Stalking for Prey(GoblinFae)

[alex_xr]

The figure most often as Nightingale stood on the roof, daggers in her hand . She was  ready to move. Her target a nobles wife and a well protected one. She didn't ask questions, she just prepared to make her move.  Bethe had studied her mark and knew it was no or never.  It was time to make her move, She began to crawl over the roofs making her way to the estate, that was where it got hard, a walled estate meant less vantage points, guards and plenty of chances  to mess up. 

Bethe made an effortless glide over the wall and landed in a quiet thud.  She watched and waited for her count as she effortlessly ran through the guards as they made their rounds.  It wouldn't do to be caught by a guard, so she quickly hid in a bush as she called it close.  She climbed up silently and stood on a ledge, and spotted a woman in a window. It was time, she readied her dagger.

[GoblinFae]

The coarse cloth of the servant girl's skirt rustled, seeming louder than it actually was in the silent and poorly lit halls. Here every sound was like metal grating on stone to those passing through these halls at night. The air was so filled with tension and unease that the very act of breathing too loud would be deemed suspicious and cause for interrogation.

Ever since the discovery of Lord Sirenan's darker dealings in Arca's political circles there had been much disgust and hatred towards the man and his family from the public due to his cutthroat manipulations to pull himself up the power ladder into a position of higher authority. Biting off more than he could chew left him cravenly holing himself into his austere estate. His every movement was watched by friend and enemy alike. Everyone waited with bated breath for the end, whatever it would be.

A red lock of hair slipped out of its place from beneath the servant's bonnet, brushing her pale forehead and cheek. Pausing to adjust her hold on the Lady of the house's nightly chalice of sleeping draught, the servant hurried to tuck her hair back in place before proceeding down the rest of the length of the forsaken hall and around the corner to a door that was being guarded by two armed men who looked dead on their feet from having down their duty too long with little excitement to speak of. Disregarding the mouse incident of earlier in the week, they had done nothing but stare blearily about and shift in place, having been commanded into silence by Lord Sirenan who feared gossip would further harm is reputation.

'As if there is a thread left of it to save,' the woman thought as she smiled softly and nodded a greeting to each of the men. The younger of the two stepped forward to watch her as she took a small sip from the chalice and waited the predetermined amount of time to ensure it was not poisoned. She blinked sluggishly a few times but otherwise smiled when yet again it proved not to be poisoned.

The elder then nudged his younger companion back so as to inspect the girl for any weapons on her person, concealed or otherwise. She sighed irritably, rolling her eyes for only the first man to see but manage to hold her tongue despite the acerbic retorts that came to mind when hands lingered than they should have.

"Let 'er in," he finally growled out. "And no dawdling girly. Deliver the drink and right back out you come."

"Of course," she replied softly, backing into the room that the younger man had opened for her. A coy smile was cast his way before she slipped in fully and shut the door in front of her. As the Lady had every night before when the servant had come, she remained still and quiet before the window waiting for the servant's exit before imbibing her tonic and crawling into an empty bed for a night of dreamless sleep.

Unbeknownst to her though, the servant was dipping her hand into the goblet and pulling out a short, thin blade. The only place the harried guards had not searched was the hiding place of the weapon that would be the Lady's downfall. With deadly accuracy the assassin playing servant hurled the blade, deeply embedding it the target's neck and slicing open her artery. A sharp intake of breath and a faint gurgled cry were the only sounds Lady Sirenan was able to make before she fell back, her life's blood spilling about her.

These were however, deafened by the piercing scream, Tiraris let out upon her 'discovery' of the murdered woman. "Murder!" she screeched, face pale and hands shaking as the guards burst in to face an unseen foe.

The huntress threw herself at the young man, embracing him tightly as if in desperation. Her voice shaking, she pointed to the window, declaring it as the place the murder had occurred, not knowing that another hid close by. The guards rushed to search it, leaving her standing by the door and as such never saw her through it on silent feet like a wraith in the shadows.

[alex_xr]

She had actually thrown the dagger, She waited for the unmistakable motions of her hit but saw them seconds to early. What had happened? That was when Bethe saw it,  a serving girl was in there, it had of been her, the blood curdling scream woke her up to the fact she was in a very dangerous position. " Shit! "  She dropped down but it was too late, they had seen her.  Bethe had counted on a silent take down, it should of been morning when they discovered her death.  She waved at the guard who was now charging toward her.  The sound of metal armor growing, Bethe had a problem on hand.

Her mind raced through possibilities of how to escape,  Bethe threw a dagger effortlessly and found a the guards throat.  She ran through some hedges, the metal rustling seemed to come from everywhere. She was screwed, but she couldn't give up, That is when she cast a glamor on her self. She then silently joined a group of guards going in the direction that served her best. 

Bethe took care not to draw attention to her self.  It was then that her company of men began to stand at attention at the gate.  She almost laughed, that an assassin would use the front gate with all these guards..  Well wait that's what she was doing.  That was when she got the order. 

" You there! Get the town guard! We need to search the district! "

Bethe nodded, and ran towards the direction of the guard, She  then dropped the glamor and slipped into the shadows.

The guards saw what she wanted her to, the sight of another guard, one of their fallen comrades even.  She slipped into her room and thought the job over.  Her hire had paid two assassin's to do the job. She doubted one of them could do it. It better not be the Sirens was all she thought.  She collapsed into bed, the cold sweat clinging to her body now chilling her. She took a deep breath.  She had to find out about that girl.

It didn't make sense why would someone hire the Sirens.. wait make sure to pay for the head of the Sirens to take the job and then hire some nobody. It didn't make sense, and it was an insult to her. She would have to find out who paid them, it was against usual policy but this was an exception. Someone had to pay for this insult.   Bethe, was sure rumors were already flying about the two daggers found in the room, both in the lady. Someone would find that she was really wanted dead. 

[GoblinFae]

Tiraris scuttled out of the mansion and out of sight, winding her way through dark alleyways until she reached her final destination, 'fools could have made it just a little more difficult,' she thought darkly. 'That was child's play. The rest better be a bit more challenging or I am going to start charging double.'

Wolf whistles and catcalls followed her confident steps as she made her through the smoke-filled tavern to the back where her current employer was impatiently awaiting her arrival. With a snap of her wrist the apron and bonnet she had been wearing was tossed onto the unlevel table, knocking over the mug of swill into the man's lap.

A challenging raised brow was the only response he received for his uncouth cursing. "I believe there was something you wished to discuss with me? Unless of course you wish to discuss the husbandry of beast with human in which case I have better things to do."

The man quickly settled, his complexion going pasty white as he plopped back down into his seat. "It's taken care of then?"

"What do you think? I do not enjoy your company. Now where is my cut?"
"There's a new job Silverd'art. I need you-"
"I am not yours to need," the assassin smirked, interrupting him.

He growled, banging his fist down the table to try and regain control over the situation while it did nothing but amuse Tiraris.

"Do continue, I bore of your babbling."
"Heaven forbid, you being inconvenienced! Such a woman," he muttered darkly, unaware of the assassin's higher hearing range.

Incensed and still highly charged from the successful assassination earlier in the evening, Tiraris was out of her seat and had the other man by the throat before he had even registered that she had moved.

"Considering it is a woman that is doing what you cannot, I would not complain. Who is the next target?!"

Playtime was over. A headache was forming behind her eyes and after a hard night's killing, Tiraris just wanted to go home and go to bed. She could plan the details of the next hunt in the morning and begin the games anew.

All it took was a chocked whisper in her slightly pointed ear to get her to release the pulsing jugular and storm away, heading for the boardrooms above where she could rest her head for the night completely unaware that the man was there to stay on further business concerning the same matter.

[alex_xr]

Bethe was fuming as she got word that the employer was found, not only found but just in a simple tavern. She took a deep breath though, she needed to play this carefully, perhaps it was a mix up, or perhaps he doubted them, which in one case after she was done playing his game of kill the target, perhaps she would accidentally kill him. She had to uphold the string of jobs though and sighed as she walked in,  glamored so one didn't see that she was actually armed to the teeth.   Her dress exposed in the right places to leave little to the imagination she plopped down at the table, " So, care to explain why someone else beat me to the game? usually my targets are popular enough to garner more than one, so explain please what you were thinking. "

The man, seemed offended and frightened at the same time,  he reponded " I would never do such a thing, to think someone else would be there and beat a siren at their own game, perhaps I should take my business else where " 

Darn it she thought he had made it seem like they were the ones not performing to satsifaction, she glared, before letting him see through her glamour and she smirked as he gulped. " Now  if there  is anyone else on the next job... Well I will need some more explaining,  She took the piece of paper from his pocket as she pretended whispered in his ear, leaning forward " Make sure it doesn't happen again"   With that  Bethe was gone, it was as if she hadn't been around at all, and no one seemed to have noticed.   She had her target, some politican of course.. She was amazed anyone was brave enough to take such a job, when her job seemed to be killing so many of them.   

She collapsed into her bed, in her lovely office, surrounded by her fellow Sirens, She was tired and needed to be alert so she could properly figure out a way to kill this new mark.   It was going to be an interesting one, as politicians were not often away from the public eye.

[GoblinFae]

Once within the privacy of her own room the assassin methodically began to divest herself of the multiple sets of blades upon her person. Each was placed down with the same reverence and care that a mother gives for her newborn babe. Tiraris now lived by the sword and the dagger, her weapons becoming her sole prized possessions. She strove to handle them well, refusing to ever slack on their care and upkeep even for an alluring extra hour of sleep. A dull blade could allow a man to scream before a painful death, something she could not afford in her line of work.

It was for this reason that the red-haired femme fatale sat cross-legged on the rotting and filthy wooden floor, calmly and slowly sharpening her blades once they were removed. Her movements were cathartic for her troubled soul, allowing her to concentrate fully on the next job. A ragged and well-worn map of the city laid out before her. Additional markings had been drawn in with a practiced hand, indicating secret pathways, bypasses, and deadends.

Tiraris analyzed it closely, taking into account potential bottlenecks and her inability to use the same ruse to succeed this time. She knew that in the morning she would have to observe the manor and the next target in person. Possibly she could find out some useful tidbits of information. It would be a real break for her if the silly nobles decided to throw themselves a ball as they seemed so inclined to do at the drop of a hat.

"I could only be so lucky," she mused quietly, at last setting aside her weapons and stiffly rising to her feet. It surprised her to note that the fresh candle had burned down to its base in the amount of time it took her to plan, telling her that there would not be many hours of the night left before dawn. She collapsed tiredly onto the musty, lumpy old bed to catch a few winks before beginning her work all over again. Perhaps this time she would not have to spend so long in the hunting and get right down to the killing.