52nd of Winter, 513.
The sun slowly set over the Nykan landscape, bathing the red city in an amber hue that only seemed to enhance every inch of colour until the city itself was the deepest blood-crimson that the squirrel had ever seen. He was currently sitting on one of the higher buildings scattered loosely around the cityscape, perched upon the edge of the highest peak of the slanting roof and with his legs spread to either side, straddling the building itself as he sprawled backwards against a chimney. His paws acted as a makeshift pillow and folded behind his head. It was a good day - although the squirrel found himself almost sad that it had to end here. And it did. He'd been told more than several times by not only citizens and friends but the monks too, to never go outside at night. For whatever reason he couldn't fathom but he decided that it was better not to ask and not to do it. He didn't want to get involved with whatever strange things happened with monks at night. However...
He'd been getting a lot done these past few days. He deserved some time off, didn't he? Monks and others were getting a bit happier with him around! They seemed more accustomed to his presence and... most of all, he wanted to know what would happen after all. What did the monks do in the night that they didn't want anyone to see - did they withhold some ancient secret from the rest of Nyka and the world that they didn't want anyone else to see? It seemed that nobody would be allowed out past dark, like some strange curfew. But the squirrel wouldn't be daunted by such things. He could blend into the darkness seamlessly.. he could sneak all over the city and find out what it was that these monks did. In fact, he could follow them.
As the light slowly faded and the amber light faded away into darkness, even the sky clouding over as its colour washed away into black and deep blues, the squirrel refused to move - if only to watch, carefully, as the monks below went about their final business. Nykan citizens slipped away into the night until he could no longer see any of them, and even some of the monks disappeared as well. Some remained, though - few scouting the walls and the streets. Few that he could follow, as long as he was careful. And as long as he used the rooftops, that could provide a wide view over most of the area and with his small body, he could barely hear the noises he made himself when he jumped from one stone roof to the next. His clay feet only clacked briefly, and even then the sound was muted whenever his clay softened. One of the main issues would be the shadows.. since it was difficult to hide those things. Though, since he was rodent-sized and rodent-shaped, perhaps they'd really misinterpret him for a squirrel or otherwise.
Nevertheless, he picked his target and immediately begun a quiet run after the monk. The cloud and the reigning dark made it difficult for the squirrel to see the monk... but that also meant that it'd be difficult for the monk to see the squirrel, and for that he was happy. In fact, going at such a slow pace over the rooftops almost made the thing too easy. There was no fast pace to keep up with because the monk just strolled along casually - almost as if there was nothing for him to do at all. And that meant that all he had to do was make a quick jump over the rooftop whenever the man wasn't looking his way. And that was just too easy. The only difficulty came when the monk moved off towards one of the bridges - one leading off into the West that he couldn't recall at that moment - and the squirrel found himself forced to depart from his rooftops in favour of the ground. He had to scamper right across the bridge with the hopes that nobody would notice him. After all, being caught near the middle of the city and essentially breaking an unspoken curfew was bound to get him chased out.
The sun slowly set over the Nykan landscape, bathing the red city in an amber hue that only seemed to enhance every inch of colour until the city itself was the deepest blood-crimson that the squirrel had ever seen. He was currently sitting on one of the higher buildings scattered loosely around the cityscape, perched upon the edge of the highest peak of the slanting roof and with his legs spread to either side, straddling the building itself as he sprawled backwards against a chimney. His paws acted as a makeshift pillow and folded behind his head. It was a good day - although the squirrel found himself almost sad that it had to end here. And it did. He'd been told more than several times by not only citizens and friends but the monks too, to never go outside at night. For whatever reason he couldn't fathom but he decided that it was better not to ask and not to do it. He didn't want to get involved with whatever strange things happened with monks at night. However...
He'd been getting a lot done these past few days. He deserved some time off, didn't he? Monks and others were getting a bit happier with him around! They seemed more accustomed to his presence and... most of all, he wanted to know what would happen after all. What did the monks do in the night that they didn't want anyone to see - did they withhold some ancient secret from the rest of Nyka and the world that they didn't want anyone else to see? It seemed that nobody would be allowed out past dark, like some strange curfew. But the squirrel wouldn't be daunted by such things. He could blend into the darkness seamlessly.. he could sneak all over the city and find out what it was that these monks did. In fact, he could follow them.
As the light slowly faded and the amber light faded away into darkness, even the sky clouding over as its colour washed away into black and deep blues, the squirrel refused to move - if only to watch, carefully, as the monks below went about their final business. Nykan citizens slipped away into the night until he could no longer see any of them, and even some of the monks disappeared as well. Some remained, though - few scouting the walls and the streets. Few that he could follow, as long as he was careful. And as long as he used the rooftops, that could provide a wide view over most of the area and with his small body, he could barely hear the noises he made himself when he jumped from one stone roof to the next. His clay feet only clacked briefly, and even then the sound was muted whenever his clay softened. One of the main issues would be the shadows.. since it was difficult to hide those things. Though, since he was rodent-sized and rodent-shaped, perhaps they'd really misinterpret him for a squirrel or otherwise.
Nevertheless, he picked his target and immediately begun a quiet run after the monk. The cloud and the reigning dark made it difficult for the squirrel to see the monk... but that also meant that it'd be difficult for the monk to see the squirrel, and for that he was happy. In fact, going at such a slow pace over the rooftops almost made the thing too easy. There was no fast pace to keep up with because the monk just strolled along casually - almost as if there was nothing for him to do at all. And that meant that all he had to do was make a quick jump over the rooftop whenever the man wasn't looking his way. And that was just too easy. The only difficulty came when the monk moved off towards one of the bridges - one leading off into the West that he couldn't recall at that moment - and the squirrel found himself forced to depart from his rooftops in favour of the ground. He had to scamper right across the bridge with the hopes that nobody would notice him. After all, being caught near the middle of the city and essentially breaking an unspoken curfew was bound to get him chased out.