Obscurity Steals The Spotlight [Aero & Liza]

"I'll make it short then: six years ago a Tribal Battle Blood killed my family and left me to die. I've been supporting myself since I was around thirteen. Now every time it storms just about, I can't help remembering it." She shook her head and sipped her soup. "Please let's find a happier topic, I really don't fell like burdening you with this fluff." In the back of her mind she KNEW she was blushing, she just didn't want to acknowledge it.

A hint of a smile sneaked onto her face. "I rather like your ears. Though please tell me your eyes aren't naturally green. My so-called "father" had green eyes and he was a worthless S.O.B. I'd hate for the same to be thought of you." She still didn't trust him as far as she could throw him, but she hadn't given him any information of relevance or importance thus far, and it wasn't all that tough to keep her tongue in check.

Ooh, a Tribal Battle Blood? He'd never had the misfortune to be able to see one of the creatures himself, and was glad now. He'd heard all sorts of horrid things about the fierce dragons and had no desire to meet one up close and personal, not even for the sake of information. He knew his limits, and he was definitely no dragon slayer. There was obviously a lot that Silence wasn't telling, but if he was going to be around, he figured that he would probably be able to weasel the rest of the story out of her eventually. Patience. Besides, what did he have but time? He squeezed Silence's hands briefly. "I'm sorry for your loss." Then withdrew contact so that she could properly eat her soup.

He tilted his head slightly at the compliment to his ears, then chuckled at the rapid follow up statement that his eyes reminded her of her father. "Well, I've never gotten that combination before. And do your eyes really have a natural color if you can naturally change them?" He lifted an eyebrow and used his best scholarly voice, then let his magic do its work, easily shifting the hue of his eyes to yellow, amber, then paused on a purplish red for a second before settling on a deep sea blue. He blinked and the illusion stayed, and he smiled as he took in a spoonful of soup. Two could play that withholding information game. "Very good." He said once he'd swallowed the first bite and took another, the rain still pelting the tent. "Could you tell me a little about this circus that you're a part of? I've never been to one before."

She paused and looked over at him. "Of course they do. Not like you're born with colorless eyes and you just add color when you like, right?" He asked about the circus and raised an eyebrow. "Well it's not been around too long, it'd just formed when I decided to ask for employment with them at fourteen. We're still expanding our venue as we go. Hopefully we'll have much more for people to see in the coming months, whether there's a war or not." Her explanation went on a minute or two longer then she stopped.

"I don't suppose I'll be learning anything about you any time soon, hm? You don't seem the type to give up secrets easily." It was true in her eyes. He'd asked lots of questions but never told her much about himself in turn. She made quick work of the rest of her soup and sat back looking at him expectantly. "I do hope you'll tell me a little about yourself at some point."

While Silence explained the circus Russell ate, content to be a silent bouncing board for her and simply absorbed the information as it was given. “Fourteen, huh? So you’ve been at this a while lass. Impressive.” Her offhand comment that they were still looking for performers gave him some hope. He’d never before considered being a clown as a profession, but if it got him off the road and out of Kaionar, then any amount of face paint might very well be worth it. When the topic changed about himself, Russell simply inclined his head. “Honestly lass, what do you think there is to know about me? I’m a dastardly assassin from Kaionar. Can hardly swing a dead cat by the tail without hitting one of my types in this city. Though I’d wager none quite as amiable as myself, and probably not as handsome either.” He paused for dramatic effect, briefly swiping an errant lock of his wild light brown hair away from his forehead where it had fallen during their conversation.

“But if you really want to know me better, you should put a word in with your boss for me. I’ve been thinking that I need a bit of change of pace. This circus travels, right? It might be high time that I saw something beyond the walls of this city.” Russell had finished his soup so at back and folded his hands on the table, waiting for Silence’s reaction.

"All of us here have one kind of talent or another, what can you do? Show me you'll be of use here and I will most definitely put in a good word for you. If it turns out you pass muster then I'll explain the need to know stuff." In her own right she was a persuasive girl, and given Russell had already taken a shine to her, she figured he'd at least give a wee bit. She rose from her seat and walked behind him, lightly draping her arms around his neck. "While I'm certain your assassin skills are handy; we don't have much need of them here. Though I suppose you have more than one trick up your sleeve, yes?"

Oh how she hated to flirt like this, it really irked her to have to use her looks to get the answers she wanted. In this case she felt even worse because she had to act like Russell, ick.

If Russell had said that he had expected Silence to act this way, then it would have been safe to assume that he was a class A compulsive liar. He watched Silence move around the table, trying to guess her game and didn't move away or squirm when she draped her arms over his shoulders, instead allowing himself a brief smirk. Well, if the conversation was turning this way then he couldn't very well be blamed for being forward. Russell was adept at taking things in stride, so decided to let Silence have her way and touched her elbow briefly with light fingers. "Well, there's all sorts of things that I'm good at. I suppose that it's just a matter of determining which ones are any good for performance. Obviously, I can shift."

He demonstrated the talent with a small current of power, changing the dusky hue of his skin to a lighter one, his hair fluxing in color so that it was black as pitch, then let it settle down to his previous coloration. "And, as an neat party trick, I'm rather good with my hands." With just the barest hint of a slight grin, Russell reached up behind him to Silence's ear, briefly skimming the ridge of her cheek as he did so and touched the rim of her ear. When he withdrew his hand, it was with a coin caught between his index and middle finger, the silver piece glinting in what light there was to be had. He closed his hand around the coin and opened it again, showing Silence both sides of his palm to show her that the coin was gone. "Of course, it's not only coins that I can make disappear, but it is a useful trick. And then I have a magnificent voice. Would you like me to sing for you again?"

Upon mention of his singing she couldn't decide whether to roll her eyes or to smile. She retracted her arms and returned to her seat. "You'll do just fine here, and I think I'll take a rain-check on the singing for the moment. Care for a second helping of soup?" she asked. Thunder crashed again and this time instead of panicking outright she just shook a little. After a moment or two, she looked over at Russell for his answer. "Perhaps, when you're finished eating I'd like to hear you sing. Please?"

Anything to keep her from getting scared again. She'd handle just about anything so long as she could get her mind off the storm. If that meant indulging Russell's ego then fine. Felix, her white tomcat, crawled out from under her bed with a scared meow and curled up in her lap. "Ah, Russell this is my cat, Felix." she said a bit awkwardly. Why did her cat have to make everything uncomfortable? Why?!

Hah, a rain check. So Silence idd have something of a sense of humor. Another roll of thunder rolled over them and he saw her visibly tense at the sound. Well, maybe not. "Another bowl would be great." He replied, taking the offering of free food easily. Joining up with the circus seemed a better option all the time if they got to eat their share of food like this. He could certainly get used to not having to steal every other meal in order to support himself. The tomcat was a bit of a surprise, and Russell couldn't help but to stare at the small creature as it made its appearance. He took a spoonful of soup to cover the awkward silence that immediately followed. "That is a… Handsome animal." Russell wasn't really a cat person. Or a pet person, in general. He couldn't even begin to count the number of times that someones pet lap dog or talking parrot had ruined what had otherwise been a perfectly executed assassination attempt. There was just no accounting for animals. Silence was lucky she wasn't a target, or that was the first thing that he would have taken out upon discovering that she had an animal.

But that was his inner assassin talking. He wasn't planning on killing anyone in the circus, so had no reason to start planning the imminent death of household pets. Hopefully it wasn't the kind that started inexplicably hissing and spitting at him. That would just be unpleasant. Upon finishing his second bow, Russell cleared his throat briefly, tapping his fingers on the table. "Well, if you'd like, I know an old song. It's about traveling and overcoming obstacles. I think you'd like it."

"Sure, anything you want to sing go right ahead." She shooed her cat away and tried her best to relax. It didn't work well. Even after trying to focus on something else she was still shaking and it was very demeaning. "To be honest and frank that cat sleeps around more than a cheap street-walker. Why he took up with me when we were visiting around the Azure Caves, I'll never know."

Finally it sounded like things were calming down outside, but that turned out to be a miscalculation. The thunder stopped at least, but the rain it seemed was far from over. "No more thunder, thank goodness." she muttered with a small smile. With a curious glance at Russell, she made herself comfy and looked a bit happier. "Your singing is quite good I must admit. Did someone teach you or is it just a natural talent you possess?" She'd be quite impressed if it were something he just had a knack for.

He felt sorry for her, the way that she shook so fiercely even though it was only a harmless storm outside. Well, maybe not completely harmless. There was sure to be more than one shanty missing a roof after this particular squall in the city, but it wasn't a gigantic natural disaster. He smiled for her sake at the jest about her cat, though he wasn't particularly feeling it. Poor girl. Russel sat back and laced his finger together, turning them out and getting a chain of pops in response to the action. "Self-taught. In everything, actually. I'm a natural born artisan, lass. This might not be Yarrowitz, but Kaionar has a way of teaching you to be creative in her own way." Russell winked then drew a breath and started the song in his rich tenor voice.

"The clouds roll on in the endless night,
The stars shine upon the sea
May the waters find your path to be fair
Until we meet again. Until we meet again.

The winter's sky is cold and bright
The morning sun is nigh.
The road you travel is straight and true
Until we meet again. Until we meet again.

The storm you find along your path
Blocks out the noon-day sun
Be brave my love, be strong my love
Until we meet again. Until we meet again…"

He sang for a few more verses, the lyrics telling of various worsening hardships until the lovers in the song did finally meet in the end when the clouds rolled away and their life returned to a thing of idyllic beauty and peace. Once he was done he paused a second, quietly watching Silence, then stood and walked around to her side of the table. "Come on, you should show me around. It'll keep your mind off of things." He offered Silence a hand, though was careful to keep his extended reach out of swiping distance in the event that her tomcat really was the type to hiss at strangers. The last thing that he wanted was to get his fingers scratched up. Besides, he always found that keeping active was a good way to forget about dwelling on painful things.

That was surprisingly marvelous singing, even to her. With a smile, she grasped his hand and pulled herself to her feet. "I'm rather impressed, and believe it or not I'm the same way. My actual circus talents came naturally. Most anything else I can do I learned by practicing on the go." Thankfully the rain had let up by that point, but now everything outside was all muddy and foggy. That was going to be fun to traverse. "Well if you'd really like me to show you around then okay, but I must warn you it's muddy and foggy and it's really dark."

With that warning in mind she stepped outside gingerly and looked around. Eh, it could've been much worse. "Guess the first thing to show you is the animals. Follow me and don't stick your hand in any cages or you're likely to lose it." Whether he took her seriously or not was his business, but it was very much true.

Upon seeing the conditions outside, Russell flipped up his hood which immediately hid is face in the deep shadow of the cowl. The thick material would help to keep the misty rain off of him at least, even if he did look a touch shady now. "I look forward to seeing what you can do, then." He replied cheerily, meaning it. He wasn't entirely sure what his role in all of this would end up being, so was looking forward to seeing what sort of talents were actually needed for this kind of work. He liked a challenge every once in a while. "Don't worry about me, lass." He replied with a bit of a chuckle, stepping out into the night, already feeling more at home. "I'm not a complete fool to stick my hand in the mouth of a dragon. I rather like them where there're at." Not to mention that he spent the majority of his life wandering around in the dark anyway, so was completely used to navigating the hazards that the darkness usually provided. Though he'd try and keep his skill set as an assassin on the down low. It would be unfortunate if the others in the group acted funny in his presence because they knew what he really was about.

"Oh it's not Asrai that I worry about taking your hand. It's Fredrick our spider-humanoid or our resident tigress I worry will do the damage." She flashed him a dangerous smile and walked through the tent. The wind howled outside and some of the animals began to stir anxiously. "Scared animals are more dangerous than ones that are calm." In the low light she glanced at the tiger's cage and sighed. "You must have quite the repertoire to go from an assassin to a circus performer. In between you're also a rather shameless flirt. Seems you touch every point on the compass so to speak, hm?"

In truth most of the cages were safe to get close to, but there were some that had widely spaced bars. The cages with extra space between the bars were the ones she worried about most in the dark. "From here we go to Golam in the far north. From there I do not know, but it's sure to be fun. Right?"

"Asrai?" His eyes widened slightly. "I didn't think that you actually had a dragon working for you lass, but I'll keep in mind the warning about the spider man." He followed her out into the darkness, his boots squishing in the mud as he walked rather noisily. Nobody would be doing any sneaking up with the ground all wet like this, and was put somewhat at ease by that thought as he looked at the tigress with Silence. "Well, yes, I am a bit of a jack of all trades, so to speak. And I only flirt with the pretty ones, lass. Take that as a compliment." He gave a rather exaggerated wink, compensating somewhat for the darkness and the fact that Silence probably wouldn't be able to see too well into the darkness of his hood. It was designed to conceal the features of his face after all, which made some people nervous. He often did his best to offset that perception with his good humored nature, which almost always worked.

Mentally he drew a map in his head, calculating the distance from here to Golam. It would be a long journey, for sure, and he would get far away enough that hopefully the Finches wouldn't bother to try and track him down. The Finches were decent enough people, as far as assassins went, so he wasn't really looking forward to what would probably amount to an inevitable confrontation. "Well, traveling with a group of circus performers, I would be surprised if it wasn't fun, lass. I look forward to it." Russell smiled, honestly this time, but the good feeling wasn't to last.

Be heard the squish in the mud a few feet behind him and turned abruptly, warily scanning the darkness. From between two crates a figured appeared, about as tall as Silence and wirily built, wearing the same style of dark leathers and deeply shadowed cowl as Russell. "Oi, Rus, I been lookin' everywhere fer ya." It was a man's voice that came from the hood, and he stepped forward a little bit, disengaging from the shadows that had previously hidden him from sight. He looked at Silence briefly, assessing her in a handful of seconds before looking back at Russell. "Say g'night to the broad, Rus. We got a job, an' we need you to pull it off."

"Well thank you, I suppose your friendly nature isn't so bad after all." Though shortly after that was said things got tense. Silence went from jovial to cold in a matter of seconds when the intruder started talking. "I don't believe you really belong here, perhaps you should leave before some ill-fated trouble befalls you." The way the intruder gave her a look-over "really" worked her last nerve. "What is it with you birdbrains and not seeing past the noses on your faces?" If Russell left with them she didn't know what she'd do. Though the fact this new person didn't pay her any mind was a good thing.

Though to her displeasure another person joined the one currently barring the entrance. "Could just bring the girl for some extra fun? Rus always did have good taste." 'That's it. The newcomer gets scorched first.' was her immediate thought process. She'd said it to Russell she'd say it to every man she met: she was nobody's plaything.

"Ill-fated trouble?" The first man laughed, his chuckle containing a hint of malice. He looked to the second Finch that had appeared and grinned, his white teeth showing despite the darkness covering his face. "Well, maybe we can get a good play outta her a'fore we head out for the job."

Russell stiffened visibly and took a step in front of Silence, squarely setting his body between her and the two assassins. "Now, now. If you always talk like that to the ladies, then it's no wonder why I'm the only one that ever gets to enjoy their company." The tone that he used with the other Finches wasn't the soft mellow tone that he'd used with Silence, but a slightly harsher if still well-meaning sort of sounding voice. He smiled at the other two as well, retuning the grin tinged with ill will to the first one that had appeared. "If we've got a job to do, then lets go do it. I wouldn't want you lads fallin' behind because of jelly legs."

From behind Russell she glared at the two and whispered rather peevishly, "You will be returning won't you?" This felt extremely awkward and the newcomer was still grinning creepily at her. "Stop smiling like that it's creepy! Keep it up and I'll melt your face off!" She earned a laugh off the one still smiling and rolled her eyes. "Aww listen to her, she thinks she's tough."

"Go, Russell, but please return soon, we set out at noon tomorrow." At any rate she readied a match in order to singe some fabric when he and the others were leaving. The smiling Finch turned to leave and she seized her chance, blowing a stream of fire at him and sending him running out the tent screaming about the fact his pants were on fire. "For the record I am nobody's plaything! So forget it!" It never really occurred to her to wait till they were out of the tent to set one of them on fire, but whatever worked was what she did.

"I will, don't worry." He mumbled back to Silence, turning his head slightly toward her and dipping his head so that more of his face would be shadowed by his cloak. Russell was about to step forward and go off with the Finches, hoping to keep the other two thinking that his interest in Silence and the Circus was only a typical skirt chasing ordeal that he'd become somewhat famous for. It probably would have worked, too, then Silence set one of them on fire and it was just all down hill from there. He cursed beneath his breath, his hands going for the daggers concealed in the thick leather belt sitting on his hips.

"Oi!" The first Finch yelled, drawing his weapons. "Damned firestarter is going to have the whole place up in a blaze!" He came forward like he was about to sprint and stop Silence from letting loose any more fireballs but stopped mid stride as a thin throwing knife sunk into the mud where his foot would have landed. Off balance, he waved his arms in the air madly to regain his center and took another flying knife in the arm. Russell launched another knife and this time the Finch deflected it with a swing of one of his own dagger and retreated from the tent, taking shelter behind a cage before returning fire with some throwing knives of his own at the two.

Russell managed to knock one out of the air where it sunk into the mud at his feet, but took a second one in the side, the blade ripping through his clothes and deflecting off of the woven metal and leather body armor he had hiding under his clothes for situations just such as these. "Keep low!" He hissed over his shoulder to Silence, then armed with his daggers he took off running, expertly navigating his way forward despite the slippery ground and skidded behind the one that had been lit ablaze, attacking him in a sudden flurry of dagger blows.

Silence felt immediately after the fact that she'd just made a huge mistake and that Russell wasn't going to be a happy camper when he got back, if he left at all since it seemed killing these people was the only option. Yet, regrettably, she hid behind a few large crates and simply waited for things to blow over. It hurt that people didn't have confidence in her abilities, but this was just some lowlife Russell worked with so it didn't phase her much.

Meanwhile outside it seemed that Russell was now a wee bit pissy about him cracking jokes about that girl. "You fancy her?" he asked as he frantically deflected several attacks. He really didn't have room to go on the offensive, and with his pants and part of his rear scorched movement wasn't really a big option either. "Or are ya just not in the mood to share?" Knowing Russell it was likely the latter, but something told him there was more to him defending her like that than being considerate.

Russell was not, in fact, a happy camper. The last thing that he had wanted to do was start a war with the Finches before he got a chance to skip town. If he lived through this, then he would be having strong words with Silence afterwards about attacking before negotiations were over. Very strong words.

He retreated from the second Finch as the first one recovered after pulling the throwing knife out of his arm and returning the favor, throwing it back at Russell where it embedded in a wooden crate behind the half-elf's head. "You better have words for this, Rus. I ain't gonna let this one slide."

"Look lads." Russell started, lowering his daggers slightly and shifting his grip on the handles. He looked less threatening, but was still poised to fight, his gaze flicking from one assassin to the other. Hopefully, Silence had gotten herself out of the way of the fighting and wasn't going to be taking a dagger to the head in the even that this got any messier. "I'm head over heels for the lass, but she's got a bit of a temper. I don't want to see anybody hurt, over this, 'aight? Now lets just move along and do what you came here to get me to do."

During the fight she'd hidden in the shadows and figured if and when Russell returned she was in a whole Hades of trouble. Not only did she assume it, little did she know that she was right. Of course the Finch she scorched wouldn't let it go easily. "A bit of a temper?! The woman breathes fire to rival a small dragon! Not only did she set my trousers ablaze she nearly burned my arse!"

Needless to say the scorchee was more than slightly offended and definitively panicked over the ordeal. Oh yes, Silence was in for a likely ticked off Russell when he returned. So instead of trying to apologize outright and risk anything else happening, she decided to move away and go back to her tent. Hopefully she'd at least get a short amount of sleep before he got back and tore her a new one for acting so stupidly.

"Whatever. Your harpy. C'mon, lets just get out of here before she blows us up." The first Finch sniffed, rubbing his arm where the knife had bitten into it. The three assassins disappeared into the night then, their dark clothing blending in seamlessly with the foggy night. It was the last the Silence would see of Russell until the next day.

Precisely at noon, the half-elf showed up on the circus grounds, wearing a nondescript plain cotton shirt and a brown leather vest and carrying a knapsack over his shoulder. He wore the same boots as before however, the thick sturdy footwear appropriate for nearly all occasions. This time though, he did not quite look like himself. His ears were noticeably more rounded, almost completely human unless you looked especially hard. His skin had turned a pale white and his hair was a fiery shade of orange and his eyes were a watery grayish color. He sought out Silence immediately upon arriving, picking his way through the fairgrounds that were now no more than muddy patches where the tents had been. Once he found the fire started he hovered nearby, looking around almost nervously and sticking close to cover. "Oi! Lass!"

Upon hearing a familiar voice she turned, paused for a moment to see who it was, then waved. "Hi there." She wasn't quite sure who this was, but after he called her lass she put two and two together. "Ah, Russell! It took a minute for me to recognize you." The anticipation of getting yelled at for the night before still weighed heavily on her mind. Though seeing as this was a big moving day and they were leaving this dreadful city, she put on a smile.

"We've loaded the wagons up and gotten the cages all squared away so we're ready to head out any time now." Personal items had only just been packed and she was itching to get on the road. She climbed onto one of them and looked over at him. "Just set your things in the back and you can ride up here. Next stop is Golam!"

He was relieved that she didn't recognize him at first, it was a sign that his disguise had worked and hopefully he wouldn't have any rumors following him to the Circus. He'd barely escaped the Finches this morning and hoped that they wouldn't find out he was missing of where he'd gone until long after they were out of Kaionar. After the little stunt that he'd pulled last night to keep Silence from ending up on the wrong end of a knife, he'd gotten a bit of a beating from his fellows once the job was done. He put his bags up where Silence had shown him that their personal belongings were supposed to go, doing so gingerly as stretching in that particular direction hurt one of the bruises just below his left shoulder blade where one of his gang members had punched him. Once his bags were away, he looked up at Silence from where she sat, hooking his thumbs in his belt.

"Lass…" He started off, his voice low as he examined how best to tackle this problem. Her shirt was slipping a bit, which didn't help his concentration at all, but that was besides the point. "I have to know, what were you thinkin' last night? You nearly got yourself killed, and me too."

Well here was the scolding, but at least it was a calm one. "I reacted to those two the way I should have reacted to you in Baldasarre's shop, but setting the shop on fire wasn't an option at the time. I don't take kindly to being mistaken for a whore. I'm sorry I reacted to being insulted." After getting her anger out of her system she got down from her seat and held his hand for a moment. "I am truly sorry for causing you such trouble. If there's anything that I can do to make up for it let me know, but we should get going before anyone gets suspicious."

After a moment of quiet she climbed back into her seat. "Let's go." Yes, she felt bad about it, but her reaction was warranted and thus didn't think it required an apology. The way she looked straight ahead of her with an angry look in her eyes didn't really help. If Russell was going to be around her though he'd just have to deal with it. Behind the anger there was a hint of sadness and hurt. It didn't matter that whatever someone said was wrong, it was the fact they'd said it to start with and genuinely meant it. That truly hurt her feelings.

» Family Reunion (Liza, Jula and Aero)
» Lovely Butterfly Wings [Kat x Liza]
» A Game of Cat and Mouse ((Echo/Aero))
» Disappear! (One on one, Aero Gorath and faeriethief)
» Fun and Games~Aero and Tegan