A Bird In The Bush (Zozee)

[Nomad]

Having taken his leave of the library he had been visiting Roque moved down the street his gaze slowly shifting from side to side for a moment as he scans the area in front of him. After taking a moment to glance around he turns his gaze from the area in front of him and glances down at the book he had gotten while in the library.

Gazing down at the book he did not pay much attention to the area ahead of him, the most he did was looking up to make sure he was not going to run into anyone or into anything. His attention mostly set on the book. Already he wanted to start flipping through the pages and begin reading though he knew it might not be a good thing to do while walking.

[zozee9]

Alexandra lifted up her head as the library door closed. The last person had left, and it was about time, too. The night was late and the sky was dark and she wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible. She glanced over at the librarian who nodded in return. He led her up to the storage room that was full of dusty, covered bookshelves and once locked drawers.

But something didn't feel right.

"This the place?" she asked, feigning innocence while reaching for her back. The movement was hidden by her overly large, black cloak that she had been wearing the entire time while in Essyrn.

He grunted and replied, "Of course this is the place. Now hand over the money." Right. The money. She planned on using her other hand to create the illusion of money, but tell him that he had to wait until she was out safe, first. But there was a problem—the illusion didn't come.

A confident smile spread across her face as she took a deep bow, turned around, and ran down the stairs all in seconds. All that was left in her spot was a single white feather, plucked when they were not looking. They, of course, being the guards chasing her down the stairs.

She laughed as she ran... until she realized that she couldn't keep running forever. If they had a mordecai, which they obviously did, she couldn't use her magic to hide. She'd have to figure some other way out. So when she got out of the library, she did the first thing she could think of. Wrap her arm around the neck of some person who wasn't a hundred feet taller than her. And, of course, she had her dagger in her hand.

[Nomad]

Having neglected the things around him, Roque was unaware of the woman that had left the library in a hurry and moved up behind him. His peaceful night reading the book he had gotten was abruptly disturbed as he felt an arm move around his neck causing him to instantly come to a stop as he gasps out in surprise, his grip on the book he had loosening and allowing the book to fall to the ground.

Catching sight of the dagger she held close to him he begins to tremble with fear as his fear grows quickly in response to the situation. Though words came to his mind he found it hard to speak the words he thought of saying as he looked at the dagger in her grasp, fear in his gaze. Here he stood with an unknown woman holding a weapon against him and though he knew others would react differently he couldn't do anything other them tremble in fear.

[zozee9]

She felt horrible. It was clear that the young man was scared out of his mind... but it wasn't like she was actually going to hurt him. Just use him to get away. After all, the guards chasing her wouldn't know that she didn't have the heart to harm people. They just saw a large bounty and assumed she was a ruthless murderer.

And she could use that to her advantage.

She saw the guards slow to a stop and she greeted them with a wicked grin. "Move one step and his head is coming off," she threatened as she slowly brought them backwards. She could see the rebelliousness in some of their eyes. She couldn't let that stay. If they tested her, her bluff would be called. "And wouldn't that look horrible on your records. Letting a native Essyrni die." She brought the knife closer to his throat not only to show her point to them, but to let him know not to deny her words. "I reckon it would get every one of you fired. Or worse."

Alexandra knew they weren't too far from the city boarder. It couldn't be more than thirty feet. She had purposefully chosen a library on the side of the city, just in case she needed to make a quick escape. Which, unfortunately, she did.

[Nomad]

Seeing the guard he looked to him with pleading eyes, hoping the guard would save him. However as she spoke up he seen the idea of the guard saving him quickly fade as she threatened to end his life, moving the dagger closer to his throat which caused him to tense up. Still he found it hard to speak and at the same time he found he could not use his magic to fend her off which made him grow even more afraid, was she able to stop him from using his magic? Though she referred to him as an Essyrni he didn't protest against it as she brought the knife closer to his throat " P-Please... " He finally manages to say though in a low tone filled with fear.

His night had went from good to extremely worse in a matter of seconds and their was nothing he could do to change it and it seemed the guard could do nothing to help him either. The woman that held him against his will had the power to take his life in a single stroke. With the knife having moved closer to his throat he begins to tremble more in her grasp, his gaze remaining fixed on the guard, the on hope that had been taken from him.

[zozee9]

A flicker of sympathy appeared on Alexandra's face at the man's whimper, and the head guard caught it. "She's bluffing!" he called, loud and clear.

One of his underlings actually had the guts to ask, "But what if she's not?" The others ignored him, leaving Alexandra in a very difficult situation. She had to think fast and come up with a plan that didn't involve magic. Her plans always involved magic.

The guards took a few hesitant steps towards the pair, testing her. Alexandra cursed under her breath and did the only thing she could think of. She removed her arm from around the boy's neck and quickly stuck the dagger in the sheath. The guards were running at this point, so she tore off her cape and threw it onto their faces to buy a little extra time. Then she turned around, grabbed the guy again (though this time by the wrist, not the neck), and ran. Her bright white wings stood out in the dark of the night, and she knew she had to be quick.

Alexandra was off the ground within seconds. She would have been way up in the sky within a half a minute, if it wasn't for the extra weight of the boy she grabbed. Instead, she was flying at a dangerously low level. Looking down at him, she cursed again. Why had she even grabbed him?! There was a reason her instinct told her to, she was sure, but she couldn't figure it out. At the moment, she only hated her instinct for having her grab dead weight.

That hatred was not helped by the fact that one of the guards finally had the sense to throw his sword at her. While it only hit the side of her right thigh, the cut went in deep. She bit her tongue to restrain from crying out, but that only served to make her tongue bleed, too. Alexandra also, with horror, realized that her bleeding thigh would leave a trail of blood. So even if she got out of the grasp of the mordecai, it would have to be a complex and power consuming illusion to create a false trail.

[Nomad]

As the guard speaks up, calling her bluff, a glint of hope fills Roque's eyes as he listens to another guard speak up before they begin to move towards them. With all of his heart he hoped they would save him from this woman, he wanted nothing more then to get back to his night.

Feeling her arm move from around his neck he thought that he was free from her, a wave of hope quickly overtaking him. As she threw her cape at the guards he hoped that she was going to try and run leaving him behind so he could be saved by the guards. However before he could try and escape her he felt her hand grasping his wrist and before he knew it he began to stumble along after her as she ran.

Stumbling along with her his eyes turned to her wings as they opened up, his gaze shifting over them for a brief moment, surprise taking him as he turns his gaze back to her. As she took to the air, pulling him along with her fear started to quickly take hold of him again as he reaches up with his free hand and takes hold of her wrist, calming down with all the strength he could use to hold onto her wrist.

Looking back he seen the guards and watches as one threw a sword at them, at first thinking it may hit him, he closes his eyes and tenses up. When the sword does not hit him he opens his eyes and looks up at her, seeing that the sword had cut her thigh and caused her to begin bleeding. Though he had been taken captive by her as he sees that she was injured some part of him felt sorry for her though she had plans to injure him only moments ago. " P-Please don't drop me... " He whines, his gaze shifting from her injury to her face, fear in his eyes.

[zozee9]

Alexandra tried to relax the muscles in her leg, knowing that it would help slow the bleeding. Then she looked down at the boy and responded, "Why on earth would I drop you?! Oh... right... sorry, I wasn't actually going to hurt you with that dagger. Now would you do me a favor and tie something around my thigh? I need the bleeding to stop. Tie anything. I don't care. Or even just hug my leg... I guess that would help you not fall, too." She kept flying upwards. "Just stop the bleeding."

Because once the bleeding was stopped, she could finally send the guards out on a wild goose chase. And when they were gone, well, she could escape the town... and then probably have her bounty raised. Alexandra saw a higher bounty as a blessing, however, since it let the murderers know she was still chasing them.

[Nomad]

Gazing up at her with an almost death grip on her wrist he listens as she begins to speak. Listening to her, Roque grew surprised at the fact that she had no intention in hurting him with the dagger she wielded against him. She had made it clear that she planed to use the weapon to cause him harm and yet here she says she had no play to do such a thing. Though she had said was not going not going to hurt him, he remained unsure to the fact given his situation.

The request only confused Roque as he looked up at her. He knew she was injured and it would need to be bandaged, however he was not about to let go of her so he could tear off something to work as a bandage. At the moment he felt that something like that would lead to him falling, which was something he did not want to happen. Since he wasn't about to try and tear something off either of them for a bandage he takes hold of her leg and slips his arm around her thigh before hugging her leg for dear life, covering the injury on her leg as he tries to stop the bleeding.

[zozee9]

Alexandra grimaced as he hugged her leg. It hurt more than anything she had felt in a long time—but it did the trick. The blood stopped falling onto the ground and instead soaked into his clothes. Now all she had to do was execute her plan. "Whatever you do, don't talk or move," she muttered down at the boy.

First she made sure she was high enough by creating a light at her fingertip that would be too small for anyone else to see. Then she turned around and looked down at all of the guards with another wicked smile on her face. "Well, it was great knowing you all!" she shouted sarcastically. "But I'm afraid my ride has arrived!" And with that, a giant yellow light appeared and covered all of her and her companion before vanishing along with her.

That's what it looked like to the guards, at least.

In reality, Alexandra had created the illusion of the giant yellow light to give the feeling of some sort of magic at play (which there was, but not the kind they would be imagining). Then she made the light vanish and covered herself with the image of the sky behind them—making it look like they were no longer there.

The guards shouted and started looking around, wondering where she went. They split up, though a couple of them stayed nearby. So she improvised, making a stray white feather fall about thirty feet to their right. And all the guards ran that way, thinking that's where she went. She knew she'd have to wait longer before it would be safe to move, but at least the guards no longer knew where she was.

[Nomad]

Now that he had taken hold of her leg like she had requested he stopped the blood from falling to the ground by letting it soak into his clothing, which was something he wasn't sure he liked. Though he may not like it he felt he had no other choice but to do what she had asked. Clinging to her leg he gazes up at her, nodding his head faintly as she told him not to speak or move.

He gazes up at her a moment longer before closing his eyes as he rest his head against her leg while holding onto her leg so he would not fall. With his eyes closed he is unaware of the magic that she uses to aid in their escape. Since she had told him to not move and remain silent he does as she has said, his eyes closed as he rested his head against her, doing his best not to move.

[zozee9]

They stayed up in the sky for a few minutes until Alexandra decided it would be safe to fly away. All the guards had ran one direction, so she broke the illusion, muttered "Hold on tight", and then started flying immediately down to her second inn. That is, the one she moved all of her belongings to that morning so that they couldn't track her using her previous housing.

She flew in through the window (which, of course, she had left open) and landed harshly on the bed. She shielded her right side from the impact, however, since she did still have some guy holding onto it. Alexandra moaned, wondering how much blood she had already lost. Definitely more than healthy. But she couldn't stay for too long... otherwise they'd find her.

"You can get off now," she said, just in case he hadn't guessed. "But stay in this room. We'll have to leave soon."

[Nomad]

Hearing her tell him to hold on tight, he nods and held on for dear life as she begins to fly, though he could not see where she took him since he still had his eyes closed. He held on as if glued to her leg, not wanting to let go for fear of falling. It was not long before they stopped moving and she let out a moan. Hearing the moan he opens his eyes and looks at her, seeing they had come to rest on a bed in a room though he was not sure where.

Though they had come to a stop he held onto her leg still and only let go when she said he could. Nodding he releases his grasp on her leg and slowly pulls away from her. As he pulls away from her he sees the blood on his cloths and lets out a soft grown though his attention quickly shifted back to her as he remembered her injury. " B-But your leg. " he stammers as he shifts to try and get a look at her injury. " Are you sure you should be leaving? You may need some rest. " it was clear that he had concern for her even though she had just put him through such a traumatic event.

[zozee9]

Alexandra looked at the boy as if he was the most foolish person she had ever seen. "First off, do you know who I am? Secondly, even if you don't, I just infiltrated a private part of a library, ran from guards, and held someone hostage. Do you honestly think I will just stay here and 'rest'?!" She sighed and took a deep breath. She had to stay quiet, she knew that.

"Okay, lock the door. And then you see that bag over there? Bring it over to me please. I promise I'm not normally this demanding. Nor do I hold hostages." She couldn't promise anything about being chased by guards, though. "Desperate times call for desperate needs, as someone says somewhere."

[Nomad]

Lifting his gaze from her injured leg, he brings it back to her face and listens to her as she speaks. As she raises her voice he frowns faintly in response. With a soft sigh he raises up from the bed as she tells him to lock the door. He went from being her hostage to now feeling like some sort of servant for her. Moving over to the door he locks it before looking over to the bag she had mentioned. " Ok.. " He mumbles softly as he moves over and picks up the bag before taking it over to the bed.

Setting the bag on the bed he looks at it for a moment before looking back to her, a soft smile flashing on his face for a brief moment before it fades " And you made me drop my book too. I was looking forward to reading it. " he says with a soft sigh as he lowers his head faintly " I will have to find another I guess.. " He adds with a faint nod, lifting his head to look at her once again. " I'm afraid I don't know any healing magic so unless you do I can try and bandage your leg up. "

[zozee9]

Alexandra smiled sadly at the boy. There wasn't anything she could do at this point, but she felt so bad for him. She was rather surprised he had actually listened to everything she had said, though. Most people would have ran and tried to catch the guards—she wouldn't let that happen, of course, but people would have tried. Instead, he was offering to help her.

"Thank you, but I can bandage myself," she replied gently while grabbing some some string, a needle, and some bandages out of her bag. "Or with the size of this wound, stitch myself up, I guess. I always hated stitching. Normally I can avoid wounds this bad with my magic, but there had to be a mordecai. The guards are getting smarter though, I have to say. You didn't answer my question though—do you know who I am?" She grimaced and started to stitch her own wound, her eyes focused on the needling but her ears focused on her acquaintance.

[Nomad]

With his gaze fixed on her he notices her smile, though something was off about it. For the time being he simply watches her, wondering what he would need to do to help her though part of him wanted to run, he wasn't sure if such a thing would be possible. She said she would not hurt him but he knew desperate people can do things they thought not capable. Though he was willing to bandage her injury for her, he was glad to hear that she was capable of doing it herself.

At the mention of stitching the wound he turns his gaze from her, looking around the room for a brief moment. Though he could deal with the sight of blood, the act of stitching ones wound back up sent shivers down his spine and made him a bit queasy. Looking around the room he listens as she continues to speak and as she brings up the mordecai he quickly realizes that is why he could not use his magic before to defend himself. It had been suppressed though now that they where here it may not be suppressed which meant he could use it again.

As she brings up the question of him knowing her, he shakes his head before turning his gaze back to her, keeping his attention focused on her head even though she was not looking at him but rather her leg. " N-No.. I don't know who you are. I am not from here.. I have been traveling. I am Roque, who are you? " He says with a soft smile, finally introducing himself while wondering who she was. Given what she said and done he figured her for some kind of criminal or low life brigand, though he did not voice such thoughts for fear of retaliation on her part.

[zozee9]

Alexandra sighed, looked at him in the eyes, and sighed again before returning to her stitching. The fact that he was a traveler and didn't know her was a little discouraging—both for herself and himself. She wanted to be known (even if it had multiple downsides to it) and he, well, surely he should know who to avoid while traveling. She almost debated not telling him, but she realized that would probably end worse than if he learned now.

"Feathers," she stated simply before hesitating and deciding to go on. "I'm a wanted criminal with a bounty exceeding all of the money you will ever have in your lifetime combined. Have you honestly never heard the name or seen the posters?" Then she swore under her breath as she realized those posters would be updated with her current looks.

[Nomad]

With his gaze fixed on her he managed to glance into her eyes for a moment before she looked back to what she was doing, though he could not get the nerve to look at her leg as she worked in stitching her wound up. As she spoke up, introducing herself to him he thought for a moment, finding the name to be a strange one though given the fact that she had bird wings he figured it fit her in a way. As she continues to speak he finds that his guess was right, she is a criminal and she had a bounty on her head to boot. The bounty she had on her sounded like a great deal, more then enough he thought he would need in his life time.

As he looks at her he shakes his head faintly as she brings up posters of her. " No. I don't believe I have seen any of them then again I do not really look for that kind of stuff. I am not a bounty hunter so I would have no need for them really... I'm not really the type to fight people and I try to avoid conflict if possible. " he says as he watches her for a moment longer before he begins to pull away from her, glancing down to his cloths for a moment " It is nice to meet you though Feathers. " he says with a smile as he looks back to her " Even though you did hold a dagger to my throat, you seem like a nice person. Though you have a strange name... "

He says before turning his gaze from her, growing a bit embarrassed at what he had just said and it shown as his cheeks reddened slightly. Trying to get his mind off of the matter he focuses on his bloody cloths " .. I think I will need a change. I don't have my bag though. " he says with a sigh. Raising his hand, he reaches out for a chair, though it was not within his grasp he had decided to test and see if his magic had come back to him as he hoped it would. Taking hold of the chair with telekinesis he lifts it from the floor and brings it to him, resting it behind him before he sits in it, facing Feathers though he keeps his gaze averted from her, waiting for her to finish.

[zozee9]

Alexandra blushed lightly at his comment about her being a nice person. Lots of people said that to her, but not normally a guy her age... much less one who probably thought she was going to kill them. Most people said it to get a favor or because she did them a favor. She couldn't help but laugh at his comment about her name, though.

She was just about to respond when he seemed to be distracted by something. She watched the chair lift into the air and started laughing again, making stitching awfully hard to do.

"Goodness, I guess I'm lucky that mordecai was there," she finally said once she calmed down. "Another magician, I see. Though I suppose if the mordecai was gone, I wouldn't have needed to take a captive. Again, I'm soooo sorry about that. I promise I'll make it up to you. I'll sew you new clothes... though I suppose that would only be polite, anyway." She paused before adding, "Call me Alexandra, by the way. That's my real name. Feathers is the name on my head since I always leave behind one of my feathers when I sneak into some place."