Showdown

[Faro/Blade]

"He should be at the inn, but I smell Torak." Blade moved into the alleyway, noticing that the burning smell had strengthened as well. But both scents were overpowered by the scent of fear primal, piss-soaked fear. "Alemine, look for Icylius inside." Blade told her, knowing it would send her away. He moved into alleyway and looked over the scene. There was blood and urine on the ground, and the scent of a thief hung in the air "Dammit Torak." He muttered. It was a small matter, and nobody was killed, but Blade hadn't gotten the full trust of the thieves yet. If he couldn't get Torak to stop, he would owe them a favor. Once he banished the scent of fear from his notice, the smell of static appeared again. Now it was strong enough to recognize. "She's gone, Iona. No more games. Show yourself." Blade called out.

[Azrael/Iris]

Torak nodded to Icylius and then said to Bruno. "We will be leaving now and will return when our mission is complete." Torak bowed his head and Bruno returned it.

The Master Assassin walked out of the room with Icylius following him and they made their way back out, some of the assassin's that were in the liar poked their heads out when they had heard that Torak was there, they watched in awe as he walked through with Icylius following him. He paid them no attention, his mind was focused else where.
The brick opened for the two as they made their exit and it resealed itself after Icylius exited.

The Assassin made his way down the alley and pushed Icylius towards the wall when he heard voices, Torak was still for a moment when he registered the voice as Blade's. He nodded to Icylius and turned the corner to find Blade and Iona in the alley.

"Well...did not expect to see you two together alone." Torak said with a grin.

[Iona]

Alemine happily romped on over to the Inn, more than a little excited and nervous to have a chance to speak to Icylius. Flustered, she went over what she would say to him once she found him, not noticing he wasn't in the inn at all. Nevertheless, the girl disappeared back into the inn.

As soon as Alemine disappeared from sight, Iona came out, her usually sparkling eyes dull wth worry and her face completely concealed safe for her eyes by her head veil. The Gerudo came over to Blade on silent, slippered feet, her movements strangely wary and guarded. "Is that her? Alemine?" she asked Blade, coming up close, inches from him, as if Alemine was just an arm's length away. "I can't be here. I'm not...ready to meet her. I don't even know if I like her. She's so different," she told him, watching the inn door.

It seemed there was another side to the wayward black-haired Gerudo. Jewels and momentary gain, usually on the top of her priorities seemed not existent. If one looked closley, they would've seen a slight glistening in her eyes. "Don't tell her I was here." she asked Blade, turning to leave but freezing upon seeing Torak and Icylius.

[Azrael/Iris]

Torak grinned as he looked Blade and Iona.
"What brings you here, Iona?" He pretty much knew why Blade was here, he came with Icylius...and he was looking for Maximus...the same as Torak.

[Faro/Blade]

"I do not understand. You are family. What could possibly come between you?" Blade grabbed her arm as she turned to leave. "Wait here." He released her and went to Icylius. "Alemine is inside, she seems excited to see you. We can leave after I talk to Iona." He said, gesturing to the door. Blade turned to Torak. "Be nice to the thieves. With all that's happening, we need all the information we can get."

[Azrael/Iris]

"If you're talking about the one I interogated...for I will not lie...you can most likely smell him...that one was a traitor to the thieves guild in this town. I only roughed him up enough to have him tell us of what he knows...I do not know of his fate after I was finished with him." Torak looked at the spot where he had left the thief.

[Argoth/Maximus]

Icylius instantly started paying attention the moment he heard Alemine's name. He had zoned out from the rest of the world while Torak and Blade talked to the new girl. Icylius didn't care for meeting new people. An instant smile appeared across the teenage boy's face, and he glanced in the inn's direction. "She is?" he said, although it didn't register to him that he was speaking aloud until it was too late, and he tried to stifle the heat rising to his face. Icylius fell silent as he tried to think of how to respond, should he just casually go to the inn? He didn't want to give away his affection for Alemine but he already had a feeling like it was noticeable anyway. What could he even say? After a little too much over analyzing Icylius decided that he would just slip over to the inn. He wanted to see Alemine quite badly as he hadn't for quite a while. Maximus had run away, and he was occupied with trying to find him while she was always off doing things for the organization. As he neared the door all thoughts of what the others would think dissipated, and his heartbeat sped up a just a fraction.

Icylius entered the inn and glanced around for the sight of Alemine, and once he found her, his mind went blank. In his excitement to see her he hadn't thought of anything to say.

[Iona]

Iona sighed, staying in place reluctantly. She looked uncomfortable, nervous, almost scared. She blinked rapidly, then tore off her head scarf viciously, glaring at it, letting her night colored hair fall freely. "I only know about her because Seiji mentioned her once. I wasn't suppose to leave the Fortress until my job was done. Alemine and I share fathers, but that's about it. I'm scared that...she might not like me," she confessed, rubbing the back of her elbow, looking positively miserable. Keeping her head down and using her hair as cover, she eyed the surounding area, planning a prompt and swift flight.

................................

It was as if nobody else existed in the crowded, noisy bar. People were just obstacles to the girl as she gazed at them then barreled past them. Then, as if sensing something, Alemine looked up, locking eyes with Icylius. Her eyes widened and her heart raced, a flush appearing up her face and the top most strands of hair on her head rising slightly. She didn't even know what she was doing, walking forward and smoothing her hair down, her mind blanked out.

She was about a dozen yards from Icylius, gaining speed in her excitement to see him, and unfortunately didn't see the chair out in front of her. She stepped twice, tripping over the chair legs and the tall girl went flying because of her momentum, crashing to the ground at Icylius's feet hard on her knees. She kneeled there a good while, her knee stinging and bleeding slightly and was wide eyed and blinking in confusion, wondering how she got to the ground.

Alemine looked up at Icylius, her honey colored hair in her large black eyes and she slowly moved, embarrassedly pulling down her skirt, which had rode up in her falling. The vulgar men at the bar hooted and whistled, cat calling her, and she blushed, tearing up in her embarrassment. The blond Mycenlaean girl sniffled, looking around with wide, kitten-like eyes and then back at Icylius. "Hi." She said to him, her voice cracking into a higher octave.

[Azrael/Iris]

Torak could only guess what had happened before he and Icyilius returned. From the short time he had known the young Gerudo...he could tell that she had no place for fear in her heart. But seeing her afraid to meet her own kin due to the fact of rejection...he was seeing another side of this girl that he thought wasn't possible.

"Do not be afraid to meet your kin, ragazza." Torak said, looking right at Iona.

[Faro/Blade]

"Torak, please." Blade said in a soft, somber tone. "I never had the luxury of distrusting my foster families. I... I wish to know more of this pain. A moment alone would be appreciated. Go, have a drink." If Torak could see Blade's eyes behind the hood that covered his slightly bowed head, even the master assassin would have a hard time reading them. Not even Blade was sure what he felt. It was an unhappy mix of sorrow and the unknown, and words could not do it justice. Blade passed Torak a small bag of money for drinks, and went back to Iona.

"Can we walk?" He asked in the same morose tone, gesturing to the street with his forearm. "It helps clear my mind, focus my thoughts."

[Argoth/Maximus]

As Alemine tripped and fell Icylius immediately tried to reach out and catch her. Unfortunately though, he missed, and Alemine landed hard at his feet. His heart skipped a beat and he descended to her rescue, "Are you alright?" He asked helping her up to her feet. His face flooded red as he noticed her skirt had rode up. Then Icylius noticed the men around the bar hooting and hollering at Alemine, and as he glanced back down at her he could see how embarassed she was. He clenched his teeth together as a white hot anger erupted inside him. Icylius glared around the bar, a clear death sentence in his stare. Most men turned away, taking the hint, but a few men hadn't and they scowled back at him. A particularly fat man sitting on a bar stool that looked like it could barely support his weight, stood up and shouted, "You got a problem kid?" The man was clearly drunk off his ass, and Icylius took note of this. Everyone at the bar immediately directed thier attention to the commotion now taking place; watching with amusement.

Two other men stood up and joined him; providing support if something should go wrong. Icylius narrowed his eyes at the fat man, saying nothing. "I asked you a question boy!" he bellowed. Icylius shook his head, these men weren't worth it. Besides, he didn't think Alemine would like it if he beat up a fat drunk man and his posse. So he decided to ignore them and turn back to Alemine. A smile spread across his face, "Anyway, are you alr.." he almost finished. The fat drunk sumbled up to him and attempted to shove him to the ground. Icylius merely staggered to the side, and he suddenly remembered his violent hatred for people. As he straightened himself out the fat man yelled at him once more, "I was talking to you! Don't you ignore me!" The words were a little distorted and slurred from how intoxicated the man was.

Icylius clenched his fists together in restraint, and everyone in the bar could see the pure anger behind his eyes. Then the man transitioned to Alemine, distracted from Icylius. "Well hello there sweet cheeks, why don't you come with me eh?" And he reached out to grab Alemine by the arm.

This was the last straw for Icylius, he'd had enough. The man's arm stopped before it reached Alemine, and he looked down at himself, puzzled at what was keeping him from taking hold of her. "What the? I can't move," he cried. His also inebriated companions stepped forward to see what the problem was. But before they reached him Icylius whipped him out the front doors of the inn. The two men froze, and Icylius glared at them, "Sit down, or you're next," he growled. They complied without hesitation, hastily returning to the bar. And that was that.

Icylius turned back to Alemine and sighed, "Sorry about that. How are your knees feeling?" he asked.

[Azrael/Iris]

Torak eyed a homeless child, searching through the nearby bins for scraps of food. Searching for something to eat. Torak looked at the money that Blade handed him and then at the kid. "Hey kid." He said, the child looked up and was caught by surprise when the bag of money landed in his hands.

"You need it more than I do." Torak said.

"Gee...thanks mister!"the child said and then ran off to spend it on food.

Torak looked up to the sky and watched the sun, they were running out of day light.
His gaze returned to the streets and his yellow eyes spotted a rather suspicous looking fellow.

"Where are you off to, amico..." he whispered, eyeing the mans movements...looking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure no one was following him.

The Master Assassin decided it wasn't worth his time...until he saw the strange package the man was carrying...the shape of it...looked...familiar.

Torak watched as the man entered the inn. His curiosity got the better of him...it looked...strangely familiar. He opened the door and witnessed Icylius throwing a man out the front door, almost hitting the man with the package. Blending himself in with the crowd, he moved through it, keeping the man in his sight as he followed him.

[Kadina]

[This thieves guild businesss... is it referring to the stuff that happened in the Mike/Garen thread?]

[Faro/Blade]

(No, we made it up. =P)

[Azrael/Iris]

(we're so smurt)