Solace. (Read 423 times)

[AKI]

7th of July, 16:34 - Outskirts of Crocus.

The heat was almost unbearable, and the days were as long as they would come. The wind had almost come to a complete halt, and everything in the surrounding area was gaining in temperature by the second. When looking towards the horizons, the air was visibly moving, making everything at a far-enough distance appear blurry. Everywhere people were wearing light clothing, short skirts or barely anything at all. For Aki, travelling at this time of day was nothing short of a pain in the behind. Having been carried by carriage for the past many miles, their destination had finally been reached. Stepping down from the carriage, a minor market was being held outside Crocus' gates. Supposedly something with celebrating the summer. For Aki, all of these things weren't important. A new employer had requested her services in this part of the world, and as such she had arrived after a long journey. Tugging a grey cloak around herself, it would be almost impossible to recognice the hardened leather armor she was wearing. Aki would need to find a place with shadows. The heat in this much outfit was unbearable.

Trotting across the minor marketplace, moving slowly and always in cover as to not attract the eyes of strangers, Aki was slowly making her way towards the city gates. In her gloved right hand she was carrying parchment. It was a map over the city, and an admittance to enter. From here, she would have to find a lousy inn. Those were usually the best places to lay low As such, Aki had arrived in Crocus. The milky-white eyes scouted the surroundings. For now, getting into cover from the sun took priority. At night, when people were sleeping and the climate more cool, Aki would be taking a look at the place that was going to house her for the next couple of months.

[Fang the Defiler]

HANG THE HEADLESS UPSIDE DOWN TO DRAIN

Crocus in this kind of heat...However, Helot, a being from the furnace of an infernal realm would rather be in scorching summer conditions than the freezing chill of winter or some far off ice cap. He was tried and spent, one hour courting a wealthy woman from the area and then completing a short list of chores that needed to be settled, or in this case, buy supplies for Raven Tail.

His tall frame seemed to stand out in the crowd of bodies around him walking back and forth from the market place, loading their carts with food and frocks as the scurried about their duties. The red head, however, was jst returning from a quick stop to gathering some magical herbs when he spotted a space in the distance. Perhaps she would have blended in with the crowd more if she decided to wear less clothing like many around her were, but that long clock and bulky clothing underneath seemed to steal her away from hidden eyes and place her right in front of his own.

The girl now on his radar and coming towards him, he would straighten to his full height and clear his throat. As he was one of the few around and colored so boldly, the man would stick out like a sore thumb also and expected her to see him and place his voice.

"A cloak on such a hot summer day?" He motioned her impatiently towards the shade as he watched the human.

HIBOU of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[AKI]

There'd have been many responses one could give to such an awkward approach. There'd be so many ways to approach the issue of someone having addressed her, let alone pinpointed her in the crowd. Another reason why Aki didn't appreciate this time of year much. Blending in either required nighttime, or leaving oneself vulnerable by taking off armor. Travelling at night, while more appealing, didn't have many carriages to travel with. Troubles of the season, and as such Aki would have to deal with the issue head on. Or rather, as head on as she could. Raising her head slightly, the milkwhite eyes seemed to have lost their gaze completely. They appeared like a bland piece of paper without any focus. It made Aki appear as if she was blind. Continuing to follow the corners of everything, it could to strangers seem as if she was using the environment to guide her way. The way she was swaying slightly from side to side, it'd be hard to pinpoint that she wasn't actually blind. As such, his question could've been to anyone, and Aki merely continued as if nothing had happened. Crafty, intelligent. Though, she had a sense that shaking off this new follower wouldn't be that easy.

Making a soft turn, Aki who had studied the map somewhat secretly prior to arriving, went towards the entrance to the sewers. If she'd have to deal with nosy pests, it'd best be done away from the eyes of the public. If people, already before her business started to kick in, had gotten their eyes on her, every kind of movement from then on would be almost impossible.. Snorting silently to herself, she could already pinpoint the strangers stereotype. Bold, noisy and straight forward. It was almost Aki's complete opposite. The only thing that she had also noted, was that this guy seemed strong enough to back up most of his attitude. Else, having slipped away would've been childs lay.

[Fang the Defiler]

HANG THE HEADLESS UPSIDE DOWN TO DRAIN

Helot had an eye for detail and while he could be presumably loud, he was more or less trying to get the upper hand in all situations. Traveling by day in such weather seemed ridiculous to the demon and much preferred traveling by night while the sun didn't beat down upon his bad. His mouth, thin and long curled into a beckoning grin. Each teeth molded perfectly with one another in a sharp array of his fangs. Deadly accurate and precise, and had little patience like their master.

Red eyes considered the girl in front of him, the shade of an overhead owning providing some temporary relief towards the individuals as they stopped towards the side of the buildings. The direction of his head slowly tilted, angling those predatory eyes further down until they reached that of the girl's who locked upon them fearlessly.

Still grinning, the action hardly considered friendly, Helot spoke once more. "What brings you to Crocus?" His voice was a steady hiss, each syllable traveling in between parted teeth as he eyed her suspiciously.

For a human, she possessed a small amount of entertainment factor and should it ever dwindle Helot terminated the interaction in whatever way he saw fit.

HIBOU of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[AKI]

The assumption had been absolutely correct. The peers were following her, even into territory that might be disadvantageous for her potential opponent. As she heard his voice again, Aki turned around to face her peer. Holding her view in a straight line, as if she really was blind, Aki drew a deep breath. Raising her head slightly, so that Fang could see her blank white eyes, without reavealing that she was carrying a hood, Aki started to make signs into thin air. Pointing towards her eyes, Aki made a sign that could only be interpreted as no. As if attempting to indicate that she could see nothing..

The second strings of gestures were towards her lips, followed by what could only be interpreted as blabbering again followed by a no indicating that the girl was mute and unable to express herself through words. Pointing in Fangs general direction, while making sure to not point at him directly, Aki shrugged her shoulders. What was this stranger after, and why was he following her so intently? For now, everything was playing out exactly as Ak ihad expected it to. If his senses were as sharp as she was banking on, he'd not find much flaw in her posture or play for the gallery. He'd have to get up close and personal to reveal the trickery she had going on. Up close and personal however, would be exactly where Aki would want him. At that distance she'd be able to finish off almost any enemy within the blink of an eye.. So what would he do?

[Fang the Defiler]

HANG THE HEADLESS UPSIDE DOWN TO DRAIN

A wordless, petty wench was facing him down, her emotionless, expressionless eyes giving the demon a mild taste of bile on his throat. Her inability to keep an expression on her facade was irking Helot to no end, yet her equally irritable attitude managed to give him the drive to keep pressing her, perhaps bait her into attacking him. Entertainment in such a place seemed hard to come by - it was unlucky indeed that Aki had drawn his attention, it was just a shame she wasn't so vocal in expressing her emotions. But even droll characters like Vivien had some sort of pro, hers being she wasn't human, not exactly.

Now Aki, she smelled human, but her scent had some underlying foreign smell to it, as if she had been traveling for days now, that underlying a layer of sweat from journeying in the intense heat. His nose wrinkled, quite displeased. "Well, you're human, there's no debating that - but you stink. Traveling far, are you? I can guess! You won't answer, I get it. I'm almost certain you can't, otherwise, you certainly would have spoken rudely against me moments before..."

He gave a huff, his crimson lined orbs idly following her finger as it pointed in a direction that was generally just leading behind him, continuing down the road. Arms fell softly upon his waist, claws playing with the hem of his pants. "I suppose you want to continue. Then I shall accompany you to wherever you may go." A toothy grin, a smug look. Oh yes, he wanted her to snap at him, but all in due time.

HIBOU of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[AKI]

Aki was just standing there, as expressionless as always. It was troublesome. Pretending to be blind mighht be hard if she was searching for something. Yet, it didn't seem to bother her much at all. In fact, this was the kind of challenge that Aki enjoyed. Showing skill and intent, patience and tolerance. Exactly how was this infant going to ever be capable of competing with someone as experienced as Aki herself? It was a joke.

Pressing her hands against the wall, as if to figure out exactly which wall Aki had arrived to, the girl slowly started to move forwards again, gesturing for Fang to follow. Sliding around a narrow corner, this little pathway was leading towards the housing area, which incidentally was also the place where one could find a place to rest, if you had any money to your name. However, Aki wasn't going that far. Merely sneaking into the darkness, the girl crouched down as soon as she was out of Fang's sight range. The darkness would mask her, and since there wasn't much option for Fang if he wished to follow, she'd have an up-close and personal opening possibility. Like a predator lying in wait, Aki was readying herself to pounce onto the target. If she could tag his head even once, it'd immediately be lights out.

[Fang the Defiler]

HANG THE HEADLESS UPSIDE DOWN TO DRAIN

Her gesture did not go unnoticed by the impatient demon who only now relaxed his arms and allowed them to swing at his sides. His head turned to follow her line of sight, if sight was what she possessed. He wouldn't put it past her cunning if this was all some sort of elaborate set up, a plot to deceive the irritable demon. Too bad he wasn't the right sort of prey. She'd find his chase to be a little 180 degree turn should she decide she wanted to mess with him, but at the same time, this was exactly what he wanted.

He never was so happy to travel down a dark hallway before.

Crooked grin laced with excitement, the demon turned towards the narrowed inlet between the houses, following the girl until her dark shade ran ahead, cloaking herself in darkness behind a corner where she fell out of sight. A more concerned individual would have been more concerned, but Helot merely shrugged and glanced towards the sky. At least the sun wasn't so bright here.

So humoring the girl, the sinister figure would roll into an easy walk, nostrils flaring as her scent wafted through his nostrils. He made no indication of slowing when he rounded the corner, but he had already placed her. A claw drew a deep slash into the tip of his wrist, a crimson liquid winding around his arm before it slithered quietly towards his wrist, forming a solid, filed blade.

His chin snapped in her direction, arm arching quickly towards her scent in the darkness.

HIBOU of BACK TO NEVERLAND

[AKI]

Patience and tolerance was key for someone in Aki's line of business. Simply walking towards him, it appeared as if Aki had simply gone in the wrong direction. Then, as she was feeling her way towards the entrance again, she'd accidentally barely touch Fang's shoulder if he didn't move. Assuming she was allowed, a black mark would errupt on his right shoulder. Invisible to him in the darkness. If not allowed to touch him at all, she'd merely walk past him and continue. Who was to say how long it would take to either create an opening or force the demon to be bored enough to leave her alone? So far, Aki was making it very difficult to find any interest in following her..
Yet the stranger had persisted for so long. Aki was gaining curiousness, and this individual was one she'd be likely to check up on at a later time, assuming he'd let her leave silently at any point in time. Stepping out of the alley, Aki took a right and headed straight for a lurvy inn. It was obviously a place that housed crooks and criminals, and the smell of alchohol was heavy in the air. There also was a light scent of blood, likely from a bar-fight or something of the like.. Why would a young, blind and defenseless girl head towards such a place..?

[Fang the Defiler]

HANG THE HEADLESS UPSIDE DOWN TO DRAIN

Helot brushed forward, a step forward and he was cloaked in the shade of the building, and he swung around after his intended target had managed to slip away. True, he wasn't necessary being as thorough as he usually was, he could have commended the little rat's cunning if it wasn't in the rat's nature. Shoulders arched into the rest of his frame as he quickly shot around, expecting to see an attack approach head on from his flank, but it was only the girl as she brushed by not even leaving a scratch.

A brow shot up questionably, disappointment etched all over his face at the dismal prospects of not obtaining his fair share of entertainment. Needless to say, his hopes had been lifted at her initiation of the chase, but it all depleted. With a dissatisfied grunt he watched her give him the slip once more and as he turned the corner he saw the last remnant of her cloak disappear through the doorway. A bar was an odd place for the girl to go to, but then again maybe she was even now trying to deceive him to have him question himself on her location.

After all, what business would such a female have within that kind of place. Even from the outside he could smell the sweat and disgusting grime of the establishment from previous brawls and failed courtships, all leading to drunken displays of violence. Turning up his nose, Helot would merely wait outside the tavern by the door, giving the girl a few moments to collect herself before he would decided to grace her with his presence.

HIBOU of BACK TO NEVERLAND