Thief in Distress (Tara)

[Etrius]

Feeling a bit more comfortable now that she had put some clothes on Etrius thought about his situation. Did all kelvics not care about clothes or was it just Tara that was fine without them? He figured that most of them probably traveled in animal form so it was easy to understand being used to a lack of clothes. He noticed that she was looking at him carefully. It was obvious that she didn't trust him, but then again, she didn't run away when she went to get dressed. And he didn't exactly trust her either. He could wake up one day with a slash in his throat like the man she killed. Trust was something he handed out too easily.

He smirked when she asked him if he would be taking her into the city with him, eyeing him like a mouse would eye a trap. "Bounty wasn't exactly on the list but more food would be nice." he said jokingly. He looked up at the night sky, the moon now rising higher. "I just need a new weapon and maybe a cloak. Then I'm out of here." He paused. "What about you? You did say you wanted to see the aftermath. How are you going to go about that?"

[Tara]

”I’m not entirely sure, to be honest.” she muttered. ”But I’ll find a way.“. Then all of a sudden she had an idea. ”Wait here” she said to Etrius, more of a command than a request. If he had left when she came back it was his own fault that would end up without a horse or tent, or any of the things he left behind.

Tara spun round and ran off into the forest without another word. She found the tree that she had sealed her things in and grabbed her bag and her bow and arrows. Then she returned to Etrius. He was still there, which was a good sign. She handed him her things. ”You’re gonna mind these for me, okay?” she said and then turned away without a word. She walked over to where he had lit his fire and took a deep breath. She kneeled down and focused all of her energy into her palm. From there she emitted a misty res which formed into a clear liquid. She poured the water from her hand onto the fire, putting it out. Then she undressed herself again, taking off her shoes and dress. She handed the clothes to Etrius and walked back to the place where the fire once was. A swirl of bright lights engulfed and dissolved her form into them and reforming into one of a silver cat all in the same instant.

When the lights dispersed a small silver cat wearing a necklace was left. She then realized that any guards who had been informed would know of the necklace, so she slipped it off. Once it hit the ground she picked it up and handed it again to Etrius, not giving him much choice on the matter. She returned to the burned out fireplace and rolled in the ash. She spent a good few minutes in there until her fur was dusty black. She was more or less unrecognizable, despite the green eyes but a lot of cats had green eyes so she was good. She got up and trotted over to Etrius, looking at him expectantly. He could get his cloak and weapon and she would be able to sneak into the city under the guards noses while they looked for her. The thought made her feel giddy inside. Her only problem was if Etrius decided he wanted some reward money. She shrugged off the thought. If he showed the slightest interest in doing something like that he’d end up with his body in the woods complete with a slitted throat.

[Etrius]

Etrius raised an eyebrow when she told him to wait. He sat and felt the heat from the fire on his face. Maybe she was running away while she had a chance, maybe she really would come back. She surprised him once again when she came back with a pack of her own and a bow and quiver. She handed them to him telling him to keep an eye on them. Did she already trust him this much? While he stared at her things thinking to himself he felt sudden cold from the direction of his fire. "Hey!" he said, annoyed at her. He stopped himself from saying anything else when she saw that the water she was using to put out the fire was coming from her hand. Reimancy! It looked like she was straining, however. Like it hurt her to use it. Why?

He felt his face turn red as she undressed once more. He shook his head and let out a low growl like sound. If he was going to travel with Tara, he'd have to get used to this. He felt her clothes hit him and saw Tara transform, looking like she had been engulfed in a sea of stars, only to leave a cat in her place. Lastly, the cat handed the necklace to Etrius and began rolling in the ashes of his fire.

Camouflage! he thought with a smile. Tara padded forward and sat down, looking at him. "Clever." he said. "Now you look just like any other mangy alley-cat." Finished teasing her, he took on a more serious tone. "When do we leave? Tomorrow night?"

[Tara]

Tara glared at him mockingly, though the statement had some truth. Tara nodded her head in answer to his question. She wanted to get into Syliras now though, if they went the next day the streets would be too crowded. Then tomorrow they would head out to wherever they chose, or just wander around and end up where they end up.

She wasn’t entirely sure how to communicate now though, as she was only able to speak feline tongue and a bit of snake tongue in this form. Her cat muzzle wouldn’t form the words properly in the same way a human mouth could. She settled for dragging his bag over to him and settling down inside. She would pose as a stray he took in, maybe. It would also provide with a hiding place in case the knights had a dog, or maybe even a kelvic looking for her. They probably didn’t, she wouldn’t really be important enough… Or would she? Tara didn’t know and didn’t want to find out the hard way. Also she had a close range to him, so if he let out any sign of turning on her Tara would kill him and run like her life depended on it. Which it would, to be honest, having committed two murders in the space of 3 days.

[Etrius]

Tara's nod answered his question. He gave a small chuckle as she worked her way into his pack and lay herself down. "Making yourself comfortable?" He watched as his bag rustled then went still. He sighed, picked up Tara's equipment and stowed it in his tent. The fact that she had covered herself in ash now probably meant she was ready to go into the city. Hopefully, the shops he needed to buy from were still open. "So here's the plan." he said to the bag, crouching over it. "You hide out in the pack until we pass the gates. Then you crawl out and head on your merry way while I get my stuff. Meet me back near the gates when you're done you can get back in the bag and we can pass the knights again. Got it?"

The bag shifted then went still, probably in acknowledgement. He knew she would meet him back at the gates. She couldn't run, of course, Etrius would still have her stuff. He turned his head to the ground, eyes closed. Didn't he make a vow to himself? To destroy evil, catch thieves, kill murderers? He carefully picked up the pack and put it on his back. Yes he had made that vow, but something in him was fighting it. Something was telling him that helping Tara was more important than that right now. He smiled and began making his way back toward Syliras, his newfound friend riding on his back.

[Tara]

Tara curled into a ball inside the bag, attempting to get comfortable. She was then picked up and she shifted around inside the bag, unable to settling down. She peeked out the opening and watched as the world moved past her. Etrius had obviously started travelling towards Syliras. When she saw that they were approaching the main gates a thrill of excitement went down Tara’s spine. She ducked down and nestled herself into the bag. The guards stopped Etrius and asked his business, but ended up letting him through. Tara let him walk into the main streets of Syliras before popping her head out of the bag. She squeezed her paw out of the bag as well and pinched him in the neck with her claws. It was not enough to draw blood and probably didn’t hurt too much either. It was simply to get his attention.

He let her down and Tara crawled out. As soon as she was out she dashed into a small alley and concealed herself in the shadows. Her newly black coat gave her good camouflage in the dark streets. Despite the night being as black as midnight, it was not yet late enough that the shops would be closed. Etrius should have enough time to get whatever it was that he needed. She wandered around the cold streets aimlessly, looking for signs that she was being hunted. The streets were not crowded but a few citizens still roamed the streets, though not as much as during the earlier hours. Tara gave a cunning grin as she saw a poster hung up on a wall. She grabbed it down and stared at it. A sketch artist, probably going on the woman’s depiction, had drawn her and written a description. Tara scowled at the image. Tara had not been drawn very accurately, as the woman’s mind had been clouded by the loss of her husband and the brutal way that she had come to discover his body.

Tara could not read the description so she folded up the paper and took it in her mouth. She would get Etrius to read it later, if he had not betrayed her. If he had betrayed her Tara would still be able to get out, somehow, and she would surely get her revenge. She decided she would go and see the house. She walked through the streets for a good while, taking nearly a chime to reach the house. It was surrounded by knights who were scanning the whole area for clues. Tara was filled with an almost joyous feeling. Her work had payed off, perhaps. A small part of her told her to get closer, to see how far she could push her luck. She acted on it in the heat of the moment and drew herself closer to the house. She saw the canine kelvic she had met when she visited the house a couple days ago. It looked up in surprise when it caught Tara’s scent and it’s head snapped to where she hid. It was in it’s hound form, with a large iron collar fixed to it’s neck. Obviously Léoné’s father had never been kind to kelvics. Tara put a paw to her mouth and then to her throat, and obvious threat to the kelvic who had twice been bested by her. She made a quick motion for him to come over to her. He did so warily, his teeth bared.

Tara could not openly communicate with him so she hid to the side when he came closer. He twisted his head back and forth, trying to pinpoint her location when Tara leaped on to his back. In only a few seconds she had her claws to his throat. He let out a strangled whine, not about to let out his location. As co-operative as the kelvic was being Tara could not let another witness go free. She felt a little bad for harming a fellow kelvic but she had to think of herself before she thought of others. One moment the black creature was alive and the next he had flopped to the floor in a bloody, furry heap. His throat had been efficiently slit and the guards would be none the wiser. They would of course realize he was missing and would eventually find his body, but that would not be for a while. Tara of course had to get out and get out fast though. She ran like mad for at least half a chime until she was at the gates. Her eyes were wild and her paws were streaked with blood. She was greeted by a thoroughly surprised and slightly outraged Etrius. Without a sound she slipped into his bag and gave him a sharp gaze. She would explain everything to him later, he just had to get her outside of the gates.

[Etrius]

Etrius walked back towards the gates from the Ironworks, slightly more annoyed than happy. How did a war scythe only cost eighteen gold Mizas but a simple black cloak cost more than fifty? Forget that! He could live without the cloak. He slipped into an alley near the gates, not wanting to call attention to himself by loitering around. The heavy scythe resting on his shoulders didn't make his attempt at stealth any easier though, the blade banging against the wall as he went into the alley producing a loud ringing sound. He froze and crouched down, waiting until he was sure no one was coming to examine the noise. Leaning the scythe against the wall, blade down, he sat down with his back to the same wall and waited.

A few minutes passed. Then half an hour. Then an hour. Etrius grew more and more annoyed with each minute that passed. Didn't she only want to look at the carnage? Surely she wasn't causing even more trouble. Then again, he had never met someone quite like Tara. He still didn't know too much about her, but he knew enough to figure out that she had a taste for danger. He stared at the wall in front of him, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Tara's suddenly sprinting around the corner didn't help his nerves at all, making him jump slightly. Knocking the scythe over and creating another loud thunk. Tara's eyes were wide, with a look of wild excitement in them. Her paws were covered in blood, which made Etrius even more angry. She had chosen the second option; getting into more trouble. He held his pack open in front of him while she crawled in giving him a look with eyes that said Get me out of here. Throwing the pack on his back - with no great amount of care this time - he shouldered his new weapon and headed back towards the gates. So calling her a friend this early may have been an overstatement... more like a charge he would have to take care of.

The guards at the gate simply nodded at him as he passed, noting that he had indeed purchased something as he said he would. "Shyke." He grimaced as he walked along the path. As it turned out, he reckoned, Tara could be more of a hassle than he at first thought. "Then just kill her." Etrius eyes widened in shock. "What?" he whispered. "Just kill her!" the voice came again. "She's a nuisance isn't she? It'll be easy. Just grab her! A quick snap of the neck, a slit of the throat, and you're rid of her!" The voice seemed to come from nowhere, yet everywhere at once. It sounded like several voices melded together, speaking in a loud, high pitched, whisper. The thing that scared Etrius the most was that the voice was coming from inside his own head. He stumbled, all the strength in his body seeming to abandon him. He quickly recovered and continued on his way, remembering the precious cargo in his pack. He couldn't let Tara know anything was wrong. Etrius didn't want to admit it, but he knew that He was back... and He was hungry. "Weakling!" The voice was screaming at him now. "Kill her! I want to taste her blood!"
"No. I can't. She trusts me."
"Trust is a fool's tool!" He said, now growing more forceful. "Do it now!"

Etrius trudged into the camp and fell to his knees and dropped the scythe, clutching his head. A surprised hiss came from the pack which he laid on the ground. Leave me alone. he thought, trying not to alert Tara of his struggle. I don't need you! Get away! Suddenly he felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. He stared at the ground on his hands and knees, then rolled onto his back. Etrius had won this battle, He was gone, but there was no telling when He would come back. Maybe next season, maybe tomorrow. He looked over at Tara who was staring at him with her head tilted. "Sorry. I didn't realize how tired I was 'till now." He hoped that excuse was good enough. He pointed to he blood on her paws. "Now explain." He said, trying to avert her attention away from him.

[Tara]

Tara shook out her fur and looked at Etrius. He seemed more than tired, he looked exhausted. Tara was as well though. She shifted into her human skin with a flash and then sat down, leaning on a tree. Her pale skin was covered in ash and blood and she was short of breath. ”Let’s head to the river first. It’s not far from here” she said, her sensitive ears picking up the rush of water. She walked over to Etrius’ tent and took out her cloak and pulled it around her, shivering a little. She started to make her way into the forest, looking back to make sure Etrius was following. The got to the river within a few bells. The rhythmic splashing noises echoed through the quiet of the night. There she abandoned her cloak and stepped into the water timidly. It was icy cold and sloshed against her skin, covering her with goosebumps. She got used to it after another few bells and settled herself down, the rushing of water washing away the dirt and blood down the river.

Then Tara turned to face Etrius, resting her hands on the bank and letting the river carry her legs. ”There was a kelvic who knew my scent and wanted me dead even more than the knights do” she explained vaguely. She sighed before going into a little bit more detail. ”The old man had a kelvic slave and it wanted revenge so I had to kill it before it killed me”. She rested her head down on her hands and closed her eyes. Then she remembered the poster. Her eyes snapped open and a small grin appeared on her face. She pointed to Etrius’ bag, where she had left it. ”I found my poster, mind reading it for me?” she asked. Tara had never been taught to read or write and had no intention of learning. It was a useless skill to her, when she could always get someone to do it for her on the rare times that she needed it.

[Etrius]

Etrius splashed water on his face. It was freezing. It felt good. He reached into the bag and grabbed the piece of paper. He stared at it for a second unable to discern what it said. His vision was far too blurred. He submerged his face in the stream and felt the cold water flow around his nose, streaming passed his eyes and mouth. He stayed under for a few seconds before surfacing, gasping for air. Looking at the poster again he realized that the moon did not provide the light he needed to read it anyway. Looking at his hand he wondered if it was safe to use reimancy again after his tiring battle with Him. He sighed, closed his eyes, and pushed djed into his arm. He pushed, feeling the flow of energy spread from his torso, through his arm and into his palm. He would only need just enough light to see, not enough to hurt anyone. Forming a small, shimmering ball of liquid res in his palm he ignited the outer layer and held it close to the poster.

"Wanted: female kelvic. Cat. Answers to the name of Tara. Stands at around six feet tall." He snickered. Tara seemed to be a lot of things but tall was not one of them. "White skin, black hair, yellow eyes. Likely to be armed and dangerous. If sighted, please report to the nearest knight." He tossed the poster in her direction and placed the ball of fire in the stream. He fell backwards, spread-eagle. He was so tired, he didn't even think he had the strength to make it back to camp. He felt a sudden chill. He didn't understand it, but he was getting weaker by the second, the cold air combined with his exhaustion playing havoc with his senses. He turned his head toward Tara, remaining silent. He had only known her for less than a day, but it felt like it had been an eternity.

[Tara]

Tara gave a small chuckle as Etrius read out the poster. ”It seems I’ve caused quite a stir” she mused with a grin, thoroughly enjoying the attention even though it was negative. She got out of the river. Her hair was soaked and was plastered to her back. She shook herself off in the same way an animal would and then wrapped her cloak around her. She motioned for Etrius to follow and started to head back to the camp. ”I think we should head off in the morning. I didn’t do a great job at covering up the dog so I need to get out of here pretty quickly” she said, speaking quickly and sneering when she referenced the dead kelvic, twisting the word into a harsh insult. She looked back at Etrius, who looked exhausted. She then continued speaking before he had a chance to get much more than a word in.

”We’re sleeping at your camp unless you want to come into the trees with me” she continued on, showing no signs of changing her mind. Tara was efficient and business-like when it came to escaping a force such as the Syliran knights and would not allow the whims of others to influence her. At the moment she didn’t care whether Etrius trusted her enough or not, even though he had all the reason to. He was now and accessory to murder so the knights could prosecute him just as harshly. She also took the better of his tired state, knowing he would be too weak to put up any sort of a coherent argument. When they reached to camp Tara left it up to him to decide whether he wanted a fire or not. She slipped into his tent and grabbed her bow and arrow and bag. She then left the tent and did her best to climb up the nearest tree. Once she was up she took the knife out of her bag and stuck it into a branch, for easy access. Then, ignoring any message of distrust that may have sent, she leaned back on a branch and murmured ”Goodnight”.


OOCWe should finish this thread up soon and start a new one in the wildlands, when they start journeying. Message me? (PS: Merry Christmas!)