"Well I wasn't about to let her kill you!" Zev frantically says as he and Canacha lead their friend to safety.
Seeing the general retreat, Abrasax takes to the sky but flies low over her friends as they make their escape.
Seeing the other principals of the protest fleeing, and the majority of the public making thier escape, The Black Thorn begins her own retreat, firing a whistling arrow in a high arc across the square not aiming at anything in particular, the specially designed grooves and fletching causing it to emit a loud keening sound, audible within 500 feet of the flight path.
As eyes turn to the piercing shriek, she begins running along the rooftops away from the militant opposition.
Abrasax pitches up and comes along side the running archer. Follow us! She offers and swoops away.
To escape the guards give me 3 stealth checks or just outrun them whichever you prefer!
Seeing the strix archer swoop in alongside her, Arani considers for a second, then joins the other woman's path to escape.
Abrasax just flies. There is no way human guards can catch her on foot. Not even close. And flying low means she will soon be out of sight.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
She...she's dead. Did I just help kill someone?
Slightly breaking out of her daze, Mirais' mind starts to process what had just happened, before Zev replies to her.
"And do you think that was a good reason to kill her!?" Mirais yells at Zev, her eyes filled with anger and fear, before snapping her hand away from the skinwalker's "Let go of me!"
Did he kill her because of me? If I had been stronger, he wouldn't have had to do that...It's all my fault...
Realizing that she had just lost time and attracted attention, Mirais moves and stays to Canacha, her expression even more terrified and distraught than before.
"Mira!" he starts before she continues and pulls herself away from him. And the way she she looks at him.
He actually stops, his hand still out to her, as she pointedly moves over to Canacha. Watching her flee a low whine escapes him as the tail concealed by his cloak lays flat against his leg now.
"Mira..." he says weakly before continuing on. Alone.
The guards chase you for several blocks, easily following Mirias's cries. Fortunately, your faster movement allows you to duck into an alleyway at the last minute and escape thir attention.
You have escaped detection for the moment, but there is still chaos surrounding you. People are still running from the square, some covered in blood, others dragging injured people with them, citizens are standing on their doorsteps talking to passerby's and neighbors.
Shops and eatery's are closing their doors early, windows are slamming shut and mothers are calling children home in frantic fearful voices.
In this small, smelling alleyway, you appear to have a lull in the storm.
For how long, you do not know, but for now you may have time to catch your breath and figure out your next step.
Ugh this place smells...
She began hooking the club back onto her hip and panting trying to catch her breath. She certainly wasnt in shape to run through riots from the dottari. She noted all the shops closing down and frowned.
This isnt good at all, my calculations are ruined.
She added craning her neck up to look to the skys for Abrasax.
Stopping atop the roof of a warehouse, Arani notes the loss of her pursuers. Looking up slightly she note the exotic stryx woman, banking at a low angle, keeping near the rooftops. "So were those others in the thick of it friends of yours?"
Talon catches his breath when he reaches the alleyway. "Yea, it's an alleyway. Those tend to not smell like flowers. What calculations?"
She looked at the man, who spoke to her completely confused for the moment. She recognized him from the fracas but didnt recognize him. For a moment she was.... afraid to speak about her calculations in case he was...she literally shook her head dismissing that as silly without realizing how silly she might look.
The bell's toll.... It means something I just know it... but it shouldnt have rang then at the gathering. It has to mean something.
She frowned and her hand subconciously ran to the abacus on her hip
"The bell? You really think it means something?"
Of course! It has to the world doesnt just work off of random Chaos. We might not understand the patterns of the world always but they are there."
She began speaking as self assured as anyone could be. After a moment though she bit her lip and frowned.
Uh... Who are you?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Me? Just a concerned citizen. One who just wants to keep people safe." Talon replies not sure if he could trust her. "Though I might be alone in that. The world is random and senseless. Sometimes, a boy loses his parents in an alleyway like this just because a mugger picked them for a mark."
Her face fell for a moment at the mention of someones parents being murdered in an alleyway. It hit a little close to home. Well minus the being a boy... she wasnt a boy, and well the parents murdered part.... it wasnt both her parents... just her father, well her mother did eventually die probably because of the attack... but not "because" of the attack. Her long passed grandmother had to explain to her when she little why her mother and father werent around any more... and why she was different. Stupid vampires.
"I got a feeling you know exactly what I'm talking about."
After they've reached the alley, Mirais slowly let go of Canacha's hand and leans on a wall.
Looking straight to the ground without saying a word, the tiefling tries to come to terms about what had just happened.
As everyone hurdles into the alleyway Zev stays a bit away, not really paying attention to the conversation going on.
Stopping atop the roof of a warehouse, Arani notes the loss of her pursuers. Looking up slightly she note the exotic stryx woman, banking at a low angle, keeping near the rooftops. "So were those others in the thick of it friends of yours?"
Abrasax pulls up and settles on the same roof. Her wings kick up a bit of debris as she rights herself for standing. She peeks down at the assembled group.
Most of them. Though I get the getting we are all about to get know each other really well.She waves down to the group. A raised voice could carry a bit too far from this rooftop.
Hearing that familiar sound of light debris falling from above Zev looks up and, after a moment, catches sight of Abrasax waving down at everyone.
He halfheartedly raises his hand to wave back.
Pushing off from the alley wall, he clears his throat.
"I don't think that went according to anyone's plan. But we are alive, and we now know that those in power are willing to continue in the path that they have, for so long." Pushing his glasses back up his nose, he clears his throat again, this time more due to the smell and less of getting attention.
"And whether we intended to or not, we've put ourselves squarely against the 'authorities,' as it were right now."
Abrasax hears the conversation below easily thanks to her keen senses.
We should get below. Serious talk is happening. She says to the interesting archer before stepping off the ledge and dropping down. Her wings slow her fall and kick up a few light scraps. She joins the conversation as if she had always been there. The authorities have never held sway over me or my people. It felt good to crack some Chelaxian skulls.
"Well unfortunately it had to come to this. The new mayor is so corrupt it isn't funny."
"Corrupt?" Mirais lets out a bitter, weak laugh, without taking her eyes off of the ground "He's mental, not corrupt. Corrupt is taking money from the city coffers from himself: he's outlawed mint, tea, and commanded the guards to attack civilians."
"Why can't he be both?"
"He is. He's a tyrant, so calling him corrupt is redundant."
Instead of deciding what to call him, why don't we decide what to DO about it?
"I don't think a petition will help at this point Abby."
I wasn't thinking about a petition, Zev.
"Didn't think so."
"We need allies. I was looking for a contact during the protest, but that didn't pan out. We can't do it with the six of us."
There are a few strix in the city. I'll see if I can't get them on board. Shouldn't be hard.
As the strix woman steps off the rooftop, the Black Thorn flips off the edge of the roof, catching onto a railing partway down to arrest her momentum, vaulting into a flip that brings her to the ground beside the others in the alley.
"This is only the first step. They'll shore up there control soon to teach people a leson, probably full blown martial law before too long." she says joining the conversation.
Turning to The Demon she shakes her head,"Never underestimate the impact of a few individuals. Yes it would eventually take the will of the city, but they need examples, and today was a start. When those set running in fear calm themselves, they'll remember the march of the guards. But they'll also remember those that stood against them and fought." she says looking around the alley at those who'd dared to resist the tyrant.
"Nice of you to join us. You might have a point. But some friends would make this easier."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"True." Thorn concedes." Speaking of friends, it would probably be better if we were all introduced."
Glancing over at the unusual wolflike warrior that cut down the woman and the performer that he'd protected, still clearly shaken up, she moves over toward them.
"Just a moment." Stepping up toward the man first, she gently places a hand on his shoulder. "You made a hard decision. In the heat of the moment you chose to protect your friend first, everything else later. It was the right one."
She turns to make eye contact with the woman she nods. "The hardest decision for a good man or woman to make is the one to take a life. The noblest reason to do so is to save a life. Not all of my arrows are blunt." she finishes before turning back to the group at large.
As the archer approached the hackles on Zev's back began to rise but they just as soon receded once she calmly placed her hand on his shoulder. While he doesn't verbally respond to her words he does lower his head slightly as his tail begins to gently wag from side to side.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mirais was "Aaaah!" and Zev was all Grrr! and that... well she went "splisssh"
She started to explain as the woman approached Zev to defend him... but as she spoke the pale skinned eclectic woman tilted her head and paused.
"Oh, right um...I'm Canacha, I work with my uncle doing smithwork, though i dabble in a lot of things really.
She began offering her hand to The archer lady. Though Canacha certainly didnt have the build for a blacksmith her hands had the right sort of calluses. She adjusted the strange goggles on her head after a moment before returning the hand. Her clothing was just a bit bulkier than it should be, she was obviously wearing some sort of armor under her clothes, and under he long dustry coat. Her hips too were an oddity A tube like device on one hip(her pistol not sure if any would know what it does Im sure at least Abby, zev, and Maybe even Mirais do :D), an abacus on the other. She also had a stout club behind the abacus that she had been waving around rather ridiculously.
She was all smiles though at the moment her teeth almost as white as her skin.
"Good to meet you Canacha. Not the best of circumstances but such is life I suppose. Those in the city who now that I exist call me Black Thorn." she says shaking her hand in greeting.
"Aren't you all getting ahead of yourself? Do you really think that six people, hells, someone could do something against Thrune? Even if half of the city was in that plaza, he just ordered the Dottari to attack random citizens..." Mirais says, crestfallen.
Everything is going to the Hells...If even this didn't bear any effects, then we can't do anything! What should I do...
After a moment of silence and the Black Thorn's speech after she lands, the tiefling sighs and massages her brow.
"Sorry.I..." she raises her gaze from the ground and looks at Zev "I shouldn't have reacted that way. I just...I'm sorry." the tiefling apologizes.
Trying to regain her composure, Mirais stretches her gloved hand to the Black Thorn.
"Anyway, I'm Mirais. Nice to meet you." she says, trying her best to smile.