The Biggest of Regrets (Open)

[Anonymous]

Graaver looked down at the piece of torn parchment. Pechez n Creem Brothal, Adella. Sun-down. He folded it back up and as he put it back into an inside pocket sewn into his shirt, looked out the window. The sun's last light was dancing over the rooftops.

'What kind of damn merchant can't spell?' he thought to himself. He had completed yet another contract; Retrieve a necklace from a Merchant in his camp in the Draconi Forest. Luckily, there was no mention of killing him or his guards, so Graaver had managed to sneak into the camp and steal the necklace from the sleeping Merchant.

The flagon of Mead was starting to run down, and Graaver wasn't really prepared to get a second, even though he had had it for about three quarters-of-an-hour, it was the fact he would have had to have spoken to someone. The darkest corner he could find when he arrived was getting darker, but he had to shoo away a bouncer and a "working-girl". He was starting to get uncomfortable.

He pulled the necklace out of his belt and examined it. There looked to be Elvish symbols on the back and the front had the design of a winged dragon, only it looked different to the emblem of Adela. He put the necklace back in his belt and sat back.

How long would this Merchant be, or would someone else interupt him?

[Anonymous]

(Hope you don't mind if I jump in. ^_^)

Nykui was bored. It was a slow night at the brothel, not many customers to entertain at all. She'd made pretty good in tips already though so she told herself to not complain too much. It wasn't as though she desperately needed the money. The main problem was she was bored and boredom was the one thing Nykui could not stand.

She looked about the room to see if there was anyone she could talk to. There was one man in a dark corner. He looked pretty annoyed and all around impatient. Probably waiting for someone she guessed. One of her co-workers had already gone over to him and he had shooed her off, but there was no reason she couldn't go over there and talk to him. She had no intention of trying to get business out of him, she just wanted someone to talk to.

Nykui walked up to him and sat down opposite him. "Hello there. You looked to be about as bored as I feel. The name's Nykui. What brings you to this humble brothel house?" She asked in a sweet voice.

[Anonymous]

(Not at all, feel free)

Graaver looked up as the stranger sat down. As she spoke he eyed her up or down and decided this wasn't his contact. Where the hell was this Merchant?

"I didn't know there were many Nymphs around these parts anymore" he said. His voice was deep and gravelly. He wasn't really in the mood for anyone or anything. All he wanted was to get paid, then to get some rest, he had been up for nearly three days.

He leant forward and rested his forearms on the table, either side of his drink and with is right hand, reached under his hair over his face and gently rubbed his face where the scar was to sooth an itch.

After a moments thought, he had had enough. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a highly shined silver coin and flicked it onto the table infront of the new and very beautiful stranger. As the coin spun in front of her he looked up at her, with a menacing look in his eye. He produced another parchment, with a sketch of the Merchant contact and dropped in on the table in front of the girl. "Find him for me. He should be in here".

He sat back up and drained the flagon and put it back on the table with a satisfying thud... and waited...

[Anonymous]

This man seemed more annoyed than she had originally thought. "No there isn't many of us on this plane. Back home in the fey wild there are plenty of us." She said. She was about ready to apologize for interrupting this very worn down man's evening, when he flipped her a silver coin and a piece of parchment and told her to find him.

This intrigued Nykui to no end. She loved being involved in shady and mysterious things, even though she knew that it could be dangerous. The menacing look he gave her didn't go past her notice. She decided to ignore it though. "Alright, I'll find him if he's here." She promised him as she got up from the table and began her search.

Nykui began with the main room and made a circle around, looking into every nook and cranny. So far no sign of him. Then she check the spa rooms and the bathing rooms, still nothing. She looked every where she could think of and still nothing. There was one more option, the private rooms. She guessed that he could be with one of the girls there. So she took it upon herself to knock on every door. Finally she got an answer at one and a very upset co-worker answered. "What? I'm busy." She snapped.

"Well, I'm looking for someone." Nykui answered and peeked her head in to see who she was entertaining. Sure enough it was her man. "And that's who I'm looking for. Here, take this. It's probably more than what he was going to pay you." She told the woman handing her a gold piece. It seemed to satisfy the girl and she stepped aside to let Nykui in. "Come on sir. You're needed out front." She said and looked him straight in the eyes. The point was not to intimidate him, the point was to use her hypnotizing ability and get him to come with her easier.

(Um...who's playing the merchant? ^_^)

[Anonymous]

(He's an NPC to get my character near a town).

The fat Merchant waddled past Nykui like a large goose and managed to squeeze through the door. As he moved through the door, he saw Graaver stand up from his table. The Merchant fasten his trousers and narrowed his eyes. "YOU?! What are you doing here?!"

Graaver stepped towards him. "Wanted me to die on that job? Thought it was strange to get a Bounty Hunter to collect what you wanted". The Merchant looked nervous, "You stole from my brother. His necklace. Thief. THIEF!!!".

A few customers looked around between Graaver and the Merchant who was now pointing at Graaver. Graaver took another step towards the Merchant and put his hand on the handle of one of his daggers.

He had it all planned; Dart forward, draw his blade, insert it sharply between the third and forth rib, puncturing the heart and cutting a hole in the lung of the Merchant, so if the stab doesn't kill him, he would almost certainly drown in his own blood, and out the door into the darkness.

He started to draw his dagger, then out of the corner of his eye he spotted a large shadow moving quickly towards him. He spun around, just in time to see a large bodyguard catch him clean across the head with a small club.

Graaver spun around and hit the wooden floor with a huge thud. As his view faded in and out, he saw the merchant and the bodyguard run through the door and into the darkness. At that moment, Graaver's head hit the floor again and he blacked out...

[Anonymous]

Nykui wasn't sure what was happening. First the merchant stepped out into the hall and got into the annoyed man's point of view. The next thing that happened went by too quickly for her to remember every detail. The one man yelled at the merchant and called him a thief. Something about a necklace. After that he rushed forward, to probably attack the merchant was her guess. Before he could get near the merchant a body guard came out of no where and hit him with a club

Nykui didn't know what to do, so she yelled for help, but it was too late. The man she was helping was already knocked out on the floor and the merchant and his body guard was running out the door. She wasn't sure if she should give chase or not. Of course the poor unconscious man on the floor was probably more of a concern. She ran to him and cautiously lifted his head off the floor and laid it in her lap. "Hey there sweetie, come on now. Wake up, wake up." She said gently patting his face to try and wake him up.

[Anonymous]

The darkness closed in quicker than the sharp wind at the start of the rainy season in the tropical islands. Graaver heard voices echoing all around him. Harsh reminders of his days in prison. Guards shouting, prisoners screaming and begging, metal doors slamming, chains clinking.

He saw the stone walls of his cell, the walls lined with patches of moss from the damp, the endless dripping noise that echoed. As the guard stepped out, he remembered: The day he broke out. The gate slammed behind the guard and he walked off. Graavers fellow cell-mate leant over him, face obscured in shadow... but something wasn't right. The voice was different.

"Wake up, wake up" the new voice said. A light appeared from behind the head, getting brighter and brighter...

Graaver opened his eyes, looking up at Nykui. He could feel blood running down his head. He slowly sat up and pulled some hair back over his scarred side of his face. He looked around, most of the customers hadn't moved. The Merchant was gone.

He struggled to his feet and looked around, feeling weak and unsteady. He leans on a table to keep balance and looks to the floor to try and focus. As his sight re-adjusts, he notices that red blood spots are appearing on the floor, still from his head. He looked back at Nykui. "Thanks" he said. "You see where he went?"

[Anonymous]

((OoC_ don't mind if i join?))

Silent glanced up and down the street, it didn't seem there was anyone in sight. She was on another job, she was looking for a client's son, not a particularly well-paying job, but albeit, Silent didn't care.
She needed something to take her mind off her problems.

She strolled up one side of the street, the wind playing with her long brown hair, lingering through the feathers on her wings.
She kept a hand on her sword hilt, still wary, even though the street appeared deserted.

Something caught her eye then, a small group of people, running out a door, one was particularly fat. Silent blinked.
They started running, and so did Silent. Something was up.
A small smirk crept its way up her face as she ran, far faster than they, using her wings to give her more speed, she caught up with them easily, whipping her sword out and holding it to the fat man's neck.

"Something you want to explain?' She hissed in his ear. Halting him in his steps, wrapping her legs around his waist, and beating her wings heavily to keep him from running.
She could sense it off him, sense an urge of fear and anxiety. Angels had that enhanced ability.

Silent cast a glance behind her, through her mass of feathers,
 Peachez n' Creem, Brothel!??! She thought, What on earth...

She peered into what part of the window she could see, there was a young man and what appeared to be a Nymph, the man was bleeding.

I can help him... i should heal him...

Silent turned her attention back to the merchant she still straddled.
"What did you do?!" she asked him, her voice still quiet, as usual, but firm.

[Anonymous]

Nykui helped the man to slowly sit up. She knew from experience sometimes a hard knock on the head could leave one feeling sick and something told her that this was a man that would be very embarrassed to throw up in front of others. He seemed to be alright though the nasty wound on his head was bleeding pretty good. "Is there anyone here that's a healer?" Nykui asked of the general crowd that had gathered around them.

"He ran out the door there. I yelled for help, but I'm not sure if anyone went after them. Of course as fat as that man was I'm sure he won't get too far." Nykui answered him and snickered a bit. "I was more worried about you going down like that. Wanted to make sure you were okay first. Wouldn't look good for The Peach if a customer was to die on us. How are you feeling?"

[Anonymous]

Graaver ignored Nykui's concern and staggered to the door. He bumped into a few tables along the way, angering the customers and occasionally a little blood dropped on the table, or even worse, in their drink.

He almost fell against the door to open it and staggered into the street, blood running down his head like a tiny stream. The street blurred in and out, echos all around. In the haze, he saw the Merchant being man-handled by someone. He staggered a few paces forward and leant against the wall. He took a deep breath to try and steady himself.  He looked up again at the two figures, now becoming even more fuzzy. "Just let him go" he said, almost automatically.

He looked at his hand, propping him up on the stone wall, it was so fuzzy he couldn't make out his fingers. The next thing he knew, he dropped to his knees, head bowed down, breathing heavily. He managed to look up to the sky, unable to tell wether it was day or night, then fell backwards to the floor, unconcious...

[Anonymous]

Silent jerked back, almost pulling the man over.
"ANSWER ME!" she yelled at him.
She felt him tremble beneath her, she rolled her eyes, pulled her sword away from his neck, and rammed the hilt against his head. Knocking him out.
She held him up, her nose wrinkling in disgust.

Her head flicked around as she heard a shaky voice, she took in the appearance of the man behind her, it was the same man she had seen earlier. His white hair stained with the blood that came from his head wound.
His face was pale. Silent watched him as he staggered into the wall, and then onto his knees.

She dropped the fat man, hearing his dead weight slam onto the floor. She ran over to the man who was now unconscious.
She took a deep breath, fell to her knees before him and placed her hands, gently, on the sides of his face, pulling his head onto her lap.
She let her healing aura settle in, her fingers glowed with her golden light, she felt it seep into his skull, closing what wounds he had.
She also felt her energy depleting slightly. Her healing was flawed in that respect, she was after all, giving someone life.

She raised her head, stretching her wings slightly, "Hey" she said, calling to the nymph, "C-can you make sure no-one moves him?" she said, referring to the fat man.

She turned her attention back to her healing, and the man whose head rested in her lap.

She could almost feel her memories flashing in his mind, her healing did that, it was perhaps why she barely ever used it. When he came to, he'd know Silent's name, her age, he'd see the years she had lived, see how long she had lived. All the things she'd try to keep to herself. He'd know it all...

He would wake up soon, Silent was channeling her healing with caution. She had her eyes closed, but she could hear the voices of the people crowded around them. She hoped they weren't going to move that fat man.

She bowed her head, feeling her long brown hair brush against the unconscious man's face, he would wake up, any second now...

[Anonymous]

Nykui tried to stop the man from moving, but it was useless. He seemed determined to go. She wasn't going to let him wonder out in the streets by himself, after two men that could easily kill him in this state. So she did the only natural thing. She followed him.

As Nykui walked out the door she saw the hurt man fall to the ground again and she saw a winged woman unceremoniously drop the fat man onto the ground. She was about ready to help the hurt man again when the winged woman told her to make sure the fat man didn't move. "Not a problem. I'll put a knife in his throat if he tries anything." She said going over to the fat man. Not so lightly she flopped on top of him and pulled a small dagger out of her boot and held it to his neck. He wouldn't be getting away so easily this time.

[Anonymous]

***OOC: Sorry for the long delay. I have been very ill recently***

Graaver's eyes flashed open, staring deadly into the sky. He blinked and sat up. After a deep breath he almost jumped to his feet, he felt alive and full of energy. He saw Silent on the ground and he helped her to her feet gently. "Thank you Silent" he said in a low, gravelly voice.

He turned to see Nykui with a knife to the Merchants throat. He walked up and placed his hand on the back of her's. Slowly and gently, he removed the knife from the Merchants neck. He looked deep into the Merchants eyes, so deep he could almost see his soul. "You have two days..." he said lowly, "...then, the hunt begins".

The Merchant wriggled free and around the corner. Graaver gently let go of Nykui's hand and made sure there was still some hair in front of his scarred face. He bowed his head in thanks to Nykui and tried to smile, but it came out a bit wrong. He looked back at where the Merchant had run and let out a long sigh.

'Two days' he thought, 'So many preparations to make, so little time'. Deep down he knew what he was in for. He knew the Merchant well enough to know he wouldn't allow himself to be hunted, he would be in a city or port somewhere within hours rustling up some new bodyguards. 'Next time, there will be no sneaking into the camp and stealing one item. I will sneak in and slit everyone's throat while they sleep'.

He looked back at Nykui and looked her up and down. He didn't know what to think, or say, so did neither. He turned and made back to the door. Then, in front of Silent, he paused.

"150 years of life, numerous relationships, fears, strengths, contracts... I know everything about you Whisper, but I only have one question" he asked as he opened the door. "Who the hell are you?"

[Anonymous]

OOC- It's alright, It happens, good to see you back though!

Silent's fingers left his brow as the man sat up, took a breath, then jumped to his feet. She had to supress a smile, though, she could see confusion in his gaze.
He turned back to her, and offered up a low thanks.

Silent only shook her head, "Just doing my job."
She took the hand he extended and pulled herself to her feet, placing a hand on the hilt of her sword as the white-haired man turned back to the merchant and nymph.

He placed a hand on the nymphs and removed the knife, Silent moved behind him, still worried for his wellbeing.
He stared deep into the fat man's eyes, and Silent frowned at what he said.
Two days?... What 'hunt?'

Silent blinked, about to ask, when he turned back to her.
Amusement danced in her eyes for a moment, he opened the door, but she kept her smile to herself, offering the only reply she could think of "I'm a mercenary, protecting people is my job" she paused, and let the hand on her sword slide off, she stretched her wings, "You know more about me than I do" she shook her head, before turning back to the nymph.

"You did a fine job there" she smiled, and looked between the two of them "What are your names?"
the prospect of the both of them knowing her name, and her not knowing either of theirs, was a little annoying.

The nymph spiked her curiosity, she'd never seen one up close before.

[Anonymous]

Nykui honestly didn't know what the hell was going on and honestly that was fine with her. She really didn't want to get mixed up in the middle of anything that was potentially harmful. She heard what the man said to the merchant and didn't even pretend to understand what the game was they were playing.

She was very happy that her part in it was, hopefully, over. "My name is Nykui. I work here. Glad to be of some help, though it wasn't much I'm afraid. You two want a couple of drinks, my treat."