(OOC: This thread carries on from the events that occured in `Under A Silver Moon' and `Under A Silver Moon 2'. Anyone is welcome to join in this thread but I do ask that no one uses any highly powerful characters. I would also suggest reading the previous threads before joining in so that you can understand the setting, but it is by no means a requirement. Feel free to ally yourself with either Tatyana or Esharee, or neither if that's what you want.)


The two moons of Maxim were slowly relinquishing their grasp over the heavens, giving way to the brighter light of the sun. In the east the sky was turning a delicate shade of pink, almost as if it were a maiden blushing at a first kiss as the sun reached up with fingers of light. Flowers slowly turned their heads towards the light, unfurling their petals and looking towards the sun with their hearts that had been hidden through the colder night. In the outlaying farms men and women started out to the fields and the animal sheds, their days following the passage of the sun as beasts of the wild did. Birdsong cut through the air as the winged chorus sang their welcome to Intop.

The events of the previous night did not seem to affect the city as it rose from its sleep, unaware of what had happened. People opened their eyes and went the ritual of getting themselves ready for the day ahead. In a merchant's house a rich man rolled over to greet his wife's waking smile only to be met with the staring corpse of his beloved. In the poorest quarter of the city children went forth to fetch water from the well, only to find the corpse of one of their friends, her throat slit as though by the sharpest of knives. At the guardhouse fresh soldiers came to relieve their fellows only to find that the nightwatch had vanished without a clue as to what had befallen them..

Tatyana strode through the gates of the city out onto the road beyond, the blood of the young girl still filling her senses. The confused watchmen did not pay her even the slightest attention as they sought out their missing comrades, too busy with their concern to notice the fresh blood that covered the woman's clothes. In turn she did not turn her gaze towards them, knowing already that the nightwatch had met their end many hours before at the hands of the cruel assassin Esharee.

Every part of the wild woman screamed out that justice must be done, that Esharee must be forced to pay for the crimes that she had commited. Revenge for the child, for the merchant's wife, for the soldiers at their post, it had to be taken in their name. Justice...revenge...yes this felt right, almost as if it was part of that life that she had lost. Her memory was lost to her but still instincts tugged at her thoughts, whispering half-heard words and barely understood feelings to her.

A hunter, a taker of justice, a reaper of revenge, had she once been all these things? In that mist-covered time in her memory? Before her memories had started, before she had found herself battered and bloody and without a past? What had she been to have gotten herself into that state anyway?

From what she had learnt since venturing out into the lands it was most certainly not normal for people to wake up in the middle of nowhere with no memory of their past and apparently bleeding half to death. She could remember her confusion that day, still tasting it as though she was experiencing it for the first time all over again. She had opened her eyes, as innocent and as empty of thought as a newborn child, devoid of all knowledge as to why she was there or even who she was. Tatyana had looked down at herself and seen a body that had seemingly gone through a terrible battle. But had she lost or had she won?

When she had looked at her battered body that long ago day she had believed that she would die, that she had opened her eyes only to soon shut them again eternally. But she had not died, indeed her flesh had healed by that same nightfall. Tatyana had not thought it strange at the time but now? Now she knew better, she knew that humans did not simply recover from such mortals woundings.

The assassin promised more than just a chance for revenge for those people she had killed in the city. The cat shape-shifter had said in previous meetings between the two of them that she alone knew the secret of Tatyana's missing past.

I will find you Esharee, by the blood of the innocent I swear it, she growled as she quickened her pace down the wide road away from the city. The assassin's scent was strong upon the wind, taunting Tatyana with the thought of how she had let Esharee slip through her fingers at the city. She had been supposed to stop the assassin from striking, protecting those who Esharee had been hired to kill. But what had she done? Nothing. She had not been able to stop the cat-shifter, always seeming to be two steps behind her at every turn.

As the tendrils of sunlight stretched towards her, Tatyana muttered, It ends today. Her grey eyes were full of a dark determination, one that would not be turned aside by any tricks that Esharee managed to conjure up. The hunt had begun in ernest, Intop would bear witness to the justice of the wild that Tatyana would bring down apon the head of the assassin.

A young man of regular build, roughly years of age was walking along the road on his way home. Wearing blue and red clothing, and a katana strapped around his back. His black hair was long, to his neck, and he had unusually deep brown eyes, and unusually pale skin. After he was well on his way, he was quickly passed by a woman. Dengar sensed an unusually determined aura, full of anger.

"Wow, unimaginable that people can have such big issues at this time of the morning..."

He said to himself. Of course, he didn't think of calling out to her, she might snap at him or something. She'll probably be staying at the next town anyway, so lets hope she doesn't cause much trouble, or else his stay there might not be all too pleasant.

The wind brought a distant scent to Kharazim as he walked through the city. A familiar scent, one that carried innumerable memories - the scent of blood, coppery and unmistakeable. And close, or else I couldn't smell it. He looked around, saw city guards gathered around the guardhouse that nestled close to the formidable wall of the city. They were talking agitatedly; Kharazim knew soldiers and enlisted men, and he could tell at once that something unusual, and probably unfortunate, had happened. What, he had no idea, but that would be easy enough to learn.

It's starting, he thought happily as he snatched the turban from his head, stuffing it into the inside of his uniform coat. With any luck, they'll only see the uniform. Adopting a smart stride and rigid posture, he marched up to the group of confused guardsmen, coming to a halt a few paces away and noting with satisfaction that the highest rank among them was a sergeant.

"Attention!" he barked, glaring at the men as they automatically straightened and saluted. Knowing that the advantage would be his for only seconds, Kharazim gave them no chance to question him, no opportunity to notice his lack of insignia and badges of rank. "I am Lieutenant Harman, of City Intelligence Corps. I understand you have a situation here. Report!"

The flustered sergeant saluted smartly; Kharazim breathed a sigh of relief that his ploy had worked. The man told him what had happened in remarkably few words; the nightwatchmen had disappeared from the guardhouse without leaving a trace. So that's why they're so upset. Deserters? That'll start an investigation, for sure. Kharazim listened attentively, cutting the sergeant off when he started denying the possibility of deserters among his remaining men.

"That's enough, sergeant. You'd better show me the guardhouse." He put just a little threat into that, and the officer stiffened, turning to point to the door. A guard was told off to show the 'Lieutenant' into the guardhouse - As if I couldn't find my way in alone! But that's the military mind - and Kharazim kept silent as he looked around inside the building. Chairs pushed back carelessly, bottles of beer half-empty or finished on the table, a window slightly open to let in the breeze. "You have touched nothing?" he demanded of the guard who waited by the door, and the man shook his head.

"Thank you," he said, walking past the guardsman and out the door. "You'll be hearing from me." And he slipped out through the still-open wooden gate without another word. His deception would not last; no doubt the sergeant would realize in a moment that 'Lieutenant Harman' was as false as faerie gold, but a moment's start was all Kharazim needed. That guardroom looked like the guards had just walked out...but who would abandon a nice warm room with a fire on a chilly night like last night? And nobody deserts in peace-time, and hardly ever from the city guard. Something told him that the guards who had vanished had not simply abandoned their posts; a subtle instinct that surprised him with its distinctive humanity. But it was a far more logical realization that cemented his suspicions. I smelled blood back there...and where there's blood, I expect to find a corpse...

Kharazim walked quickly away from the gate, towards the nearby wood into which the road led. He was a hundred yards away when he recognized the guard sergeant's voice raised in a shout from beyond the gate. No doubt the real investigators had arrived, and Khar's brief deception was discovered. With a grin, he started to run toward the forest; a quick look back over his shoulder made the grin widen as he saw two mailed guards rush out the gate and stop, panting already in their heavy armour. He kept running, though, not slowing to a walk until the trees enveloped him from view.

As the rising sun's light slowly filtered through the leaves overhead, Kharazim walked on down the road. He followed no trail beyond the assumption that whoever killed the guards at the gate had been going in the direction the gate led. That the guards were dead did not bother him - they were soldiers, and the duty of soldiers has always been to die. He was following the feel of adventure, and nothing more nor less than whimsy would be his guide. Wherever the winds of change blow - there go I...

The assassin laid the two bodies of the guardsmen to rest, smiling to herself as she adjusted the positioning of their limbs. No one but the wild creatures would find these corpses, no one else would ever appreciate the beauty of the positions that she had laid them in, each grasping the other's slit throat. One dark day in the middle of the night, two dead men got up to fight, she purred the old ditty in amusement.

Already the scent of the men's blood was attracting the predators that made this forest their home. Esharee could sense them circling about the clearing deep in the heart of the wood, their senses alert for any sign of a trap in this easy meal. All she had to do was leave the clearing and the beasts would be upon the corpses, taking their fill of the rapidly cooling meat. There would not be much for anyone to find even if by some chance they managed to find their way here, a few bones and a scrap of cloth at most. Their disappearance would no doubt be the cause of many a rumour and piece of gossip in the city that they had once guarded. Probably somewhere there were a couple of mourning wifes, maybe a screaming child or two who would cry and beg for daddy to come home.

Perhaps others in her position might have felt some pity for the families that she had haremd with her actions, but not Esharee. The shape-shifter had not become the assassin that she was by mourning the results of her actions. So families were destroyed by what she had done? She did not care one whit, she would do the same again and far, far worse before her life was over. The closest Esharee got to mercy was considering the idea of hunting down the families of the two guardsmen and ending their lives too.

Some killed for the money, others for faith, some even killed out of a sense of justice, taking the lives of only those who they felt deserved it. Esharee did none of that, she simply killed and revelled in the pain that she could cause to others by her actions. Certainly she was paid well by her employers for what she did, in a world of wars both big and small there was rarely a lack of work for her kind. But the money meant nothing to Esharee, she would take it by all means but rarely find a use for it besides buying small doses of poisons with which to strengthen herself against their effects.

Being a bringer of silent death was never an easy profesion and there were always those who held grudges. After a close call with a disgruntled partner Esharee had learnt the values of teaching her body to resist a poison's toxic kiss. Not to mention the lesson of properly dissolving a partnership.

Well gentlemen I must take my leave of you,she said, bowing deeply in the courtly fashion. I think that I may soon have company, the wild woman will not let our last meeting rest I think. She'll want revenge or some such silly notion and well we just can't be having that now can we? The last meeting of herself and Tatyana had ended messily in the death of a child whose only crime had been to cross the path of the shape-shifter. Now the death of the child was not upsetting for Esharee in the least, the only thing she mourned from that encounter was that she had had to dispatch the little girl quickly rather than taking the time to educate her. The assassin sighed, There are so many pressures on my time.

Of course she already knew that the wildwoman wouldn't see things in quite the same light as her. Tatyana was too caught up in ideals of right and wrong, she never just listened to her instincts and came face to face with the hunter that she was. It was such a waste in Esharee's opinion, if only Tatyana would pay attention rather than taking up this fool's quest to try and stop the assassin, things would be so different. But it was not to be, she shrugged and walked out of the clearing, barely disturbing a branch as she passed by.

The sounds of the forest's beasts descending upon their meal brought a dark smile to her face as she walked back to the road that sliced its way through the woods.

It felt good to be out of the city, good to be free of its oppressive walls and high buildings. The stench of the city, of so many souls living in close proximity to one another had seemed to claw at her senses while she had been inside. Tatyana could not understand how anyone could allow themselves to be trapped within that place. Even without the assassin's presence the wildwoman would have been glad to bet that the smell of death permeated it. The death of freedom, the death of the wild, it was all packed within those walls, she was very glad to be free of it.

But even being out of the shadow of the city's walls did not lessen her anger, nothing would calm that except the blood of Esharee.

Crouching down upon the road Tatyana let the clean air fill her nose, cleaning it of the lingering scent of the city. Out there on the winds she could smell nearness of the forest and the many wild things that hide within its depths. She smiled to herself as she thought of how the forest had been there long before the humans came along and built their city there. And the forest would be there long after the walls of the city fell and its people were scattered to the four winds. The trees would always remain, thursting their roots down deep and raising up their branches to scratch the skies. Though the humans might try to cut it down and hold it back from their precious crop lands they would never fully succeed. No matter what they tried to do sooner or later the forest, the wild force of nature, would reclaim these lands as its own.

She let the scents of the area fill her mind, `seeing' more than smelling if the truth was to be told. All around her she could see the paths of all those who had come this way in recent times, overlaying one another, each as distinct from the other as a group of snowflakes. There was even her own trail towards the city, a few hours old now but as clear to her as any other. She thought back sadly to that time when she had come this way, she had been so sure that she would be able to stop Esharee. Stop her and make the assassin tell her everything that she knew about Tatyana's missing memories. Had she been a fool to think that she was capable of doing that? No, of course not, she was sure, though she knew not why, that it was within her power to beat the shape-shifting assassin.

The wildwoman only wished that she knew where these feelings came from, the sense of knowing that she could best the assassin, the knowledge that hunting was within her blood, all those things that had puzzled her since she had woken into this life. There seemed so many things that she instinctively knew how to do, abilities that her body had not fogotten even if her mind had. She wanted, no she needed answers to the questions that plagued her, but those were answers that only Esharee claimed to know. Well then she would catch the assassin, squeeze Esharee's delicate neck between her own rough hands until she was willing to tell her everything.

And then?

Well there was a problem, what would she do with the assassin after she had gotten that far in her plans. Her instincts screamed for blood, a death to answer for the deaths that the cat-shifter had caused in the city. But another part of her, a calmer part, whispered of true justice, of returning the assassin to the city to answer her crimes there. There was a battle between her mind and her heart as both strove to win out over the other. The heart wanted blood and death, the mind wanted justice and laws upheld. So caught up in the battle inside herself she never saw the young man with the katana pass her by, her thoughts were focused elsewhere for now.

Sithathor passed through a town unaware upon her travels of the evil that had also travelled through it. She went through the gates just before the guards had busied themselves around them in search for their friends. She lead her horse and calmly walked on, unaware of the evil. And luckily having not filled her water skin for the now poisoned well. She walked on as the dawn rose behind her.

A figure walked calmly about the town. Dress all in veils and robes. No one bothered her, no-one dared to, they did not know why; it was just her presence that unsettled them. Wadjet had been sent by her current employer in search for Esharee who her employer thought may be passing through this town upon completing her mission. She assumed Esharee would recognize her in her robed form but she was unsure. The half-naga paced the streets in the half light of dawn. She liked this time of day when the world was so vulnerable in its waking state. The hilt of her short sword glinted in the dawning light as Wadjet adjusted her belt and the satchel of poisons that sat upon it. The guards of the town thought she was a healer of some form. She did not correct them, but in a way she was. She healed people of suffering through the miseries of death through her poisons. She healed others problems as well though those by supplying her poisons to assist assassinations, or if she had to kill them herself. It depended on who was the highest bidder however.

A small grey cat padded silently into town, Esharee had made better time in this form than she would have made in her more-human shape. Though smaller the cat-shape was quicker and less hampered by any barriers that were meant to hold back larger creatures. Besides no one ever paid any attention to the movements of a small feline, a cat was far below the notice of other creatures, unless they were a mouse or similar vermin. Only a mouse would ever pay attention to a cat on the prowl and that was only because they feared becoming the hunter's next meal. Larger creatures never saw the danger in the cat's hunt just as Esharee's victims never paid her any notice, not till it was too late. That was how she liked to play things, it was so much more amusing to watch them overlook her when they were assessing the dangers of their surroundings.

She ducked into a darkened alley and changed rapidly back into her human form, the small grey cat fluidly becoming something far larger. Her tail twitched to one side for a last time before it disappeared, the sensation of being without it unsettling her for a moment. Though she had been switching forms almost from the moment that she had been born the change between human and feline was still strange. Losing her tail was a knock to her balance every time, one that had used to make her sick to the pit of her stomach when she was still a child. Now it merely made the world swim about her for a moment, forcing the assassin to shut her eyes and concentrate on her balance.

Esharee stepped out of the alley, running her black-clawed hands through her dark hair and untangling a handful of knots as she did so. She brushed her robes down, removing a few flecks of imaginary dirt from the folds and pulling it closer about herself to hide her form. A handful of men who were up at the early hour looked in her direction, but she chose not to invite any of them closer with her glances. Maybe another time she might have tempted one of them to a bed but she didn't wish to trouble herself with disposing of another lover who couldn't handle her dark desires.

The assassin had never found a partner who could satisfy her lusts, not a single one who had been able to understand her own appetites.

Idly she wondered how long it would take before the people in the city quarter fell ill to the poison she had contaminated their well with. Not long, she knew enough about the poison that her employer had given her to know that it worked upon flesh quickly. The mortal bodies of humans was just not strong enough to fight off the effects of the poison, not even as diluted as it would be in the well water. The concentrated form of the poison had killed the merchant's wife within mere mintues, the diluted version might take a day or less but it would work all the same. There wasn't an antidote that Esharee knew of, those who had imbibed it had already sealed their fate.

The black tattoos about her eyes glinted darkly as she padded out into the palely lit street. A robed and veiled form away to her right caught her attention briefly, there was something familar about it, something that she knew she should recognise. Was it an enemy of hers? She didn't need to ask herself whether it was an old friend or not, Esharee didn't have such things.

Toph, flanked by guards, trotted up the street to the guardhouse. He had been called in to investigate the dissapearance of last night's guard, and yet, first he had had to meet with some official or another to "brief" him on the situation. Basically, a number of people had been found inexplicably murdered this morning... a young girl, a merchant's wife... and the guard was missing. But was there some connection between them? Were the guards merely deserters, and the murderer either still in the city, or able to sneak in and out at will? Or were the guards dead, hidden, and the murderer gone?

Toph was jolted out of his train of thought by a shout. Up ahead, the seargant in charge of watching the guardhouse was pointing out, past the gates.
"Stop that Man! He was an impostor!"
Toph blinked as he neared the gate, and was able to see outside. A man was running for the forest, dressed in a uniform that was definitely NOT the uniform of a guardsman in this city. Behind him, two armored guards were panting their way to a stop, winded by their armor and their chase.

"Im sorry, sir." The sergant said, "He was so convincing, and we didnt know! He just appeared and-"

"Thats fine, thats fine," Toph replied, motioning for the sergant to calm down. "Did he touch anything?"

"No, no one has, yet."
"good. good. Lets have a look, why dont we?"
The sergant opened the door, again, and Toph briefly examined the room. Nothing seemed amiss... except for the fact that the guards who should have been here overnight were not. The sidhe pondered... why would someone desert at a time like this? Turning around, he asked the sergant
"Have others deserted recently?"
"No sir. There was no reason to. We have peace now."
"Did the men posted here last night act strangely?"
"Well... they dissapeared."
Toph rolled his eyes.
"When last you saw them."
"Oh! Forgive me. No. They acted perfectly normal last night when we switched."
"Thank you."
Toph looked around. He suspected foul play, but had no real proof... no sign of a struggle, no blood, just a complete dissapear- Toph stoped, staring at the ground of the path... a few drops of dried blood were on the ground. Toph walked over to them, and noticed more drops, leading out of the city, and along the path... Toph wheeled about.

"Did anyone leave the city while you were on guard?"
The guards muttered to themselves, wracking their brains... finally one of them said,
"Yes, a woman... I only saw her backside, though... she walked through the gate at dawn, and I was more preoccupied with finding the other guards."

Toph nodded.
"I think you might want to send a few men to look in those woods, sergant. These dissapearances, coupled with the murders, and the blood on the ground here, make me suspect foul play..."
Toph turned to the guards who had escorted him to the guard house.
"Thank you for accompanying me this far, friends, but I will continue on my own, now... I am going to try and find the murderer... if I follow the blood... I should find him.

Without any more delay, Toph began jogging along the path, following the blood trail... after a quarter mile, however, the blood disspeared. Toph skidded to a halt, looking about... nothing.
Cursing, Toph resumed jogging. Hopefully, his quarry had not left the path... if it had... Toph didnt want to think about it.

Esharee's trail led away from the road and into the heart of the forest from what her senses told her at least. And from the scent that hung in the air the shape-shifter had not been alone, no she had carried with her the corpses of the guardsmen. It was bad enough that she had killed them but now she had dragged their bodies off as well? It would have been a small mercy to leave the bodies where they had been, in the guardhouse, where they would eventually be found and given over to the care of their families to mourn them. But instead the assassin had removed them, another cruelty on Esharee's part? Or just another part of her covering her trail to mundane eyes?

With the guardsmen apparently gone most people would assume that they had deserted for some reason or another. Or that they had gotten drunk and wandered away from their posts, losing themselves within the city or the wilderness nearby. It would be a cause for concern for those who knew the men but would not cause the same amount of trouble as if they had been found in the guardhouse with their throats slit. Though Esharee had probably partly taken the bodies out of a desire to hurt their families there was careful consideration behind it as well. Men who were out searching for what had happened to their comrades could not also be within the city properly investigating the murder of the merchant's wife and the child.

Whatever the assassin had been up to last night in the city, Tatyana felt as if this was all still a part of it. She could not yet see the whole plan that Esharee had set in motion but she would work it out sooner or later, hopefully in time to catch the assassin before everything played out to the cat shifter's satisfaction. She would not let the assassin be 'satisfied' with what she had done, she would make Esharee wish that she had never accepted the job from whoever her client was.

The sound of a man cursing reached her ears, causing the wildwoman to turn quickly on her heels to face whatever danger this might be. Away in the distance and still upon the path she could make out the shape of a male running along the road. What was another person doing this far out from the city while it was still so early? The sun was still inching its bulk over the horizon and though Tatyana would admit to knowing little of the routinue of ordinary people, she had thought that most city folk stayed in bed till the light of day had flooded their rooms. The only people that she had ever met up this early were those who worked on the farmlands. But there again she didn't know much of the world, perhaps this man was nothing to do with the events of last night.

Or perhaps not.

She pressed herself down into the shadows of the trees, watching him closely to see whether he had noticed her. Her hand slipped to the hilt of her long knife at her waist, her fingers finding the grooves that they had worn there in years of service to her. Tatyana had no intention of killing the man, that would make her no better than Esharee, but if the man was violent towards her she would not hesitate to retaliate.

As Toph passed Tatyana's hiding spot, he was deep in thought, trying to remember a certain spell that he had found in an anchient library, far away... it amplified a person's senses for a brief instant... Toph hoped that... if he could remember it, that is... a heightened sense of smell would let him follow the smell of the blood.

Toph muttered to himself softly. He had most of the spell... just one final word... Ah.

Toph stopped about ten yards from Tatyana's hiding spot, and, concentrating, cast the spell.

Toph reeled under the massive amount of information that his brain was trying to process. His eyes could see everything, he could feel the individual ridges on his fingers, he could taste the faint trace of charcoal from a burnt-out campfire that he had passed earlier, he could smell the trees, hear them growing... Finally, Toph began to organize his thoughts again... and the spell ended.

Toph, winded, and with a splitting headache, sat down on the side of the road and reached for some water. 'Well... the spell works.' Toph thought to himself. 'Although, maybe it works a little TOO well.'

Toph sat quietly for a few more minutes, waiting for his head to stop spinning, before he looked up. Right into someone's eyes. Someone was hiding in the woods, watching him!

Toph jumped to his feet, and reached for his bow. Moments after his fingers landed on the smooth wood, however, he let go, reconsidering.

Toph called out,
"I see you in there. Why are you hiding? Perhaps we are searching for the same person?"

Dawn had finally arrived, bringing with it the fresh light of a new day...a new beginning. As the brilliant sun rose, it captured the darkness in its claws, ripping the shadows from their resting place, along with those that hid beneath them. But even the power of its rays could not ensnare every dark place in the city, and so there was always room for a hidden creature, lurking around the bend. What one found in the darkest recesses could tell a vivid and intriguing story, if one were to ever seek them out.

On this particular morning, an unfamiliar figure watched the happenings of the town below. It stayed concealed within the security of the shadows atop a local tavern, thinking and keeping an eye on those below. The figure wore a light weight black cloak over black slacks and a fitted black shirt, enabling it to move swiftly and quietly through the most dangerous of places, completely unnoticed to those in the immediate area. Its hood was pulled up over its head to conceal its identity from any who might want to know, and it wore light footing to increase its speed. But if one were to remove the hood, they would discover the pale skin and fiery red hair of a young, half-elvish woman. Secara Llyr was her name, and she was well known as one of the most prominent assassins in this area of Maxim.

There were assassins around that would kill for the money or out of a sense of justice. There were those that killed out of loyalty or for revenge. There were even those who killed for the love of seeing someone suffer. But there were few, if any, who would slit someone's throat for any number or all of those reasons. Secara Llyr, however, was one of them. If someone wronged her for an unforgivable reason, then they needed to be dealt with. If a king or queen was doing dirty dealings with thieves, then justice would need to be served. If a woman was cheating on her husband, a life needed to be taken. It was really that straightforward. She had some of the wealthiest clients hire her to eliminate business partners, cheating spouces, enemies or whoever else they deemed deserving of such a fate. But it wasn't all about the money. Secara would kill even without an offer. Hell, there were times when someone had uttered that an enemy needed to suffer a terrible and painful death, and she had completed the act without the man ever knowing who had done it. Those who knew of her or her reputation were appalled and horrified that someone could ever do such things. But it was simple, really. Secara Llyr just didn't care. She didn't care one way or another who lived or died. Sometimes it was up to her to decide; sometimes it was up to others. But either way, killing was her most prized skill...it was what she did best and what she loved, plain and simple.

A job was what had brought her to this little town a few nights ago, but she had stayed for a different reason entirely. Word was that there was a slight possibility an old accomplice was in the area. It was a long shot, but one that was definitely worth sticking around for. If there was even the smallest of chances of running into that shape-shifting wench again...Secara was determined to do whatever it took to make it happen. They had been acquaintances as children, then partners on a particularly long and tedious job several years back, paying more money than either had seen in their entire careers as assassins. Things had gone well initially, but the half-elf knew she shouldn't have put any trust in her devious "partner". Before she'd known it, the cat woman had tricked her into doing the dirty work, then turned their boss on her and took all the credit for the job. Not to mention the cash. It had been a low blow back then, even for a person such as herself, but she had never forgotten it. If that bitch, Esharee, was here....the assassin was going to make sure that she found her.

Despite the minimal possibility, however, Secara was not expecting anything. She sat quietly atop the tavern, studying those down below and thinking of her last job. However, when she noticed a familiar, feline-like figure step out of the alley beside her hiding place, she knew she had hit the jackpot. It took an incredible amount of power to bring forth any sort of emotion in the half-elf, but Esharee was one that did. Even after all these years, she couldn't help but feel her blood boil at the sight of the woman.

Swiftly and silently she moved from her perch to land directly behind her fellow assassin, and with the quickest of reactions, drew her dagger and held it against the woman's back. "Well, look what the cat drug in," she sneered viciously and a little sarcastically, a scowl passing over her face for a moment. "It's been a while. I was sure someone would have finished you off long ago. In fact, I thought of doing so myself back then. But then I decided I had more important people to waste my time on..." In the blink of an eye, and with another sneer, she put the dagger away and grabbed onto her former partner's shoulder, swinging her around to face the assassin. "However, now that you're here...I'm starting to change my mind yet again." She removed the hood to reveal her face as her fiery hair tumbled out to land comfortably against her cheeks, staring coldly at the woman in front of her. All the while, still clutching the dagger in her hand, just in case she should need it.

As she watched the man stopped and done something, she wasn't sure exactly what he did bu it involved muttering and then seemed to hurt him. Was this perhaps 'magic'? She'd heard of magic, even seen a few hedge magicians ply their trade but it was definitely no something that Tatyana understood. It didn't seem to make sense to her, how a few words and gestures would somehow make something happen. She had once seen a performer call up a white dove out of his cloak and then set it free to take flight. If she'd wanted a bird she'd have just gone out and hunted one down on its nest, not made one out of thin air. Though in truth she had no idea how to go about making one from nothing but it seemed fairly simple enough. All the magician had done was wave his hands and say some words that she didn't understand.

Even as those thoughts crossed her mind the man moved again, apparently recovered from whatever it was he had been doing. She hoped he go now, vanish along the road so that she could track Esharee's trail into the forest and discover where the murdering shifter had gone. The wildwoman wasn't about to let the assassin get away with her actions in the city, oh no she'd make sure that Esharee paid in full for what she'd done. The girl child's blood was still upon her hands and clothes though the murder itself was a stain on Esharee's soul. Well she'd make sure that Esharee was brought to justice for that 'stain'.

The man looked up, his eyes staring straight at Tatyana's, her heart leapt as she realised that he could see her. She had been discovered, if this man was somehow connected to the assassin then she would be in trouble. Of course if he was an accomplice of Esharee then that trouble might very well be of the violent sort. Though the man was a mage of some sort apparently, it would not stop her from at least trying to fight back if he thought to try and stop her from reaching Esharee.

"I see you in there. Why are you hiding? Perhaps we are searching for the same person?" His words reached her in her hiding place but she didn't move a muscle, frozen in place like a creature of the wilderness when its been tracked to its home. Her eyes never left him, roving over his body as she tried to decide how much of a threat he was to her. The magic might prove to be a problem and the bow he carried could cause her a serious injury if he decided to use it on her. Her grip on her long-bladed knife tightened then relaxed as she forced herself to think clearly. Clutching the hilt of the knife wouldn't help her, no she needed to hold it loosely, ready to use it at a moment's notice.

Slowly Tatyana stood up from the shadows of the trees, suspicion painted across her features. She had did not trust people on sight, all too often they were only pretending to be something that they were not. Taking someone on face value was dangerous, it led to mistakes that she could not afford.

I hid because I did not know you...you might have been one who's in debt to her, just like that Eshu bard Sheanna. As for your second question, I do not search, I hunt.

Her attention had been too fixed upon the robed woman that she hadn't even noticed Secara's presence until it was already too late. A foolish mistake, one that she should have known better than to make, especially when she was still close to her most recent kills. Such behaviour on her part could lead to her downfall at the hands of the law-makers, or at the blades of old acquaintances like her fellow assassin Secara. Well it would be a long time before another soul got the better of her, Esharee swore that to herself. She was better than such pitiful creatures as the half-elf, not even a pure-breed of her race.

The cat shape-shifter smiled briefly in memory of when the two of them had last met, the half-elf had been far too easy to manipulate, it had hardly been a task at all. Back then she had caught herself several times trying not to laugh as Secara fell so easily into her trap, so very eager to descend into the web that Esharee had laid before her. At time she had almost been tempted to grab the half-elf and shake her, demanding to know why she made it all so easy. Where as the challenge in such things? Still it had taught her a few things about the nature of other creatures on the isle, lessons that she had used a thousand times over in the intervening years.

Why my dear Secara you are looking as...well delightful as ever, Esharee purred, the cold fury of the other woman a warning that she chose to ignore. The shape-shifter came from a tribe where women ruled and because of that she continually compared the women around her to herself, deciding whether they were her equals, her betters or lesser than her. In all her years Esharee had only ever decided that they were all less than her, barely worthy of licking the ground she walked on. To her own mind she had no equal and certainly no a better, to admit either of them would be to admit that she had weaknesses. After all every other woman that she met had weaknesses, if any of them were equal to her then that would mean she was also flawed. And Esharee would never admit to having weak points much less flaws, though others might have disagreed, but never to her face.

Esharee wiped an imaginary speck of dust from her cheekm taking her time as if the fact that Secara had just pressed a knife to her back did not bother her at all. In truth it bothered her a great deal, how dare this half breed dare to even so much as touch her? Much less threaten to use a weapon against her, the wench had obviously no respect for her betters. Not that it really surprised her, Secara was the kind who would hold a grudge for years over something like their last job together. Esharee knew she wouldn't have done the same thing, no she would have gone out and made the one who double-crossed her pay right then and there. That Secara had waited, feeding her hatred over the years made the feline assassin smile.

It was a smile that would have melted the hearts of many a red-blooded man, making him think of dark pleasurable nights alone with Esharee. Though she had had many men proposition her over the years it was rare for her to take anyone to her bed. And even rarer for any of them to walk away the next day with life and limb still intact. Oh the shape-shifter was passionate, but her passions were of a dark hue delighting in the pain and agony of her partner.

Someone finish me off?, she feinted shock, Now why on earth would anyone want to do that to me? Why on earth would anyone think themselves capable of doing such a thing?, As she spoke her words became harder, harsher, purss changing to the slightest of growls. She stopped suddenly and let the anger within her die away, anger was an emotion that weakened the soul. Instead Esharee reached out and touched a lock of Secara's fiery red hair before running the tip of one clawed finger down her fellow assassin's face in a mockery of a loving caress. Go back to your 'important people' Secara I have more interesting opponents than you to deal with. If you're still sore about that little matter all those years ago you should have done something about it then, rather than let it fester.

Toph's eyes widened as he saw the dried blood spattered across the ladies clothes. Instinctively, Toph's hand roamed towards his dagger, tucked, as ever, in his belt. While Toph preffered the arts of bow and mana, every once and a while, a good dagger could save the day as well.

Thoughts raced across Toph's mind like lightning. 'Is this the assassin?' 'Kill her now!' 'I cant believe that this could be the one' 'this was too easy' 'where are the bodies?'

Toph finally forced his mind into ordered thought again by focusing on the pattern of blood on the woman's clothes... it was... funny. Toph had seen many murderers in his long lifetime, many with blood still spattered on their clothes, but none like this. The blood seemed concentrated in one spot, almost as if she had been stabbed herself...

As Tatyana spoke, Toph blurted out, "Are you hurt?"



Toph blinked. "So are you responsible for the murders inside the city, or not? And who is 'her'?"

Toph waited, muscles slightly tensed, for Tatyana's reply.[/quote]

She saw his hand move towards a dagger that was tucked into his belt, her grip immediately tightened upon the long silvery blade in her own hand. Tatyana sank low into a defensive stance, she had not struggled through the loss of her memory and the troubles with the assassin to fall to some magician. If he thought that she would be easy to kill he would soon learn differently, the wildwoman fought like a beast, like the angry creatures of the wild when there were disturbed. People didn't tend to expect such tactics, if they could be called that, from a human woman, even one that looked as untamed as Tatyana did.

But the expected attack did not come and she frowned in confusion, wondering if this was not just another stalling trick that Esharee had left in her trail to slow her down. After all the shape-shifter had done something very similar only the night before, leaving Sheanna on the road to slow down Tatyana and her travelling companions. It had worked too, because they had been delayed she had been too late to stop the assassin in her task of killing the merchant's wife or protecting the young child.

Though one question still worried at her mind about last night's events; what had Esharee been doing in the poorer quarter of the city?

Hurt?, she looked suspiciously at the man, wondering why he would ask her that kind of thing. Tatyana looked down at herself quickly, no more than a snatched glance as she tried to keep the man in sight at all times. The child's blood was still upon her, did the magician think that it was hers instead? No I'm not hurt, but the little one was, she hurt the little one, stole her life. It wasn't right, I should have stopped her from doing it but I was too late. But now I'm going to bring her to justice...Her words trailed off as she scented at the air, trying to find out if he bore any traces of being in the assassin's presence.

He was tense this one, did he expect her to attack him? She could read the lines of his body as easily as a predator could read the strengths and weaknesses of a herd. Though he might think that she was about to hurt him Tatyana could see that he was no weakling, not one to be cut off from the herd by hunters. No if he left the pack it was because he knew that he could survive in the wild alone, confident then, certainly sure of his abilities.

She straightened up slowly, the movement filled the a hunter's grace, each gesture suggesting that she could as easily drop back into the defenseive stance. The murders weren't by my hand, it was an assassin, calls herself Esharee, Esharee Galenfirith, a dark rumour, a scary tale to force children to sleep. "Eat your dinner up or Esharee's claws will find you", but she's as real as you and I.

Toph watched as Tatyana dropped into a defensive crouch, her grip strong on her weapon. Toph nodded grimly, and began recalling a few spells to mind. He didnt want to hurt this warrior, in fact, he would rather talk to her some more, and learn what she was doing with so much blood on her clothes, but he did not want to get hurt himself, and, from the looks of it, Tatyana definitely knew what she was doing. Some people radiated discomfort when holding a weapon, others, anger, still others mere resignation to what was to come. This woman's aura was that of pure confidence and... rebellion? Perhaps.

The woman spoke, rambling on about how the blood was not hers, and was, in fact, a child's. This child had been killed by "her" and, apparently, Tatyana planned to bring this person to justice.

Toph's eyebrows lifted, and he looked towards Tatyana with a confused expression on his face.

"Who?" he asked.


So. He had a name. The assasin had been identified by this woman, and, for some reason, Toph trusted her. Toph let himself relax, and then put out his hand.

"Please forgive me for suspecting you. For all I knew, you could have been the assasin yourself. I mean, the blood on you is slightly suspicious."

Toph fell silient for a moment, then continued.
"My name is Toph."

Tatyana looked down at the blood upon her ragged clothes, her emotions dropping away from her face as she remembered in terrible clarity the events that had happened during the night. She had been sure sure that this time she would catch Esharee, so sure that this time she would finally find what exactly what the shape-shifter knew of her past. A mere handful of hours before that was all that the wildwoman had wanted, to know who she really was and where she came from. She wanted to know how she had come to wake up in that deserted plain two years before, bloodied and at first glance apparently dying. Tatyana wanted to know why she hadn't died back then, why she had by the next sunset been as healthy and unmarked as any member of a peaceful village.

Sometimes she would get flashes of memories, hints of things that had happened to her, vague snatches of the memories that she had lost. At other times Tatyana would wonder what it was like to actually have a proper series of memories, not one that just ran back a couple of years before ending in a sudden and terrible blank. What must it be like to know what a chidhood was like? To know what it was like to be part of a family and a treasured member of it too?

The memories that she did get seemed to make no sense, they were confusing and muddled, giving her a handful of feelings and images that seemed to come from many lives and not one. Perhaps they weren't her memories at all but no more than flights of fancy, conjured up by her fractured mind to give her the past that she longed for.

The man before her apologised for suspecting her and held out his hand. She looked at his hand curiously for a moment, almost as if she was unsure what he expected her to do with it. Tatyana had seen other people do this before, clasping one another's hands in a sign of friendship or at the very least welcome. She had never understood exactly why they did it, perhaps it was because they could not easily hold their weapons in their right hands while they did so. A sign then perhaps of the fact that they did not mean one another harm?

Well she had no intention of harming this man if he did not harm her, unless he proved to be in cahoots with the despised assassin. Anyone who worked with that dark creature deserved nothing more than a death by her hands, if they were lucky it would be quick. Still there was no scent of Esharee upon this one, maybe he was telling the truth, maybe he really did want to track down the assassin as she did and bring her to justice. There were two choices before her, she could run away and disappear into the darkness, coming back later to see if she could pick up Esharee's trail again. Or she could risk trusting this man and hope that he would not prove to be her downfall.

Carefully she sheathed her knife, feeling nervous at not having it in her hand when confronted by a stranger. My name is Tatyana, she peered at his outstretched hand again before gently shaking it, unsure if she was doing it right. The laws and traditions of social niceties were beyond her, the shaking of hands was something she had witnessed but never done herself. I am not the assassin, but I hunt her too for what she has done, I will not let her escape me this time, this time I will catch her and make her tell me what she knows. And then? Then I will take her back to the city to be dealt with, they must have some form of punishment for one who has killed.

The shape-shifter had not been pleased to see her old, dear "friend", that much was painfully obvious. In the first moment, Secara could sense the anger and hatred emanating from the woman who stood before her, almost purring out the words she spoke. But it was all right. Secara hadn't expected a friendly reunion, nor did she want one. After all this time she simply wanted to grant the woman a few miserable moments, like she had given to the assassin so long ago. So she stood and listened as her old partner spoke harshly to her, and did nothing when she ran a taloned finger down her cheek. She would gain no satisfaction from Secara.

As the cat woman spoke, Secara almost had to laugh. It was amazing how highly she thought of herself. Comical, at best. Despite the woman's best efforts, the self-righteous attitude of Esharee shone through brightly, like a torch lighting up the dark recesses of a dungeon. But it was no surprise. The shape-shifter had thought herself the better then, and clearly she still did now. Where she got such an ego was another matter entirely, as Secara saw nothing special about the woman. There had been nothing emaculate about her skills, nor about the manner in which Esharee dealt with things. Perhaps the only clever thing the woman had done had been manipulating Secara. That, however, did not warrant such a stuck-up attitude. But then again, Secara couldn't ever remember a time when Esharee hadn't thought she was a gift to the world from the Gods. Her deluded sense of self had always been laughable, and it was almost comforting to know that the woman still thought of herself so highly.

But despite everything, the cat woman had made one good point. Secara should have finished her off back then. It was a mistake that she'd regretted for some time afterwards. But the assassin hadn't done it, and she had to admit - even if it was merely to herself - that she had not been at her best at the time. A fact that she didn't like, but still one that was true, nonetheless. Instead of repaying Esharee for her crimes, Secara had let her get away scotch free. But that all seemed so long ago now. The red-headed assassin was a different person now. She was stronger, wiser, faster, more skilled. And as such, she knew she was the better of the two now. Not out of a false sense of reality. No, she wasn't deluded like that cat. Because she had been tested...pushed to the limit...and had come out of it stronger than ever before.

"You know, you're probably right. I should have finished you off back then," Secara murmured softly, almost condescendingly. "But then we wouldn't have had the extreme pleasure of meeting up again all these years later, now would we?" She grinned at the woman, loving every second of this encounter. "I should thank you though. Your little trick all those years ago helped me to realize I was being too soft. Thanks to you I've become far greater than I could have imagined...in case you haven't heard the stories about me, though no doubt you have."

She sighed, almost in contentment, with a small smirk on her face. How Secara enjoyed her reputation. It had taken a lot of hard work and a lot of jobs, both paying and those that were done silently in the shadows, but she had quickly built a name for herself. What she enjoyed most of all was how people relied on word of mouth. Even if the assassin were to chose to leave the "business" for a few years, then return, she would have jobs piling in from all over - simply from her name alone. It was a tool of power that she revelled thoroughly in. As a silent killer, to be preceeding by reputation was an honour bestowed only on those who most deserved it. Did Esharee deserve such a thing? Hardly, Secara thought.

"Well, I'm sure you have more...important things to do. So instead of dulling the blade of my daggers on your wortheless body, perhaps I'll leave you be." The cat woman had been right about two things. Esharee wasn't worth Secara's time and energy. Let her go about whatever unimportant business she had. Perhaps she had the lovely job of killing the farmer's wife, or of taking out the peasant shop keeper. Those were fine jobs though. Because assassins like the shape-shifter left the important ones for those of a higher prestige.

Secara was about to leave, when she noticed something on the cat woman's sleeve. At first it was almost indetectable. But it was in her profession to notice small details, and this she had. Suddenly she reached for the woman's arm and held it up to examine closer. Blood. It was a small splotch, but it was most definitely blood. The dark crimson spot was dried, but looked fresh. What an interesting tidbit of information. Esharee had had a job, but she'd also made a potentially deadly mistake. With another smirk, Secara brought the shape-shifter's arm up so the woman could see what the red-head was looking at. "What's this I see? Took some leftovers from your last hit? Intriguing..." Releasing the woman's arm slowly, Secara twirled a strand of her hair idly and waited to see how the assassin would respond.

The morning had certainly turned out to be an interesting one, the assassin meeting who Wadjet could only assume was another assassin. An old foe perhaps? She was unsure, she could not hear the words spoken by either of them but she could tell they knew each other from something other than by name and reputation.

She watched silently as the other woman lifted Esharee sleeve and examined it closely, then dropped the arm. Interesting. The other was certainly observant. The name Secara came to Wadjet's mind then. She thought she recognized her from somewhere. She was indeed an assassin. Her boss had spoken of her before but she had never seen her so she was relying on description only. How interesting. Now what had her boss told her? The Secara and Esharee had been partners in crime at one point? To know your enemy was one thing but to have been partners at one point? That was another.

Wadjet adjusted the hood of her robes over her face a little more. She looked like a beggar in her clothes. Her appearance was not important to her, why should it be? To go about cause a scene was not in her liking. She was not too fond, either, of the idea of the assassins coming to blows in such a public place. Should she poison Secara so that Esharee may get away cleanly to meet with her and Wadjet’s boss, and get the note left for her at a tavern saying what time to meet him? Or should she just wait to see what happens. It was not as those Esharee could name who instructed her on her mission. It was not as though she knew her boss’ true name anyway, or appearance for that matter, then again Wadjet doubted she knew it too. She decided to wait and see what unfolded.

Toph watched as the woman, Tatyana, gingerly accepted his hand and shook it. Toph blinked. What odd behavior, it was almost as If Tatyana had never actually shooken someone's hand before. Toph had always thought that the formality was pretty much ubiquitous among cultures, but perhaps he was mistaken. How interesting. Toph smiled toothily at her words, though.

"I am what happens to such criminals, Tatyana... People like me, who wander the lands, are hired at times to hunt out various criminals. If we find them, and trust me, we usually do, then we are allowed to do whateverwe see fit. If they come peacefully, so be it. But usually.... " Toph let his words drift off, as he recalled something.

"You said this time, Tatyana. What do you mean? Have you been following this person for some-" Toph broke off as a knowing smile crossed his face. "Ahh... you're one such as me, following this criminal across the lands."

Toph paused, considering his options. Officially, by the rules of his proffesion, if a criminal was claimed by another, one did not interfere. Then again, Tatyana did not seem to be from around here. Perhaps such customs did not apply where she came from. It was a slim hope, but...

"I feel as if I should ask you if I can join you on the hunt. May I?"

Soft? Oh yes you were soft Secara, soft and far too easily manipulated, a child could have had you jumping through fiery hoops if they had choosen to. Sometimes Esharee regretted pulling the half-elf's strings all those years ago, after all it had denied her the pleasure of the kill. If anything she should have done away with her then-partner and done the deed herself, revelling in the power over life and death that she held in her hands. But she had been younger then, still caught up with learning all the different ways to cause the death of another. After the manipulation of Secara she had decided that although it was useful, it was far more pleasant to have the blood of the victim upon her own hands rather than just upon her soul.

Where was the delight in causing another's death if it was not by her hands? Esharee did not kill for the money, she had no need of it, no she killed for the pleasure of it, drinking in the death as another might a fine wine. That others would pay her to test her skills, promising her anything she desired in order to do away with their enemies was just an unexpected benefit of the job. Sometimes she didn't even request money in order to kill someone, demanding information instead, though her employers often wondered at the intelligence that she asked to be paid in.

Not that many of her employers ever actually saw Esharee, the cat shape-shifter much prefered to be an enigma and a mystery to those who dealt with her. She had set up a series of places were she could be contacted, ones that only those worthy of her talents knew about. They would arrange to leave a message at these points for her to collect later. If she approved of the job she would make sure that the details were settled through a series of coded missives before actually taking any job. Those she worked for seemed to prefer it this way, keeping themselves far away from the creature who was going to do their dirty work. How she laughed at them, brave enough to hire an assassin but still too frightened to get the blood on their hands.

Though some had been brave enough to try and deny Esharee her wages after an assignment, and how delightful it was when they tried that. Those employers did get to meet Esharee, looking at her while her claws descended to end their life. No one broke a deal with her, no one, not if they wanted to live.

She gazed at the half-elf, smiling quietly to herself, Oh yes I've heard the tales that they tell of you, quite the little reputation you've built for yourself after such a poor start in the business. People don't tell stories of my deeds, she smirked, Probably because I know how to clean up after myself. No, they whisper though, fearful rumours passing from one to another in the darkness. You might have become a feared assassin Secara, and I am sure that you are most satisfied with that...I however have become a feared legend. I am more than a mere assassin, I am a servant of Death himself. And it was that statement that had caused more than a few people over the years to wonder if Esharee was not completely mad. When people spoke to her she might tell them of the deal that she had made as a child, her life in return for many, Death sparing her his touch if she would only send him souls of the living. Others might have laughed at her for saying such things, but one look at the jade green eyes of the shape-shifter could make another wonder if she did not tell the truth.

Esharee examined her sleeve carefully, sniffing at the spot of blood upon the cloth, it spoke to her of youth and innocence. She smiled widely at the reminder of the child that she had dispatched in the city, still regretting a little that she had had to kill the girl so quickly. Ah yes, such a sweet kill, though over far too soon, I always enjoy taking the young ones, silencing all that potential.

So he was a hunter too, a hunter of those who broke the laws of the laws, one who brought them to justice? She had often felt that in her forgotten life she might have been something similar, hunting and bringing down the darkness. It had felt right, it was as it the whole idea had just slotted into a space in her mind. Of course she knew nothing beyond that, no details or memories of exactly how she had done such a thing, it was all no more than a feeling, but a feeling that she trusted. Somewhere in her past she had hunted things, bad, evil, wicked things, ones that broke laws that had never been written down.

But what sort of laws were never written down? Every settlement that she had ever seen were always so careful to write their laws and rules down, capturing them in ink and binding them to sheets of parchment. Somehow the idea of shackling the laws so seemed alien to her, unnatural. Her mind seemed stuck on the fact that laws were beyond paper and ink, that somehow laws were from within, from the sense of right and wrong, from the stories passed down from one generation to another.

But no matter where Tatyana had travelled, no matter what distances she had covered following Esharee, she had never found a place that felt as she did. That meant something, she was sure of it...it meant that none of those places were her home. Somewhere out in the lands she had a home, she was certain of it, somewhere there was a family and set of friends who were waiting for her. Did they offer up prayers for her safe return? Or did these people who lived her and who she had forgotten think that she was dead?

This time...yes this time, she muttered, eyes darting to the shadows around them as if she thought that the assassin might jump out of them at any moment. Yes I have followed Esharee for many moons, trying to stop her, trying ot make her tell me- Her words broke off, Tatyana was still loathe to admit to someone she did not know well of her lack of memory. She had seen too many supposedly 'civilised' people mock those who were afflicted in some way. Though her instincts told her that this man would not do such a thing, she was still nervous to reveal the truth just yet.

Maybe later, maybe if he proved himself a true companion and hunter she would reveal the greatest of her weaknesses.

You wish to help in the hunt? You don't smell of her so I must take it that you are not in league with her, that's good. If you wish to join me on this hunt, you are welcome. She nodded her head towards the road, She came here with the bodies, probably left them deep in the forest. But her scent returns this way alone, following the road away from the city.

Toph watched as Tatyana stood, muttering to herself about Esharee, and something about Tatyana wanting Esharee to tell her something.

How interesting... Toph thought. Tatyana appeared to have some secrets about herself and this Esharee that she wasn't going to tell him. Fine. If Tatyana didn't feel like telling him, Toph could understand the feeling. She HAD just met him, and they had both been rather... tense at the time. Toph rolled his shoulders uncomfortably, recalling that he had been seconds from using Lethal force against Tatyana. Toph was certain that Tatyana would tell him what he needed to know, in the end. Until then... Toph was going to keep an eye on her.

Toph blinked as Tatyana spoke, slightly startled by her words.
"You can Smell her? That is an impressive talent, Tatyana. I merely use a trackers normal skills." He smiled, "And my magic."
Toph conjured up a small orb of fire to demonstrate, then doused it.
"Regardless, one of the things I am supposed to do is mark the location of the bodies of the guards if I come across them. You say they are in that direction?" Toph pointed off into the trees. "Thank you."

Toph closed his eyes and concentrated. On the path, a glowing blue arrow appeared, seemingly etched into the dirt, pointing into the forest. Toph opened his eyes, looked as his work, smiled, and nodded to Tatyana.

"I told the captain of the guard to send some men down this path two hours after I left. They'll find the mark, and then, find their dead companions."
"Regardless," Toph continued, "We really should be going if we want to catch this Esharee. Do you know which way she traveled?"

She backed away suddenly at the sight of the orb of fire, like a wild beast that draws back from a camp's flames. The light seemed to reflect in her eyes, almost making her seem more feral, more alien than she looked in the plain light of day. Though Tatyana appeared human she most certainly had the wild's fear of fire, that instinctive terror of the burning, devouring horror that men tried to tame. People, civilised people had used fire to beat back the wilderness, used it to set them above the ordinary creatures, make themselves better than the rest. Fire was useful, Tatyana knew this, but still she felt uneasy in its presence, the human and other halves of her warring for control.

Magic, she muttered to herself, tearing her gaze away from the fire, blinking back the dancing lights that remained for a few moments in her gaze. She knew of magic, she'd seen it done, street magicians calling up coloured scarves and swallowing fire. So she'd been right when she'd thought he'd done magic upon the road earlier, he was some sort of magician. But a magician not like those others she had seen, he didn't call up doves or make rabbits appear from his hat, not this was a different magic. But if that were true, then how many different types of magic were there?

"...always remember it. They don't understand us, our powers, our magic if you will, my child. They will never understand it, they call us dangerous because it, remember that it is your place to protect us. You are the warrior, we are the..." The remembered words faded as quickly as they had begun, another piece of memory dredged up from within, another piece of a puzzle that she could not see. The words meant nothing to her but she knew that once they had been spoken to her, it had been her place to protect something or someone. Had she somehow failed in that task? Was that why she couldn't remember anything? Because it was a punishment from those she had failed?

She shook her head, trying to clear it, wishing that all the pieces of her memory would come together to form a single whole person once more. Tatyana wanted to know who she was, where she belonged, was that all so much to ask for?

The wildwoman looked towards the Sidhe once more, Yes I can smell her, it is as easy for me as seeing is for you. I don't understand why, it's just always been this way, smells are almost like...colours to me, each one a winding trail that people leave behind themselves. The assassin has made little attempt to hide her trail, I do not know why. Perhaps she hopes to lure me in, perhaps she thought that I would not be able to leave the city in time before her trail faded. But whatever the reason the trail is clear and strong, I can track her path.

As for the dead, yes their bodies lay in that direction, or rather what is left of them does. The wild things are hungry, fresh meat will not go unused for long. Tatyana started to walk back to the road, every so often pausing and kneeling closer to the earth, sniffing the air. You can do no more for the dead but you may yet be able to help those that still live. Esharee went this way, away from the city, will you follow?