Completed The Falcon's Regret (Black Onyx)

[Seran]

Timestamp: 17th of Summer 514 AV 20th Bell Sol nickered softly, and Seran hushed him. The Kelvic was tired, and he couldn't keep his eyes open. He had not gotten much sleep the past few days, and he couldn't fathom why! The Zastoska Mountains had been so especially stormy, that he'd had to temporarily pack up his tent and leave for the city. The only problem? The Inns were so uncharacteristically busy, that he'd been unable to get a room. And so, Seran stayed awake as best he could and quieted his horse when someone walked past the stables. He'd hoped the Grotto might have a small room free but even the famed tavern and inn of Zeltiva was fully booked. Trudging through the rain, Seran poked his head in the door. He saw Serra shake her head when he caught her eye, a sad smile on her face. He nodded to her and then bowed out of the doorway to scowl. He didn't like others pitying him, especially since a lot of the pity was well-earned which bothered him beyond belief. He turned his mind to his recent decision. To leave Zeltiva for Wind Reach. It was still a daunting thing to wrap his head around but he stood by his choice. He simply had a few preparations to make and one, he realized, would be to uproot his tent. "Ha! Job done." He muttered grumpily, stomping back to the stables where Sol greeted him with a huff. Seran rolled his eyes, his horse had a personality oft deemed to be ironic at the best of times and downright sarcastic at the worst. A fitting match for a wayward bird I suppose. Seran laid his sopping cloak on the hay and pulled out a loaf of bread and some dried meat to make his late supper. Cold, he shook his head in disapproval but still, his stomach was growling so dried-meat-sandwich was his supper. Sol seemed to stiffen but Seran was busy eating. The rain died down a shade and while there were still heavy drops of water pelting the street outside, the sheets of precipitation had given way to an eerie mist that was lit by moonlight. "Reminds me of that thief." Seran observed aloud before downing the rest of his sandwich. His hunger sated, he sat and absentmindedly reached to his hip. Groaning inwardly, he was once again reminded of Black, who'd appropriated his sword for her own means. "Petch, I liked that blade. No, I need that blade." Seran kept gazing into the mist wondering if somehow miraculous though it might be, the fog would produce his father's weapon.

[Black Onyx]

Black had gone out for most of the night, but she hadn’t found very many people that were worth stealing purses from, especially seeing as it had been raining, not many people were out. In fact she would have stayed at her room in the Grotto if she didn’t have any places to be, informants to wait for. Indeed, the young woman was willing to wait for informants every day, it didn’t take that much time out of her schedule really and if it meant that she may one day possess information that may very well be of import to someone who might be willing to pay a small fortune for it, the wait would be worth it. However, so far, none of her informants had turned up any information and she was beginning to think that maybe she should go out and actively ask around for people willing to become an informant for a thief. However, that was a dangerous thing to do, she really didn’t want to go advertising, especially if she wanted to fly low and under the radar. A feat that Black had been attempting to do for most of her life, however sometimes she would occasionally slip or someone would catch her stealing a purse. Lucky for her, they hadn’t pressed any charges for she hadn’t exactly gotten away with their purse, instead they would give her a stern talking to.

A sigh fell upon her lips as she stood under the eave of a building, the hood of her black cloak pulled tight around her pale facial features. Her brown hues watched the rain that hit the cobble stone street and she began to wonder if it would lighten up enough for her to get back to the Grotto. However, as the chimes passed, the rain only lightened up a little and she shook her head, she would just have to run through it. Black stepped out of the eave and into the rain, but she didn’t stand there, she pushed forwards into a light run, her boots thumping down upon the street underneath as she made her quick way through the streets towards the building of which had been home to her for quite some time. She felt the rain as it began to sink into her clothes as she ran, but lucky for her, her clothes wouldn’t get too soaked, as she wasn’t that far from the grotto and inwardly, she kinda enjoyed the fact that she was running through the rain. A pleasure that one couldn’t always enjoy, for the days where the sun made an appearance, outnumbered the rainy days.

Upon reaching the Grotto, her quick footsteps took her inside and she pushed back the hood of her cloak, her black locks tumbling out and around her shoulders as she shook her head. She took a moment to take out an apple and make her way over to the social lounge to seat herself at one of the tables. She pushed the chair back a little and leaned back into the chair, only to prop her feet up onto the table top her leaning form making the chair swing back onto two legs. She twirled the apple in her hands a couple of times, before she bit into it, her brown eyes closing as she simply enjoyed the sweet taste upon her tongue and the rhythmic motion of simply chewing. It was relaxing after a night that did not bear fruits that came in the form of mizas. Maybe she might be more lucky with purses tomorrow, when it might stop raining long enough for people to brave the streets to seek out their enjoyment.

[Seran]

Seran stared into the mist for a long time. His eyes drooped and he felt the day's fatigue seep into him. Dragging down a whole camp's worth of supplies had drained him of spirit as well as energy. The Kelvic had only just laid back against Sol's side when he heard quick wet thumps. He guessed that somebody was coming closer, and probably wearing boots by the sound of the thumps. Last he checked it had been the 20th bell, and barely 15 chimes had passed. It was late in the evening but not unreasonable for somebody to venture out on an errand. Through the fall of his hair, he watched the wall of fog attentively. The sound grew louder and with a final whoosh of mist about them, a figure burst into view and dashed up the steps to the Grotto. "No, it couldn't be..." Seran hadn't failed to notice that the figure was all clothed in black and sporting an intimidating cloak. It's been what? Ten or eleven days at the most, he figured and he'd not seen hide nor hair of Black since their sordid meeting. He felt conflicted for a few ticks but then he shook himself. Had he not just thought about how much he needed his father's sword? It really was all that remained of Edward Sully since he'd... "For you Dad." He got to his feet and sighed. Seran wondered if Black would behave similarly to last time, that is, cold and unfeeling with an inner contempt for him. Seran shook the rain from his hair and spotted Black leaning back, her feet crossed casually on a table. Were you raised in a barn? Learn some respect. He thought with annoyance. Ms. Danalle passed him as he crossed the room hefting a handful of mugs. Serra shook her head at him again, mercifully without the pity smile but he waved her away. She smiled for real and he caught her glancing from him to Black, she didn't seem to mind the woman's pose at all. He tried to adopt a stern expression but he just couldn't make it convincing and so he decided to appear as neutral as possible. Water still dripped from his head but The Grotto was warm enough, Seran simply hoped he could keep his stubborn side from rearing its head. He stopped in front of Black and refrained from sitting. With his nod, he hoped his unspoken message was that he didn't expect their exchange to be lengthy. "Hello Black, it's been a while. Did you do as I asked?" He had contemplated how to approach Black, but in the end he knew that dithering would get him nowhere. It had after all, been his irrational behaviour that had driven both of the Kelvics he had met in the past few days away from him. And if there really was no alternative, he could always appeal to her thieving nature. A well-secured pouch of gold Mizas rested in his saddlebags with Sol. He hadn't been so stupid as to dare bringing money on his person but he hoped he wouldn't need to resort to it anyway.

[Black Onyx]

Black was more interested in the apple she was eating rather than pay attention to the surrounding people that had taken refuge within the walls of the Grotto while it rained. She never truly felt the threat of anyone within the Grotto, why? Because she had lived there for a little bit and was beginning to memorize some of the more familiar faces that frequented the Grotto. She angled her hand to view the apple at a different angle, taking note of the green skin as it seem to gently shine under the light within the building. She angled the apple a different way to view the part where she had bitten into the apple, the white inside was beginning to go a slight brown. Some things just tend to rot away so very quickly, she told herself before she lifted the apple to her lips to bite down into it again. It was during this bite that she heard footsteps begin to approach the table that she was seated at and instead of turning her head to view the approaching figure, she simply took another bite. However, they made their way into her line of view and a brow perked upwards as she recognized Seran and she listened to his spoken words. He had nerve, that she would give to him.

”You have some nerve to even ask such a question, perhaps you should sit first.” She merely said as her brown hues watched the male for a moment. The young equine would lift the apple up to her lips once again to bite into it, slowly chewing upon the bite as she waited for him to sit. However, even if he refused to sit, a shrug would be given at this as she glanced away from him, silently surveying the room. Black knew what he was talking about, he was talking about the sword that he had thrown at her feet, the one that supposedly was so special to him. She only had one thing, other than mizas that was so special to her and never would she have parted with it, which was why she questioned his motives in the first place. Her trust could not be bought but earned, simply throwing away a sword, didn’t mean a thing to her, for someone could very well have hidden a dagger of some kind in their boot or in their belt. Someone people didn’t even need a weapon to kill someone, they could just use their bare hands and those ones were the main ones to fear.

It was at this point in time where she glanced back to the male known as Seran and she angled her head to the right as her gaze flickered over his form. He didn’t appear to be so well known of the dangers that even just one person could possess, however, she knew that looks were deceiving and so her shoulders rose and fell in a simple shrug. ”For me to have done what you asked, implies that you have something over me, when in fact you don’t.” She lifted the apple to bite into it, her teeth making quick work of the chewing process before she swallowed to talk once more. ”I could have sold it, in fact now that I think about it…” She paused as she lifted her free hand to gently tap a finger at the side of her head, as if she was trying to remember as to whether she had sold the sword. ”I’m pretty sure that I sold it, fetched a pretty good price for it too.” She lied as a smirk curved her lips before she bit into her apple. While her night may have lacked a profit of mizas, at least she had gained a source of entertainment.

[Seran]

OOC: : Oh my gosh, you sneaky devil! I find it hilarious actually but Seran won't! Clearly, Seran had been correct on his assumption of her continued contempt. His unspoken message fell on deaf ears as she gave him the once-over. "You have some nerve to even ask such a question, perhaps you should sit first.” Seran worked his jaw to try not to yell. It mostly worked and what little did not, he covered with a grunt of dismissal as he sat down heavily in the chair across from her. His memories of their last meeting continued to renew themselves and so he clasped his hands on the table. Not that I have anything to reach for anymore, he thought angrily. Black seemed to have invested nothing in the conversation, as she was looking around the Grotto at others rather than the person whom she'd just begun speaking to. Seran tapped his foot, as a small voice in his head pointed out that she had invited him to sit. He mimicked her, and cast a glance around. None of the faces were familiar to him, and it seemed as though none of them were leaving tonight. "Shyke." He muttered to himself, it seemed as though he would be spending the night in the stables. ”For me to have done what you asked, implies that you have something over me, when in fact you don’t.” Seran turned to see she was once again giving him her full attention as far as he could tell. When she bit into her apple, he was tempted to say something but his mind was blank. This woman of all people, had disarmed him completely or otherwise dodged his verbal blade with ease. It unnerved him to no end. ”I could have sold it, in fact now that I think about it…” She paused, tapping her head as though remembering something, when he finally put a phrase together. "Listen, I don't have anything over you. That's the point. I thought maybe you would listen because I so foolishly thought you could be a reasonably good person!" She finished thinking and abruptly stated, ”I’m pretty sure that I sold it, fetched a pretty good price for it too.” Seran's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to exclaim something, anything to express his displeasure. He inhaled deeply and started to cry out but his voice died down when he looked to her face. Black was wearing a derisive smirk on her face, and even if she was a wearer of many masks, the glint in her eyes was unmistakeable. Something's up. He calmed himself, and without missing a beat Seran rested his chin on his fist. "So Black, how much did you fetch for it exactly? I wouldn't have taken less than 25 gold Mizas for it myself," He watched her face for any sort of change in expression and continued. "But maybe that's just me being sentimental, I mean hey. What kind of man tosses his sword to the ground in the hopes of earning trust right? I'll admit it, that was a foolish thing to do on my part. I guess it's too late now and I regret that." Ha, how do you like me now? Seran thought cheekily, probably not much, but since she barely shows any genuine emotion to begin with, it's anyone's guess. He tweaked a lock of his hair, wheedling at the salty coating on the end and looked to the bar. Serra was grinning hugely at them both and generally making a fool of herself. He rolled his eyes and continued with his wheedling. Maybe I'm just not a people person.

[Black Onyx]

"So Black, how much did you fetch for it exactly? I wouldn't have taken less than 25 gold Mizas for it myself," The smirked remained upon her lips as she lifted her gaze to view the roof above their heads. Something was up. Considering how he was torn up and emotional the last time that she had seen him, it was interesting to say in the least, that he was now discussing how much that she had supposedly gotten for it. Silently, she glanced towards the other patrons within the room and she began to bite down upon the apple once more, before she realized that the apple was basically all gone. A sigh fell upon her lips as she shook her head, an apple every now and then wasn’t always so filling, in fact she went hungry for the most part. Her brown gaze flickered back to view the male that was seated at the table before her and she tossed the apple core towards him. It rolled for a bit before stopping just before him, ”Feed the rest of that to your horse, I’m sure he would appreciate a treat every now and then.”

Angling her head to the right, her steady gaze watched the male’s movements, they seemed relaxed almost, confident in a way. Black didn’t exactly know about birds, in fact he had stated he was one when they last met, however he was more of an emotional wreck back then. A complete change in demeanour really and it unnerved her to some extent, not that she would ever let that show. Any sign of weakness could very well mean that she would lose the upper hand and she did not want that. Silently she brushed back her black locks as she drew in a deep breath and she pursed her lips, almost as if in thought. ”Well let’s see now… It wasn’t yesterday when I sold it, I think it was the day before and I took that day off to sell the sword…” Her voice trailed off as she looked upwards towards the roof as she crossed her arms over her chest, a soft humming sound could be heard from the young equine before she gave him an answer. ”Hm, hm, hmmm. Ah yes, I remember now, I sold it for five gold mizas.” Her gaze would then drop to view the male before her as the smirk fell into place upon her lips once again.

Indeed, she had embellished a bit on the price, for even she wasn’t sure how much swords went for, for they were not her kind of weapon. However, embellishing was kind of the point, she really wanted to pull some kind of reaction from him, a small outburst even. If that sword had been his fathers, it meant that it was an heirloom of some kind and people tended to be a little protective about such items. If Black had found out that her own heirloom was only worth five gold mizas, she might have taken it back and threw a fit inside her room. To her, it had a lot of sentimental value, which meant that she felt it would be worth more than just five gold mizas. ”Yeah, ya see the person that I sold it to, felt that it was a relic and that it had too many nicks in the blade. Trust me, it wouldn’t have done you much good anyway.” She lifted a hand to wave it in a dismissive matter, almost as if the whole transaction had been more trouble than it was worth.

[Seran]

Seran stopped teasing his hair when the apple core rolled to a stop before him. ”Feed the rest of that to your horse, I’m sure he would appreciate a treat every now and then.” Seran nodded his assent and pocketed the apple saying, "Black, you do have a way with horses. Sol really seemed to like you, not that I can blame him but... you never did tell me what your animal form was." At this point, he was shooting in the dark with merely circumstantial evidence but, hey, it's worth a shot. He tapped the table in time with somebody playing a lute in the background. Black brushed back her hair and pursed her lips, and Seran began to wonder if it was intentional. He certainly recalled his own obvious advances when he'd still had an ale-soaked shirt on his back. Something told him otherwise and he remained just as attentive as before. ”Well let’s see now… It wasn’t yesterday when I sold it, I think it was the day before and I took that day off to sell the sword…” Typical Black, as he'd come to think of her. Taking a whole day off whatever it was she did simply to be vindictive. Black was humming to herself now, rather cutely he- WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!? She's the blasted foe in this exchange, she sold your sword you idiot! He struggled with this internally while she spoke. ”Hm, hm, hmmm. Ah yes, I remember now, I sold it for five gold mizas.” He'd finally convinced himself that he wasn't going crazy when he heard her say "Five Gold Mizas." Seran stiffened noticeably, and very quietly he said, "Five?" Tense ticks passed and he relaxed once again, She's trying to provoke you. "Yeah, ya see the person that I sold it to, felt that it was a relic and that it had too many nicks in the blade. Trust me, it wouldn’t have done you much good anyway.” Seran took a breath, long and slow not caring if she saw him. He began to seriously consider if she was telling the truth. That, would certainly be a shock. He thought sourly, I may as well play along though. Seran leaned forward in his seat, staring solemnly at Black. Now is the time to make your statement. Don't overdo it, just get the point across. Annoyingly, he found that the increased proximity brought with it the scent of her. His fist twitched but he held it with his other hand. "Black. Before that sword came into your possession, there was not a day I didn't painstakingly polish and sharpen every inch of that blade. Just the way my father taught me, as his father taught him before. There were days, yes, where I would scratch the blade or there would be a nick in the edge. Those, were the days my fingers bled raw from effort. Those, were the days I anointed my own blade with my blood, sweat and tears." Seran leaned back in his chair, holding her gaze. "I swear by Laviku if there was any imperfection on that blade, it came from your clumsy handling of the sword. I also swear by Laviku, that whomever you sold that sword to, will have the best damned blade this side of Syliras!" He had tried not to yell during the last part but as he predicted, his hotheadedness was making itself known. Seran got to his feet, gave Black a bow and turned. "Now if you'll excuse me, Sol has a gift from a pretty young lady whose partial to horses." And with that, he calmly exited the Grotto to fulfill his statement, absolutely resolved to walk back in there to continue the conversation. While his resolve was absolute, he did however question the why of it. "Just don't question it Seran." He told himself.

[Black Onyx]

Black's, brown-eyed gaze watched the male as he slowly drew in one long breath and her smirk widened at the sight. Indeed, it was still good to see that she could get a reaction out of him, even if he was now trying to keep it all under wraps. Perhaps he had learned from the last time when he saw her and was now trying to be a little more calm in his approach. Indeed he had improved, but she could see that she was still able to get a rise out of him with a few well-placed words. The young equine then watched him as he leaned forwards, towards her as his eyes locked with hers and she didn’t even try to break his gaze as he began to talk, his words reaching her ears. She wasn’t exactly interested in what he had to say about the weapon that once belong to his father’s father. For she already knew that it was a precious heirloom, she didn’t really need the whole back-story as well, it wasn’t as if she planned on keeping or sealing it. She had simply kept a hold of it, to hold it over him, to force his hand to become her informant. Looking at him now, she realized that if he hadn’t already said yes to her offer than he wouldn’t say yes now.

It was then that Seran stood up and gave a bow before turning, mentioning about giving the rest of the apple to Sol. She sat there for a moment staring at the door before she slowly dragged her feet off the top of the table and leaned forwards, the chair finally settling back down upon all four legs with a groan and she moved to stand up. It was then that she made her way up the stairs and down the corridor to her room. Once she had unlocked it, she stepped inside, closing the door behind her as she crossed the floor to the bed. She placed one hand underneath the mattress and then lifted it up, revealing the sheathed weapon that was hidden underneath. Her free hand reached out and grasped it, before she dropped the mattress back onto the bed frame. She knew just how precious heirlooms were, for if she had lost her own, she would do anything to get it back and rarely did she ever carry it with her for fear of losing it to the wrong person. The wrong person being someone like herself, except if it was a fellow thief, they would sell it in a heart-beat.

Keeping a firm grasp upon the sheathed weapon, she made her way out of her room, making sure to lock it behind her once again as she made her way back to the social lounge. She returned back to the very table she had been sitting at, thankful that it was still available. She slid back into the very chair she had seated herself in, plant her booted feet back up upon the table top and lean backwards into her chair so then the chair would swing back onto two legs once again. Black would then settle the sheathed sword into her lap, makings sure that her hands were lying over the top of it. She was unsure as to whether the male would return, for hot tempered people tended to be a little bit unpredictable. Whether he came back or not would have to be his choice, it didn’t worry her one bit for so long as she had the weapon lying in her lap, people were unlikely to bother her at that present moment. Her gaze drifted upwards to view the roof once more, before she closed her eyes and listened to the surrounding people.

[Seran]

Sol had greedily snatched up the apple core with youthful enthusiasm, making Seran smile. When he went to return to The Grotto, he had to remind himself to maintain a serious expression. Nevertheless he slipped into the tavern with reasonable quickness, already forgetting his heated explanation of how he had cared for his father's sword to Black. Returning to their table, Seran saw that Black had her eyes closed. Though she was obviously listening to her surroundings, she seemed very peaceful. Sitting down, Seran saw the glint of metal in her lap and, damn it! The man just couldn't stop smiling. "I suppose you want me to be your informant in exchange for the sword?" He asked, cocking his head charmingly. Despite his best efforts, Seran recognized that his opinion of Black had improved. He certainly wouldn't trust her with his life, or any more of his possessions but perhaps she wasn't the faithless thief he had originally thought of her as. He pondered for a few chimes, the benefits and consequences of becoming Black's informant, both immediate and long-term. Seran really was conflicted, but one answer to his question would make all the difference. "Black, if I become your informant, would I be allowed to leave Zeltiva?" He tried not to look at his sword, although the thought had crossed his mind to just grab for it and run. One of her past sayings had been that she had answers for him. Of course, he knew Black held the key to this whole dilemma and so Seran sat and waited.

[Black Onyx]

Black heard someone approach before they took a seat at the table that she was currently seated at and she heard the male’s voice, Seran’s voice to be exact as he asked her about being an informant and whether he could leave Zeltiva. She had been thinking about that of late, about her informants and their location. They had been silent, too silent and no matter how often she stood out on the docks, they were still silent. A frown fell across her forehead for a moment before it smoothed out. However, she wouldn’t restrict her informants, she realized that if they brought news from other cities, that would be more information she could possibly use against outsiders. So she wasn’t exactly against him leaving the city if he did become an informant. Slowly, she opened her brown-eyed gaze, her hues glancing to look at the male who appeared to be smiling like a lunatic. Ah, the appearance of his father’s sword must have gotten him into such a good mood, it just begged the question, would he be willing to become her informant to get the sword back?

She would then tap her fingers against the sheathed blade as she questioned this to herself before she decided to just simply answer his question. ”If you want to come and go from Zeltiva, you are more than welcome to. To be honest, I don’t feel like baby-sitting my informants and having to chase them down in the middle of the night to cut their throats simply because they decided to leave the city. It’s too much work for me” She would then look down at the weapon in her lap and ran a soft hand over the hilt of the blade. ”However, should you become my informant I expect information. If you stay in Zeltiva, I expect any information you can bring me. If you leave Zeltiva, I still expect you to gather information, just simply store it away and whenever you return back to Zeltiva, inform me of such information.” The young equine imagined that if she didn’t have the man’s sword, she wouldn’t be seeing him upon this particular rainy night. Her gaze continued to stare at him for a moment before she glanced away to view the room, taking note of the new faces now within the room, how long had they been sitting there?

Drawing in a slow breath, finally she decided to speak softly, finally answering the one question that she had avoided answering. The kelvic question. ”I hope Sol enjoyed the treat, I surely enjoyed eating it as well… As you already know, or have suspected, I am a kelvic, I get along with horses, because I am one myself. It’s not something that I advertise.” She then pressed her lips together in a firm line before slowly, she pulled her booted feet off the top of the table and leaned forwards, the chair groaning in protest as it settled back onto all four legs. She would then lift the sword and place it upon the table top, she kept one hand upon the sword while her right hand moved to unsheathe the dagger that was sheathed at her side. Black would then place the dagger upon the top of the sword almost warning him to not touch the weapon just yet, otherwise he may get a nasty surprise. ”Now, I need to know whether you are serious about becoming an informant and maybe, just maybe, I might be inclined to give you your sword back.” She had every intention of giving the male his sword back, no matter the outcome, however, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t still play upon the possible informant card, after all, he did mention it.