Under the Heat of the Sun (Bryan)

by **Cass** on July 5th, 2011, 7:15 am

Timestamp: 30th of Summer, 511AV

Cass always hated sunlight. The annoyingly bright rays did nothing but give her slight headaches and make it hard to see at times. But not once had it done her any good. And today, making her way down a busy street, the sun was acting just as cruel. The sun was high in the sky, beating down mercilessly. The heat turned the noisy crowd into a sweaty and sour smelling crowd. Keeping her black cloak wrapped tightly around her body she kept her head low as she moved through the busy streets. All around her she could hear the free humans shouting out strange names and random amounts of coin. With the hood of her cloak on she hoped nobody would spot her less than human features.

As she walked Cass pondered about how to spend the wickedly hot day. The only person she trusted at the moment was off. She had no idea when Darian would return but she was sick of spending long periods of time cooped up in that small room in Sunset Quarters. Even though the daylight was annoying, being bored in a small room was worse. So here she was, wandering about Sunberth. With her black silk gloves covering up her hands and boots to cover her feet Cass was pretty confident that her digiuse would work for the day. The disgiuse had worked in the past...to some degree. As her eyes scanned the busy street ahead of her she spotted a few not so friendly humans lingering near buildings. Swallowing a lump in her throat Cass quickly looked away from the unfriendlies. Whatever she ended up doing today...she would have to be smart about it. The last thing she wanted was to be caught by a group of thugs.

by **Bryan** on July 5th, 2011, 7:49 am

It was unusual for him to be taking the path he took, but better for him to do so. Bryan had noticed that a couple of strange men had taken a eye to him on the way to his tent, the day was hot and the smell was full of body odor. It was horrible that he had to tread this way, but he had to if he was to lose his stalkers before the end of the day. In short he finally came to a turn that led away from the crowd down an alley, a shortcut he knew would get him away quicker. He did not expect there to be someone down the end though, two men that stood waiting for someone. This would be the part where they would mug him, or at least attempt.

If I can make a run for it then I'll surely get away this time. He turned around to head back into the crowd, but bumped into a third man unexpectedly. With haste he backed away, a look of distaste upon the man before him. They all wore black and covered their faces, but their eyes were full of greed and hunger. He looked back to see the other two coming towards him, and surely enough they were several feet away. This doesn't look any good.... The one now before him began to chuckle. Yea yea, laugh all you want. He thought to himself, looking for a way to get out. There was only a shot of getting away, and that was if the guy was distracted. Either way, I'm not going down that easy. They can take what they want off me, but they will not kill me. He felt no fear inside, only the same anger that he always held onto. If the situation was to get worse then he would be better off doing one thing. "All right, how much will it take for you to get out of my way?"

"How much?" The man retorted, you couldn't really see it but Bryan could tell the man was smiling. Underneath that veil of his he was enjoying this."How much is your life?" Bryan only stood there, unmoving with the same expression he held onto. Figures. He looked down to the ground, dirt was pretty useful when it was needed. This moment seemed to be one that would be considered needed, but to him it would depend on which one...

by **Cass** on July 7th, 2011, 1:14 am

Cass continued down the busy street, keeping her head low and her black cloak tight around her body. So far she hadn't run into trouble. She couldn't help but grin at the fact that even alone in Sunberth her disgiuse was working. Scrunching her nose in disgust as a sour smelling human brushed against her Cass fought down the bubbling growl. Disgusting human. And they had the nerve to call her a monster. At least she didn't walk around with a month's worth of dirt, grime, and sweat. She was a bit further down the street when she spotted something up ahead. It seemed to be an thuggish looking human confronting a younger male. Her pace slowed just a bit as she watched, suddenly very curious about what could possibly be going on between the two. Neither looked like they knew each other. But still...she had been warned by Darian not to mingle in dangerous matters.

As Cass got closer she started to pick up on what the two were saying. Actually, the only thing she really picked up on was the thuggish human demanding a worthy price for the younger male's life. Her pace slowed again, almost to a crawl. Was that guy...threatening the other? She quickly glanced around, wondering what she should do. It seemed that everyone else was busy going about their own way. In fact, nobody even seemed to be noticing or caring that a bloody fight could break out at any moment. Then again, why should they care? Why should she care? They were only humans after all. Perfect for a job and then easily tossed aside. But something still didn't feel right.

Finally making up her mind Cass slipped her hands underneath her cloak to quietly remove one of her black silk gloves from her hands, exposing long fingers with sharp talons. Keeping as quiet as she could she positioned herself right behind the thuggish man. Picking her pace up a bit she approached the thug and quickly pressed one sharp talon against the back of his neck. "And how much is your life worth? Ten? Twenty coins maybe?"

OOCI apologize for the delay. I had trouble focusing on posting yesterday.

by **Bryan** on July 7th, 2011, 8:57 am

Caught off guard by the stranger now at the back of his pursuer, Bryan remained perfectly still unlike the other two. Instead they so happened to simply run in fear of the intimidating claw like finger that was now in perfect position to run through the man's neck, he froze in fear after his unexpected visitor decided to show. Bryan now had the option to run if he so chose to, seeing as how the alley behind him was open....but for some reason his legs were immobilized.Frozen in place as he stood watching the figure behind the man. Any moment now and it would easily be over.

"P-please don't... I-I was only doing what I was paid to do I swear!" He exclaimed, shivering where he stood. He still dared not to move though, which meant that he was smart enough not to try anything...hopefully. Those words had caught Bryan's attention though. Who was it that paid these men to follow him? Were they going to kill him? These questions are indeed something he was about to ask, but he let the situation go on it's own. After all the mysterious figure before him might've come to his aid, but who's to say that it won't finish the job on it's own?

OOC :

by **Cass** on July 8th, 2011, 1:04 am

Cass kept her sharp claw-like finger pressed against the back of the thug's neck. She didn't want to give him any reason to think she wouldn't end him if he made one false move. Looking past the younger male she spotted two other thugs, but them were running in the opposite direction. Good. Now she only had one thug to deal with and maybe the younger male if he decided to fight her. Taking a quick look at the younger male Cass thought it doubtful that he would strike. But she still couldn't let her guard down completely. Cass's attention quickly returned to the thug when he began to ramble on about being paid to take the other's life.

Glancing over at the younger male she spotted a hint of confusion. So, this was a surprise to everyone then. She could feel the thug shivering though she did not pull her clawed finger away. In fact, she pressed it harder against the back of his neck. She was beginning to enjoy the fear radiating from the thug. "On the job? Interesting. How much and by who? And you should probably direct your answers to him..." She gestured to the younger male with her other hand. "...because I honestly don't really care. All I'm concerned about is whether I should let you live or not. And from what I've seen I'm just about done making up my mind." Adding more pressure against the thug's neck she growled. "Answer the question!"

by **Bryan** on July 9th, 2011, 9:50 am

"There-there was no name! Only this paper and half of the fee for killing the boy, we were to meet up in Ravok so I could receive the rest when the job was finished!" He whelped like a helpless boy, who ever hired him obviously didn't know what they were thinking. Pathetic. Bryan could only think of him as worthless, until he realized that only one person could have done this. It has to be him. No mistake...unless. He gave a cold stare toward both the hitman and the unexpected visitor, and with a cold tone he gave his command. "I want that sheet from you, so you're going to hand it over without a fuss. If you try anything then your captor will do what she feels...and as for you, Zith, I know well enough what your capable of. So I'll don't try anything with me."

His words simple and to the point, he didn't care what she thought of him nor of what she would do to his pursuer. It was simple enough for her to connect the dots, in his situation she could either be helping him or laying a trap. Either way he knew she wasn't to be trusted. Slowly as he walked forward the man inched his hand into his pocket, soon they would be close enough to at least touch each other. Any closer then she could strike on both of them, so stopped five feet away; just long enough for the hit man to reach out his arm and give that paper. There was something wrong though, for some reason he took too long to simply pull it out. He's planning to do something, which means he's making a stupid move.

by **Cass** on July 10th, 2011, 3:53 am

No name and another one of those cities Cass had never heard of. She silently cursed herself for not bothering to learn about the various cities. Those thoughts quickly left her mind as the matter at hand stole back her focus. One bad move on her part and her prey could quickly become the hunter. She could still taste the fear radiating off his skin. What a sad, sorry excuse for a hitman. Easily broken too. Cass's attentiond rifted over to the younger male who began to speak. When he spoke of knowing what she was capable of...well she couldn't hide the tiny smile. While she didn't enjoy the fact of always being viewed as a beast, she couldn't deny it was true. She couldn't stand there and lie about not enjoying scaring the would-be murderer. But still, she had no immediate plans to harm the other. He had made no move against her. A warning yes, but no move.

Keeping her clawed finger pressed against the back of the thug's neck she watched as the younger male came closer and the thug's hand dipped into his pocket for the sheet he had mentioned eariler. A long moment ticked by but the thug's hand remained lingering in his pocket. Unsure about what the thug's motives were Cass scrambled to figure out what she should do. Should she kill him now or...no, that was a stupid question! "I made up my mind." Without another word Cass sunk her clawed finger deep into the back of the thug's neck.

by **Bryan** on July 10th, 2011, 7:25 am

With a cry of agony the man screamed for a few seconds, then silence came as he fell to the ground. Blood had poured from the back of his neck, filling the sand beneath him with red color. The sight reminded him of that night two years ago, and the reason why he's here today. He looked at the merciless Zith, a fierce creature with powerful claws no doubt. He stood cautiously waiting for her next move, waiting while trying to predict what she was capable of.

These creatures are something to watch out for... if something is going to happen now I better be careful. He looked to the corpse now before him, the smell of death had already reeked from his body, there was no possible way he could avoid her and pull any belongings out. The dirt and sand would be his ally if he used it, but only if he could throw it at the right time. Either way the odds were entirely against him, so he simply stood without emotion. "So, is that it? Any more plans that'll effect me?"

by **Cass** on July 13th, 2011, 3:39 am

Cass watched as the thug before her cried out. Blood poured from the wound she had made, soaking her finger and part of her palm. Yanking her finger out of the thug's neck she merely watched as he collapsed to the ground, his screaming silenced. Blood began to stain the sand they were standing on. Licking her finger and palm clean Cass turned her attention over to the younger male. There was an odd moment of silence that made Cass slightly uncomfortable. She didn't really know what to do now. The thug was dead and the younger human was now free to live another day. But why had she even bothered to save him? The younger male's questions finally broke the silence as Cass pulled her silk black glove over her claw like hand.

"I, um...I guess so," Cass shrugged her shoulders. With her booted foot she turned the thug's corpse over till he was laying on his back. With her other hand she gestured to the pocket the thug had reached into eariler. "I think that's where your sheet is. And probably another weapon too." A sudden thought occured. Two people who she didn't know knew what she was. One was dead and the other...the other could use such information against her. Cass knew that humans didn't exactly like Ziths very much. But, Ziths didn't really enjoy the company of humans either. Well, most. But still, now she was stuck with another problem. Could she trust the other human enough not to use this information to harm her? Taking a small step back Cass reached up and patted the hood of her cloak, hoping it was concealing some of her features.

by **Bryan** on July 13th, 2011, 12:24 pm

Her reply sounded confused, like she was lost or didn't really intended to go so far. Now though the situation was different, she had walked away a few steps and tried to cover her face. Bryan hadn't really seen much of it, after all it was her dangerous claws that he was more focused on. He didn't know how skilled she could be at hunting her prey, but he didn't want to get any where close to an engagement. He looked back at the pocket that the corpse had, a small sheet was poking out; the key to answering his question no doubt. He glanced back up to the Zith with hesitation, then focused on slowly moving to the body. He made sure not to direct his gaze to her but still used his peripheral vision to detect any movement or gesture she would make. When he finally knelt next to the corpse and pulled the sheet he opened it and looked at it with one hand, while the other hand was placed on the ground. Not firm so that she wouldn't see his movement, but relaxed enough so that when he clenched his fist a good amount of the bloody sand would go for her eyes if he timed his aim correctly.

Worst case scenario this could turn out bad, I might not know what she looks like but I know what she is...therefore she is more likely to try and kill me. He took another glance at her, to catch any quick movements or any sign that she would attack while also letting her know that he was still on his guard. He skimmed a few sentences of the note but found no name, the handwriting though was clearly no mistake on who wrote it. It was him. The one that Bryan now sought revenge against, and the rendezvous point he would wait at was Ravok. His guard fell when he saw the next line:

The next target is a young boy with a slaver, ask for his name and he will have no choice but to tell you; when he says Triston is when you take his life.

He was shocked to have finally read that Triston, his younger brother, was still in fact alive. A slaver has a hold of him though, and these men were to kill him after they were done with Bryan. When he finally regained his focus on the world the Zith still stood where she was, which surprised him enough when he turned to look at her. The first thing his instinct told him was to backroll onto his feet, his hand filled with the cluster of sand. If she wanted to kill then he would go down fighting, no he would simply have to avoid her and run. Run until he made it to his small camping area, gather what goods and money he has and purchase travel equipment. Either way nothing was going to keep him from going to Ravok, not a damned soul on this earth was going to stop him from saving his brother.

She never made any sudden movements though until he reacted the way he did, that's when he realized that she may be willing to leave him be. He dropped the clumps of red sand, and stood relaxed and calm. His intelligence would get him through this, there was no need to fight. He held a simple expression, one that was calm and simple, and told only what needed to be said. "Listen I don't know who you are, but I know what you are. If that's enough to scare you then I guess you have your right to attack me. I understand that it's important to hide your identity since most humans don't appreciate your kind much, but I have absolutely nothing to do with you or nothing against you. Right now your just an obstacle in my path, and it's plain and simple: If you want to help or simply move aside then your welcome to, but if you want to kill me." He paused when a smirk appeared on his face, for some reason even though it was bad the idea of going down with a fight still appealed to him. "Then you will have one tough job of doing so, because until I achieve both my goals I won't be easy to kill." He didn't have much of anything, but he spoke truthfully with a sharp edge in his tone.

If there was anything to be happening whether it was to help or harm him, it was up to her. He noticed that the piece of paper was still next to the man's body, but he paid no attention to it; now his concentration was fixed on the Zith and getting out of here.