Dark dealings in the light of Day

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

Beautious. It nearly took his breath away, except Jeth was too cunning to let the mere architect of the buildings around him distract him enough to lose his head. However to look at him one might think the dog anthro was experiancing nirvana.

Jeth's furry face had on a wide smile of rapture as he stood beside a fountain, watching the sun dance through the spray and turning it into rainbows of light. Children chased eachother through the mist as the wind blew it over into the street, cooling off passersby.

A young man of the merchant class wandered curiously over to raise his eyebrow at the anthro.

"Having fun?" he asked, folding his arms.

Jeth tilted his head and sniffed, "Compaired to you, aparently I must be. The anxiety streaming off you rivals the fountain. But come now, come now," he turned entirely around and braced his staff on his shoulders, a pleasent grin on his face, "You must be here for something specific. Perhaps you were looking for some hire-help? I myself am more than quite free."

Although he made light, Jeth knew the young man by scent to be the same who had slipped him a note the previous night at the local tavern, asking his assistance in elliminating some merchant rivalry. It was a petty deal that did not promise much, but Jeth was a little hard on gold due to competition, and was always willing to make up for it by just about any means necessary.

The two walked together, making small conversation until they had returned to the merchant's abode, where he entreated Jethroe to stay the afternoon. So they went inside together, to discuss what was to be done that night.

Evening found a very bored Jeth taking it easy at a different tavern, the Singing Finch while he waited for time to pass into the late hours of the night. He had played a few gambing games, his luck being on the slightly worse side, and was currently on his third cup of tea as he reviewed in his mind's eye how he would go about the assassination.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

(So, I was thinking that I might join with Kuaixing, if that's all right.)

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

Ooc: Certainly. She sounds most facinating.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

A slight figure in a hooded cloak entered the Singing Finch. There was a sheathed sword slung across her back. Trailing from under the cloak on either side were two lengths of black silk, some several feet long. The figured payed no attention to the fact the quality fabric was dragging on the ground.
The figure moved silently to the counter, then spoke with a feminine voice.
"<I want cheesecake. Now.>"
Though her accent was near flawless, the curt manner in which she spoke was incongruous with the intricate and flowing Elven language.
After a moment a slice of cheesecake was put on the counter before her. She reached out and picked up the plate, tipping the cake into her mouth and devouring it with astonishing speed. The trailing lengths of fabric were her sleeves. She did not bother to pull them up, and held the plate through the fabric.
The man behind the counter cleared his throat and politely asked payment for the food, but she seemingly ignored him, waving a hand in front of her nose. He seemed hesitant to repeat himself. She seemed to make the man uncomfortable.
She stood suddenly, throwing off her hood. She bore a cold and beautiful countenance, but her expression was one of someone taking the scent of rotten eggs, or some other foul odor. There was an unnatural aura about her as she moved swiftly through the tavern, stopping before Jethroe.
"<I cannot abide your repulsive scent any longer, you foul mongrel.>" She spat with malice, her icy eyes narrowed. "<Tell me why I should not slay you here and now?>"

(Sorry for taking awhile. Lately it's been really hot and humid. I have very little tolerance for warm weather, it saps my energy and fries my brain. My intro is probably crap.
I truly detest summer...)

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

Jethroe, having paid the unusual girl no mind until she addressed herself to him, paused momentarily in the consumption of his tea to listen, one ear perked in her direction, before meticulously finishing and putting the cup down.

He turned his good eye on her and gave her strange apparel a once over before focusing on her face. Even as a different species he could tell she was of a fine make although on a personal level he couldn't be less interested even if she hadn't opened her mouth.

"Well m'lady," he spoke in his cool, easy-going manner apparently unphased by her insulting remark, "Since you ask I could give you a miriad of reasons starting with my favorite: You should not attack an opponent you do not know." he paused to shrug and smile slightly before continuing, "Or perhaps you prefer the option of warning an opponent to be, in order to be fair, or because it is much more interesting to fight a prepared opponent, instead of sticking them in the back, wouldn't you say? As for myself," here he slid a finger around the rim of his cup, "If I found myself in your situation, I would wait for an opportunity in which the offensive party was alone as opposed to surrounded by a crowd, thus they could be taken care of quietly."

Jethroe paused to flick his eye about the room, their conversation had drawn a few curious listeners, but it could hardly be helped, "However," he said slowly, "I always did prefer keeping a low profile meh'self. But tell me, if you don't mind my asking," he changed the course of the conversation, "Why do you find my breed so detestable? I can smell that you are not only a mixed breed yourself, but also distant kin to my kind. Why find my presence so irritating?"

The more he scented, the more he looked at her, the more he worried. Something was off about her scent that set warning signals off in his brain. He had to tread carefully in these waters.


Ooc: That's alright about taking a while, most understandible. We've been having an unusually cool summer here actually.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

She was silent, listening to Jethroe talk. After he finished, she continued to watch him for a moment, scrutinizing his person.
Then she began to laugh, a cruel and terrible laugh. Slowly at first, she was soon laughing maniacally.
"Hahaha! You are no opponent of mine!" She cried out in Common. "Haha! You are all insignificant piss-ants, scurrying about... It matters not whether the ant knows the foot, for the ant is crushed all the same! Haha!"
As suddenly as she had begun to laugh, she stopped. She sat down at the table and said no more, apparently ignoring his question. There was a slight grin on her face, just enough to show her fangs. As she stared at Jethroe her expression was that of a predator toying with its prey before moving in for the kill.

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

He raised an eyebrow at her laughter, but otherwise remained unphased.

"Still," he replied, "The ant can climb the foot, to bite the flesh, if the flesh forget to pay the ant mind. But the question still stands." he smiled pleasantly back at her, much like one rising to a challenge. If she really thought she was the only hunter, she would be in for a surprise. He didn't doubt she could trounce him in a straight up fight, but Jeth was willing to bet he'd give her a few hard knocks himself before he inevitably became so much blood and guts spread across the wall.

Not that he wanted to start anything, but he was a little curious as to her abilities.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

"What question?" She snapped in annoyance, but then quickly continued on. "No, never mind. I do not care. I pay the piss-ants enough mind. Like the one scurrying off to fetch a guardsman!"
Her cold gaze flashed to the man who had served her the cheesecake, who was moving toward the door. The man stopped dead in his tracks, completely cowed by her stare.
"Go!" She snarled. "Summon your guards and relieve my boredom!"
Her arm twitched and screams erupted. Several people had been pierced by throwing knives. Some were hit in areas near major blood vessels and were bleeding out quickly. Others were hit in critical nerve areas, meaning an agonizing death.
She let out a deranged laugh.
"Come, mongrel. I can sense death about you. Take your soiled hands and completely drench yourself in blood! Join the slaughter or I will kill you too!"

(If you can't tell by now, she's batshit insane. I feel like I should apologize for unleashing her upon you, in your very first thread no less.)

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

(It's fine, just gives me an opportunity to stretch my creative muscles and see how much Jeth can really take before he snaps to that dark side I've subtly hinted at.)

Jethroe had on a sly grin that was completely that of a fox and not a dog at all. He hadn't moved, except for his left hand which was out straight.

He held one of her knives in his closed fist. It would have been more impressive had he actually grasped the handle instead of the blade, as now his hand was begining to oose blood.

"No no," he chastised her gently, "You can't kill that one, dear. He's my target." The one he spoke of, being a middle aged man who had a bodyguard beside him- I stand corrected- used to have a bodyguard beside him seeing as said bodyguard was twitching on the floor- sat in his seat quivering in fear as Jethroe pushed himself out of his chair.

"I notice you are a fan of the sharp and shiny weapons of speedy death," he took the blade with his right hand and gave it a cursory glance over, "I myself prefer rusty old daggers based on the fact that rusted and blunt hurt much more than fast and sharp." His grin reverted to the old whimsical, easy-going smile, "And if the victim is allowd survival, there's chance they'll die of some disease to the flesh seeing as cleaning dirty wounds is so much harder."

He dipped the knife blade into his tea and then licked the blood from the blade, "However, if it's excitement you want at a destructive level, I can show you how to set things on fire with nothing but straw." he whipped around and threw the knife.

It hit his target in the eye... handle first. However it was enough force to severely shock and hurt him.

"I don't need to be demon bred to tell me when something moves behind my back," Jeth said, "Stick around, If Lady daggers here manages to restrain herself from gutting you, I'm always open to negotiating for your life."

"Anyways," He turned his attention back to the unusual girl, "You were saying something about kill or be killed?" he asked, with almost a hint of antagonism.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

"Don't tell me what to do!" She shrieked. "I'll kill who I want to kill!
Her inhuman aura intensified, exerting an actual physical pressure. A profane and wicked malevolence emanated from her being, permeating the air. The tavern goers scrabbling to flee, bottlenecked at the door, were brought to their knees.
Then the pressure was gone, just like that, as she reigned in her aura.
"You stupid beast, I need no straw." She spat with contempt. The air in front of her began to ripple and was set ablaze with white hot streaks of energy as she began to manifest some of her Ki. It quickly condensed into an orb. She had thrown the knives at random, but now she had a definite target, and precisely because Jethroe had said she couldn't.
She mentally flung the orb at the man and his bodyguard, creating a rush of searing air in it's wake. Upon contact with the floor between the men, the orb exploded in a brilliant flare that instantly incinerated the two men, bone and all, and everything else near them. But the blast did not stop there, for it rapidly expanded in all directions, threatening to engulf the very building.
Her form flickered and she disappeared, reappearing on the street outside.

(Oh, interesting. Pushing him is what I'm planning on her doing ['Cuz I can't kill him outright {her normal reaction to people} without your permission. Heh.])

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

"I never told you what to do. Only what you couldn't. Although I see mere words are not enough to stop you when you've got your little black heart set on it."

Jethroe, unlike the others, had taken his staff and bolted upstairs to avoid the blaze now consuming the tavern. He had exitted out a window and now sat a few rooftops over blinking at Kuaixing in some befuddlement. He had seen her simply appear there in the street, but his mind still wouldn't automatically grasp that it was possible. The simple solution of transportaion through magic eluded him yet.

So to make up for it, he drained his cup of tea, now deluted with blood, which he had also taken with him for the main and simple reason that he didn't like to think of his blood going anywhere except back inside his body.

"And for the record," he added, "I didn't say you needed anything, let alone straw, to make a fire, merely that it could be done. But like I said earlier, I prefer killing enemies subtly and painfully. I'm not into the making a name for myself and getting... a bounty--" he paused and looked at her a little harder.

"Oooooh, now I know you. Your bloodlust should have tipped me off." He shook his head and grinned. Yes, everyone knew Kuaixing. That is, everyone in assasin work who was still alive, "I thought your irrational dislike of me was uncanny."

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

"Is it not beautiful?" She whispered to herself, the light of the blaze reflecting in her eyes.
Such was the force of the blast that the tavern was consumed in seconds. It's structure soon gave way and collapsed into a heap of smoldering ash.
Her eyes turned to the rooftop.
"So, the mongrel survived...," She spoke aloud, but not directly to him, "I wonder if it seeing but a fraction of my power... But now they are almost here."
She reached back, wrapping her hand around the hilt of the sheathed sword on her back. Suddenly she let out a blood curdling scream and flung the sheathed sword before throwing herself to the ground. Their was a blue spark and the sword disappeared much like she did inside of the tavern. The sounds of footsteps could be heard, the town guard approaching. She began to sob and tremble, like her small frame might dictate.
"<Help, help!>" She cried out in Elven. "<Murderer! Arsonist! He is on the roof!>"
With the demonic sword gone and her own aura suppressed, she appeared to be nothing more then a delicate, Elven damsel in distress.

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

Jethroe frowned down at her in bemusement, "Ah, pulling an old trick like that? I thought you would be more creative." He turned his attention on the approaching guards and waved his staff at them disinterestedly, "Yes, Hullo, I am the alleged arsonist. Pray tell how ever will you arrest me from down there?"

He didn't much care for where this was going. Jethroe disliked killing if there was no reward involved, for then it was a wasted effort.

But since he had to play beggar he really had no choice in the matter, so he settled for what he had. Height was currently his only advantage, should he fight, or escape the by the high way? Decisions decisions.

[»Kamui Syvil VII]

There were four guards wearing leather armor. Two were armed with spears and the other two were armed with shortbows. They all had a dagger on their hip.
One of them, a female, immediately moved to Kuaixing, kneeling down and asking if she was hurt.
The two archers each nocked an arrow and the remaining guard called out to Jethroe, "<You there. Come along peacefully, so that we may get to the bottom of this.>"
But then their was a sudden glint of metal as a throwing knife coming from the roof buried itself in the female guard's neck. She clutched at the knife's hilt as she started to choke on her own blood.
The spearman cursed and rushed to her aid. The two archers raised their bows and fired at Jethroe.
Kuaixing smiled maliciously.

[Lin Renka (Riku)]

Jeth looked rather surprised and bemused at the incident, "Oh come on, that wasn't my..." he started, then gave up and ducked as the guards were not waiting around for an explanation.

Cursing lightly he slid off the shingled roof, catching the edge a moment before dropping to the ground where he made as though to take off running, but checked instead as the guards fell for the feint, and immediately hoisted his staff like a spear into one bowman's face.

What happened on contact was a gory mess Jeth preferred not to talk about thereafter unless in the company of those who found getting your staff stuck in a dead man's skull highly amusing.

As it was Jeth was now without his main weapon of choice, but he still had his stupid little ceramic tea cup, which saved him from getting his already damaged hand skewered as he automatically put it up to block the other archer's quick fire.

It hurt... a lot. But at least the shattered cup didn't leave shards in his wound as the arrow sunk in only a little.

This time, I'm sorry to say, Jeth cursed quite colorfully in three different languages as he drew the arrow out and glared unpleasently at the remaining guards and Kuaixing.