Cats and Mice (Closed)

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: I almost want to say "she clinged to the woman like a koala". Do they have koalas in this world? They SHOULD.

IC:

"Bah!" Maar cried out when the assassin blocked her attack with her nasty smelling sword.  The fae wrinkled her nose at the woman's reasoning. Did she really think that Maar was going to fall for this? Aye, they were alike in some ways, it was true, but Maar was starting to regret seeing the resemblance. At least she didn't lower her standards like this! It was possible at the assassin wasn't lying, but there was no guarantee that Morindo would be kept alive after that. Besides, she was paid to keep him safe and alive, and letting this stranger take him was definitely breaking her contract. Maar's deep blue eyes twinkled as another cloud rolled in, just on time.

"Shame it  has come to this," she mockingly lamented as she kicked hard at the assassin's  shin before  nimbly breaking away The fae thought quickly. She was going to need to attack the woman again, but Maar wanted the edge of surprise, not the assassin.
"Adieu!" she said as she sprinted towards the ledge of the balcony and jumped off.
Farewell for but a moment.
The fae had grabbed part of the banister as she flipped off the ledge, aiming straight for the shadow her body casted. It was tricky, but since it was touching the banisters shadow, she was just able to touch her own, crawl in, and return back to the safety of the shadows on the balcony. Even if she couldn't make it, there was always her daggers - the fae might meet her death one day, but falling off a wall was a most indignant way to go.

She slithered into the assassin's shadow, and silently pounced onto her back, with one knife pressed to her throat whilst the other was about to stab her again in the back. The fae's legs held on tightly to the woman's torso as she balanced herself.
"Fool."

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris grunted as the little foot came in contact with her shinguard. 'Thank the gods for small favors.' Yet when she turned around, Maar was gone. 'Where did you go now imp? I am not in the mood for these games.'

Listening intently but not hearing anything, she swiftly made her way over to the target. However, she did not make it as she was attacked from behind. Tiraris struggled with the added, flailing weight resting on her back. One hand moved up to grab the knife at her throat and try to prevent it from slitting her open.

She growled in anger and kicked off the ground into a low no-handed flip. Her intent was to use her weight to at the bare minimum, knock the wind out of her attacker. Tiraris curled her body, prepared for impact. High in the sky a thick set of clouds slid across the sun, blocking out its warm light.

[Winters-Feather]

But Maar was very much in the mood for such games. Her foot stung from when she had kicked the assassin in the leg, but the fae ignored that pain as she sliced at her throat and began to stab her in the shoulder. Unfortunately for her, her slice at the woman's throat wasn't fatal, and  wound in the shoulder didn't go terribly deep as the assassin suddenly flipped backwards. The force of her movement caused Maar to fall hard on her back on the ground.

"Ow," she whined as she body sank into the shadows on the balcony.
In the safety of the shadows, Maar sulked for a brief moment, letting the shock wear down. Though her retreat was a natural movement for her, the fae realized that had the assassin saw her disappearance out of the corner of her eye, then her edge might be somewhat dulled. She slithered into  the assassin's shadow, once more, waiting for the opportunity to deliver one last final blow, determined for the next hit to kill.

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris' back came into painful contact with the ground as it jarred her newly injured shoulder. She grit her teeth against the pain as he observed a new and interesting sight. 'She just melted into the shadows.' The assassin looked up at the sky in brief wonder. 'Interesting.'

Moving quickly she rolled away from where she last saw Maar disappeared to and tried to keep her shadow in front of her just in case. Tiraris slipped her hand into a pouch along the way, gathering a thin later of white powder on her hands. Grabbing the groggy man's head she ran her finger along his cheek on the inside of his mouth before jumping away.

"Now that, that is settled, would you like to end this little Maar?" she taunted. Whatever Tiraris would do now did not matter. She had not poisoned the man but the now dissolved powder would enter his bloodstream and make him very sick. There was only one healer in the area who could treat the sickness and he was on the other side of town. The assassin happened to be close to the shady man and knew that he would not make the housecall but would see the ill in his own home.

'All I have to do is be ready and my job is made easy. If I could only get rid of this one. Little witch knows where to hit,' she mused rubbing at her bleeding neck. Backing away from her own shadow, watching as it got longer in front of her, Tiraris headed back for the balcony, ready to flee now.

[Winters-Feather]

Maar was so used to having the upper hand that she had practically forgotten what it was like to be bested by such tricks. It was hard to say if the assassin had observed her disappearance, but the fae in the shadows watched as the assassin placed something in her client's mouth.
Not good, not good,  not good, NOT GOOD...
How could she have let that happened?! The fae felt a little bitter, though part of her was still rather amused by the assassin's antics.

You can't run from me.
Maar popped right out of the shadows a few inches  in front of the assassin. Again, she took control over the woman's body,  legs first, in an attempt to stop her in her tracks.
"What did you do?!" she asked as she made a movement to stab her in the belly  with her right dagger, as her left hand slipped into her pouch to pull out a little more of the blinding powder. Of course, she was well within the assassin's striking range, but she was just going to have to risk it.

[GoblinFae]

A smirk formed on her lips as the expected attack came and Tiraris was once more caught. 'You really do not vary your attacks much, do you?' The assassin deflected the attacking right hand with her sword and sneaked her own right up to punch Maar in the head as hard as she could in an effort to loosen the grip and free herself. 'Took the bait I see. Very good, shadow dancer.'

"Do not worry your pretty little head pumpkin. It will not kill him. It is only a mild poison that will make him sicker than a dog if he does not get the proper treatment. The vomiting and sweating should be starting soon. Then comes the delirium and the pain. Such a delicious way to suffer. Only one man in the whole country can diagnose and treat it right. Lucky you he lives on just the other side of the hallow. Better hurry, you would not want your employer suffering too much would you?"

As Tiraris stumbled back closer to the balcony she moved her right arm back for another punch. The blade up her sleeve slipped down at the flick of her wrist, ready to slice the pretty flesh of Maar's face if it needed to. "Enough games, child," she spat out. "I have places to be!"

[Winters-Feather]

Maar smirked as she watched the assassin fall into her trap. However, her smirk was wiped off of her face as the assassin woman punched her hard in the jaw. Her sneak attack caused the fae to fall to her knees and listen to the woman as she sorely rubbed her red cheek.  She could tell the assassin was telling the truth; she looked like she was enjoying herself too much to lie about such things. Besides, even if she wasn't the fae was confident that one of the healers under her own command would be able to help; such a poison was just a mild inconvenience. She could hear Morindo shudder and gasp for air as his body began to react to the poison. Maar clicked her tongue- she needed to act quickly.

Maar threw the blinding powder in the assassin's face before using the woman's shadow to throw her against the brick wall of the study. Her keen eyes saw the blade hidden in her sleeve, and took note to avoid it's edge.
"Leaving?" the Purple Hawk asked with a pout as she sprinted and jumped towards the woman, her stone blades in hand. There was a glint of irritation in her eye after having being called child; it seemed to have cause a small bruise to her pride to match the blue one forming on her face.
"But I'm not done playing yet!"

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris cried out as her head collided painfully with the wall behind her. At last the tenuous strand of control broke, making everything within her become quiet. Even her breath stilled in that moment as the magic well deep inside her core coiled into a tight ball. Her arms came in to cross in an x-formation over her chest as her head lowered onto her fists.

Then, her arms flew open as a wave the power burst forth from her and spilled outward, drawing strength as it went. Running on pure adrenaline now, the assassin flowed to her feet and took off running right behind it. She feinted left then right before returning left again and jumped over the balcony.

The fall to the ground was a painful one and not as graceful as she would have hoped. The evening to come would reveal many bruises in the least. Her only prayer was that her ribs were not broken from bouncing off the railing of another balcony on the way down. Tiraris' knees seemed to scream in pain as she finally landed on her feet and took of running towards the outer gate. 'Just a little farther. I am almost there. I can do this. The job is done for now. Come on Tiraris! Run!'

[Winters-Feather]

Maar watched with interest as she could feel the magic in the woman expand some how.
Fascinating, the fae thought, wondering how this was possible. Her magical aura felt.. weird, almost unnatural. There were times rare and scarce where Maar was exposed to such  cases as this one.  She moved in to attack, but right as she did so, the assassin suddenly flew past her, the force of it causing her to stumble.
"Damn," she cursed as she watched the woman fall to the ground and run off. Maar would have chased after her, but the sound of Morindo starting to moan and gasp notified her that her hunt would have to be on hold.

I'll deal with it later, she thought as she rushed towards her employer's side.
He looked at her with an expression mixed with pain and anger.
"She... got... away," he hissed, "This wasn't supposed to happen!"
"If you had left like I told you to, it wouldn't have had," Maar coldly replied as she checked his pulse with a frown.
"Still, I'm not over with her yet."
"Your job is to protect me," he replied before falling into a fit of violent coughs, "She's not an issue anymore."
Maar disagreed but instead of arguing, she ran off of the balcony, into the study, and shouted out into the hallways for Morindo's guards to carry him to a carriage that was to be prepared, immanently.
----

Two hours later, Maar was sitting outside the house of the old man the assassin had spoke off. It had taken them a while to find the place, but after asking around for a little while, it was easy to locate the man. He had quickly given Morindo the antidote, and he was now attending to his bedside as the fae was instructed to at least protect the perimeter. She watched as the sun began to set, her arms folded as she leaned against the walls with a pout. On one hand, the fae was baffled. It was rare she had met her match, and in such a queer human woman... She couldn't help but to break into a wide and eerie grin.
It truly was a blessing meeting you, she thought.

The fae's hands slipped towards her knives. She was eager to face that assassin again, and soon. She had so many questions and quite some unfinished business to take care of. Of course, that woman could be anywhere, but that  didn't seem to phase the fae one bit.

[GoblinFae]

The assassin had already come and went from the healer's home by the time the noble had arrived. Tiraris had been treated sparingly for her wounds and the knock to the head. Her impatience and own self-healing ability got in the way of the man helping her anymore than that.

She was currently waiting across the street when Maar stepped out. Watching discreetly from a ways she finally approached albeit slowly and openly. "Keep your knives away. These grounds are not meant for bloodshed."

Tiraris lowered her hood and leaned against the wall of another building close by. "You are very devoted to your job. Even when he deems himself safe, you wait to prove otherwise. I have not seen such an attitude in such a long time, especially not from someone more suited to kill than protect."

Her arms crossed over her chest as she tilted her head to watch. "You are not all that you seem to be. You play with the shadows and if I am right you are either a very precocious little girl or not even one at all, a true master of deception." The assassin bowed her head silently in respected acknowledgement.

[Winters-Feather]

Maar raised her eyebrows as she watched the assassin woman emerge from across the street. The fae hadn't expected the woman to show  her face quite so easily.
Or so peacefully.
Maar wore an easy going smile as she cheerfully waved hello. Despite the woman's warning about the knives, the fae kept them as they were. She was still on the job, after all, and wanted to be prepared if this was all just an act, though she didn't mind having a little chat. Besides, Maar had remembered a time when "these grounds" belonged to the wild wood; it wasn't holier now than it was then. It amused her, though,  how incredibly different the assassin seemed. She was almost.. mild.

The fae's posture straightened as the woman leaned against the wall of a building close by.  As she spoke, the fae's grin grew, pleased by the flattery, though she had to wonder if she was mixing things up. Maar was more interested in her job, purse, and reputation than proving her loyalty to Morindo. Her true loyalties, after all, lied with the King Hawk, and not too much else. She giggled in a voice that sounded like bells as the woman continued to talk.
A precocious little girl or not even one at all.
"Milady has a sharp wit," the fae finally replied with a playful smirk, pleased that the woman had further acknowledged her skill.

"You're right. I'm both," she continued, enjoying her little word play.
The fae shrugged as she pushed back a strand of brown hair behind her ear. Her blue eyes never left the much taller woman's red-brown ones.
"But," she replied, "You're the first to become worthy of fighting in a long time. It was refreshing. Speaking of which, what about you?"
The fae's eyes lit up like a real child as she exclaimed these words. She was genuinely interested and the information might prove useful, later.
"Your magic... What exactly was that display, back then?"

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris blinked slowly. She was well aware that the child was fishing for information about her. She would have to be very careful about what she said if she wanted to continue to appear both strong and controlled. 'It would be deemed as a weakness if she discovered that I cannot control the magic or that it is influenced by my emotional state.'

A small smirk curled the corner of her lips. "That? It is nothing much really. I have done worse things in the past. I much rather use my other skills though. Magic always seem like such a cop-out approach to a fight." The assassin arched a brow in silent challenge, a direct jab at Maar's constant shadow-play. "But that is neither here nor there."

She examined her fingernails nonchalantly as she continued. "You know little fairy, I really do not think you are suited for this job. How much is he even paying you? Not enough I imagine. Noblemen are too miserly with their money. You should ask for more."

[Winters-Feather]

Maar giggled at the assassin's jab at magic.
Is she trying to show me up? Cute, she thought.
Why should that sting her pride? It was only the common excuse of those who didn't understand how to properly use magic and use it as a tool. Besides, it wasn't like this was the first time she had heard this insult; whether or not to use magic in a fight was a common debate among the Hawks, particularly between her Purples and Dram's Reds.
Personally, Maar considered "magic as a cop-out" the jeer of those who were afraid of magic, those who didn't know how to use their own, or both.
I bet you're both, she thought with a smirk.
"Magic is a skill just like any other," the fae smoothly interjected, "I see no difference."

That smile was quickly wiped off her face at the mention of the word 'fairy'. Maar gritted her teeth and tensed up at that word. If there was one taunt she loathed, it was that one. The fae shrugged indifferently to the assassin's question.
"I'm apathetic to money," she coolly explained, "It's the job I'm in it for. Besides..."
The fae grinned as she stretched.
"If that's so, why are you working for one?"

[GoblinFae]

"Oh so you enjoy babysitting full-grown men? My apologies," she mocked inclining her head slightly. Eyes twinkled with laughter as she kept going. "You and I are different though. While I share your apathy as you call it, towards the money I happen to have a closer bond to those miserly nobles than you. I was once one of them."

Tiraris smirked and watched the other carefully. Her relaxed position against the wall was anything but. Reach into her sleeve and she could release a throwing dagger; kick off the wall and she could use the momentum to leap over a frontal attack. The assassin could tell her wounds from earlier were nearly completely healed. The only reason she was not stirring up more trouble was because of the promise she made the healer. He had saved her life and while she would use the poison to draw her targets to him she would never offensively commit a kill on his grounds. 'If given no choice though, I will destroy you little fairy.'

[Winters-Feather]

Maar's eyes widened at the assassin's jest. Suddenly, she burst into ripples of laughter. She knew the woman had been mocking her, but she did suppose her wording was a bit off and that this assassin had caught her.
"You're funny," she said as she wiped away a tear.
It's the challenge I love, not the men.
The fae arched an eyebrow as the assassin gave a way a piece of her history.
"Oh?" she replied, "Once? And why's that?"

Unlike the assassin, Maar didn't bother moving or preparing to move. The fae had no need to. There were shadows a plenty and, besides, the woman didn't even move in to strike, yet. She was about to ask another question when the cabin door opened as the healer stepped out with an empty pail in his arms. The  man nodded in acknowledgement towards Maar as he gruffly held out a tin pail towards her. The fae wrinkled her nose. She wasn't his servant girl.
"Go get water by the river, and don't be such a coward; it's not iron," he barked as his eyes turned towards the assassin.
"Oh," he exclaimed, surprised, "Miss Silverd'art , what are you doing here?"
The old man narrowed his eyes.
"Don't tell me that you got yourself nicked up, again!"
"Silverd'art, is it?" Maar muttered with a glint in her eye.

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris smirked at the laughter. "Nice try sugar, you are not get anything else out of me. You already know too much, that is if you even know what you have." Her eyes were immediately drawn away from the other assassin's as the door behind her opened.

The healer's greeting to her made the assassin sigh and roll her eyes though. "Do you really think so little of me that you would believe I could get myself into a scrap of trouble so quickly?"

"Your poison brought him here. I won't have you doing your business here," the healer calmly stated, shoving the bucket into Maar's lap as he stared the standing woman down.

The red-haired woman pushed off the wall and stood straight with her arms still crossed over her chest. "It is up to the lady whether or not I am working here," she said bobbing her head at Maar again. "Take your concerns up with her."

The man growled and stomped back inside, slamming the door behind him as he shouted for the woman to bring water. "Well," Tiraris taunted, "surely you do not expect the Silverd'art to do that. Besides it is not my employer in there suffering." The moonlight glinted off her red eyes making her appear far more dark and sinister by the minute. "You should feel honored little fairy. It is not everyone that I am called out for. Either your employer is really that remarkable or you are. I hope I am not disappointed in the future."

[Winters-Feather]

Maar smiled prettily at Silverd'art's taunt. She truly was enjoy the woman's tantrums.
She sure still acts like a spoiled noble brat, she thought as she began to skip into the woods.
"Are you coming, Miss?" she tittered without looking back, "Don't want to keep Mr. Morindo waiting..."
The fae knew that she had to keep her guard up. She didn't know if the ex noble would try to attack her once they got to the stream, since she didn't know how far out the healer's property went. Maar doubted the woman would dare to try to strike so close to the cottage, but she never knew. Not that it mattered. They could always leave the grounds after Morindo was taken care of. The fae grinned at that prospect, liking that idea.

[GoblinFae]

The assassin shrugged and followed sedately. Wary and alert, Tiraris really was not looking for a fight right now. One of the reasons she was so good at what she did was because of her patience. Finding out about this Maar, was not only intriguing but her top priority.

'If she decides to act up, can always drown her,' she mused, chuckling slightly at the idea of it all. The woman walked slowly in long strides, keeping easily in stride with the other assassin. "So why is your employer such a big shot anyway Miss Maar?" Tiraris was genuinely interested in the answer to the question. A lot could be learned about person based on what other people thought of them.

Her arms continued to remain loosely crossed over her chest as she watched the skipping figure beside her. Just up ahead the lake came into view, silvery from the light of the moon reflecting off its still surface.

[Winters-Feather]

"Just Maar," Maar instantly replied to the assassin's question. She wasn't much for being called by such formalities other than by her official title, but of course this woman shouldn't know that. The fae offered Silverd'art a knowing grin.
"And it's because he believes in a Connloath that your employer does not," she said.
The fae paused to admire the lake, its' waters shimmering in the moonlight.
"It's much smaller than I remember it last," she lamented as she kicked off her boots and rolled up her trousers before wading in the water until it reached up to almost her knees. The fae shivered; it was cold, but pleasantly so. She carefully leaned over to scoop a pail of water.
"Though tell me, Miss," she said as she glanced at the assassin narrowing her brow, "How is it that you do not know such things? Have you fallen so hard that you would kill without even knowing what harm you might cause?"
There was a shade of pity in her voice as she straightened her posture.

[GoblinFae]

"Of course," Tiraris responded sarcastically, "why did I not think of that?" She rolled her eyes and rested back against a tree as she watched Maar enter the water. The woman made no comment in return concerning the lake despite her hearing it quite clearly.

Tiraris carefully considered the question being posed to her, intrigued with what her own answer would be. Letting the words flow from her like water from a spigot, she quietly replied. "You have to be somewhere high to fall to begin with little Maar. You assume for whatever reason that I was ever somewhere high. Noble or not, I never really had far to fall."

Her eyes came up to darkly stare back into those of her opponent. "You assume too much. Take care that that does not become your downfall. I was never hired to kill, what I do may not have as drastic a consequence as you think. Perhaps what I do will bring about good in one form or another."

The woman smiled wryly and shook her head slightly. "Humans are such an unpredictable sort. You never know what they will do next. Do not be so quick to judge Maar. After all, how do you even know what you are doing is for the better?"