-Thump……….Thump-
Razili sighed, disappointed. The task she was sent on turned out to be fruitless. She had hoped to learn something about the organization known as Creation. But in the end, it wasn’t anything that she didn’t already know. Of course, she didn’t expect to learn much in the first place, Creation operatives were very good at covering their tracks. But even so, it was a bit frustrating. So now she aimlessly wandered around the Machinus sector, letting her thoughts drift away from her failed assignment.
What to do, she wasn’t exactly in a rush to go back home just yet, she at least wanted to accomplish something before returning to the Axios sector. Perhaps she could head over to the High Rise and see what information she could gather there. A soft tug on her ear brought Razili out of her musing and brought up a soft smile on her face. “Sorry Blânc, you must be bored.” She silently signed to the mechanical bird atop her shoulder “We’ll go to the High Rise then.” She started walking again, casually scanning the crowd as she walked past. And suddenly she stopped again.
If there was one thing Razili considered herself decent at, it was sensing when someone was up to something they shouldn’t be doing. And at that very moment, she spotted a figure who definitely looked like they were up to something.
Appearance-wise, they looked rather plain. A female wood elf with blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders. Dressed in a simple shirt and pants, she hardly looked out of place among the masses that roamed the Machinus sector. But unlike the rest, this particular elf seemed to be actively making herself less noticeable. And usually, in Razili’s experience, when people did such things it was because they had something to hide.
After all, the same could be said about herself. While being a tiefling meant she would naturally stand out -purple skin and horns were very eye-catching- she decided to wear one of her more casual outfits. A dark blue vest on top of a white button-up shirt, black pants, and dark brown boots. The only obvious signs of her wealth were the silver buttons on her vest and the platinum sapphire-encrusted claw comb she used to hold back her long dark hair into a simple ponytail.
Granted, it could be nothing. For all she knew, the elf could have been on her way to meet a secret lover or pay off a gambling debt. But there was still a small chance it could be something more. “Hmm, what to do…..Follow or not?”
Razili grinned and quickly made up her mind, changing directions and quietly following the elf. “Regardless of what she ends up doing, I get to learn a secret.” Razili giggled “Ah, Razili. You nosey nosey girl.”
While Razili trailed after her target, she took the time to carefully observe her. The Elf seemed to be about as tall as she was, making her about 5 feet 10 inches, perhaps a little taller. She weaved in and out of the crowd expertly, hinting that she was either used to being in densely packed places, or she had excellent body control and reflexes. On a whim, Razili decided to use some magic. Reaching into her pouch, she pulled out a single copper coin. Gently tapping Blanc’s head, she focused his attention on the coin. Immediately, he squawked out a soft chant “Secrets are best shared and oft’ sought. Our gift to you, a copper for your thoughts.” Leaning forward, he gently tapped the copper coin with his beak. Focusing on the elf in front of her, Razili rolled the copper piece across her knuckles, once, twice. “Reveal” Blânc whispered as Razili flipped the coin into the air, where it vanished. Razili stared at the girl and frowned. There wasn’t a thought on her mind, not a single thing. This could only mean one of two things, either the elf before her was a construct that lacked the basic intelligence needed to form a thought, or she was shielding her mind. The first option seemed unlikely to Razili, which left only the second; the elf was hiding her thoughts, and that further solidified Razili’s opinion; she was up to something.
Suddenly, the elf sped up. Had she noticed her? It was entirely possible, Razili did just cast a spell, so the elf could have sped up in response to that. Regardless, Razili couldn’t lose sight of her now. Her leisurely walk turned into a light jog as she followed the elf, steadily getting closer. “What are the chances she noticed me?” Razili asked, looking at Blânc, to which he replied by staring at her “Very likely, got it.”
Razili watched as the elf ducked into an alleyway and sighed, slowing to a stop “Yeah, she noticed me.” She grumbled as she palmed the hilt of her dagger, slowly making her way to the alley and glanced in. Unsurprisingly, the Elf was nowhere to be found.
Carefully stepping into the alleyway, Razili’s gaze swept across the dim confined space. Her senses were on high alert as she searched for her target. Deeper and deeper she went, stepping over debris and scooting past crates, barrels, and piles of random objects until she reached the end of the alley; a dead end. “She didn’t pass me, did she?” Razili asked herself frowning “This alley is too narrow for that to have happened.”
Shrugging Razili turned around and found herself staring at the elf, looking downright menacing and holding a dagger right up to her throat. “Who are you, and why are you following me?”
Razili twitched, and the dagger bit into her neck “Any more movement and I’ll slit your throat. Answer my question.” The elf said, her voice cold yet calm.
-Thump..Thump-
Razili glanced down at the dagger, the back up at the elf. Carefully considering her options, while she didn’t want the situation to escalate any more than it had, she certainly didn’t want to end up with her throat slit. Blânc shifted his weight on her shoulder, causing the Elf to glance at him and frown “What is that?” She asked as her free hand moved and grabbed Blânc. Razili winced, fully knowing what would happen next.
“UNHAND ME YOU CRETIN!” He squawked, viciously pecking and clawing the offending hand. The elf yelped, yanking her hand away and stepping back. Flapping his wings, Blânc continued his scandalized rant “How DARE you lay a hand on me? Blânc! The most loyal servant to my mistress, Lady Razili Sigrun! Heir to house Sigrun and loyal retainer to Crojhost!!”
Razili watched the elf as her expression changed from annoyed, to contemplating as she heard Razili’s name, to downright murderous once Blânc mentioned House Crojhost.
“I was going to be nice at first.” The elf said, her voice wavering with visibly held-back rage “But now, I think I will take great pleasure finding out why you were following me.”
Razili barely dodged the first attack, a lightning-fast thrust aimed at her shoulder. Her desperate lunge to the side sent her stumbling into the wall, her own dagger clanging onto the floor. She almost didn’t dodge the second, a powerful diagonal slash. She leaned back, feeling a breeze as the dagger flew over her face. She did not- however- manage to avoid the third attack. Taking advantage of her awkward position, the elf rammed into her with her shoulder, her elbow jutting painfully into her chest. Razili felt the air forcefully pushed from her lungs as she fell, broken bits of glass, wood, and rocks embedding themselves into her back as the elf landed on top of her, straddling her hips and bringing her dagger down.
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-Thump.Thump.Thump-
Razili’s eyes widened, and her arm swung up instinctively to protect herself. She didn’t make a sound as the dagger plunged into her arm, the tip stopping a few inches above her torso. Gritting her teeth, she punched the elf squarely in the face, and shoved her off, adding a solid kick to her stomach for good measure. As the elf rolled away, Razili scrambled backward, pushing herself up.
The elf had rolled with the kick and was almost immediately standing. She rubbed her split lip, wincing as she glared at Razili. “You haven’t made a single noise, shouldn’t have expected anything less from a Crojhost creep.” She sneered.
-ThumpThumpThump-
Razili’s exhales came out in sharp pants, each breath she took sent a painful jolt through her arm that hung limply by her side, dagger still embedded in it. Gripping the handle, she pulled, biting the inside of her cheek as the dagger slowly came out of her arm, letting out a soundless scream as the blade finally came free. Her injured arm fell to her side once more, throbbing even worse than before. She stared at the elf, barely hearing the insult directed at her, the elf’s voice being drowned out by her own pulse, echoing and roaring in her head.
-ThumpThumpTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP-
Her mouth twitched unbeknownst to her, and her lips curled. First creeping into a grin, then an unabashed, wild smile. The elf blinked, taking a step back, so Razili charged. Using the elf’s dagger clutched in her hand, she thrust downwards, the elf cursed, grabbing Razili’s forearm and wrist with her hands “What the fuck? Why the hell are you smiling? You fucking psychopath!”
Razili’s smile grew wider in response, showing her teeth. She surged forward, forcing the knife lower, closer to the Elf’s face. Slowly but surely, the elf started to lose ground, the dagger getting closer and closer to her face. The Elf- realizing this- decided to put some distance between the two of them, bringing her knee up between them, she lashed out with a kick, landing it solidly in Razili’s gut. Stumbling backward, Razili curled over and clutched her torso. Quickly straightening herself, she hurriedly focused her attention on the elf, only to see that she wasn’t there.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed her wrist from behind. Trapping Razili’s arm and the dagger behind her back, another arm wrapped itself around her neck, forcefully applying pressure.
“Ah, she got behind me. When did that happen?” Razili idly thought to herself as she brought up her injured arm, gripping the arm around her neck, struggling to pry it away. Funny enough, despite her vision slowly growing darker around the edges, her lungs begging for air, she still couldn’t get rid of the smile on her face. Where had Blânc gotten to? Seeing a flash of light to her left, she spotted her companion calmly perched on top of a barrel, staring at Razili. “Well, since we're both going to be here for a bit, let's see what I can get out of her.” Razili decided, signing to Blânc, who began to translate.
“Tell me, why did you get so angry when I mentioned House Crojhost?” Blânc asked, tilting his head. Feeling the Elf flinch behind her, Blânc continued his questioning. “You seem to have a personal grudge against them. Tell me has House Crojhost wronged you in some way?”
“I am not talking to a fucking bird.” The elf swore
“You at least seem familiar with their less….. savory reputation.” Blânc continued, unperturbed “Does this mean you were a target of them in the past? You seem like an Igni. Why would House Crojhost bother with you?” He scoffed “Unless……” He lifted his wing, preening it with his beak “Tell us, what do you know of Creation?”
The elf stayed silent, Razili could feel her grip on her wrist getting tense the longer Blânc spoke “Your movements and combat abilities are at odds with your clothes. One might think you could be an adventurer or mercenary. But your technique is much more in line with an assassin. The logical conclusion is that you are a member of Creation. Tell us,” Blânc asked, staring at the elf “Are we correct?”
-THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP-
The elf took an unconscious step back, her grip on Razili’s wrist and throat loosened. As Razili’s vision began to turn almost entirely black, her fingers twitched, and Blânc uttered a single word
“Pulse”
A shockwave emanated from Razili, slamming into the unsuspecting elf at her back, violently throwing her into the alley’s wall. The shockwave was immediately followed by a deafening roar that echoed and reverberated across the alley and the streets beyond, but even so, Razili thought the sound was nothing compared to her heartbeat.
As her blood rushed to her head, she collapsed, gasping for air. Coughing, she rubbed her throat and turned to check on the state of the elf. Much to her surprise, the elf was standing, albeit barely. Supporting herself against the wall, she glared at Razili as she shakily pushed herself up and glanced wearily at the alley entrance. If Razili focused, she was sure she could hear people approaching, and she was sure the elf heard them as well.
“Fuck.” She cursed, glaring again at Razili “I don’t have time for this.” Stretching her hand out, a ghostly dagger appeared in it. The elf quickly murmured a soft chant, and the alleyway plummeted into darkness.
Razili quickly forced herself to stand, her arms up defensively in front of her, but no attack came. Frowning, Razili cautiously brought one of her arms out, relaxing a bit once she felt Blânc’s familiar weight on it. Placing her other hand on top of his head, he spoke “Dispel”
The darkness gradually receded, and as she suspected, the elf was gone. Sighing, Razili stumbled over to a relatively clean corner of the alley and collapsed, wheezing. As she caught her breath, she went over what just happened in her mind.
“I just ran into a Creation operative, I think? She definitely could have killed me, though I am a bit surprised she didn’t.”
Leaning her head back against the wall, she laughed, this encounter had made up her entire day! While she didn’t exactly gain a whole lot of useful information, she did learn something. But if she was being honest, she just really enjoyed the fight. “Rohan’s right, I’m very easy to please.” She giggled, glancing at the alley entrance as she heard footsteps.
A group of guards burst onto the scene, weapons drawn as they scanned the area. Spotting her, one of the guards quickly approached her, a male half-orc. As he kneeled by her, he asked “Ma’am are you alright? You’re bleeding quite a bit.”
Waving her good hand dismissively, Blânc spoke, translating her signs “My mistress is fine, thank you for your concern guardsman.”
“Are you sure?”
“Quite” Blânc replied tersely. Standing up, Razili nodded politely to the guard, who bowed his head in return “Then may I ask what happened?”
Chuckling, Razili signed out, “Oh it is nothing of major concern. Just a simple run-in with a thief.”
“I see, then would you like to follow us to the guard station to file a report?” The man asked
“Very well. But my mistress would like to return to her residence to put on clean attire, and see to her wounds.” Said Blânc “This encounter was unexpected, Lady Sigrun needs time to recuperate and get her thoughts in order.”
The guard stiffened hearing Razili’s status “Of course, please come to the guard station whenever you like Lady Sigrun.”
Nodding, Razili walked past the guards and back onto the street, almost skipping on her way back home. Her mother would enjoy hearing about this encounter, and she even had a new knife to give her.
Today was a good day.