E6T3

[Stormlightsong]

On 4/26/2023 at 10:48 AM, I think I am here. said:

Tsyan raised an eyebrow as they neared.

"You're going to be our local, though, right?" He looked to Clotho and back to Feynah. "Apparently this guy isn't too receptive to outsiders - if he's alive, that is."

“Don’t worry about it” Feynah said, slightly annoyed that an assassin would tell her what to do. “I’m good at deescalating situations, especially with a badly like this” she gave Tsyan her biggest puppy dog eyes “who could be angry at this face?”

@Koloss17

Edited April 28, 2023 by Stormlightsong

[Koloss17 She/They]

Clotho, 438 Scrap Street, The Mistwarrens
 

Well, this will certainly be interesting.

 

Clotho knocked on the battered door of 438 Scrap Street. The door looked as if it had been taken off it’s hinges more than a few times, and had a metal hatch used to see who was at the door without opening it.

Clotho, not gently, but not full force, rapped on the door. And waited.

A moment later, a scraggly boy, maybe early twenties, opened the hatch.

”Whadya want?” He said, both cautiously and annoyed.

”I’ve heard a Nicro lives here, and I’d like to make business with him” Clotho responded, equally irritated.

“Well, he’s out at the moment. Whadya want him for?”

Clotho, growing more frustrated, said

”Just let me talk to Delben!”

Begrudgingly, the boy opened the door, and let her in.

@Stormlightsong

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here. he/him]

438 Scrap Street, the Mistwarrens

Tysan watched the boy open the door and eyed him. He glanced along a blue line that connected his chest to something in the boy's pockets - probably coins - and he pulled on it a bit. Not much, but enough to clink them around a little. Enough to let the boy know they weren't without protections.

As discussed, he didn't enter with Clotho, instead staying outside and holding guard. In a place like this, with seemingly one entrance and exit, an ambush would be child's play. He wasn't going to let that happen.

<->-<->-<->

The inside of the building was dark, windows boarded off with thick planks of wood nailed to the frames, letting only cracks of light through. It gave off a feeling of desolate emptiness, with a stone ground and some bare furnishings that had the bland, utilitarian feel of something that had been soulcasted into existence. A cheap place. Hardly an oddity.

A few people sat at a table, playing a card game, and just beside them, seated at his own desk cluttered with chrysts and ledgers, was a thin, wiry Nicroburst who was known as Delben.

The boy ran over to him and whispered something in his ear. Then Delben looked towards the newcomers. The people playing the card game glanced up, but otherwise paid no heed.

"You must have gotten mixed up," Delben said coldly to the newcomers, still seated at his desk. "There is no business for you here."

[Koloss17 She/They]

On 4/29/2023 at 9:18 AM, I think I am here. said:

The boy ran over to him and whispered something in his ear. Then Delben looked towards the newcomers. The people playing the card game glanced up, but otherwise paid no heed.

"You must have gotten mixed up," Delben said coldly to the newcomers, still seated at his desk. "There is no business for you here."

Looking about, Clotho noticed nothing unexpected. A few things have changed, but Delben’s style hadn’t. 
 

“I’m here to do business, and I know you’re the man that I need. You’re a Nicro, and a good one. Cheap, but experienced. And with the job I’ll be needing, it’s just an easy way to get some coin.”

The Delben she knew would be intrigued enough to hear her out. Now, this wasn’t going to be the gig he was used to, but money was money to him. She knew he doesn’t take kindly to demands, but with some support by the disguise artist, she could make it work. Assuming she…they…knew what to do.

”So do you want to hear the gig, or should I find another, more cooperative person to give my boxings to?”

 

@Stormlightsong

@I think I am here.

Edited May 2, 2023 by Koloss17

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 03/05/2023 at 1:13 AM, Koloss17 said:

"So do you want to hear the gig, or should I find another, more cooperative person to give my boxings to?”

Delben grit his teeth but otherwise didn't say anything immediately, staying seated at his desk. She called him cheap. As if he was still a street boy with nothing to his name.

"First, tell me who you represent," he said icily. He spread his hands, to show he was not closed to making a deal. Despite her insult, boxings were boxings and he loved the sound they made when he dropped them on his table. But he would not do it blindly.

He squinted his eyes at her.

"The Pewtersnakes wouldn't send someone Iike you. The Needlers wouldn't bother with an outsider. But you know my name."

And - though he didn't say it - he felt she knew more than just that. She was talking too freely.

He pointed a pen at the woman and her companion. "And then you can tell me who you've brought here, and the details of the gig. And then I can decide if I want your boxings."

@Koloss17

@Stormlightsong

Edited May 5, 2023 by I think I am here.

[Koloss17 She/They]

On 5/5/2023 at 9:51 AM, I think I am here. said:

Delben grit his teeth but otherwise didn't say anything immediately, staying seated at his desk. She called him cheap. As if he was still a street boy with nothing to his name.

"First, tell me who you represent," he said icily. He spread his hands, to show he was not closed to making a deal. Despite her insult, boxings were boxings and he loved the sound they made when he dropped them on his table. But he would not do it blindly.

He squinted his eyes at her.

"The Pewtersnakes wouldn't send someone Iike you. The Needlers wouldn't bother with an outsider. But you know my name."

And - though he didn't say it - he felt she knew more than just that. She was talking too freely.

He pointed a pen at the woman and her companion. "And then you can tell me who you've brought here, and the details of the gig. And then I can decide if I want your boxings."

@Koloss17

@Stormlightsong

Clotho, realizing herself, took a mental step back. She needed to act more wisely.

“Look, the gig is simple. I need a Nicro-enhanced boost of my own Allomantic Gold. So long as I’m not irreparably mentally damaged by the experience, I can give you some boxings and be out of here.”

Keeping wary eyes on the other company in the room with her gold shadows, something which her selves seemed to do on instinct, she walked closer.

”You ever dealt with an Augur before?”

[Stormlightsong]

While Clotho is speaking with Delben, Feynah noticed the people playing cards.

Quickly scurrying over, she took a seat at the table and said, “Deal me in,” in as serious voice she could manage while saying in character. She made sure the ace in her sleeve was secure.

@Koloss17 

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 07/05/2023 at 7:52 AM, Koloss17 said:

"You ever dealt with an Augur before?”

Delben had to smile at that, the ends of his mouth twitching up into a grin before drawing back into seriousness. Nicrobursting gold. That was like buying an expensive vest for your chicken.

"I dealt with an Oracle," he countered. He wouldn't say no to a curious noblewoman if it meant a few boxings. "Their mind didn't break."

He eyed the local-looking girl moving towards the card table, then turned his attention back to Clotho.

"Tell your daughter to behave," he said, then stood and nodded to a ajar door behind him. "There's a back room we can use."

@Koloss17

The rough-looking people at the table - two men and a woman - glanced over at the interruption of Feynah, but otherwise didn't say anything. One of them dealt her in.

"Roughs Rules," the woman said. "You got anything to bet with?"

A handful of boxings and a pewter earring lay in the center of the table. Not waiting for an answer, the players continued their game and expected the girl to join in whenever.

@Stormlightsong

[Stormlightsong]

1 hour ago, I think I am here. said:

The rough-looking people at the table - two men and a woman - glanced over at the interruption of Feynah, but otherwise didn't say anything. One of them dealt her in.

"Roughs Rules," the woman said. "You got anything to bet with?"

"sure do!" Feynah said, enthusiastically, while slipping a few boxingings out of the pocket of the closest man. she put them in the middle with a grin.

After losing 3 rounds she started to feel sore. time for the grand finale, she thought with a grimace. reaching up to stretch she replaced one of her cards with the ace in her sleeve. looking at her new hand she put on her biggest smile, like a child opening up their birthday present to find a puppy. in a one, masterful, stroke she placed her hand down onto the table, "full house," she said with a devilish grin. I hope Clotho's having as good luck, she thought as she started shoveling her winnings into her bag.

[Koloss17 She/They]

8 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

Delben had to smile at that, the ends of his mouth twitching up into a grin before drawing back into seriousness. Nicrobursting gold. That was like buying an expensive vest for your chicken.

"I dealt with an Oracle," he countered. He wouldn't say no to a curious noblewoman if it meant a few boxings. "Their mind didn't break."

He eyed the local-looking girl moving towards the card table, then turned his attention back to Clotho.

"Tell your daughter to behave," he said, then stood and nodded to a ajar door behind him. "There's a back room we can use."

@Koloss17

@Stormlightsong

“I assure you, she can do what she pleases. I fear the man that tries to stop her.”

Clotho felt that this was probably not too far from the truth.

“What happened to the Oracle?” Clotho said as they entered the room. Oracles we’re close to Augurs…right? 
 

Looking upon Delben, Clotho saw many of the same features. Yet, this man was certainly different than how her self had known him. More successful. More…arrogant. But still just as desperate for boxings.

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 09/05/2023 at 7:54 AM, Koloss17 said:

Looking upon Delben, Clotho saw many of the same features. Yet, this man was certainly different than how her self had known him. More successful. More…arrogant. But still just as desperate for boxings.

438 Scrap Street, the Mistwarrens

"He quit," said Delben matter-of-factly, turning on an electric light. This room was just as sparse as the one in front, though it had a large steel table where many people could sit, and a blackboard by the far wall that had some schematics drawn on it. Right now the table was filled with all sorts of junk.

Delben slid a chair over for himself and for the noblewoman.

"He rolled around over the floor, then quit when he woke up. He said he saw where he would end up if he stayed with us, and that he was going to Silverlight, where his 'best future' would occur."

Delben had called him a fool and had offered to increase his pay - Oracles were valuable - but the man had been adamant.

He reached over the table and grabbed a vial of nicrosil, right next to a small radio Clotho would've been able to recognise, as it was the only memento Delben had kept from his home when he'd been thrown out years ago.

He downed the vial, rolled up his sleeve a bit and gestured for her to give him her hand.

<->-<->-<->

On 09/05/2023 at 1:48 AM, Stormlightsong said:

In a one, masterful, stroke she placed her hand down onto the table, "full house," she said with a devilish grin. I hope Clotho's having as good luck, she thought as she started shoveling her winnings into her bag.

One of the men gaped in shock, the other rubbing his head with a disgruntled expression at losing half a week's pay to a little girl. The woman just stared at Feynah, green eyes intense.

"Double or nothing," she said softly. She dug in her pockets and tossed - not boxings - but three diamond broams, stormlight softly glowing from them.

The two men shared a look and decided that they'd lost enough already for one day. That just left Feynah, if she accepted.

"One round. If you win, you get the gems," said the woman. "If I win, I get your winnings."

A subtle soothing filled the air, targeting Feynah's apprehension. If she was observant, she would notice it.

[Koloss17 She/They]

7 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

438 Scrap Street, the Mistwarrens

"He quit," said Delben matter-of-factly, turning on an electric light. This room was just as sparse as the one in front, though it had a large steel table where many people could sit, and a blackboard by the far wall that had some schematics drawn on it. Right now the table was filled with all sorts of junk.

Delben slid a chair over for himself and for the noblewoman.

"He rolled around over the floor, then quit when he woke up. He said he saw where he would end up if he stayed with us, and that he was going to Silverlight, where his 'best future' would occur."

Delben had called him a fool and had offered to increase his pay - Oracles were valuable - but the man had been adamant.

He reached over the table and grabbed a vial of nicrosil, right next to a small radio Clotho would've been able to recognise, as it was the only memento Delben had kept from his home when he'd been thrown out years ago.

He downed the vial, rolled up his sleeve a bit and gestured for her to give him her hand.

 

Clotho looked at him apprehensively. “Are you a rusting idiot? In the eventuality that I’m going to pass out, you want me to be standing up?” Clotho knew that Delben wasn’t the most empathetic person out there, but she thought he at least had some common sense.

Sitting down, Clotho motioned to him. “Now, you better not be searching my body for coin when I’m out” she said, gravely. “Because of you are, I won’t be the only one that’s been knocked cold today.”

 

Downing a vial and reaching out her hand, Clotho readied herself.

@I think I am here. 

[Stormlightsong]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:09 PM, I think I am here. said:

"Double or nothing," she said softly. She dug in her pockets and tossed - not boxings - but three diamond broams, stormlight softly glowing from them.

The two men shared a look and decided that they'd lost enough already for one day. That just left Feynah, if she accepted.

"One round. If you win, you get the gems," said the woman. "If I win, I get your winnings."

A subtle soothing filled the air, targeting Feynah's apprehension. If she was observant, she would notice it.

Feynah sat, tense. What am I doing, I have the cash, I can leave, she thought. but no, if she left now It wouldn't make sense. A naïve child turns up three diamond brooms, now that's suspicious. After gaping at the gems for a few seconds she nodded rigorously and spilled the boxings back onto the table and received her cards.

It wasn't too bad, but with a slight adjustment, it could be perfect. Sleight of hand would clearly not work. this woman may have marked the cards, so she would notice if a new one was added. But what if she forged one of the cards into something better? her training with lightweavers had taught her how to forge on the spot, so pulling out a piece of paper from her bag, she put down her hand and started to draw.

she drew some flowers and the paper while slipping a card under it. looking unsatisfied she grabbed out some whiteout to erase it, making sure the whiteout dripped through the paper to erase the card underneath. she started drawing something new, a detailed picture of a cat wearing a cape. then with black ink she pressed hard to add an outline onto the card bellow. 

an ace would be too lucky. something smaller would be more convincing. she thought, drawing a king on the card. when her drawing was complete she showed it to the woman with a smile of pride on her face, while also slipping he new card into her hand. focusing back on the game she revealed her almost perfect hand with a triumphant, "Ha!"  

Edited May 14, 2023 by Stormlightsong

[Mrs. Voidus she/her]

Valeria, The Grand Hotel, The Bind Point

 

Lucien left the apartment as suddenly as he had presumably arrived. Or, Voidus she supposed. That will take some getting used to. 

The subtle smile she had plastered on her face dropped almost as fast as she smacked her cup and saucer back to the table the very moment the door closed behind her once-husband.

Rounding to face a slightly startled Laurelai, Valeria failed to moderate her voice to the harsh whisper she had intended. "Are you trying to kill me, daughter? No, don't answer that. And you," she vociferously spat at Lita.

"Did you enjoy making me look like a complete idiot? These things take finesse, they take caution and planning, and above all, they require having the upper hand. You have set back my re-seduction scheme by a full week!"

She exhaled slowly, with deliberate effort, forcing with it the peak of her somewhat poorly disguised disappointment that she had shrouded in indignation.

"Meum paenitemus Lita, Laurelai." she held her hand consolingly on her daughters thigh for a brief, reassuring moment before slumping back into the couch and shrugging her shoulders.

Valeria drummed her fingers onto the couch cushions and faced Lita again.

"I don't suppose you have any more bad habits you would be willing to share?" 

 

 

Meum paenitemus = My apologies 

@Voidus@ZincAboutIt

Edited May 12, 2023 by Mrs. Voidus
Sentence restructure, translation

[+ZincAboutIt she/her]

Lita's Suite, The Grand Hotel, The Bindpoint

Lita kept her face carefully blank as Voidus began speaking to her, years of training to mask any emotion coming to the forefront. His voice was like night, soft and foreboding and full of promises; she had to pull herself back from falling into recent memories of that same whisper detailing a different sort of instructions. The mention of a listener down the hall jarred her fully back to reality, and she was halfway through a plan of reconnaissance when his finger traced along her arm. It was only a moment, but with her tin as high as it was he may as well have been stroking the blood in her veins with how deeply she felt the contact.

She broke a little - just a moment, too short for anyone to catch - her eyes fluttering shut and the smallest inhale of breath. How could so few words touch such a place in her soul? Some place that Lita knew, without being quite formally told, no longer belonged to her. Then, he was gone, through the door with Vivica and vanished without a sound. Lita blinked, unconsciously storing the heat that would have rushed to her cheeks and down her neck in one of her brass arm bands. 

Valeria was speaking; Lita listened with half an ear to her complaints and remonstrances. The woman was a threat, though likely not in the way Valeria might perceive. She wished for her husband back - if there was any of him left to wish for. Lita welcomed her to try; the two were hardly competition. Valeria wanted love. Lita wanted... what? Purpose? An agreement? A hand finally skilled enough to properly wield her as the blade she was? 

Something far rarer than love, in all truth. And much more what Lita deserved.

"Bad habits..." Lita said, speaking into the silence more to fill it than to actually give the woman any real information. Her instructions flowed back into her mind now that Voidus had left. She pushed her tiredness aside, promising her wearied body 'later', and looking around for another vial of Pewter. Laurelai sat on the couch with a look in her eyes that spoke of a swift collapse should Lita let up her Soothing. Rust, was there ever going to be an easy day in her life?

"Plenty of vices to indulge here. Wine in the cupboard, cigarettes in the drawer." Lita pointed to both, chewing her lip as she thought of how best to approach the stranger listening out in the hall. "I need to go speak with the concierge downstairs, update them on your... extended stay. Laurelai? Do you think you could stay here and wait for me?"

Behind her back, she sent Laurelai a different message, twirling the pen in practiced, fluid motions.

"Someone listening down the hall, need to assess how much they know, and who they are working for. Stay here. Will keep Soothing you. Everything will be alright." 

@Voidus @Mrs. Voidus

[Voidus]

Lita's Suite, The Grand Hotel, The Bindpoint

It was a strange feeling to be completely relaxed and calm while being verbally attacked by a woman who had been an utter stranger only a couple hours ago but had in fact been your presumed dead mother. But Laurelai was grateful for Lita's continued soothing of her emotions. Even with them in a tight grip such as this she could feel her mind fixating on the numerous impossible revelations of the last few minutes.

Veevee is still alive? She considered with a mental monotone. And we've both been in the Dark Alley. How many times have I walked past Vivica? How did I never realize?

"Plenty of vices to indulge here. Wine in the cupboard, cigarettes in the drawer." Lita interjected, breaking Laurelai's musings.

She turned to follow the gesture, feeling oddly dreamlike and unaffected for better or worse by each new shift in tone of the room. Simply absorbing the the information. It was oddly relaxing, but also gave a sense of sharpness, keeping her alert. Almost like...
An azure fall of droplets to the stone floor below, a silent rainfall. Whispers that promise a relief from all troubles, an answer to all questions-

"-think you could stay here and wait for me?" Lita finished, Laurelai only just catching the end and the look that Lita directed at her.

At the same moment she caught the subtle movements of an Alleycant message, taking a beat longer than usual to decipher it and nod.

"Of course." She replied aloud, voice almost eerily calm. "Bad habits need company don't they? And I'd be happy to catch up more with... with my mother."

It was difficult to adopt her usual polite tone and expressions, the extra-carefully constructed ones she used for lying. In truth, she wanted nothing more than to go home and enjoy a long shower. Though a small part of her realized that she needed Lita to continue Soothing her until she could come to terms at least a little with the rapid shift in her life.

@Mrs. Voidus @ZincAboutIt

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 10/05/2023 at 7:12 PM, Koloss17 said:

Downing a vial and reaching out her hand, Clotho readied herself.

438 Scrap Street.

Even when she needed his help, Delben was getting lip from a noblewoman. He sighed, and grabbed her wrist, flaring his Nicrosil.

He smiled. He kind of hoped her mind would break.

<->-<->-<->

On 10/05/2023 at 9:11 PM, Stormlightsong said:

an ace would be too lucky. something smaller would be more convincing. she thought, drawing a king on the card. when her drawing was complete she showed it to the woman with a smile of pride on her face, while also slipping he new card into her hand. focusing back on the game she revealed her almost perfect hand with a triumphant, "Ha!"  

The woman gasped, eyes bulging out. Usually, her soothing gave her the upper hand. Today, it seemed she was going to be short a few broams and a whole lot of boxings.

"You... cheated!" she said, though she didn't know how to prove it. The girl had to have cheated. Somehow.

The two men just looked to each other and shrugged. The woman just stared in space, the accusation hanging in the air, but no action being taken. Their boss would wring them if they harmed the daughter of a client.

[Stormlightsong]

11 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

"You... cheated!" she said, though she didn't know how to prove it. The girl had to have cheated. Somehow.

The two men just looked to each other and shrugged. The woman just stared in space, the accusation hanging in the air, but no action being taken. Their boss would wring them if they harmed the daughter of a client.

Feynah looked at the pile of boxings and brooms, she wouldn’t have to scam for weeks, and less scamming means less risk. Why was I here again?, She thought for a bit, and then remembered. Oh right the augur.

“I wish I could stay and play,” She said innocently, “but Mommy’s gonna get worried.” she quickly dumped the cash into her bag and ran off to find Clotho.

@Koloss17

Edited May 13, 2023 by Stormlightsong

[Koloss17 She/They]

Clotho braced herself. Delben touched her, with a firm grip. He always had a firm grip…

 

Everything went dark.

 

——————————————————

 

 

 

Waking up, Clotho realized she was not in the same room as she was before. Where was she? And why was it so quiet?

In front of her was a woman. She was…Clotho. But…older. Lines creased her face, and she held a walking cane in front of her. How can there be an older self?

”You shouldn’t have come here.” The woman said. “For your own sanity, you should leave.”

Clotho wasn’t going to give up so easily. “I need to know who I am! Who am I?”

Before the woman could reply, everything faded to white.

 

——————————————————

 

 

 

Clotho was in a room. Wooden flooring, unpainted walls. Shelves were broken in two, with papers and broken objects strewn across the floor. The ground was charred from a fire that had since died out.

 

And in the center of a room, there was a girl. She wore a ragged dress, with soot lining the hem. Her hands were blackened, and her face was coated in a light layer of ash. Her eyes were green, like Clotho’s.

The girl was crying.

“Wh-who are you?” The girl whimpered.

”What…happened here?”

This can’t be her past…could it? No. This was a self’s life. Not hers.

“H-he took them. He took them.”

”Who? Where?”

Clotho was no fighter, but she could likely get a self that could. She turned to see which selves she had-

and there were none. She tried burning gold, and found…nothing. Her stores weren’t empty—they weren’t there.

Before she could fully process this, her vision blurred. She found herself in front of a door, with the doorframe off its hinges. The girl was behind her, cowering with fear.

This girl needs me. I won’t let her down.

Cautiously stepping over the door, Clotho entered the remains of the room. Blood oozed toward her feet. Bodies, dismembered, laid around the room, all in pieces. Limbs were detached from bodies, and a soulless head looked glassily at Clotho. Before she could scream, A figure in the center of the room spoke.

“Hello there missy”

The man wore a devilish smile, with intricate tattoos lining his shaved head. Where his eyes should be were two gigantic metal spikes, stabbed straight through his eye sockets. His body was covered in blood, and gore dropped from a massive axe that he held with one hand.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

[Stormlightsong]

2 hours ago, Koloss17 said:

Clotho braced herself. Delben touched her, with a firm grip. He always had a firm grip…

 

Everything went dark.

Feynah walked in on Clotho lying limp on a chair. Well she’s either dead or unconscious, she thought, neither is good for her, slightly more rich, daughter.

She made a convincing, almost puke before running into the bathroom to change.

I need someone who’s not suspicious. Someone who could blend in anywhere, she thought, I guess I need Jackie. 

Jackie was a jack of all trades persona that could blend in almost anywhere. Picture the most average, androgynous person you can think of. Finding Feynah/Jackie is like finding a needle in a haystack.

A few minutes later, a woman, or was it a man, in their mid-20s walked out of the bathroom and strolled across the main room to the door.

Once outside they leaned against the wall next to Tsyan giving him a small nod of greeting.

@I think I am here.

[I think I am here. he/him]

438 Scrap Street, The Mistwarrens

It was easier to think without the eyes of people on him. Easier to breathe the cool air, however polluted with smoke and dust it was.

He closed his eyes. Leaning against the wall, feeling the top of his spine hard against the uneven stony surface, he could almost imagine he was back on the fields of Emul, bartering with a merchant for a Chull ride, surrounded by stone and spren and drop-dread trees with bark that glistened faintly in the setting sun and rising moons...

He blinked, and the dream vanished. Replaced with ramshackle, tightly-packed huts of the Mistwarrens. The smell of smoke and metal. And these poor excuses for Allomancers.

Tysan sighed. If he'd traced his Emuli mission to the end, he would've only remembered the beginning of the next one, the weeks spent in this city between assignments not a haze or bleary, but simply gone. Excised from memory, stuck in a dusty copper coin in a ratty shelf in his apartment. Maybe it was better that way.

He spotted a blue line moving from his chest before he saw the figure from his periphery, emerging from 438 and taking a spot beside him. Young adult. Nothing remarkable about them.

They nodded. Tysan nodded back, silent. Then, slowly, he looked towards the door.

"You're with Delben?" he asked the figure. "Any idea how my client is doing in there?"

@Stormlightsong

Edited May 16, 2023 by I think I am here.

[Stormlightsong]

40 minutes ago, I think I am here. said:

"You're with Delben?" he asked the figure. "Any idea how my client is doing in there?"

he doesn't recognize me, Feynah thought, while to be expected, this could be a great opportunity to learn more about my new assassin friend. "she seems fine," they said calmly, "only unconscious, but what does it mean to you? you don't seem like the type to spend their days guarding some noblewoman." while Tsyan responded, they took the time to inspect him to get a better sense of his backstory.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Stormlightsong

[Koloss17 She/They]

Clotho, Spiritual Realm

Clotho, witnessing such an inhuman monster, did what any sensible person would do: she screamed. She knew little about her true self, but she was no fighter.

The creature reached for her, but she squirmed away, bounding over the fallen doorway, turning the corner, searching for the girl to get her out of here.

Turning the corner, she nearly ran into the older her. How did she get here?

With a kindly face, she said “This is not your past.” The woman held up a hand, and the world faded. As everything went black, Clotho heard the tortured screams of a girl desperately trying to escape her fate.

Clotho closed her eyes, shuddering.

 

“Brightness, you need to get out of the way.”

Slowly opening her eyes, and shielding them from the sun, Clotho glanced at the speaker. The man was a worker, by the looks of it. He had hazel eyes, and work-worn hands. He was carrying what appeared to be a bundle of clothes, each dress having intricate details and made of colorful fabric. 
 

“Sorry, sorry!” Clotho moved out of the way, stepping back out of the road.

looking around, she saw a landscape she could never have imagined. Arid land, almost prairie-like, had it not been for the lack of any grass. Instead, small buds poked out of the ground sporadically. There were gigantic creatures roaming this landscape, with hard shells and plated claws. Somehow, despite their fearsome appearance, the looked…docile.

In the distance, she saw a man, quickly approaching what appeared to be her caravan of servants and soldiers. This was the life she must have been used to, if on a different planet. Within a few minutes, the man arrived the now stationary procession.

”who is the woman known as lady Clotho?” He boomed, atop his strangely large horse. “I have a message from her master”.

There was a murmuring throughout the group, until one man pointed in her direction. Clotho wished that she could wilt into the ground and hide, but she couldn’t. She had to play an act, which was something that she should be used to by now. However, without her shadows, she felt…useless.

”I am here” she said, with less confidence than she would have liked. “What have you brought me?”

“Iyatil sends their regards. You nearly had him fooled, had you made your dealings with the Shin better concealed.”

Getting down from his horse, the man approached her.

”You had everything you needed. Why did you betray our trust?”

Clotho stuttered. “I-I can Explain-“

The man shook his head gravely. “Unfortunately, you won’t have to.”

Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted from her chest. She looked down, and saw a gigantic sword protruding from her chest. It was easily six feet in length, but she didn’t see the man holding it before.

The pain grew, and her vision began to blur. He pulled the sword out of her chest, taking it out as of her as if her body didn’t exist. 
 

As she crumpled to the ground, chaos erupted. People fleeing, soldiers drawing their swords. Clotho’s vision went dark.

“Neither is this your past” Clotho heard whispered into her ear.

[I think I am here. he/him]

On 17/05/2023 at 1:11 AM, Stormlightsong said:

calmly, "only unconscious, but what does it mean to you? you don't seem like the type to spend their days guarding some noblewoman." while Tsyan responded, they took the time to inspect him to get a better sense of his backstory.

438 Scrap Street, The Mistwarrens

Unremarkable face. Unremarkable voice. But somehow Tysan appreciated the style, the straight-forwardness of the question. He was tired of having to wrap his brain around double-meanings and conversational battles, tired of the hidden agendas of his old bosses and tired of the mystery surrounding his new one.

"I'm doing it for the money," he said plainly to the stranger. "You ever tried to be legitimately employed in this city? I have one skill, and zero connections. I take what I can get."

He turned his head towards the figure, mulled over their words. Clotho was unconscious. He'd figured as much. He sighed when his mind immediately jumped to schemes, thought about if he paid a visit to her mansion, he'd have enough time to loot the place to shreds, and if there was nothing, he at least could hold the books for ransom...

"But I'm no criminal," he said to the stranger. "Like you and Delben and your crew. No hard feelings. But a Ghostblood stealing for money is like a Whitepsine foraging for table scraps. It's below me."

[Stormlightsong]

3 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

"But I'm no criminal," he said to the stranger. "Like you and Delben and your crew. No hard feelings. But a Ghostblood stealing for money is like a Whitepsine foraging for table scraps. It's below me."

Feynah froze. A Ghostblood?, they thought, fear building up, what if he’s looking for me? I thought I was more careful. Taking a deep breath, the calmed themself. They’re probably not looking for me. They thought, I should warn Clotho.

Feynah nodded to Tsyan and started walking to the door, then they stopped. What if Clotho is a ghostblood too? They thought, I need to gather more information first.

Feynah looked over at Tsyan, “would you like to join me for a drink?” They said, motioning to the door. “It’s on me.”