Crimson Shadows

[Winters-Feather]

"Oh, is that what you're worried about?" Maar replied with a tinkering laugh.  .
She had expected more complex questions, but she was relieved by Tiraris' simplicity. In the pool of moonlight did the fae stood still, waiting out  her new student's threats patiently, flinching only at the word fairy.
You're so petty. Slow, indeed, she thought as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"You've misunderstood," she bluntly replied. As she talked, the fae approached Tiraris. Her own features were dulled by the shadows of the trees, save for her slightly pointed teeth that gleamed in the night.
"I told you I was a teacher, didn't I?  He is one of my students and I told him  that I was going to be away for a while since I'm travelling with you."

"Besides, why would I do a stupid and boring thing like that, anyway? Sell you out. Ha!" Maar scoffed at the idea. She playfully poked Tiraris in the arm before continuing her walk back towards camp.
"It'd have been much more fun to 'take care' of such a situation, myself. And cleaner," she cheerfully pointed out as she jumped over a rock in her path.
"We haven't all night, Tiraris. You ought to rest off that headache of yours. We've a long day tomorrow. Unless there is something else you want to know? I can't promise you an answer, though."

[GoblinFae]

The assassin hissed angrily, baring her teeth at the playful yet painful touch. Her nerves were more sensitive than even she had suspected and while that worried her she kept that concern to herself. It would not do to scare this one off without first seeing if indeed Maar had the capability to teach Tiraris to stabilize herself.

Her brow raised in challenge though at the other woman's words. "He was not with you in the Hollow, he obviously does not need you as a teacher now. Why should it matter where you go and whom with? If he truly is your student then it is his duty to obey you without question or need to know your doings. You had a message for him, who was it for?"

She did not trust the other woman, knowing just how well one could twist their words and still speak the truth without meaning it. She herself had gotten very close to mastering the art and while Tiraris did enjoy a good battle of words, now was neither the time nor the place. Her very bones ached and her stubbornness was preventing her from both admitting to it and submitting to it. Not until she had the answers she desired would she allow herself to cave to her own body's weak desires. She would be strong until then, no matter the price.

[Winters-Feather]

Maar laughed at Tiraris' questions. The woman had many,  so it seemed. That was only natural. Still, there were some that was best left unanswered.
If she's clever enough and has kept her ears open over the years, she thought, She might know of our little group. Still, I won't take the pleasure of discovery away just by handing the answer over. There's no fun in that.

"Tsk tsk," she playfully retorted, "Your business isn't to know his. Besides, if you'd had been better at eavesdropping, you would have known the answer to all of your questions. So there."
Maar giggled, enjoying herself tremendously.  The fae never tired of such games. In her childish guise did she cheerfully swung her arms as she marched through the dark forest path. Still, the fae knew that Tiraris would rip her throat out if she left the woman with too much anticipation.
"Buuut," she continued as she swung her head over to throw a smug grin  at Tiraris.
"If you must know, I ordered him to leave us alone.  I'll be travelling with you for a while, so  he's to tell the others back at the nest, you might say. I've a home, you know."

The fae's voice trailed off at that, as her thoughts returned to the many Hawklings she'd have to leave for the season.
Before too long, the dim glow of their dying fire was within sight. It was reduced to the dying sparks of embers. Instead of climbing up her tree, again, Maar laid her cloak down by the fire, fiddling with her belt so that her knives could lay by her side.
"Good night, Tiraris," she said as she curled up in her cloak.
"Unless there's something else you'd like to ask of your old mentor?"

[GoblinFae]

Questions scorched her mind as the assassin advanced on the smaller Fae. Everything about her screamed predator, from the dark look in her eyes to the stalking motion of her body. She was furious and wanted nothing more than to grab the brat and smack her head repeatedly against a tree trunk until all her questions were answered.

"Nor is his business to know mine, but without a doubt he knows. The question I ask, is how much? Tell me pixie," she growled out, advancing on the woman as she settled in for the night, "how much have you divulged?"

Tiraris latched onto Maar's arm, close to where the hidden tattoo lay just beneath her sleeve and gripped it brutally. "I could have killed you before just as I could have left you to die. Tell me!"

[Winters-Feather]

Instead of escaping from the enraged Tiraris, Maar only blankly stared up at the woman. She was seemingly unfazed, though an angry glint in her blue eyes suggested otherwise. Despite her usually nonchalant attitude, Maar was a prideful creature. She had told the woman the truth twice-fold. The fae didn't even twist her words! To add salt to the injury, Tiraris tightly grasped Maar's arm, exposing a corner of her purple tattoo. The fae's jaw hardened at the reminder of the events of Matron's Hallow.
"What good will threatening me do for you?" she calmly replied.
A familiar and low voice emerged from the child's mouth. A blink of an eye later, in Maar's place sat the tall and pale Awari.

The star-lit, blue haired woman flashed Tiraris a wolfish grin.
"Do not forget that I could have easily killed you then as I can easily do so now," Awari stated as she placed a gloved hand over the woman's, prying it off. Her tone was different, more solemn and had a condescending edge to it. The fae figured that Tiraris would listen to her true form more so than her child one. Perhaps then she could stop repeating herself.
"You have agreed to be taught by me, therefore placing you under my protection," she continued, "Though I am obliged to help you because I promised, do not cross me. You shall perhaps one day perish by your own hands if you have treated all your instructors this way."
The fae scoffed as she smoothed out her tunic, completely concealing her tattoo once again. There were many things she could change about her appearance. That tattoo was one of the few things that stayed consistent.

"As for that man," Awari said, rolling her eyes.  She really hated repeating herself like this.
"I only told him that I would be travelling with you for some time. The message was so that nobody would come looking for me during that time. You needn't worry about me telling him about your little secrets."
The fae gave a wide smirk at this.
" Rest easy; if he truly desired to know, he could easily pick up that information for himself. He's already picked up a rumor of our activities in Connloath, so it seems."

[GoblinFae]

"I do not need your protection! After all I am not the one who got herself caught and tortured. If you think what he did to you is bad, you have no idea what I am capable of, Awari. My magic is not a problem. I do not need your help. I ask for assistance further strengthening, but I assure you I am not weak, nor shall I destroy myself as you seem to think. I am not like you!"

The assassin felt like her entire being was on fire. Every nerve ending was firing with sensations of pain. Every slight movement made by both her and the fairy sent electric shocks into her hand and down into her core. While her eyes had been able to catch a glimpse of the tattoo, she was in too much pain and too enraged to be able to process it at the moment. Her mind stored it for later analysis and thought.

A moment of silence followed Awari's statement as Tiraris glared down at the other woman and tried to regain control of her breath. "You disgust me," the assassin finally spat, flinging the other's arm out of her grip. "If you know what is best for you then stay away from me. It would be a shame if I deprived the whelp his fairy teacher."

She turned her back on the blue-haired beauty and attempted to march back into the darkness of the forest. 'Liar, word-twister, I know what you are. Traitor, stealer of truths, I do not trust you.'

[Winters-Feather]

Awari had faced plenty of snide insults, long monologues, and bitter retorts throughout her long career, but this was perhaps the first she had ever been snapped at by anybody she considered a student. The fae wasn't used to being snapped at in her true form, most likely because when she used it as a weapon or a tool, it generally worked to her favor. Of course, Tiraris words stabbed her pride.
Weak I can shrug off, she bitterly thought.
I know what I'm capable of, and I know I could have easily avoided capture. But fairy... Do I LOOK like a tiny, blithering, insultingly idiotic twit with fragile wings?!

With a puff of anger, Awari sprawled herself across the forest floor, and closed her eyes. Fine, Tiraris could walk away. What did she care? Might help that stupid human blow off some steam. In any case, Awari still hadn't given up on her student just yet.
Say what you will, I keep my word. Humans.
The fae gently blew an insect off her nose.
Patiently, she layed there, her eyes closed. It was rather peaceful, really, the quiet. However, Awari found that she couldn't really appreciate it. She was still too annoyed over the predicament with Tiraris.
Fairy.... Really, that red-headed ass of a woman is impossible. Was she ever really a lady?
Slowly, her annoyed scowl turned into an amused grin to maniacal laughter.

Blue hair spilled everywhere as she curled up in the grass.
Ah, but she hadn't been this vexed or caught off guard like this in a long, long time. This feeling! Was this how that blasted wretch felt all the time?
"Where did she go off to now?" Awari muttered as she sat up.
Though her hair was now a wild mess  with leaves in her hair, the fae didn't bother to fix it.
It didn't bother her; she was part of the earth, and it part of she. She was a wild creature, after all.

I better follow her, she thought.
The fae stretched before standing up and walking into the forest. She kept a leisure pace before working her way up to a sprint. She wasn't running for Tiraris, not directly. Instead, she ventured a couple of degrees towards the right. Then, just as she reached a meadow, she dove into the shadows to trail behind Tiraris, always keeping a half mile radius between the two of them.   

[GoblinFae]

If the assassin had not been so angry with the Fae woman, she would have been amused by the apparent temper-tantrum Awari was displaying, sprawling herself out like a pig in mud. However, Tiraris was in a dreadful temper and therefore not only did she miss her companion's reaction, she also failed to notice how she was being followed.

Her feet practically flew against the freezing forest floor as trees whipped past her. The exhilarating feeling of increased oxygen and blood flow through her body surged her forward, driving her faster and further to burn off the fire that was quickly radiating outward.

Then as suddenly as she had started running, she stopped. Before her was a small lake, still and glistening under the moonlight. Her heart pounded heavily within her chest as she allowed her breath to slow and calm once more. With the speed and grace of a fighter she drew her sword, leveling it out in front of her before bowing to an imaginary adversary.

Tiraris began a slow dance, her eyes closed as she manipulated both blade and body in a dance of strength and coordination. As each series of routines were completed she would begin again until each was mastered before moving on to the next. Each set was more complicated and faster than its predecessor until she was spinning and striking with the same power and conserved energy that she did on a day to day basis. Unbeknownst to her though, was how the fiery ball within her began sedate and reform into a more relaxed form as she expended energy and distilled her anger through practice.

[Winters-Feather]

After a while, Tiraris had stopped marching through the forest and had stopped. Once she had, the fae had paused in her current location, prepared to start the hunt, again. But the woman didn't move. Instead, Tiraris seemed to be... pacing? Fighting? She was moving around in one place. Curious, Awari slithered through the shadows to where Tiraris was. To her surprise, the fae watched at the woman seemed to dance with her blade, the sword's steel flashing in the moonlight.  No, it was no dance. It was a series of movements, Awari realized, developed for the purpose of training and honing one's skill with a blade. It was a disciplinary art that many swordsmen adapted in some shape or form. She had seen some Red Hawks train in this fashion. The concept was never relevant to the fae before, until now.

Excitement stirred within  her once she realized what was happening. The fae could feel Tiraris' magic become more controlled and confined. This was encouraging information. So the woman already had some skill in controlling her magic. Certainly not much, but this was a good start. Pleased by her discovery, the fae left. She took on her guise of Maar a half mile away, and slept alone in the tree branches, lulled to sleep by the whistling breeze.

---
"Wake up! Wake up!"
The sun was shyly starting to peek from the tops of the trees, yet the fae was full of energy. She smirked at Tiraris.
"No  sleeping," she half-heartedly scolded, poking the woman with a stick.
"Get up and do that sword dance thing, again. Now, before breakfast. Teacher's orders," she said with a smug grin.
Maar was highly aware that she was being an ass. However, she WAS the teacher, and Tiraris had disrespected her. Maar considered this as a sort of punishment,  but also as a test to make sure that the previous night had not been a fluke.

[GoblinFae]

She did not remember falling asleep but she certainly would remember the rude awakening that awaited her with the sun's rising. "Quit poking me with that confounded stick, pipsqueak! Damn the mother that bore you and the father that took a passing interest in her, you bastard runt!"

Tiraris howled in frustration as she blindly reached for the offending stick before ripping it from Maar's hands and swinging it wildly in the annoyance's direction. Rolling to her knees, her eyes glaring out from beneath her lids like sparks of fire that if looks could kill would have incinerated the Fae a thousand times over.

Viciously, the assassin whipped the stick with gaining accuracy. "How dare you follow me and intrude on my privacy! What kind of lowly, conniving cretin are you? What the hell do you mean sword dance? I do not dance and certainly not with a sword! Any real teacher could tell you that!"

Her hair mussed with twigs and leaves and her face flushed with anger, Tiraris looked like the Erlking's daughter. She was a more comical than menacing figure that is more comparable to a lunging drunken bear than a master assassin.

[Winters-Feather]

Tiraris' frustration was the height of hilariously to Maar, who was currently skipping about in the grass nearby as she avoided the assassin's wrath.
For one just roused, her insults are lively and creative, Maar thought, grinning broadly as she snatched the stick that was hurled towards her. Her play time was over- now it was time to get serious.

Or, at least, just a little bit.
"Yet lo, why is it that a 'lowly creature' such as I am keeping my word, where as one such as yourself tried to break it?" the fae smoothly asked as she broke the stick in two. The fae were fickle, but Maar was sometimes baffled how humans were even more so.
She shook her head as she sat down in the grass, hugging her legs to her face, as if she were listening to a fascinating story by the fireplace.
"Whatever it was that you were doing last night," she plainly ordered.  "Do it again."
Maar cheerfully grinned.
"And then we can have breakfast!"

[GoblinFae]

Now that did it. It was one thing to wake the night owl huntress from her fitful slumber but to accuse her of breaking a word was another thing entirely. Even fully awake that was not a slander most men dared to make. If she was anything, the assassin was loyal and honorable. She would see a job through until the end and never double-cross or reveal her employer's name. True, that kind of fealty did end with her contract but it was a trait of her character that she cared with her in all that she did. To be told now that she was breaking her word, set her blood aflame.

She roared with anger, the raw magic surging forth once more. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing," she hissed lowly, her voice as sharp and deadly as a naked blade in the dark. "And so lightly as if it is nothing more than a statement about the weather. When have I ever gone back on my word? Filth like you disgust me. Have you forgotten the life debt you owe me? Your life is mine fairy!"

The cheerful, childlike manner of the other woman was salt to Tiraris' wounds. "I am not your doll Awari. I will not be played as such. Your student I may be, forget not though the grounds we stand on are unbalanced and not in your favor," the assassin growled out, staring Maar down with the cold eyes of a killer.

[Winters-Feather]

Maar glared back at Tiraris with a look of complete disinterest. Oh the assassin had definately crossed several lines, and the fae was very close to holding a grudge. Nobody called her Awari in this form. It was not done. Her true form and name were the closet things to 'sacred' as Maar got. It was something that was hers and stayed hers, throughout these long years. Being a full blooded fae was becoming hard in this world and so she protected herself. She protected Awari.   But she was Maar in this guise of a child, for though it was an illusion, she considered it  very real.  She gave a wide and dangerous smile.
"That's nice," she said in her high voice.
"But I am your teacher, and that's very naughty of you to say. Do you want breakfast or not?"

With that, Maar bent down and picked up the stick. She began to draw a the circle rune that she had done before, only bigger allowing for plenty of movement.
Life dept, she thought with a scoff. Tiraris obviously didn't know anything about Maar's kind. Maar had offered to teach her as a boon. She owned Tiraris nothing.
"Those movements you did with your sword last night," Maar repeated as she gathered stick surrounding them. Might as well try to start a small fire.  "Do them, again."

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris gritted her teeth so tightly that when she released them her jaw cracked loudly in protest. "Wench," she growled out under her breath. The Fae's apparent lack of reaction, cooled the assassin off enough to do as she was told albeit with some more growling and name-calling.

Her sword sang out clear and true in the crisp morning air as she swung it and spun it around in the complicated exercises, completely focused on the task at hand and no longer aware of Maar's activities around their makeshift camp. Stiffness had set into some of her muscles from a night on the cold forest floor and Tiraris found herself struggling with some of the exercises, forced to repeat them again and again until she was satisfied.

Peace reigned once more within her, if only briefly. She was calmer already, letting her body flow. This was not her showing off to Maar; the assassin could careless what the Fae thought about her skills. Tiraris was confident enough in her skills to not have to flaunt them and secure enough to know her own weaknesses as well.

She was fire, glowing brightly in the morning sun as its warm rays reflected off her vermillion hair and eyes. Suddenly spinning on her heel she thrust the blade out in Maar's direction and glared down its naked length towards her newest teacher. "Satisfied?"

[Winters-Feather]

"I heard that," Maar  cheerfully replied to Tiraris' angry retort.
She sat up, her eyes gleaming as she watched Tiraris began to 'dance'. Her moves were practiced and calculated. Though at first rather stiff and clumsy, Maar could see the progress, the way the magic flowed through her, better. It was interesting to see, though whatever the fae was thinking, she did not betray it on her face.

Maar scoffed at the blade pointed at her. The wind picked up its scent, and carried it over to her nose. The scent was strong and made her feel sick She said nothing, but calmly pulled out a small vial of potion and downed half of it. It wouldn't really do too much, for the day, except for make the smell a little more tolerable.
"Breakfast!" she announced in a sing-song voice.
The fae jumped to her feet and began to wander into the woods.
"I want fish," she declared.
"We're going to fish."

There was a river that flowed not too far from them, and within minutes, Maar had placed her boots and socks by the riverside as she waded in the water, with a stick that she had sharpened on her walk there. She smiled at the sight of trout, the light reflecting off of their scales. With ease that came with years of practice, Maar swiftly caught one on her first try, the unfortunate dying fish violently struggling against the spike that pierced through its body.
"Mine," the fae said.

[GoblinFae]

Seeing Maar affected gave Tiraris a secret ray of satisfaction that they both suffered from this. The assassin knew of the Fae's weakness to iron and she relished in the knowledge that she was able to make the annoyance of a teacher queasy from doing what Tiraris had been instructed to do.

'Cannot fault me for that, can you pixie? Of course not. Just being a good little student here,' her mind internally chuckled at the irony of it all.

However, the satisfaction drained as annoyance returned. 'You do not even care, do you? Do this, do that, let us eat. Seriously how much of a fool do you take me for you little pixie? My patience only lasts so long. You have no idea what I can do to you. What I WILL do to you if you do not quit the games.'

"Oh yes, fish," she grumbled, moving to sit on the shore, completely uninterested in catching any. "Careful you do not choke on the bones! Would not want to lose my precious teacher so soon."

[Winters-Feather]

"Is that so?" Maar said, adding a touch of glamour her voice to sound like an elderly lady's.
"If that's true, then that's very thoughtful, my pupil."
The fae giggled at her mischief. It was a beautiful morning, all, and just the slightest bit of progress had been made. She watched as the fish flopped violently on the stick before falling limp. Maar skipped to the shore and carefully slid the creature off of it before going back into the water. She turned towards Tiraris and frowned.
"You aren't going to get any breakfast that way, you know," Maar said before going back to fishing.

The fae smiled mischievously to herself as she focused on her prey. She had the most wonderful prank in mind and was going to slip into the shadows... But found that she could not do it. The fae's eyes widened.
"Huh?" she muttered.
Maar looked around her for a bit before finding the looming shadow of a nearby boulder.  Maar lept from her place and tried to step into it, but it did not work.

She stood there in a moment, as if in a trance. Of course her glamour still worked and her magic detection, very faintly. Maar sniffed the air. Of course the magic she was searching for was undetectable. She narrowed her eyes before scrambling into her boots. If her suspicions were true, then it looked like the two of them were in a bit of a problem, one that would have international dire consequences if they weren't careful. Delightful shivers ran down her spine as she motioned for Tiraris to follow her back to the camp. She walked swiftly, with determination, with a hand on her belt.

"We must go," Maar said, burying her fish pole in the ground. It was an entertaining predictament, though she wished she wasn't so hungry. Well, they could have it.
" Keep your hand to your sword and try to resist the urge to shout."
Maar smirked.
Her former employer must have a long arm, indeed, she thought, if he could afford the aid of the Mordecai.

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris snorted, training her gaze on the distant shore in a sign of complete disinterest with her teacher. "Who said I was looking for breakfast this way?" she questioned back softly. The assassin let her eyes close as the warm sun bathed her in its comforting embrace.

It had been a long time since she had relished to tranquility of a moment like this. For a moment the former noblewoman felt a faint twinge of pain within her chest but it soon faded. Thoughts of having the luxury to pass hours in sweet-smelling gardens were buried deep. She had chosen this path of life and she was proud of it. Tiraris refused to regret it for what was regret but more wasted time and time she did not have to waste.

Her companion's undignified utterance ruined the moment, causing the assassin's eyes to snap open in exasperation and her head to whip around to glare at the woman. The odd expression though gave her pause. Maar was not up to her normal antics. Something was different. There was tension in the air that surely had not been brought on by Tiraris' own stubbornness. It was something more.

She rose quickly to her feet, her hand instinctively coming to rest on her sword-hilt before the Pixie had even suggested it. Her long strides pulled her up beside the smaller figure so that she might lean down to whisper harshly in the other's ear.

"What have you done now," hissed angrily yet quietly in the space between them.

[Winters-Feather]

Maar shook her head impatiently at Tiraris' question. At least the woman was listening to her, but this was no time for interviews!
Always the accusations, the fae thought as they made their way through the woods towards where they left the horses the previous night before.
"Mordecai," Maar whispered in a barely audible tone. "Now hush."

When they arrived near the edge of their camp, Maar could see the horses the two had left behind still tied to the trees. Maar could hear the faint whinny of a horse and thought nothing of it until the wind carried the scent of iron to her nose. Her eyes quickly scanned the tree tops. None with arrows... not yet.
"They're quick," she muttered with a cold grin.
Maar turned to face Tiraris, gesturing for her to conceal her position, for now.
"Wait here," she said.

She eyed the camp with a hungry grin, stragizing her approach. Their enemy, too, were hidden, but Maar knew they were close. With a deep breath, she nimbly sprinted towards the horses, a stone knife in hand. Immediately, an arrow sliced through the air, barely missing the fae as she slid to the reigns and furiously began to undo them.
More trouble than their worth, she thought as the giant creatures began to grow uneasy.
"Hush now," Maar said in her singsong voice, though that didn't seem to help.
Make haste, make haste!
Another arrow was flung. Maar tsked as it barely hit over her head. A shout was cried out, and the sounds of galloping followed.
"Oph," Maar said with a sigh as she undid the reigns for hers. She rolled her eyes at Tiraris' knot, and cut the reigns for the other horse. Maar jumped onto the back of hers and lead the other by the cut reigns.
"JUMP!" she ordered, reaching out a hand for Tiraris to grab onto.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maar saw three knights wielding swords that gleamed in the light.
My knights in shining armor, Maar thought with a smirk, reaching a hand for one of her pouches, grabbing half a fistful of powder.

[GoblinFae]

The assassin still in place, her gaze becoming sharp and alert. Mordecai were not something Tiraris usually had to contend with while working in Connlaoth. Thankfully, most of her time there allowed her to keep her magic relatively under control and unnoticed. She always tried her best to give these particular soldiers as wide a berth as possible.

Now however, she was being forced into being noticed by them all because of her current traveling companion. 'I should have known you would be more trouble than you were worth pixie. Should have let you die in that cell if I had known you would bring them tracking after us.'

Despite her internal anger though, Tiraris managed to keep a hold on her tongue. She could shoot her barbs out later. Right now surviving was more important than having the last witty word. Instead she followed in silence, rolling her eyes at Maar's comments but otherwise remaining a silent and calculating force.

Her body remained hunched low to the ground, muscles bunched, ready to spring should the need arise. However, the assassin made no move to resist the order given to her. It was not because she had been ordered but because she saw no need in endangering her life for the Fae. They were mostly hunting for Maar and once she was killed, Tiraris could slip away and disappear as a forgotten entity.

An aggravated growl escaped her throat at seeing the way the other woman handled the situation, destroying the reins and creating a commotion before recklessly barreling towards her. But, the human had once last trick up her sleeve. Even as her new teacher held out the ruined reins to assist, Tiraris let out a shrill whistle to gain her horse's attention, sending it a halfstep closer to her.

In the next heartbeats the assassin did something she had not done since childhood and even then it had gotten her into a great deal of trouble with both her mother and the horse-master. Tiraris reached her arms out letting the neck of the beast run by her fingers before latching onto the mane near the root, springing up to her feet and into the air while pulling herself astride the animal. She wobbled slightly as the animal tried to accommodate her shifting weight as well as continue to be pulled by Maar's hold on the reins.

Tiraris leaned forward and took the reins from Maar before steering the horse to be abreast with Maar's instead of behind. "Right pickle you put us in," she hissed as an arrow whizzed between them and embedded itself in an upcoming tree. "Any other brilliant plans or is it my turn?"