Solo In Hot Pursuit

[Brandon Blackwing]

The 36th of Fall 514AV


The alarm bells screamed theft while the bat hastily ran out of the room. He’d screwed up, how could he have fallen for such a simple and obvious trap? Was it because of overconfidence, because he had thought of himself as better than he actually was? Who knew? It did not matter anyway, the problem was that the alarm bell had rung and that he had to get out of here before the Shinya would arrive. The sweat that had gathered underneath his mask pearled down his face and made the inside of the face-covering moist.

Through the small hallway Brandon dashed, emerging from a door into the hall where his escape route was. The windows in the vault room had been locked and fortified with strong steel bars, so he had had no choice but to return to the front door if he wanted to flee. The stairs could be accessed from the hall too, and it was because of that that Brandon found his path blocked by the house’s owner who had armed himself with a wooden club. “Gotcha!”the man screamed while swinging the weapon in a horizontal arch. The Kelvic thief could only barely dodge the semi-surprise attack by ducking low, but never ceased his forward movement. While the club struck the wall, Brandon jumped, knee raised and striking his attacker in the abdomen with the velocity of his dash and all his weight behind it.

No wonder the man could but moan as the wind was knocked out of him and he curled up into a ball and fell down on the floor, groaning in pain while hugging his stomach. The thief had wasted no time though, pushing past him immediately after having kneed the man and rammed the front door open, charging into it with his shoulder.

Once outside it was difficult to decide which way to go. Brandon looked from left to right a couple of times before deciding on left and ran off, cloak fluttering behind him. He did not take his mask off, in case he’d bump into some Shinya and they’d suspect him for having done something wrong, noticing his haste. Well, another reason was that he just did not have a place to store his mask in, even though he had no loot from his failed robbery. Gah! He’d been so close too! It was actually quite a risk he took by not taking off his mask; it was the ‘face’ of the infamous Incognito after all and would probably be recognized instantly should he happen to catch the eye of the guards –or anyone else.

But what would be worse was running around unmasked, holding the disguise in his hand while fleeing. Not only would the guards then see his face, but they wouldn’t be able to overlook the Incognito mask. A lose-lose situation. It was better this way, he could still attempt to get out of their sight and hide or outrun them, and the next day he wouldn’t have to worry about wanted posters with a sketch of his features being spread through the city.

Brandon calmed down fast, limiting his speed to a steady pace that would not wear him out quickly and still was pretty swift. What would be the use of dashing full speed only to be out of breath a chime later and be caught? Nothing, except for doing the government of Lhavit and the Shinya a favor. His mind aided in him keeping to the steady rhythm of his footsteps, which echoed through the dark and empty streets. Midnight rest hadn’t ended yet, good, that meant there wouldn’t be as much distractions and obstacles around to hinder him.

The running footsteps gradually slowed down, until they no longer drummed on the pavement, but were silent once more while the bat rested a bit, walking carefully. It didn’t sound as if there was anyone following him, nothing was heard, no footsteps, no screams and no panting. Good, he could take it easy now, walk home while avoiding the Shinya, as per usual. Shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

It was when pacing through a crossroad that the bat stopped in the middle and stared in all directions first before continuing his stroll home. That was the plan, but when he gazed into the street on his right, something stared back. Someone stared back.

Gods petching damnit! he wanted to scream as he shot forward and fled once more, quickly leaving the place and hoping the woman was too shocked and surprised to take action. Where the hell had she come from all of a sudden? Had she just turned a corner and entered the street or so? Either way, she’d been too close not to have gotten a good look of his fa- … mask. Argh! Damn it all!

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

Brandon’s legs moved fast, becoming vague as his boots rapped on the pavement in a mad dash, running full speed through the nightly air of the deserted streets. Corners were turned, alleys sped through and glances were cast over his shoulder to confirm whether she followed him or not. Unfortunately for him, she actually did, hair bobbing up and down as her she did her best to keep up with Brandon’s speed, but failed to keep the same distance, let alone close it. With his breath coming out in ragged pants, the bat accelerated even more, lungs heaving to provide the necessary fuel for his body.

Another turn was taken, to the right this time without slowing down even a little bit. It was no surprise that the thief crashed sideways into a wall, painfully hurting his shoulder, but it couldn’t stop him from running. He kept close to the wall for a brief period, almost stumbling over some Okomo statues guarding a doorway in the process. While that did make him waste a bit of time –enough for the woman to catch up- the bat did not stopped his forward motion, continuing to run without coming to a stop.

The bat refused to be caught, be it by coincidence or because he’d become careless, there was no going down without putting up a fight. A desperate battle to the end, which was a perfect description of what was going on at that moment. That woman was definitely trying to catch him, if he shot a glare over his shoulder he could see the determination burning in her eyes like some sort of fire that flared brightly. It was putting a lot more pressure on him, it made him run even faster, increasing the force used to slam his feet down on the stones and to push his body onwards.

Adrenaline was seeping into his veins, joining the blood in the endless loop that was the circulation of the red fluid, powered by the mighty heart. That heart –on a side note- was working harder than anything else right now, increasing its amount of beats per chime, quickening its rhythm of pumping. His lungs too, labored away, heaving fast, filling with air and oxygen for his blood to transport, faster and faster his chest rose and flattened, forced to expand and shrink because of the air intake. Yet, they were already burning, his respiratory organs felt as if they were on fire, his throat was dry and experienced a feeling of being attacked with sandpaper. Every gulp of air made it hurt a little bit again, as if the air rasped his flesh.

Not good, Brandon noticed, I have to calm down. I’m wasting my stamina like this; running as fast as I can, turning corners so randomly. I have to pace myself, get into a rhythm. Calm down. Plan ahead, think of where I’m going, try to shake her by using the terrain instead of speed. Besides, Another glance was thrown over his shoulder, gauging the distance between the two of them in a tick before focusing back on the road in front of him. She seems not quite able to keep up anyway, judging from the space between us. Immediately, the bat tried to follow his own advice, starting with his speed. Slowing down was necessary, lest he wanted to burn through his stamina prematurely. The pace was lowered to a level that Brandon knew was still quite fast but he could keep up for a while if need be. Right, this isn’t a one hundred meter dash, it’s a marathon. Everyone knows that marathons are won by the runner with the best pace. It’s useless to go dashing when there’s still such a long way ahead.

Slowly but surely, the thief’s breathing too became less rapid, and in turn his heart eventually stopped its energetic drumming, instead going for something above average, but not too fast. Good, very good. Now, let’s see whether our stalker is still with us. She was. It seemed she too had restricted her speed, having settled for about the same pace as Brandon had, keeping a distance of about four meters between the two of them. Hm, that was enough to make sure he didn’t leave sight, and far enough to prevent being attacked. Smart, though the Kelvic had no intentions of resorting to violence, though for a different reason than her being female. Sure, he could just turn around and lariat her and this situation would be resolved, but where was the fun in that? There wasn’t any fun at all, if he’d have to fight than he’d rather have an opponent who could at least fight back. A surprised woman that was running towards him while he was running towards her could be taken down with one hit, both velocities would add up in more impact force and it would be over. Nah, that wasn’t exciting at all.

It was simply impossible for the thrill seeking, slightly adrenaline addict Brandon Blackwing to resist the prospect of this game of tag. The stakes were high, but that only encouraged him. It wasn’t like he desired to lose, no he wanted to win, to get away, but by fleeing rather than knocking the woman out and simply walking home. Time had come to start planning a bit, think of a good route to follow, through alleys and streets, maybe over dead ends in order to shake the stalker. This was exciting, because Brandon couldn’t be certain he’d win, there was a chance his attempts of getting out of sight were futile, that the woman knew her way around Lhavit as well as he did. No problem though, the ventral sensation of thrill was enough of a reward as of yet, this was a game of tag that could possibly end with him being arrested, but that only served to increase the tension. This way he could make the most of it, this way he could enjoy himself more for a short while. Sadly.

Onyx orbs started scanning the surrounding area, swiftly darting from left to right and up and down. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was one of the main streets that lead to the Surya plaza, a road that was patrolled by Shinya frequently. It would be best to get off of it as soon as possible, and a chance was already presenting itself. Moving closer to the wall, Brandon waited for the right moment to turn around his own axis two hundred and seventy degrees to the left when aiming for the alleyway on the right. It may not seem like a practical maneuver, but that was not entirely correct. This move allowed the bat to check on his pursuer while pushing himself into the alleyway, slowing down a bit, yes, but also effectively reducing the curve he’d have to make to turn. In his own mind anyway.

From there he really started to approach the situation like he should have at the start, confirming his position on the map in his mind, as well as by keeping an eye on the pole star, determining that he was following the street perpendicular to the ones leading to the Azure. Alright, so soon he should reach the part of Lhavit where most people got lost, a maze of small streets that looked very much alike. Prowling thieves, messengers and free runners tended to know them rather well though, as they were rather suited for losing someone who was following you. That was also exactly what Brandon would try, when he got there that is.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

In this battle of stamina it would take a while to get a definite winner, because stamina was something that was slowly drained if one paced themselves well enough. Seeing as both Brandon and his female pursuer appeared as if they could last for at least half a bell, there was no telling when this would end. Well, not immediately anyway. However, Brandon wasn’t quite interested in running for more than thirty chimes, so he’d do his best to escape as soon as possible, get out of her sight and vanish into the shadows, though only if it was possible.

His feet pounded rhythmically on the stone pavement as he turned another corner, entering an alleyway he was quite familiar with. It was only wide enough for one person at a time and didn’t allow for much movement and ended in a dead end. Then why exactly had he chosen this path exactly? Well, it was to see how well his follower could handle obstacles like walls and such. This alley would form a straight line he could keep following until he reached the dead end ahead. It was only a little bit further, a chime of running maybe but certainly not more than that.

Behind him the woman was still tailing him, he heard, and it seemed she had started to accelerate a little bit, gauging from the different rhythm her feet slammed upon the pavement with. Tchk, she was pressuring him, trying to get him to speed up as well, to get him scared and a little more paranoid, so he would burn through his stamina faster. Not that it was any use, the bat pondered on quickening his pace, but ultimately decided against it, his way of escaping was almost there, it was only a little bit farther. Judging from the footsteps the woman had closed a bit of the gap, but not quite a lot of it, so he should be able to reach the goal before she came too close and within arm’s reach.

Though the woman sped up even more, quickly gaining on the bat and his steady pace, leaving him no choice but to increase his own swiftness a little bit as well. However, his tiny increase was nothing compared to the woman’s acceleration, and her hand readied itself to grab onto Brandon’s clothing, fingers stretched and clawing at his still uncatchable figure. Fortunately, there it was, the wall that was supposed to save him, to buy him a little more time. However, since the woman had caught up so much, that wall now posed as a hindrance instead. His movement had been sealed, he couldn’t speed up since he’d smash into the stones if he did, but neither could he climb it like he had planned to, she’d catch hold of him then. Damn. Well played, miss, well played.

But there was a slim chance to escape, a very slim one. No matter, a chance was a chance, it was better to go and try than to give up. He jumped, arms outstretched for the top of the obstacle, fingers grabbing it and already hoisting him up while his boots helped him climbing higher. If only he’d had a little more time, he’d have succeeded in his escape, but the short distance between the thief and his pursuer prevented that. She jumped too, grabbing hold of his leg while he crouched on the top of the wall, keeping him in place, making him unable to leap down. Well, lest he fall on his face instead of landing gracefully that is. Annoyed the bat resorted to his only means of shaking the human shackle: violence. The one leg that hadn’t been grappled could still be used, it lashed out in a backwards stomp, not hitting anything until the third try.

Brandon felt the impact, he didn’t quite know what exactly he’d hit, but it felt like a face or something very much alike. His shackle grunted in pain, but she refused to lessen her grip, dangling on the bat’s limb and dragging him down. Soon he was pulled off his vantage point, only clinging to the edge by the use of his hands. The kicks followed in more rapid succession, the masked thief glancing over his shoulder to get a better aim. Next five stomps all crashed down on the woman, though not quite where he’d wanted them. It was the sixth that finally hit the throat, causing a lack of breath and a feeling of choking which resulted in the instinctive reaching for the hurt place, meaning that she fell to the ground while Brandon could resume his escape.

Within a tick or two he landed gracefully on the other side of the wall, where the painful sounds of choking had stopped and had been replaced by the noise boots made when climbing the obstacle. Brandon cursed and started dashing again, desperate to put some distance between the two of them, now he still could. Not for a long period, mind you, only until he’d reached the next crossroad, which shouldn’t be too far away… Still though, he’d thought he’d gained more time, the woman had recovered too fast, hadn’t he hit her properly? It was possible. No, it must have been that, he’d just not hit the exact spot he’d been aiming for, and thus granting her with a shorter time to recover. Damn!

Into the next alley he ducked, slowing down a bit and returning to his previous pace, hoping she hadn’t seen which direction he went, but doubting it strongly. This woman was clever and fast, instead of Brandon having trapped her, she had managed to trap Brandon. Well, almost. Still though, for her to speed up at the correct time and sealing the bat’s options… There was no mistake, she knew the streets of Lhavit as well as he did, tsk, troublesome. That would mean that for as long as she had an idea where he had gone she could find him.

Who is she? the thief could not help but wonder, spotting her on his tail again, fury in her eyes. It was quite obvious what she was mad about; one side of her face was colored a painful red. Most likely his foot had done that. Oops…. Well, at least she didn’t seem as willing to come closer again, satisfied with a nice meter of eight in between. Or maybe she was just waiting for the right time, like she had earlier.

Well, either way, Brandon realized he wouldn’t lose her by just running alone, he’d have to make use of his surroundings as well. Get out of sight and hide. That might be the best idea.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

And the two were still at it, racing through the streets like a dog chasing a cat, the woman’s eyes sparking rage and anger at the bat’s back. Her stare were like a thousand sharp daggers burying themselves in his flesh, cold and wounding. Brandon did not mind it too much though, his biggest concern wasn’t the woman’s scorn but how he could escape her glare and sneak away. Even in this maze of alleys she continued to follow him, not letting the bat shake her, staying on his tail. Annoying little pest, he had enough with a single shadow, he didn’t need another one.

Telling her that would not make a difference though, the thief figured, believing she’d punch him in the face to get even with him, if he was lucky. If he was not… well, who knew what would happen? It was just like the idiom said: Ivak had no fury like a woman scorned. That was pretty bad, considering that the god of fire had started the Valterrian in a fit of rage, and everyone walking Mizahar knew what had come of that dark episode in Mizaharian history. There was no being –sentient being- alive who did not know of the devastating effects the war amongst the divine had caused.

That aside, Brandon highly doubted if a mere mortal female possessed the power to actually unleash another of such wars, though that didn’t mean he had a reason less to keep running. He’d run from any woman with an expression like that on their face, especially so if it was directed at him. Well, he could of course deal with the situation differently, but Brandon preferred the … subtler method of getting out of sight and hiding over violence. Today, mind you, that did not mean he would not resort to using his combat skills whenever his opponent just so happened to be female. Man or woman, he’d fight anyone who challenged him, at least for a while. If he couldn’t win, then he’d run. Or go down fighting. It depended on the situation really.

For now though, the bat kept his feet in motion, boots rapping on the stones as he turned another corner, and finally arrived where he had wanted to be. Well, not exactly, but he was nearly there. Only two more corners which were close by, no big deal. How much of a distance was between him and the woman? A glance was cast of his shoulder, showing him that he’d managed to increase it by just a tiny bit. It would be close, however, his plan would work. Immediately, the bat accelerated, employing his true speed. It was just for a brief moment he needed to dash, not for chimes or bells. Swiftly he raced through the alleys, entering and exiting the ones he needed to follow.

Brandon wouldn’t have much time to execute his plan, his pursuer obviously had increased her speed as well –her footsteps drumming on the pavement in a rapid rhythm. It would be close, but he should be able to make it, it wasn’t that far anymore. The only thing he needed to watch out for was losing and wasting his precious time, his tiny lead. If he did, he would be caught or forced to run for a longer duration. Both were not what he wanted, he was getting rather tired of this, his breath was running out, it seemed.

To give his dash just that little bit more swiftness, the thief lowered his torso, bending forward more or less. That way he’d have less wind resistance and as such he would be able to run just a bit faster. It wouldn’t be a lot, but it would gain him some precious time. Every tick, half a tick, quarter of a tick and whatever small units of time exited mattered. It would be immediately round the next corner, Brandon knew, that was where he would hide. Just a little bit further. Should he speed up a bit more? Could he do that? No, best not to try that, lest he fall and ruin everything, he’d play safe this time. It had to be said though that if Brandon really wanted to play it safe, he’d have taken the girl following him out a long time ago. Knock her unconscious, drag her body into the shadows of an alley and head home with caution, not dashing through the streets like a madman.

Finally he had arrived, feet moving his body past the stone wall and into a new alley, the place he’d been wanting to reach. There was nothing particularly special about it though, except for the fact that some of the houses here had been built on top of each other, to save space. The alleys weren’t that big after all. Stone stairs led to the houses above, and arching bridge-like structures were raised above the streets. It were those the bat was aiming for; the underside of them were not closed, since that would make them too heavy, but there were rafters there. An excellent place to hide in. The only problem was that he needed to be fast, but really fast.

Not slowing down one bit after having entered the allay, Brandon headed straight for one of the staircases, sprinting up with two treads at a time, sometimes even three. When he reached the highest it could bring him, a mighty leap launched him through the air, arms outstretched for one of the wooden beams. They found it and clamped onto it as well as they could, but it’s massive width was not something Brandon’s fingers could enclose. His momentum made him swing, legs whizzing up and over the next beam as his gloved hands could not hold it and slipped. The thief’s behind collided with the beam his legs had passed, sending a sore pain through his body, but he did not falter, instead using the opportunity to curl his hind limbs around the wood and lock himself in place.

That the top half of his body dangled down was quite the problem, but not one he couldn’t fix, Brandon immediately twisted his torso upwards, using his arms to grab the next rafter securely, hoist himself up there and turn on his belly so he had a view of the world below. It also prevented his cape from betraying his position, so that was a plus.

It seemed he’d made it just in time, the woman appeared from behind the corner now too, only a tick or five later than Bran had, only to see an empty, dark alleyway. Instead of continuing her dash, she stopped, sent a couple glares in all directions around her, the only exception being the space above her. Human’s always forgetting to look up… Well, it wasn’t like she was standing under the rafters, so it wouldn’t have mattered much anyway… Or so the bat thought, as the dark haired, leather clad gal slowly paced onwards, cautiously, as if suspecting a surprise attack or so. Then,after having ensured herself there wasn’t anyone around, she stared up, glaring right into the bat’s black orbs.

Brandon could only hold his breath and hope she couldn’t see him because of the darkness in the rafters, keeping silent and staring back, frozen in place while his heart raced. For a tick the bat believed she had heard it, as she carefully scanned the whole of the hiding place, her eyes returning to the thief’s eyes, but with a frown on her brow. At last she decided that there was no one there and moved on, leaving the bat in his dark shelter, though the Kelvic did not dare to move just yet, nor breathe. He waited until she was inspecting the next bridging structure for the latter but remained void of motion until she had disappeared into another alley, then counting down two chimes. Then, finally he dared to rub the sweat from underneath his mask away with his arm, calming down a little and feeling waves of relief washing over him.

Those had been the longest five chimes of his life.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

Once he had assured himself of the fact that the woman had left, ran off to look for him elsewhere, Brandon clamped one of the beams with both his arms tightly and let his legs slip off the other rafter, dangling above the floor. Only his arms secured him now, slowly stretching them out as far as he could, to decrease the distance between the ground and himself. While this wasn’t the highest he had jumped down from, the bat could vividly recall landing badly once, resulting in his leg spending some time in a cast. Hobbling around as if he was crippled was not something the Kelvic wanted to repeat any time soon, or ever, for that matter.

Gauging the height with an observant eye, the bat judged it safe to drop from here, given his thievish skill in acrobatic maneuvers and sneaky stunts, he did deem it not dangerous at all, whereas others might have believed they’d break a leg if they’d try. Of course, it was because of the fact that the thief was able to jump down and walk away without a scratch that he was able to display his confidence, which might bordered on being arrogant. True, that particular fall back in summer –or was it spring? He couldn’t accurately remember- had dented his confidence. However, the bat had proceeded to overcome his sudden fear of jumping from roof to roof as soon as he had been able to, to heal the mental wound he had suffered. Moreover, he had attempted to succeed in that leap many times from that point onwards, and had never again failed to reach the other side safely. It seemed that his unfortunate fall had been caused by bad timing after all, that compared with landing on a couple of loose stones in the street. When it rains, it pours, and that was an accurate description of the events last Spring.

There was one fundamental difference between Brandon and non-acrobats dropping down from high places; the latter did it wrong. Thieves or other acrobats knew that when you landed from a height, you had to bend your knees to disperse the impact or if you had a bit of momentum you should roll, again to get rid of the impact. Also, one had to touch down on the ball of their feet, since that also helped a lot. However, ordinary people tended to land flat on their soles with stretched legs, no wonder they broke their bones. If you did not know how to land, you were a fool to try and leap down. Some people were just stupid, because of them –those ‘daredevils’- other individuals –who did not get injured – were supposedly no daredevils. Strange.

In any case, Brandon did it right, his landing a textbook example of how it should be done, and the bat even managed to do it without producing a lot of noise. Well, that was one of the perks of landing on the balls of your feet. After dusting off his clothes, the bat stealthily resumed his way, using the shady alleys to traverse through the city, turning corners and crossing streets. Close to the walls, the edges of the streets, he stuck, stepping through the shadows. Shadows were a sneak’s friends and allies, his shelter and cloak. It also helped that he wore all black, safe for his mask. Luckily, midnight rest still was upon them, and people were still in bed, but soon that would change. Brandon increased his pace, though not forfeiting any bit of caution, still checking for Shinya when he had to pass streets they regularly patrolled.

Though it only took a chime at worst to wait for the patrol to pass by or take another route if they were too far off or just cross the street if possible, Brandon was getting impatient. He’d never had so much trouble with a job before, but then again, he’d never had to look so hard for a hidden room before. Neither had he ever had to run with a persistent girl chasing him. Well, at least he had managed to shake her, that was something. Still, usually it did not take close to two bells for him to get in and back out, a bell maybe, yes, but not two! However, this time he was running out of time, which meant that if he was still out on the street when the people started trickling back out of their houses, the bat would be in trouble.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

The solution to the problem was quite simple though, all Brandon had to do was reverse his cape and remove his mask, thus making Incognito vanish, allowing Brandon to sneak inconspicuously through the streets. That indeed seemed to be the best option, that was exactly where his cape was made for, what other reason did it have to be reversible? With a quick motion of his hand he undid the knot that held his cloak on his body and took it off, twisting it inside out quickly, so the dark green colored fabric would be facing outwards. While the cape had been intended for this purpose, the bat had always forgotten about that feature, never using it.

Now he did though, standing in the dark of an alley for a moment, a moment that cost him his cover. The bat hadn’t realized he had been standing at the entrance of said alley, close to one of the main streets. What was far worse, there had been a patrol passing through, and while they had not seen the bat at first, when he removed his cloak in a wide gesture of arms and fluttering of cloth, they couldn’t have missed him. Of course, it was but a matter of bad timing, and of course, the bat realized they would not arrest him just for being out and about during the rest period. However, there was the case of the mask sticking to his face and the leather armor what he wore, both would give him away as a person of interest immediately. If he removed the mask though, the suspicion might be lower, but it did not mean they wouldn’t find his attire normal. Who walked around with a hammer and a wedge under their belt? No one, except maybe thieves. Besides, where could he hide the mask? Now that he wasn’t wearing a cloak anymore, he couldn’t hide it behind his back. A troublesome situation.

They approached from behind, two of them, judging from the rhythm of the steps, and one was armored with skyglass plates. Unlike humans, Brandon did not have the tendency to turn his head around to see who was approaching, instead he listened. If one knew what they were looking for, they could gather a lot of information without having to look. That also meant he still had the element of surprise on his side, and the bat was planning on using it.

His mind raced, accessing every tiny bit of knowledge he had learned over the years to come up with the best strategy. Shinya were guards, knew unarmed combat –some were better at it than others, but still- they also were competent at using weapons and could use some sort of magic to suppress people. Brandon had both experienced and witnessed said magic, and he knew that he did not stand a chance against it, because he did not understand how it worked. Thus he couldn’t think of something to break free, or avoid it. What he could do though, was preventing them from using it, and that was why he had to strike first, employ sneak attacks. He wouldn’t have much time, one hit for each, otherwise he’d be in for trouble. If he wasn’t fast enough they’d be able to raise the alarm or worse, capture him.

Both guards had closed most of the distance now, keeping a meter or so away just in case the individual proved to be dangerous. Clever. “Sir, may we ask what kind of business you are partaking in at this hour, in these dark alleys?” Now was the time, instead of answering the question, the bat swirled around into the direction he knew the armored guard stood. The Shinya noticed the mask, connected the dots and cursed, hands on their weapons. However, Brandon threw his cape over the armored guard’s head, blinding him momentarily and focused on the other one. Fortunately, the young man was flinching, though he recovered faster than the ordinary person, which was commendable. True, Brandon’s intended attack to the temple wouldn’t hit, and thus he changed to a blow to the chest. It wasn’t just any blow, no, it was a strike with all his weight behind it and aimed with precision to the heart.

While it was the first time the bat attempted this technique on a live person, and not an imaginary foe, he did know what the effects would be. His fist had been thrown at his target, powered with everything Brandon got, it wasn’t just a punch with weight-shifting, it was an all-or-nothing attack. It hit its mark beautifully, the robes worn by the acolyte –the colors betraying his rank- provided no protection at all. Brandon knew what the effects would be, he knew what the possible side effect could be too. But like said before, it was an all-or-nothing attack, there was no time for holding back. Temporary paralysis as a result from the impact disrupting the electric pulse of the heart, or, worst case scenario, death because the heart had been stopped permanently. It was a dangerous technique, and that was the reason Brandon hadn’t used it before. However, getting captured was not something he liked, freedom was to be maintained at all costs.

Brandon knew how taking such attack would feel, his mother had explained it many times. ”As if time itself had stopped for me and me alone,” she had told him. It seemed as if the acolyte was experiencing this too, his eyes growing wide as the bat used the swing he’d taken to target the temple of the man, using the angle his curled-up index finger made to hit it hard. White of eyes showed as the man’s orbs rolled upwards and he collapsed, and all the while the thief prayed to both Dira and Kihala that he had been the end of the acolyte’s lifespan, that he had not taken what could be a long life.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Brandon Blackwing]

While the young acolyte approached the ground, the older guard threw aside the cape that had blinded him temporarily. The Kelvic bat did not dally, immediately turning his attention towards the new threat. Brandon had initially intended to use the opportunity the blinded guard had presented to strike him down, though just like he had experienced with the acolyte, the Shinya were no ordinary people. They were trained and skilled to protect the city, fazing them would not buy one a lot of time. What made things extra difficult was –besides that the man was now somewhat on guard- that he was wearing armor.

Protection like that would not be breached by a simple fist strike at all, when one employed a hammer, yes, but bare flesh and bone? Not a chance. As such, the bat’s options were rather limited, he’d have to target the unprotected parts of the body, and that meant he’d be predictable. He did figure he could just stab the man with a dagger, letting the blade slip to the small space between the plates, but he’d rather not wound anyone. Because that would get him in a lot of trouble. He did not exactly know what the punishment was for assaulting the Shinya, but he did know that it would be a lot worse if they had been injured severely.

The bat spun on his heel as he sent a kick to the guardsman’s head, one that was easily dodged though. A curse was muttered under his breath as he heard the sound that told him the Shinya was drawing his sword, the scraping of metal over wood couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. Quickly, the thief used the momentum of his kick to cartwheel out of reach, avoiding the slash only barely. Small bits of stone rained down as the blade hit the wall, having struck where the bat had been standing a tick ago. Swiftly Brandon unsheathed on of his daggers and assumed a battle pose, awaiting the Shinya’s next move. As stated before, the thief did not want to wound the guards with it, though he wouldn’t hesitate if he should see an opportunity. Right now, getting away was more important.

Another diagonal slash of the sword made its way to the bat’s body, the guard was certainly targeting non-vital spots in order to arrest him. Brandon quickly switched to reverse grip, the blade pointing down and intercepting the steel of his foe before it could take a bite out of his flesh. The impact was greater than anticipated though, and the thief did not exactly block the strike, instead merely placing an obstacle in its way. Fortunately, a swift step backwards prevented him to leak blood, but still, that was too close. I see, I should slam my weapon into his and push it away instead of trying to protect the spot he’s aiming for. That was exactly what the bat did when the guard attacked again, and it did seem to work, however, then the Shinya placed both hands on his hilt, increasing his striking power. The blade was raised above his head, readying for a vertical strike. While Brandon was just a novice when it came to armed combat, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to block that effectively with just one dagger.

His free hand grabbed the hilt of a second blade, the guard’s sword came down quickly, cutting the air with its sharp edge, preying on the bat’s shoulder. The sound of metal colliding with metal echoed through the alley, the sword intercepted by two dagger blades forming a ‘v’. The force of the hit was dispersed by slightly bending his knees and elbows, but still the thief felt as if his bones had cluttered when he caught the guard’s sword. Now he did not have to worry about the Shinya’s weapon sliding off and still hurting him. Brandon smirked under his mask, the Shinya frowned. Now was the time to put some distance between the two fighters, Brandon readied himself to kick the guard in the chest to send him flying backwards, which would create an opening to strike. However, the strength of the guard suddenly increased, applying more pressure on the bat’s blades, forcing him closer to the ground, however slightly. Then, an impact on his chest sent him sprawling backwards, feet loose from the stones, body airborne for just a tick before he crashed hard into the ground, sliding a bit further still. Having the wind knocked out of him, the thief could only gasp for breath and trying to get up as he cursed internally.

“Sir,” the guardsman spoke as he approached the fallen thief, “you are under arrest on suspicion of being the felon Incognito, assaulting Shinya guards and resisting arrest.” He now was the one smirking, closing the meters that separated them, displaying a look of utter surprise and falling down as if he was made of jelly. Brandon scrambled to his feet, finally having recovered, and examined the guardsman, noticing the dart that was sticking out of his neck. Poison dart? But who?

A sharp tug of his neck made him face the rooftops, where a familiar figure stood proudly, a blowgun in hand. Like a cat she landed in front of him, light and elegantly, clad in leather armor as well, which accentuated her slender form rather well. “I must thank you for your intervention, ” Brandon stated, his voice a little stiff as if to say he could have handled the situation on his own. “No need for thanks,” she replied casually, watching with interest while the bat picked up his cloak and daggers, putting the former back on and sheathing the latter. “Who are you though?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Let’s just say I’m someone who sympathizes with your actions,” she began, then stating it was best to continue this conversation somewhere else. Brandon agreed and the duo moved to a small courtyard in between a couple of houses, hidden from prying eyes and eavesdropping ears. “You are Incognito, yes?” Bran grinned and raised his arms while shrugging. “Who can say for sure, maybe I am but a fake.” The woman feigned a smile, her expression had disbelieve written all over it. “Why were you chasing me though? If you are a sympathizer…”
“Oh, that? I was hired to guard that place, so I felt like I should at least do what was asked of me. You got away though… Which reminds me…” Suddenly she drew closer, cupping the bat’s face with her hands and driving her knee into his groin. Needless to say that Brandon was caught off guard, and was bent over in pain, groaning silently. “That’s for my face, an eye for an eye.”

A brief pause and she stared at the thief, biting her lower lip and winding a strand of hair around her finger. “You pay people back tenfold, don’t you?” Brandon was able to mutter, a grimace under his mask. The woman laughed briefly, and then started talking, telling the bat how she liked that he targeted the wealthy and not the poor, something Brandon himself had not even realized, only following Kriegsfelt’s orders. She went on and on about the wealthy suppressing the poor and other such things, claiming she loved the way Incognito humbled them. In truth, Brandon found it to be a little too much bootlicking to be comfortable with –he did not exactly believe her either. Upon seeing the Kelvic had recovered from her below-the-belt attack, the woman raised an eyebrow, queried whether he was angry about it or not and sighed in relief when the bat stated he wasn’t. He kind of felt like he had deserved it… somehow.

“Well, I’m heading back now. Take care.” Brandon merely nodded in response as she started to walk away backwards, eyes still fixed on him and then added, as i fit was but an afterthought: “Oh, if you ever desire the company of a fellow-minded individual, come to the Red Lantern and ask for Lily.” Slightly confused, Bran could only reply with “I thought you said you were a guard for hire?”
“Oh, no, that’s only in my free time. Think of it as a hobby. Besides, Lhavit being as safe as it gets, there’s not much demand for mercenaries and the like. ” She paused, pondering whether to say more or not. “In any case, if you feel like it, by all means come visit me, okay? Even if you’re not there to share ideas with a kindred spirit.” The bat snorted. “I doubt they’d let me in if I was wearing this mask.” Lily gave him a playful wink. “Exactly.” And then she vanished in the dark.

Staring at the place she’d vanished from, the Kelvic thief rubbed his head in thought. Smartass. Your seductive tricks won’t work on me. I’m not foolish enough to believe that this could not be a trap, though I guess there’s no harm in visiting the Lantern sometime…

And with that, the Kelvic bat too disappeared in the night.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

[Balian Martell]

Brandon

Skills:

* Running: +3
* Acrobatics +4
* Escape Artist +3
* Unarmed Combat +3
* Logic +2
* Endurance +2
* Weapon: Dagger +1

Lores:

* Using the streets to my advantage
* Landing: an art form
* Using the element of suprise
* Lily: a Kindred Spirit
* Lily Moonlights as a guard
* Lily: Works at the Red Lantern Inn
* Incognito: Robbes from the rich, not the poor
* There may be sympathisers in the city.
]

Notes :

If you've got concerns, just shoot me a pm.