The Green Dragon Inn - Part 9

[Kransha]

Tobias turned from his leaning to look upon the new commotion. He caught only a glimpse of the fray, watching as an anonymous girl clamored about the room, fell, and got up again. He’d heard the loud and obnoxious voices behind him, so he had a relatively good idea what was going on. He took a brief glance at the newcomer and her oversized foe and relaxed again against the bar. He hoped that the brief chaos and distraction would give him enough time to snatch up some food for himself. He knew that, if caught, he would not be so frowned upon as such a vagabond, considering his status in the Southfarthing.

He pulled off his heavier cloak, which had been tightly wrapped around his sagging shoulders, and neatly folded it into a cloth bundle which he tucked studiously under his arm. He took another impatient breath, sitting down on an aging stool. He laid his hand out on the bar, slowly moving towards a loaf of bread, his fingers practically tip-toeing across the wooden surface. With his free hand, he adjusted his shirt collar and smoothed the wrinkles from his bright green vest ceremoniously, maintaining a façade of dignity. His head leaned sideways, towards the woman.

“Do things like this occur here often?” He whispered out of the corner of his mouth to the innkeeper behind him as he watched the girl and the man. He didn’t hold a very high opinion of such boorish and rude men, such as the one in front of him. Even though she had obviously tried to steal something from him, undignified behavior wasn’t justified by that. It momentarily occurred to Tobias that he was thinking hypocritically, but he ignored the thought and continued inching his hand towards the bread loaf.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 7:56 PM January 26, 2004: Message edited by: Kransha ]