?"

Gern recognises both Tom and Selena, seeing them around the streets, sometimes in her master's workshop and has passed some time talking with them about her apprenticeship. She steps up and greets both of them.

"Well met, I know both of you don't I?" Turning to Tom she adds, "I don't think Lady Selena knows the human child. It doesn't seem like anyone around here does. I think your idea of asking your father, or looking ourselves, is a good one. I bet it won't be any trouble at all finding the child's minders."

Watching the small group of younglings rally around the child, Fen takes a deep breath and steadies herself before attempting to draw attention her direction. They seem like a collection of individuals who are ready to help; perhaps that means they will also be reserved when it comes to making judgements about someone based on their appearance.

She picks up a small pebble and aims it for the feet of the boy who had so boldly stood up to an adult without hesitation.

"Psst!" She calls aloud, waving a hand in a gesture to encourage any of the gathering who might notice to come her direction. Stepping only slightly out of the shadows of the alley, she is small and lean in stature but her face is still mostly obscured by her raised hood.

He had never met a lady, or a pirate, let alone a pretty lady pirate. For the first time in his life Crow was dumbstruck. The brash crudeness of her speech, no formality observed, she was everything Crow wanted to be. He tried to get a word in, his voice wouldn't come. He was starting to turn red, his ears flushing and his nose.

When the pebble struck his boot he looked to the alley. He knew better than to walk into an alley with a shadowy figure skulking. Instead he looked at Tom and jerked his head in the direction of the hidden summoner. Taking a few steps, to the alley, measured ones a fencer's play. "Why are you hiding in the dark?" Taking a step to the left he instinctively closed a flank leaving Tom for a more direct approach.

The flicker of hope that kindled in Fen as the young boy approach was doused by his clear distrust of her placement and method of introduction. Her shoulders slump as she lets out a heavy sigh and pulls the top of her hood back just enough to reveal the brilliant blue of her eyes, haloed with freckles across the bridge of her nose and forehead. A few clumps of clumped bangs fall from her forehead, matching the auburn hue of her eyebrows.

"Because is safer for me here," she responds solemnly. Her words are muffled through the bandana still worn over the lower half of her face. The light, now finding reflection on the small, exposed patch skin of her brow, reveals the indistinguishable and undeniable sage green tint of her flesh.

"Safer for both us," she adds with a mild nod over her shoulder to a still yet unseen companion of hers.

Crow just shrugged at that, smirking it was clear he found the game amusing. He was not one to begrudge someone skulking in the shadows. "This is The Jewel of the North. Safest place in all of the Realms. You must be new here. I am called Crow, this is Tom." He waved to Tom. "And you are safe. I promise." Extending his hand to the stranger he beckoned her closer. "What do you say Anwyn, is she safe here?" Bouncing the toddler on his shoulder he looked up to her taking her input as gospel.

Still not sure, Fen's eyes clearly dart around the gathered group and express her doubt. Nevertheless, she nods and takes the smallest step forward. She tilts her head to the side with a wary stare. After a beat, she reaches her hand out to the side and wiggles her noticeably green fingers in a quick fluttering dance of snapping clicks.

From the alley behind, a pair of eyes become visible, glowing a vibrant peacock green. As the eyes edge closer to the light of the open street, the face from whence the orbs peer becomes visible; a young, yet still sizeable jungle cat inches closer. Though its body is low to the ground in a crouch and the ears are pinned to the sides of its head, the expression in its eyes read of fear as opposed to aggression. The cat, murmuring quietly through saber fangs that seem too large for its body, comes to rest at the feet of Fen and nuzzles its head against her calf.

"People not like us," the girl says simply before crouching down to run her fingers through the animal's dark and mottled neck fur, a perfect color and pattern for hiding in the shadows.

Crow grinned and chuckled. "Ah people, you aren't like them but thats a good thing. People suck. What's your name anyway?"

Tom had barley composed himself following Selena's arrival when Fen and her pet appear. He usually prides himself on picking out all the details of a scene, but clearly this time he did quite a poor job of being aware of everyone hiding in the crowd. He makes a mental note that he'll have to spend more time practicing his skill at observation.

"Wow, what breed of cat is that?" he asks, as the kitty steps forward--he's genuinely intrigued by both the feline and Fen herself as they're foreign to even somewhere as cosmopolitan as Waterdeep.

As he observes that, though their group is increasing in size, they have ceased to be a major center of attention and people about them have returned to the usual bustle of the city, he nods toward Selena and Fen and says, "I would like to get somewhere a little less crowded. I have a simple idea I would like to try though it will likely not uncover much. I believe we had been discussing heading to a lunch over which we might make a plan to get Anwyn safely home. Would you care to join us?"

Finding her reception to be warm and welcoming as opposed to the usual disgust and distrust the adults of the region have shown, Fen's eyes glitter with a smile still yet unseen beneath her mask. The emotion rolls into a perceptible confusion as she begins to ponder Crow's question. She begins to mumble beneath her breath, sorting through her own thoughts and organizing the words she has in her vocabulary.

She seems to settle on an idea and returns her gaze to Crow with a clear, "Fen?"

The word is plainly stated, though her inflection reads more of a question than a certainty. It is a word she knows that had frequently been used in her direction, though perhaps it was never officially deemed her unique identifier in the world.

As Tom's enthusiasm towards her family becomes apparent, Fen stoops to scratch behind the feline's ears. Once more, the visible portion of her face becomes quizzical and thoughtful. She scrunches her brows, sighs, and looks apologetic, unable to find a suitable answer to his inquiry. Her shoulders raise in an exaggeratedly slow shrug and she gestures with her free hand to him, indicating an invitation for him to feel the fur.

"Oshgal" she chirps warmly and the cat's eyes close in peace as a thrumming purr drifts from its chest.

"Lunch sounds good," she returns, glancing to the small child to read if her presence is as unnerving to the youngest of this mix as it has been to adults in the past. "Keep Anwyn safe." There is a flicker in Fen's eyes; she has empathy for one so small, alone, and lost in a world too chaotic to yet be understood entirely.

"No, I do not know the human child at all. Just was giving a warning that the streets are dangerous to be out alone. Pleasure to meet you all. I just joined Captain Kidds pirate crew. He bought me from a mean nobleman who has tried to put me into his brothel several times but I resisted and got beat for it. Captain Kidd felt sorry for me and brought me into his crew after paying for me. I was a slave now I'm an equal amongst the pirates on his ship." Selena explained a moment later after brushing a strand of blonde hair from out of her blue eyes as she walked with her new companions to find lunch .

With a tentative hand, Fen pulls the mask from the lower half of her face. If any of the crew had been in doubt before, there can be no denying her heritage any longer. Two short but squat tusks jut up from the lower lip of the girl, giving her the hint of an underbite. She moves slowly as she lowers her hood, revealing elongated, pointed ears and a tangle of unkempt hair that has mostly clumped together into bunches. The dreadlocks are held back with a cloth tie and Fen proffers an apologetic smile to the group.

"Want to pet kitty?" she asks the little toddler, kneeling beside the animal as it rolls to its side with all the docile sweetness of an average house cat. "Kitty nice," she reassures.

Crow, trusting there were enough watchful eyed Anwyn wouldn't just wander off set her down next to the "kitty." He touched the back of its ear and stroked it softly. "Gentle with the Kitty."

"Oh you're a half-orc. That explains the paranoia. But I wouldn't worry, other than the antiquated opinion of Old Money Bluebloods, you're hardly out of place here. Waterdeep sees its share of wonderful and strange things and if you are the most exotic creature we see today it shall be quite a slow day."

"Anyway I bet all of us could split a whole roast goat!"

Fen is thoroughly warmed by Crow's words of encouragement and his apparent lack of surprise at her upside-down fangs. She smiles broadly and nods.

"Roast goat sounds delicious," she agrees. "Where to?"

As she stands, Oshgal's purring intensifies and the giant cat's even larger paws bat the air playfully while its tail dusts the ground in undeniable enjoyment as affections are rained down from multiple sources.

Tom watches the feline's reaction as it interacts with Anwyn. At first, he was worried it might be more wild than Fen let on, but it proves surprisingly gentle with the girl.

"There's a green not too far away from here where different vendors sell food from carts along the road--that might make sense? People can pick what they like and there will be enough space for us and room for pets?"

"Good idea Tom. Food carts are always a great place to get information."

"I'm fine with that. Let's go then!" Selena says with a smile and follows the others to the Green where the food carts are at.

Gern walks along with the group, making small talk to share gossip.

"Never had to look after a human child before. Any of you know what they eat?" She asks the group as they near the food stalls.

"At that age, probably anything you fail to keep out of their hands," responds Tom quietly with a hint of a smile.