The Hunt for the Shinyhunter

[Gyrfalcon]

The streets of Sigil teemed, as always, with the varied forms of a thousand different worlds and a dozen different planes of existence. Tanar’ri rubbed shoulders with Baatezu in the open market places, exchanging insults and threats freely, and the angels of a dozen upper realms watched both demons and devils in stony silence as they fingered their weapons, but the wrath of the Lady of Pain kept their weapons at their sides, though their claws and hands twitched.

 

Mixed in among and overwhelming these avatars of good and evil in sheer numbers were mortals. Scaled and furred or skin of familiar tone or odd shades, dressed in armor and robes and rags, the populous and visitors to Sigil spoke a million different languages, all at the top of their voices to be heard.

 

“Why are we here again, Valdar?” Kitanue asked over the hubbub, frustrated by the Planewalking elf’s consistent distractions whenever she tried to discover what they were looking for.

 

Valdar looked up at her with big, innocent eyes and she sighed as she instinctively smoothed back his hair. The little planewalker seemed to be roughly six to eight years old, and sometimes it was hard to remember that he had been older.

 

Valdar smiled up at her in response. “We’re looking for a Shiny!” he said brightly, his voice a child’s clear treble, not yet deepened with manhood.

 

Kitanue sighed expressively. “But what shiny, Valdar?” she asked in exasperation, only for the little elf become distracted once more.

 

“Oooo, shiny!” he said, eyes gleaming beneath tousled hair as he pointed at a rust-streaked iron golem striding through the crowd, a messenger’s satchel strapped across its broad chest.

 

“Valdar!” Kitanue snapped, and immediately the child’s attention was on her again, tears beginning to form at the edges of his eyes. The effect was not lost on Kitanue as she felt a surge of guilt that manifested itself as a faint blush. Moderating her tone, she sighed and began walking again, Valdar trotting at her side to keep up. “I just wish you’d tell me what we were looking for so that we could get out of this pesthole...” she murmured as they walked.

 

“A shiny!” Valdar said brightly, causing her to sigh once more.

[YanYanGanaffi]

Cute story.