51st Day, Fall of 510 A.V. In the Spinning Coin, the hours slipping late into the night. The man resembled a Nuit in Aura, almost down to an exact science. There was something else though, something boiling beneath the surface, and Stitch couldn't figure out what it was. The blind man had been sitting in the back, pulled up the long bar, sipping idly on a glass of water while he checked out the owner of the place. Gene Duval was his name, and he was an interesting individual. People shied away from them, as if they could see what Stitch saw. A cold and uncaring Aura that had no time for play, no time for anything but the business at hand. And from what Stitch saw, this entire building was his business. The gambling, the pig racing, the fighting... It was all owned by the man. He owned it, and he controlled it. Stitch had watched him take on a unruly customer, one twice his size, and Duval had downed the man with a single punch. A simple strike to the jaw, one that Stitch hadn't even been able to see. The man had just been threatening Duval, and then, just like that, his jaw was broken and he was in a heap on the floor. Duval had simply grabbed him by the arm, dragged him across the floor, then thrown him out the door. Thrown. Stitch had originally been going to ask the man a few questions, perhaps meet a new friend. After getting a glance at his stormy Aura though, and then watching him manhandle a customer who had simply shot off his mouth... Stitch was happy to watch from afar. The blind man wasn't the only one watching. Quite a few people around the Orphanage owner had their eyes on him. They had seen the blind man fight here before, like he actually could see. He had shown both martial arts prowess, and the ability to smoothly move about like he actually had working eyes. Perhaps he did under those white bandages he wore, perhaps there was just some trick to it. They were pretty sure it was magic, though. And not many people liked magic. Especially not the kind of people who usually practiced magic. Stitch wasn't really a wizard, and certainly wasn't someone to be worried about, or scared of. He did use Auristics, but it was only to see. He wasn't up to any kind of trouble, but they didn't know that. They watched him all the same, wondering what he was here for. Several people had heard of the fire at the Orphanage, only a few days before. What was the man doing here now? "Hey, you." Stitch cocked his head, his gaze focusing even further on the Aura that he had been watching for hours now. Gene was calling out to him, pointing in his direction. His dark gray Aura boiled, just like a storm cloud ready to unleash lightning, and Stitch braced himself. What had he done to anger the man? The Spinning Coin had silenced, all eyes on the scene. Gene paused for a minute, then spoke again, his gruff voice barking out orders. "Get in the ring. You tend to bring in bets, if last time is any hint to what I will make this time around." Stitch rose, his slim body uncurling from the chair he had been sitting in. Without a word, he walked forward, making his way through the chairs to approach the ring located on the other side of the Spinning Coin. He had came here for a fight, and had gotten caught up studying Gene's Aura. Time to refocus.Gene glanced about, looking for a challenger. "Anyone? He is just a blind man." His sarcasm was obvious. |