Rynn wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting with the name D'Artagnan, but when the lanky individual appeared before her, she couldn't help but stifle a grin.  Oh my Gods, he reminds me of Erik.  It was further iterated when he started to speak, his methodical, determined attitude.  Just like their younger cousin who seemed to struggle at life itself.  Only, Rynn had to admit, Dart seemed to have himself together.  

"It's a pleasure," Rynn said, but was taken aback when Dart took her hand and kissed it.  She blushed slightly, surprised at the act.  "I, er…yes, we'll follow you."  She wasn't entirely sure what to expect of Dart or really how to interact with him as of yet.  A part of her felt an immediate resonance with the man for his familiarity to her own family, but it was exactly that part of her that immediately wanted to run away in the opposite direction, as fast as she could.  

"Gideon, I think I need to step out for a bit.  Do you think-"  Rynn started to say, but paused.  No.  That's unfair to him.  He may feel the same way as I do.  She tightened her fist, and shook her head.  "No, never mind.  Lead the way."  

Dart lead Gideon and Rynn back into the kitchen area, where he paused and sat down upon a barrel and regarded the pair of them. 

"Y-You t-two aren't f-from here, are you?" he asked, though it came off as more of a statement. "It's f-fine if you are. J-just observing," he commented. "S-So, w-what can you do as far as p-performing is concerned?" he quizzed. "I w-won't lie, I d-do have rather h-h-high standards when it c-comes t-to performers," he added. He looked at them expectantly with his steely grey eyes, but was patient in waiting for a response. 

"Well," Gideon started, "we aren't bards by trade." This made Dart's eyebrows raise slightly. "But… we are short of coin. I can play the lute somewhat, and Rynn here has a decent singing voice. But what we lack in musical talent we can both make up for in storytelling," Gideon insisted. 

Dart looked them up and down. "C-care to d-demonstrate?"  he asked. "Y-you will n-need to be able to perform for people," he said. He picked up a rather worn looking lute from beside the door and offered it to Gideon. Gideon took the well-loved instrument and carefully tuned it before he plucked out a melody. He wasn't half bad at it either, though not the best that Dart had heard by a long shot. 

"You p-play well enough," Dart said with a nod. He looked at Rynn. "What about you?"

Rynn watched Gideon play, and smiled.  It had been a long time since she had seen him do something other than fight or care for others.  It must have been nice to have a moment of relaxation where he let the tune carry him away.  When he was done, Dart commented that his playing was 'well enough.'  Rynn had a mind to tell the man off, but quickly curbed her anger, as Dart turned to her expectantly.  

"I…er…"  She glanced to Gideon.  "Angel's Heart, please?"  Gideon would know what to play.  As the tune started, Rynn cleared her throat.  She was, unexpectedly, nervous, but she knew this tale by heart.  A legend born from their world.  As she started to hum along to the tune, her mind wandered to the tale.

"Oh so long ago, in a world far unknown…" She started…..

The tale, as I remember, was of star crossed lovers.  The angel woman and the human man, as it was told… They met in a forest, and fell madly in love, but the angels of her kind were cruel, and tried to separate them.  A war consumed the angels and the humans, but by the time either side could come to a truce, it was too late.  The angel and the human ran away, to escape.  But it was not meant to be, as the angels captured them, and brought them before their people.  The angels realized that the human had corrupted the woman, and to repent, they were both burned alive.  But, their love was so strong, that each turned into a star, and shot into the sky…though, as it turned out, the human man had a jealous other, whom wanted his heart, and before his star could reach the heavens, it was shattered by the jealous woman, leaving them forever torn apart by fate.

Rynn's voice died down.  She hadn't realized it, but her eyes had been closed the entire time.  She opened them, unsure of what to expect….

He did not interrupt until she was done singing. He didn't say anything right away, but he slowly nodded. "I c-can tell you w-w-were nervous," he said slowly. "B-but you did w-well enough," he said simply before he stood up. 

"I'll p-pay y-you bo-both in advance f-for the night. This w-way you will have t-time and some c-coin to get c-cleaned up and f-find suitable c-clothes to wear," he said as he pressed several coins into both of their hands from a pouch on his hip.

"Please be pre-prepared to perform s-songs and s-stories, if it is requested," he said as he stood up. "There is a b-bath h-house in the back garden. Two b-baths are a-available. I will s-send Bella out t-to find you a clean set of c-clothes for the evening," he insisted before he motioned for them to follow him out into the back garden and showed them to the bath house. 

Rynn let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  But she smiled, and looked to Gideon.  "We did it.  You did it.  I did…."  She started shaking a bit, "I really was nervous.  It's so different than leading others."  She took a shaky, deep breath, and let it out.  "But we did it."  She held out her hand to Gideon.  "Well?  Do you want to go shopping first?  I saw a few good places that might work out for us.  And after that…"

Rynn broke out into a sly smile, "If you want…we can share a nice, warm bath…and you can wash my back."  Her voice had become low, and lustful, as if to tease the poor celestial who was her partner.  "Oh, I'm just kidding.  You know full well both of us can't fit into a normal bath house with out wingspan.  And since I can't put my wings away, you're just out of luck."  

"Anyway, I think I know exactly how to dress you up for tonight,:" Rynn said with a smile.  "My Gideon, a playful bard…."

He squeezed her hand when she offered it. "I don't know if you and I will ever be leaders in this world like we were before," he told her. "So we are going to have to find other ways to survive here," he chuckled. He looked at the coins that Tallow had handed him. It felt nice to be able to buy at least the necessities. "Yeah, let's go get some new clothes," he said with a nod. 

He smirked and raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. He liked the way it sounded. But then, just as quickly, she was taking it away. Yeah, of course he knew that it wasn't going to happen in a normal bath. Not with the wingspan on both of them. He put on a smile, but his irritation showed through it and it became a bit more sarcastic than he would have liked. 

"I am going to regret us taking this job, aren't I?" he asked as they left the inn again and headed back out into the town again to find a clothing shop. "Or are you teasing yet again?" he asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. They wandered a bit looking for a shop, but then found one that would cater to them both. 

"All right, do your worst," Gideon said as he stepped inside and looked at Rynn.

Rynn studied Gideon, this time her eyes catching all of the features she had been intentionally avoiding.  Had they been in a completely different situation, she would have found this a combination of arousing and embarrassing, but instead she motioned for him to turn around slowly.  "Okay.  I think I have a general idea of what we can manage."  She winked, and pulled him through the shop.  Rynn scanned the racks, finally stopping near the back.

"Okay.  Here."  She pulled out a variety of clothes, and shoved them into Gideon's hands.  "Go try these on.  And these.  And this.  Oh, and wear this for a hat.  And…ew, no.  That doesn't go with that…"  Rynn smiled.  "Okay.  Off you go.  I need to find mine.  I'll meet you in the changing room and we'll see how it looks, okay?"  

Rynn took about the same amount of time as she did finding Gideon's outfit, and immediately went to try it on.  As she walked out, she twirled around, showing off an elegant, but functional black skirt and red top, with a leather corset showing off her feminine curves.  "Yes.  Now, Gideon…let's see you!  It should match well, right?"

For once she was looking at him the way he wished she would. His cheeks turned a slight pink since it was rather new. If she had looked at him like this before, she had been very good at hiding it. Honestly, he couldn't recall a time when she ever looked at him even remotely close to that. What was worse is that he wasn't sure of what she had in mind as she decided what he would be wearing and dragged him through the clothing shop and began looking at different clothes that were ready made for the general population. She was swift, like she was delivering decisive strikes on an enemy as she pushed different articles into his arms, talking more to the clothes than she was talking to him. His eyes were wide with uncertainty at some of the articles she was handing him, but didn't think it wise to fight. Frankly, he wasn't sure he would have been able to find something better that would actually fit. 

Then she was shoving him into a changing room and ordering him to change. "If you insist," he said as vanished behind the screen. He pulled off his clothes and donned the articles that Rynn had picked out with great skepticism. It seemed too fancy for his taste. He might have had feathers but he didn't need fancy plumage. As a matter of fact, he had to seal his wings away because these clothes did not accommodate his large white-gold feathered appendages. 

He wasn't sure exactly how long he stood there staring at himself in the mirror before Rynn was calling out to him again, demanding to see how his outfit had turned out. 

"I feel utterly ridiculous," he said flatly before he stepped out from behind the screen. He had never really felt that deep red was his color, but he wore the red shirt to humor Rynn, as well as the leather vest, black pants and boots. He felt restricted and uncomfortable, but he did his best to mask it. 

"If you have any critique, better get it out now," he said with a shrug. 

Rynn crossed her arms, looking GIdeon over hard.  "As much as it doesn't suit our tastes, it's definitely the attire we'll need.  Relax your shoulders," she said as she pushed her hands onto him, massaging his shoulders a bit.  "Relax them, and stop looking so stiff.  There.  Just like that."  She took a step and clapped her hands.  "This dress here, and your outfit…we're meant to stand out in a crowd, be the center of attention.  It mixes near perfectly with the lighting in the inn, as to enhance what the audience sees us as…"  

She grinned.  "I was always helping Sera pick out her outfits.  Uncle Rzek and Aunt Rizka taught me a few things."  She winked.  "Now…go get back into your old clothes.  We'll purchase these, and then head back to the inn."  Another set of commands.

It did not take long for Rynn to undress, and soon she and Gideon made their purchases, and moved back into the streets.  It was already starting to get late into the day.  In order to make their showtime, they would have to get a move on.  "Let's go, then, Gideon.  No time to delay."

Gideon did as she ordered, and tried to relax. Her little massage helped, and deep down he wished she could have devoted a little more time to it. The clap snapped him out of his daze and he gave Rynn a bit of a smile.

"Well, at least one of us learned something from that. I was just as lost then. I know what's practical, not necessarily what looks good," he admitted. She issued more commands, again something she was very good at, and he hopped to do them. She was right, times was ticking. He looked up at the late afternoon sun. It was getting late fast. He wondered if maybe the day was shorter here than it was in other worlds. It sure seemed that way. He spread his wings once outside the shop and took to the sky to cut back on travel time. They were in a rush after all. 

With the new clothes in tow, Gideon rushed through the inn to the bath house that was in the back to get cleaned up. There was a partition separating two halves of a massive ale keg that served as the tubs.There was also a large furnace and pump system where water was being heated for the baths. Gideon stepped into one of the partitions, stripped down, and climbed into the barrel tub. He pulled the rope that held the water funnel up and allowed steaming water to fill the bath. It was hot, but felt fantastic as he scrubbed at his hair, face and body with a rough rag and some soap.