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Post by Kelathi on Nov 22, 2018 20:57:37 GMT
She hadn't quite expected him to just bull-doze through the crowd like that, and it gave her much less time to make her escape than she had hoped... Not for the first time, she found herself regretting not just quietly slipping away, and also not for the first time, she reminded herself that her life would not be anywhere near as interesting had she done just that. A glance over her shoulder revealed he was catching up, and despite the danger, a small, sly smile tweaked onto her lips. This was the state she was used to- being the hunted, and evading capture, as she always did. This was her game, one that she played often, and today the festival was her playground.
She switched direction suddenly, ducking between two people engaged in a heated argument, one man raising his hand in anger, clutching some kind of trinket. Evidently, he was claiming to have been fleeced for the item, but no sooner had she slipped between them, that she'd reached up and plucked it from his grasp. The men paused, dumbfounded, spinning around to see her turning to leap up some twisting, cobbled stairs affixed to the side of a house, taking two at a time. "Hey!" The two men, united in their anger now directed at her instead of each other, began to follow, racing up the stairs after her, unaware of the stranger just behind them.
At the top of the stairs, she suddenly turned, swung her arm, and threw the trinket over their heads. The stopped to watch it's arc... And it landed at Ciaran's feet. Simultaneously, Rhea shouted out to him, as if she knew him. "Errol! Take it from here!" Before leaping from the stairs onto a neighbouring house. A short scrabble and she was on the roof.
The men turned to Ciaran, blocking him from ascending the stairs. Evidently, they would not be content with just taking the trinket, having been riled up enough to want justice, and now they thought he was part of the heist...
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 22, 2018 21:47:53 GMT
Ciaran followed headlong after the thief, unable to get close enough to use the knives without risking hitting some bystander, innocent or not. The only thing that made him pause, skidding to a stop, was her suddenly calling out, evidently to him even as she tossed something. He braced himself, assuming it was a weapon given its glint… only for it to be revealed as some cheap trinket. Looking back up at her revealed his confusion, until he saw the two men moving towards him. Then her play made sense.
“That damn little-“
He wasn’t able to finish his sentence before the first of the two men roughly grabbed his forearm, intending to take out his frustration of the bad sale on who he thought was a thief’s accomplice.
A mistake he recognized as soon as the assassin’s eyes moved back to him.
Before the man could react to the ice in the stranger’s gaze, the arm was jerked down to bring him close, meeting with a hard knee to the gut. By now the other man had joined in, earning a solid hook to the jaw before he could launch his own. The first man hadn’t gone down yet, so Ciaran grabbed the back of his shirt roughly and physically hauled him to the side, betraying a strength in body that was easily overlooked. The second man had recovered by now and was reaching for Ciaran’s arm again, but the assassin had had enough by now. Without even looking at the man, he twisted his arm to grab the man’s instead, yanking it hard against his back. One hard shove threw the man into the wall, and the path up was clear once more. Neither man got up again to go after him, in part due to the fact that by the time they were able to stand again, their assailant was already on the roof.
The knives had been slid back just as Ciaran was attacked, but even with his not completely steady balance on the roof, one was easily slid out again, catching sight of the woman. It was a distance, but he was now perfectly happy to waste one knife to return the favor of her little “distraction.” With years of experience, he let the knife fly, now unimpeded by being above the crowds, where it embedded itself into the wall not a few feet from the thief, Ciaran already well on his way to catching up.
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 22, 2018 22:53:43 GMT
The distraction had given her at least a head start, as she'd hoped, but she wasn't surprised to find that he was still chasing her, considering what she now suspected him to be. A thud to her left caught her attention, and upon realising it was a knife, her eyes widened, and she picked up her pace. It was just her luck to find herself stealing from such a man! If she got out of this without being sliced and diced she would consider herself incredibly lucky. The option of giving up the chain and making a run for it didn't even enter her head, such was her nature. She would do anything now to keep the item, even risk her life... As was becoming increasingly evident. She turned suddenly, leaping onto the slant of the roof, sliding down the tiles. Upon reaching the gutter, she leapt, clearing the gap of the street below, her feet coming into contact with the neighbouring building. Evidentially, she had done this many times before, as at ease on the rooves as she had been on the ground. She worked to put some distance between them, hoping that she might be able to lose him on this rooftop maze.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 23, 2018 3:31:37 GMT
Unfortunately for Ciaran, he was far less experienced on the rooftops than his quarry. His knife only seemed to speed her up, which had been the opposite of the attempt. But he tried valiantly to follow, seen as he only hesitated once he realized the gutter she had used was not as wide as he was expecting. He slowed to a stop, gritting his teeth as he saw his proof running away.
The duke would most likely believe Ciaran without the chain, but he would want to know why the agreed upon evidence wasn’t handed over. It was going to be embarrassing to admit it had been stolen… but he was apparently doomed to catch the thief as he had been to find the tiara. Despite this train of thought, Ciaran kept going, pulling back to give himself more room for the leap, managing it with far less grace and speed than the woman, who seemed able to simply flit from one eave to another. It all slowed him down, but at least she was the only one up on the rooftops. Had she been on the ground, he might have given up by now.
Of course, there was no way for him to know that he wasn’t the only one looking for a thief in the town. After Alnwick, Cathal had proven difficult to shake even when it involved towns. From the beginning he insisted on coming into the room with Ciaran, sometimes through the front door, but most often through the window. “No pets” was a common phrase that Cathal did not appreciate.
In this town, however, there was a large area that was crumbling and shabby, even to his untrained gaze. The pale blue eyes took in everything as his nose did the same, hoping to help encourage his cub by making catching a thief far more profitable than killing someone. He had barely caught the scent a few days ago, and had doggedly held onto it. Waiting outside the town as Ciaran went in, pacing and unhappy to be parted, he had managed to pick it up again. Instead of being faint and hard to follow, however, the tiger had discovered a very strong, recent trail, leading him into the heart of this derelict part of town, far from the festivities.
In truth, he was fascinated by the idea of the festival. Ciaran had given him intimate detail of what it was like, amid growing disgust, but rather than discourage him it only piqued his interest. A part of him wanted to believe that Ciaran’s dislike came strictly from having to always go it alone, but his mere presence seemed to terrify people, never mind his ability to speak.
Despite his snowy fur and greying stripes, the tiger managed to keep himself invisible to the few who wandered the area, a powerful and wise hunter who just also happened to be massive, and more than capable of defending himself or any he felt in need of assistance. Cathal, more than any of his kind, understood how humans could be poles apart, having experienced the spectrum travelling with Ciaran.
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 23, 2018 22:53:22 GMT
She shouldn't have winked, he probably would have given up by now if she hadn't. Somehow, despite the circumstances, that thought proved amusing to her. Her life seemed full of little 'I probably shouldn't' thoughts and way too many 'I'm gonna do it anyway' actions. She skidded to a halt before another drop, but instead of leaping over to the next roof, this time she turned, taking the split second to glance at her pursuer to judge how far away he was, and then dropped from the building.
In truth, she had dropped to a ledge underneath, and she began to quickly scale down the wall, using the less-than-sturdy and irregular brickwork to her advantage. Dropping to the floor, she turned and raced down a small street, hardly wide enough to fit two people. She was heading to the old part of town, it would have less people, which was not ideal, but it was full of twisting streets and alcoves and nooks and crannies- plenty of places for her to hide and a much better chance of her losing her pursuer. Her face was flushed now, but it was clear from her lightness and quickness of step that she was not tiring, having performed this ritual of flight many times- and most times getting away relatively unscathed.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 24, 2018 2:39:42 GMT
Ciaran let out a curse as he saw his quarry drop from sight again, but sped when he realized she hadn’t come back into view. As he neared where she had vanished, or at least thought she might have, he began to slow down, looking for signs of her path, cursing again as he began to doubt his luck for the day. Or rather, as a pessimist, believe in it.
As Ciaran tried to track his new target, Cathal was unaware he was coming at her from the other direction, scenting the air as the paths were beginning to cross. What was the most recent scent? One hit him from a few alleys nearby, ears flicking forward. That seemed promising. Despite his power, the greying stripes seemed to indicate he would be an older, less mobile creature. As he began to hurry to catch the thief he had scented, however, his pace turned into a rolling lope, smooth and fluid, and yet still whisper quiet, a flash of white when the sunlight danced across his back between the shadows.
He was close. He could feel it, and a part of him revelled in the idea of working with Ciaran on jobs such as this. Cathal couldn’t understand the obsession with coin, but knew enough that it was necessary in the human world, and so wanted to help where he could. Little did he know how much he’d end up being helpful to his cub…
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 24, 2018 12:52:55 GMT
She had slowed by now, still sending cautious glances over her shoulder. But she could no longer hear his footsteps, and soon, it seemed that she had been successful in losing him. She felt a feeling spread through her, a mixture of satisfaction and relief, but she didn’t dare stop yet. She took the most complex path she could, which lead her over small, crumbling walls to stride across long-abandoned cabbage patches, even ducking under archways into abandoned buildings, the weather-beaten ceilings caved in after years of neglect. Scaling a wall of greenery, she cautiously looked about herself above the dishevelled rooftops, before dropping back down to the street, crouching to break her fall and kicking up dust as she did so. It seemed the coast was indeed clear, she could see no sign of a shadow chasing after her, and she was pleased to hear no thunk of a throwing knife imbedding itself into the wall next to her. She could still feel the weight of the chain of office hidden within her sleeve, the metal cool against her arm, and she felt the urge to take it out again, to have a proper look of it before making her way back into the hustle and bustle of the main town.
She stopped at a courtyard, a long-disused fountain in the middle, ivy and moss laying over it like a blanket. The broad leaved trees peppered the sunlight pleasingly, and it seemed the ideal place to stop and rest for a moment. She sat on the edge of the fountain, and for a moment, just looked about herself at the tranquil place, feeling, for the moment, safe. Just as she was about to draw out her prize, she heard something, a snap of a twig or a shuffle of movement? Either way, it made her jump, and she would have fallen into the fountain had her hands not whipped down to grab onto the edge of her marble perch. She looked around wildly, trying to locate the source of the sound, ready to bolt if it turned out that her pursuer had somehow tracked her down again.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 24, 2018 16:01:57 GMT
Cathal’s pale gaze stayed focused on the figure by the fountain, studying her carefully from his spot in the shadows, utilizing the abandoned carts for his white fur. It was hard to say what had been the stir that caused her to jump so, a rat running from the cat, or perhaps it had been he himself, brushing just a little too close to a piece of wood that shifted. After waiting a few moments, letting her wild search simmer a little, he finally moved out into the open.
He had come across her just as she entered the courtyard, taking his time to make sure hers was the scent he had been tracking for so long, circling to get downwind as much as possible. From his years of experience hunting, he knew he had the right person. But there was something else about her, something that reminded him of Ciaran, oddly enough…
As silent as he had prowled around the abandoned buildings, he stepped into the light, which caught his white fur and almost illuminated his form, slowly moving forward, each step controlled power. But it was not a threatening walk, despite the power of the giant tiger; it was simply his natural state, evidenced by the fact that a soft little rumble was emanating from him, not unlike a cat’s purr. He stopped a few paces from the woman, waiting for her to make the next move. Would she stay in place, either out of fear or curiosity? He would simply watch her then, and keep her in his sight. Or would she run, and force him to pin her down?
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 24, 2018 22:48:15 GMT
Movement caught her attention, and she braced herself. But what stepped into the courtyard was certainly not who she had expected. Upon seeing the imposing figure appear and start to move into the dappled light, she thought for a moment she must be suffering from heatstroke, or something akin to it, for what she was seeing had to be some kind of mirage- she'd never seen anything like it, except perhaps in storybooks as a child. Mystified, she merely watched, wide-eyed, as the gigantic creature stepped forwards, until suddenly she seemed to become aware of the closing proximity, and her hand came up as if in an attempt to stop the gap from closing further, her entire body pulling back, almost overbalancing and falling into the fountain once again. "Woah, okay, I think that's close enough!" her voice was panicked, and understandably so. She wasn't expecting an answer to her words, of course, or for the creature to be able to understand, she had just found herself voicing her thoughts. Strangely enough, the creature did stop, regarding her with intelligent eyes. Feeling a little foolish, and at a loss as to how to act (sprinting away, she guessed, would probably just cause the beast to chase after her) she found herself talking to it again, and again, she didn't really expect an answer. "Are you... a good kitty?" she began lamely, hand still up, as if that would protect her, ivy-eyes wide, more from surprise than fear. "Are you friendly?"
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 25, 2018 3:49:47 GMT
Cathal watched the woman carefully, ears flicking forward and head popping up as she nearly fell into the fountain, looking surprised at her reaction. He usually received a fearful response, but not that, having been ready to go over and assist should she actually fall. Not that it would be that far a distance, but she might hurt herself. At her other questions, he smiled a little, and to anyone who didn’t know him they might have thought it looked odd, or thought they were seeing things.
Then he spoke, as if to assure the person that they were mad.
“I am friendly,” he began, his voice a deep, gentle rumble that didn’t sound unlike a bemused grandfather, “But I’m not overly fond of being called ‘kitty.’” And with that, he waited, wanting to see her reaction. He so seldom had the chance to speak with other humans, usually intimidating them too much. The worst had been when the human had fainted… that was just embarrassing.
Unbeknownst to the tiger, however, his cub was not that far anymore. Having given up tracking the woman, Ciaran began a slow search through the ruins, asking for one of her description to those he found. One had tried to rob him a few seconds later, but failed. It was only souring his already dark mood. If he wasn’t able to find the woman - and his proof - this way, he would simply have to face the music, as awkward as that would be.
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 25, 2018 14:21:46 GMT
Thankfully, Rhea was of a stronger disposition to the one that had fainted in the creature’s presence. Her eyes widened even further, if that was possible, at hearing him speak, but she didn’t faint. In fact, she seemed to relax a little upon hearing the voice, perhaps odd considering the situation. In truth, it was because with the creature speaking, she suddenly felt far less in danger. Words... words she could do. Sure, they were coming from a gigantic clawed creature, but you can negotiate, or stall with words, and so far, nothing in his countenance suggested he meant her ill. She smiled then, apologetically, and warily lowered her hand, straightening up slowly, no longer pulling herself as far away from him as possible. “Ah... noted.” Even if this was some kind of mirage, it didn’t hurt to be civil to it. “I’m sorry if I offended you, you caught me off-guard.” She explained, speaking to the giant cat as if it was the most normal thing in the world- she would be quite proud of that in retrospect. Then again, as one whom had been in closer contact with magic and magical beings than most, she was able to recover quickly from the initial shock.
“Well, I’m glad to hear you are friendly. I’ve had quite a day!” She announced good-naturedly, probably the understatement of the decade. “My name is Rhea.” She added smoothly, waiting for the stranger to reciprocate.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 25, 2018 18:13:20 GMT
It would have been easy to describe the tiger’s response as sweet. He looked momentarily shocked at her even reply to him, but it was only momentary because he was instantly delighted. Cathal managed to keep it under control, at least verbally, and continued to walk towards her slowly, taking up a seat next to her on the fountain edge. His snowy fur felt warm even at this distance, laying down with the potentially fearsome paws tucked and pulled away, perfectly at ease with the strange human woman.
“A pleasure to meet you, Rhea. I am Cathal. Are you not enjoying the festival then?” Cathal asked, genuinely curious. He didn’t, of course, confess to knowing she must have had quite a few weeks with her stolen tiara, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy speaking with someone new. “It seems quite… boisterous, from a distance, but perhaps more enjoyable if you do not travel alone?”
Footsteps could be softly heard nearing the courtyard, Cathal fully aware of them, indicated only as he flicked an ear towards them as he spoke with the woman. He’d know the sound of that barely contained frustration anywhere, but was almost excited to hear - and see - the difference in his cub when he realized what he had found.
What he hadn’t expected was Ciaran’s response, stopping short once out of the shadows and staring at the woman with a completely unreadable expression. To his further surprise, the woman beside the tiger seemed to start at recognizing Ciaran in turn, and tried to bolt. Tried, as a dagger embedded itself between the cobblestones right in front of her, Ciaran already in pursuit with dagger in hand.
He was stopped bodily by the tiger’s sudden presence, ears flat and teeth bared as if the tiger had sided with the woman. Then something odd happened, far stranger than a friendly talking tiger.
“Put the weapon down, Ciaran! She is a friend, and we do not throw knives at friends!”
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 26, 2018 0:40:01 GMT
She seemed not to mind as the creature climbed up to sit besides her, and as it did, she noticed properly the black stripes, and the name suddenly shot into her mind, an old memory resurfacing abruptly- Tiger! Cathal was a tiger. She was sure she was correct; even if she did seem to remember that the tigers in the book she now recalled being orange with black stripes. She never thought she’d ever see one, them being from exotic, far away places, and a part of her realised that until today she hadn’t actually considered them as real- rather, she had just thought them imaginative drawings in a dusty, old book. His question about the festival was candid, and he seemed so curious she found she wanted to give a truthful answer back, rather than dismissing the event. But as she opened her mouth to speak, she too became aware of the approaching footsteps. For some reason, she thought it might be another tiger, (she was willing to expect almost anything at this point) so she didn’t bolt straight away, waiting for the figure to come into view. When he finally did, she realised her mistake.
An attempt to flee was thwarted this time, the sight of the dagger causing her to skid to a halt. There was no way she would be able to cross the courtyard without him throwing a knife in her back, this was open ground and he was way too close. So she had spun round, fists clenched, ready to fight when…
The tiger was suddenly before her, blocking her enemies’ path. But what made her falter and not just take the extra time to flee, were the tiger’s next words.
He knew this man?
Thoughts running a mile a minute and competing with the urge to just damn it all and take her chance at a sprint- for some reason she found herself hesitating. If Cathal was familiar with this man, why was he protecting her? And wait; did he just refer to her as a friend? She knew curiosity killed the cat, but in this case, it seemed it was her life in danger rather than the cat's. But for the moment, wise or not, she found herself pausing to see how this all turned out.
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Post by Red Irish Dragon on Nov 26, 2018 15:07:01 GMT
Despite the several hundred pounds of raw power staring him down, Ciaran impressively did not so much as flinch. Instead, his gaze was as intense as the tiger’s, if wide with tense anger.
“Cathal, get out of the way,” he began slowly, about ready to jump over the great cat but somehow unwilling to throw a dagger past. Cathal’s ears remained pinned back, but his initial pose had softened, showing he had the upper hand - eh, paw - in the situation. “Ciaran, I found her, and we can settle things gently.”
Ciaran pulled back half a step, scoffing bitterly. “Oh yeah, great job! You found the thief. Now get out of the way!” he growled back, his hesitation showing more concern than fear for the tiger. Cathal, however, perked at the assassin’s words, sounding genuinely surprised. “How did you know she’s the thief?”
“How do I know? Because she just took- because she…”
The two looked from each other to the woman slowly as they realized the truth at the same time, the cat wearing an expression of surprise, the human just barely constrained fury. “Oh…” Cathal began, slowly at first, but he quickly shifted into amusement with a barely constrained chuckle for a moment.
“Oh dear… she stole from you as well- Ciaran.”
Somehow, Cathal’s tone in using the human’s name made him stop, he having been within inches of attacking again. Ciaran’s gaze flickered between the two, finally sheathing the dagger while glaring at the woman, finding it difficult to keep the tiger’s gaze for long. Evidently, this was proof enough for Cathal, as he pulled away from his cub and instead circled around Rhea. This was hardly a threat, as again his pace was calm and even, but it seemed a way to reintroduce her to the conversation, and placed her back between the two.
“Well,” he began, his deep voice soft and just a little weary, clearly regretful that his conversation with the woman was at an end. “It seems we have quite a bit of business with you then, my dear.”
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Post by Kelathi on Nov 28, 2018 22:38:49 GMT
It had almost started to feel as if she had the upper hand until Cathal shifted his position, which meant there was now nothing between herself and the man that wanted her head. She tensed up all over again, regretting having not just ran when she had had the chance. Her stance was ready, as if expecting the stranger- had it been, Ciaran? - to leap at any moment. Despite the sheathed weapon, his presence did not feel any less threatening, a thought only supported by the dangerous glare he was giving her. To her credit, she met his gaze evenly, even lifting her chin a little in defiance. From what she had overheard, she was pretty confident she knew what was going on. Somehow, she had unwittingly managed to steal from this stranger twice, something she normally tried to avoid for obvious reasons. It didn't even surprise her too much, it was just her luck to find herself approaching someone she had already stolen from!
At Cathal's words, she wasn't immediately sure how to answer. They would probably demand she return the chain of office, of course, and then maybe whatever else she had stolen- which would be silly, she highly doubted that whatever it was, she still had it. "Fine." She finally spoke, looking as if she was going to co-operate. In truth, Cathal's presence actually encouraged her to play a little defiantly. Of course, his allegiance was to Ciaran, but judging by his earlier action, he evidentially wasn't eager to see her carved up. Suddenly, she crossed her arms, and it was clear she was far from just giving up. "You want the chain of office?" She paused as if for an answer, but when she didn't move to take it from it's hiding place, she spoke again. "Well, I'm not giving it to you. You'll have to come and get it." Anticipating the fury, she took a quick step back, one hand raised in defence as she added, "Or, we can work something out. You want it, I want it. How about a trade? You get your precious chain, and I'm not left wanting after my hard work." Well, it was worth a try. If he decided to come and get it, she would fight like a wildcat.
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