A Foolish Mistake (Solo)

[Aello]

Spring 11, 511 AV Aello was sitting at a small wooden table in the corner of the Silver Silver Tavern. Her bag was resting on top of the table, as was her bow. Her quiver was nestled into the space between her shoulder blades, and Yune was quietly resting on her left shoulder. The girl had arrived only moments before, and had just settled in. The tavern seemed strangely quiet today. Service seemed slow as well, usually one of the maids would have come to her table and asked what she wanted already, but no one had come. Aello didn't really mind though, she wasn't in much of a mood for anything other than a place to sit for a little while. Aello sat silently and surveyed the floor. There weren't too many patrons today. Perhaps she had come at a strange hour; too far in-between meals to truly attract anyone. It was a few hours after noon, she thought, considering how high the sun seemed to be in the sky. It was casting a pale glow on the bar through the open windows. Aello sighed, perhaps she should of stayed out there. The streets seemed more lively than the bar. It was then that Aello noticed him. Aello almost didn't recognize him, it had been so long. The man had appeared to age a few years since she last saw him; perhaps from lack of sleep or stress. The man had paler skin than she, and sapphire blue eyes. A round face that seemed to slim down a bit. Prominent cheekbones jutted out of the pale flesh, creating a visage far more angular than she remembered. His nose was as large as ever, and his neck seemed the same; fat. He was muscular though, and wore a dark green tunic with brown pants and brown boots; Charles. Aello couldn't decide if he looked better or worse to her than last time. Either way, he still looked terrible. Charles sat alone now, next to the table where he and Aello had first met. Perhaps it is time to finish the ghost's wishes. Aello smiled shyly as she pressed her feet into the floor and pushed her seat back. Her chair scraped across the wood, drawing the eyes of the nearest patrons as she mouthed the word "sorry" in apology. When Aello had pushed the seat back far enough, she got to her feet. She plucked her bag from the table and slipped it over her shoulder, so that it could rest beside her quiver. She picked her shortbow up next, and made her way over to Charles' table. When she reached it, she stopped short by the seat opposite him. "Would you like some company?" Aello asked. There was no response right away. "Did you hear me?" Aello asked as she wrapped her fingers around the back of the seat in front of her. She waited a moment for any sort of reply from Charles. There was none. Is he deaf or something? Deciding that she was in no mood to wait for him, Aello pulled back the seat in front of her with her free hand, and sat down. She put her bow down on the wooden table. It was then that he first spoke to her, "there are other open tables you know." "Yeah, there are, but you seemed like you could use some company," Aello replied in a neutral tone. He didn't seem as though he liked her there. In fact, he seemed rather distant, and the edges of his eyes were red. Has he slept recently? Or merely had too much to drink? A mostly empty glass mug rested on the table by his right hand. A few frothy bubbles lingered on the bottom, along with the occasional drop of a silver mixture. Must be the house's specialty brew. He didn't reply to her. "Are you alright?" Aello asked. "Have you had too much to drink?" "What are you my mother?" Charles growled. "No," Aello replied. "Then shhhuuddyup," he replied. Aello turned away. Well this is going to be a bit rougher than we thought. But at least, he gives us reason to want to kill him. Other than it being a ghost's wish of course. She was silent for a long time, deep in thought. How did she get this guy outside, and to a more discreet location, where she could easily kill him and dump the body? How did she get him to unknowingly walk into her little trap? Aello turned back to him. She began to breath in through her nose, and out through her mouth. Perhaps if she took the time to concentrate on him, his aura would come into view. Perhaps the one thing that couldn't easily be manipulated or hidden would show the young spiritist something that would help her complete her task for the ghost. The girl continued to breath, and finally, after a few seconds, noticed a transparent mist floating around Charles, his aura. The mist was a silver color, a mixture between smoke and fog, it seemed. It was littered with sparkling grey blobs. Is he too drunk to read? Aello wondered, as she closed her eyes and broke her concentration. The aura instantly faded away. A wave of exhaustion hit Aello, causing her eyes to feel unnaturally heavy. Well, that certainly helped the situation.

[Aello]

"So, have you been in Ravok a long time?" Aello asked. There was no reply. "Well, if you ever need someone to show you around..." Aello was cut off when Charles smashed his hand down on the table. "Told you to shuddyup," he growled, as Yune awoke with a start. She began chirping wildly, and flapping her good wing. Aello raised her right hand, and curled her fingers around the sparrow's face. Delicately, she pressed them into the bird's feathers, getting her to shut up. When Yune had been quiet long enough, Aello lowered her hand onto the table again. The bird seemed to get the message. "You cannot silence anyone," Aello replied calmly. She was growing tired of him, and just wanted the task to be done. With that, the man was silenced as his head came crashing into the table. Aello's eyes grew wide when the thud reached her ears. "Well that can't be good," she whispered. But it does make killing him a lot easier. Aello picked up her bow, pushed her seat back, and crossed to the other side of the table. She strung the bow over her right arm, as she walked over to Charles. She pulled his seat back. With her left hand, Aello smacked him lightly in the face a few times. "Charles," smack! "Charles! Please wake up." Aello smacked him again, but there was no response. She looked up from his body, and around the bar. No one seemed to care that he had passed out. Just as well. Aello pulled his seat back, and pushed his body forward a bit. She looped her arms under his armpits and then looped her foot around the leg of the seat he was in. She pulled the seat back, a few inches, until his body slunk out of it, and then unhooked her foot. The man was heavier than he looked. Must be all dead weight at this point, Aello thought as she slowly dragged him towards the door, gritting her teeth the entire time. When she reached the wooden door, Aello turned so that her back could push up against it, slowly it opened, and she pulled their bodies out. Aello looked around, the nearest alley was to her left. She began to walk that way, dragging Charles with her. Now it'd be nice if he got up. The bastard is kind of heavy. Aello pulled and pulled. Her muscles were growing heavy now that she had been dragging Charles along for such an extended period of time. Her back ached, and she was certain she had pulled another muscle in her neck. Aello bit her bottom lip. Almost there, just slip into that quiet alley, and end it all. The last few feet seemed to drag on for ages, but finally, the young spiritst had managed to pull Charles into a secluded alley. As soon as she had, Aello pulled her arms out from beneath Charles, and let the man fall to the floor. Aello's chest was rising and falling rather rapidly. Her throat felt dry. "Finally," she gasped, as she pulled her bow off her arm and propped it up against the side of the alley. Now all you got to do is finish him. Aello pulled her dagger out of concealment. She felt bad about killing him, now that he couldn't fight back, but she had promised the ghost. Yune fluttered off Aello's shoulder and onto the street. Aello's body crumbled so that she was kneeling over him. She held the blade with both hands; her palms being so sweaty. Her hand was trembling slightly as she raised the blade above her head. All she had to do was bring it down on his heart, and he'd be dead. Aello gulped. This shouldn't be so difficult. It's not like she knows him. Yet, the girl's bottom lip trembled, her hands shook, and her heart was pounding in her tiny rib cage. Several beads of sweat had appeared on her brow. "Ok... we can do this," Aello whispered almost breathlessly as she raised the blade even higher. "On three," she told herself. "One. Two... Three!" Aello brought the blood-stained blade down just as the man opened his eyes. The blade punctured the middle of his chest just as the words, "what the?" escaped his lips. His eyes grew wide as blood began to pool around the cut Aello had made. "Sorry," Aello whispered as she lifted the blade again. Several tears had welled in her ducts. She wasn't sure why she was crying, it wasn't like he meant anything to her. She brought it down on his chest. More blood trickled out of the cut on impact. The tears began to trickle down her face. She raised the blade one last time. Charles was gasping for air. "Why?" Aello brought the blade down one last time. Blood began to pour out of his mouth, to stain her blade. He seemed to choke on it. His eyes growing glassy as his head turned to the side. He was dead. Aello pulled her blade out of his chest. It was dripping warm, crimson-colored blood. The deed is done. Aello stood up and put the dagger away. She had really done it. Killed someone else for the sake of a ghost. Someone who had already died. A cool breeze swept through the alley, and Aello soon realized that Charles' ghost had lingered. "Why?" it asked her. The blade seemed to burn her skin as it rested beside Aello's thigh. How strange, it has never done that before. Perhaps it means something. "It was a request from the ghost of the one you killed," Aello replied. "Killed?" Charles replied. "Never intentionally, killed... Only in self-defense, he wanted to kill me. But now you have done his job." "What?" Aello gasped, her eyes wide as the breeze disappeared. He was gone. What had Aello done? Her heart was pounding as she wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand. She bent over and picked up her bow, before offering her left hand to Yune. The bird hopped on. "We better go, there is no time to dump the body," Aello whispered to Yune as she looked around the alley worriedly. There was no one there. The girl walked right, and then twisted into the shadows. OOCOk, I know Charles' death seems easy, and it kind of was. But... that was the point. The next phase of this story will come later when Aello's levels are higher. The punishment and repercussions for her actions will be more apparent then. As of now, the guilt will merely eat at her in the future. Add to her paranoia, all that good stuff. Sorry the thread is a little dry by the way.

[Seth]

Aello: +1 Auristic XP +1 Dagger XP Lores: How it Feels to Plot to Kill, How it Feels to Kill a Helpless Man, How to Deliver a Killing Blow. The Method behind my Madness : You described your Auristics and your Dagger just enough to warrant an XP point! <3 I am looking forward to seeing the continuation of this!