Two Paths become One (Riku!)

[Aleron]

The hot afternoon sun blazed against Fellis's caramel skin. Beads of sweat formed along her forehead, so she wiped them away with the back of her hand.
A crowd bustled around her, flowing around the square to this stall and that. The wooden buildings around the market were host to shops as well. The young woman leaned her back against the wall of an inn, her eyes squinting at a man across the square. She plotted her scheme.
She had been observing him for the past week. Having seen that he had money, and lots of it, he became her main target. But robbing him was not enough; it only reaped mediocre earnings. But ransom: that would surely get her her gold.
After watching for weaknesses, she figured that the man, who was a nobleman from Serendipity, was fond of his young daughter. The little girl, who must've been around twelve, was pampered by her father and Fellis knew that if she was kidnapped, the man would surely break. Add a high price and she'd be rich.
Fellis had wandered to the square earlier than day. She ate a good meal of porridge and bread at the inn and then waited outside. Sure enough, the man entered the square for his daily shopping right on schedule.
She coughed lightly and pushed herself off from the wall, wading into the crowd. She stuffed an apple under her silk coat and chomped into if after leaving the sight of the stall owner.
The man would shop for about thirty minutes, and then leave on his horse to go back home. His daughter would be all alone, all except for some guards, but Fellis could get in and out with ease. Smirking, she left the square and went down the road to the noble's estate.

[Riku Tensei]

The town bustled around Kiera, each civilian going about their daily tasks. It was the peak hours of the day and business was booming in the market district. Vendors shouted at passersby about their wares and deals, the dull roar of a crowd of conversation filled the air with white noise, and the angry shouts of heated haggling cut through the commotion. Yet all of this was easily ignored by the elf. A benefit of her impaired social skills was a lack of interest in others. It made it easy for her to drown out the bullshit and focus on the task at hand.

And today's task was one of these merchants.

Known for illegally dealing in various drugs, he had garnered quite a reputation for himself in the criminal world. He was no mastermind but he knew how to keep out of the eye of the public, most civilians knowing him as little more than the humble albeit pushy merchant. Unfortunately for him, he had made an enemy with a rather emotional individual. A mother of one of his customers, to be exact. The boy had recently over-dosed after a repeated life of crime and drugs. Looking for any source of release in her grief, the mother had hired an assassin to take the life of the merchant as penance. While Kiera didn't entirely agree with her plight as the blame couldn't be shifted to the merchant, money was money and it did her good to put a woman to ease.

Her eyes remained focused on her prey like a hawk, watching from a considerable and safe distance. The merchant waded through the crowd, shopping for himself for his stall was not located here. With his bags filled, he saddled them to his horse and hopped atop the beast, heading off for home. Keeping back, Kiera took to on foot, sticking to the trees. She kept pace with the horse with ease, though the animal could probably best her in a lengthy sprint.

As he stopped outside his cottage, the rogue descended from her perch, taking on the form of a crimson fox. As an animal, she casually trotted into the vicinity of his home sniffing the ground in search for food. Her head snapped up and her ears perked at the sight of the merchant, playing the part of a timid creature. The fox backed up, the merchant eyeing it briefly before returning his attention to the keys in his hand.

[Aleron]

Once she reached the noble's cottage, Fellis quickly easily picked the lock to the back door. Wary of guards or the occasionally housemaid, she tiptoed into the house. As she made her way into the kitchen a noise caught her attention. She fled into a closet just as the maid entered the room. Her breath was light and quick, and after a few minutes the maid seemed to gone.
She waited a but longer and then quickly slid out.
She went to the doorway to the rest of the house, a wooden arch in the clay walls, and peeked down each side before confinuing up the staircase. The daughter's room most surely would be there.
The upstairs was a single hallway with rooms on either sides. Paintings of people, perhaps relatives, were hung above ornate wooden tables. Jade flower pots in either corner hosted large, blue flowers Fellis had never seen before.
Luckily, the doors were all cracked open, so all she had to do was peak inside to see where the daughter was.
The first room was empty, and the second. Fellis reached the third door and peaked inside. The daughter, clad in a peachy silk dress, was combing her hair near the window. That's right, she remembered. That one ambassador from Ketra is passing through the city tonight. I wonder if I can make a few at the ball, too. Suddenly a noise from outside caught the girl's attention. She turned to look out and the Fellis quickly grabbed her blow dart. She'd got it from a trader in Essryn who came from the islands off of the mainland, and it provided very useful in knocking out targets. She aimed and fired, hitting the girl in the shoulder. Without a sound she slumped over off of her chair and into the floor.
That was the easy part. Now Fellis had to make it outside.

[Riku Tensei]

The door was pushed open and the merchant casually returned the keys to his pocket as he stepped inside. He turned back once more, seeing the timid fox scurry off into the woods - or so it would lead him to believe. The door would close, opening a few moments later as the maid departed, giving her goodbyes. The fox crept around the house, eyeing every nook and cranny, taking note of every window or other possible escape route as well as what she could see of the home's interior. It was a rather extravagant home for its size and location. Maybe she could stand to make a little money on the side lifting some of his things after the job was done.

Kiera shifted back to her natural elven form, crouching low under a partially open window. Her ears perked up as the delicate sound of footsteps faded, indicating her target had left the room. Her hand gripped the window pane and an imperceptible field surrounded both it and the nearby area, silencing the otherwise deadly creak the window made as it was slid upwards. Her feet planted firmly on the ground within the house yet made no noise just like the window now behind her.

The elf's feet fell silent upon the floor as she stalked her prey, closing the gap between herself and her target as he went about his day, unpacking the produce he had purchased and packing them away in the appropriate pantries.

Hands shot out, wrapping around him. One bound his arms to his sides, the other bringing a bit of glittering silver to his throat. He panicked, kicking back a bit and fumbling with the shelf before him, causing several potatoes to tumble to the floor with a series of dull thuds. Kiera cringed, hoping no one else had been in the house to hear that. So far she had yet to hear anyone else, but her senses were not perfect. They could only do so much.

"You've made an enemy in the wrong place." She muttered in her target's ear.

"Wha-" The merchant began to stammer, being cut off as his assailant crushed his windpipe briefly.

"I don't know what you did. I don't care to get involved with the personal details of the job. But someone wants you dead

"Please! I'll give you whatever you want!" The merchant protested in a panic.

Kiera scoffed. "What makes you think I won't take all this for myself once I've killed you?" She taunted.