An unusual arrival, or two

[erokai]

Cold night air rushed into the tavern, howling in through the heavy oaken door as it opened and an unusual pair of companions stepped inside, out of the inky blackness and into the dull orange glow of the torch lit tavern.
The first of the two was relatively short, and not much else could be said about the new arrival. A long flowing black cloak hung about the stranger's shoulders and his face was concealed in the shadows of a dark hood. His hands were bound tightly with black cloth, and seemed to be stained crimson with droplets of blood.
The stranger's soft leather boots made no sound as he walked from the entrance to a table in the far corner of the tavern, as far away from the guttering and crackling torches as possible. The cloaked and hooded figure almost seemed to flow into place as he took a seat, moving with fluid grace into a relaxed sitting position, his feet resting on the edge of the table before him as he waited for his unusual companion to join him.
These two were by no means the sort of patrons that frequented this tavern, but he seemed to be no less sure of himself than any other of the taller and much thicker set men that regarded him and his friend with a mixture of curiosity and contempt.
The assassin chuckled to himself in the shadows of his hood. Soon enough some drunken idiot would confront him, demand money or tell him to leave, or make some obscene comment to Krystal, the small fairy who had brought him here in his search for information. It was always the same the world over. East, west, wherever - a drunk was a drunk, and they were all predictable and disgusting. The patrons of this tavern would be wise to remain seated, if they did not wish to be educated - Painfully. Erokai had a lot of questions to asked, and when he wanted answers he sometimes asked a little too hard.

[Krystal]

The smaller figure of the two oddly assorted company walked behind the male, her large onyx eyes watching all around her in a way that would suggest no such confidence of her male counterpart. She was clad in earthy tones, though her wings were not present, any who knew what a fairy was, would know her immediately. She wore no armor, carried no weapon, but a small staff that one would consider a laughable defense weapon, but to a child sized being, it was quite useful. Her feet were bare, but showed no sign of even being dirty, as if dirt simply refused to cling to her at all, her onyx eyes shown brightly in the orange light of the stale-smelling tavern. Her pointed ears shown under a mass of bark raven locks that had been tied up and clasped behind her head in a manner to simply keep it from falling over her eyes.

She now took the seat next to Erokai and leaned in close to him and whispered. “See I told you it smelled awful in here.” She stated, wrinkling her tiny nose a bit as she peered again through the tavern.

Krystal then leaned back in her own chair, crossed her arms and sat patiently and waited to see what might transpire in the presence of this most fascinating and wonderful creature sitting beside her, and she truly hoped he’d find what it was he sought, though in her minds eyes, she still thought he’d be better off trying to find information someplace that didn’t smell quite so foul.

[erokai]

Erokai looked over, glancing across the table to meet her gaze as she spoke. Truly, taverns were rarely the most pleasant places to be, but sometimes they were the most useful. When a man has had enough liqour to loosen his tongue and free up his mind he'll say pretty much anything you need, so long as you keep buying the drinks. It didn't hurt too, that men who've set off home after a night of drinking aren't too alert, and very easy to waylay. Yes, if ever you were short of change, or information, the tavern was your best friend.
As his eyes met hers he flashed a quick grin, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth that gleamed in the shadows of his hood, sowing off his unnaturally long and sharp canines. Perhaps it was stretching the term a little to call it a 'smile' as such. Rather it came across as a wicked grin, mayhap even a malicious one at that.
The assassin had no illusions about himself or his work. What he did was evil, there was no doubt about that, the things that he enjoyed were evil, and he too was not too far from being evil himself. All that separated him from the rest of the darker creatures that inhabited the kingdom was money. Erokai cared not for whom he worked. No. Erokai worked for the money, not the employer. He didn’t care about the politics of it all, he didn’t care about right or wrong, innocent or guilty. For the right price he would kill just about anybody, and for that little bit more could make it look like a terrible accident, or a natural death, and right now, he was looking for work and wasn’t going to allow anything to stand between him, and his money.
Out of the corner of his eye Erokai saw him. A tall, burly man with shaven head and an assortment of ugly scars stood, pushing back his bench and making his way over to the cloaked assassin. His heavy footfalls and overpowering stench of unwashed body and beer announced his approach further, but the assassin didn’t move – not one inch, as if he hadn’t noticed at all.
The ruffians arms bulged and cords in his neck stood out as he stood over the little cloaked stranger, bearing down on him and his freakish companion.
“Yu ‘aint welcum ere mate’. Not unless yu wanna ‘ave a nasty accident a’fore tha night’s out.”
The little man simply sat there, taking no notice of the threat, let alone the presence of the burly drunkard. A crowd had slowly gathered, and patrons had turned in their seats expecting to see their nights entertainment as the local meathead beat another stranger senseless, and all this served to enrage the ruffian further.
“Dun say I din’ warn ya.” He said, his lips curling back into a snarl as he swung one heavy fist at the cloaked man.
The events that followed seemed to pass in a blur, as if they happened almost too fast to follow with any accuracy. The cloaked figure ducked the blow and rolled from his seat, springing to his feet only a few metres from the drunkard, whose face had barely even registered the surprise he felt that the little man had evaded him, even though he hadn’t been looking.
With incredible speed the little man ran forward, his feet moving almost too quickly to follow as the cloak billowed out about his legs. He seemed to run up the front of the burly drunkard, propelling himself upwards from the massive mans knee then his chest. The cloaked man rose into the air in front of the ruffians face, even as the drunkard gaped inanely at the acrobatic display taking place before him, of which he was an unwitting star.
The little man twisted in the air swinging one leather clad leg around in a wide arc. As the booted foot made contact with the drunkards head a sickening crunch echoed about the room and the drunkards eyes glazed and he collapsed to the floor in a heap of limp legs and arms, whilst Erokai landed lightly on the wooden floor, his leather clad feet making no sound as he landed catlike beside the comatose man mountain.
Without a word the onlookers turned back to their drinks, suddenly uninterested in the conversation between little man and their friend.
Slowly and gracefully Erokai sat back down, “It’s only a matter of time now. Eventually one of them will approach us, and we can talk business.” He said quietly to Krystal, looking over to her with those deep red eyes.

[Krystal]

His smile or what, to others may have been interpreted as an evil smirk, was just that as far as Krystal thought, a smile. She found the details of her companion, all of them, so far from the human being that he was in short to her, beautiful. So it was, she returned his ‘smile’ with one of her own, her tiny face lighting up with a friendly voice that went unspoken when she thought of his presence. With him, she felt safe; his honesty was more than she’d been given at any point during her visit to the lands of the Human. For that point, the dangerous Dunpeal was perhaps the only creature, other then the endearing ghost, she’d call friend. She knew if ever there was a price on her head and he’d been paid to kill her, she’d probably fall to his hand, however, she as well knew that beneath that hard and evil exterior there was something else that others didn’t see, or wouldn’t see and she was content simply ‘hanging’ with the likes of him, even if it did mean sitting in this foul place.

There was some sort of commotion as the larger fellow stood and began to cross the tavern over to their table, Krystal saw him the moment he stood, felt his eyes on her and then her friend. She closed her eyes slightly and sighed inwardly, knowing what was about to transpire as she could smell that individual from across the way, her fine tuned senses pinpointing the retched man’s scent before he even made it to their chosen sitting place; her nose wrinkled again with a show of great distaste.

“Dun say I din’ warn ya.” The ugly human had said and Krystal knew it was over before it had even started the moment those words came from the drunkards lips.

Though the events that followed may have seemed a blur to those human patrons watching in the tavern, to the fairy, she watched with open eyes and saw with an almost frame by frame action, seeing and watching every move made, the entire time she didn’t move. She had no fear that the upcoming return from her friend would in any way bring the foul human flying in her direction. Her lips turned up into a further smile as she watched how fluid and precise the movements of her friend were, he truly was perfection in action. She winced as his foot came down on the head of the great giant of a man and a small giggle escaped her lips when he hit the floor with a loud ‘THUD’ that shook her chair slightly. It was as well then that Krystal placed a small hand on her head and winced again. “Ouch, that had to hurt.” She commented quietly as her smile returned to her lips.

After Erokai had seated himself again, she turned her eyes to him and inclined her head giving him a wink. “I should think so.” She started, barely control her urge to talk excitedly about what he had just done, knowing that wasn’t what he wanted, was that kind of attention th0ough it was obviously taking a lot out of her to hold back her giggles and squeals of joy over his accomplishment.

[Anasha]

Far in the back of the crowd, there was the sound of a chair being slid out from a table and then a quick intake of breath from the barkeep, his nervous eyes moving in that direction as if he was about ready to snap his neck.

A moment later, and to the left of the table the oddly matched duo were seated, a figure seemed to step out from nowhere, her supple figure, daringly garbed, the onyx eyes that graced the smooth, tan face set on Erokai, though she seemed to pay the small creature that sat with him no head, a trained eyes could tell she did not ignore her either. She strode forward, taking the last few feet to the table before her with purposeful steps, her hips swaying as she walked, the smell of ale was not hanging about her, only a wisp of what might have been smoke, though that was only because of the staleness of the tavern itself. It would seem, she was armed only with a small dagger that resided at her left hip, though she wore large gauntlets that extended from the back of her hand down to her elbow, laced together with intricate ties, looping at impossible angles. Her dark hair was about shoulder length and as she moved, the eyes that had once begun to stare in her direction seemed to quickly turn the other way, as if they knew better than to interfere with her likes.

She stopped, and inclined her head to the Assassin, her onyx gaze meeting him with seriousness the like of which could only be seen in those eyes of one who meant business. “Might I have a seat?” She asked, her eyes moving from one to the next, but returning to the male after, her question being more for him than the tiny creature next to him.

Anasha was not about to ignore the tiny fairy creature, she wasn’t stupid, she knew what she was, and what the creature could be capable of and so, would not turn her back on her any more than she would the male and obvious assassin before her now. Obvious, only because no untrained creature in the world moves like that, only one of her own brethren could have pulled what he had with such grace and agility.

[erokai]

Erokai's trained eye followed her as she approached the table, tracking her alluring but stealthy movement through the crowd of drunkards and gutter filth that frequented the tavern. Her garb and posture announced her without so much as a word. She was an assassin, like him, but altogether different. Every assassin had a different style and different preferences to the others - and she seemed quite unique indeed. Erokai had met women like her, but those women had failed completely to replicate the graceful movements and implacable confidence that the assassin woman stood before him had shown. He was none too fond of the women in his profession, but she stood out like a black rose in a row of thorns.
Erokai grinned wickedly to himself as she spoke, sharp white teeth catching the light briefly before disappearing into the shadows of his long hood where two dull red eyes watched intently. He glanced over to Krystal to see how she was reacting to the presence of this woman, but saw nothing worrying in the little fairies gaze.
"Be my guest," Erokai said in his thick eastern accent, indicting the stool that stood unoccupied in front of her, "And who might you be?" He asked, his voice calm and collected, betraying no emotion whatsoever. Emotion was one of Erokai's many enemies - it had killed his father and mother and had made him an outcast in his home country. No, one must always remain in control of one's emotions, even when one was curious, waiting in anticipation for such interesting events to unfold.
This day may very well mark the beginning of Erokai's career in Karador, and he had plans for this place. Oh yes, the dark little assassin had plans indeed.

[Anasha]

Anasha inclined her head, it moving slightly to the side toward the fairy as well in one silken movement and then, with her left foot; she slid the chair out form the table and took the offered seat. Those rows of sharp teeth did not detour her from her movements, nor did they in anyway threaten her, she’d dealt with many of his kind before, some thinking themselves unstoppable, just because they’d had a bit of vampire in their blood to enhance what was there already, some now dead at her won hand because they were a bit too confident in their race. However, Anasha wasn’t here to start a fight, nor did she assume was the male she now sat with, no, what he had done, he had done to gain her attention, or the attention of one like her, another assassin.

“My name sir, would seem of no use to one such as yourself, you can call me Shadow, for now.” She stated, honestly not seeing why she should divulged her real name when she wasn’t presented with one from him, nor would she ask his, if he felt so inclined as to do so, then fine, she’d remember it, but what was a name but a means of seeking answers about another? “What is your business?’ She asked, getting straight to the reason he’d provided her with such a show, knowing he wanted answers to a few questions and willing to give them, if they were asked appropriately, of course.

Anasha was not giving information without questions; it simply wasn’t her way to stumble into giving things that were not wanted. She as well, showed not an emption still, her fiery onyx gaze was set making her still seem as though she was paying no attention to the otter rims of her vision which would of course, been a fatal mistake for one to make should they wish to test her in some silly way and pursue the course that the rather large and smelly man on the floor next to the table had with Erokai.

[Krystal]

Krystal sat back in her chair, eying the new arrival, her large onyx eyes looking the creature over with a somewhat distrusting spirit. She cold feel the woman’s gaze on her though she had never truly looked at her directly, Krystal knew she looked, and that made the little fairy a bit nervous, as she didn’t know why the woman would be so wary of such a small creature. Of course, Krystal knew what she was capable of, but did this woman know as well. She crossed her arms now over her chest as she watched the two converse, hoping this was the someone that her friend had been wishing to speak with, hoping she’d be able to aid him in his endeavourer to find that which he sought so deeply.

Krystal then turned her eyes to the crowd, a crowd that had taken to peering over at the growing numbers at their table in a rather shakily way. Some seemed to be scared of what might transpire, holding to their drinks as if readying for the entire tavern to suddenly disappear before their eyes, others, simply glancing, hoping to catch a glimpse of the three oddly matched people sitting about together, obviously two of them not the best of friends. Krystal almost wanted to laugh, as out of the three of them sitting at this table, she was perhaps the only one who wasn’t looked upon as a threat of any kind, and this began to make her wonder what they’d all think should she suddenly decide she didn’t like their peering eyes and cursed them all blind.