Of Flight and Fans (Solo)

[Shai]

Timestamp: 69th of Fall, 511 AV

If there was one truth to ever be told about Shai it was that she belonged to the night. Night’s embrace gave Shai everything a normal woman might want from a lover. In the night Shai was secure and her spirit was free as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop. The night was her world. And so when her world was invaded her instincts flew off the rails. She couldn’t explain it but the feeling had stopped her in her tracks. The thief had been headed for the Pig’s Foot to catch a few drinks before dawn and sleep claimed her. Standing against a chimney the lady rogue sought out night’s secrets but she’d been betrayed. Her enhanced night eyes revealed no trace or shadow of a threat; she heard not even a heartbeat which at this hour wasn’t unusual. Her other sense were even less reliable and so she didn’t bother to focus too hard on them. For all Shai could tell she was alone, alone and paranoid.

For any that have lived more than three days in Sunberth paranoia becomes a survival skill rather than a mental disorder and Shai knew to listen when her paranoia screamed the way it did. If whatever had her on edge was on the ground level then simply fleeing back across the rooftops would protect her. If her unseen watcher was tracking her across rooftops she was in far more trouble than she could reliably dig herself out of. The spider fled across the rooftops, headed for the slums the best place to disappear into a ramshackle building and traverse between the small network of windows and shadow covered doors. The Sunset Quarter had one giant advantage in that no syndicate claimed it which meant she could trespass with little to no repercussions.

Shai flinched and turned her amethyst eyes skyward. Had she seen a shadow? Was she imagining things? The sky was threatening Sunberth with rain which would be welcome, the recent drought still fresh on the minds of citizens. Perhaps it had been an errant cloud hitting a moonbeam. Though her instincts screamed at her, she accepted there weren’t any terrors flying through the clouds. Shai turned, redirecting her course, and leapt back to the previous building. She had a routine for roof travel that kept her relatively quiet. She always ran barefoot with running leaps and extending the microscopic hooks on the bottoms of her feet to stabilize her landing. Even if the jump was easy she took no chances with fate.

As she progressed towards the Sunset Quarter her edge didn’t dull in the least. In fact, if anything, Shai was feeling more and more hunted. Something about running had made her seem like prey which was a sickening lump in her stomach on its own. But she felt as though perhaps she was indeed being actively hunted. There was a last desperate hope in the corner of her mind that she was just imagining, that maybe she needed to go to bed early. But the rest of her mind was willing to accept the truth, sometimes the best way out was to run.

* * *

Shai was indeed being stalked. Throughout her time in Sunberth the Symenestra had encountered several individuals looking to trade her in as a slave. The first pair had been unexpected and escaped; none of the others were nearly as lucky. She had taken to butchering the men in the most brutal ways to discourage further slavers. To the thief, inexperienced in the ways of humans, this seemed like a suitable idea; who would chase after death? Her thoughts were parallel with a race in danger of going extinct not with the minds of the myriad of humans. Effectively, Shai had made herself into a test. The lesser slave catchers would give her a wide berth but anyone wanting to make their name would try for Shai. Of course, this was particular tracker wasn’t interested in the status and the mizas were only of passing interest instead it was the thrill of the hunt.

It had taken the hunter only a handful of days to get a grasp of the Symenestra’s normal nocturnal patterns. She mostly mugged, some thievery, and only a little murder, really she was a pretty stand up Sunberthian. Tonight had been the test the slaver had gotten closer to see how she would react and was unsurprised to find that she fled when her instincts told her to. It was a smart move in most cases but with one who lived for the thrill of the hunt it was the worst possible reaction. The moment the thief had turned and fled the scene the Zith’s plans had escalated. Tonight would be the night for confrontation.

Opening his wing span, he stretched and then flew in jumps behind the Symenestra. Keeping his landings soft and staying far enough back that his shadowy figure would only be barely visible even to night vision. He was prepared to hunt another creature with abilities similar to his own it offered a challenge purely human prey couldn’t offer.

[Shai]

If anything, fleeing seemed to make the feeling worse for Shai. Still she had no concrete evidence that anyone was following her at all, in fact as far as she could tell her only observer was the moon and his confidants the stars. Reaching the warren of buildings known as the Sunset Quarter, Shai descended from the roof tops and hid inside an abandoned building. Inspecting the rooms few remaining and broken contents lead Shai to believe it had once been a smithy. Padding quietly through the debris the rogue found a nice spot to rest and wait out her paranoia.

The building was dark and quiet; she’d need to remember it for future hiding spots. Being a thief had taught Shai to value patience; learning to stay still in a shadow for hours on end watching a target does that for a person. Consequently being able to sit comfortably and wait was a simply task for the spider. As far as she could figure, there were two possible categories her present dilemma fell under. One, Shai was being over sensitive and running from her imagination. Option two was that was something was truly following her. Dwelling on the second possibility wasn’t helping her at all but that’s exactly what Shai did.

If something is following me across the roofs what is it? Shai never got a chance to ponder further. A long scrap echoed n the building, it was coming from the roof top. The sound was awful, like when she scratched her claws on steel, it made the hair on the back her neck stand on end. Shai desperately surveyed her surroundings. The floors were littered with refuse, not ideal for a fight for her and she didn’t even know what her stalker was. She would always prefer to be on the roofs but maybe her advantage would be negligible there if the hunter could follow her across them. Before Shai got another moment to think over the upcoming encounter a terrible winged figure shaded the nearby window from moonlight. Shai only knew of one creature with webbed wings and a humanoid body.

* * *

He watched the lithe spider slide down the wall, it was an enviable ability he’d only heard of but never seen in action. Of course no amount of wall scaling was worth a good pair of wings. When the little spider took cover in the dilapidated building, the Zith assumed she’d come out another exit to try and lose him. He had circled the building a few times and determined she intended to stay inside. That was an unacceptable place for their contest of strengths; she would have a distinct advantage in such a limited place. He had to scare her out somehow. His first tactic towards this end was to rake his claws along the roof to see if she would spook out. When the spider didn’t immediately react like prey ought it was time for a new approach. He landed on a neighboring rooftop at a specific angle against the moon to leave a larger than life shadow to dwarf one of the building’s open windows.

* * *

Shai slowly slipped away from the window, careful to keep out of the remaining light herself. Keeping her shadow against the walls and out of view of the window the stealthy thief headed for the opposite end of the building and her chance at escape. She timed her breathing with the wind whistling through a pair of broken shutters and keeping her light footfalls in time with the rhythm as well. Clearly the creature knew she was inside the building or it wouldn’t be staking it out but at least she could keep her exact location hidden if she was careful. The old solid wood floor aided her secrecy by absorbing her weight without complaint and Shai eventually made it to the far window. Slipping through the window was where her escape failed.

Shai slinked out the window without trouble but her cloak caught the old shutter and slammed it as she tried to step away from the building. Shai’s heart sunk into the pit of her stomach as she heard the low rumbling laugh. The Zith had heard her.

[Shai]

A split second was all she had for her decision, ground or roof? The roof above her was peaked she might have an advantage; she flung herself onto the wall and scrambled up the wall. As she mounted the roof she saw the creature in its entirety. It was a Zith, Shai had no doubt. She’d never encountered one but she had heard rumors and read about the creatures when she was in Kalinor. They were unmistakable, bat wings, animal’s pelt, wicked claws, and humanoid features. Shai skipped back a step on the roof and squared her footing for the Zith who was already charging through the air towards her.

Yet again Shai was caught in a fight with no weapons. I really need to invest in some steel this is ridiculous. Shai ducked at the last moment as the Zith came at her sending the creature flying past her. He wheeled to a stop and landed on the far end of the roof watching his prey. Shai’s throat tightened, with claws like hers her only viable chance against him was her venom. But getting close enough to bite would likely prove fatal for her depending on why he was chasing her in the first place. Shai spun towards her adversary, she couldn’t wait for his assault if this drug out he could just carry her off to fulfill his purposes. Shai cleared the distance between them with the swift sure footsteps of a Symenestra with hooks extended. When she finally drew close enough Shai lunged for his neck with her claws.

* * *

The little spider dodged his initial rush; it was to be expected really. If she had tried to stand against him he probably would have broken several of her fragile bones. Her own charge was gracefully done but it wouldn’t save her from him. In fact, charging at him only hastened the inevitable. The predator had been hoping to play with her a little but she seemed to have no weapons to employ against him besides those that nature gave her. That would make this a shorter hunt than he had hoped for. Instead of rebuking the spider as she flew at him, he embraced her. She managed to slash his arms a few times but having removed her leverage by clutching her close she could managed superficial marks. But when she went for his throat he released her. As the spider reached with her claws he countered with a backhand sending the little woman flying before she ever got near his neck.

* * *

Shai was stunned from the force of the blow. She lay on the roof top using all of her focus just to keep from sliding off the roof. When the Zith came for her she didn’t have the clarity of mind to put a real defense, she scooped her up like she was no more than a child and took off. Shai struggled for lucidity and managed only enough to extend her fangs and latch onto his arm injecting as much of her venom as she could into her assailant. That got his attention and quick; Shai only had a few brief moments to release his arm before another blow struck the back of her head. The strike to her head forced the world around her to fade away until she was swiftly unconscious.

[Shai]

The first thing Shai saw was splashes of sunlight on the leaf littered ground. Her head felt fuzzy and when she tried to move it she realized she was dizzy. As she moved there was a clatter of metal followed by a pain induced moan. Shai sat up, debris cling to her mussed hair, she tried to look around but was hit by a wave of vertigo. When her vision finally steadied and she could get a view of her surroundings she was even further confused than earlier. How the petch did I end up collared and chained to a post? The answer to her question came as gaze fall on the Zith. He was lying in the dirt writhing in pain.

“Of course, I remember. I bit you.” Shai tugged on the chain, trying to figure out the mechanism keeping her from fleeing. It was only a simple lock, she could detach her chain the hitch it was locked on to but it would take hours to blindly unlocked the on around her neck. Judging from the Zith’s level of pain she didn’t have all that long until her poison wore off and he was back to his faculties and ready to murder her. Shai searched through the buttoned pockets inside her cloak, he had left her thief’s tools. He had probably been almost incapacitated by the time they got to this little camp. Shai made quick work of the lock attaching her to the post and then turned towards her capture. “I am not one to grant mercy to those who have harmed me. But I cannot simply let you come back for revenge.” Dragging her bare feet through the forest floor Shai came to stand above her captor. The Zith clutched at her ankle to no avail, he was too weak for any damage and Shai was too cold to spare his life.

Kneeling down she gave the former hunter a once over. It was fascinating really, watching a man trying to trash against the blood running in his veins; carrying her venom throughout his body. As captivating as the sight was she had more important activities to attend to so she struck. Slashing her claws along his throat she dispatched him in her usual fashion. “Moz seh krvas dav’even me obris zhevat.” The Symenestra offered her prayer to Viratas before her brutal business yet to come. She would normally make a massacre of the scene to once again discourage slavers but she suspected anyone who found this site in the woods wouldn’t know what his business had been or wouldn’t be fazed by such a set up. So instead the Symenestra set up about making a fire in the small pit the Zith had dug for warmth. She’d give him plenty of warmth to last long into eternity. All the while Shai was trailed by the long chain that her captor had thought would keep her secure.

Using bits of dry wood from the surrounding forest floor as well as most of the Zith’s possessions which she found inside a small tent Shai managed a construct a large fire. Unfortunately she hadn’t thought the finally phase of her plan through, it took several bells of struggling with the corpse to get it into the fire. Finally Shai sat back to watch her former enemy‘s corpse burn and while she waited for the deed to be complete she worked on the lock on her neck. The only reason she stuck around was to make sure the fire didn’t spread to the surrounding forest that would be highly irresponsible.

[Shai]

The smell that a body burning gave off was noxious. Something about the Zith’s body incineration gave off an even more revolting scent, if Shai was to guess it would be all that fur. She doubted he had bathed often. It took several bells for the fire to completely reduce the body to nothing but charred bones, Shai had needed to add wood a couple of times. The timing was fortuitous because as the time passed Shai noticed the sun beginning to disappear due to cloud cover. Finally, the rain began to pelt down on the tree tops above. Shai grabbed a large stick and mixed up the ashes and remains of the fire to make certain it was completely out. She had long since removed the chain from her collar but the collar itself had lock on the back of the next that no amount of repositioning could get her picks into properly. So the collar stayed on for now. She kicked the bones around the camp site a little so it was a little less obvious what had happened here.

As soon as that was done Shai moved on there were questions that needed answering. Chief among her questions were when and where she was. It was clearly day time, a time when she would normally be happily asleep, but she hadn’t thought to look at the sun for guidance until after the clouds had covered it up. The clouds also stopped her from figuring out where she was. Shai knew some people could identify location from the placement of stars or sun; she was not one of these people. So, in reality, it was unlikely being able to view the sun would tell her where she was. Her best guess was the forest in the southern reaches of Sunberth, it was the closest wilderness to the last location she could recall bring at in the city. That meant there would be a small river to the west, if only she knew which way was west that would be helpful. Instead she had no choice but to pick a direction and begin walking.

This strategy was exhausting and it was another handful of bells, by her estimation, before she could hear the sound of rushing water. She was actually much closer than she had expected when she heard the sound, the pattering of rain had obscured the sound until Shai was almost within sight. Shai was ready to stomp right out to the stream when she noticed something completely unusual. There was a woman standing in the middle of the water just upstream from Shai’s position. Shai ducked back behind a tree to get a good look at her.

After first Shai had thought the woman was standing in the river, but at a second glance she was on top of a boulder that only barely crested the water. She had two crimson fans, one in each hand, that she was slowly sliding through the air. Whatever she was doing was too slow for dance but someone it still seemed to be telling a story. Shai could read emotions from the movements of the fans and sometimes it even looked like she could read a passage. It was such a strange sight that Shai moved around the tree trying to get closer to see more, drawn like a Vantha to snow. Entranced she as she, Shai didn’t notice when the woman’s body began to slowly rotate, small movements of her hips and feet began to turn her in Shai’s direction. When Shai eventually caught sight of the story teller’s face, she realized her eyes were closed. Until the moment when Shai’s eyes would have met the woman’s, then the strangers eyes shot open. Somehow Shai had been detected and so the two women stared at each other across the small rocky river shore. Sapphire eyes locked on an Amythest gaze.

[Shai]

At first it seemed like the staring match might go on forever until a secretive smile transformed the woman’s face. She directed one of her fans towards Shai and fluttered it. It was as clear of a come hither as any hand single could manage. As Shai cautiously approached she noticed that the rain was sliding off of the fans instead of soaking into the delicate cloth. They cloth and frame seemed to be treated in some fashion, oil perhaps? Shai stopped at the shores edge; since she was unwilling to admit she couldn’t swim she examined the woman up close instead.

This stranger was dressed in an elegantly simple robe and an enormous enveloping blue cloak. Beneath the open robe was a hint at clothing much like Shai’s; leggings and a simple shirt. While the woman had decidedly more color to her skin and blonde curled hair Shai felt an odd kinship with her. It could be that they were both out in the rain in the middle of a forest, but she suspected it was something more. Something in the woman’s posture spoke of readied action; if Shai took a misstep she was sure it might very well be the last inch she ever moved.

The woman gave the spider a once over, she gave no look of surprise so Shai had to assume the stranger had noticed her race before she even advanced. They met gazes one again and the woman repeated her summons.

Shai glanced down at the rushing water and then back at the woman. It seemed highly embarrassing to break the silence at this point, almost sacrilegious. That particular mood must have been caused by the other woman because while Shai preferred silence she was rarely unwilling to break it to her benefit.

The woman answered Shai’s problem with a flick of her wrist. Her fan straightened downwards placing it in profile. Shai looked towards the water again, where the fan had indicated and found that if someone was observant enough there was a path. Just beneath the surface of the water there were a handful of stones each large step apart that led straight to the boulder the woman stood on.

Shai nodded her understanding. She could walk on wet slanted roofs all night long but something about the tiny amount of running water flowing over each stone made her nervous. Shai placed a bare foot into the water and planted it on the first stone, it was less slippery than she had anticipated but that was most likely due to the lack of vegetation growing on it. Before Shai knew it the spider had managed to get half way to the woman. Her skills in acrobatics came in handy by allowing her to keep her balance for the most part and the hooks in the soles of her feet gripped tightly to each stone.

As soon as Shai reached the large boulder she was surprised at its magnitude. There was more than enough room for two women to stand comfortably and it was flat tilting down beneath the water as it went up stream. She felt like she had stumbled upon a secret spot, if it had been closer to town she knew it would be a favored play location for children.

The woman’s height was only a few inches more than Shai’s own but it still seemed short for a human and as close as she stood Shai could tell she was undoubtedly human. Shai pursed her lips, unsure if it was still inappropriate to talk. The woman once again noticed her discomfort and let out a clear peal of laughter. “Good Afternoon Spider, you seem to have stumbled upon my meditations. What brings you here?”

Shai was just about to let slip a smart mouthed comment when she changed her mind. The woman had done absolutely nothing to earn her displeasure, in fact she had been nothing but pleasant except for that ‘spider’ comment but it was something Shai was used to. So truth seemed the best course. “Embarrassingly I am lost. It is, of course, more complicated but that is the sum of my current problem.”

The woman’s eyes twinkled like she knew a private joke, “Yes, I get lost often too. That’s why I come here to meditate. Come and join me little Spider, maybe you’ll find your way.”

[Shai]

Shai stared at her for a long awkward moment. Before she finally admitted yet another skill she didn’t possess. “I do not know how to. . .” She looked around embarrassed, it had been a long day of things she couldn’t do. First she couldn’t run fast enough, then couldn’t hide well enough, couldn’t fight for her own defense, couldn’t find her way home, couldn’t swim, and now she couldn’t meditate. This was getting out of hand.

The woman arched a carefully sculpted eyebrow, “If you can breathe you can meditate, Spider. Sit with me.” She shook both of her fans and sent the water droplets flying and swiftly clicked them shut. The two crimson fans disappeared into the woman’s robes. Slowly so her layers didn’t drape into the water she arranged herself and sat. Rising up a hand she motioned for Shai to do the same.

Shai pulled her cloak tight around her and sat on top of it so it didn’t drift off and then looked towards the woman for guidance.

“Close your eyes don’t worry Spider. If you succeed here you won’t need your eyes to know danger. Sit comfortably, you won’t be moving. Now, listen. What is the first thing you hear?” The woman closed her eyes as well and waited.

Shai tried not to hesitate; the request was not at all something she was comfortable with it was sheer stupidity in Sunberth. Eventually though Shai rearranged her legs so she sat on top of both of them and slowly closed her eyes. The rogue focused on listening. “The river.”

“Block it out. Don’t speak again until you can no longer hear it.”

Shai tried not to snort, how was she supposed to hear less? But she tried; she pulled all of her attention elsewhere. Eventually her focus on the sound of the rain completely blocked out her sense of the river. “It is gone.”

“What do you hear now?”

“The rain.”

“Block it out.”

Shai and the woman repeated this process for a quiet eternity until Shai thought she might not ever hear a natural sound again. “What do you hear now Spider?” Shai did not answer she wasn’t certain anymore what she heard. Did she even hear anything at all? Eventually after long moments of searching found her an answer.

“I hear myself breathing.”

“Good, now hold on to it. Breathe only through your mouth and exhale through your nose. Let every breath fill up a small portion of your body until you are completely full.” Shai accepted this next task and just as before this one gave her trouble. She had been sitting now for a long time and her knees were beginning to hurt, but she was worried fidgeting would upset her careful concentration and so tried to ignore it. She pushed all her attention to her breath and began to fill her body from the toes up. It went relatively well, but she noticed that for some reason her concentration was wavering, as her collected breath reached towards her neck it became more difficult to sustain the level. Somehow her mental picture was going against what she wanted to picture. For several breaths she kept trying to fill the void but it never seemed to work. Eventually Shai realized she had never been told she had to begin at one end and end at another so she sustained the breath n her chest and filled the top of her body. Finally her body was filling up again and as soon as she was full she felt the irrational and foolish need to hold her breath and not let any escape.

The woman chuckled, “You can breathe Spider, and in fact do so. In one long exhale release all the air you have stored. And not let your mind be peaceful, think on nothing but your breathing and refill your vessel again.” Shai almost lost her patience at this last direction. But she had come this far, she would continue if only to see it to the end. She released all of her breath, while she knew rationally it wasn’t truly breath in her body but an imagined substance it was still seemed to last forever when she exhaled. Shai began her task anew, but instead thought purposefully on nothing, it was extremely difficult. Every errant thought attempt to invade on her solitude. After several close calls Shai managed to refill again without thinking about any concerns.

“I have done so.” Shai whispered. Only this time the woman said nothing. That nothing was very much like the silence Shai had felt when they had first encountered one another. The meaning was clear to the Symenestra. So she continued as she had before exhaling and slowly refilling her body with air.

[Shai]

Long after Shai had lost count on her cycle of breathing and exhaling, she was finally interrupted. There was a low growl and gurgle from the outside world, specifically from her abdomen. This was met with a soft chuckle from the woman across from her. Shai opened her eyes to see the woman watching her. “You did well Spider, but we’re not done yet. Can you wait for dinner a little longer? When we are done I shall share mine.” Shai nodded as a response and stood, copying her companion’s movements. As Shai watched he companions movement she noticed that their backdrop had changed; at some point the rain ad dissipated and the clouds thinned to let the sky peak through.

The woman reached with in her robe and pulled out two fans, these were noticeably different from her previous ones. Shai hadn’t realized it until she saw these new ones that the old one has been made of metal. The new fans were indigo instead of crimson and had dark wooden frames. To Shai’s astonishment the woman handed them to her. After her hands were free the woman removed her original crimson fans. It only took her a quick flick of the wrists and both fans bloomed. In comparison Shai had to find each latch and slowly spread each fan open. The mentor, as the woman had become, adjusted each of Shai’s wrists and finger placement against the fans. “There are few rules about what I am about to teach you and as soon as you have mastered them feel free to break them. But be certain you have mastered them first. In this the first steps of grace begin with proper posture and excessive poise. Now follow my movements, I will be repetitive at first and then I will move on to original positions.” She gave one last look at Shai before turning away, looking out towards the river flowing towards Sunberth. Shai copied her posture, her position a few steps to the right.

The woman brought her fan forward and flipped it sideways making it open up towards her chest. Shai mimicked the movement with considerably less grace than her teacher. The next move to imitate was a similar move with the other fan only it ended up below the first. Then the woman did something Shai couldn’t copy without dropping her fans. Her mentor loosely released the fans causing them to spin towards the ground. Shai managed to turn the fans upside down, at least copying the end result but completely failing at the actual spin.

Their practice went on for several chimes and nearly as many repetitions before Shai could copy even these basic moves. The ease of the more experienced woman seemed like a joke now; Shai realized just how many times she must have performed these moves to look so graceful. They continued on with various small patterns and a great deal of repetition. Soon Shai was picking up the moves much quicker albeit still nowhere near the elegance.

“You’ve done well enough, Spider. Now I will show you one long routine which will encompass all of the basic positions. Once I feel you’ve remembered this we will be nearly done. You should repeat this routine until your muscles know it without you trying to recall.” The pair went through a complex routine several times, the sun was falling behind the western mountains by the time the teacher felt it was good enough. “We'll eat soon, I'm sure you're uncomfortable. There are only a few points left to teach you before we close the fans. “

[Shai]

“Understanding the movements is not enough. You also need to appropriately apply rhythm.“ The woman demonstrated with a long swiping curve and flutter. Then seemed to wait for a beat only she could hear and switched to a low crouch with her fans together to make a full circle. She began to transform her body into various different poses, the tempo that she followed wasn’t steady but Shai had no doubt that there was some specific pace she was keeping. While still moving between the stances she continued to speak. “I have been fan dancing since I was a child, I’m following my favorite song right now. My muscles know the proper rhythm.”

Shai waited until the woman completed her dance before speaking. “I am an acrobatic, not an aerial dancer. I can be graceful in my movements but I cannot follow music. “

“Music is a common rhythm Spider, but it is only one of the rhythms available to us. I can’t help you pick which rhythm to follow but you can find it through meditation which I have taught you. There is one more aspect to illuminate. I won’t teach it in full but knowing about it should allow you to utilize it once you’ve studied the fans long enough.” With the last rays of the sun the other woman tossed both fans into the air and caught them facing the opposite direction. Now that Shai could see the fan’s ribbing while it was stationary, it was clear the metal wasn’t just for support. The top edges were pointed and sharpened like daggers. “The added weight takes time to get used to, but when employed properly it can be lifesaving. “ Closing her left fan and stashing it within the folds of her robe she withdrew a small dagger. It wasn’t a typical dagger, it was much smaller and delicate something a woman could conceal. She handed it to Shai. “Come at me Spider.”

Shai looked at the dagger and the woman but at this point it would be moronic to distrust the woman. So even though she had almost no skills with blades she lunged with the dagger. She tried to use the dagger like she would strike with her claws. As soon as the dagger neared the woman Shai was shocked to see a flash of crimson intercept the blade. The dagger slide through the fabric like butter but the iron spines halted the daggers momentum. What came next Shai would never have thought of if the woman hadn’t shown her. Snapping the fan shut the woman twisted and pulled the dagger right out of Shai’s hand. “You can both block and disarm if you can perfect your timing. Do not make the mistake of believing these are primary weapons, they aren’t. Anyone who tries to rely on only fans will be short for this world.” The woman slid the dagger out and then both the blade and the fan disappeared into her cloak. “That is all I will teach you.”

The silence that followed that statement forced Shai to realize her foolishness. She wasn’t in some dream world; she was on the outskirts of Sunberth. Nothing was free in Sunberth. The woman must have had something in mind to have offered all of this knowledge. Shai knew it was coming so she sped the process and kept from looking like a completely ungrateful lout. “What you have taught me ahs value, how can I repay you?”

The woman smiled and let out a delicate laugh, “I’m so very happy you offered. I wouldn’t have wanted to force it. I would like you to give me a dose of your venom.” She pulled out a small glass jar from her robes, which were becoming increasingly mysterious at this point. “If you do, you’re welcome to this knowledge and those two fans without further charge.” She motioned towards the two wooden indigo fans she had given Shai. The mysterious woman sat down on the boulder and placed the jar by her knee. “Of course, I promised sustenance as well. That will be given as well.”

Shai folded up her fans and sat down beside the woman. She eyed the jar, it wasn’t a ridiculous request. The Symenestra had once considered selling her own venom on one desperate night but it had never come to that. But due to that experience she was aware of just how much her venom could go for. It was not an insignificant amount. But the price for a secret defensive weapon that no one else suspected and the first steps on how to use it, that was also not insignificant. Knowledge lay in the realm of the immaterial and the immaterial had both no value and the highest value. The woman had given her a chance to defend herself against further slavers. “It will not yet kill. I ate last night, but at this point it would be excruciating. If you mean to use it for torture it would be perfect.”

“My designs for your venom are not of your concern, but the disclaimer is welcome. A weapon that’s mysterious to its wielder is often worse than no weapon at all.” Shai nodded, it really wasn’t her business. It was true the venom could be used to frame her but the spider was usually hard to catch. It was a gamble, but waking up in Sunberth was a gamble.

[Shai]

After a few moments of thought Shai snatched up the jar. The decision was all but made already for the spider; she owed this woman for the knowledge that had been given. Besides, she suspected it would be a very poor idea to cross her mysterious teacher especially in the middle of a river with no escape routes except that one she was completely incapable of traversing. Opening her mouth Shai extended her fangs, it was as easy as making a fist was but it felt good like stretching a muscle. Her fangs caught the young moonlight filtering through the now spars cloud cover as she brought the jar up to encompass both pointy incisors. Then, with intent, Shai released the venom which let the poison drip down in the waiting jar. The whole process didn’t take more than a chime and when it was done the jar only had a thin layer of liquid at the bottom.

Shai began to slowly retract her fangs but it would take time. In the mean time she passed the jar back to the human woman. After inspecting the poison the woman corked the jar and stashed it inside her cloak. The poison Shai had just handed over was infamous, although most of its reputation was complete fiction from children’s stories, and the spider suspected she’d given it to an assassin not an enterprising entertainer.

“It has been a pleasure to meet you Spider. You weren’t nearly as bad as rumors suggest your kind are. I’m glad didn’t need to kill you, this is more beneficial for the both of us.” She woman produced a small chunk of bread and a small bushel of grapes that she handed to the Sym. “As I promised some food.”

Shai accepted the small morsels. "It has been nice meeting you too. Thank you for what you've taught me." While she focused on examining the food for anything suspicious she almost missed the swish of cloth moving. Looking up the lady rogue got to watch as her mentor deftly negotiated the hidden stone stepping path back to the river shore. The pretty blonde woman turned back once to look at the spider before hustling off into the forest, downstream, towards Sunberth.

Shai had just given away her venom and it would take time to regenerate. Until then she would have to meticulously peel the grapes and eat the soft inside, being careful to discard the seeds. It wasn’t really any different than if she had venom to spare really. The grapes were too small to be practical for her poison. The bread wouldn’t work either and even if she chewed it into a liquid it would still be difficult to digest without her venom.

The itch at her neck reminded her that she still had that ridiculous collar on and when she got home would need to find someone to remove it. But that was something to worry about later. Shai cradled the food in her hands and hopped back across the river to follow it back to Sunberth; peeling grapes as she went to abate her growling stomach.

-End-