Peculiar Pairs [Maxwell and MeTheMe]

[Manic_Maxwell]

[For ease of understanding, I'll be using font colors to help distinguish character dialogue]

"Come on, hurry up..." spoke a young man. He looked like a human in his early twenties, nothing particularly exciting except for his strange hairstyle. Most of it didn't seem very long, but stuck almost straight up in bristly fashion and was a vibrant shade of green. This was complimented by a long, thin braid running halfway down his back.

The person he was addressing also looked slightly out of place, a girl kneeling on the ground, her hands sunken a small ways into the dirt. "Hang on, I'm almost done," she replied, keeping her eyes shut tight. Before long a small group of bright red flowers sprouted from the ground, immediately growing to full bloom. With that completed, the young woman opened her eyes and tilted her head up, examining the huge, multicolored and multi-flowered roadside garden that hadn't been there no more than fifteen minutes ago. Similar flowers decorated her long, light-brown hair in various spots, almost looking as though they'd grown out of the hair itself and not simply placed there.

"Alright, are you finished Nes?" the young man asked, "Let's get out of here before someone sees what you're doing."

"Yeah yeah, you and your 'low profile.' It's important that we continue our duties when we can, you know. Besides, brother, nobody's around, you can see that quite easily. They said in the other town that this road wasn't traveled very often, so we might as well take the opportunity to spread a little nature." 'Nes' finished off her mini-lecture with an accusing finger-point at her partner, who just sighed and started walking down the road without her.

"Hey! Don't ignore me, Croy!" She shouted, hurrying to catch up with him. The pair had been traveling the countryside for over a year, and while they did look a little odd at first glance, most who encountered them had little reason to think that they were anything beyond a curious couple of vagabonds. As such stories go, this of course was not the case, a lesson that was soon to be taught to another "peculiar pair..."

[MeTheMe]

The dark room held but one figure, a silouette of man, standing straight as if at attention. Upon closer inspection, he was, really, just a silouette. Pitch black, so much so that any parts of his body that were over lapping, couldn't be seen as such. So, when the only door to the opened, the next figure who entered couldn't tell he was rubbing his hands, slightly worried.

The next figure was taller, entering into the room. His skin was cracked and charred in places, the cracks showing off red in their centers, like little rivers of lava along his skin. His eyes were simply sockets, with small burning fires within. When he spoke, it was like a fire was raging just underneath his words. "Sarotil, Seretil, I have your next assignment." He pulled a scroll out from a pouch at his waist. "Two targets, a girl and a boy. It seems simple enough, but we're being paid alot of gold for this one, so stay alert."

The silouette that had been adressed as Sarotil took the scroll, opening it and looking it over. "Yes, Master Pyris, anything else sir?"

Pyris chuckled, making ths sound one would think lava makes as it bubbles. "No, just do them in, it says they're both just kids, so you should be able to get this one done quickly. Have some fun if you must!" Another chuckle, before he left the room.

A voice in the back of Sarotil's mind laughed, a low dark sounding voice. <Ahahahaha! You hear that?! He said have some fun! This one is all me!> Sarotil thought back, silent outside of his mind. [No, I'm doing this one alone, you're not needed. You're not coming out this time, not after having ripped an innocent's arms off last time!] <Oh, I'm coming out, you'll see.> [We will.]

With that, he left the room, the scroll had everthing he'd need, the location of their last sighting, the direction they were headed, descriptions, everything he'd need to identify them, so he could kill them.

[Manic_Maxwell]

The small town of Rathburg: a place not known for much excitement. There were several buildings of respectable size, but most were small, simple houses and shops. The siblings known as Nes and Croy walked into the town from a dusty road, looking around with interest.

"This looks like a nice little town," Nes said, "Not very much for color, though."

Her brother, Croy, rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd say that. We don't have the time or the energy to work on every single place we visit, though." He patted his sister on the shoulder, flashing her a reassuring smile. Eventually, Nes spotted a wooden sign indicating an inn and pointed it out, jogging gingerly to the door and stepping inside.

Croy approached the inn with a much slower stride, and paused near the doorway. He glanced down the main road to the left and right, and once he was satisfied that nobody was watching, lightly tapped his foot against the ground next to the entrance three times before heading inside. A moment later, the ground cracked and a brown vine-looking object climbed forth, splitting, twisting, and changing color until a fully-grown shrub stood, looking as though it was supposed to be there all along.

[MeTheMe]

The forest was quiet, and no more sound was made as Sarotil ran through it, moving in between the trees and bushes easily. He went unseen as well, not only was there no one around, but his body seemed to meld with the shadows, making it hard to see him. He stopped for a moment, catching his breath, looking around.

"The road they probably took is about... a quarter of a mile that way, we should be able to continue going undected if we keep at this distance."

Seretil spoke again in his mind. <We're pratically invisible in any shadow! No need to be this far out!> [I like being careful, I just want to get this over with.] <Why? We should enjoy it! This is our job! Ahahaha!> [These a just kids we're killing...] <Why worry on it? If we didn't do it they'd send another assassin! Let's enjoy it!> [No, we do the job, that's it.]

Seretil just laughed, as Sarotil started on his path again. He had to hink about it... who would want a couple of kids killed anyways? This just felt... wrong. He hated this all to begin with, The Guild, Seretil in his head, but now... he was killing two kids...

No, he needed to stay focused. He needed to stay in control of his emotions, it was the only way to keep Seretil in check. If he got too much into his thoughts, he didn't want to think about what he might do next. He continued on, next stop, Rathburg.

[Manic_Maxwell]

Croy leaned back, kicking up his heels and resting them on the table in front of him. His sister shot him a quick glare, but eventually sighed and shook her head in resignation. She had long since learned that there wasn't much point in trying to correct his lack of manners. "So," she began in an attempt to dodge yet another argument over their differences in personality, "Now that we're here, what's our next move?"

Croy hummed to himself, pulling his hands behind his head. "Seems like a nice enough town here. I'd been hoping to make it to Saramet because it sounded like a very eventful city, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad to relax here before heading into that kind of bustle."

"It's not like we're in any hurry."

"No, that's true. Just keep in mind that if you want to 'grow' this place up a bit, we'll need to be careful with how we eat. Word'll spread fast in a smaller town like this."

Nes glanced around, surprised that he would speak so casually about the subject with the possibility of being overheard. Fortunately, it looked like the other patrons of the inn were the usual crowd of afternoon drunks, and the bartender seemed completely uninterested in everything going on that didn't involve ordering food or drinks. Satisfied that their conversation didn't have any extra ears, she leaned over the table and lowered her voice slightly. "I don't think they'll miss just one or two..."

Croy grinned at her before raising a hand up, calling to the tender to bring him a pint.

[MeTheMe]

Here it was, Rathburg. Sarotil stood just short of the city boundary, staying in the shadows, simply watching the small town for the moment. People headed this way, people headed that way, all just going about their lives. He envied that. A normal life, going about, doing the mundane things they had to do. He would never have any of that.

No, he needed to stop thinking, get down to the job. This was his part, the thinking, the planning, it kept his mind busy, it kept him from thinking on other things too much.

None of the people matched the description. No, they wouldn't, the targets had probably gotten there before them, and were already getting accomodations for beds for the night. "Hmmmm, they're travelers of sorts, so they wouldn't have their own home in a city like this. They'd have to either use an inn, or set up a camp on the edge of town."

The first seemed more likely, but he was going to have to wait until night to check, he needed that cover to move through the city undected. For the moment, he could check around the city for tents or something to indicate they might be staying outside.

<You're wasting time! Let me look for them, I'll can get that done! Ahaha!> [And tear up half the city? No, I'm doing this my way and that's that.]

There was no retalition, no laughing in the back of his mind, just silent waiting. This worried him, Seretil was planning something, he had to be extra careful to keep him there then. On that thought, he moved along the city limit, beginning to check for his targets there. Soon, night would fall, and he could begin his search in the city.

[Manic_Maxwell]

After Croy finished his drinks and they secured a room at the inn for the night, the pair spent most of the afternoon walking trough the town and getting their bearings. The townspeople they passed mostly assumed that they were simply sightseeing, not considering that there might be a greater purpose to their meandering.

"Not a whole lot of areas to work with inside of town," Croy summed up in a hushed tone, "Maybe three blind spots, only one or two of which we could fit in if we go natural."

"So a better bet would be to lead them outside of the town gates."

Croy nodded, grumbling to himself. Once their tour of the town was completed, no other pressing business remained, so Croy led his sister to a bench near the center of town and took a seat, content to watch Rathburg's regulars go about their evening.

[MeTheMe]

He could've sworn he'd seen them, several times in fact, as he made his way around the city in search of anything that looked like a camp site. Nothing. The surrounding are was clear, leaving him to search his next best bet. An inn. Night was still falling, as soon as it was dark enough, he'd be able to sneak into the city, and from there search the inn for the targets.

For the moment however, he could watch the city. He was sure he'd seen them a couple times, so they might be looking around. If he could spot them, it might make them a little easier to follow.

He watched a few key areas for a while, but he had yet to see them at any of those places. He was just about to wait the rest of the evening out when it caught his eye. Two figures, sitting on a bench in the city.

<That's them! You see them! There, on the bench! Let me take over and I can get this done quickly!> [No, too many wittnesses if you run in and tear them limb from limb, I'm following them and doing it in their sleep.]

He heard an annoyed growling sound from Seretil, but paid it no mind, instead, watching the two he thought were the targets, waiting for the sun to go down, and give him the cover he needed.

[Manic_Maxwell]

The brother and sister loitered around for two hours or so, reminiscing about home and watching the people file by on their usual business. Occasionally someone would notice them sitting and ask if they were alright, to which Croy would cordially greet them and smooth over any potential concerns. Finally the sun set behind the western wall of town enough that a somber aura of dusk soaked through the sky, and the pair decided that it was time to move on.

Croy sit up from his reclined position on the bench. "Rathburg...overall, these are good people. Not perfect, but they are well-natured." Nes nodded in agreement. "Yes," she replied, "I think they're worthy of a more beautiful town."

"Yeah, but let's rest for now. Getting here was tiring enough. Let's head to the inn for now, and we can really get to work once dawn arrives."

Croy stretched to his feet, offering a hand to his female companion to help her up. Together they strolled in the direction of the inn they'd visited earlier.

"I'm glad that we get to sleep indoors for once, but couldn't we have at least gotten separate rooms? I heard you haggling with that innkeeper, trying to cheapskate as much as possible!" Croy simply shrugged and smiled. "We don't use money very often, but it's starting to run short and I'd like to conserve when we can. There isn't much left from that bandit group, you know."

Nes frowned a little, turning her head away. "Aw c'mon, it'll be fine," Croy assured her, "I know that you're used to being treated like, well, like a princess, but we have to keep things like this in mind while we're on the road. Just think of this as valuable experience."

She just huffed again. "Hmph, it's just a common little inn. What do you think could possibly happen that would be worthwhile experience?"

[MeTheMe]

They were jsut... sitting there. Sight seers don't usually just sit and wait around, they go and see. It seemed like an odd little thing to him, but he ignored it for now, the sun was going down and it was almost time. The thought that he might be able to just get them there, right in the streets while they were alone, but that thought was quickly vanquished as they rose and moved further into town.

"Alright, time to move." He did so, sneaking into the city with ease in the darkening evening. People moved along, completely unaware of him there, hiding in the shadows. When it was safe, he followed the two, staying to the darkness that hid him. They were headed towards the inn, as he had suspected. He took to an alley, staying unseen and out of the way, watching the inn. He'd need to wait a little longer, they'd still have the candles lit inside, as soon as they went out, he'd go in.

Oddly enough, he noticed Seretil was silent. Very unlike him, he was up to something, he knew it. He just had to keep him from getting out.

[Manic_Maxwell]

The inn room was not a large one; two beds, two chairs, and a small circular table with a lantern resting on it. There wasn't much for extra space, not that the siblings really needed much. The only luggage they had to speak of was a pack that Croy casually slung into the chair, carrying a smaller pouch with their money, a few spare sets of clothes, and a pair of rolled-up blankets for sleeping outdoors. Really, they needed nothing else.

"I know that look," Croy said, watching his sister from the bed he was spread on, "that's the look of you getting ahead of yourself."

Nes, meanwhile slowly paced around what little floorspace the room offered, thoughtfully rubbing her right hand against her forehead. "Just planning out what and where to grow tomorrow. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"I suppose not, but don't overstress yourself with it. If we do just a little bit in town in dawn, we'll be able to spend most of the day outside the town limits and do the surrounding area while everyone's away for work. The inside of town'll have to wait until most people have gone home," he answered with a shrug, as though he'd just come up with the strategy on the spot. That was, of course, not true and Nes knew it, but such was usual procedure when it came to the elder brother. "C'mon now, into bed Nes. You'll need your beauty rest for tomorrow."

"I really wish you'd stop calling me that."

"Like you've said every time I say it, Nes."

Nes grumbled to herself and walked over to the lantern, but paused. Noticing the hesitation, Croy looked up and asked what the matter was.

"I don't know..." came her hesitant reply, "Something just doesn't feel right. I can't tell what it is, though."

Croy waved it off. "You're probably just tired. We did a lot of walking today, and you expended a lot of energy on that garden along the path. You said it yourself, this is just a common little place, there's nothing to worry about."

Nes stared out the window, peering off into the darkness of the night for a few more moments before shaking herself back to her senses. "Yes, you're probably right. I'm probably just thinking about tomorrow too much. Goodnight, brother." With that, she turned out the lantern and stumbled her way to her own bed, gracefully slipping underneath the blanket.

[MeTheMe]

He waited a good, long while, just watching the inn's windows as they all darkened, one by one. Finally, though, the final lit window went black, leaving the inn looking almost dead being so dark and desolate looking, even if he knew better. They were in there, the targets, and he had to get it done. One night, two kills, it seemed pretty impressive, even if a bit morbid and wrong. No, he couldn't think about that, just get it done.

He crept across the street, the darkness and his powers mixing, making him invisible to anyone who might be looking out their window that night. He made his way to the door, checking it. Locked, he'd figured. Next, was the windows. The bottom floor was the bar, so the bed rooms would be on the next floor. He made an easy climb up, looking into the window he first saw. Just a man sleeping. Next window.

There they were, the two of them in one room, sleeping in spererate beds. He checked the window, which didn't put up much fight before opening up, allowing him to easily slip inside the room.

<They're right there! No witnesses! Just let me tear them apart! Please!> [No, silent, in their sleep, juslt like this.]

He walked over to the girl, he wasn't sure how soundly she was sleeping, but this would be over quick. He pulled a long dagger, holding it above his head, ready to lunge it into her neck. He paused, unable to move, he was killing two kids...

[Manic_Maxwell]

Nes fell asleep quickly, though uneasily. Something about the night still felt "off" to her, so her rest was marred by a twisting feeling in her stomach. She groaned lightly in her sleep, the feeling getting worse and starting to interfere with her physically. Right as it reached its peak, her heart tensed up, prompting her to wake. She opened her eyes to a glimpse of moonlight, reflecting off the blade of a dagger perched several feet over her head.

Snapping awake completely, she gasped and instinctively rolled out of the way, falling off of the bed with a thump. The noise slightly roused Croy in the other bed. "Of course, you can count on me your Highness..." he mumbled in his sleep before slowly sitting up and turning. There he saw a shadowed figure, a knife in the air, and nobody in the bed.

".........Nes!!"

[MeTheMe]

He was distracted, off, when suddenly she was gone, and the bumb she made brought him back down to earth. She was now on the floor next to the bed, and the boy was awake as well now, yelling something. No, shouting, that was the last theing he needed, more people. He needed to... what did he need to do? They were both awake...

He was having trouble thinking, Seretil's will in the back of his head, trying to get out, the fact that his plan had not gone as well as he had hoped, he was now facing two people at the same time. He needed a moment, just a moment away from them, to get his head together. He quickly tried to meld into the shadow, but he couldn't concentrate.

He jumped to the door, still trying to become invisible again. "Don't move, I want to make this as quick as possible..." Two on one... if they hurt him enough Seretil would... no, he just had to kill them himself, and do it quickly.

[Manic_Maxwell]

Croy pushed himself out of bed the moment he saw his sister on the ground, rushing over to check on her. "Nes, are you alright?!" he cried, lifting her by the shoulders.

"I'm fine," she quietly replied, getting to her feet. Together they searched the room, having a hard time finding their mystery-assailant until he spoke out. Croy motioned for his partner to stay behind him as he slowly walked up to their attacker as it fumbled for the doorknob. He stretched his neck from side to side, still trying to wake up completely, and tried to put on the most imposing facial expression he could muster. If this person really was an assassin, as Croy suspected, it might mean a problem much larger than the knife still in his hand...

"It looks like a rat has found its way into our room. What're you hoping to do with that knife, hm? What do you know? Who sent you?!"

[MeTheMe]

He stayed silent. They could see him, it was fairly obvious, but they did seem to be fumbling a little. They had just awoken and his meld might be working a little, he still couldn't be sure.

<They're awake, they'll do it, they'll release me. You know it, I know it, let me out, let me make this quick. I can do it!> [NO! Shut up shut up shut up! I'm trying to kill two awake targets and you talking in my mind is not helping!]

He took a defensive stance, looking at them. They looked... older than kids. The bill had said they were only children, but they were older, not by much he figured. They were asking questins, taunting him, he needed to stay calm, Seretil would not get out. A second seemed to pass before he spoke to them. "That's not important. Your heads are what is important." He was trying to act big now, trying to intimidate them...

"Be quiet, stay still, and I'll make this as painless as possible."

[Manic_Maxwell]

Croy flinched; this guy still seemed awfully confident despite being outnumbered now. True, neither he nor his sister were very good in hand-to-hand combat, but this stranger had no way of knowing. There was just too much going on all of a sudden for him to process all of it...

"Croy. He came at me...with a knife."

"I noticed..." The sentence sank into him...Nes had a point, something was definitely off about the whole situation. The only question now was how to take care of this without alerting the townspeople.

"You think we're just going to stand here and let you try to kill us? Nes, head out the window and get out of here. I'll take care of this."

"W-what?! I'm not going to leave you while we don't know what we're--"

"Find one of the blind spots. You know what to do if he comes after you."

Nes nodded, slowly backing towards the window that the stranger used to come in. Meanwhile, Croy stood his ground, trying to keep an eye on the man threatening them. For some reason it was harder than it should have been, though...the room was still dark, and it almost seemed like the shadows were playing tricks with his eyes.

[MeTheMe]

<The girl is getting away! I can take them both! You're letting her get away! I can make it quick!> [No, I can do this! Shut up! I'm going to this, shut up.] <He's going ot release me, and I'm going to tear them both up anyways, just let me do it!> [No, you're staying put!]

Sarotil could see her getting away, but couldn't do anything without exposing himself to the boy. He'd have to hunt her down again, but it would be better than having his back stabbed or worse while he was falling out of a window after her. He turned to the boy. "Going to take care of me? But how are you going to do that, when you can't see me?" He wan't actually sure if it was true, he did seem to ba having trouble, but he couldn't be sure.

He took the knife and edged towards him slowly, criclinghim at the same time. "Don't take it personally, I'm sorry, but I have to do this." He pulled another knife, hiding it in his silouette, before throwing at the boy, silent. He wasn't sure what a blind spot was, but he'd have to find it after he killed him...

[Manic_Maxwell]

Croy looked behind him just in time to see Nes' hands disappear from the window sill. Good, he thought to himself, as long as I buy her enough time and this guy doesn't suddenly pull out an ace, things should turn out alright. The more he thought, though, the more he realized that he could no longer see his opponent.

You don't have to do this, you know," he spoke back, hoping that a conversation might get the attacker to reveal his location again, "You could just leave us alone and we'll all go on with our lives happily. Frankly I think that's a pretty goo--URK!"

Croy's hand immediately reached for the left side of his chest, feeling a stinging pain. A moment later he also felt the handle of a knife, stuck expertly between his ribs. He groaned and staggered into the wall, still gripping the knife with his right hand. Where had it come from? This definitely wasn't a run-of-the-mill assassin.

He blinked, trying to work through the pain and scanned the room again. He needed to find the guy, needed to buy more time for Nes to prepare herself. "Not good....."

[MeTheMe]

"It's not that easy I'm afraid." He circled aorund, the boy was looking around, and knife had met it's mark without a problem. The meld was working, he was good now, just to get behind him now, keep him talking, distract him so he could grab him, and hopefully slit his throat. His anxiety was up, he was stressed a little under combat situations, but he could hold himself.

The problem was under such stress, he could feel Seretil again, pushing harder this time, pushing to get out, to be free. <Yes, yes! Battle! I'll get him, I can make it quick with out a mess! Ahaha!> [Go away! I'm busy!]

"If I leave, having not killed you, I'll be killed." He was almost there, a little further. Getting close was dangerous, if he saw him, or even tried to attack him from his voice, all could be lost, Seretil could... no, he was in control. "And if I don't make this quick, my brother will make it painful. Please, I'd rather not see him get into this, so, die." He was behind him, ready to grab him, ready to slit his throat...