<b>Streets of Auxcora City</b><br/><br/>The crowded streets of Auxcora were so very different from the vast halls of her castle, or indeed, most noble estates she had come across. Among the lords and ladies, decorum and order were key to a good home, and Kalina did her best to uphold that image. In those places, she found her joy from playing with the nobility, discussing deals and partnerships with carrots of property or trade or common interests - at times, common enemies, such as certain matriarchs who had beaten down their pride. Sometimes she enjoyed playing with them in less formal contexts, or their servants.<br/><br/>But sometimes she needed a break from all that political babbling, and the rough, civilian streets of Auxcora fit that bill. People spoke as they felt, dressed as they could afford, scrapped from worn rags, torn cloaks, and at times clothes polished up to imitate more formal attire, even if the differences were glaring. Just like with the nobility, Kalina dressed for the occasion, donning a modest white commoner's dress, complete with a frilly white bonnet that hid her hair. For the most part, it worked - she was as common as common could be, smiling politely at passersby, making small talk with the local merchants, watching for anything interesting she could take advantage of.<br/><br/>She paused in her step, looking behind. Something was different, alright.<br/><br/>Kalina took wider strides, and amidst the commotion of the common crowds, she could just hear two other sets of feet following her pace. She slowed down, and so did they. She turned the corner, peeked around her shoulder.<br/><br/>Two men in raised collars, with gruff faces, the kind of stock hired to rough up a curious cat, a wealthy merchant, or perhaps a little combination of the two in a simple white frock. All they'd need was an alley to do it. And there was plenty of those a few streets ahead, dark and empty of folk that would ask too many questions.<br/><br/>She took wider strides, not hoping to outpace them - she couldn't, not without raising their suspicions, and dresses were harder to run with than patchwork pants - but rather hoping to find something she could use as her salvation, some place to hide away, or where she could find help. She turned the corner of a street and caught sight of the lone carriage. That could be her glimmer of hope.<br/><br/>She reached that carriage panting and catching her breath, rapping on its door urgently and looking through the window with desperation.<br/><br/><br/>((Basil's carriage, in this case!))<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>