A messenger bird sored over the open water making its way to the walled city near the free pirate market. Inside the pouch was a forged note written by the council leader and Clark with the general they planned to frame signature at the bottom. It was addressed to one of the council leader's informants working under the general. Once the news was spread throughout the walled city it should easily make its way towards Alexandria and Crimson Judgement. Of course, that was the hope so the plan would actually come to pass.
Veil and Luna were left at respective places to do undercover work for Eve. The two of them were given their very first missions with Veil having the more difficult of the two since she was embedded inside a walled city. The very same walled city a messenger bird was currently flying over. Veil had blended in nicely into the city. Since it was vast most of the population didn't notice someone like her. Veil's ears perked up hearing the squawk of a bird overhead. She smiled fixing her gaze on the bird following it after spotting the message attached to its leg. There was no doubt in her mind this was important information.
Even though she had only been in the city for a week or, so the layout was as familiar to her as home. She moved through the streets with purpose keeping either the sound of the bird within earshot or the sight of it. There was a message station not far from them which is where she figured the bird would land. However, the bird veered off course slightly not far from the station. Veil raised an eyebrow as she continued to follow the bird wondering where it would land. Flapping wings echoed around the corner as she stopped short backing against the wall and peering around the corner. It had landed on a man's shoulder who proceeded to look around cautiously for a few moments before removing the message and opening it.
She couldn't see his face since his back was facing her. However, he tensed up after a moment which caused a sly smile to cross Veil's face. This had to be some important intel. There was no way Veil could pass up the opportunity. She needed to think quickly in order to get a hold of that message or at the very least extract the information from the man himself. Time was slipping away quickly and a choice needed to be made. Veil took in a deep breath and stepped forward making sure to trip and fall just to get his attention.
Veil had to stifle a giggle when she looked up. The man let out a small scream causing the bird to flap its wings hitting him in the face. Veil's eyes followed the message that drifted away from his hand and landed near some crates not far from him. It was out of sight for the moment and hopefully she could grab it before he noticed it was gone. She stayed on the ground for a moment waiting for the man to calm down. She wasn't going to make a move too quickly since there was no telling what he was capable of regardless of his girly scream just now.
"What the hell are you doing around here? Do you have business with the message station?" The man had finally regained a bit of his composure even though his voice still sounded like he was scared. She noticed he also didn't move to pick up the message or even glance in its direction. He seemed more interested in what she was doing and keeping the messenger bird from flying away.
Taking in a deep breath Veil moved a bit, so she was sitting comfortably on the ground. She wasn't going to try and stand up just yet. Keeping one eye fixated on the message on the ground making sure to keep it in sight. At the moment she didn't see any way of getting any information out of this man, so the best approach was going to be getting that note. "I was going for a run. I always enjoy this area since it's quiet. I wasn't watching the ground since I heard something overhead, and I tripped. I didn't mean to scare you." Veil gave him her best innocent face making sure his attention was on her and not the message on the floor behind him.
The man let out an exasperated sigh turning to face Veil walking over to her. "You can't just look up at the sky while running through an alleyway. In the future keep your eyes forward and please if you want to run in this area keep it to the main streets. The alleyways can be dangerous if you're not careful." He extended a hand down to help her up. The messenger bird was still perched on his other arm quite content.
Veil gave the man a warm smile accepting the hand allow him to help pull her up to a standing position. She let go of his hand quickly checking herself for any injuries along with dusting off her clothes. "Would it be alright if I finished my run? Next time I promise to keep to the main streets." Veil tilted her head to the side peering over his shoulder at the message which was slightly out of sight behind a crate. She needed to get it no matter what. There was no way this man would give any information out here and taking him away would be too risky.
"Sure, no problem. How about you go this way, and I'll make my way back to the messenger station. We don't need to discuss this with anyone just pretend it never happened alright?" The man returned Veil's smile as he took a step towards the alleyway, she had come from instead of going back to retrieve the message he had dropped.
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A small giggle escaped Veil's lips as she nodded, and they went their separate ways. She walked slowly doing some stretching and listening to his footsteps growing fainter as he turned down the alleyway. Once she made it to where the message had fallen, she bent down making it look like a stretch just in case he had doubled back. Veil grabbed the piece of paper sliding it into her boot and continued to exit the alleyway. She needed to have a look at the message when she got home. Perhaps it was finally time to send some information back to Eve.
Alexandria walked into the main hall expecting to see a large crowd. However, there wasn't anyone inside. It was a bit strange that the others had yet to make it back from the harbor. Her ears perked up as the wind brushed against them carrying nothing but the familiar sounds of the water. The warning bell outside had ceased which she hoped meant the other ships on the way to the harbor were in fact allies and not more enemies. Her body shifted for a moment when she remembered the prisoner on her shoulder. A playful giggle escaped her lips as she walked over to a nearby chair setting him against it. She quickly tied him up pushing the chair against a nearby wall.
"Now then it is time to give up your secrets. This is not the time to play hero. There is no help coming and you're far out of reach from any walled city assistance." That was mainly due to the fact the nearest walled city had been destroyed by her and Crimson Judgement. Alexandria couldn't figure out why this single ship had so brazenly attacked a large island which clearly wasn't a friend. There was also the matter of their equipment. How long had they actually been out on the water and why had they not received any news from other walled city ships? Alexandria shook her head now wasn't the time for that. She needed to focus on the here and now.
The man didn't move or even look at Alexandria. Of course, she had yet to actually ask him a question. There was no way she was going to be able to get anything out of this guy alone. However, she didn't want to have to rely on Eve for this sort of thing every single time it came up. Even if it was only a little bit Alexandria was going to get something out of this guy before everyone else showed up to take over. A devious smile spread across her lips as she transformed her right hand revealing a bear paw placing it against the wall right next to the man's head. She moved it down slowly letting the piercing sound echo around the room digging into the wall only a little bit.
"If you don't start talking, you're going to experience what it feels like to be ripped apart. I will make sure to do it slowly and avoid any vital areas. You must have something to say. I mean you were so talkative on your ship and now nothing." Alexandria gripped the wall a bit with the claws doing her best not to break the wall. She didn't want to have to clean up a huge mess and at the moment this was one of the only things she could think to do in order to get this guy to start talking.
He winced a bit at the sound finally looking up at Alexandria. She could see the terror in his gaze mixed with a hint of defiance. That wouldn't do at all since that little hint was keeping him from opening his mouth. Alexandria gritted her teeth letting out a low growl as her mouth started to shift taking on the teeth of the bear. "Defiance is not a good look for those eyes. I can rip them out if you like then maybe you would feel more inclined to speak to me again?"
"Wait, wait, wait!" The man almost screamed out the words. She could feel his body shaking and the tap of the chair against the wall echoed in her ears. Alexandria gave him a devious smile taking in a deep breath. She decided to back up a bit a revert back to her human form.
"Alright then if you keep talking, I will wait to hear what you have to say. However, if you are just stalling your eyes will become mine and negotiations for your life are over." A playful giggle escaped her lips as she leaned forward a bit in anticipation to hear what he had to say.
"We're not from around this area. Our mission isn't common knowledge so I can't disclose any of that. However, as walled city soldiers we don't allow pirates to have bases this large outside of the free pirate market. You're in violation of that law and we were going to enforce it." He tried his best to keep a hearty outward appearance however the continued shaking wasn't fooling anyone. "That is all I'm going to say so if you're going to kill me just get it over with already."
Alexandria raised an eyebrow. There was so much in that one statement. It would explain their gear and that fact they were traveling with only a single ship. Every other time the walled city navy attacked it was always in force. At least three ships in a patrol however their ship was larger than any scout ship she had ever seen or heard about before. That mission the soldier spoke of intrigued her and there was no way Alexandria was going to kill him after hearing all that. She stood up tilting her head to the side. Alexandria had promised this man pain and had yet to deliver much yet. However now that she knew he wasn't going to talk and wanted to die perhaps there was a way to keep that promise.
"I already told you death is not an option for you anymore. You've already said way too much so you're more use alive than dead. However, I won't be dealing out the pain since this might be above my abilities. That being said I'm sure she will be able to get all your secrets with little effort on her part and maximum pain for you." Alexandria's playful giggle was echoed by Eve's as she walked into the room. Now the situation wasn't in his favor at all now that the queen of interrogation had arrived. Only time would tell how much information Eve could get out of this soldier before his spirit finally broke.