It's not been one of Piper's better days. After several hours of rough work clearing out the vermite-infested basement of a tavern near the docks, the vulpine owner pleaded poverty and only paid half of the agreed-upon sum, although he has promised to pay the rest by Midsummer's. The Gallah returns home in late evening, wondering if any of Natalie's stew will remain for his dinner.

The main room is empty save for one young girl slumped against the bar, her head buried in her arms, bushy ringed tail drooping disconsolately to the ground. Her shoulders shudder with heaving sobs, and her muffled gasps echo uncomfortably in the ruined room.

Piper rubs his shoulder as he walks through the door, his eyes half drooped with exhaustion. At the sight of the ruin, his eyes widen considerably and he wonders if he's gone to the right building. The scents are the same, and enough of the familiar sights are intact to confirm this. He nervously walks up behind the raccoon. "Mam'selle April? What… what happened here?"

The raccoon starts, her head jerking up and tail twitching at the canine's words. She stands, shivering for a moment, then spins about and throws herself against Piper's chest, hiding her face against his tunic. "Oh, Piper, it was awful!" she sobs, her voice muffled. "What are we going to do?"

The Gallah curls his arms around the raccoon protectively. "The damage can be repaired, Mam'selle. I will help you clean if you like. But what happened? Was there a fight?"

"This," she sniffles, "this gang of Kavis came in, eight or ten of them, and, and they tol' everybody to get out, then they started wreckin' stuff." April pauses to gulp down another sob, then continues, "When Da came out to try 'n stop them, they, oh, they… " She chokes and clutches her fists around the Gallah's tunic, burrowing closer to him.

"Will your father be alright? And what of your mother?" A growl that dies into a whine escapes the dog's throat as he places a hand on April's head. "Did they speak of why they did this?"

"I dunno, Piper." The little raccoon trembles. "I dunno. Ma an' John an' one of the neighbors took him to a healer." She sniffles again. "I tried to stop them, but there were so many!" she whimpers, still shivering.

Piper chews on his lip. "Barbarians." He sighs and pats the raccoon's head. "It will be all right, Mam'selle. Your father is strong and will recover from this. Has… this been reported to the Temple yet?"

April pushes herself away from Piper with one hand, scrubbing at her face with the other, whiskers skewing this way and that as she does so. At the mention of the Temple, she shivers again. "No," she whispers. As she's no longer pressed against him, the Gallah can see that the front of her dress has been torn, and he scents blood along with fear on her, her fur matted along one shoulder.

"Mam'selle, you are hurt as well!" The Gallah whimpers again, nosing at the raccoon's shoulder. "This is what we shall do, I shall refill my quiver, collect my money, and take you to Roho's hospital, or if you feel safe enough over it, we shall go to the Temple, report this matter, and let one of their doctors see to you. I assure you, Mam'selle, that no harm will come to you while you are in my care, but if nothing is done about this then it may happen again."

Glancing around the room, April strangles another sniffle. "I'm okay," she says in a voice low and hoarse from crying, blinking a few times at the decisiveness of Piper's words. "I … I'd better start cleaning up… I … don't think Da would like for me to tell the Temple… "

"Mam'selle, we at least should see to your wound. Cleaning with it may aggravate things." He droops. "But I will also stay here and help you clean if you do not wish to leave. I cannot say I would feel all that differently in your shoes."

"I … It's nothing, really." She brushes at her injured shoulder with the fingers of her opposite hand. "I hadn't even thought about it. Maybe I should put my other dress on, though." April sniffles, looking down at her ripped attire before folding her arms across her chest modestly.

"Mam'selle. Had you ever seen these Kavi before? Were they dressed strangely, like a gang perhaps?" The Gallah's hands grip the edge of his shirt to keep from fidgeting.

After a moment, April nods wearily. "Yeah. They were from a Darkside gang. Two of them had been in a couple of days ago. They talked to Da, got him real mad, and he made 'em go away." She smiles weakly, then walks on shaky legs behind the bar, picking up a broom toppled there. "I think they wanted money. Da wouldn't give it to 'em."

The mutt sets himself to righting knocked over chairs. "Did their gang have a name, Mam'selle?"

The raccoon starts sweeping the broken glass behind the bar into a pile, nodding to Piper. "They were … the Blood Kings, I think." She pads carefully around the shards, still sniffling periodically.

"Mam'selle April, you really should let me take you to a healer at least. I will take care of the cleaning here. But I think you should be resting now instead of straining yourself further." He whines again, a pleading tone in his voice.

Another one of the inn's guests appears at the door. He hesitates at the sight within, sniffing warily, then pads over to the common room without comment to the two others,his head ducked between his shoulder-blades. The raccoon pauses in her sweeping, leaning against the broom. "I'm… " she shakes her head. "Okay, Piper," she concedes, lacking the energy to protest further.

"Go and get changed then, Mam'selle. I will get the glass and sharp bits cleaned off the floor while you do." He gestures for the raccoon's broom.

The raccoon delivers the broom with a touch of weary reluctance, then shuffles to her quarters to change.

The walk to Roho's Hospice seems to wear April out. Kassie receives the young raccoon sympathetically, lying her down in the treatment room until the doctor is free to see her. Piper fidgets nervously in the waiting room for a minute or two, then, after being assured by the vulpine nurse that April looks all right, but it'll be a little while before the doctor can see her to be sure, he slips onto the street for a breath of fresh air.

A soft melody trickles out from the Gallah's pipes as he strolls idly down the streets, unsure of where he's going exactly. His song is a bit sad, its tune borrowed from bits of Creensong he's heard whenever the Creen is searching for something or has lost someone. ( I hope Mam'selle April's father will be all right, but I wish I knew what I could do to help. Mam'selle April did not like Torn-Ear very much, and I do not know if calling in another gang to help me will truly solve the problem. The Temple seems to make them equally as nervous. )

The street Piper wanders down is still and dark, almost silent save for his footsteps and music. The querulous chirp of a distant Creen responds once to his piping, but is not heard from again as the Gallisian meanders through the Crafter's Quarter.

Piper pauses in his stride as he plays, ears perking at the call. After he does not hear the call again he resumes his stroll and his melody. ( I should probably wait until I hear word on April's father. Perhaps with her permission, I could speak to Misseur Torn-Ear. )

As he rounds a corner in his stroll, Piper hears another chirp answer his pipes, then a familiar sound of "Kah-see?" emerges from a second-floor window of a nearby building. A Zelak guard on patrol pauses to watch the Gallah with unblinking multi-faceted eyes.

"Bonsoir, Mam'selle Belle! It is good to hear your lovely voice this evening," Piper barks up to the window, and then shrinks down as he notices the Zelak. "Je suis desole, Misseur. I was just saying hello to a friend."

The Zelak's expressionless face does not alter, either at Piper's barking or at his abashed explanation. It continues to regard the dog for a few more minutes, than nods its head once and resumes its patrol.

The Gallah lets out a sigh of relief as the Zelak leaves, and smiles back up to the window. He takes a moment in his wanderings to play a quick little song for the Creen, a happy serenade for a lady and a friend.

The Creen's cheery chirps intersperse with Piper's music. Belle seems quite happy in her new home, from the sound of it, but pleased to hear from her former caretaker. A strolling couple stops to listen to the Gallah's playing, as well, and the woman whispers to her friend, then throws a few shekels to his feet before giggling and walking on.

Piper finally finishes his tune and stoops to pick up the shekels. "I wonder if I have missed my calling. Perhaps I should have been a street musician instead … although hearing all of the stories about the poor fop fox, I think that chasing vermites down sewers is better for my health." He pockets the coins, salutes the window and resumes his stroll.

The evening wears on, until the tolling from a distant clocktower indicates that Piper has been wandering for over half an hour, making him wonder if the hospice might be through with April's examination by now.

The Gallah's tail wags, much refreshed by his walk and invigorated by the cool night air. He tucks his pipes back into his belt and then spins around on his heel, breaking into a full run back towards Roho's.

The Gallah skids to a halt at the door to the hospital, poking his head in with tongue lolling from the run, in time to hear a meek, "Yes, Doctor," from April. Kassie, straightening up in preparation for leaving for the night, turns at his arrival to smile. "Almost done," she mouths silently.

Piper nods to Kassie and winks, taking the time to catch his breath again while April finishes up.

The raccoon emerges from the treatment room, looking a good deal calmer and more presentable than when she'd arrived. She smoothes down the front of her skirt, then smiles hesitantly at Piper. "They say I'm fine, too," she tells him. "Just a little bruised and shaken. Let's … let's go back and get the Black Rock cleaned up, ok?"

"All right, Mam'selle. We can also get some dinner on the walk home. I have come into a few spare shekels this evening." He grins, takes the raccoon's arm and starts back towards home.