It's All in a Day's Work

[SapphireIceDragon]

Rose finished her breakfast, not once looking up from the table. When she did, she saw the man talk to her father and hand him more gold. Does that mean he's staying a little longer? She didn't know why the thought made her so happy. Well, I might as well introduce myself. She walked up to the man when he was finished talking to her father.

"Good morning, sir," She reluctantly held out her hand. "My name is Rose. What's yours?" That sounded polite enough. She wasn't sure if she was being too forward. After all, the last time I made a friend was...when I still lived in Serendipity, and that was...fourteen years ago? Huh, I guess I'm pretty introverted...The thought nearly made her laugh. I've been alone for that long? No, I suppose I've always had my father, and that is enough...

[Dansen]

Hearing a familiar voice behind Garreth looked to see the girl that he had saved and hugged not a night ago. She seemingly held out her hand with perhaps a hint of shyness and gave out her name, Rose. It was a pretty name, the girl seemed rather deep in thought as she waited for the man to make himself known. The young thief supposed that he should give her his name, she wasn't looking to entrap him and in his line of work that could be an issue but as he was quite secretive and he saw Sten walking out of the inn with the item in hand he took the girl's hand and held it for a proper greeting.

"I suppose its not good to not have the name of a man staying under your roof, the name is Garreth Moriart, you can confirm with your father on the list if you want." The girl seemed to extend friendship to the man, he was fine with such things as it was always good to have a number of friendly folk in the city to help in times of danger, though things should never come to that, it can't hurt to have contingencies...

[SapphireIceDragon]

"I'd like us to be-" Rose was interrupted when the door burst open. A worried couple walked in.

"Have you seen our daughter? Her name is Tabatha; she has dark red hair and green eyes." The mother looked like she was on the edge of a breakdown. "She wandered away from us yesterday, and we haven't been able to find her!" Well, at least her parents care about her. I had expected them to be drunks that didn't pay attention to their own daughter. Rose was relieved, to say the least.

"Yes, we have seen her. She's sleeping in one of the rooms," she replied.

"Thank you so much! Which room is it?"

"I'll show you," Rose led them to where Tabatha slept. I'm glad that this has a happy ending. I always enjoy those, whether in books or real life.

When Tabatha and her parents left, Rose couldn't help but to miss the child. I hope she doesn't get lost again. If she does, hopefully she'll find her way here.

[Dansen]

Before the girl could finish, she was interrupted by the entrance of two rather over zealous parents, they must have been the girl's he had managed to get out of the storm. They seemed to be maddened by the loss of their daughter only for Rose to comfort them and try to take them up to her to calm their worries... To Garreth such a ending was preferable, but families like that didn't last long in a city like this. It would have been advantageous for them to get out of town before the youngling came of age and the dark way that the world could sometimes worked had an effect on her, if not... She could be an orphan by the end of the next year... A sad way of life, but in the end it was one that couldn't be prevented by wishful thinking.

Rose stood out to seemingly miss the young girl who had shared her bed the last evening, the thief made a point to note her seeming worry. "I didn't think that you'd cry so easily over the girl's leaving..." He noted her eyes were puffy from tears, in his line of work it was important to keep track of such things as the expression and sadness of people in the area... "So what was it that you'd like us to be, having a thing like that hanging in the air could give a man the wrong idea..." The teasing of the waitress was still quite prominent though it was enjoyable to have someone to tease for the heck of it rather than it being to keep control as in his profession

[SapphireIceDragon]

"I wasn't crying over-" Rose mumbled, but she stopped herself before she could finish. I suppose it's best to let him believe I was crying over Tabatha. It's better than telling him about my past, which is too confusing even for me to comprehend...When Garreth mentioned 'getting the wrong idea', it took a moment to sink in. "I-It's not like that!" Rose blushed. She wasn't used to being teased, and she tended to take things much too seriously. "I-I meant that I'd like us to be friends!" She wasn't angry at all, just flustered. What an idea! Me, who has never even had a friend for quite some time, courting...Rose's thoughts confused her even more.

[Dansen]

The girl mumbled something before trailing off, it seemed that maybe it wasn't the little one that made her so teary-eyed. Though he could look into such things further he didn't want to pry into a new girl's privacy, it was a mean spirited thing to do so he didn't want to put on a bad impression on the first proper conversation. The joke he threw out seemed to effect the girl a tad, it cause her to turn bright like a tomato for a moment before trying to explain that she wanted his friendship, he sniggered at the stuttering of the girl as she made her explanation and seemed all flustered. "Well that's still kinda ambiguous but I feel that if I tease you anymore you might explode from getting confused and flustered." The man sniggered to himself again as he moved back from the girl. "Well if you need a friend I guess I can be the sort for it, though tell me if you need any help for talking to boys you like I can make a good subtitute~" And he had just finished saying he was done teasing...

[SapphireIceDragon]

"Y-You said you wouldn't t-tease me anymore!" Rose hadn't thought it was possible to get as red as she did. Can I tease him back? Would that be acceptable? She wondered how she could fluster such a man, and she couldn't come up with anything. Not yet, anyways...She then began to calm herself, regaining her composure. An idea came to mind."I don't like anyone yet, but I suppose I know a pretty qualified candidate." She winked at him, hoping that he wouldn't take it too seriously. She didn't even know if that fell under the category of teasing. I don't know what I would do if he took it too seriously. She sighed inwardly. What have I gotten myself into?

[Dansen]

Laughing heartily as she still became more and more flustered at the ideas that he was sprouting out through his teasing, her reaction was more than enough to show his amusement as her face couldn't be more red unless she colored it that way. After she regained her composure after calling him out on still teasing her for the umpteenth time she turned to him and made a point that she didn't like anyone yet, but had someone in mind before winking at him. "Oh really..." Moving towards her he'd look to put a hand on her waist while moving his face closer to hers. "Well if that's the case..." Getting close enough to be mistaken as a couple the man back away and smiled at her once more. "You really should be careful with that, I'm not one to lose in a game of chicken, maybe I'll have to help you truly..." Still joking but willing to let it go Garreth was still enjoying the company of the girl. 

[SapphireIceDragon]

"W-What is a game of chicken?" Rose tried to act as if his advances didn't affect her, but she was failing quite miserably. And to think, my comment didn't affect him in the slightest! She tried to think of some way to mess with him without getting in deeper trouble herself. "Whatever that game is, you seem to be winning by a long-shot. Even so, I enjoy your company." This was not meant to tease. It was her true feelings about the matter. I do hope I get better at this 'chicken' game. I wish I could get a reaction from him, no matter how small...

[Dansen]

Her reaction to his taunting clearly showed that he had won, though she asked him what the game was he certainly made it clear that the first one to feel reddened should be the one to lose the game of chicken... She seemed to almost lose it when she realized he had caught her trying to act the way he was, but she was new to this world and Rose didn't have years worth of sweet talking people while taking what remained in their pockets. She then accepted defeat but admitted that she enjoyed the man's company, Garreth felt a bit welcome in that but he was one who many accepted due to his charisma, though he'd enjoy spurring a friendship with this girl he was still unsure what would occur if she had found out about his rather.... Unfriendly profession...

[SapphireIceDragon]

"Well, I have to work now." Rose shrugged, seeing that people were beginning to come into the inn. "I'll see you later." She gave him a small smile before walking away and taking people's orders. That was a rather peculiar start to the day! At least I had the common sense to realize that he probably has had much more practice with that game...Wait, does that mean that he's used to sweet-talking women? She shook her head. And even if he is, why should I care? She tried to pull herself out of her thoughts. He'll probably be gone in a day or two, and where will that leave me? Alone. Again. That last thought made her eyes widen, as it was very unexpected. She felt...odd about the whole thing. She couldn't easily understand the emotions that had been locked up within her till now.

"Miss?" A young man snapped her out of her thoughts. "Did you hear me?"

"I beg your pardon," Rose replied. "I've just been lost in thought, that's all."

"Ah, that's all fine, but may I have some venison?" He asked. Rose nodded, focusing back on her work.

[Dansen]

The girl got back to her work after having quite the fun conversation with her, Garreth noted that he did not have much to do, he honestly did not have anything to steal or at least didn't want to when he was trying to make friends, because that certainly was a bad party trick to commit to. Well its good that she can take a joke... Well in a awkward blushy kinda way almost cute though too fun to stop seemingly... The girl seemed to stare out in the distance, she seemed to be quite spacey a lot as looking out into nowhere was the being jumped back into reality when she had to get back to work. Waiting through the day in his room Garreth trained in his room for a bit looking to get some muscle building exercise he felt a growling coming through his stomach as he realized that he had not had anything to eat for a while, till last night before his job...

Heading down to near the kitchen the thief was preparing to steal some grub, in a metaphorical sense... He was not that poor as to steal food from people's mouths...

[SapphireIceDragon]

"Rose, can you go to the market for me?" Her father handed her a small list of items.

"Sure," She smiled, glad that she'd get some fresh air. I haven't been able to take a walk in days. She went through the door and out onto the sandy street. Not many people were outside, so Rose didn't have to deal with the stuffy crowds. The warm sunlight kissed her pale skin. This is nice, although I am a bit lonely.

When she got to the marketplace, no one was there. The stalls remained barren and empty. Well, this is odd...

[Dansen]

Looking out the window of his room, the man saw that the new girl he had met was off somewhere that seemed to take precedent over her work at the inn, wondering on where she was going and wanting to get some fresh air for himself while possibly getting some training in with the taller buildings of the city.

As the girl was below walking around in the warm bathing of the sunlight Garreth was above, jumping over rooftops and sliding through narrow gaps between the buildings each with a level of danger that could fell anyone without the proper training leading to certain death... Good thing that the thief was over qualified then. As Rose stopped he saw that her destination was too the marketplace, most likely to pick somethings up. Having worked up a sweat even in the most basic of clothing practically a under top and 3/4 trousers the man still enjoyed his fine run while keeping an eye on the girl seemingly she was a bit too ditzy and he himself didn't want to be caught out as the man who didn't save her when she needed him most.

However the marketplace was strange... No one was there yet the area remained open. I can't be sure but I'll have to use Rose as bait for this whatever it is... Waiting Garreth wanted to see what was to become of this lonely marketplace and what exactly the girl he had met at the inn would do.

[SapphireIceDragon]

Suddenly, a young woman ran out to Rose.

"Run away!" She yelled, grabbing Rose's shoulders. "Go, before it's too late!" A dagger went through her chest in a split second. She went limp, and her body fell onto the sandy ground. Rose screamed in horror. Two figures cloaked in white appeared out of nowhere.

"It looks like she couldn't keep her mouth shut, could she?" One of them, a man, chuckled. The woman stayed silent. They had matching black hair and amber eyes, obviously twins. "It's too bad you don't have enough time to complete her dying wish." He grabbed her arm, and the woman grabbed the other. A dizzying sensation came over her, and they teleported in a flash. The last thing she saw was a pair of glowing cat eyes. "You really do look just like your mother..."

[Dansen]

What happened next was almost too hard to believe... A woman moved to get Rose to retreat only for the poor lass to suffer a stab wound to the chest from a dagger thrown with rather expert speed and precision whoever that was... they were good. The killer was revealed, or at least two suspects were confirmed as two figures cloaked in pure white, seemed they were looking for something because they didn't seem to come from the other side of the market, more like they separated the world and just appeared in the space that came from in between... Rose was terrified as to be expected, a girl like her wasn't around death much for sure, but seemed that the two were more interested in keeping her alive rather than gathering her up on the pile...

One male made a comment, seemingly a talky one, he had a lot to say for sure, probably a man who uses his skills and makes himself seem all that important with how loud and long he makes a speech... Garreth felt that people like that didn't need to have a mouth let alone a face, he be sure to rectify that... The two grabbed Rose and then suddenly... Poof! They had ghosted from the scene. Jumping down from the roof to the corpse below the man took the knife plunged from the woman's back, it gave him some satisfaction not to have such things being used to make a woman unseemly. Looking to the area where the fiends had made their escape Garreth noticed a tear in what seemed to be the air, looking at it he noted a trail that was going through the city. "Well hells... Food will have to wait for the time...." Looking down the path, and noting the gear dead drops he had on the path Garreth was preparing for the ghost hunt.

[SapphireIceDragon]

They arrived in an abandoned building all the way across town.

"My mother?" Rose said in a daze. "What does this have to do with her?" A lump rose in her throat, and her eyes were brimmed with tears. "Did you...kill her?"

"Yes, we did." The woman smirked. "It seems as though she didn't tell you about...things. Well, I'll explain-"

"You killed my mother..." Hot tears streamed down Rose's cheeks as she stood up shakily. She raised her arms and positioned them the way she had been taught. She focused on the hot air around her, building up a fire at her fingertips. A flaming bow formed, and an arrow as well. "Go. Away." She hissed through her teeth.

"This is exactly what we've been waiting for."

[Dansen]

Armor, leather for speed and quickness, not too hard to avoid making too much noise when he hit the scene. That was a essential part of his weaponry but for now the bare essentials of it would suffice, the gloves and extended arm protection along with the hidden knives that could aid in a pinch. Running to the next drop was important, he had to be quick about the pick up or the trail would be lost. The next was for armaments, short daggers and bow, one long the other a hand sized crossbow, he needed this kind of protection if he was going up against this kind of enemy though the time to prep that he'd prefer wasn't exactly freely available...

Once that was picked up all that was left was following the trail... The magic that the two had seemingly used wasn't very clean, a good kind of criminal kept their mystical abilities to a minimum or at least to a level that wouldn't be picked up by someone who had even the slightest of mystic sense of their own. The area that he laid out in his head as he drew closer to the end of the line was familiar, it seemed to be in the abandoned areas of the city, a few building and house here and there all lined up and put out to pasture. With a layabout way of speaking the man looked as his destination seemed to grow closer. "Lets hope I'm not too late..."

[SapphireIceDragon]

The man pounced on her, pinning her to the floor. The flames were snuffed out. The woman put two fingers to Rose's temple. What are they going to do to me? She struggled under the man's weight.

"Say goodbye to your magic..." What? They can't do that! However, Rose felt a pulling sensation at her skull, as if it was being ripped in half. A sharp pain ruptured down her spine, and she screamed. "Hush...If you don't make a ruckus, we might just let you live..." Rose bit her lip and clenched her eyes shut. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't get free. "Almost done..." Her heart beat staccato in her chest, and she was filled with dread. This can't be happening...

[Dansen]

The sound of the release of a bow could be heard from the back of the building, the arrow pointed at the man seemed to not have lost any of its speed or strength as it moved quickly to the man's head. Even with all that magic any man wouldn't have an arrow sticking out the side of his head as a nice accessory. He would most likely move but stay placed on the girl, but from the distance the two would hear a voice, seemingly hidden away in the darkened areas of the abandoned hovel. "You know that's coming on a bit strong friend, if you really want to get a girl then perhaps your sister there could teach you a bit more etiquette, Not leaping onto a girl and stealing her magic is good..." The sarcastic tone that drone through the area was not familiar to the two of them but too the girl it should have been.

"This is three times now, honestly a girl like you just attracts all the scary people in the world, if a vampire lord starts banging on your doors at night then I'm not having it." his joking tone was too aid the girl's psyche which assuredly was quite unsteady at the moment but for now he'd wait till the two were tense and then he'd show them the tools of his trade...