[The Sunberth Library] I'm Feeling Lucky (Shadowfang)

[Andalusia]

Stumble Alley 18th of Spring, 512 AV Dirt and filth seemed to be the only things living in Stumble Alley, blowing about disgusting, bile-colored dust and smoke whenever the breeze would pick up in the area, which thankfully was a rare occurrence. The houses were huddled together, all notably worn and crumbling, with their shutters hanging loosely along the windows, causing an ear-splitting sound whenever the wind would cause them to bang against the cracked walls. Weeds and wild plants littered the dirt ground, coupled with pieces of rocks and stone that seemed to have once been part of the homes. Empty, barren, and quite even the definition of loneliness and solitude, Stumble Alley had always a post-apocalyptic aura to it, until you catch sight of a bum sleeping inside one of the houses, its ceiling dripping and its door carelessly hung open. There was not even a chair or bedroll in sight, just the rough wooden floor, damp from the leaks. Andalusia took careful steps through the alley, her eyes darting from left to right, even turning her head to see if anyone was following her. But no soul would show, and no eyes would burn down her neck or side. "M-Maybe I should've brought Dante along," she thought to herself, trembling slightly. The air was either unusually cold, or unusually hot around the alley, and from the sweat that trickled down her forehead, it was the latter today. There was a faint, indistinguishable stench that made her wince, and even sneeze from time to time. "He wouldn't do very well in the library, though," she reasoned, nodding to herself. A rather shady man peeked out of a shattered window, his eyes locking with hers for a brief moment. Andalusia quickly lowered her head and focused on her leather hunting boots as she continued to walk, her hands stiffly placed along her sides. Luckily, she had her cloak on, and so her expression of shock and reluctance as not obvious. She immediately quickened her pace and silently hoped that the man wouldn't come out and begin following her. She whipped her head around and to check, and found the road just as barren and empty as before. She smiled, sighing in relief. OOCBumping with her while her head's turned may be the best idea, if you would like.

[Shadowfang]

In the darkened room were two beings. One was standing tall over the other. The other was lying on the ground, shuffling backwards in an attempt to get away. 

"P-please! D-d-don't hurt me!"

The standing figure only remained silent and lifted the other man by the shirt. He brought him up and forced him against the wall. Raising a fist, he thrust it forward, bashing into the man's face. Bones cracked. The sickening snap rent through the air and the man's nose began bleeding. "I'm sorry! Please!" The attacking man paid no his words no heed, striking the helpless victim, bringing his fist down on his face again and again. Suddenly, the blows ceased. There was silence, then the soft sound of a blade leaving its sheath. The frail bum gasped and struggled, kicking out at his assailant. The blade was plunged into the man's throat. Blood spilled. Screams were silenced. The writhing stopped.

Shadowfang pulled the dagger out of the man's throat and looked down at his wrist. The man had cut him, attempted to attack him for some stupid reason. Shadowfang could be nursing the long but shallow cut that ran from his elbow to his wrist for a while. The short scuffle had made Shadowfang hungry. He sheathed his dagger and reached down, grabbing the man's leg, and bit down, tearing flesh from bone. He chomped down on the  corpse. The frail bum tasted like old feces and he had very little meat, but Shadowfang was hungry, so this meal would have to do. 

His feast lasted for almost an hour, and it left its marks all over him. The cut on his forearm had ceased bleeding and the blood from his victim was all over his face. There was so much that the now cold red liquid had run down his chin and even onto his chest, staining his light gray fur a dark red. He rose, leaving the body where it was. The smell of blood and death had lessened significantly. Shadowfang wiped most of the blood away from his face and chest. He did not want to look too savage when he arrived at his origional destination: the library.

He walked towards the doorway. The broken door was opened outward into the alley, obscuring the view of the alleyway and narrowing the path. He walked to it quickly, with a purpose, almost jogging. As he burst into the alley, he ran into something. Hard. Something that felt like a human slammed into him and he thought the head might have hit him in the chest. The wind was knocked out of him and the impact of the blow forced him to take a tiny step back. He was so focused on thoughts of getting to his destination that he had not heard anyone coming down the alleyway and the blood around his mouth had obscured any scent the person could have given off. He glanced down at whatever or whoever he had run into, hoping that he or she would have enough sense not to scream.

[Andalusia]

A solid object had stopped Andalusia dead in her tracks, pushing her back a quite a bit at the impact. She let out a tiny squeak, her head facing the ground, throbbing and shaken, her eyes shut tightly. She brought her hand over to her forehead To her surprise, however, the object had replied with an equally shocked grunt. Fear flooded her body with a prickly warmth, yet it froze her completely solid. Her eyes shot open, wide and alert, and the fear doubled as the sharp, metallic scent of blood flooded her nostrils.

The stranger that she had bumped into made no other sound or movement. She was afraid that she had bumped into a thief or murderer, but the unusual sight of large, bat-like wings told an entirely different story. She raised her head gradually, eyes wide with innocence and curiosity. A young man, with great dark wings and pale skin that seemed to be dusted all over with gray hair. His eyes were a dull, seemingly lifeless red, his hair jet-black and shaggy. He looked at her with not even a hint of emotion in his face, and after a moment of careful observation, she realized that there was something incredibly familiar about the strange, unusual person. He was of a different race, surely, and the blood that covered and spilled all over his mouth proved that he was not one to be played around with. The realization struck her not moments afterwards, and her jaw slackened.

"Y-You're, that... Z-Zith?" she gulped, mentally slapping herself for her vagueness. She nervously pursed her lips, hands falling to her sides, hiding underneath her beige-colored cloak. "Sha... Shad... I-I'm sorry, I seem to have, f-forgotten your name. What, what was it again?" she squinted a little bit at the young man. "F-From, Crimson Edge, I-I'm from Crimson Edge t-too," she managed a brief little smile. She wondered what he must be doing around these parts, but judging from the state he was in, he probably just killed somebody. "Do the Zith eat people?" she wondered silently, struggling to recall the information from her uncle's books. If they did, she was sure he wouldn't hurt her, as they were both of the same guild, and in the Crimson Edge, everybody was considered brothers and sisters.

[Shadowfang]

The woman that now stood looking up at him was what he had run into. Her skin, so pale that it almost hurt his eyes, was completely contrasted by hair as dark as his own. Her emerald eyes were full of emotion; not necessarily fear but more of a tense nervousness. She was stammering from the nervousness as she tried to recall his name. He almost smiled in amusement when she mentioned that she was from the Crimson Edge as if she were trying to defend herself with her words. Well, she needn't worry. Even if she was not a member of the ragtag gang, he had already eaten so as long as she did not try to harm him, he would not harm her.

"Shadowfang." he said simply. He offered no more information, as she had not asked for any. He was about to turn and leave her where she was, when he noticed something out of place behind her. He looked up and saw the shady looking man who had been staring at the girl poking his head out once more and looking at the pair with wide eyes. Shadowfang's gaze hardened and his lips drew back, revealing his still bloody teeth in a threatening snarl. This seemed to scare the man enough to where he quickly pulled his head back through the window frame, once again concealing himself from view. Shadowfang felt his protective instincts kick in once again, the instinct to keep his family safe. Even though he did not even know the girl's name, she was still a part of the Crimson Edge.

He grabbed the girl by the arm and forced her past him, positioning himself behind her and spreading one of his wings to block the man's view of the woman. "Move." he gave the order sternly and began pushing her "You can give me your name later. Right now we must leave this place. He surprised himself. He was talking a lot more than he would normally talk to someone that he did not know. It was very uncharacteristic. He absently wiped more of the blood from his face with his jacket sleeve as he pushed the woman along.

[Andalusia]

Distracted by the blood on his lips, she watched his mouth intently as he iterated his name. "Shadowfang," she committed into memory, as the Zith's eyes narrowed onto something behind her. They were set intently upon something, but she couldn't bring herself to move an inch or turn away her gaze. She flinched when his lips curled up into a snarl, illiciting another soft squeak as he grabbed at her arm and swung her in front of him, his large batwing quickly covering her from the sunlight in one fluid motion. "Wh-Wha..." she mumbled, but he cut her off. "Move," he said in a low, authoritative voice. She stumbled into a brisk walk, eyes focused onto the dirt road ahead of them.

"You can give me your name later. Right now, we must leave this place," he added, his hand firmly placed on her back, pushing her forward as they both settled on a steady pace. The distinctive smell of blood lingered around her as they trudged towards her initial destination: The Sunberth Library. She made a humming noise as they closed in on the entrance. Without a word, she immediately pushed open the squeaky double doors, setting off a thin layer of dust before it. They stopped by the entrance and she turned to look at the Zith once more, unable to speak from the shock.

[Shadowfang]

Before entering the building, he stopped and went to work scrubbing the rest of the blood from his face. The blood either flaked off, was absorbed into his sleeves, or simply stayed on, already staining his light gray fur. Finished with his chore, he glanced into the woman's sharp green eyes. The shock was evident on her face as she stood in the doorway staring at him. His eyes lingered on hers for a moment, then diverted, looking into the building behind her. 

He brushed past her, not caring if this was her destination or not or even if she wanted to thank him. He was here for his own reasons. In truth, the library was one of his favorite places to be. It was dim, it was lonely, it was full of information, and as long as he did not cause trouble, he would not get any trouble. He avoided the gaze of the woman at the desk. Even though he knew her rules and obeyed them, he still did not like her watching him. He walked up to shelf and grabbed the first book he saw. Of Gods. Looking at the cover for a moment, he thought Interesting.

He opened to a random page and began reading where he was. Akajia... Shadows, secrets, stealth... He liked the sound of that one. Before he could read any further, he caught sight of he girl he had ushered out of the alley. She was still here. Normally, and in a setting with more people, he would not care, but his curiosity was piqued. "You are still here... It was not a question, but he fully expected an explanation from her. After all, she still had not told him her name.

[Andalusia]

She eyed the Zith as he moved away from her, without a word, over to the shelves. He was already prepared to get lost in the aisles of books. "He must've been on his way in here, then," she wondered quietly, taking a few small steps forward, glancing at the woman at the reception desk. She looked at her strangely, as if she'd just landed in front of her in a thud. She cleared her throat softly, and turned to look at Shadowfang once more. He was already holding a book in his hands, his eyes scanning the text on the yellowing pages. Fiddling with her fingers, she tried turning to the other shelves, hoping to find that book that she'd hid somewhere before. It was a storybook, or at least, that was what she assumed it to be. It had tales that she had never heard of or seen of before, it couldn't have been real, could it?

The sound of footsteps caused her to flinch like a nervous mouse, her head snapping to the other direction to find that Shadowfang had moved a little closer to where she stood by the doors. The library was practically empty, and they were the only customers there at the moment. She wondered if she should just leave, or stay like she planned. But before she could decide, the familiar Zith returned in front of her. "You are still here..." he stated monotonously, gazing upon her expectantly. Andalusia blushed in embarrassment, compelled to turn her head down shyly. Yet, she continued to look into his eyes, and at his face, although they were so different from any other face that she'd ever seen. "I-I, I was on my way h-here," she began, angry at herself for stuttering and stumbling, "I-I'm, I'm Andalusia. W-Were you on your w-way here too?" She managed a timid smile after she had spoken.

[Shadowfang]

So this had been her destination after all. It appeared that the two may have more in common other than being in the Crimson Edge. Shadowfang cocked his head at the stuttering girl, his curiosity becoming evident on his face. She certainly was a nervous creature, though her face showed no fear and her eyes stared directly into his. Perhaps her stutter was simply how she talked, or maybe she had more trouble with Common than even he did. Either way, Shadowfang was beginning to grow even more interested in her.

He nodded in answer to Andalusa's question. Her shyness brought an amused smirk to his face. Fear was a reaction he had come to learn that he induced in people. Shyness was not. "I come here to be alone... and learn. This place is the only place in the city where I don't have to worry." He looked at the book in his hand. He wanted to be let alone and continue his reading, but he found himself wanting to know more about the pale girl. "You are here for the same reason?" With her answer, he sat down and instantly became engrossed in his book. He was almost certain that Andalusa would join him and, for once, he did not mind the company. Let's see. Which god controls the moon?

OOCFeel free to change the scene in your next post if you want. If your not done here, I'll do it in my next post.

[Andalusia]

He observed her as she spoke; his eyes seemingly analyzing her every movement, however slight or fleeting they may be, his ears taking in every word, including the way she stumbled to speak them. The blush that had already been present on her cheeks had only gone from bad to worse, finding her gaze faltering as her eyes began to shift away from his face. "I come here to be alone... and learn. This place is the only place in the city where I don't have to worry," he replied, turning to look at the book in his hands. Andalusia took this opportunity to observe him in return, her eyes moving slowly, as if they were as shy as she were in socializing, past the webbed shape of his dark wings, and towards his face once more.

His hair was quite long, extending past his ears and a covering quite a bit of his eyebrows. Dark, shaggy, and unkempt, it reminded her a little bit of how she liked to keep her hair just as messy, rarely combing it or worrying about if a strand were out of place. His face was narrow, sharp, and exceptionally masculine, matching well with his red eyes. He towered over her as he stood, though a little bit hunched, his rather prominent muscles giving him an air of intimidation and ferocity. But, his eyes, once again she would wander back to his eyes, how they were precisely the opposite of what his body language implied. They were calm, observant, and highly intelligent. It seemed difficult to believe that a Zith would be so interested to read and learn, just as he appeared to be, but one deep look into his eyes could truly tell otherwise. They seemed very different, they seemed much more civilized.

"You are here for the same reason?" Shadowfang inquired. She blushed even harder as she realized that she had been looking too long and too often at his eyes, immediately resorting to gazing at the floor in order to save her burning cheeks. "Th-that's nice," Andalusia replied softly, her eyes threatening to shut tightly in embarrassment, "y-yes, I come h-here to read and l-learn, as well. I-It's very peaceful h-here, compared to... outside." She watched as Shadowfang proceeded to sit down and immerse himself in the book he had in his hands just a few moments ago. Books were a lot like walls, when they were interesting and intriguing enough, forming themselves around you and blocking off any semblance of reality. Your senses tend to become dull, and even shut off, when a book is so beautiful that you simply must breathe within it, instead of just simply reading it. Andalusia turned to her favorite section, where the shelves had no labels, yet the books were filled with so many stories of far off lands and wondrous places. Some destinations, she knew of, such as Zeltiva and Syliras, but others, she did not. Occasionally, she would assume that the lot of them were just stories, fiction weaved from the unanswerable questions of man. But, judging from the things she had read about before, and the things she was experiencing now, could they all possibly be real?

"Perhaps these are not story books... They are... History books," she thought silently to herself, her eyes scanning the many dust-covered, bounded pages and their barely decipherable titles. Gingerly, she picked out a thin red hardbound and opened it, looking over the blank front page with a little shrug. "Haven't seen this one before," she mused, flipping the first few pages as she made her way into a seat right next to Shadowfang. "E... E-Ethae...fal?" she mouthed the word as she read it, her eyes widening more and more as the information in the book began to sink into her mind. She couldn't even pronounce the race's name properly, she wasn't sure, but the things written on the book were what had her jaw slacken. "Born... again?" she looked up for a moment and wondered, "is there an... after... life?"

OOCI think we should stay in the library a little longer, if you don't mind.

[Shadowfang]

The utter enthrallment that Shadowfang found in simple words on pages was almost ridiculous. He was so taken by what he was reading that he barely noticed Andalusa taking a seat next to him. The more he read, absorbing the information like a sponge, the more questions he asked. Only, there was no one around who could answer them. Of all the gods and goddesses the book taught him about, his favorites were Akajia and Leth, harbingers of shadows and darkness. Darkness was a soothing thing for him. Many people feared the dark and the beings that lurked within it, but Shadowfang could be considered to be one of those lurking things, and he felt right at home in such an environment.

He stood, finished with his reading, and put the book back on the shelf. As discretely as possible, he pulled his journal out and scribbled down the names of the two goes and what they controlled, trying his hardest to hide his actions from the woman at the desk. Scanning the shelves once more, he grabbed a loosely-bound, green book and a thinner, blue book and turned back once more to sit down next to Andalusa. He opened the loosely-bound book to its first page. The brittle pages almost ripped and fell out as he flipped through them for the book was very old. This on was a story of fantasy, it seemed, telling the tale of a human male slaying giant monsters and saving a princess who was trapped in a castle. The black-and-white nature of the story was almost comical; annoyingly so.

Laying the storybook to the side, he picked up the blue book next. He was surprised and intrigued to find that the subject of the book was his own race. As he read, his surprise and amusement grew. The book was doing a very good job at over exaggerating the terrifying facts about Zith, but at the same time, was able to highlight anything halfway "benevolent." Shadowfang heaved an inward sigh. There was nothing of use here. Reading the first book and half of the second had been an utter waste of time. He took this chance to glance over at Andalusa, who was completely absorbed in whatever it was that she was reading, and examine the woman for what seemed like the hundredth time. 

He only saw her profile, but that was enough. The redness of her blush was still lingering on her pale cheeks. Hair as black as his own fell around her shoulders and face in messy knots and curls. Even in the dimness of the library, her bright, emerald eyes seemed to be sparkling as they scanned across the pages of her book. His eyes moved up and down her body, from the hooded cloak, to the strange, tight shirt-thing she wore, to the black boots on her feet. He could not place why, but Andalusa was rapidly becoming far more interesting than the books. He quickly averted his gaze and went to grab another book from the shelves, immediately sitting back down to read it, but he could no longer concentrate. His gaze kept shifting from the words he was not comprehending, to the girl sitting next to him.