It's just after lunch hour at Snowshoe's, generally the busiest time of day at the mom'n'pop restaurant. As the last Rhian patron tips his cap respectfully at one of the proprietors and heads out, it's evident there's work to be done. Dishes to gather, flagstones to scrub, a fire to rekindle, and in general, messes to clean up. The cozy grille is no Missing Shekel, by any means. The furniture generally stays intact, and Pugsley keeps the body count non-existent, but customers will be customers. Lapi bussers of varying ages busily mill around, cleaning up, and the husband and wife owners are busy behind the bar and in the kitchen, making ready for the dinner crowd.

A pure white female Lapi dons her fabricated, sweet-and-innocent-looking smile as the Rhian leaves, waving back to him as he leaves. After he shuffles out the door, however, the look melts to one of annoyance. With a sigh, the rabbit walks over to the bar, dodging her various brothers, and starts to wipe down the top. "Why do I always have to clean this nasty thing? I'm not the one drinking off it."

"Aw, come off it, Anisa!" complains another, slightly younger Lapi. He struggles with moving a barrel toward the kitchen, the front of his tunic soaked quite thoroughly with water. "You could probably move the wash-water barrels out better than me, but Mom's always makin' ME do it! Just 'cause you're a girl, I bet."

Anisa scowls at her little brother, "Stow it, Royce. At least you don't have to deal with the customers!" She gives a look of discomfort, and readjusts her bodice, "and you also don't have to wear one of these accursed tight things. It pinches!" She gives another sigh, and goes back to scrubbing the bar.

An even younger Lapi, this one sweeping up scraps of dropped lettuce, calls over his shoulder, "Da-a-a-d! 'Nisa's in one of her moods again!" The staff door behind the bar swings open, and another Lapi, nicely dressed, and gray around the whiskers but still quite vital, ambles out. He gives the younger Lapi a stern look, wiping his hands with a washrag. "Now, now, Ranit. It's not nice to be a squeaking eep." He puts the rag down, a jovial smile coming to his face. "It does my heart good to see things running as well as they are like this."

"I am not in a mood!" Anisa retorts to Ranit, "I'm just ready to get home." She finishes wiping down the bar, and starts on the trays, dunking her rag in a little bucket of water from time to time. "Dad, where's Benjamin? He was supposed to help me with the laundry after I'm done here."

Royce just grumbles, and manages to haul the wash-barrel out, soaking himself quite thoroughly as he goes.

The brown, distinguished-looking Lapi rubs his whiskers. "I'm not sure, Anisa." He turns toward the staff door again. "Dear?" he calls. "Have you seen Benjamin?"

A matronly voice replies from behind the door, amidst the sounds of a busy kitchen. "I sent him to the market with five shekels for more radishes! Isn't he back yet?"

Anisa puts her paws on her hips, "No, he's not back, and I'm not going to wash all those tablecloths by myself!" She picks up another tray and starts on it, a sour look on her face.

"Temper, Anisa," warns her father, wagging his index finger at her. His expression softens however, and he looks over his shoulder before leaning across the bar. "Tell you what, pumpkin. Why don't you go see what's keeping Ben, eh? The bar-top doesn't look as messy as usual, and your mother will want to know where her radishes are. It's not like the market is that far away."

The white rabbit grimaces; going out in the crowded market isn't much better than wiping down the restaurant, but it is a chance to get out for a bit. "Okay Daddy, I'll go look for him." She puts her rag down, temper visibly calmed (her dad always knows the words), and gives her father a peck on the cheek. "I'll be back in a little bit!" No sooner is she done with the sentence than she is out the door and off to the market, happy to be away from work for a while.

Abram barely has a chance to say, "There's a good girl. Oh, and don't stop anywhere on your way b – " The door closing behind Anisa cuts him off quite abruptly, and the darkened confines of the pub give way to a bright spring day. Rephidim's self-contained weather system seems to be in a good mood today, and without a threat of rain, citizens are out in force. The hubbub of the market nearby is lively, if sometimes confrontational in its constant echoes of 'buy, buy, buy!'

Anisa walks down the market's street, peering this way and that for her youngest brother as she makes her way to the produce stand the family frequents. She has to fight to keep her eyes off the various clothing shops and trinket booths, so as not to take too much time. Even Abram has his limits. Readjusting her barmaid's outfit once again, she looks terribly uncomfortable. "Benjamin! Where are you?"

There's no sign of Anisa's salt-and-pepper sibling, but farther into the market, vegetable vendor carts start popping up, many of them paying special attention to Anisa over the carnivorous shoppers. A Rhian proudly holds up a twine sack of kyootcumbers, saying, "Freshest and hottest in Rephidim! My produce makes for the finest chilies!" A group of Kavi around a cart vie for Anisa's attention, directing it toward ripe fruit. One starry-eyed Kavi in particular proffers a polished apple. "Mine's the best quality to be found! Please, try one! Free of charge, I know you'll be back!"

Anisa snatches up the apple, and takes a bite. "Thanks," she says as she walks off, otherwise ignoring the vendors. They think she's going to buy food after having to work around it all day? She barely notices that the Kavi that gives her the apple looks familiar, maybe he's been following her? He seems rather taken by the white bunny. "Not quite," she mutters to herself, after swallowing the first bite. "Ben? C'mon!" She calls out.

Farther yet into the market, and Anisa finally reaches the radish cart, tended by a chubby Skeek vendor. Perched on a stool, he seems quite busy counting out change, radishes, and customers, but apparently he's practiced enough to look up from time to time and talk. Spying the Lapi, he says, "Anisa! What're you doing out here?"

The rabbit waves to the radish vendor as she comes near. "Have you seen my little brother? Mother sent him out here a while ago to buy some radishes, but now it's past the lunch rush and he's not back yet." She sighs in frustration.

The Skeek shrugs in the middle of filling a small bag with radishes for an impatient Skreek standing nearby. "I thought I saw him run past with some of his friends… They were playing one of their games, I guess. Ben was chasing these other kids, who were waving a coin around and laughing. Honestly, you shouldn't let him play with those little ruffians. I've seen them around before, and they're hooligans, every one of them. Anyway, they ran down Yardarm Street."

"Friends?" Realization dawns on Anisa, "Oh, great!" She throws her arms down to her sides, her fists clenched in anger and her head looking skyward. She recomposes briefly, "Thank you. I doubt those were his friends, though." Spinning on her heel, ears visibly red, she quickly starts to make her way to Yardarm Street, wondering what trouble the runt is into this time.

Yardarm isn't quite so busy, being a lesser thoroughfare. Modest shops dot it here and there, along with less developed or previously demolished plots, turned into weedy sandlots. There's a ruckus from one of them, with taunting chants and a familiar voice. "Give it BACK! I mean it!" Scuffle, thud. "Oof!"

Anisa perks her usually hanging ears up (she's not a lop, but gets mistaken for one quite often) to listen to the source of the noise. She hears Ben's squeaky teenage voice, and frowns. The white Lapi starts to run towards the commotion.

The rabbit's lepine legs carry her swiftly to the source of the noise. Amidst the weeds in the lot sits Benjamin, his salt-and-pepper pelt dusted with sand. His ears are flushed and his eyes teary with frustration while around him stand a number of other kids, some bigger, some smaller. Specifically, there's some kind of laughing Gallah mongrel, the largest of them, and apparently the one that pushed Ben over. A gap-toothed Eeee youth sits on the roof of an abandoned building nearby, watching, grinning, and occasionally tossing debris down. A portly Skreek boy is the one doing most of the verbal taunting, and in fact, there's a five-shekel piece between index and thumb of one of his paws. They all look rather scruffy.

"Hey!" Anisa calls out angrily, "Leave him alone right now!" She sprints over to the mob, and tries to get over near her brother, scowling angrily at the mob. "Don't you morons have anything better to do than pick on people?" She spies the shekel, "And I don't think that belongs to you!"

"Geez!" The Skreek looks rather surprised at Anisa's appearance, and exchanges worried glances with his Gallah friend.

"We were just playin' with him," says the Gallah.

"Yeah… and this is so my fiver!" adds the Skreek.

Ben says, "Is not! Mom gave it to me to buy radishes, and you – ow!" Something light bounces off his head, and he looks up to stare daggers at the Eeee on the roof. The Eeee just swings his legs lazily.

The Skreek sticks his tongue out at Ben. "You're just sayin' that 'cause you lost yours, and so now you want mine!"

The white Lapi glares at the Eeee as well, then turns her attention back to the Skreek. "You just keep your paws off him, and give me that shekel right this instant. You know it's not yours."

"Hey!" Another, squawking voice rings out from the abandoned building, and a muscular brown Vartan, probably in his late teens, emerges. A pair of patched breeches and a leather bandolier seem enough clothing for him. The bandolier bears some kind of insignia. It's nothing Anisa can identify specifically, but one which has been seen scratched into lamp-posts and other property in the seamier districts. "You messin' wid my liddle cousin, huh?"

Anisa swivels around to face the Vartan, and blinks in confusion for a moment: where did he come from? Even though the hippogryph is larger than her, she stands her ground. "Only because your 'cousin' was messing with my little brother first!" She puts her angry face back on, and crosses her arms (an uncomfortable posture in an already uncomfortable dress). "Now kindly tell them to give him his money back, and we'll be on our way."

"Cha! You liddle bruvver needa learn t'toughen up! S'way it is 'round here." The Vartan smirks, and tosses his head at the Skreek boy holding the five-shekel coin. "He's my cousin, an' I work forra 'uncle'… you geddit? He's learnin' what he's s'posed ta. Now gedoffa my turf."

The female Lapi just shifts her weight to one leg, tilting her hip in an annoyed posture. "We'll, we're not from around here, and I don't care who you work for! Tell that little brat to give my brother the money back, or else!"

This elicits a laugh from the Vartan, who spreads his wings and beats them for a moment, kicking up some dust. "Or else whatcha gonna do, little pretty? You gonna gedda rag an' polish me ta death? You gonna spit in my grog when you waitin' tables atta Missin' Shekel?"

Anisa's paws ball into fists at her side, and she clenches her jaw tight as her ears turn bright red. "Little pretty? How about I just knock that stupid smile off your face as I ram my fist down your throat?" Her fur stands on end, all frazzled as she glares at the Vartan.

"Huh! You do dat, an' I'll make Oigo give you yer stupid fiver back!" The Vartan punches at air a few times, hopping from foot to foot in a lazy mimicry of an arena fighter. "If you beat me, I say you tough 'nough to teach you liddle bruvver howta hang onta his money from now on! An' mebbe Vykarin will fly too, heh?" The smaller hoodlums snicker at this, looking quite entertained.

Silently fuming, Anisa slowly unties her wait-belt from around her waist, holds it out to one side by two fingers as though it were an annoyed tarantula, and lets it drop to the ground. She then rolls up the sleeves of her dress. "If you want it that way, then let's go!" She continues to keep an unblinking glare on the Vartan.

The Vartan looks rather surprised at this, and his eyes shift back and forth, as though he's uncertain quite what to make of this. The other ruffians look slightly puzzled too, if just at the Vartan's consternation. After a few long moments, the Vartan finally manages to say, "What?"

Ben, in the meantime, scoops up the wait-belt and holds it, looking rather uncertain himself. He wrings the straps nervously, his glance alternating between his sister, and his antagonist.

"I said let's get it on! Or are you just a Rughrat in Vartan's clothing?" Anisa crouches slightly in a fighting position, bringing her fists up in front of her like a boxer. If one didn't know better, they'd think her whole appearance looked comical.

Oigo's whiskers twitch, and he looks at his 'big cousin'. "She ain't even acting like a girl! You kin go 'head an' hit her!"

At this, the Vartan shrugs, and raises his own fists. Though he still looks somewhat dubious, his obvious lack of real concern for anyone else's welfare surfaces. "Okay, liddle bunny. You don't cry so much when it happen, okay? I hate hearin' cryin'."

Anisa just smirks, "Only if you promise to do the same!" The Vartan is indeed an imposing sight, and Anisa is slightly nervous to say the least, but if she can survive twenty one years with six rowdy brothers, she can take one afternoon with a dumb-as-ocks hippogryph. "After you, Madame," she taunts at him.

The Vartan advances, and – annoyed by the jibe – takes the first move. Trotting forward, as if he were merely wandering up to someone, he cocks his right arm back for a hook at Anisa. It's evident the Vartan's swing has some power behind it, but there's no further evidence of any real practice.

The white rabbit ducks down low, and tries to sprint underneath the swing to get behind the Vartan, using her smaller size to her advantage.

The Vartan's clumsy swing might as well be a cargo boom passing overhead. It doesn't even touch the top of Anisa's ears. The Vartan carries his momentum with the blow, making him look the wrong direction to try to keep track of the rabbit.

Anisa, now behind the larger Vartan, spins to face his back, and aims a quick kick-jab to his rear end, connecting with ease. "Look out behind ya! Ha!"

"Awk!" The other combatant stumbles forward a bit, more embarrassed than injured, though his flank twitches with a deep bruise. Clearly angry now, the Vartan abandons any feigned technique and spins on his hoof to face Anisa again, lunging at her with his arms outstretched and beak open.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Vartan has left his stomach and chest completely unguarded, Anisa hunkers down low, aims a series of heavy slugs at the horse-bird's belly, then attempts to roll to the side as he gets too close for comfort.

Thump-thump-thump! They're solid connections, and clearly audible around the sandlot. There's enough time for a one-two combo to the gut, followed by a firm kidney punch. The Vartan barrels past, his hooves kicking to try to stay under him before he falls to his hands and knees, his wings doing little to make the fall less jarring. The Vartan kneels there for a few moments, faced away from the group… then makes a moist 'hrrlgh' noise.

When he speaks again, his voice is thick. "Oigo… give d'kid shekel.""

The Skreek looks incredulous. "But… "

"Givvim d'shekel now!"

That startles him into movement, and he abruptly trots over to Ben, proffering the wire-ridged coin. Benjamin looks at the coin, then back at Anisa.

Anisa, breathing a bit heavy from the fight, stands up straight, and crosses her arms with a nod. "Take it, Ben."

Silently, the young rabbit accepts the coin, and the resentful Skreek backs away, returning to his Gallah chum's side. The Eeee on the roof looks rather sober now, and the Vartan manages to regain his feet, wiping his beak with his forearm.

There's a small, chunky patch in the sand in front of him, and he doesn't turn around when he says, "Now… geddouda here, rabbits. Botha you." With that, he begins walking slowly and somewhat painfully to the ramshackle building he came from.

The white rabbit just gives a small smirk, picking up her wait belt and fastening it back around her waist. "Oh, if you say so. C'mon Ben, let's go." She puts an arm around her little brother's shoulders, and leads him off the lot, wiping a paw at her dress. "Now I'm filthy. Mom's not going to like this!"

No one follows along as Benjamin falls into step, grinning up at his sister enthusiastically, and clutching the coin like it was some sacred trophy. "Are you kidding? He didn't even touch you! I won't tell Mom if you don't, promise! Wow, that was great!"

"Well, I got dirt in my fur," the older rabbit says, fighting a grin, "and that's hard to hide. Next time, try to avoid those guys, okay? Do you realize how hard it is to fight in this get-up?" She motions to her dirt stained dress.

Ben's brow lowers, and his nose wrinkles up. "It's not like I look for those guys. They pick on me whenever they see me … but I bet they stop now. It was just a trip to the market, and I never would have chased them if Oigo hadn't grabbed the fiver out of my hand." He tries to pat some dust off Anisa's dress with a wadded-up handkerchief from his pocket.

"Oh well, at least you're okay." She smiles, and nudges the younger Lapine's cleaning attempts away. "Let's just hurry up and get home before Mom and Dad completely go bonkers. You and I have laundry to do." She leads the duo towards the path back to the Tavern.

Back at Snowshoe's, Anisa's mother fusses predictably enough about how "Your well-being is worth more than five shekels!" and "So is that dress!" Father just looks relieved that things turned out all right, while there's an equal mix of eye-rolling and grinning amongst the brothers. All in all, things quiet back down, as they always do, except for one thing.

"I never did get those radishes."