Post by Auric on Dec 8, 2015 15:52:04 GMT -6
It was nighttime in the market and most vendors had packed up and turned their attentions toward sleep and family now. Most but not all. Under the gentle light of a crescent moon combined with the lanterns put up by some of the vendors who had chosen to sell their wares to the nocturnal crowd. Various form moved among the stalls, most were humanoid beings of rock and dirt. A few human tourists had stayed out late to see the market at night. It did have its own sort of beauty. The lanterns were typically decorated and the earth elementals were interesting to look at for people who were less accustomed to seeing them. As one could expect from earth elementals, masters of the materials of the earth, the streets and buildings were all well made. The did not need bricks or cobblestone. They formed them from solid rock allowing carts and people to traverse them with ease and never need to worry about rain or other conditions making it hard to conduct business. Glimmering stones were set into it catching even the small amount of light provided by the moon and assure that even without the lanterns the streets could be followed. A cool breeze gently blew through the market place as the chill of night replaced the warmth of the day. It was not uncomfortably cool, but it did get a bit colder at night.
Unlike most of the people in the streets, Auric was in one of its animal forms. The humanoid forms, whether they be elemental or human, made it easier to do business. Auric was comfortable switching between them and this one was most comfortable in these sorts of crowds. Its elemental form made it shorter than a lot of others and it was not going to sink to being human. As an arthropleura armata it was big enough to not feel intimidated by others without freaking out too many people. An herbivorous centipede was a bit disconcerting for those that did not like bugs, but it was less threatening than the other choice. Some of the tourists did not even realize that it was not just one of the forest creatures wandering the streets as some sort of massive pest or pet. A few kids had even taken to attempting to ride it as it moved through the streets. Auric had done what it could for the day and the people it was meeting in the night were not going to be getting together for a while yet. So, it was wandering the streets at this point. The first kid had belonged to a family of water elementals and had been brave enough to jump on it when her parents were not looking. Auric bucked at first, but she just laughed and hung on. Eventually the surprise wore off and it simply let her hang on. Other kids, having seen her do it, started taking turns hoping on and leaving when they got tired. The earth elementals who knew better simply spoke amongst themselves waiting for the kids or parents to realize their mistake. Auric had nothing better to do and being friendly to tourists in the capital seemed the best way to go. Exploding at them would only serve to leave them with a bad impression of the people. At least the earth elemental children were kept back by their parents. Auric was saved from having a miserable or annoyed look on its face by not actually having the ability to carry expressions on this face. It could eat and what not, but they did not really need the ability to communicate emotion like that. Centipedes did not need to smile or frown.
At this point, the first child had returned to her parents and it was serving as mount to little boy and an air elemental currently in the form of a giant golden-crowned flying fox. The bat was at the lead holding its head and guiding it with pressure to its antennae. It was not fully grown, but it was big enough to reach them both with its head staring forward on the middle of Auric's. It was tolerating them well. With just the two it was not nearly as cumbersome as it had been and they were well behaved. They seemed to be just enjoying the ride rather than trying to elicit a reaction from the beast below them as some of the others had. They were well behaved children and it appreciated that. Some of the other brats it had seen earlier in the day made it long for the scourge back home. That tended to quickly teach people to stop what they were doing. It had never had to use it on its own children, but it had done a better job raising those it chose to raise. It had had good parents who taught it how to make children behave and cultivate them into good adults.
Unlike most of the people in the streets, Auric was in one of its animal forms. The humanoid forms, whether they be elemental or human, made it easier to do business. Auric was comfortable switching between them and this one was most comfortable in these sorts of crowds. Its elemental form made it shorter than a lot of others and it was not going to sink to being human. As an arthropleura armata it was big enough to not feel intimidated by others without freaking out too many people. An herbivorous centipede was a bit disconcerting for those that did not like bugs, but it was less threatening than the other choice. Some of the tourists did not even realize that it was not just one of the forest creatures wandering the streets as some sort of massive pest or pet. A few kids had even taken to attempting to ride it as it moved through the streets. Auric had done what it could for the day and the people it was meeting in the night were not going to be getting together for a while yet. So, it was wandering the streets at this point. The first kid had belonged to a family of water elementals and had been brave enough to jump on it when her parents were not looking. Auric bucked at first, but she just laughed and hung on. Eventually the surprise wore off and it simply let her hang on. Other kids, having seen her do it, started taking turns hoping on and leaving when they got tired. The earth elementals who knew better simply spoke amongst themselves waiting for the kids or parents to realize their mistake. Auric had nothing better to do and being friendly to tourists in the capital seemed the best way to go. Exploding at them would only serve to leave them with a bad impression of the people. At least the earth elemental children were kept back by their parents. Auric was saved from having a miserable or annoyed look on its face by not actually having the ability to carry expressions on this face. It could eat and what not, but they did not really need the ability to communicate emotion like that. Centipedes did not need to smile or frown.
At this point, the first child had returned to her parents and it was serving as mount to little boy and an air elemental currently in the form of a giant golden-crowned flying fox. The bat was at the lead holding its head and guiding it with pressure to its antennae. It was not fully grown, but it was big enough to reach them both with its head staring forward on the middle of Auric's. It was tolerating them well. With just the two it was not nearly as cumbersome as it had been and they were well behaved. They seemed to be just enjoying the ride rather than trying to elicit a reaction from the beast below them as some of the others had. They were well behaved children and it appreciated that. Some of the other brats it had seen earlier in the day made it long for the scourge back home. That tended to quickly teach people to stop what they were doing. It had never had to use it on its own children, but it had done a better job raising those it chose to raise. It had had good parents who taught it how to make children behave and cultivate them into good adults.
