Mary, meet Todd!

Of course, Todd and Wildfall have already told some great stories together by this point. But this time, we're introducing Mary into the mix.

 
Jarlsboris Wildfall and Mary Katherine found themselves back to back, surrounded by about half a dozen Knob Goblin thugs as well as a larger Gnollish tiretosser, predictably with three tires strung over one shoulder, holding a forth.

The leader- you could tell because his hair was the most greased and slicked back- sneered at Mary K. "I asked you a question, little girl. Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"Gentlemen," Wildfall said, having already hatched a way to sneak out of this. "I'm sure if you just relax, we could try to..."

“Just who do you think you are, calling me a LITTLE girl, you big bully? Not only do you smell bad and have taken a bath in some grease pit, but you are obnoxious and rude and I will knock your block off if you don’t leave us alone and let us pass,” yelled Mary K, fuming at being called a little girl.

"Shut up!" the lead thug yelled. "You sound like my mom!"

With that he rushed at her, drawing a knife as he did. Mary K sidestepped his advance and swung out her leg to trip the thug; he fell face first on to the ground. She sniggered as he fell but made ready for another move if he got up and came at her again. Before she could finish him off, Wildfall slipped behind him, wrapping Wildfall's shillelagh around his neck, and pulled him backwards, dropping him on the back of his head.

Wildfall smiled and winked at her, sounding overly satisfied as he explained. "If you wanna do damage, make 'em end up falling on their back. It's a lot harder for them to use their arms to break the fall. But only if you really wanna hurt 'em bad."

Mary K smiled back and blushed; Wildfall had reminded her of something she'd forgotten. “Thank you for reminding me of what my father told me when he was teaching me to protect myself. I totally was so mad at being called a little girl that I forgot my training. I am going to have to have a refresher course I guess. Want to help me get better at fighting? From the looks of..."

Wildfall pulled her to the side as a couple of thugs tried to rush at her, letting them crash to the ground nearby. "Sure. First lesson, don't let the next fight get in the way of the one you're in."

Wildfall then ushered her to the side, sidestepping the thugs. "Oh, and don't get surrounded. I shoulda mentioned that one first."

“Where did you learn all this sage advice? Did my father train you? If not, you need to be soldiering with him. He needs good men like you on his side then mom would not worry so much when he is away.” Mary K blushed again at having to be told more of the basics that her father had taught her. “I really do need to brush up on my skills and pay more attention to what is being taught. I tend to let my mouth and my temper over ride my training and obviously ..."

"Hey! Idiot!" Another thug called out, obviously feeling braver than smarter. No surprise from a Knob Goblin thug. "We're still here! And I want a fight!"

"Do ya now?" came a voice from nearby, accompanied by a few musical notes. "Or do ya just want to simmer down a bit, listen to some tunes. Enjoy your greasy little selves."

The thug swooned, and turned to see a fox, standing there almost as tall as Wildfall, in a frirly shirt, holding a guitar, which he was strumming. The thugs all answered in unison, "Frilly shirt..."

"Todd!" Wildfall called out. "S'up?!"

"Yeah, that's right. Frilly shirted little fox. Playin his tunes, not gonna hurt anyone." Todd chuckled, always prepared to switch to swinging that axe. He turned his eyes to Wildfall, or to his companion, more likely. "Hey, Wildy. And helllo, my little lovely; it is indeed a pleasure to make YOUR acquaintance!" He winked at her.

"Wow," is all Wildfall could muster up at the moment.

Mary K, not used to such remarks, turned beet red and stammered, “Thank you and nice to meet you as well. How do you know Jarlsy? Or Wildy as you call him. Where did you learn to fight with a guitar? Wow do I have a lot to learn.” She laughed.

Todd moved over to them, playing as he walked, keeping the audience enthralled. "And I would love to be your teacher, my sweet, in so many ways…" He paused his song long enough to kiss her hand. "Perhaps later?"

"Sorry, Todd," Wildfall said, suavely stepping in to take her hand in his. "She'll be busy later, I gotta start training her. And I'm sure you'd be late for your meeting with your girl Lapine. I hear things are going well with you? You said something about marriage last time we talked?"

“You have a girlfriend who you might marry and you are behaving like this with me, why me mum would have your hide and thrash you with Jarlsy’s shillelagh if she found out about your actions.” Mary K fumed. Turning to Wildfall she said, “Thank you, Jarlsy, and yes we need to go home so you can start me training and talk to my parents about getting you a place to stay. I am going to need you close by to protect me from both the thugs of the land and the smooth talkers as well.”

As Wildfall smirked, Todd gave him a quick look that clearly read 'Thanks, buddy' before turning to face Mary. "Wildfall does not understand, I am a vulpin bard. Lapine is...well, a bunny. No further description needed. We love each other, but more importantly we understand each other. It is our way. To do otherwise would just lead to two very unhappy love birds."

"Well," she started to say but Wildfall cut her off.

"Thanks for dealing with the thugs!" Wildfall said. "Good to see ya, old pal. Mary, this is Todd Blackpaws, vulpin bard extraordinaire. He's pretty well known around these parts for his, er, charms. I mean, songs. But he's been a good friend to me in the Kingdom so far."

She started to respond, "I'm.."

"Mary Katherine," Wildfall said, interrupting again. "An old, well a younger friend of mine from Ireaca. I'm sure I mentioned her a lot, right? Call her Mary K, if you want. Just don't call her lil' girl."

"Oh, I'm sure she is no girl." Todd bowed. "I do hope that...Jarlsy is not boring you with the details of past conquests? He can go on a bit." He shot a return smirk at Wildfall.

"Of course not!" Wildfall answered. "And knock it off with the 'Jarlsy' thing, Todd. Er.. I mean.. geez, I don't think I even have a mean nickname for you yet."

Todd just smirked hearing Wildfall fall into his trap calling Mary's own nickname 'mean'. "So, tell me. How many more beauties do you have saved away in that Ireaca of yours?"

"What?" Wildfall said, catching Todd's own little slip. "She isn't enough for ya? Anyway, we're just heading into town. I ran into her on my way. I was gonna give her a hand, but she was doing fine on her own."

"I bet she can handle herself quite nicely." The bard wagged his tail a but. "Going into town? I hear the new Council has something up their finny sleeves."

"The new.." Wildfall started. "I guess I gotta catch up on local events. What're they up to now? Supporting another clan war?"

Mary Kate just watched the two talking, not wanting to interrupt.

"Well… from what I hear through intense horizontal research, the Toot has flown his coop again. Whatever that means." Todd looked perplexed, having never met the being in question.

"The Toot Oriole!" Wildfall said, eyes lighting up with recognition. "I heard rumors the last week about how it's missing. I figured it was bunk. They offering anything good?"

Todd smiled. "Quite good, although are you talking about a reward for the Toot- or what my source was offering?"

"Sorce?" Wildfall rolled his eyes. "You mean that penguin ya play for at the bar?"

"Nope… the barmaid behind it."

“I think it is time we head to town," Mary K said as she grabbed Wildfall by the hand. "I need to pick up some things at the market for mum and it is getting late, Jarlsy.”

Wildfall smiled. Typical headstrong Ireacan girl, alright. "See you in town later, Todd. I'll meet you at your workplace later. See ya in town."

Todd smirked as he split up from the two, going his own way, sure their paths would be crossing again soon enough.

The voter chimed in on the interaction between the three. Todd being flirty and Wildfall being defensive over her. I'm quite happy with how the three interacted. Friendly but there's still a bit of confrontation, which isn't a mix we always see quite enough of in AIL, honestly. Mary Kate/ Wildfall co-writes and Sassy solos dominate roleplaying from here on out. In fact, we're going back to Sassy Snake next.

Voter Ichiro also had a specific line on this one that I wanted to share here. "Mary K acts as a good foil here, lost in the world outside her home." It really makes for some fun reading as we go!