History (Cinder)

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[attr="class","bsbody"]Out from the shadows of a rooftop garden, just across the street from the old palace, a pair of curious pale blue eyes blinked as they watched the stranger at the gates below. In them was a myriad of questions. Who was he? What was he doing here? Was that a real bird on top of his hood? And why was he so naked? Tightening the strap of her crossbow across her chest, Ekahi leaned over the nearby stone railing, head cocked to one side, as she tried to get a better look at the man in the evening gloom.

“What do you think, Nibbles?”

The ginger cat leapt up onto the railing at the sound of his name, but only purred in response as he rubbed his head against the panthro’s arm. Nibbles had no clue either! Still, the way the mysterious man dressed, the fact he was out on an empty street so late, and how he was just…just…standing there in silence and staring at the ruined building in front of him, it had all caught the cub’s interest the moment she happened to spot him.

All in all, it was pretty weird!

But it would only get even weirder. As she continued to watch from her rooftop perch the stranger suddenly pulled back the hood of his cloak and entered the courtyard. For a moment Ekahi could just make the man out as he made his way across the overgrown stone inside, but soon enough her view was cut off completely by a portion of rusting fence and the dead trees that bordered it. At this the assassin bit her lip. Part of her really wanted to find out who the man was and what exactly he was doing out here so late.

But she also really, really needed to get back to the Boneway!

In fact, it was only by chance that she was even there in the first place. Ekahi had been on her way back from being the lookout on a Shroud job when she decided to take a detour through the older part of the city. Not for any kind of dull, touristy sightseeing, of course, and not even to evade the police. They had been left behind ages ago! Rather, the old-style buildings and questionably safe architecture made for a super fun obstacle course, and jumping and climbing from rooftop to rooftop had made up for an otherwise boring day of sitting around and staring at nothing for hours. And now this!

The assassin pushed off the railing and shifted away from the edge of the roof, though one hand remained on the cool stone. Still, the other assassins would be expecting her back at their hideout sooner rather than later, and she was so not up to dealing with any of their lectures if she ended up super late. Then again…they had also kept her away from taking part in the contract itself, so maybe she deserved a little fun that night? Ekahi huffed as her eyes flicked between where the man had disappeared and the darkening skyline of the city.

Why was this so hard!

In the end it was the cub’s curiosity which won out. After all, the other assassins could probably wait for her while she peeked inside the courtyard. For just a little bit. Whistling to her friend Ekahi turned back toward the garden railing and planted both her hands back onto the stone. She then jumped over the edge, twisted her body around, and landed with her hands still gripped to the stone as her feet found their way onto a small window ledge. A moment later Nibbles joined her with a leap of his own. From there the companions picked their way off the building and toward the cobbled street below, the assassin almost as cat-like in her movements as the ginger tom, until she had reached the mouth of the adjoining alleyway. There Ekahi gave a quick glance down either end of the street, pulled low her hood, and then darted across in pursuit of the stranger.

The rusted metal of the courtyard’s gate gave a muffled groan as the assassin pushed her way inside, but before she made it even a couple steps past the threshold Ekahi paused with her eyes and mouth wide. This place was huge! The cub had certainly passed by the old palace many times on her way to and from other parts of the city, but this was the first time she had ever stepped foot inside the courtyard, and this close up the looming glass windows and weathered stone pillars made even the masquerade hall seem tiny. Though it did lack the same pretty colors. Still, as Ekahi pushed forward she could not help but grin as she looked at all the barren fountains and misshapen statues left inside. It was so cool! The cub had only ever known the place as That Really Big Old Building Alten Told Me To Stay Out Of, but some of the older members of the Shroud had talked before about how it used to be some important person’s house, or like the old government building or something?

Honestly, she had hardly been paying attention.

But maybe that explained what he was doing here. As lost in awe as she was it did not take long for Ekahi to catch sight of the same mysterious man from before. He was now standing in front of the entrance to the building, though even from where she was the panthro could see that the thick wooden doors were heavily boarded up, and that getting inside would be tricky at best. Was getting inside what he wanted?

“There’s a way in.”

Approaching the man Ekahi pulled back her hood. Trained eyes had already spotted the knife, but seeing nothing else, the cub felt safe enough if the stranger turned against her, though she did stop with a bit of distance between them. But she was curious, beyond curious, as to what a half-naked bird man was doing here, and she figured the fastest way to find out would be to help him out. That, and it could be fun!

“At least, that’s what Dusk told me. Some really old tunnel that even the guards don’t remember about.”

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[attr="class","bsbody"]Silence.

Ekahi’s ear twitched a little as the man turned his dark eyes toward her. He made no sudden movements, never reached for his knife, and hardly made a sound, but instead just stood there and…stared. Okay? That was a liiiiittle odd. It was the first time the panthro got a good look at the stranger, though. Even in the shadows of the courtyard the cub could tell his skin was dark, not like the soot covered workers from the factories, but more like the people she barely remembered who lived under the harsh desert sun of Muerte. What was more interesting, however, were the symbols which covered his skin. Circles and swirls and bands of orange and black which formed unique shapes and patterns. Almost like her drawings!

That was so cool.

But as interesting as the man’s body was, Ekahi had begun to wonder whether the stranger had even understood her. He was still just there, staring, with only the wind and the distant sounds of the city as company between them. Could he even speak, like, at all?

And then he finally did!

The accent was unlike anything the panthro had ever heard, and even the way the man spoke was a little interesting, stiff and proper like one of the stuffy nobles of Dimant. And apparently super paranoid? Though that was a little funny coming from an assassin.

“I bet, mister! But I just want to help! You’re obviously pretty new around here, and you’re not going to get very far on your own I don’t think.”

Dimant might have been the capital of Dirys and the seat of it’s power, but the narrow alleyways, isolated courtyards, and filthy sewers were still home to a fair bit of danger, especially after night fell. Rats and gangs and even crooked guards, and no matter how “hard to prey on” he was, that little knife was not going to scare anything away!

The panthro gave a toothy grin at the next question. The man seemed nice enough, and the assassin herself was already looking forward to tagging along, but she didn’t trust him that much. That was something Alten had taught her, after all! No matter how strange or awesome or awesomely strange the stranger, never tell them your real name. Or something like that.

“The name’s Lily! And this is…”

Did Nibbles need a new name, too?

“…my best friend, Scraps!”

The ginger tom peeked out from behind Ekahi’s boots and gave a confused chirp up at the panthro, but otherwise remained where he was. Well, it couldn’t hurt! With her (fake) introduction the cub dared to take a few steps toward the man, her arms remaining at her side and away from the weapon on her back, as her eagerness to learn more about the stranger began to outweigh her caution just a little bit.

“What about you? I’ve never seen anyone dressed like that! Is that a real bird on your hood? It’s like one of those masks from the ball but even prettier! And I love the drawings on your skin!”

Ekahi bit her tongue to stop the stream of questions. There were a thousand more things she wanted to ask, and she probably would in due time, but they would need to get moving at some point if the stranger wanted to get inside the palace. And she was equally excited to get their little adventure started!

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[attr="class","bsbody"]Cap…oh…aye?

Huh. For all his paranoia and talk of prey, the man was surprisingly comfortable throwing his own name around. A funny name it was, at that! Far from the kinds of names she heard often in the city, even with the amount of tourism and business that came through Dimant. Not that Ekahi expected anything else at this point. A weird name only added more weirdness to an already weirdish situation, and that was quickly becoming the norm that night. She would certainly have one heck of a good story to share with the rest of the Shroud when she eventually got back.

At least, assuming they were not toooo mad about the whole detour thing.

The cub stifled a giggle at what Kapeuo said next. A newcomer? You could say that again! But Ekahi was a little more skeptical about the other part.

“No offense, mister, but you seem pretty unprepared to me. That little knife won’t scare anything here after dark. But that’s why you’re lucky you ran into me!”

Even if it was technically the panthro who ran into him. Or maybe more like spied on him? Followed him into a dark and abandoned courtyard as a weapon-toting assassin fresh off a contract?

Details.

Ekahi hummed a little in disappointment though as the stranger flipped up his hood. It was just a feather! Granted, it was a really pretty orange and white feather, but that was way less cool than having an entire bird on his hood. Still, the talk of drawings was enough to keep her enthusiasm up. The assassin was not exactly sure how drawings gave someone strength and stuff, but it sounded neat! Maybe they were kind of like the tattoos big ol’ Bard had. Though probably not based on all the people he had killed? That seemed more like just a Bard thing to do.

“That’s really cool! And I don’t know!”

The panthro bounced a little in place as if she had said something not completely unhelpful. But it was true! As excited as she was, Ekahi had only just realized that Dusk had never…exactly…actually told her where the tunnel was? Or maybe the cub had just not been paying attention. That did happen a lot. But what she did remember were a few details here and there that she had overheard, and the assassin clapped her hands together as one in particular came to mind.

“But I remember Dusk saying where to look for it! It was somewhere at the edge of the gardens, inside something called a…a mousey lame? A mossy Liam? I thiiiink it’s like a shed but for dead people?”

Ekahi looked past Kapueo and spotted a small iron gate, half unhinged and ajar, which looked like it led deeper into the palace grounds. There! The assassin was sure they would find the messy lane somewhere in there! With a whistle to Nibbles the panthro sprinted toward the gate, calling over her shoulder as she did so.

“Come on! I think it’s this way!”

Both cub and cat then slipped through and disappeared into the tangle of vines and bushes that led deeper into the garden, slowing just enough to let their newfound companion catch up, all the while searching for the mighty loom in the deepening dusk.

This was going to be fun!