The Consort's Son [Job/Ayero&Lexiara]

Spoiler:

The time had come for the half-Fanalis to pick up another job after spending the past few weeks training. Though she tended to be careful with her funds, she felt more comfortable picking up a job or two in between large=paying bounties in order to be more financially secure should something happen. Unfortunately all of the easy jobs had been claimed, that or no one needed help loading carts or fending off petty thieves. She’s about to call it a day and try her luck tomorrow when a specific posting catches her eye. She didn’t recognize the boy from the photo, but the description caused her heart to palpitate a bit. Consort’s son…last seen playing with local orphans…kidnapped?!”

Not a woman with a soft heart (supposedly), she felt a tickle of nervousness as the flyer didn’t mention if the orphans had been kidnapped along with the high-stakes child. Ilah, hope these aren’t the same kids that I met… She brings to mind the faces of the children who sat to listen to her stories after an awkward first encounter. With a grunt of resolve, she plucks the paper from the wall. The black snake who had hidden himself under the folds of her cloak pops his head up from her collar, staring down at the piece of paper intently as if he could read.

[224/1500]

Lexi approached the job board, catching sight of another woman doing the same but not paying her much mind for the moment. When her eyes fell on a posting that mentioned orphans, she gave a soft gasp. She had become quite familiar with orphans of the city and was concerned about their safety as well as that of the boy mentioned. However, while she had been training quite a bit recently, she was concerned about her ability to complete the job on her own.

Lexi’s eyes were drawn back to the other woman when she tore the paper down. The sight of a black snake head popping up from the woman’s collar made her grin before she cleared her throat softly.

“Miss? Hi, my name is Lexi and I was wondering… would you mind if I joined you on that job?”

Lexi kept moving her eyes between the woman’s face and the adorable snake, wanting to reach out and touch it but not daring without knowing if the woman or the snake would be okay with it.


[177/1500]

As she’s about to turn and leave, the sudden voice directed at her makes her pause. ”Hm?” She casts an unknowingly intense gaze upon the girl at her side, curiosity mildly piqued by the girl’s animal features. She rakes her gaze down the girl’s body as if evaluating her potential combat prowess. She notes the bow at the girl’s side with a raised brow and tilts her head upwards. She’d come across her fair share of warriors and knew that she couldn’t judge someone’s fighting capability on appearance alone.

”Very well. You can accompany me if you’d like, but the men who have this child are no simple body-snatchers.” The redhead shows the flyer to the younger woman, pointing to the part that outlines the kidnappers. In truth she wasn’t particularly up for such a job, and though she was capable of completing it on her own it would likely go smoother with some help.

The snake stays within the safety of his companion’s cloak while Ayero speaks, training his large red eyes on the woman before them. After gauging that she wasn’t a threat he slithers forward, tilting his head and flicking his tongue out at the young woman. ”I am Ayero, and this is Kabu. You may...pet him if you’d like.” She curiously watches the desert snake interact with Lexiara.

[447/1500]

Lexi took in a more detailed look of the woman who introduced herself as Ayero and offered a friendly smile. The woman seemed quite combat-capable and, as she scanned the details of the job, she was glad she had asked Ayero to help and even happier the woman had consented to her accompanying her. This would be an interesting opportunity to test out her new skills.

When the snake poked its head out further and flicked its tongue, she cautiously held her hand up to let the snake get a sense of her. Growing up in the woods and plains had taught her to never rush introducing herself to wildlife. Once she felt the snake was more receptive, she very slowly reached forward and ran a finger along the smooth scales of its head. Keeping up the subtle petting, she looked back to Ayero.

“I am fairly proficient with my bow, so I hope to be an asset to this job, Miss Ayero. I may be small, but I assure you, my marksmanship is excellent. And your snake is gorgeous, by the way.”

She looked at the paper again, trying to get a bearing on where they would need to go, her heart falling again at the thought of any of the children being harmed. Her face hardened as she steeled her resolve. As much as she did not like hurting people, these people had taken innocent children and she could not allow harm to come to them if she could avoid it.

[430/1500]

Pleased by the young woman’s determination, she nods in acknowledgement to her words. ”I look forward to seeing your skill with that bow.” A wry smile inches onto her face as she watches Lexi pet Kabu, noting how she approached the snake with care. ”Careful now, you’ll give him an ego.” Kabu seemed pleased as well with the pleasant treatment, trilling lightly and pressing his scaly head further against the woman’s hand.

As the pair set off to complete their mission, Ayero reiterates the important details aloud. ”Last seen with local orphans playing near…the ore mines?” She reads the last part with a bit of apprehension in her tone as her brows knit in confusion and she re-reads the sentence to make sure she had gotten it right. ”I suppose we’d better head out that way then.” The halfling sighs, scratching behind her ear and planning to give the children a stern talking to once they’ve recovered.

”Any particular reason you were attracted to this job?” She holds the flyer up with a raised brow. If her hunch was correct, Lexiara had some sort of connection with the kidnapped children. After all, the woman had the sort of gentle demeanor to nurture children.

[650/1500]

Lexi listened closely, continuing her gentle petting of Kabu. When Ayero mentioned the ore mines, she frowned. The children should not have been that far out playing. She followed Ayero closely and hummed at Ayero’s question.

“I… I spend a fair amount of time with the orphans in the city. I like giving them a chance to get out and see things, to interact with people. So when I saw that the boy was taken while playing with the orphans, I feared they may have been harmed as well. Not that I am not also concerned about the boy, but the orphans make it slightly more personal for me.”

She briefly explained to Ayero about the tour the children had taken her on, as well as some of the other times she had dropped by to visit them or bring treats. As they traveled, she kept her bow ready in hand, loosely gripped at her side so it would be prepared at a moment’s notice. The quiver across her back was well stocked with a variety of bows and she was eager to test out the new arrowheads Benny had designed.

“And you, Miss Ayero? Is there a reason you wanted to take the job? Or just needing the money?” The other woman appeared almost aloof, but Lexi sensed there was a caring intent behind the woman’s eyes. She hoped she was as good a judge of character as she liked to believe, and that the woman was not just someone striving for combat without concern for the children involved. It could put the children in danger if her only concern was the money and a fight.

[707/1500]

Ayero listens as Lexi explains her connection to the children and nods in understanding. ”I see. That’s particularly kind of you, Lexiara.” She ficks a stray tendril of red hair behind her ear as Kabu’s eyes close in contentment as Lexi continues to pet him. ”I’m sure they’ll be alright.” She offers after a few moments in an attempt to quell Lexi’s concern for the children. She tries not to think too hard on the reality of the situation; if the men who had taken that boy discovered that the children were in fact orphans, they wouldn’t be able to get a bounty for their heads. And then…well, she didn’t want to think about what sort of danger they’d be in.

”Me?” She tilts her head at the female to her side, sounding a little surprised by the question, though it was to be expected. ”Well…yes. Money is certainly part of my reason. Financial stability is important to a traveler.” She purposefully looks away from the young woman as she says this, mentally attempting to rationalize her reason for taking a difficult mission seeing as how she wasn’t in desperate need of money.

At this point Kabu opens his eyes and turns back towards his tamer, staring at her with a lit of curiosity in his crimson eyes. In a swift movement, the snake slithers back up the halfling’s arm and over her shoulder to come face to face with the woman. He flicks out his tongue with an indignant hiss and a brief scowl flashes on the red headed woman’s face. While she was impressed with the creature’s intelligence she bemoaned how perceptive (and, at this point, pushy) he could sometime be.

With a sigh, she closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose before turning to Lexi and opening her eyes once more. ”Those kids…I sort of know them, too. At least, I told them a story once. But that’s about it. They remind me of my family, in a way.” She reveals, not one to confess her emotional attachment (especially to a stranger). ”I hope you don’t mind my asking, but may I know why you have…feline features? Feel free not to answer if I’ve overstepped by bounds. I do not wish to offend.”

[1029/1500]

Lexi grinned at the reaction of the snake, making an offhand comment about how smart he was before giving a contemplative hum at Ayero’s question. She considered it briefly before giving a shrug and a chuckle.

“No offense taken, I assure you. Honestly, we are not really sure. In the area I am from, for some reason, a few tribes have animal features. There is a theory that somewhere down the lineage, there was some magical experiments performed on some of the tribes in the Great Plains. Now, all of the kids born to someone in one of our tribes are born with the ears and tails. My birth parents were like me, with the feline features. My adoptive family came from a different tribe, they have more canine features. Very, very seldom, one of the tribes has a child with none of the features, but it does not happen often. We like to think it gives us a deeper connection to nature and helps us thrive in the Great Plains and the surrounding forest.”

She glanced around as they moved towards their destination, finally recognizing some of the landmarks listed on the job paper for where the ransom was to be delivered. She also recognized the area from when she had helped to deliver ore. If she was remembering correctly, somewhere further down the road was where she had taken care of the bandits attempting to steal her load of ore. They were still a fair distance from the drop off point, but they should probably proceed with more caution from this point.

“It looks like we should probably get prepared, I think we are close to where we need to be.”

With those words, she silently nocked an arrow in her bow and began scanning around in case there was a trap. As much as she wanted to rush forward to get to the children more quickly, she knew she would do no good if she fell into a trap and became hurt. No, caution was best for everyone involved.

[1049/1500]

Ayero listens intently to Lexi’s story, finding it rather intriguing. She had traveled through the Great Plains several times though her caravan stuck to the same, heavily traveled route each time. In her own travels she had heard vague stories of people living somewhere along the grassy expanse with animal features but had dismissed it as legend. It was a bit hard for her to believe that tribes like that existed, but in a world with the Fanalis and Imuchakk races, people bearing animal features didn’t seem that far-fetched.

“That sounds like a lovely place to live.” She comments, thinking of her own homeland in the mountains briefly. She made a mental note to ask more about her people later, provided that the woman stuck around her long enough to allow her to. But for now they had to concentrate on the task at hand. Nodding to Lexi’s words, she rests her wrist on the hilt of her sword and Kabu swivels his head in an alert manner, flicking out his tongue to sense their surroundings better.

It wasn’t long before a man steps from the shadows, blocking the path of the two young women. He was heavily clothed in all black and wore a wrapping around his face to conceal his identity, only his eyes being visible. His gaze shifts back and forth between the pair. ”Have you two come to pay the ransom?” His tone is slow and deep though not without suspicion.

”Where are the children?” Ayero demands immediately, having no patience for formalities at the moment. The man likely knew that they weren’t here to pay the bounty and in truth she was becoming more worried about the children. The cloaked man cleared his throat. ”The payment, first.”

”Sorry to disappoint, but we didn’t bring any with us.” Sliding her talwar out of its sheath, she points the tip of the blade at the man. ”Now, you’re going to tell us where the children are.” Predictably, four more men appeared from behind the boulders lining the path, all shrouded in dark clothes and bearing sabers of their own. Ayero’s eyes flicker back to Lexi briefly and forward to the enemy once more. In that instant, the man who had spoken draws his own sword and charges at her, raising it above his head. The halfling charges as well with her sword at her side, using her superior speed to reach the man faster than he had anticipated and sends him backward with a sharp kick to the stomach. His body lands among the rocks, his head making contact with a particularly sharp stone effectively knocking him out.
[1451/1500]

Lexi reacted quickly as the men slid out from behind boulder, her face falling into deep concentration and pushing her worry for the orphans to the side for the time being. She carefully tracked each of the four men that had appeared, keeping Ayero and the fifth thug in the corner of her vision. When Ayero dealt a kick that knocked the man she was questioning back, Lexi snapped her attention to the man farthest to the left of the group and released her fingertip grip on the string. The arrow sped forward, catching the thug in the shoulder and drawing his attention to her.

As her rushed toward her, she wasted no time in drawing a handful of arrows from her quiver and lining them up on the bow.  With her bow held horizontally, she hummed to herself to keep focused on perfecting her aim of the five arrows.  She stepped back to steady herself and then took a deep breath and released the Multi-Shot at the four remaining thugs. Four of the five arrows landed, making her curse softly to herself. The man farthest to the left fell back, now nursing two arrow hits, while each of the other three thugs took a hit. The last arrow had went awry and hit a rock.

“Where… are… the… children…?” She ground the words out with an angry tone, her normally smiling and cheerful face set in a mask of anger and worry.

With two of the thugs taken out, the remaining three finally began to show the slightest hints of fear and she lined up another shot on the middle man with an arched brow.

“Well?”

The man at the end of her aim shook a bit more, his gaze darting back and forth between the innocent looking blonde and the vicious looking hafling. What they had originally thought would be a simple job of disposing of a couple of girls, he quickly lost his careless attitude. His voice shook softly when he spoke, his eyes shifting to look at the two downed men. “We… we can’t tell you.”

She glanced at Ayero and back to the men with a sigh before releasing the regular arrow, aiming just slightly to the left of his head as a warning. “That’s a shame, are you sure?” The arrow came within a hair’s width of his ear, passing with a whoosh and making him jump, his eyes widening even farther.

Abilities Used:

[Stamina 170/200]
[Ammunition 8/10]
[1457/1500]

The Fanalis woman eyes the fallen man for a moment to ensure that he was indeed knocked out before returning her attention to the ensuing battle. She had turned in time to witness Lexi releasing her Multi-Shot, catching the remaining thugs by surprise as they all now bore fresh arrow wounds. The halfling would admit to being impressed with the cat-girl’s marksmanship. Though the shots themselves weren’t too strong they had hit their mark and weakened their remaining opponents. She takes note of the man collapsed on the ground with two of Lexi’s arrows protruding upwards. Now there were only three to deal with.

She’s slightly surprised by the fear displayed by the men and even more surprised herself by the young woman’s anger. Though she appeared sweet and gentle, Ayero supposed that this was her protective side showing from the way that she spoke to these men. Seeing as how Lexi had taken to interrogating one of the remainders, she takes the other two into her own hands. Smirking, she approaches the first one and slams her knee into his face, watching as the man falls back to the ground as blood leaks from his nose and the corners of his mouth. When the other man not being interrogated by Lexi attempts to run back towards the mines, she gives chase and delivers a diagonal slash along the length of his back. She watches the man drop, prodding him with her foot before turning back to the last remaining man.

”I’d suggest you answer her.” The Fanalis-human offers matter-of-factly, glancing to his fallen comrades. ”And in case you get any ideas…” She swiftly ducks, jamming her elbow into the back of the man’s right knee, then the left knee, effectively paralyzing both of his legs. ”Talk.”  The man buckles, falling to the ground as his limbs go numb and stares up at the bow-wielding woman with wide eyes. ”T-they’re about a quarter of a mile up ahead, in one of the mines…with the boss.”

[1500+/1500]

[Stamina: 140/160]

Spoiler:

Lexi caught the flurry of Ayero’s movements from the corner of her eye, but her vision never left the man she had narrowly missed with her previous arrow. When he finally spoke, she pulled another arrow free of her quiver and arched her gave him an intense look, glad for the assistance of Ayero in disabling the other thugs. She would have been overwhelmed with so many targets around her and she noted the quick speed of the other woman, impressed. “Tell us exactly how to find them.”

He stuttered as he looked around and found no help unable to move from his spot on the ground. He quickly uttered out the correct path in the mine to take, hoping to avoid the wrath of the two women. When he finished, she loosed the arrow at him, hitting him in the side, her face dark.

“Now you won’t follow us. Next time, reconsider involving children in your plans.”

Taking quick assessment of the situation, she made sure each of the thugs was disabled before nodding at Ayero. The woman was certainly efficient with her actions and Lexi could appreciate that. Ayero seemed intent on remaining focused on the task at hand, allowing Lexi to relax enough to let her worry shine through. She quietly crept into the mine, leading them down the path the last thug had indicated and trusted Ayero to follow her lead and be quiet. She did not want to give the “boss” the thug had mentioned any more warning than necessary. As a precaution, she felt along the arrows in her quiver before her fingers found the correct one. Taking the specially tipped arrow out carefully and notching it on the string, she made sure to keep the flint away from the wall and followed the shadows being cast by torches. It did not take much longer for the sound of frighten chatter reached her ears and her grip on the bow tensed.  

[Stamina 170/200]
[Ammunition 7/10]
[1784/1500]

The red head follows her companion through the dark tunnel, listening intently for any sounds that would indicate they’ve reached their target as her eyes were not yet fully adjusted to the dark. She hadn’t sheathed her sword, instead drawing the weapon back and keeping it close to her body so that it would not get in the way, but was still accessible should she find the need to use it. Shortly after they entered the cavern, the sound of small, frightened voices made the women pause. Pressing onwards, they kept to the shadows cast from the mine’s walls. Creeping around a corner, they peek into a small clearing where a rather large man was seen towering over the missing orphans.

”Quit crying, you worthless brats! If you keep that up I’ll really give you something to cry about!” The man thunders at the already cowering children. Thankfully this villain has his back turned to the two newcomers, giving them a few seconds to survey the scene. The man was in between them and the children, and a distraught looking young boy wearing fine clothes was perched atop a wooden crate.

Sending a glance to Lexiara, she motions with her head towards the children. ”I’m afraid that this is the end of the line for you.” She steps from the shadows of their hiding place, brandishing her weapon. Wasting no time, she lunges at the man with her talwar in hand, bringing the blade up to slice along the man’s arm. With quick swipes and practiced movements, she brings her blade down along the same area for four more strikes, shaving a layer of muscle from the man each time after she had broken the skin. She smirks to herself as the man hisses angrily in pain, but her cockiness wouldn’t last long as she lingers too close to the man, his uninjured arm lashing out to wrap his large fingers around her throat. Her eyes widen as her windpipe closes, gasping for breath frantically.

[Stamina: 120/160]

Spoiler:

Lexi looked around quickly as they came upon the menacing man yelling at the children and she scowled. She kept her bow at the ready until Ayero nodded her towards the children. She returned the nod in understanding, waiting for Ayero to distract the man before rushing towards the kids. They were dirty and crying but seemed relatively unharmed. The boy on the crate looked utterly terrified until he noticed the two women, his face brightening slightly. The orphans began to smile at seeing her before several of them pointed behind her towards the man. She swung around and her heart caught in her throat at seeing Ayero being held by the man.

She was about to raise her bow before she realized she still had the fire arrows strung up. She did not want to risk catching Ayero on accident with the fire and so she quickly dropped the special tipped arrows to the floor and pulled a new arrow free. She remembered her lessons with Shelby and took careful aim and cleared her throat to draw the man’s attention.

“Hey asshole…wrong move.”

Lexi forced her focus on her Paralyzing Shot before releasing the arrow, watching as it flew forward and struck a bundle of nerves in his neck and dealing a great deal of damage, blood flowing as his body gave a spasm and crumpled to the ground, his grip on Ayero released as he lost feeling throughout his body. Assured that he was down for the count, she gave Ayero a cursory look, making sure she was okay before waving at the children.

“Come on, guys. Let’s get out of here!”

She herded them forward, keeping them clear of the downed man and then paused to offer Ayero a hand. She glared at the man making gurgling noises, hate in his eyes.

“If you are lucky, your comrades may recover in time to save you. But it is doubtful. If you survive, I would suggest never coming near a child again.”

Abilities Used:

[Stamina 140/200]
[Ammunition 7/10]

As man releases the crushing grip on her throat, the halfling falls to the floor and gasps for breath. Her gaze flickers upwards to the man as she watches his body twitch in paralysis. Noting the arrow that stuck out from his throat, she looks back and Lexiara and nods, gratefully accepting the younger woman’s hand.

She remains on high alert, scanning their cramped surroundings for any other enemies that were not described in the flyer. Exhaling in relief, she looks over the gaggle of children, pleased to see that apart from a few torn clothes and teary eyes, they were largely alright. As they exit the cave she turns to her companion. ”Thank you for your help. That could have ended badly had you not acted quickly.” She pauses as one of the younger children tugs at her cloak, looking up at the Fanalis with wide eyes. With a half-smile, she picks the little girl up to carry her in her arms. ”I’m sure that these little ones are grateful, too.”

[Exit]