<div align="center">Arania  (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=88715.msg3885645#msg3885645)<br/></div><br/>"Who goes there !" the guards near the wall called out one frosty night.<br/><strong>"A ... merchant"</strong>a feminine subdued voice answered from under a thick green cloak<br/>"Centauress ? Long way from where all of you roam, I thought you stayed together running in herds and avoided towns like plagues"<br/>Arania moved close and soon both were looking very confused<br/>"She ain't no centaur ! those are high-boots not hoofs !"<br/><strong>"No they are not <em>hooves</em>, as I am no centauress"</strong><br/>"Cheeky one huh ? Attitude huh ? Your trying to move another underneath you pretending to be one ! what sort of<em>fools </em>do you think we are ?!"<br/><strong>"Please I can pay the toll I am not doing anything I was ... born this way its not make a scene"<br/></strong><br/>"blah!" The gaurds roughly ripped back Arania's cloack which covered her hindlegs and removed it like one would a sheet.<br/>"Holy Gods ! Its part of her ! wait she is trying to smuggle something undernearth ! look at that bulge there."<br/><strong><br/>"Please guards I can pay tripple toll, please let me through I beg you It is me and clothing, my purse my bow and that's all"</strong><br/>"I think we will take your bow look at your ears your an elf alright freaky but elvish blood in you for sure I know your good at it"<br/>"We will have all your purse if we find you carrying something that shouldnt be long whatever you are !" The guards moved quickly and sort to remove the clothes about Arania's hing legs<br/><strong>"If you MUST do so can we do so someplace else without so many looking?" </strong>By now a small makeshift crowd had appeared, all interested in what had the guards so rattled<br/>"I don't think so girly elf-thing whatever you are" One gruff guard boomed while the other leveled a sword under her chin "Move and your throats slit got that ?"<br/>Arania pursed her lips and closed her eyes while the other roughly removed all her rear garmets.<br/>"This has to be some joke ! She has an undercarridge of an endowed<span class="bbc_u">Stallion </span>! look !" The other guard removed the sword from Arania's neck and whipped out a dagger to do so more personally.<br/>"What you playing at witch??" the man snarled his face pressed almost against hers.<br/><strong>"I am no witch" </strong>Arania answered softly.<br/>"And this surely cant be real ... oh ... lords ! it is !" One of the guards had pulled on a part of it and released it the moment its flesh felt real "Its a horses ? Cursed to have a horses thing ?" the crowd gathered closer to see.<br/><strong>"No its always been part of me .. do you <span class="bbc_u">mind </span>?" </strong>Arania moved her legs as horses would when nervous but it didnt help.<br/>Rumours of disbelief from the crowd followed<br/>"Sure it aint real !" the other guard then felt also but didnt remove his hand when the feel of flesh returning met his prying hands instead it seemed to encourage him to check other parts ...Then Arania felt another set of hands and another and another there and still that knife was at her throat.<br/>The crowd had closed in and was amazed - as if in a dream many had reached to check themselves only to gasp "OOhs and Arrghs" and "oh mys", after doing so. "she must be that daughter of that highpirest ! What did they call her Arania ?" rippled from the crowd and still different hands confirmed what their eyes couldn't initially believe. The crowd seemed to have grown into a throng.<br/>"WHats going on here ! no blocking the city gates !" A higher ranked guard came bustling into the scene. After a few minutes of being shocked and touching himself his mind finally came to.<br/>"Um Guards ! What is the meaning of this ! We have seen strange kinds of others before this is no way to treat merchants wishing to do business here. If we have reputation for this none will then we would all starve ! Remove that knife immediately !"<br/>The guard with the knife at Arania's throught obeyed and slunk away from the scene, his other guard friend turned to his Sergent. "IM sorry Sergent I thought she was smuggling another then something ... "<br/>"Well she wasn't so let her through !"<br/>"Yes Sergent !"<br/>With threats and terse words the sergent dissipated the crowd busy talking to each other of the even as Arania replaced her clothes as best she could.<br/>"Are you indeed Arania ? The daughter of the highpriest ? That one who ..."<br/><strong>"Yes sergeant I am"</strong><br/>"Well I um... then your um free to um ... "<br/><strong>"Here is the toll"</strong>Arania said trying to stay dignified while offering a coin to the man.<br/>"Um considering what happened if you don't make a complaint about us guards um keep it, we dont want any trouble they were just trying to do their job and got ... "<br/><strong>"A little carried away?"</strong>Arania was too tired to put much sarcasm into it.<br/>"Yes exactly !"<br/><strong>"Very well sergent, I do feel a little unsettled by this welcome, is there a place I can rest perhaps have a drink .. "</strong><br/>"Well actually there is ! its a place called Tiffany's ... "<br/><br/><div align="center">*<br/></div><br/>Minutes later Arania entered the strange lobby and was impressed, still flushed from the scene she took a while to close her eyes to simply breath deeply.