ooc: Vallyn didn't actually shift, she just used her magic to hide in the shadows so that she could avoid the guards. ^-^;

ooc: My god I'm terrible with paying attention lately. OTL I'll make that edit - my apologies ;w;

ooc: lol it's okay! Just wanted to point it out to avoid any confusion it might cause. xD

Lorcan set down his bag of trinkets, and tossed his spear and shield onto a low hanging roof, making sure it was all hidden. He pulled a cloak from the bag, and kicked the bag under a tarp, throwing the cloak on, he pulled the hood up, walking alongside the person who had just spoken to him.

[I]"Yeah, not too shabby of me. Hopefully nobody discovers my effects, would hate for them to get ahold of my spear and shield. I'm hungry, and need to get information. The name is Lorcan Al'Shineran. You are?"[/i] He asked, still facing forward, to keep his face hidden from anyone watching the two walk along.

The cat's ears pricked forwards as the man drew closer, bumping into a small group of people and guards. As the man took off towards town she flew to her feet, running to meet him at the gate. She could hear the jingle of treasure in the pack he was carrying. He was faster than she was but she followed him with her eyes as he entered the city. As the man ducked into an alley she leaped to a house's roof before trotting as quietly as a cat can towards the alley. She was nearly hit by weapons that were tossed onto the roof. Leeda let out an involuntary hiss as the weapons.

The man was greeted by a woman, the thief froze, crouching low into shadows. Forgetting she was a cat temporarily she worried about being discovered until they walked away. As the pair left she nosed her way under the tarp, cat eyes quickly adjusting to the added darkness. "Well isn't this a find." she thought happily. Granted she didn't have any way to filch the valuables at this point but she was worried that if she left to retrieve her clothes the items would not be there when she returned. "Nap time." she decided, curling up next to the pack. It was warm enough under there she could stay there for a time without getting chilled.

Vallyn heard the hiss of a cat come from the alley shortly before the man caught up to her. She cringed at the awful racket. Cats were terrifying little beasts, with their claws and teeth, and the way they just swatted birds from the air like nothing was quite ghastly... She quickly snapped herself out of her train of thought, glancing behind her to make sure the cat wasn't in sight, before she turned her attention to the man.

"You can just call me Val for now," Vallyn offered simply. "I'm in about the same position as you, to be honest; hungry and looking for work. What information are you hoping to find?"

She spared another look behind toward the alley, pulling her hood tighter. "You're okay with just leaving your stuff in the alley like that?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow as she peered up at this rather imposing stranger. "I wouldn't trust people to leave it alone. You never know who's watching."

[I]"Looking for a place ta sell the stuff I have discovered. Preferably a scholar, but a fence will do. Scholars appreciate ancient trinkets and writing a wee bit more than your average fence, thus they pay more. And don't worry about my stuff, I'm about to circle back around as soon as I see..."[/i]

The guards came running through the gatehouse, along with some descending the stairs on the walls. They met at the crossroads in front of the gate, pointing in different directions, and splitting. Lorcan smiled, turning his one eye-ed gaze to her.

[I]"... That, Miss Val. Was makin' sure nobody actually saw me run through. Nightshift guards, I tell ya. A lot less watchful than ya think!"[/i] He turned on his heels and strode back to his hiding spot.

He jumped up on a box, reaching for the shaft of his spear. He used it to push the shield off the roof, catching it before it hit the cobblestone below. He hopped off the box, and lifted the tarp. Only to be greeted by a snoozing cat. He stared at the cat for a second, furrowing his brow slightly as he lifted the heavy stack of stuff over the sleeping animal, trying not to wake it out politeness. He knew how much he hated being awoken from a nice slumber.

Leeda woke as cold air hit her, 'Well, crap' she thought, stretching her limbs. 'Might as well roll with it.' she decided, standing up to try and rub the man's hand "Mrrt" the scruffy looking cat purred. Her tail curled around his arm, trying to let him know she was a friendly cat, hoping he wasn't somebody who would want to throw her in a river. It was a chilly night and she didn't want to have to shift and run through the streets naked to avoid a cold dunking, or drowning. 'If this guy doesn't harass me, I might just follow him.' she figured, rolling herself head first into the ground, trying to do her best impression of a cats 'love me! I'm cute!' routine.

Helpful as she seemed, Orion still didn't trust the human. It wasn't even just because she was human. He simply didn't trust someone who would hide from them to begin with.

He figured shifting back would be more painful than shifting in the first place, and if they hadn't been worsened already, his ribs could puncture something in the process. He decided that staying a wolf for a while was the best bad idea he had at the moment.

He went to the place were the human girl was standing thoroughly analyzing her scent and logging it away in his memory. "If you betray us," he grumbled in his growl of a voice, "I will find you." With that he turned his hellish gaze toward the gate, then back to the ghost woman. "Lead on then." He said. The guards had clearly noticed one wasn't coming back, and were forming search parties.

He shrugged, the cat was awake. He pulled the bag onto his shoulder, and 'shooed' the cat. [I]"Go on, kitty. Get back home."[/I] He proceeded to go back to Val.

[I]"No sense in doing things alone. Let's find us a pub!"[/i] He started off down the road, looking at all the signs, before stopping in front of one that caught his eye, it depicted a chicken perched on the rim of a pint glass, and it looked inebriated. The name was "The pissed fowl", he turned to Val, grinning.

[I]"This is my kind of place!" [/i]

Vallyn waited for Lorcan to return, musing over what a strange character he was. She wasn't sure how she felt about him yet, but he seemed to be a a man of good spirits and she liked that. It was in contrast to her own rather sour personality. It had been a long time since she'd had a conversation with a human that didn't involve talk of business and dark dealings, and it was... perhaps a welcome change of pace, though she loathed to admit it.

"Well, unfortunately I can't point you to any scholars or fences, but I'll gladly have a drink," Vallyn addmitted, following him down the street. She made a mental note to keep close watch on how much she drank because she would never let her guard down in front of stranger, let alone many strangers in an unfamiliar place.

"You have... unique taste in pubs, I must say," She said, forcing a smile as she looked up at the sign and took in the boisterous noises coming from inside. She opened the door to step in and was greeted by the strong scent of alcohol, and the raucous chatter of drunken folk. She watched a few tired barmaids weave in and out of tables, each with her own forced cheerful act. It was a little out of her comfort zone to be in a place like this.

"Seems like a fun time," Vallyn laughed anxiously.

"Give us ya gold, and theya won't be no problems, aright?" One of the bandits said, brandishing his crudely crafted sword, smiling a relatively toothless grin. Jason smirked as he assessed the situation. He was surrounded by a band of seven thieves, equipped with swords, axes, and a spade. "You make a compelling offer, but I guess I'll have to pass." Jason said, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword. "You... What? We're mugging you, mate, that's not how it works." Another bandit said, this one wearing some kind of knit hat. Jason clicked his tongue.

"Well, if you don't take my side of the bargain then I'll be off." Jason said with a shrug. With that, the former knight simply began to walk away, gently pushing away one of the stunned bandits. "Whatever, let's just kill this knight wannabe!" One of the hooligans shouted, running at Jason. The young man smiled.

"I hoped you'd say that."

With one swift motion, Jason unsheathed his longsword, using the momentum to turn and slash the first bandit across the stomach. Screaming, the second and third assaulted him at the same time. The second rougue's swing was dodged with a simple duck by Jason, to which he kicked the man into the mud behind himself, meanwhile grabbing the wrist of the third man's raised weapon hand and kneeing him in the gut. The former knight proceeded to throw him onto the second bandit and skewer them both with his silvery weapon.

Three more attacked Jason at once. The young man deflected the axe of the fourth bandit and kicked him in the chest. He ducked under the fifth man's sword swing, tricking the sixth bandit to swing too high, the highwayman lodging his sword under his ally's armpit. While low, Jason kicked the sixth's feet out from under him, just to meet a blade of the young man's sword before he hit the ground. The fourth man had recovered by now and was running at Jason, axe raised above his head. Using this low position to his advantage, Jason sprang up, impaling his sword through the bandit's neck. The last bandit was quivering, holding onto his spade for dear life. Just as the young man took a single step towards the man, the coward ran off.

"Well then. I guess the bounty's done." Jason said, ripping off a small piece of cloth from one of the fallen thieves. The young man proceeded to head back to the town, cleaning his bloodied blade with the cloth.

After returning and collecting the bounty, Jason decided it was time to celebrate. He knew about a cheap pub nearby, filled with 'tough guys' that usually turned out to be chickens, it was aptly named "The Pissed Fowl". Jason sat alone at a table for a good amount of time. He glanced over at the door as it opened and saw something he wouldn't think he would in the rest of his lifetime. It took the former knight a while to get past the redheaded girl, but there he was.

"Lorcan! Lorcan Al'Shineran, is that you?!" Jason called from his table, beginning to stand up.

[I]"If by 'unique' you mean 'the best', then yes, yes I do! Can't get information from quiet drunks, only the loud and sloppy spill their guts. Sometimes literally." [/i] He opened the door, bending over at the waist to allow the spear to make it under the doorframe.

Loud and crowded, just his kind of place! He eye-balled the crowd, but someone was calling to him. He turned his one good eye to a man starting to stand, and by the gods was it someone he was glad to see.

He grinned, shoving his way through the crowd, his chuckle turning into his hearty laughter the closer he got to Jason "Blood and ashes! /blood/ and /bloody ashes/! Jason Sov! I'm sorry, Sir Jason Sov!" He threw him a goofy salute, before clapping his hand in an enthusiastic hand shake, dropping his bag with a noisey chorus of clinks and clanks, pulling a stool out to sit. [I]"Whatever he's having, I'll get three of 'em!"[/i] He said to a waitress as she walked by, she nodded and hurried to the back. Lorcan turned and sighed, the grin still there.

[I]"I hoped you had made it through that battle, Jason. I'm sorry I left with no goodbyes, needed to get out of there quickly."[/i]

"I suppose that's true enough," Vallyn shrugged, following him inside.

She maneuvered her way through the crowd, thankful that the place was so crowded that she was mostly unnoticed. It wasn't long before she heard someone shouting Lorcan's name, and she was left alone in the middle of the pub. She huffed, exasperated by the fact that she was so easily forgotten in the face of some old friend.

"A bit rude," She muttered, narrowing her eyes. Due to her short stature, she had trouble seeing who was calling, but she eventually made her way through the crowd to the table that Lorcan and the new stranger were sitting at. She took in the other man's appearance; he was some kind of knight, she guessed. The two must be old battle buddies.

"You two know each other? What a coincidence," Vallyn said, plopping herself down on a stool at the table as well.

ooc/ sorry I've been absent, classes started back up and I was distracted for a bit :-( but I'm back now!

She had never come this close to a shifter during their transition, and honestly, it was quite horrifying. The audible tearing of flesh and locking of joints was enough to put her stomach in a state of unrest, and the popping of tendons and muscles made her skin crawl. She wasn't one to shy away from the grotesque, but if she had to see another transition at some point in her life, it would be too soon. Fearing the few morsels of food she had scarved down hungrily earlier in the day were making their way back up, she placed her hand on the nearest tree to steady her churning stomach. Her hair fell out of its poorly made bun to frame her heart shaped face as her head fell forward. Athena had to swallow hard to keep the remnants of her meal down. Lost in awe, she barely registered the attack on the guard by that beast, although the sound of a cracking spine did no more to help her condition. Her mind had gone blank as she struggled to process the scene before her. Get a hold of yourself! She felt ashamed at this show of weakness. You are better than this! She grimaced as she struggled to gain her composure. "I will come with you then." She whispered to the woman as she lifted her head.

The beast circled back her way, and she trembled at the threat that escaped its muzzle. "You. Can. Trust. Me." She growled eyeing the beast warily, forcing as much grit as she could into every word. She would not show her fear to a creature that could easily smash a man into a tree with only its jaws.

Lorcan winced, shaking his head.

[I]"Oi, my manners are lacking, I apologize. Jason, meet Val. I have just met her, but I kinda just made a deal to gather information with her, so we are acquaintances.

Val, this is Jason Sov. Ex elite guardsman to a very crooked king. The Gods have forgotten his name, and so have I. We fought together in a civil war under the King's daughter, a far more fair ruler than her Pa. That must have been wot, three, four years ago?"[/i]

The waitress came back around, three big pints of ale, and Lorcan fished out a couple coins, looking to the waitress with a grin.

[I]"If I had both me eyes, I'd wink at ya!"[/i]

Jason simply waved off the formal name, saying "Oh no, I lost that privilege of being called 'sir' years ago. After I betrayed his highness I had my status stripped from me. Next thing I knew, I then usually went by 'traitor' or 'disgraceful pile of shit'." Jason sighed as he plopped down once again, right arm draped over the back of his seat.

By the way he slightly slurred his words, it was apparent that he was already a bit tipsy "No, my noble days are over. Right now I'm just working part-time as a guard here and part-time bounty hunting out there." He raised an eyebrow when Lorcan apologized for not saying goodbye. Jason simply laughed it off.

"It's fine, I just had to practically fight through the entire kingdom and..." The young man trailed off, an idle lopsided grin still on his face. It took himself a moment before beginning to change the subject, "Anyways, that's not the point. What is the point is who this lovely lady is beside you, Lorcan." Jason proceeded to turn his attention to Vallyn.

Jason gave a small two-fingered salute to Vallyn as Lorcan introduced each other. At the mention of the king, Jason lightly pounded the table. "Tch, gods know he's burning in hell now, that's for sure. The old man played me like a chess piece for like, thirteen years before he dropped dead. Good riddance." Jason was clearly angry at his past job being so loyal and trusting of the king. He sighed once again, calming down, and turned back to Vallyn, saying "So wait. What kind of information do you two need?"

Vallyn listened intently to the two men talk a while, piecing together the bits of the story she was able to gather. It seems like the two had been through a lot back then and she was thouroughly intrigued. However, she winced slightly when Jason mentioned he was now a bounty hunter and a guard. Two things that didn't mesh quite so well with a girl working outside of the law. Her narrow gaze lingered on him for a second too long before she regained composure.

"Lovely?" Vallyn immediately dismissed Jason's off-hand remark with a chuckle. "Oh, trust me. I might be a lady, but I'm anything but lovely."

"Anyway," She continued. "I'm looking for work, and he's looking for someone to buy all that fancy junk." Vallyn motioned idly with a shrug to Lorcan's bag.

Time was of the essence, Morgäna carefully listening to the sound of voices bustling through the leaves as a few men would wander back, strung by curiosity of their missing comrade. Tiger companion would nudge at her hip to beckon onward, however she would await the humans response. “Enough – the both of you.” she ordered coldly. The mans threatening comment wouldn't do them justice if they had all gotten caught, and the girl did seem relatively harmless. He was also the one wounded and needing tending to. She was cold, and brooding but Morgäna wasn't heartless, even if she often came off that way. The shifter maiden would glance off into the direction in which they would take to get within the walls of the kingdom, processing paths and the structures of the walls. There were still a few places upon the concrete-marble walls which exposed battle scars. There were a few places which had been blocked off in means of repair, which they would be taking. With the occasional workmen, they paid little mind of the coming and going as it were often guards. Though given that some were either walking through the streets, guarding the gates, or out here in the Nightwarch, there was one bound to be unoccupied which were closer to the gates, but far enough to remain out of sight.

“This way.” she then instructed, taking off in a light run, tiger at her side. She would lead the man and the fire dancer to the western side of the walls just beyond the gates. There was a small section of wall that appeared rather large, appeared as though it had been through hell and back. It expressed signs of recent wars. Morgäna could feel her heart pound against her chest as she neared the rubble and debris of what was left of the portion of the wall which had been removed. It was clear that the construction workers of Artanis were hard at work during the day amidst restoring the wall, however it was enough to spur up old memories Morgäna would struggle to repress with her battles replaying in memory. She would pause as pale fingers would brush against the wall and quickly retreat upon her chest in the attempts to keep her composure. “Just passed this wall.” she whispered though loud enough for the wolf and the human to hear, glancing back to make sure they were able to keep up, her tiger at her side with Envy in his jowls. The light would dim enough for visibility, not enough to be seen or caught. “There are a few over night workers but they are engaged in their work – they won't pay us any mind.” she was questioning her self; why was she doing this again?

The man needed tending to and the girl needed a way in with shelter and perhaps a bite to eat. There was still question as to why a human would be forced out of the gates? Even if she was a street performer. There was no law breakage against it – unless there was and she just wasn't aware of it. “My clinic is just around the corner then. Keep to the walls.” She would look to the wolfish shifter before breaking eye contact from him. “And do not do anything foolish.”

Orion followed the ghost woman, keeping up easily on all fours. He would wince here and there as he went because of his injury, but it didn't slow him down. They came to a battle worn wall that was near the end of the trek to the clinic. Orion was thankful, and noticed her distress at sight of the wall.

When she made her request as to his behavior, he couldn't help but glance back at the human girl. In his mind he thought 'My behavior hinges on hers' but out loud he growled, "understood" to the leader of the group as he returned his gaze to her. She was even more beautiful up close.

[sorry for the shortness, I'm just following lol, but I was considering bringing in a second character if it's okay. I haven't decided if I want to yet but I thought I'd ask in advance anyway.]