Bonds and Chains (M)

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Su-lahna's eyes kept upon Ketehka and the woman. They were still speaking,a nd when their eyes began to warily scan the area, she pressed in close to Oberin. She knew he was battling over this decision, she would too, if she was smarter. But she couldn't help but be curious. Her hand shook lightly in his as she whispered, "Perhaps we ought to split up? That way if something goes wrong, only one of us would get caught. The other could be our back up."A nd here she turned and looked into his eyes, seeing the internal struggle there as she traced her fingers against his cheek.
"I should go," she suggested, her voice barely a whisper, and before she had a chance to say much more, the seamstress approached.

"Have you made a selection? Or do you two need any help?" She smiled.

Su-lahna blinked, turned away to peer out the window just once, noticing the cloaked woman and Ketehka were moving on and a thrill coursed through her veins. She turned to the shop keep.
"This dress, and the blouse and pants."She said.

The shop keep nodded. "I can take in the dress if you wish. To fit your form more nicely. Come with me to the back and we'll get it taken in right quick."

[Lion]

He wasn't like this, ever.  He was beginning to feel his nerves get the better of him when Su-lahna took care of the seamstress's sudden interruption.  He took a breath and just smiled at her.  He could feel his nails had cut into the palms of his flesh but while the seamstress took Su-lahna in the back to get the right measurements he waited in the store, watching the from the window, staring where the strange bird-woman and the other cloaked one went.

There was only one inn in town and there was no doubt she'd be waiting for them by the time Su-lahna was ready.  He had to think of a proper disguise, something even Su-lahna wouldn't even expect him in and before she could come out, Oberin left the tailor shop and went around inspect the back alley's of the inn and where he was properly hidden, he came hobbling out of the alleyway with a limp in his walk and his clothes of tanned leathers.  There was a bow on his back and scars on his face.  His hair was white and short and choppy and his beard fierce and grizzled.

He looked like a traveler like any other walking down the street, an old hunter that had seen his years of hardship.  No, not even Su-lahna could see what he was lest she give him away somehow, no matter how subtle.  And would meet her in the inn.  He could only hope she was strong enough not to give herself away.

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When Su-lahna returned, the dress taken in to her liking, she paused to realize.. Oberin had disappeared. So she waited, the seamstress sharing in idle conversation as they waited, that was, until another customer came in. But when it was nearing an hour, she began to worry. She hadn't the money to pay for the dress, so when she grew impatient and stepped outside, the seamstress looked up from her work and gave a gasp.
"Miss! You still need to pay for that!"
Though any shouts from her were on deaf ears, for as Su-lahna stepped out into the streets, she found the bird creature and red cloaked woman had vanished.

...And there was no trace of Oberin, no sign of him at all, and as a light wind carried through, one of the feathers from Ketehka tumbled past her feet.

[Lion]

Oberin was waiting in the bar, chin deep in his third ale.  But he watered it down and licked his lips as he waited for Su-lahna.  She needed to move and fast as he watched Ketehka and the cloaked woman who he could only assume was her mistress descend from the stairs in a delicate fashion.  It seemed the patrons of the tavern knew her well enough and made no scene of it when she took a table on the side by the window, so that she had a clear view of people coming and going.

"Hurry, Su, Please," Oberin muttered under his beard.  He felt like the fierce grizzled hunter he was trying to be.  Such people were a dime a dozen here in the surrounding Draconi forest.  But none had the patience like Oberin did.

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To avoid a fuss, Su-lahna made herself 'disappear' having taken homage in an empty alleyway as she caught her breath. She was still shaken up that Oberin wasn't anywhere to be found, despite her frantic searches for him. Was he alright? Had something happened to him? And where had Ketehka and that woman gone?
Fear and doubt continued to escalate, but she tried to keep her wits about her, but she was becoming too worried and concerned that she began to shake, tears coming to her eyes. And just when she found herself sobbing,s he steeled herself, leaning against a wall and taking in slow and careful breaths.

No, Oberin would be fine. She needed to carry out this plan. A twilith..s he had to know. Were there more? Did she know him? But for the life of her, she couldn't recall where to meet them when her eyes caught the tavern across the way, and a red cloaked woman moving within.

Drawing in a careful breath, she brushed away any fragments of tears, dusted off her dress and swallowed down her fears and doubts, even as they shook within her. On the outside,s he tried to remain calm and confident,a nd was soon reaching out a sweaty hand to take the door.

"Allow me."

Su-lahna gasped and drew back, noticing a tall sword man, a local guard, open the door for her.

"Oh, thank you," she said, then stepped inside, still wary of him but he seemed not to be after her (for she still hadn't paid for the dress). Once inside,t he room was dark. She could see easily through it, to where her eyes fell upon Ketehka, and the woman at her side. They had their backs to her, and she paused, too afraid, in that moment, to approach.

Without Oberin, without a finalized plan- what was she to do?

[Lion]

Oberin was coming back from the bar and had a pint in his hand when he saw Su-lahna walk in.  He held his breath, watching her with hawk eyes.  He moved closer to her and brushe passed her in his disguise.  "Scuse me miss, pardon," he muttered in a gruff voice.  But walking by her perhaps she might catch his scent, his familiarity, the sweat that beaded down his forehead.

Meanwhile the cloaked mistress suddenly turned to Su-lahna behind her and the bird woman cawed at the sight of her.  "This is she!" said Ketehka.  "This is the Twilith.  But the male...where is the half-blood?"

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The strange man brushing so close to her put her on edge. She jumped, turned to him, then jumped at the exclamation from Ketehka. Flinching back, fear struck her. This meeting was meant to be discrete, now the entire place had it's eyes on her. Her mind numbed, her lips falling open, and she did the only thing she could think of-
She ran, rushing out the doors and into the street.

"Wait!" the cloaked woman called desperately after her. "I just wish to speak!" and she paused beside Oberin, sighing defeatedly before gesturing to Ketehka. "Come, we must calm her. There isn't much time!" the bird woman scuttled to her, drawing her shoulders in sheepishly at the claim.

"I am s-ssorry mistress," Ketehka clucked. "Shall we head out now?" Her tail wriggled anxiously. The woman only nodded.

"Yes, come, let us hurry. Fetch my things and we shall be off. We can't lose her!" and the red-cloaked woman rushed out the door.

[Lion]

"Oh for fuck's sake," Oberin muttered as he watched them run out the door.  He took his time, not wanting to seem too eager as he too finally found his way to the exit.  He kept his bow in hand the one he'd manifested on his back and the arrows too.  Though they were an illusion, they felt just as real, no different than a normal one.  He moved out toward an alleyway and climbed up onto one of the roofs to get a better view of the goings on and he spotted Su-lahna running away down the street.  He strung the arrow, pulling back gently, watching and waiting.

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Su-lahna continued to run until she found herself turning into an alleyway with a dead end. She stumbled to a halt, and heard the woman behind her, though it was too late.

"Wait!" the red cloaked woman called out. "Wait, I think you misunderstand!"

But Su-lahna was already on the defensive, her body tense and hunched forward, her eyes mean and forward, locked upon the woman.

"Ketehka, she is very flighty, but she is a bird. Please excuse her for what she is. She presumes much, but her mind is simple. But I too, am curious of the male. She mentioned you had a half-breed with you?"

Su-lahna stared at the woman skeptically, catching her breath, but still keeping her hands balled tightly into fists.

"He.. he is not with me now. I came alone."

The cloaked woman looked to Ketehka, then back to Su-lahna.
"Well, I was hoping to speak to you both. YOu see, I am very curious about your specie."

"Many are curious about twiliths," Su-lahna hissed, sensing her wings begging to break free.

"Well, yes, many are. I won't lie, your unique breed can bring in quite a lot of money, but I'm not here to talk about finances or any of that. I'm here because I have a twilith in my own possession. He seems home sick, lonely, and when I heard there was another.."  A female... "Well, I just had to see for myself."

Su-lahna's eyes narrowed darkly upon the woman.

"And now you've seen." she said coldly.

The woman lifted her head, closing her lips and simply nodded.
"I think we've started off on the wrong foot," She extended a hand for Su-lahna to shake. "I am Mary DuWalle. Animal and Extinct specie specialist."

Su-lahna only stared at the hand, but refused to shake it.
"Well, Mary, I'm sure Ketehka has already told you my name."

"Yes," Mary said, a subtle smirk upon her lips. "Su-lahna?"

Su-lahna made no motion if it was, only stared at the woman, her hands still in fists.
"So what about this twilith you have? Does he have a name?"

Mary mulled it over for a moment, drawing back and righting her shoulders.
"His name is Daisus."

OOC: I'll stop the post there. Feel free to have Oberin know him, if not, perhaps Su-lahna does?

[Lion]

Oberin focused his hearing, trying to catch as many words as he could from the rooftop.  Though the bow was strung it was not enough to immediately fire the arrow should he let go but it was enough to allow him to fire quickly if need be.  He watched the action, eyeing them with growing concern but it quickly became apparent that the woman had no interest in attacking Su-lahna, merely was trying to calm her down.

"Don't listen to her, that's my girl, Oberin thought with satisfaction.  After what just happened with Marter, they couldn't afford to trust anybody.  Especially those that tried to send messages through strange looking bird-human creations.  For all he knew this woman could be trying to trick Su-lahna into her clutches to dissect her, sell her for parts.

But as they kept talking, Oberin had slowly relaxed the bow and put the arrow away.  This woman would not harm Su-lahna, but what was more it almost seemed as if...she wanted to pair her Twilith with a female, to see what might come of it.  She was an apparent expert in Extinct Species.  What more needed to be said.  He would not reveal himself not just yet and kept his vigil over her.  He did not know the Twilith name the woman mentioned and it was as foreign as she was.

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Daisus
Su-lahna's face fell at the words.
Daisus... That was the name of a young priest at the temple, just a child at the time when the twiliths were attacked. Although it took her a moment, she never forgot any of her people, even the young ones. Oh, to think this woman had a twilithic child in her possession! But as she composed herself, she thought it over. Diasus would be an adult now, though he was probably so young an scared at the time of the massacre.

"Diasus, I believe I recognize the name," Su-lahna admitted. Miss DuWalle was surprised, taking a step back before smiling.

"So you will come to see him?"
Su-lahna stared at her cautiously a moment before shaking her head.
"No, you of all people should know such a thing would be dangerous."
Mary's smile grew.
"You are a wise woman, perhaps... we should choose another place to meet? And perhaps this time you and your partner could come?"S he pulled out a piece of parchment, it had somehting scribbled upon it as she handed it to Su-lahna.

"I am staying here while in town. I will be here no longer than three days. If you want to see Diasus, we can talk here. They have a manor house in which we could meet and discuss a few things."

Su-lahna wasn't sure about this, but took the parchement, staring at it before looking up at her.
"I shall consider it."

Mary smiled.
"If you come tonight, we're having roast duck." And she gestured to Ketehka

"And camamaru s-seeds!" Ketehka pressed happily as she ruffled her feathers. "They are very tasty!"

Despite herself, Su-lahna smiled at Ketehka. It seemed the bird-creature was some what innocent, but that didn't stop her from being wary of Miss DuWalle.

"Yes, roast duck, camamaru seeds and walnuts. Even some of those seasoned vegetables all the nobles are swooning about. And we'll have fresh salad as well," and here Mary bowed to Su.  "Just think about it and I hope to see you this evening."
And with those words, she departed, leaving Su-lahna standing there with the address in tow.

[Lion]

Oberin frowned, so she knew of the other Twilith.  He didn't know what to make of it, but he doubted it was anything good.  He'd hated what Marter had done to him, not only physically but mentally and it shattered any trust he'd had in humans - not that there was much at all.  He just wanted to get to the tree but Su-lahna...well, he couldn't very well force her to run along with him with her inclination to at least see this other Twilith.

Didn't she see that their people were already damned?  Didn't she understand that their goddess didn't care at all what happened to them?  Conclusions that only Oberin would hold so dear to his heart.  He lowered his head, sitting beside the ledge and out of view, feeling ashamed and hating that he did.  That he couldn't be hopeful like like Su-lahna did.  But even if his hope was gone, or lied somewhere a thousand miles away in the heart of some ancient tree, the door of which could only be opened with the blood of a pure Twilith...

His eyes became like saucers then, staring out at nothing in particular.  This pure blooded twilith...  If it didn't have to be Su-lahna, it would be this one.  He would find a way.

And if she wanted to meet this Diasus, then he'd at least owe her that much.

So when DuWalle left with her bird-woman creation, Oberin looked over the edge and saw Su-lahna there alone.  He leapt over the ledge of the the building and landed with a thud in front of her, standing tall and forgetting he was still dressed like a stranger, approaching her with eyes that were hard and lethal.

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Su-lahna gasped, visibly startled by the approach of the stranger. And by taking one look at his eyes, she knew she was in trouble.
"Stay.. stay away from me,"s he warned, feeling her wings warm beneath the surface of her back. She hesitated to sprout them out, but knew if it became necessary, she could summon them to fly away. Of course, she didn't have a single weapon on her. What a fool! She should have asked Oberin to procure her a knife, or some such, as she clenched her teeth and balled her hands into fists while backing away, but keep her chin up high, eyes never leaving this man's.
"Come any closer and I'll scream for all the guards to come,"s he warned. Or use some of her magic, perhaps, to even blind this fool. If this man was working for Marter.. or even this new woman, she'd make him pay. She could not remain idle when so much was at stake! She also feared, perhaps, what if this were the same man that might have taken Oberin.. Oberin.. where was he!? If so, she was about ready to claw this man's eyes out!

[Lion]

Oberin smirked at her, the grizzled hunter guise looking all the more sinister because of it.  "Don't you think you've caused enough trouble as it is," he said in a deep, guttural voice.  He did step closer to her before suddenly flying at her and pinning her to the dead-end alley wall and shoved a hand over her mouth.  "Shhh!  You make any noise and I'll tear your wings off.  But that's not all I'll tear if you let me," he said and leaned in to softly kiss her cheek.

"Oh, I think I've scared you long enough."  And with that the magic dissipated and carefully melted away revealing Oberin underneath and he let go of her mouth.  "Screaming wouldn't solve anything...but I see you've already made a deal yourself.  So when are you going to see that little pure-blood."

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What was Oberin's plan!? To give her a heart attack? Though she was certainly surprised when the man melted before her, relief filling her eyes, then rage. Once her hands were free, she slapped him and shot him a glare. But it was down to business wasn't it.
"Oh, Oberin!" she cried. "What if I were to hurt you?" Though she had a feeling, Oberin might do more damage to her if he were ever to try. It wasn't like she was truly ever taught in the arts of defense. Then she sighed, producing the piece of paper, but not handing it over. "She had given me an address. She told me she'd be there for three days if I wanted to see this pure blood." Though she frowned as she studied Oberin. "Where did you go? You frightened me. I thought Marter might have gotten to you." But she was still too hesitant to throw her arms around him, for hs ewas too tense from the fear of what just transpired. She could have pissed herself she was so scared!

[Lion]

Oberin studied the paper with a speculative frown, but he understood and nodded to her when at last it was put away.  He looked at her with softened eyes.  "Why would you ever think that Marter would get me?  He would want you more anyway," he said.   He move closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, holding her belly to belly against him.  "I thought you knew of the plan we discussed in the tailorshop.  I was going to keep an eye on you from afar and you were going to meet this lady.  And it worked.  You got what information you needed and I didn't have to put an arrow into her ass."

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Su-lahna studied his eyes in disbelief.
"You could have warned me," she said, fighting back tears. Frowning, she looked away, not wanting him to see her so weak over it when it didn't seem to be bothering him. "And I suppose we're just one step closer to something.."S he muttered.

[Lion]

Oberin frowned at her and lifted a hand to get her to look at him.  "Who's Diasus?  How do you know him?  Why is this so important to you?  I thought nothing else mattered but getting to the Tree of the Sleeper...  I understand that you want to meet this Twilith...we are so few in number...I'm just so afraid for you Su-lahna.  I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

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When Oberin lifted her head, hot tears were streaming down her cheeks. She couldn't even answer him. She felt so weak and ashamed as she simply stared at him, gritting her teeth.

"The tree of the sleeper was important to you," she reminded, her body shaking lightly. Need she remind him how upset she was at first over the idea? "The fact there is another twilith alive never crossed my mind until now. And.." She drew in a careful breath. "I do know him.."s he turned away, still ashamed as the tears continued to flow, one's that, despite brushing them away, continued to fall. "He was from my tribe, from my home." Though there hadn't been that many tribes to begin with, it was still comforting to know there was another survivor out there.

[Lion]

Oberin felt shame burn in him at her frustration and distress and looked down.  He knew it was important to him.  He needed to get to that tree.  His desperation was apparent in his very breath.  "I'm sorry, Su, I hadn't realized," he said at last and pulled his arms around her to give her a tight hug.  "I'm selfish and cruel to try and get you to walk away from this opportunity like this.  I don't know what I would do if I got to see some of my old childhood friends again.  Most likely they'd be nothing but bones now.  We'll meet Diasus.  We'll give him freedom if that's what he wants."