Justice Before The Crow Flies (Kassan/Solaris)

[Shade]

4th of Winter, 511 Av.

Shadekas was on duty that afternoon. It was a shift that stretched from the fourteenth bell to the midnight hour. Monks often didn't have long shifts, but he volunteered for this one because he needed to get some legwork in and track Solaris' tormenter. Not only did he want his forty gold back but he wanted to take at least that much out of Crow's hide. While inherently a nice guy, Shadekas also realized when people that weren't good for his city were allowed to keep breathing air and sharing space bad things happened. So he'd taken it upon himself to hunt this Crow down and makes sure he plagued people no more.

So, prowling every den of debauchery from the fourteenth bell onward, Shade had picked up Crows trail and had kept just one step behind him halfway through the city. The trail lead to five stops in the Western Quarter before vanishing towards a destination in the Northern Quarter. Shade was on duty so passing into the Northern Quarter was not a good idea without an Uphis Monk at his side, so Shade stopped the first one he saw at the boarder and spoke briefly to him.

"Brother. I have an urgent matter. Is it possible to request Kassan to meet me here? Will you take word for me?" After some further discussion, the other monk did in fact know Kassan was on duty and was willing to take the message, most likely in order to see Kassan have a little fun himself. Shadekas assured the monk he'd wait for Kassan at the border between the two Quarters and set about to relax until the other monk put in an appearence.

[Kassan]

Kassan had been on guard duty for five hours now. His legs were getting a little stiff, but he did not let it show. Outwardly, he was a stoic Benshira man, glaive at hand to ward off intruders. He took his job seriously, and rarely saw it as a chore. Besides, duty was thinking time. Contemplation could come in the darkest hour, and one did not need to be seated to meditate. It was late afternoon, the sun just beginning to clip the skyline of holy Nyka, when a fellow monk came strolling towards him. Before he even reached Kassan, he knew the man was going to ask something of him. It was the way he looked at him. "Ho, Brother," Kassan said with a swift bow of his head. The monk bowed back out of respect. There was always respect amongst Uphis' men. The same could not be said for the other quarters. "A monk at the border requests your presence," he said to Kassan, "he goes by the name of Shadekas." The man of Xannos..., he thought, well this could be interesting. "Did he say what he wanted of me?" The monk shook his head, a touch of curiosity filling his face. "He said it was an urgent matter, and that he would wait on the border. That is all." "Very well," he replied, "thank you for bringing this to me." He would not associate with monks of the other quarters usually, but Shadekas was strange. Kassan saw eye to eye with him on some issues. He would not call it friendship - he barely knew the man - but he was intrigued nonetheless. Shifting his water canteen so it was comfortable to walk with, he lifted his glaive so it wouldn't scrape the floor, and began to walk towards the border his quarter shared with Xannos'. Whatever Shadekas wanted, Kassan was sure it would be interesting.

[Solaris]

For perhaps the first time in a long time, Sol was in a good mood.

He wasn't sadistic, but revenge was definitely something that appealed to him, and he'd spent a rotten two weeks with Crow that he'd never get back. He looked forward to whatever Shadekas had in mind.

They'd been traveling for quite some time through the seediest joints he'd ever seen- all places Crow was most likely to be found. Dark places, dank and old and reeking, which to the Kelvic's heightened senses were almost too much to bear. He was reluctant to appear as a human here, unwilling to endure more leers and taunts his way, but in some places the stench of disease and despair was too hard to bear. Shifting into his human form helped some, as did his general good mood, but beneath that he continued to wonder- what was Shadekas playing at?

Along with affection and etiquette, altruism was yet another foreign concept to Sol. Surely Shadekas wanted something from him- but he hadn't touched him more than to wipe off the grime, or occasionally stroke his hair, which he still denied to himself that he enjoyed.

"Who's Kassan?" Sol asked after many hours traipsing in silence, after finally remembering that this was neither Rhyss nor Crow, and he could speak without fear of being backhanded or punished in some way.

Even with his slightly dulled senses as a human, his hearing and smell were near impeccable, and he noticed the man approaching long before he came within a human's range of vision. "Someone's coming this way," he said to Shadekas.

[Shade]

Shadekas nodded to Solaris and answered his question quietly. "Kassan is a fellow monk. He is of the Uphis Order though so the Northern Quarter is his territory. It would be far better if we invited him in the chase rather than pursued on our own n a Quarter that does not belong to Xannos. You can tell which monks are which by the symbols on their robes. Mine is of Xannos. His will be of Uphis. There are two others I will point out as we meet them so you will know." Shadekas said, unsure if Solaris would have noted markings or not on robes. The kelvic was observant, but Shadekas wasn't sure if he cared about symbolism and markings. One never knew, he was discovering, what interested the kelvic and what did not.

They waited quietly. Shade had endless patience, though he know Solaris was restless and natured exactly like a cat. It was a relief when Kassan put in an appearance and Shade was able to break his patience stance and nod to the other monk.

"Thank you for coming. I have a situation I thought you might be interested in." He started by way of explanation.

"There was a dice game outside my Sponsor's studio last night. They had this gentleman, who is a kelvic, bound by the neck and were dicing. The man, Crow, who was in charge of the game was a completely unsavory individual. He's relieved me of coin, illegally had this gentleman as a slave..." Shadekas nodded towards Solaris. "And is someone I thought best to throw out of the city or cut his throat..." Shade said it without absolutely blinking, as if it made no difference to him whether the man lived or died, but only in that he didn't impact the citizenship of Nyka. "...before he negatively impacts any more Nykans. I've been tracking him through the Western Quarter. He's skipped over to the Northern Quarter. I'd like to continue the chase and confront him, but I will not do so without the approval and escort of a Northern Quarter brother. You came to mind immediately. My father was an Uphis Monk and you remind me of him. Will you assist us?" Shade asked.

He was calm, but there was also a ruthless gleam in his eye. He was a predator on the trail of prey, though he was willing to share the kill. He just wasn't willing to encroach on another territory without permission.

[Kassan]

Kassan listened to Shadekas' explanation. The man was mysterious and Kassan wanted to know more about him. His eyes were a crystal blue hue, and his skin a shade akin to olive. His eyes landed on the man standing next to Shadekas - he certainly hadn't seem him before. Who was he? He saw the ruthless gleam in Shade's eyes, and touch at his glaive defensively. At the same time, he bristled. This... felon, had held the kelvic like a slave? Kassan found his teeth grinding. No slaver in Nyka would live. Vengeance would be dealt with the blade of Uphis. "Justice will fall before the sun sets," Kassan finally replied with a short bow of his head. This man was of Xannos - he could not place his trust entirely on his shoulders - but he would do what needed to be done. "If I stay close, you can pass through the North Quarter without being attacked." He swallowed and gave the man a faint smile. "Don't presume I trust you though. You're a man of Xannos through and through."

[Solaris]

Shadekas wasn't far off the mark in assuming Sol wasn't that interested in the symbols on their backs. A human was a human and a man was a man, and as far as he was concerned, he trusted neither, no matter what sort of design they bore.

"Don't presume I trust you though."

What did this Kassan mean? Was there something wrong with being from Xannos?

He gave Shadekas a sideways glance. He wasn't too sure what Kassan was insinuating; so far Shadekas had been kind.

Suspiciously kind.

Just as suspicious was this new man's readiness to help him. He was just a Kelvic, for god's sake. Just an animal. Just an insignificant black cat...

He could, perhaps, understand why Shadekas was being so hospitable so far. He'd met many a man with a penchant for Kelvics, especially of the feline kind. But this Kassan...?

Humans. What an insufferably confusing bunch. He may strongly resemble- no, completely appear to be a human himself in this form, but he was nothing like them.

"What's in it for you?" Sol asked, head cocking to the side, a calculating, curious look flashing across his golden eyes.