Some armored warriors in colored cloaks walk down the street, away from each other, a clearing in the crowd beginning to close in again, now that the show is over.

"Stop! THIEF! Argh! If only I had a crossbow… " A grizzled white wolf with a patch over one eye looks rather disgruntled as he leans out from under the canopy of his booth, watching a colorful Creen that is fluttering away with a slender ivory trinket in its mouth.

"Well? What are you waiting for? CATCH that little monster!" the wolf barks, gesturing in the direction of the fleeing Creen, while he turns toward one of his Savanite slaves. The male cheetah nods, not looking terribly optimistic about his chances, but immediately dashes out from the booth, weaving through the crowd in pursuit of the brightly-colored winged lizard.

A young Savanite girl carefully makes her way through the streets of the Bazaar. She doesn't look entirely comfortable, and keeps glancing around as though fearful of being recognized. But no; with her newly brown eyes, no one should recognize her…

A rainbow-colored Creen flits and flutters from canopy to canopy, carrying an off-white bone-like object in its little mouth. Its spotted pursuer is several booths behind, still trying to figure out which way the creature went next.

Off to one side of the street, a group of armored felines watch the male cheetah's antics with what might be amusement – though it's awfully hard to tell, what with those face-masks, except for the fact that some of their number of laughing and jeering. By the voices, it would seem the warriors are female, and probably rather young for their station. The cheetah pays them no notice, desperate to come back to his master with something other than empty hands.

Kaela wanders through the streets, looking through the different stalls until she happens upon the rather frantic-looking cheetah.

The male cheetah pauses at one of the stalls, as much to catch his breath after a mad dash as to spy the Creen. Under normal conditions, finding a rainbow-colored Creen would be easy, given how bright its plumage is … but then, this is the Bazaar, in mid-day. Wearing bright colors in a rainbow scheme qualifies as camouflage here.

Kaela pads over to the cheetah curiously. She signs, "What's wrong?"

The cheetah at first – probably reflexively – flashes a "Can't you see I'm busy?" look, but then his ears drop a bit, and he signs, "I am chasing after a little thief, but the Creen has wings and I have none. I may as well chase the wind."

Kaela nods sympathetically, and briefly casts around for anything that could be used to attract the Creen… millet or something…

There are many booths with edibles – but this is not the first winged (or otherwise) pest that has come through here, and none of it is left out in the open. By Bazaar standards, "Honest Makah" would probably get no sympathy from his neighbors, for being so careless in the first place.

"Try flapping your arms REAL FAST!" one of the armored felines jeers. There are four of them, with armor of white, and trim and cloaks of magenta.

The Creen, meanwhile, has alighted onto a canopy that looks to be dyed in all the colors of the rainbow, though it has faded greatly (and worn a few holes) in many places. The Creen would easily blend in, except that the ivory trinket in its mouth reflects the light just right, making a shiny spot where it perches and watches, almost as if it might be disappointed that the cheetah is not still pursuing.

Kaela ignores the felines, and quickly makes her way over to a booth selling something she expects that the Creen might like… rice or grains or small nuts of some sort… and removes a very small coin from a pocket to pay for a handful or two.

The vendor grins and gives Kaela a sample of the grain … and even a little extra. Maybe he's a sucker for cute kittens, even spotted ones. (But then, he has a pretty comfortable profit margin… )

Kaela gives the vendor a quick smile before hurrying back to that frantic-looking cheetah. Casting him what she hopes is a reassuring smile, she holds a pawful of grain up over her head, in the hopes that the Creen might see it amidst the rest of the crowd…

The Creen watches Kaela for a while, mouthing the ivory doohicky. But it doesn't taste all that great, and it knows well what GRAIN tastes like. *PLOP* It drops the bauble on the canopy and flutters into the air. A colorful flash zooms toward Kaela's upraised hand.

Kaela nudges the cheetah with her free hand and points him towards the canopy (as though he really needed to be prodded to go and fetch the bauble), and waits for the Creen to arrive.

*flapflapflap* The Creen slows. Without landing, it darts its head downward, snatching at the grains and munching on them, while making a pass … then circling and coming in for another run!

The cheetah works over toward the booth, on the fringe of the section of the Bazaar sometimes known as "Little Babel", where Eeee specialty candies are being hawked. He looks at a bit of a loss as to how to climb the booth without causing a disaster, in order to reach the top of the canopy. He looks about for a likely stepping-stool or the equivalent.

The Creen comes in for another pass, but instead of hovering briefly over Kaela's hand … it alights on her head! From this new perch, the Creen leisurely cranes its neck over to nibble from the spotted kit's hand.

Kaela grins a bit at the situation, and lowers her hand enough so that the Creen can't quite reach the grain from her head, in hopes of coaxing it down a bit lower. Like onto her shoulder or arm, or somewhere less comic than her head.

The Creen stubbornly tries to reach the hand from the top of Kaela's head, rearranging several hairs in the process, but even with its neck as stiff as a rail, it can't reach – and as stubborn as it is, its ever-empty belly takes command. With a flutter and a hop, it moves over to Kaela's forearm, wrapping its long tail around her arm for an added anchor, while its two little claws tickle as they hold onto Kaela's spotted arm-fur.

Kaela smiles at the Creen, and moves the grain within easy reach, doing her best to give the little thing a stable perch.

There are a few squeaks and exclamations from the direction of the booth which the Creen had formerly been perched on.

Kaela glances over towards the booth, sighing a bit. Now what?

The male cheetah is hanging precariously onto one of the wooden supporting poles at an end of the canopy. He's reached the top, to his credit, but as he's tried to lean over the canopy to reach the bauble, he seems to have gotten himself into a fix. (How he managed to get up so far without attracting attention before is probably reason for wonder, except for all the distractions the Bazaar manages to provide regardless.)

Kaela sighs a bit, padding over in that direction. Honestly. She keeps that grain carefully within range of the Creen, hoping to keep him happy until the bauble is safely retrieved.

The four warrioresses have come over for a better look at the situation. "Can we help?" one of them mews in a facetiously helpful-sounding voice. "Maybe we could chop down the pole… "

Kaela glances up at them. "You can help him down," she signs. Not that they're likely to be much help.

The wooden support creaks a bit. The cheetah at the top of the pole looks fairly nervous right now. Of course, he COULD just slide on back down, probably.

Kaela pads over and gives the cheetah a careful nudge, finding herself to be short on hands with which to sign to him.

The cheetah lets out a startled bark, as the pole sways and creaks a bit. It's not made to hold up cheetahs, after all.

The Creen pauses in its eating for a bit, looking up at the male cheetah with wide and sparkling black eyes. It chirees and croons happily.

The four warrioresses' laughter dies off. One of them says, more seriously and with a touch of officiality, "Come down from there at once!"

Kaela nudges the cheetah some more, and makes definite 'come down' motions with her head, jerking it downwards, towards the ground.

The male cheetah lets out another surprised bark, and the wood splinters a bit, as he slides down the pole, landing with a THUMP on the ground. Ouch.

A raccoon in a droopy mage's robe trundles onto the scene. There's a caramel apple stuck to his back, but he hasn't noticed it yet.

The Creen's neck bobs about, its little tongue flitting out into the air. It lets out a cheerful chirrup, and then flaps into the air.

Fenter says, "Ack! It's another of those Nagabirds!" He pulls his hat down up his head just a bit tighter. "I hear those things make nests in your ears if you're not careful."

The warrioresses look at each other, then back at the unceremoniously-dropped cheetah, and seem to lose interest in the male slave's predicament. They mill around for only a moment, then march away from the booth, toward another warrioress in similar (but more ornately decorated) attire who has appeared on the opposite side of the street.

Fenter peers down the street, "I hope that's not the rose lady from last time."

The Creen flaps over to Fenter … and perches on his hat. Hmm. Haven't we seen this before?

The raccoon blinks? "Gee… my hat's suddenly gotten awfully heavy all of the sudden… " He reaches up to scratch the top of his head.

A little Creen face peeks into Fenter's, chirruping cheerfully … and then darts away. The serpentine neck instead coils down Fenter's back, so that the Creen can nibble at the sticky confection affixed to his back.

The Creen chirrs contentedly as it gets a scritching from the raccoon.

Fenter says, "AIEEEEEEE!!! Rabies! Cootles! AIEEE!" He begins hopping from foot to foot. "Don't bite me mister Nagabird! I can point you to lots of college professors that taste much better than I do! Honest!"

The Creen's wings flap about in a frenzy, threatening to lift off with the raccoon's cap (which the little winged lizard is clutching in its two claws). It crees and trills in such a way that makes it hard to tell whether the creature is alarmed or bemused.

Kaela peers up at the spot of the cloth overhang where that little off-white bauble has become stuck… And glances around for a pole or a long stick or something…

Fenter says, "I heard it make crunching noises! It's eating me! AAAHHH!!! I'm too old to die young!"

A long bamboo-like stick lies nearby, on the ground, a tattered and muddied streamer still tied to one end, probably once part of some festive display, but broken off and now just one with the street debris that only gets cleared out on rare occasion.

Fenter spies Kaela. "Oh little spotty girl… could you please remove this thing from my head?" He bends forward to put the Creen in closer range… and also shows off the candy apple stuck to his back that the Creen has taken an interest in.

Kaela sighs a little bit at Fenter. She stoops to retrieve the stick, then pads over and quietly removes the candy apple from Fenter's back, holding it up to offer to the Creen.

The Creen squeals and then pounces on the apple … which is, incidentally, a bit too large for the creature to possibly be able to consume in one sitting, or to carry off, for that matter. But it cheerfully gets sticky sweet goop all over its mouth and claws and half of its serpentine body.

Fenter blinks? "Now how did that get there?" He pats at his hat as the Creen departs. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou, my child. Is there anything I can do in return? Get you a pet lizard or somesuch? I hear little ones like lizards… "

Kaela shakes her head at Fenter slightly, giving him a long-suffering smile, then turns and makes her way back to that rooftop bauble. She attempts to prod it a bit from beneath, using the stick.

An Eeee vendor gives Kaela a dubious look, but he has his hands and wings full with customers. It isn't all that hard to find where the object rests on the canopy, thanks to a conspicuous depression in the cloth caused by the trinket's weight.

Fenter shuffles around to stand underneath the tarp along with Kaela. "What happened?" He signs, "Did you lose a toy up there? I had someone throw one of my favorite hats up on the university roof once."

Kaela sighs a bit, wondering why she didn't bring Icelight along… This is undoubtedly exactly the sort of thing that he wanted to see. Prodding with the stick, she tries to push the little bauble over to one edge of the tarp.

The bamboo stick snaps … but there's still enough length left to be able to reach the depression. With a bit more work, eventually the trinket is worked to the edge. Just another push and it should pop over the edge.

Fenter, being the helpful sort that he is, goes to one of the support poles and gives it a good swift kick with his foot.

The support pole scoots in a few inches, but nothing disastrous happens, thankfully.

Fenter says, "YEOWCH!"

Kaela gives the older cheetah a quick smile, gesturing to him to be ready to catch the thing as it falls. With that, she gives the trinket one more push over the edge.

The supporting tie-downs keep a taut grip on the canopy, though they aren't stationed out quite as far as would work best, for fear of tripping passersby.

The male slave catches the ivory bauble as it hurtles over the edge, and lets out an audible sigh of relief.

Fenter hops backwards on one foot, which causes him to crash into the main support pole in the center of the tent.

Kaela smiles up at the older slave quickly, then, with a backwards glance at Fenter, wisely moves out from under the tent. ;)

The Eeee vendor notices belatedly as the canopy starts dropping down on him. "EEEEEEEEEEE!" So THAT'S how they got their name…

As the supporting pressure of the central pole is lost, the other poles slide out of their positions. (After all, one can't really dig post holes in the street easily.) Even though the tie-downs still hold, they do no good as the whole tent and booth collapses, trapping a few bats and knocking over boxes and other containers filled with Eeee munchies – some of it still live and of the insectoid variety.

A bump under the canopy that's vaguely in the same spot Fenter was starts to wiggle around, trying to find the edge. "It's gotten all dark in here! I can't see a- *OOF*… oh, sorry ma'am, er… I mean sir."

A stream of little wiggly crawly bugs issues out from underneath the canopy. Several non-Eeee Bazaar-goers shriek and make haste to vacate the premises.

Kaela tugs the older Savanite along, back towards the tent of his master.

The slave only gawks for a moment, before being returned to his senses by Kaela's urging. He needs no further encouragement, and hastily trots along with Kaela, away from the disaster in progress.

Fenter says, "Hey! Stop tickling me! All of you!" he slowly emerges from under the tarp, covered in bugs.

Kaela slowly makes her way back, doing her best to ignore the noisy raccoon behind them. Maybe nobody'll order them to help clean up…

Fenter starts brushing himself off, then he realizes that the things he's brushing off are climbing up onto his hand and crawling around. Fenter decides to do what any heroic, self-respecting raccoon would do in his situation…

The Rath'ani's eyes roll back into his head and he passes out cold in the middle of the street. (Woe to the poor bugs on the side of him that hit the ground… )

A multitude of helpless bugs make crunching and squishing noises as they meet their fates underneath Fenter's backside. Oh well. They were only fated to be lunch for some Eeee patrons, anyway.

Fenter mumbles a bunch of nonsense in his comatose state. Something about the laundry bill, it sounds like…

Kaela's companion hastily returns to Makah's booth, proudly displaying the recovered ivory knick-knack. Its purpose is not immediately evident, though it is nicely carved.

Makah looks faintly surprised for an instant as he sees the returned item. He snatches it away and puts it back with the other baubles, without so much as a word of congratulations or thanks.

Kaela watches the Savanite and Makah from a few feet away. She casts a slight smile at the older Savanite.

Kaela briefly ponders whether to tell Icelight about this. He'd never believe her, of course, but…

Fenter slowly comes to and peels himself up from the street. He shakily gets to his feet and pats himself down. His hand comes into contact with what was probably a bug at one tome… and he quickly decides not to touch the back of his robe again for awhile.

The male slave doesn't look the least bit disappointed by Makah's reaction. Rather, he lets out a sigh of relief, then turns to see Kaela, and gives her a smile and a flick of his tail-tip in acknowledgment.

Fenter peers at the fallen tent, and decides that he should probably be going home now… before the rose lady comes back.

Kaela smiles back at him before turning and wandering off to resume her errand…

There's a cheerful chirrup, and a colorful flash … as a winged lizard creature alights on Kaela's shoulder. "Chirr!"

Fenter quietly wanders off in the direction of the mages' college. Every so often he'll pause and wipe his back off on one of the tents, leaving a smeary trail to mark the direction he's travelling in.

Kaela looks over at the Creen quickly, blinking in surprise. She holds her hands up so that the Creen can see them. Look; I don't have any more food for you.

The Creen, a perpetual 'smile' on its face, still cheerfully chirrs and stays perched on Kaela's shoulder, with no sign of any intention to flutter away for a lack of food. (It's probably had its fill and then some anyway.)

Kaela smiles at the Creen tentatively for a moment before reaching to scritch at the top of its head. Okay. With a Creen attached to her shoulder, maybe Icelight will believe her, after all.