Quest The Merry Chase

[Elysium]

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The Azure Market was packed, a sea of bodies littering every shop and byway. Walking was treacherous in the crowded areas, so more casual shoppers lingered behind. In one particular alley, a man stood selling produce from the Sharai, waving starfruit wildly in the air. ”Half-off,” he cried, turning it this way and that. The cadre of women gathered all burst into outrage, attempting to haggle him down. ”It’s got spots!” One cried, fists balling in her many skirts. ”Look, the end is misshapen! What a rip-off,” the other sang. It was tradition for women to harangue the local shopkeepers and they did so with glee, whittling the poor man down to almost no kina at all.

Everything seemed relatively normal that morning. The sun was radiant in the sky, tempering the mountain chill with blessed heat. Everything was serene. That was, until the young ruffian shoved a woman at the flank, knocking her off-balance. ”Eh!” The matron cried. ”Watch yourself, ya hooligan!” But after a moment’s consideration, her expression changed. ”Wait!” She began to scream after the boy retreating into the crowd. ”You little thief! That kid stole my coin purse!” This of course, was enough to set all the women into collective apoplexy. They all began to stomp and shout, but were unable to pass into the sea of bodies.

”Thief!” They began to shout, hoping to attract one of the local Shinya. ”There’s been a thief!” Petty crime was difficult to trace, but not in the face of Zintila’s guardians. ”Someone stop him!” With an accusing finger, the victim pointed toward a sudden gap in the marketplace. ”I see him! Right there!” The others clamored around her. The boy was dirty and disheveled and struggled forward, desperate to be out of sight.

The shopkeep began shouting too, though his voice was lost amidst all the others. People along the main thoroughfare became alarmed, eyeing those around them with concern. It was quite a commotion for a simple summer’s day. Only, there was one person really paying attention, one who really saw. It was up to her, to put things back as they once had been.

Operia took a step forward, but a firm hand cautioned her back. ”Let’s just watch and see how she does,” he said.
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[Ai Shou]

Ai hadn't planned on being in the roots of a sprouting chase when she had awoken this morning. She hadn't thought that she'd have much of a choice between watching and chasing. She had started off her day picking out a nice, plump mellon to purchase from the stalls when the bandit had first taken flight. Her keen eyes flicked towards the bandit just as he managed to swindle the older woman out of her coinpurse. Her mind wanted to laugh and watch, but her body had other plans. Out of instinct, she flicked a golden Miza, which was nearly four times the price of one of his melons, to the stall owner before taking a few steps back and realizing there was a throng of people in her way. She needed another venue to catch up with the rapidly departing thief. She hadn't noticed the Shinya watching her act, but that didn't stop her from dashing up and using the stall as a leaping point to launch herself onto the side of a building. She'd done this many times and had perfected her grip to be fleet and agile as she used her acrobatic abilities to bend herself at the waist with such force that when she kicked off the wall, she did a full 270-degree flip onto her feet on top of the rooftop. She stumbled slightly before regaining her balance and taking off on the rooftops of Lhavit like she did each night. The wind blew in her face as she crossed one rooftop after another, nearing a break in the line of the rooftops where another street intersected the street the thief was running down."Stop!"She cried, speeding up as she neared the intersection of the rooftops. Her body lurched and her stomach dropped as she realized it was a near ten-foot leap across onto an overhanging window. She swallowed heavily and dashed towards the edge, kicking off and flying over towards the other side. She had gained some distance by the time she leaped, so when she hit -- and then went through -- the window, she knew she could take some time to recover. She slammed into the window pane, shattering it into a million pieces as she tumbled through, into the living room of the building and narrowly missing the table that tried to trip her up. An older man sat in a chair, staring at her in awe."Uhh... sorry about the window. I'll send you some Mizas later to pay for it... sorry!"She said hastily before dashing out of the living room and down a set of stairs, flying out the front door again and turning to look at the approaching thief. A spark lit up her mind as he neared and she pulled out the melon from her pouch and hefted it much like a ball. Just have to aim... She thought, moments before he came in range. As soon as she had a direct line-of-sight to her, she lobbed the melon underhanded at the man, hoping to hit his legs and trip him up before he could get a chance to slide to a stop and run another way.

[Elysium]

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The crowd gave way, people openly gaping in astonishment as the girl propelled herself to the rooftops. ”Oh my!” An observer cried, dropping an armload of turnips. ”Is she a Shinya?” The murmurs began. ”I don’t think so. I’ve never seen her in uniform.” Before long she'd collected an audience, watching her in awe. ”That’s Ai Shou, I’d know her anywhere!”

”Ai Shou, huh.” The man bore a naked head and typical street clothes, yet he carried himself with authority. ”What do you make of that Operia?” His counterpart, a lithe brunette with sharp brown eyes, merely shrugged. ”I was doing that when I was still a little maid. Let’s see if she can actually stop him.” He laughed, a throaty baritone. ”Sounds like you’re interested.” She looked at him balefully. ”I think we should wait and see.”

The boy had counted himself lucky. When the market was crowded, it was easy money for the taking. Only the initiates patrolled dayside. Throwing the purse into the air, he snickered. That was, until the first melon struck him squarely on the backside. Wheeling around, he spied a comely young girl with fury in her eyes, running right toward him. What a pain in the arse. It was better to run however so he did, his feet finding the ground in a flurry. It’d be better to avoid a fight – especially with a pretty lady.

Without a second thought, he peeled off toward another alleyway, moving at a breakneck pace. There was no time to see if she followed; he wove around a curve, finding another and another again. What was this, a petching maze? Suddenly unsure of himself, he froze at a corner, unable to see either way. It was all or nothing and he could still hear the cascade of footsteps, uncomfortably nearby. Finally he shot to the left and his heart sank.

A dead-end.

It was the pickpocket’s nightmare. His heart raced. But wait – who the hell was she to be afraid of? He hadn’t seen if she was armed, but it was no matter. Unsheathing his short blade, he swaggered over to meet her. Who cared about some little Lhavitian girl?

”Looks like he’s cornered,” Operia mused, leaping from one roof to the next. ”She made a mess of that window,” Alarset's rangy physique nearly walked over each gap. ”Quick on her feet though. Didn’t you say she was local?” Operia nodded wearily. ”An orphan, I think. Too many of those about. She looks pretty self-reliant.” Alarset chuckled. ”I’d say.”
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[Ai Shou]

The melon struck a little higher than she had anticipated, striking the kid in the back. Before she had a chance to celebrate, she saw the kid dart off down an alleyway. Damn it... she silently cursed her bad aim, taking off after the kid. He had bolted down an alleyway. An alleyway she recognized. She grinned as she dashed quickly after the kid, turning when he did and trailing only a few dozen feet behind the kid. He had pushed past a by-stander in order to turn down another alleyway, one Ai remembered leading to a dead end. Got you. She snarkily commented before she realized she was running too fast to turn the corner without hitting the wall on the other side. She made a last-minute decision and leaped to the right, planting both feet onto the wall on the other side of the alley entrance with less than five feet to go. She would have to do this correctly or she could easily kill herself against the side of the wall. Before her momentum caused her to topple over, she released her kinetic energy gathered from running and leaped straight at the alley's enterance, the fourty-five degree jump striking correctly and her palms struck first the way a cat might, her feet following slowly after. She leaped from the wall and rolled, feeling the katana strapped under her shirt strain slightly. The weapon was concealed so only the hilt was visible at some points. She finally came to a stop and looked up, then felt her heart drop into her stomach. She had put up a brave front through the entire process, but she never put thought to there being steel involved. The kid had a blade and looked confident with it. True, Ai also had a katana slipped into her shirt, but it was peace-bound having been unused since her parents died in a fire. Fear began to swell up in her stomach as the kid approached, her hand instinctively reached to pull the katana -- sheathe and all -- out of its holding place. He wanted a fight and she couldn't back out now. That would be a blow not only to her own self-esteem, but to the memory of her father, who had given her the blade a week before their house burned down. "You've... committed a crime. Surrender the purse you stole or..."Or what? She'd stab him? She'd not held her father's blade in her hands for a long while, the weight of the blade heavy in her hands. She could feel her legs shake as she forced herself to her feet. She really couldn't picture herself hurting another without a just cause, but even self-defense was something she was weary about. She held the blade backwards, so the blade was pointed downwards in a defensive position so that she could block his first attack if he chose to make a move. "Please, just... surrender. I don't want to hurt you."

[Elysium]

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”Hurt me?” The kid gave a derisive snort. ”I doubt you could touch me.” In reality however, he was afraid. Not of her but of failure, of being humiliated by a girl. It was irrational. Just nerves. He repeated this mantra over and over again, quelling the stabs of anxiety in the pit of his belly. With a steely ring, his blade came free and holding the point low, he stalked forward.

”That jump was risky,” Operia shook her head. ”She could very easily have died, right there.” They both looked upon the scene from an adjacent rooftop, skyglass shimmering in the horizon’s fading light. ”Evening came quickly,” he mused in return, staring impassively toward the sun. She merely nodded, watching as the duel began to unfold.

With a clumsy swing, he attempted to hit the girl with the flat side of the blade. It came down too low and clattered against stone, the din echoing along the alleyway. Wincing, he staggered back, attempting to regroup. He’d always relied on evasion rather than confrontation. Unable to hold his focus, he maneuvered to the side.

Then he saw the katana. ”I bet you can’t even wield that thing.” Perhaps if he taunted her, she would give in… But in truth, seeing her jump from the wall had him spooked. What if she was a protector, off-duty? Those Shinya freaks had lives too, evidently. ”You a Shinya?” He spat. ”Petching goody two-shoes, is that it? Gonna turn me into the Seiza, get my fingers chopped off?” He clucked his tongue. ”I bet. You don’t know what it’s like to live on the streets.”

Note: Ai Shou receives the penalty of a twisted ankle for landing too hard. Remember that your acrobatics is only competent. Nothing too fancy.
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[Ai Shou]

Ai saw the blade swing by her face and strike the ground just quick enough to pull her head back away, eyes wide in fear. This kid is crazy! she thought to herself, her heartbeat begining to pick up. She began to stand up before the pain from her sprained ankle wracked her legs, causing them to give out. Damn it... damn it all... she whimpered a bit, the fear of getting sliced open by the kid with the blade mixing with the already present pain from her ankle. Then the child spoke of the Shinya, leaving Ai somewhat confused. She had heard and even seen the law enforcement, but she'd always thought of them to be the bad guys. After all, she wasn't exactly the sweetest orphan on the block. She'd had a run-in or two with the Shinya before and she did not like them one bit. She could relate to how the boy felt about the law-keepers, but she had still made a vow to a friend of hers to keep out of trouble and stop her naughty ways. She lifted her head with a determined, if not intimidating, glare."I can assure you that I am no Shinya. I am Ai Shou, orphan of Lhavit. And I am no 'goody two-shoes'."She said in the darkest voice she could muster through the pain as she lifted herself onto her feet, being careful to shift her weight off of her sprained ankle. Then, she began to un-wind the peace-bind cloth that held the katana in its sheath. Her eyes were hard and a cold grey color, no longer the vibrant pink that they had been before. She looked like a changed woman, all the memories of having to live on the streets and having to survive in ways that many could barely imagine flooding back to her. The steel came loose as Ai drew the blade, holding the sheath in her left hand and the blade in her right, point leaned towards the child. "I have lived a life of pain and suffering. I witnessed my house burn down and heard the cries of my parents as their flesh melted away and their bones charred. For years, I took up the life of a street urchin, doing what I must to survive. I've had run-ins with the Shinya before. I am no saint. And I will not hesitate to kill you if you persist in your efforts. Drop the bag and run home or suffer."

[Elysium]

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”House fire?” Operia frowned. Wildfires were not uncommon along the mountainside, but Lhavit’s unique construction methods prevented it from happening in the city proper. ”Arson, then?” Alarset nodded gravely, his eyes never leaving the girl’s figure. ”She’s hurt,” he observed. ”You see the slight limp there? Looks like she landed it wrong.” The two mysterious figures still kept their distance, but both were poised and ready to intervene.

The thief was stunned by her rebuke, put off-balance. It didn’t help that her eyes kept changing – really changing, color and all. They were suddenly a stormy grey, cold and resolute. He couldn’t help but think of his own death. She was from the streets, too… What if she had killed before? What if she needed the money he had? New questions whirled about his suddenly confused brain. ”Get back,” he growled in a low tone, shuffling further to the side. If he struck all at once, maybe he’d catch her off guard. It was worth a shot. Plus, she was still just a girl. Steeling himself, he snapped his jaw shut.

The boy rushed forward, feet falling against the ground in heavy thuds. He bellowed while swinging out in an arc, aiming toward her midsection. It was sad, really. ”He’s going for intimidation. Look – he’s barely even trying.” Operia sighed. Street thugs were all the same, especially the young ones. The blade again fell short. ”Stupid bitch!” He cried, eyes wild. ”I said get back!”

”She appears to be a Vantha.” Operia looked at Alarset with incredulity. ”How can you even tell?” He shifted his weight. ”Her build. She is very true to the race. Also, her eyes. I caught a glimpse of them earlier and they appear to have changed color. That tends to happen with the natives of Avanthal.” The woman squinted at the two figures. ”When they said you have hawk-eyes, they weren’t kidding.”
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[Ai Shou]

He persists without reason to. She found herself thinking. To her, he appeared desperate, despite what he was aiming for. Ai flinched, though, the blade twirling to block the blade, but missing when his strike went wide on its own. Depressing. She took a shaken breath and took a step forward, but instead of lashing out with the blade that was poised in front of her like her pose might suggest to be the next step in her attack, she spun, bringing the sheath, which was crafted from a hard, black leather, to bear against him. Her attack was aimed to push him back, not intending to truly strike or even harm him. "YOU get back!"She felt herself yell at the boy, an anger rising up in herself as her eyes went from that calm, serene grey to a bloody red. Her emotions boiled inside of her, her cheeks coloring red from frustration and her eyes watering from memories long past. "It's because of people like you that my parents are dead."Her voice bubbled out in a hurt yell. She had supressed these kinds of angry feelings for most of her life. She felt her arms weaken as her head slumped down slightly. She began to exhume an angry air that was torn between sorrow, regret and revenge."And as long as I live, I will no longer allow cretins like you to harm people, whether through violence or through theft."And then she struck out, clumsily aiming the blade towards his left shoulder in an outward strike, aiming to stab him straight through his shoulder. She had a fierce determination in her eyes, which were still that bloody crimson shade of red, as she struck, but something about how she loosely gripped the blade and how she poised herself after the strike denoted that she wasn't aiming to kill him, only hinder his health. Lhavit will know my fury.

[Elysium]

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Ai’s attack struck true, the boy frozen in shock as her blade plunged forth into his shoulder. He let forth a strangled cry, somewhere between a sob and a yelp. He’d underestimated her, all right. Who knew that some girl from the street would be willing to actually stab him? ”You’re crazy!” He frantically scrambled away. ”Take your petching kina!” Disgusted, he cast the coin purse to the ground and gripped the gushing wound. ”I can’t believe.. You stupid…” Tears began to stream from his eyes. ”You’ll pay for this!

”That’s enough.”

With otherworldly grace, Alarset descended from his vantage point, dancing from wall to wall. Operia came shortly after, bracing herself against a ledge. The thief seemed to recognize the newcomers and true panic surfaced in his eyes. Blind with fright, he attempted to flank around, initiating yet another fruitless attempt at escape.

”Watch, child.” Alarset hovered over Ai Shou protectively. Operia shut her eyes, implacable calm washing over her form. As if grabbed by an invisible hand, the thief was abruptly lifted from his feet. He kicked wildly, struggling against an unseeable force. ”Do you surrender?” She echoed forth. Now openly crying, the young boy submitted. ”Yes, yes! Please…” Gingerly, he was lowered to the ground. ”We’ll be taking you for holding on the Shinyama.” She explained, suddenly flexing her right arm. ”If you’re cooperative, they might even rehabilitate you.”

Alarset smiled. ”Now, as for you.” He turned to face the young Vantha. ”You have pain in your heart. It led you to strike, which was a mistake. There are many ways to subdue an opponent without bloodshed.” He looked her up and down speculatively. He was a tall, paternal figure with shoulders fit to block out the sky. His aquiline features softened considerably when looking upon Ai Shou. ”You remind me of Zintila’s daughter, with eyes like skyglass in the sun.”

Operia chimed in. ”You fought fiercely. You have potential, girl. But there is much to learn if you choose the path of the warrior. You might choose that path.” Sighing, she gestured toward the exit. ”We’ll talk, perhaps. Will you follow us to the Shinyama?”
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[Ai Shou]

Ai felt her heart literally leap from her chest when the strike actually dig into the kid's shoulder. It was then that all her anger washed away and with it, her eyes drained of color, turning silver in fear of what might happen next. She hadn't noticed the two onlookers, but when Alarset spoke, a shiver ran up her spine and she immediately froze, flipping the blade around and swiftly sheathing it. She turned to watch the man descend from the rooftops in a much more graceful way than she had... as a matter of fact, she hadn't really descended anyhow. She had taken out an old man's window just to save herself from crashing into a wall. But when the man spoke to her, she felt the strength in her arms and legs wither away. She couldn't bring herself to do anymore than look on with her eyes as the kid was hefted into the sky by nothing. It was awe inspiring and Ai's mouth even gaped slightly in surprise at the child's swift surrender. There's a power I've not got... She thought to herself, frowning. Her eyes turned the dark shade of purple of the midnight panther's coat as her eyes dropped to the ground, ashamed. She knew that she should have let the Shinya deal with the kid, after all, they seemed to have been on their tail the entire time. That's when things went from worse to horrid. The man who descended like an angel from the skies had turned to her and began to berate her about her past and what she did wrong. That wasn't the worst of it, though. He did so with a smile that seemed to be rather condescending to her and she could feel an anger rising up, but it was quickly quelled when he spoke of another child. Zintila? The name rung no bells in Ai's mind and she felt her lips curl into a frown when Operia chimed in. "I don't want to be a Shinya."She replied quietly, but with a stern tone that was more aimed towards herself than Alarset or Operia."Dealing with the Shinya got my parents killed."She stated with slightly hurt tone, as if she was recalling the night her parents were killed in the house fire. Still, she hadn't said no to going with them to Shinyama, which she assumed was unneeded. If they wanted her to follow, she'd have little choice.