Completed City Hunter (Raven)

[Aren]

Nyka, Celestial Quarter: 62nd of Spring, 513 AV - Ninth Bell Aren had been keeping track, in a matter of speaking, of the pilferer's movements for a few days now. He had know where she was at all times, assuming she had not found someone to sell his Lakan to, but the Akalak had seen her flee a horde of Yukmen most expertly. With that in mind, he was not inclined to allow her to likewise give him the slip; when he confronted her, it would be on his terms, not her's. A couple of days ago, Aren had sensed her in a place he had visited just hours earlier: The Warfields. The place was a maze of stone designed for training, but getting out successfully was also part of the challenge. Unfortunately, that day he had been too tired to do anything about it, but it had given him an idea. If he confronted her at the maze, she might think it a good hiding place, and willingly trap herself inside. Of course, it would be just that, if the Akalak wasn't always aware of her exact position. Additionally, being a maze and all, it would make successfully evading him much more difficult, considering the advantage he held. Sadly, she hadn't returned to the maze since then, and Aren found himself deciding that he couldn't afford to wait any longer. She might eventually find someone to actually buy the Lakan (which might complicate matters), and he wanted to get back the money she had stolen as well, assuming she had any left. Taking only a sheepskin of water with him, Aren ventured into the city in search of his prey, leaving all extraneous encumbrances behind at the Hostel. Neither his scythe nor his pack accompanied him on this adventure, as he needed to be as nimble as possible for whatever might happen. They wouldn't have served him any good anyway, as the warrior had no intention of killing his quarry, and the pack would just have more things for her to steal. Actually, Aren thought about dealing with her right at the Hostel, since he could tell she was staying there just like him, but that might not have been a good idea. The administrator was a cantankerous female monk who didn't tolerate any shenanigans, and since the likelihood of a commotion breaking out was high, the Akalak decided against confronting his thief there. Being large, muscular blue men who usually towered over most other people, it was generally difficult for one of Aren's kind to go unnoticed anywhere other than Riverfall. This being the case, he knew that catching the girl he was looking for by surprise would be an unlikelihood he simply couldn't rely on; she'd see him coming a mile away, but in turn, he'd immediately know if she tried to run. And so, the game was afoot, as Aren headed straight towards the location of his Lakan.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Another day in the city of Nyka and Raven was currently walking through the city, lost in thought and with no pre-determined destination. This new life of hers wasn't turning out to be as great as she'd hoped, although that was not to say it had been uneventful. Her purpose for leaving Syliras so suddenly was in hopes of finding excitement, adventure and most importantly riches. She had experienced excitement and adventure, but not so much the riches part, her biggest 'earning' being the sixty mizas that she'd stolen from a blue akalak man on route to Nyka...Oh and of course the hooked blade that was currently strapped to her back. Raven was hoping that the blade would attract someone's attention as she explored the city and that she'd be able to sell it but that was proving rather difficult. She rubbed her left shoulder, wincing slightly as the pain reminded her of her experience only a few days earlier. She had gotten the bruise trying to steal from a rather large man while in The Warfields...at night. Unfortunately for her, the maze had it's own plans and so she got cornered at a dead end, being a perfect example of being stuck between a rock and a hard place. She had lost the 'fight' with the large man and had only barely escaped, but hey...things could have been worse. As she neared one of the many bridges in Nyka which connected the one sector to another, she noticed something, or rather someone that made her freeze in her tracks. There, heading in her direction was someone she'd hoped she would never see again, the giant blue akalak man that had saved her from the horde of Yukmen, more importantly, the person who's mizas and hooked blade she had stolen and now had ON her. She'd decided to leave everything but the blade and coin purse in her room at the lodge and that had proven a terrible idea. "Shyke! What are the odds!?" Raven had hoped to disappear before he noticed her but his gaze was already upon her. She took a deep breath forcing herself to calm down as their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity and she knew she had to escape. With nothing but a smirk and a wink, Raven was gone from sight, having ducked behind a passing civilian and headed to the nearest alternate path. Once she was sure the akalak's line of sight was obstructed by a building she broke into a sprint, turning at random corners. She had no idea where she was going but it didn't matter, she needed to get away from her pursuer who was no doubt, NOT happy about being stolen from. She had just recently faced off with another large man and all she had to show for it was a bruise and that was because of sheer luck. As she ran Raven could hear a commotion in the distance, he was following her, she knew it, although she had no idea how he knew where she was going. After darting through unfamiliar streets and dodging innocent pedestrians for several chimes Raven found herself at the entrance of The Warfields. "What? No, not again!" she said, not wanting a repeat of the other day, but she had no doubt the akalak man was still chasing her and so, like a fool she ran into the large maze. Perhaps her luck would be better this time...she could only hope.

[Aren]

It wasn't too long before they were face to face with one another, and when their eyes met, Aren was forced to suppress the urge to smile. As long as she was in possession of that dagger, there would be nowhere for her to hide. She could run to the ends of the world, and he would still be able to follow her there. "Do-" Aren tried to say, but the thief was off to the races, with a provocative wink, before he could even finish the first word of his sentence. Immediately, he darted after her of course, using his knowledge of her position to take the most efficient route possible. Eventually, the Akalak found himself tracking her right to the Warfields; he couldn't believe his luck, but he was definitively determined to make the best of this opportunity. Pushing himself to the top of the walls, he wasn't particularly interested in traversing the entirety of the labyrinth via conventional means. "Good thing these walls weren't designed with Akalaks in mind," He grumbled as he clambered up to, and sat atop, the horizontal edge of one of the corridors. From there, he could see the path the girl was taking, even if he couldn't actually see her. Carefully getting to his feet, Aren cautiously steadied himself as he cheated his way towards his prey. The task was actually rather slow going, as the warrior was not particularly adept at balancing acts, but the ability to bypass the maze was invaluable. "Woah..." The Akalak grunted, nearly losing his footing on more than one occassion, causing him to suspect that this might not have been the greatest idea he'd ever had. Eventually, however, he managed to close the distance between them. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want my stuff back!" He shouted after her, trying to end this chase before things got out of hand. Since he wasn't a fool (or at least not one so great), however, Aren produced a relatively small amount of Res around his left hand. It was just a safety precaution, in case she threw anything at him which might cause him to tumble from his perch.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven had been running through this maze for a short while now, there was no way that he could have followed her, right? But she was greatly mistaken. Just as she'd begun to slow down to a minor jog she heard his voice and began running again. His voice sounded as if it came from somewhere above, he was using the tactic she had used just a few days ago in order to escape against her! "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want my stuff back!" What stuff? I don't know what you're talking about! Raven replied in a rather jolly voice, she may have been in danger but she was enjoying the chase. She turned back and sure enough there was the akalak man moving along the walls although not very proficiently. Size clearly had it's disadvantages since even the one meter thick walls(which had been ample space for Raven) seemed too narrow for the akalak man. As she ran on, a smile still on her face Raven decided to use his unsteady-ness to her advantage. She spotted and scooped up a small fist sized rock from the ground and threw it at the blue man in hopes of derailing her pursuer, she was tired of running so that had to have worked. She ran on for a short while more before taking several random turns and stopping dead in her tracks, pressing her back to one of the walls stealthily. Raven hoped he'd lose track of her as she stood there, quietly catching her breath.

[Aren]

Aren, of course, did not believe a word the thief said. More than that, he knew for a fact that she was lying right to his face. You couldn't steal a Lakan and expect that there was any doubt in the owner's mind, having found you, that you weren't the person who had stolen it. "Why are you running then?!" The Akalak retorted, even as his quarry continued her flight, with him trailing not too far behind her. It was difficult to chase someone while jumping across such narrow perches, at least for someone like him, but Aren seemed pleased to be doing as well as he was. Unfortunately, when the thief in question decided to throw a rock at him, the situation did not seem as dandy as a moment ago. Forgetting about the defense he had prepared for just such an occasion, the Akalak instinctively ducked in order to avoid being hit by his prey's attempt to slow him down. In so doing, he nearly lost his balance to the point where his foot almost came right off the stone, causing a small palpitation in his heart. At his size and this height, it would NOT have been a pretty fall. "That woman has nearly gotten us killed TWICE now!" Seros pointed out, bemoaning the fact that his brother had saved her in the first place. "I'm aware..." Aren replied, forced to acknowledge his Other's point. "Both times because you just HAD to play the hero. Next time she's in range, you should blast her in whatever part of her body is most convenient, take back our stuff, and leave," Seros advised, in his normal, rather merciless, completely serious tone. Sighing, the Akalak didn't even know how to respond to something like that, and so elected to simply ignore his brother's brutal suggestion. Unfortunately, the twin souls had come to an agreement just the day before. If Aren took too long solving any particular problem, Seros would then get a chance, as long as he'd abide by certain ground rules. One of these rules was reacting appropriately to the situation, which would mean that he would not be able to put his own suggestion into practice. That being said, this didn't mean that if his darker brother got a turn, that the thief would get away with the same slap on the wrist Aren would give her. At the very least, Seros would insist on taking ALL of her money, as compensation for the trouble she had caused. Then again, Aren might insist on that too, if she continued to prove herself such a nuisance. Once again tracking the girl down, the hunter now stood just opposite the wall that she had elected to pin herself against. There was no attempt at stealth by the giant, instead electing to present himself before his quarry in the hopes that she would realize that she couldn't escape him. "I'm a mage, thief. You can't hide from me," Coalescing the Res he had produced into a spherical construct above his palm, Aren was hoping she didn't know much about magic. If she didn't, maybe he could bluff her into giving up before things got too outta hand. In the back of his mind, though, out of sigh of conscious thoughts and emotions, it was almost like he didn't want her to give up. Maybe it was because the thrill of a good chase was such a rare thing, or maybe it was simply because he was bored. Either way, Aren found himself unconsciously suppressing that same smile he almost revealed when they had encountered each other earlier today.

[Raven Nightfoot]

"Why are you running then?!" came the large man's voice from behind as their game of cat and mouse continued. Raven still had a smile on her face as she ran, "Maybe I just like being chased!" she shouted back in a teasing yet playful tone. She had no idea whether or not her improvised projectile had done any good in swaying the man's balance as she stood there back to the wall her chest expanding and contracting as she caught her breath. 'I must have lost him, right?' she thought to herself only to be rudely awoken from her delusion. Once again, there he was, standing above her with a small orb of some magic substance hovering above his palm. She felt a small pang of fear as she recalled what his spell had done to the Yukman horde back when he had saved her, she definitely didn't want to be smote, but then again how well could he aim within the maze. After finally catching her breath as she looked up at the large man who stood above on the already high walls of the Warfields. He towered over her, causing her to bend her neck as far back as it would go in order to see his face, "Thief is such a harsh word..." she teased as a sly smirk crossed her face and once again she was off, turning random corners as she ran. Left, right, straight, right...she took a corner only to be faced by a hooded figure, a monk who hadn't noticed her yet and slowly and quietly she turned around opting for a different path. The last thing she needed now was to be chased by another people. A few more chimes of running and Raven was now completely out of breath as she stopped to catch her breath, there was NO way he could still be following her, she had definitely lost him this time.

[Aren]

"Oh, would you prefer pilferer, or larc-" Before Aren could finish his witty retort, however, the girl had fled yet again, much to his annoyance. "Okay, that's starting to get irritating," The Akalak complained, before giving chase for the third time. He was starting to get a little more comfortable with his rooftop scrambling, as it where, but his balacne atop the walls still left much to be desired. Even so, the warrior managed to make good time in reaquiring his target, who seemed like she was finally being fatigued by the myriad twists and turns of the labyrinth. The fact that she kept moving erratically probably didn't do much for her stamina level, either. Aren, by contrast, took his time to very methodically close the gap between them, making sure not too waste too much energy, or take too many risk. After all, he knew she wasn't going anywhere. Even if she made it out of the maze in the next few chimes, she probably wouldn't have the strength to outrun him anymore. "What part of 'you can't hide from me', didn't you understand?" The Akalak stated, perched from a similar vantage point as before. A calculated grin decorated his face, meant to demonstrate absolute confidence in the veracity of his statement. The hunter could tell his prey was weakening; she was getting tired, and if he didn't give her any time to rest, she was bound to make a mistake. Knowing this though, Aren also knew that a cornered animal was sometimes the most dangerous beast there was. "Just give me what you took, and you never have to see me again," The Reimancer offered, thinking that most people generally valued their peace of mind over a little money and some trinkets, even criminals. At this point, his Res had adopted a more sedentary position around the Akalak's arm, but the substance's slight movements were a clear indication that it's control was an ever present demand on his mind.

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven was tired of this now, she had run for far too long and was now nearing the point of surrender. As she stopped once again to catch her breath she heard the akalak's voice come from above yet again. How was he doing it! It was impossible, unless he was using magic to track her. She looked up at him as he towered over her once more, he seemed to be very pleased with himself and barely tired at all. the magic substance that once was a floating sphere was now encasing his arm, Raven had seen him do this during the Yukman attack, although he had covered his scythe with it and set it alight but she assumed the idea was the same. "Just give me what you took, and you never have to see me again," "Oh, now I'm definitely not returning your things. I quite like having a stalker." she teased as she caught her breath once again and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms casually. "How are you doing that by the way? Is it magic?" she asked, generally curious as to how he was tracking her so accurately. She stayed in that position calmly as she smiled up at the man. "Okay, I'm tired of running,"

[Aren]

"I'm n-, I 'm not s-stalking you," Aren bemoaned, his honor feeling impugned by the statement. She was a thief, and he was chasing her down. There was absolutely no stalking of any kind involved in that. "Now, leave everything you took from me on the floor, and be about your business," The Akalak suggested, conveniently ignoring her question about how he had tracked her. There was no way he was giving her any information that did not specifically encourage her capitulation. "If you run again, I won't be responsible for your fate," He cautioned, as it was just about that time for Seros' turn to come up, so if his brother couldn't solve this problem here and now, things would soon turn much more unpleasant. Aren's darker side had all of his abilities, whilst being simultaneously devoid of any of his restraint. Because of the terms of his release, he wouldn't be able to really cut loose, but just the same he wasn't the type of person you wanted to get yourself involved with even under the best of circumstances. Extending his open palm towards the thief in question, the Reimancer's Res seemed to reform into a sphere once again. This time, however, it seemed to slowly be growing a little bit. Eventually, the circular mass was about a meter in total diameter, and it was obvious that any spell cast with that much Res had the potential to do significant damage. "You really don't want me to have to ask a second time," Aren threatened, although it was really more of a warning, because the next time it wouldn't be him at all who was asking..

[Raven Nightfoot]

Raven couldn't help but smile at the akalak man's reaction to being called a stalker, "I'm only teasing ,handsome." she said with a wink. It was clear that she had been caught but that didn't mean she couldn't have some fun. After all that running Raven had no intention of resuming her flight. So it seemed she had lost this one, oh well...at least it made for an eventful day and perhaps she could still find the silver lining. "Seems like there's always a lot of running when the two of us are involved." she said, pulling a stray stand of hair from her face. "If you run again, I won't be responsible for your fate," She was surprised more than anything else, under normal circumstances it would be expected for someone who has been robbed to threaten the thief, but because he had saved her life a few days ago Raven was slightly taken aback. She watched as the magic substance grew, forming an even larger, rather threatening looking ball. Although she was trying to look unconcerned she shifted uncomfortably as he spoke once again. "You really don't want me to have to ask a second time," Raven's gaze darted from his eyes to the large ball of magic and then back to their original position. She raised her hands in surrender as she spoke. "Hey, I said I was done running, there's no need for that. I thought we were friends.". She was being honest...this time at least. "You know, handsome...I don't believe you told me your name."