It had been so long since she had returned to the city, she could not help herself but break her promise of Conall. Her daughter, she found out, was mixed up in helping the mage movement as well, and was no longer dwelling in the city, but traveling somewhere in the country side, and her care taker could do nothing to stop her. Though it pained her to think her daughter was out somewhere, doing dangerous things, she could not help but feel proud of her for wanting to do the right thing- even if she was being as foolish as her mother.
But to see Reajh in such conditions upon her return felt eerie, there was a strange silence to the place, and so many soldiers and guards. The streets felt hollow, and as grey as the sky. She shivered, feeling the cold winds whipping through the streets as she neared the palace and peered up to it, capped in the red light of the fading day. This was the last place she had been where her peaceful protests took a turn for the worst. She should have known the Grand Duke's men would have played dirty, and to think....
They had failed to kill her when they hung her bleeding body from the chandelier in the forgotten castle in the mountains so far away. She shivered and shook away the thought, hugging the hooded cloak closer around her body. When had it gotten so cold? And as she walked on, she began to regret leaving Conall behind, as she moved away from the palace back to the outskirts where they had taken hommage on this chilly night.
It was late, and by the time she began to weave her way through the city streets, a bell tolled, echoing through the city. She paused a moment in the shadow of a building and heard the cry of a guard on horse back.
"The eve is here! No parsons to be on the street!"
And as he galloped away, she held her breath, hearing his words echo and echo over and over again. Seems as if the city now had a curfew. It wasn't unexpected, she just wished she had more time.
Outside of a tavern not so far away from her, there stood a man similarly trying to hide in the shadows from the guard criers. He had to be like a ghost on this night, he was hearing to many rumors of mages in the capital. It made him uncomfortable to even consider that possibility, that was why he was out this night. Delentus was going to meet with one of the last people he could trust to see if she knew anything more on this, but it was going to take him a very long time to get there since he had to go from shadow to shadow.
As he went through the alleyways of Reajh he started to fade into his own thoughts. How exactly am I going to deal with these mages if these are actually here? I better take this slowly, no idea how many I'll have to go against... he thought as he went off on a mental tangent. His attention was brought back to his surroundings suddenly when he looked forward to spot a woman standing in the shadows at the end of the alley he was standing in.
He decided it would be best to have the element of surprise in this case, so with a practiced movement he pulled out one of his pistols and started to skulked towards the woman. Moving as quietly as he could, he made it to within just a few strides of her, when the absolute worse could happen. He wasn't paying attention to where he was stepping at that point, and put all of his weight down on a pile of glass. At the sound of the sharp noise of the glass crunching under his foot he froze immediately. His eyes opened in slight horror at the implications of what would happen if she saw him with the pistol out, so he quickly holstered it and held his breath. Waiting to see what was about to unfold.
[ OOC: I'm sorry I took so long. I had hardcore writers block. D: ]
OOC: It's okay! We all get that sometimes!
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Katahnia turned around with a gasp, a hand hoovering over her hip where a blade was concealed. She hadn't expected to be surprised so easily, especially by anyone out at this hour in the capital. And she couldn't help but notice the burn scars on his neck and face, which made the knot in her throat tighten and hard to swallow while her heart drummed loudly in her ears.
"Are... are you a guard?" she asked hushedly, her breathing heavy as she felt her hand begin to sweat as it hoovered over the dagger at her side.
Delentus couldn't help but chuckle at her question. He didn't think he looked like a guard, he had his pistol and a dagger with him but he was wearing normal clothing on this night. But that question also seemed very suspicious, why exactly would this woman need to be worried about the guards? The punishment for breaking the curfew weren't that harsh from what he heard, so it had to be something more serious.
"No, I am not. Why do you ask?" he asked as he eyed her, trying to read her body language. Something just wasn't right, and she seemed vaguely familiar.
"Oh.. good," she said, forcing a smile on her lips but it was more than evident she was nervous. "I.. I haven't been to Reajh in ages. I hadn't realized when the curfew started and I.. I just wouldn't want to cause any trouble." She stood there a moment, biting her lip before nodding. "Well, if you'll excuse me. I've got to get home before the guards DO show up." And she moved to walk past him, as quickly as she thought was proper.
"You can consider me a concerned citizen though." he said as he put his arm out in front of her, keeping her from going that way. Something just wasn't right, he could tell this woman was of a higher class from how she held herself. Everyone of worth frequent the capital often enough to know the curfew has been in effect for quite some time now.
"If I may, I would like to know why someone of your social standing would not know of the curfew. Yes I can tell you are of a higher class than someone like myself, your posture gives it away." he asked, with a coldness in his voice. He just knew something was just not quite right, and he knew her from somewhere. If only he could remember...
Katahnia notably gasped when the man put his arm out, forbidding her passage. She wondered if she'd have to take this man down- and do so quietly. She'd hate to have the real guards attentions because she had been foolish enough to draw attention to herself.
"Higher class?" She gave the sweetest smile she could and a shake of her head. "You're mistaken, though I do work for a noblewoman. And she makes sure I have good posture, good tongue, and am prompt everywhere I go. But I dare admit that this evening," and here she sighed, "I'm quite late to retire, and my charge will be getting worried. So if you'll please excuse me, I've got some place to be."
Since he had no reason to not believe this woman he started to drop his arm slowly from in front of her. He didn't trust her for a moment though, he wasn't going to just let her walk away. What if she was lying? She might actually have something to do with the rumors he's been hearing.
"Fair enough, although I should walk with you. I know enough guards who patrol at this hour to us out of trouble if we run into it. That and if you are indeed telling the truth, it would be wrong of me to not accompany you." he said to her, flashing a very subtle smile. He wasn't exactly lying when he said that, he did could get them out of trouble and if she was indeed telling the truth he felt obligated to do so. But he didn't believe her, he just couldn't.
"Oh, but I couldn't impose, really," she went on, taking a few nonchalant steps away from him. "Especially when where I have to go isn't that far."
And he wasn't the only one not trusting the other. This man was out past curfew as well- and that smelled trouble. And she didn't want to find out if he was the good or bad kind.
"Wait, just a moment." he said, as he walked up to her again. "I forgot my manners, the name is Delenus Corzel. And you are?"
Just for an added measure, he took out his pistol. Showed it to her, then spun it on his finger. Catching the barrel so the grip was pointing at her. "Just to make a point, this is all I have on me." He knew how dangerous this could turn out to be, but he had to gain her trust somehow. Even if was just for momentary use.
Katahnia was taken back when the pistol was revealed, a hand gripping to her chest as her green eyes darted around to see if anyone else was around, or heard. Her eyes then went to him as she frowned with uncertainty.
"Surely you do not think the streets are so dangerous?"
"You obviously haven't been around for a long time. Nowhere is safe anymore off the main streets, and funnily enough even those aren't safe anymore." he said, waiting to see what she would do. After a few moments, he tossed it in the air again, caught it, then slid it back in his holster.
"For someone who is just a servant, you are very tight lipped about your name." He was getting slightly annoyed and was getting suspicious again. Why would she hide her name after all if she wasn't worried about something?
Her eyes lit up as she realized he caught her ignoring the question. She gave a nervous smile and shake of her head before dropping her head into a polite bow.
"Forgive me, I'm still a little flustered. You can call me Kat."
It was a common enough name anyway. Since the Grand Duchess assumed the throne, there had been a lot of Kathryn's being born.
"But if you are so insistent..." she went on, not sure how she was going to be able to talk herself out of this one-
But she wouldn't have to, because a voice called from down the way.
"Hey? You there! It's after curfew! Halt where you are!"
Katahnia wasn't sure if this was a blessing or a curse, but she swore beneath her breath and turned to Delentus.
"What should we do? Will we get in a lot of trouble?"
The man was far enough down the street that, if they wanted to run, they still had a good chance to lose him. But who's to say they wouldn't run into another guard? Or mordecai? The capital was well guarded, after all. It's why she was being so careful.
He finally had a name to the face, but that just made the nagging sense that he knew her even more profound. Before he had the chance to ask her if they met before though, there was a guard yelling at them from the end of the alley. Worst of all, he didn't know this one. He swore under his breath as he tried to think of the best way out of this situation, it was then he managed to look up and see a handhold just a few feet over their heads.
"We're going up. There's a handhold that I can easily boost you up to. Now don't act like a prude, just step into my hands!" he said as he squatted down, cupping his hands together waiting for her to step into them.
Katahnia stared at him in shock for a moment. At first she had presumed he was a guard or even a mordecai in disguise, but then the fact he too, wanted to run from the guards as much as she did (well internally,s he was not about to express that outwardly!) had her second guessing this man. Perhaps he was a mage or mage supporter? Or at the least, just some nice folk wanting to help. But she couldn't help but hesitate when she asked him, "Are you sure running from the guards is wise?"
But did they have any other choice?
"You are seriously going to stand there and debate this right now? Come on, we need to go!"
He was already regretting this decision to help this woman, he could of already been up on the roof and gone by now. Oh well, once a decision was made he stuck with it. Hopefully this would end up being worth the major detour he was going to have to take now.
The bark of the guards reminded her of the severity of the situation- but she knew if she were to run, she'd already be labeled as trouble. Being as she wasn't in it alone helped quite a lot, so with haste, she took him up on his offer and up she went, up she climbed.
But a misstep caused her to yelp, groping for something to cling onto as her foot came down and kicked Delentus square in the face.
Lifting Kat up to the roof took little effort, and as he was looking around to see the best way to join her he heard her yelp in surprise. Just as he looked up he took her foot in her face, a blast of stars entering his vision for a moment before looking up in surprise.
"Watch what you're doing, or we'll both end up in more trouble than we need to be!" he yelled at her, holding onto his nose for a few more seconds.
After he gathered his sense, he quickly decided his path. Taking a short running start, he ran up the side of the building on the opposite side of the alley from the target roof. Before he lost his footing though, he pushed off against it and leapt towards the handhold, getting ahold of it with ease.
By the time he grabbed the hand hold, she had already made it to the roof top. Turning around, she expelled a breath and offered him down a hand.
"Hurry! The guards are almost here!"
He just ignored her and her offered hand as he swung his leg over the lip and with a fluid motion. Just in time, because as he made it out of sight on the roof, the sounds of guards started coming up from where they just were.
"Try to stay quiet." he said to her, barely above a whisper as he skulked closer the center of the roof, which coincidentally was closer to her.
Retracting her hand, she didn't think much on the rejection, but did obey his command for silence. She didn't want to be caught as much as he did, but as they remained where they were, the guards shouted.
"They must've gone onto the roof!"
Katahnia closed her eyes and released her breath.
"We can't stay up here..." And as she looked around for some place to hide, she noted a lower sloping building to the North.
"There.. there's an open window. We can try to hide from the guards there." Just hopefully the pair could get in unseen.
"Oh could this get any worse..." he mumbled under his breath as he made his way quietly to the window, making sure to grab her wrist as well. It'd be rather silly if she fell down into a group of guards after all.
As they made it to the window, he gently pushed her towards it as he watched for the guards. Quickly following her in and close it, ducking off to the side just to be extra sure he wouldn't be seen.
Once inside the window, the room they found themselves in was dark- which was a relief, for if it had been occupied, they'd have a lot to explain! Though with the moonlight casting in from outside, it was still difficult to see, and as Katahnia tried to look for something, she found herself stumbling clean into Delentus with a gasp. She managed to catch herself, but on him, and released a breath but was soon holding it before she could mutter an apology, for she could hear the bark of the guards still echoing in the alleyways, and it seemed as if they were searching the one close by.
In the dim lighting, her green eyes peered up at him, as if asking him if they should remain this way- in silence, or try to make a get away before possibly getting caught.
He had to force himself from yelling at her as she walked into him, but he guessed it was best if they were closer. Maybe not this close, but it might make things easier in the long wrong. It was starting to seem like he was going to have to make most, if not most, of the decisions for the time being.
It was rather dark in the room, but not dark enough for him to not be able to make objects out. Luckily for the both of them, this appeared to be either a storage room or a unoccupied sleeping quarters. Well, it was only luck in the form of having an easy disguise of sorts if needed.
"So, we have a plan in case they come in the building looking for us, but you probably won't like it..." he whispered to her, looking over to the bed. Hoping she would catch on without him having to actually say it.
It took Katahnia a little longer for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, but spotting the empty bed, she released a sigh and raked a hand through her hair and began to look at the rest of the place when he went on-
Wouldn't like it? She turned to him questionably and then followed his gaze. Her lips parted open, and without thinking, she smacked his arm.
"Let's think of something else. Or pray to Angsar they won't try to look for us here." And she gave him a hard look, as if daring him to challenge that. After all, she was NOT about to pretend to be in bed with this man- even for the sake of risking her neck! She was far too prideful for that.
Besides, despite the fact she flushed, she had to think about poor Conall she had left behind. He was already going to kill her for her sneaking away from him like that- but if he realized what sort of trouble she was in (or if the trouble got worse...) or, if even this 'pretend' moment happened...
She'd never be able to face him again.
He couldn't help but chuckle at how she immediately assumed he wanted this anymore than she did, in fact he probably wanted to be in that bed less than her. Sure she was a fairly beautiful person, but he wasn't that crude of a person. No matter, he was already looking for a better place to hide if need be.
"Don't worry, I'm already looking for a better spot." he mumbled, trying to keep himself from yelling.
While Delentus was searching for a better option, Katahnia was as well, but were as his eyes might be sweeping lower, Kat's eyes went to the ceiling. And it was there she spotted a dangling cord.
"Look, an attic. We can probably hide in there until the coast is clear."
It was best, after all, not to take any chances. And even if the guards were searching this building, they wouldn't be able to hear them scrambling up into the attic if they climbed up there now.
So she went to reach for it, but the cord was just barely out of reach.
"Who put this thing up so high? I mean, how can one even access the attic if you can't reach it!"
And though she tried to whisper, her whispers came out angry, and much louder than intended. But she was irritable, and afraid, her heart pumping inside her ears.
He couldn't help but let out another sigh as he squat back down in front of Katahnia, cupping his hands so she could step into them and he could boost her up. Sometimes he hated being so small, he was even smaller than her after all.
"This better be worth all this hassle." he mumbled, as he continued to wait.
Staring at his offered hands, she nodded and murmured a thank you before stepping up and reaching the cord. She gave a heavy pull of the string and with a springy groan, the attic came open. She peered up triumphantly into the darkness above, green eyes shimmering. Then she turned to him as she moved to climb the ladder.
"Ladies first." And up into the attic she disappeared.
"But of course." Was all he was going to offer at the moment, he was focusing on trying to hear the guards. Just to make sure that they weren't anywhere nearby. As soon as she was in the attic though he quickly followed her up, making sure to pull everything up and closing the door. That of course made the place so dark he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face, and he stumbled into his newest acquaintance by accident.
"Oh, sorry. Do you have anything we could use to have some light in here?"
Katahnia released a hot breath before replying, "No, I don't. But we shouldn't have to wait here for long. Once the guards see the roads are clear, hopefully they'll move on."
Though her reply was a lie. She could cast some healing magic that would provide light, but that would expose her as a mage, and despite this man running around with her to hide from the guards, she wasn't about to trust him fully just yet.
He mumbled incomprehensibly to himself to that enlightenment. One of the few things that made him uncomfortable was complete darkness, and now he had to wait out in it until the guards. This woman better be worth this hassle he's been going through.
"So, while we're waiting we might as well get to know each other a little better. Do you want to start, or should I?" he whispered after a few moments of silence.
"Get to know each other?" She laughed and gave a shake of her head. What a way to be direct with his flirting! Still shaking her head, she then tilted it and asked him.
"What could you possibly want to know?"
All he could do for a few moments was look at her incredulously, even though he knew she couldn't see his face. The sarcasm apparently didn't carry very well through his whisper. Oh well, the conversation could be killed off rather quickly.
"I wasn't being serious. I have no interest or reason to get to know you better." he said to her rather harshly.
She lifted her brows and smirked.
"Well now... then what would you suggest we do to pass the time? Sing songs? Count wood planks in the dark?"
If looks could kill, it could be almost guaranteed that she would be dead right now.
"I don't know, nor do I care. Do whatever you want."
She couldn't help but smirk even more devilishly now at his reply.
"So if I were to sing... or tap my heels, or snap my fingers- you wouldn't care?"
Now it was his turn to crack a small grin. He knew she had as much to lose as him, so he wasn't worried.
"Not at all, but I hope you don't care if you suddenly have a knife sticking out of you."
She laughed through a breath.
"Is that a threat?"
He put on his most serious face and tried to use his most serious voice.
"I don't make threats. I make promises."
He couldn't keep his composure though and immediately chuckled.
She couldn't believe it- of all of the luck, he'd joke at a time like this. But it wasn't against her own personality not to enjoy as she simply smirked at him and shook her head.
"I'm sure you tell a lot of women that whom you're stuck in some stranger's attic with."
Though as she thought about it, it was rather scandalous. But it was one of the last things on her mind as she looked back towards the attic door and sighed, wondering how long they'd have to wait.
She knew Conall would be mad...
And naturally, was always worried about her daughter's safety.
"I haven't heard any noise for a time," she said after a moment of quiet. "I think I'll go down and see if the cost is clear."
"Yeah, that's something I'm worrying about. It isn't normal for them to not search a building this close to where we were last seen."
Something wasn't right with this situation, or at least that was what his paranoia was telling him. Of course he had been wrong many times before, so he figured he wouldn't make to much of an issue with it.
"We're probably clear though, since they should of checked this one first."
Giving a nod, Katahnia crept near the door and listened. Still no sound. She pressed her lips together, hesitating for but a moment before slowly reaching forward and unlatching the door. She cringed at the echoing noise the spring latch made and held her breath.
After a few moments of nothing, she released her breath and slowly began to push the door open. Below the world was dark, with just the faintest streaks of lights stretching across it. From what she could see, it was empty, but she made sure to do a slow and thorough search with her eyes before trusting her first impression.
Turning to Delentus, she whispered, "The room looks vacant. But we should still be quiet. I'd hate to have all of our efforts lost to who ever lives here wailing in the night for the guards."
He couldn't help but rolls his eyes at her warning of what would happen if they weren't quiet. It wasn't like it was his plan to get caught by the city guard, but he decided against making a sarcastic remark at that and just started to head into the room below.
It was at that moment though that the worst case scenario began. As Delentus made his way to the door, he stumbled which caused him to fall face first down into the room below. He was lucky enough though to flip just enough to land on his back, but that luck ended quickly as the shock of the land caused his pistol to go off. But luck was on his side again, as the shot went harmlessly through the window they crawled through to begin with.
It took only a few moments for guards to be heard though, right outside the building. So with a curse he looked over at Katahnia as he stood up, "So what's the plan now?"
Katahnia gasped.
"I could club you! I told you to be careful!" No matter the fool was on his back! Still, she wasn't heartless as she moved to grab his arm.
"The plan now is to get the hell out of here!" But what she hadn't considered was there were guards currently inside the building, but searching on another floor. So at the sound of heavy foot steps and the clanging of armor coming up the stairs, Katahnia froze. She didn't even have a chance to swear as the door swung open.
"Shit!" And she was never one to really swear! Her time with Cauwyn must have rubbed off on her more than she thought! And before she knew what she was doing, s he let out a noise and a bright, blinding flash of light was cast from her fingers, and the soldiers gave a roar.
"A mage! They're mages! Call in the mordecai!"
And though Delentus would be affected by the blinding light as well, she still had a firm grip on him as she pulled him along and shouted, "Run!"
And the only place they could go- was out the window. But by the time they got to it- Katahnia released a yelp. It wouldn't budge. She turned to Delentus, her jaw dropped.
"It's jammed."
And the soldiers were also already rushing past her blinding spell of magic-
Really, it was a harmless spell, meant to distract than anything- but with their only option of exit now sealed- it seemed as if the pair of them had run out of luck.
Everything started to make sense when the magic was casted, the nagging in the back of his mind finally made sense now. This was the Katahnia, but wasn't she dead or something along those lines? It didn't matter what he remembered about this woman, because right now he was being pulled along by a mage. To only make the matter worse, it had to be a famous one at that.
As his vision came back though, he realized what exactly was happening to him. Surrounded by guards, standing beside a mage, and not many options of escape. So naturally he did the only thing he knew, which was to dip his shoulder and rush the guards. Somehow the surprise of him actually running towards the guards gave him enough of an opportunity to knock of few of them down and get past them to the door.
He couldn't stop and turn around, or stop in general at that point to drag her along. So as he hit the doorway he turned around and offered only a small piece of advice.
"Get your ass moving and run!"
Katahnia's breath caught within her throat, but she didn't wait for her wits to returned and was soon rushing off behind him. Bounding down the steps at his side, she tossed him a look and a half-smirk.
"Thanks."
But they were hardly in the clear, for the second they rounded the first platform that curled around and fed into more cases of stairs, the guards had begun their own descent. Gritting her teeth, she willed her legs to move faster, and faster still and before she knew it, they were rounding the bend and running straight into...
A series of doors. And Katahnia wasted no time to try each and every one of them, but as she feared, it seemed just about all of them were locked!
"Look for a window, another door- anything!" Katahnia shouted desperately before turning to him, heart beating heavily in her chest. It was so hard, she could feel it pounding all the way up into her ears.
"Unless you know how to pick a lock."
Delentus took very little time looking at the doors, and even less picking one before he walked up to it. He took a step back and shot a kick right beside the doorknob, which nearly broke the door off of it's hinges. When he peered inside the room all he discovered was some sort of storage closet, so with a quiet swear he went to another door and kicked in it's door as well. Luckily this one appeared to be a hallway to somewhere at least, so he turned and waved Katahnia towards the door and started to head down it.
More than just once though he thought of turning around and sticking his dagger into her neck, but he knew there wasn't the time to do it right then. There was always after they lose the guards again after all.
Katahnia wasted no time in rushing down the hall. And any door they came upon next was the one she'd try her luck on and throw open- and much to her chagrin (and relief), the door she had managed to find opened up into a dark staircase.
Pausing just before it, she turned to him.
"I can light the way, only until the guards are close. Then we'll have to make our way down in darkness."
"Just get moving, I'd like to get away before we get caught again." he was all he said to her as he moved past her into the staircase. He quickly stopped to wait for her so he could actually see where he was going.
All the while he was thinking of what he was going to do once they finally did lose the guards. Doubts were starting to crawl into his mind about his first thoughts.
Into the darkness the pair crept, the steps creaking lightly while Katahnia could hear her heart thundering inside her ears. But they made it down the steps into what appeared to be some sort of a storage unit, and the boxes all around made it difficult for her to see if there was a way out-
Or if they had just trapped themselves here for good!
"Oh hell, just our luck a room full of boxes." He couldn't help but let out a highly annoyed sigh at that moment. There were guards chasing after him, which wasn't completely out of his normal routine, but the thing that bothered him was the fact he was running away from them with a mage.
"Well have any plans on figuring out if this is going to end up being our saving grace or our damnation?"
His tone grated on her nerves, but thinking fast, her eyes sparkled as an idea hit her.
"I think they'll be our saving grace," she went on, gesturing to the boxes. "There's more than one place to hide... and I think most boxes are big enough for us to fit.."
And if they were quick enough, they could do so undetected that the guards would never suspect where they were hiding now.
All he offered was a shrug as he moved toward a box as he pulled out his sword. After a few attempts to pry open one box in particular he got it opened. He motioned for her to come over at that point and squatted down so she could use his back as a stool.
"Ladies first."
"Oh, how kind of you," she said, thought it was jesting, part of it was sincere. They were helping each other out! And once she was in the box, she offered out a hand to help him climb in, too.
He didn't say anything about the remark she made as she stepped onto his back. They didn't have the luxury of time at the moment, so instead he just grabbed her hand and pulled himself into the box. He tried to pull the lid back onto the box as well as he could, and messed with it for a few moments until he was fairly certain that it looked as normal as possible.
"I hope they move along soon..." he couldn't help but mumble as he settled in.
"Shh!" Was her only reply as the sound of foot steps came near. It seemed the guards had followed, and Katahnia held her breath and listened if they'd enter the room, or continue.
He complied with her hushing, and sat there quietly. Not even fidgeting in the slightest in the attempt to be as quiet as he could be. After what he guessed to be ten minutes he finally heard some of the guards move nearby, but he couldn't tell if they were moving towards or away from them.
Oh well, guess we'll find out soon enough. He thought to himself.
She heard the foot step of a guard echo as it entered the room. She tensed, her breath hitching, tickling against Delentu's skin due to their close proximity as she dare not speak, dare not breath. And when the foot steps stopped, she felt, so did her heart. It sounded quite close. Was he contemplating checking the crates? If so, they were in deep shit.
He held his breath as well when he heard the guard stop nearby, but unlike his companion he wasn't nervous. What he did instead was unsheath a long knife from his boot, with a bit of effort, but with the silence of someone who has done this one to many times. All they could do though, was wait.
It seemed like forever before the boot steps finally faded. And she waited until it was quiet as the dead before releasing her held breath.
"Think they're gone?" she whispered softly, still too uneasy to move, despite how her knees were aching, as was her back, from how cramped it was in that darn crate.
"I have no idea, but we better wait anyway. Just in case." he whispered back, attempting to bend enough to sheathe his knife. Of course after a couple attempts he realised that he was smashing Katahnia even more than he already was.
"Oh damn, sorry." he said as he maneuvered to give her some more space.
It took a considerable amount of effort for her not to make a noise from the strike. Though once she had a little more space, she released a long, hot sigh and tried to listen again. It seemed a considerable amount of time had passed when Katahnia grew anxious again.
"I still don't hear them," she whispered. "Want me to be the first one to look?"
"No, I'll go check for them...but after a few more moments. Just to be extra sure." he whispered back, trying to move again to make it easier to get out when he decided.
"And before you ask, yes I actually want to be out of this damn box as much as you if not more. But I also want to be certain that there aren't any guards still about."
Katahnia shuffled around anxiously.
"You check?"
She wasn't sure she was hearing that right. But she supposed she could trust him. After all, the pair of them were both hiding together, so obviously both of them did not want to be caught. And she almost snorted at his reasoning.
"And here I thought you just adored my company," she whispered hotly.
He didn't offer any form of verbal retort to her last comment, instead he gave her a stare that would of probably killed a small animal and moved to peek out of the box.
"I'll be back in a moment. Stay here, unless I don't make it back of course." he said as he started to climb out.
And before she could protest, he was gone. Sighing, Katahnia remained, holding her breath and just hoping the coast was clear. Making a quick get away well..
That just wasn't going to happen being stuck in a cramped crate!
It only took a few moments for him to determine that the guards weren't in the area anymore, but he wasn't going to make it easy on her. So instead of going back to tell her that the coast was clear, he decided to just walk quietly back to the box and sits down against it.
After what he thought was roughly fifteen minutes he finally stood up. "So, the guards left." he said, with a huge grin on his face.
That fifteen minutes felt like eons. But even still, as much as she wanted to scramble out of the crate, she moved about slowly before poking out her head and peering around.
"You sure?" she whispered. As if the wait didn't already confirm it!
"Yep, decided that almost as soon as I got out of the box. It's dead quiet around here." he said to her, nonchalantly with a wide grin. "But I thought it would be better if I uh...waited to make sure the coast was clear."
He couldn't help but throw her a sly wink before he chuckled and walked away, towards a door on the other side of the room.
Katahnia's mouth dropped. Was he serious? She could have boxed his ears, instead, she put her nose up at him.
"Really, what kind of gentleman are you to leave a lady waiting?"
"Who ever said I was a gentleman?" was all he said as he continued for the door. Once he made it there, he did at least hold it open and gestured for her to go first.
After they got into the hallway though, which was completely abandoned of guards, he turned to face her. "Why are you in Reajh?" he finally asked after a few moments of silence.
Katahnia turned to him with a blink before her expression grew haughty.
"I could ask you the same thing. I'm not the only one here running from the guards."
He stopped and stared at her, trying to decide if it would be a good time right then to discuss why he was in the city. After all he was here to hunt down mages, which was something he was pretty sure that she would be upset about that bit of information. After a few more moments of contemplation he decided it might as well tell her.
"Honestly, I came here because I'm hunting down a mage." he said, with a cold edge creeping into his voice.
At that, Katahnia laughed in his face.
"Nice try, next you'll be telling me your cousins to the Grand Duke."
All he could do at that moment is stare at her coldly.
"What is so hard to believe about that hm?"
At that, Katahnia smacked his arm.
"Really! Stop it now! You would have no reason to run from the guards, other wise!"
"Guards don't appreciate it when you've killed guards who got in your way." he said matter-of-factly, not even breaking his stride for a second.
Katahnia snorted.
"Well what kind of mage are you hunting and why?" she asked, patronizingly.
That question caused him to finally stop. He turned to her slowly, and stood facing her for a few moments.
"What does it matter what mage I'm going after? It's obviously not you, so why do you care?" he asked her venomously.
She placed a hand on her hip.
"Because you just made it my problem, that's why. And what's.with that look? It's not like that look can intimidate me."
He stood there in silence for what seemed like an eternity before finally turning away and continuing down the hall. Not even looking behind him to make sure she was following him.
"We should keep moving." was all he offered to statement, trying to end the conversation then and there.
Katahnia chewed on the inside of her mouth angrily. She had a sneaking suspicion he was as stubborn as she. But she couldn't just let the fact rest he was here to hurt somebody, and probably, by her presumptions, someone that might not have deserved it. Though she wasn't ignorant to the questionable moral character of some mages, it was hard to get past the idea that everyone just believed they were wrong. And like rats, they wished to irradiate them in any means necessary.
So quietly she followed, trying to remind herself she was here for her daughter, and that she had someone still waiting for her on the other end of town.
Their escape from the building was surprisingly easy. The soldiers and guards that had been chasing them seemed to be elsewhere, or had dispersed. She found it hard to believe they'd give up chase, however, it still did little to alleviate her anxiety.
Once outside, the pair found themselves in a back alley, near a small alcove that housed a well between a series of other tall houses. Most of the building lights were out, and it seemed even the street lamp had since been extinguished. She took a moment to move over towards the well, peering down at it and smelling the fresh water within.
"What I wouldnt' give for a drink," she sighed, but knew the consequences of making that much noise... it would draw more attention and that's the last thing she wanted.
"I know how you feel, I'm cotton-mouthed as well but we should keep moving." he said, looking down the many alleyways. Trying to decide which way was the best, while also considering something that had been bothering him slightly for the past few minutes as well.
"I think we've been through enough together to warrant a little trust." he said, turning to face her. "So I will answer your question from earlier. I don't know this mage's name, all I know is what his face looks like. And more importantly what he did to my family..."
He stopped for a moment, then before he started to continue the story turned instead. He pointed to one of the alleys and started to walk towards it, waving for her to follow. "Come, we can't stay still for long."
"So.. it's revenge," she stated softly, looking back down at the well. She knew far too well that revenge was such a driving force in this war. But couldn't anyone see? It was peace that would end the cycle, not with more blood shed.
She took in a deep breath and moved to follow behind him. He was right. They shouldn't linger.
After they walked for a while, a question he really should of asked before popped into his head.
"Now that you know why I'm here, would you mind shining some light on your own situation." he said as he turned towards her. Examining her for anything...off.
She gave a small smile to him and shook her head.
"It's probably best you don't know," she told him quietly.
And besides, who knew who might be lurking and over hear them....
What would the world think, or react to a woman that seemed to presumably come back from the dead?