Closed Beginning at the End (Lucian)

[Shai]

55th of Fall 514 AV, Afternoon

Clues filtered through a distracted mind, before Shai remembered there was a partner who needed the information too. It would take time for the reclusive spider to remember to share. “Here are the things that I know about what happened. Chell and my cloak were not in my home.” She had checked when she snatched the blanket for him. “I have this feather, I had it before you escaped your bonds.” Delicate fingers pulled the plume from beneath her armor. “Is it yours?”

They were already walking through the Quay grounds together. Something about their new bond had pushed Lucian from horror into action. After this was all said and done, the ashen woman would have a number of questions for her raven. “I can only think that I have the feather because I was tracking the owner. We know that my home is clear, let us try your residence next.” Even if she had been trying to find the Raven that could only answer half the questions. Shai had the feeling that Chell would know more about this. Part of finding him would be traversing the city until she could feel his direction.

Further complicating the whole of this was that she realized Lucian had another home. Of course he did, he had to live somewhere. Shai would need to see if this residence was suitable, if it was safe. What if suddenly she felt his fear and couldn’t get to him in time? The questions were uncomfortable and she had a feeling Chell would want his voice in this conversation.

It would be a long night for the nocturnal thief. She hadn’t been awake for a full day in a long time, but it was fine it would give them time to speak. Though the bond had formed between them they were hardly more than strangers. There would be a time to be tired, later.

Her eyes widened, Shai had forgotten humans and animals ate far more often than Symenestra. “Lucian are you hungry?” It would be a two-fold diversion, they could eat but also search further into the city for a hint of Chell.

[Lucian Hill]

Lucian nodded. He appraised the feather; it was shiny and black, either from the wing of a crow or a raven. The raven didn't quite know whether it was his or not, however - there were blanks in his memory as well as hers. He shrugged and handed the feather back to her. His eyelids fluttered slightly, a testament to his current state.

"I dunno. Might be." The raven scratched his head, his stomach growling again, obviously angry. He was tired, the double shift and running had taken its toll. The exhaustion, however, was no match for his enthusiasm. He decided that he would go to the ends of Mizahar to track down the damn familiar. Lucian stared off into the distance, his mind away from the current conversation for a brief moment.

"I live in the Sunset Quarters, and I'm starving. I think I have some food at my house, though. Castle Commons're closed." He began to lead the way, pushing on despite everything. He stuck to the sides of the roads, walking just casually enough for him to escape notice. However, Shai was a different story - her vivid eyes, elongated limbs, and long black nails would be just noticeable enough to cause trouble. Sunberthians hated foreign races, and widows were the stuff of scary stories told to children. Sticking to the shadows, however, had its benefits, and they managed to move around with litle incident other than the occasional suspicious glance.

It took a bit, though Lucian walked in silence near the widow, to get to the Sunset Quarters. His own apartment was on the second story, up a flight of teetering stairs and in an area decrepit but not particularly so. He had about a day's rations left because of the Castle Commons closing, and he had not kept much food in his house other than that. He climbed up the stairs, beckoning Shai to come with, and walked in.

The house was normal and undisturbed. He bent down and moved a loose plank of wood under the floor, checking on his cache of mizas - it was still intact, as far as he could tell. He dug through his chest, pulling out his own cloak and handing it to the widow. If they were going to get anywhere, she was going to have to hide. It was plain and black, sized for Lucian; plent of room to cover Shai completely if need be. Also from the chest came the final bit of rations, and he ate the entire day's worth in chimes.

Feeling refreshed, his eyes fell to the widow. "Sorry. Didya want any?"

[Shai]

Shai slipped in Lucian’s silhouette as they walked the streets. She was just as aware of her oddness in the daylight, but she was particularly good at remaining unnoticed. With a quick tug on the picks and wrenches her hair fell like a sheet over her features. The lockpicking tools disappeared up her sleeves and the spider watched the ground rather than ahead.

She entered his home without comment but as the house enclosed them, the diminutive lady tossed back her hair to scrutinize the abode. It came as a jolt when another presence joined her mind. Chell was in Lucian’s home.

The Spider settled in a cross-legged sit on the floor while Lucian ate, or more like inhaled. “No Lucian, I cannot eat your food. It would make me sick.” Shai smiled gently, her mind distracted. Somehow finding Chell had only given her more questions.

Chell, where are you? More importantly why was he here, but that could wait. The Irylid silently floated out from beneath the Raven’s bed and landed in Shai’s upturned palm. Chell are you ok? What happened? Why are you here?

His reply was frostier than usual when it finally came, Shai, are you saying you don’t recall last night? Shai shook her head but the familiar offered no further comment. The cloak Lucian offered would do, although it was enormous on her, Shai would need held it up off the ground or it would drag. The Kelvic was a better part of a foot larger than the spider he had bonded to.

Shai held out her hands to give her bondmate a better look at the crystalline ice sphere. “This is Chell.” In the next thought, she added to Chell, This is Lucian, he is with us.

Oh so today we’re friends with him? Does your idiocy know no bounds? Chell replied angrier than ever before since their contracting years ago. After a pause, You don’t recall anything at all? Shai you stole from Tall Johnny’s last night…

Shai went still, but for the heart beating in her chest and the breath on her lips, not a cilia moved. “We have to get it back, this is my fault. I stole from Tall Johnny’s last night.” She relayed the message verbally.

Chell had been making the conscious choice to exclude the other man. The spider would have time to wonder if the Irylid was jealous later. The Irylid vibrated to produced a sound, a voice. “You stole rigged dice Shai but then someone picked your pocket…”

The Spider jumped to her feet, “Oh Gods, we killed Johnny’s thugs.”
.

[Lucian Hill]

The raven shrugged at her mention of being unable to eat the food. He pondered on what they could eat, but the question was pushed to the back of his mind for a less precarious time to ask questions. He carefully replaced the plank hiding his mizas, placing the single miza he had acquired earlier inside the small satchel and sticking his hand in his pocket to check on his other trinkets. They were still safely inside, along with his recovered Night Eyes coin. The raven wondered why he hadn't taken the other coins along with the copper miza, but it was too late for that now regardless.

Lucian jumped back when he saw a strange, crystalline orb float out from underneath his bed. It wasn't there when he checked his cache, but he was suspicious of it, and the further suspicious of his recent bondmate - was this her familiar? It was obviously magic, and he had been raised with a healthy view of distrust and fear around magic. He backed up, still watching the two of them as Shai seemed focused on the strange creature.

The raven stepped forward and peered closely at Chell, eyeing the thing warily. "Magic...what if ya get killed?" His concern had shifted to Shai, now worried that she'd be killed for the thing held out before him. "I don't like it." There was perhaps a tinge of jealousy in his dislike, but he'd manage to suffer through it for the widow.

The message she relayed was surprising, and exceptionally confusing for one who couldn't remember the night before - like him and the widow. His fear was made real, however, when the damn familiar spoke. The realization hit the raven much like he hit his head on doorframes that were too small, and hit him at the same time as the widow.

We killed Johnny's thugs.

Lucian stared out of the window. This was bad. He now had the sudden wish that they killed maybe some Daggerhand, or someone from a minor gang - something that would be easily excusable and something that no one would care. The Daggerhand had little power at the moment, and as a Night Eye, he hated them blindly.

"I...what do we do? I dunno what ta do." His mind scrambled. He was usually good at figuring things out, but his cleverness particularly faltered when confronted with an unusual amount of stress or pressure, as was the situation now. He rubbed his arms over his rough wool shirt, now acutely aware of how scratchy it was. The feeling had never bothered him before, but it managed to now - and he found himself itchy and uncomfortable.

[Shai]

Shai felt his worry filter through her frame. The very thing she worried about befalling Lucian was caused by her. “I do, Lucian. Sunberth thugs are a copper a dozen, the issue will be the face Tall Johnny will have lost from this incident.” Shai’s own emotions were collected, confident but concerned. It wasn’t her plan that worried the thief, she had dealt with thug politics for years and it was all a matter of mien and Mizas. No, her concern was for Lucian. He was actually, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, the weakness in the plan. If Tall Johnny figured out her new partner was a kelvic it would mean a world of trouble.

“The first thing, is we need to return the dice. After that… I will handle the debt from the deaths.”Shai had no desire to be in that man’s debt, but her skills were specific. There was only so much he could call in for that debt, and truly only so much he could do to force her to repay it. Giving him a debt always made him play the social game too. It was both her disadvantage and her strength. It all hinged on the dice though.

Shai pulled back physically from Chell, Seal yourself Chell, it’s time to go to work As much as she called him partner, at the end of the day she was dominant. The Irylid slowly shrunk into a tiny crystal shard, perfect for a necklace, which no doubt would be found with her cloak.”I will not be killed Lucian, because I am good at hiding. You are perhaps the only person in Sunberth who knows of Chell.” The Symenestra justified, but she worried it wasn’t just their escape that had worried the Raven. “I will not harm you Pryza, the only talents I have in that area are defensive.” There was the foreign word again, though the exact meaning wasn’t conveyed, the emotion was. The word was an endearment. “I am fragile, they can save me where my body fails.”

Chell’s disapproval rumbled through the Spider’s thoughts, Why bring him at all Shai? If you are so concerned he might harm your cause? It might have been jealousy but, Shai had no way of knowing. The empathy she suddenly shared with Lucian was different than the telepathy she shared with Chell. Still her mind felt somewhat crowded.

Shai replied in nearly a snarl, a vocalization she wasn’t aware was possible in telepathic conversation, Because if they find him before I settle this, they will harm him.

And?

The Symenestra paused and then replied calmly. He is mine Chell. Her usage of possessive was only possibility through thoughts or emotions, the spoken word would have been fully and utterly inadequate. Shai hadn’t had time to digest what the bond meant, but she was irrevocably certain from that moment forward that she had spoken truth. When the bond had solidified, Lucian had become one of her people. A part of her web, to be protected, to be held dear. It was a fierce feeling for the Widow, to know it was still possible to accept people being close to her. She had lost so much over the years; a family, a husband, a son, a lover… the list was extensive. Still the smoldering spirit of a mortal life let her try again, desperately looking for home amongst these unrelated races of the surface.
Swallowing as she digested this new facet of her identity the Spider asked cautiously, “Do either of you recall where the dice might be?”

Chell broke in, he was sedate and murmuring. I know where one of the pair is. Shai understood the mood from their past interactions, even without an empathic bond, Chell was thinking.
.

[Lucian Hill]

He felt reassured by the fact that the widow knew what to do. He felt the confidence emanate off of her, and he calmed down slightly with her words. Lucian was still suspicious of the familiar, especially as it changed shape. But they both shared secrets from the rest of Sunberth, and they both were careful in guarding said secrets from common knowledge. If anyone found out about either of the little mysteries surrounding Lucian and Shai, the raven would most likely be enslaved and the widow killed.

Another reassuring facet of the widow was the fact that she had most definitely shown that she knew how to defend herself, something which Lucian lacked. He certainly wouldn't be able to protect her; she'd most likely have to protect him. The raven generally relied on running the petch away from dangerous situations, whether by air or simply on foot. He drummed his fingers on the table he now found himself standing next to, the wood rough under his fingertips, but still smoothed enough by use to avoid the giving of splinters.

Lucian sat down at his table, reaching for the wooden puzzle cube and trying to haphazardly and absent-mindedly fit the pieces together into their original cube shape. It was the first time he had touched the thing almost all season, and it had been collecting dust on the table for just as long, unmoved. The raven set the pieces down, and pulled out the key and the wooden carving of an unidentified flower.

"All I have is these, I dunno 'bout some dice." The Night Eye coin sat firmly in his pocket; he was debating whether or not to show it to the widow and prove that he was part of a gang different than the one in whose territory she made her home. He knew it unwise to share his membership, but he also knew that she'd find out eventually. Quickly exhaling through his nose, he pulled out the coin as well, setting it on the table marked-side up.

"I'm also a Night Eye." He paid close attention to the flood of emotions that were certain to be strong enough for him to sense off of the widow. He wondered how far away they had to be to still feel it - was it only in close range, or could they be across the city? He was bound to find out sooner or later, but the question still prickled in the back of his head. The raven stood up, walking towards the door.

"We might as well get started, eh?"

[Shai]

Tracing the coin and flower with her gaze, the spider nodded. “Well Chell knows of one. We can start there.” She followed behind the Raven without immediately answering. Mostly Shai was surprised, suspicion winked in and out quickly. Pulling the cloak around her she slipped out the front door. The coin’s markings had meant nothing to her, the spider had never worked for the Night Eye’s and so the membership coin was an unknown. “I work for the Sun’s Birth most days.” She offered in a strange form of an answer with a hastily added, “For now.”

The Raven’s affiliation to the Night’s Eyes didn’t bother her overmuch. It would mean careful dealings with the Scars though. There had to be a way to be honest without fully disclosing his alignment. Everyone in Sunberth did what they must to survive and the thief couldn’t fault Lucian for doing the same as she had. Partly it was a relief though, if he had been a Daggerhand it could have been much worse. Shai never particularly liked them but worse than that years ago she had belonged to a gang that directly opposed them, violently. The Edge was a time long passed though, now she was blissfully free of the coils of membership. The thief stole what she wanted, when she wanted, for whoever she chose.

Where are we headed? She asked.

The Familiar replied curtly, The dust beds.

The cloak hide her features effectively though, being hidden beneath the too large vestment made her feel more notiable. “Also that flower carving? It is a Nerium Oleander, a poisonous flower from Kalea.” The stark irony wasn’t lost on the spider, at least she hoped it was irony. “Where did you get it?”

It must be nearing dinner time for the humans, the streets were just beginning to thin. Autumn was advancing in age and Syna was setting earlier and earlier as the seasons tended to cause. In another bell or two the cloak could be taken off without consequence. For a thief, so used to high mobility, it felt hampering but admittedly necessary “Also Chell says the first one is hidden in the dust beds.”

It only occurred to her after the message was relayed that was it strange. Why are one of the di in the dust beds, Chell?

Again his reply was remarkably succinct, You put it there.

The Symenestra would worry about her familiar later. One problem at a time. Sliding through the thinning crowd, she led them towards Sunberth’s official burial grounds.

[Lucian Hill]

Of course Chell would know where at least die was; the strange creature was perhaps the only thing out of the trio that even remotely remembered what had happened. He began walking aimlessly, waiting for Shai to mention their exact destination. The skin at the back of his neck prickled at her mention of the Sun's Birth. While he knew that the Night Eyes and Sun's Birth were more or less neutral with each other, he still felt wary about the other gang as a whole. The raven didn't really feel threatened in the slightest, however; Night Eyes were currently the most powerful gang in Sunberth. He also noticed that he had felt no significant emotions coming off of Shai, a fact that he carefully considered. She must not have really cared about the Night Eyes, which was, in its own right, a good thing.

Lucian didn't know what a Nerium Oleander was, or really what Kalea was for that matter, other than it was a place pretty far away and covered in mountains. However, he was curious as to how she identified the flower, or how she knew it was poisonous. Was she from Kalea? It had never occured to him that there were people who didn't live in Sylira.

"I found it at the shop where we, uh..." He swallowed, visibly.

It was at her mention of the Dust Bed that he cringed. He disliked being around the dead, it spooked him like nothing else. Lucian knew it was necessary, but regardless, he didn't particularly want to go in there, and definitely not to dig around and look for something as tiny as dice. A chill went through his spine at the thought of it, and he suddenly wished that he was the one wearing the cloak, not the widow. It didn't help that it would be dark soon, and as much as he wanted to lollygag, it was better to be there while the sun was still up.

The raven suddenly remembered another interesting fact about the Dust Bed - the entire place had been covered in a thick mist, impossible to see through and impossible to do anything with. How in Hai were they going to find something so small when they could barely see in front of them in the first place? He found himself near the Dust Bed, the mist a thick wall separating Sunberth from the dead.

"How're we gonna find anythin' in there?"

[Shai]

The crowd thinned even more as the outskirts of city became their surroundings. As the scenery cleared and dusk began to creep across the sky, the Symenestra removed the borrowed cloak. Folding It in tight, tiddy squares she never stopped moving towards their destination. There had been no call to leave this city this season and so Shai had not known of the mists. Then again maybe she had last night and couldn’t remember them. Regardless she had horrible experiences with Sunberth and its mist. The thought nearly slowed her step.

Internally it was a complex knot of emotions slowly tightening around her psyche. The only thing that stopped the utterly confusing mess that was occurring around her from locking her down was the need to do something. Once she saw this plan through though, there would be a time for contemplation. For understanding why her emotions had taken this abrupt turn. At a glance the mist seemed utterly natural, though shockingly thick. The Dustbed’s sparse features could hardly be defined.

In addition to the mist, the Spider couldn’t fathom where in the dust beds she would have hidden the di. No grave had a particular meaning to her and Chell was being obnoxiously quiet. The cilia along her body rippled, though no one could see it, Shai knew it was a reaction to the fog. The spider was rarely afraid of things, but the cloying claustrophobic feel about the mist always reminded her of the night the ghosts took over Sunberth. It had been years ago but the memories didn’t hesitate to shoulder to the forefront of her mind.

That night the mist had been so bad a hand's breadth was all the distance she could see. This fog parted before the toes of her boots and perhaps she had a yard of vision all the way around them to see. It was much less unsettling than her memories. It was a graveyard and yet she found it less disturbing than her memories, that probably said something about the strange little thief.

Shai was examining each headstone they passed, looking for any detail that might make her pick one as a hiding spot. She would not have picked an arbitrary place, so somewhere there was another clue. “Look for…” Shai didn’t know what to tell him, there were any number of things that she would see signs in. “Something out of the ordinary, perhaps disturbed earth. I would have picked a hiding spot with significance. There must be a hint.”

After the fourth marker that displayed an unfairly short lifespan the Symenestra turned her eyes towards the Kelvic, “Lucian when this is all said and done. Would you like to return to my home?” There was little hint of it in her voice, but her thoughts flooded with the concern that had slowly been building since their revelations in his home. She could fix this thing with Tall Johnny, it would be unpleasant but everyone had a price and a Thief could pay a lot, but what about next time? What if she wasn’t there. Shai wondered if the proposition would make him as skittish as the mist made her, men were like that sometimes. Still it wasn’t enough to stop her from approaching the topic.
.

[Lucian Hill]

Every step he took was muffled by the fog, and the raven still felt as if he were stepping too loudly. He had always been uneasy around death, though the quiet blankness his mind found itself in surrounded by the buried ancestors of the city of anarchy felt more like a silent tribute to the dead. Everything appeared fuzzy, the hard edges of gravestones and monuments softened in the mists. The fog turned to water as it touched his skin, forming droplets and pushing him into cold. The temperature change caused a shiver down his spine.

He knew the cloak was being dutifully held by Shai, having seen the Symenestra fold it into a small square and carry it with her into the Dust Bed. Lucian skirted over to her, silently pulling it out of her arms and billowing the coarse, black wool into the air. The cloak was slightly damp when he put it on, but he ignored this and pulled it closer. The raven was slight, and he was easily cold - it was a wonder he survived the winters, despite his wool clothing.

As for finding a hiding place of significance, or even a hiding place at all, it was incredibly difficult. Perhaps if he had been blessed with the eyesight of a hawk, or the nose of a bloodhound, but as a common raven Lucian could not seem to tell one section of the ground apart from a different section of the ground. That was, until he spotted a larger monument of what appeared to be a large bird about to take off from the top of a certain gravestone. While most of the markers in Sunberth had been incredibly, impossibly simple, this one stood out like a sore thumb.

He began walking towards it, stopping in his tracks when she asked him about going back to her house. The raven's own apartment was drafty, cramped, and violence seemed to erupt in the streets around it constantly. He remained quiet for but a tick, attempting to come up with even a single con to her proposition. Turning around, he looked at the widow.

"Yes." His answer was simple, and he turned on a dime, beckoning the widow over to the gravestone. Nothing about it was particularly significant, though the bird on top was almost definitely a raven. His skin prickled as he drew near, but he continued on, standing to a stop at the front of the grave. He couldn't read the name with the combination of dark and mist, but he could make out the vague outline of the entire thing. It was slightly crumbling, a bit older than the markers surrounding it. He turned to the widow.

"Does this seem familiar?"