Return to the Rift

"It's always the best." Ronnie replied to Joey's statement, giving him a small smile. He was right, there would be absolutely no blending in until they got new clothes. And how long was that going to take? She looked down the path they were to be walking in on, her face a mixture of excitement and dread. Anything could happen after all. They weren't safe until they knew what was going on. But Joey knew that just as well as she did.

Veronica bit her lip for a moment, her eyes falling onto him, running down the length of his arm, resting on his hand. She could take it, surely he would understand in a time like this? They were, after all, walking into what could be their doom. She ran a hand through her hair, wincing a little. It had always been her biggest problem here, not many people in this world had hair dyed like hers after all. Oh well.

Ronnie took a deep breath and then stepped forward, catching up to Joey. With one quick movement, as though she wasn't even aware she was doing it, she grabbed his hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. "Shall we go then?"

Joey was barely paying attention for a minute, scanning the marketplace as they walked. It wasn't likely they would leave this place that same day, so he wanted to know his way around at least a bit. And perhaps one of the shopkeepers would be willing to let him and Veronica work for a bit of money. That was the first thing he wanted to do, so they could get proper clothing and blend in--then food and everything else, when people weren't giving them such suspicious looks.

Preoccupied by all this, he was taken completely by surprise when Veronica grabbed his hand. Over time he'd had numerous friends who were considerably more affectionate than he was, hugging him or leaning on him or grabbing his arm for whatever reason. He never understood the human tendency for proximity to others, but he usually let it slide for the sake of his friends. If it made them feel better, he could put up with it.

Hand-holding, however, was usually reserved as a more romantic gesture, and a heavy blush rose to his cheeks. He couldn't quite find anything to say that didn't sound completely rude (something he was making an extra effort to avoid after their earlier fight). He looked down at their joined hands for a moment, somewhere between confused and embarrassed.

"Um?" he said, the best question his mind would come up with.

Veronica looked up as Joey opened his mouth, her eyes immediately scanning his face. His cheeks had filled with color, and he looked less than thrilled. "Sorry..I got..nervous." Ronnie answered automatically. It was a phrase she was used to using around him, why did she think he would let her do this? Clearly..she hadn't been thinking at all. After a second, she pulled her hand out of Joey's, stuffing them into her pockets instead and focused on staring up ahead. He was never going to feel like that about her...why did she continue to push the boundaries like this when she knew it would only lead to her heartbreak later?

Either way, now wasn't really the time to be thinking about it at all. Eyes followed her and Joey with every step they made, and Veronica did her best to look straight ahead, ignore them, and pretend like she knew exactly what she was doing. She had known this world so well back when they had been a part of it. Now they were outsiders once more, untrustworthy and dangerous according to these people.

"Should we go in there..?" She asked, nodding her head toward what appeared to be a inn. No doubt that double as a tavern. But then again, that was usually where you found the best information around these places. Perhaps they could even get a room to stay in. Unless, of course, Joey had a better idea. Then Ronnie would happily go along with anything he said. Whatever it took to keep herself from acting like a fool once again.

Joey uncomfortably put both hands in his coat pockets, trying to seem nonchalant about the entire ordeal as he went back to examining the market. His gaze scanned over everything without taking in any real information. In truth, he'd felt a small twinge of disappointment when Veronica took her hand back, but he shoved the feeling down and tried, for the moment, to pretend it didn't exist. There were more important things than his inability to socialize.

He looked over to the building that Veronica mentioned. Seeing as nothing else had been promising thus far, it seemed like no worse an idea than any. It would be nice to get inside; at least there were fewer people in the building than out in the market.

"Yeah, might as well," he said, turning to head inside. "Might get some info. Maybe find someone offering cheap work, if we're lucky." He wasn't looking too forward to it; taverns tended to make him uncomfortable. But it was still a better idea than any they had had.

Veronica didn't really look at Joey for the remainder of the walk. There were much more important things to be worrying about than whatever had just happened between them, but she couldn't help it. It was what she wanted to bad, to just be able to walk hand in hand with him...but it just wasn't practical. He didn't want that. She bit her lip, looking at him from the corner of her eye and ran almost headlong into an oncoming person.

"Sorry..." She mumbled automatically, only glancing up slightly at the figure. She needed to concentrate on what they were doing here, not on Joey. Right. She followed behind him slightly, fixing her gaze on their destination instead. She didn't like going into places like this either, but it was really the only option. Usually the best place to get information anyway.

Veronica walked up to it, giving Joey a quick nervous glance before she opened the door and stepped inside. It was, predictably, poorly lit and dingy inside and as she walked through, she could feel almost every pair of eyes turn to look at them. Of course they did. She took a deep breath and held up her head, trying to appear confident. "Should we go find somewhere to sit?" She asked Joey, ignoring the looks and starting to cross the small room in search of a table that was as far out of the way as possible.

((Ironically, I have to introduce a character later than intended because she has yet to have a chance to show up in the other roleplay. XD Let's be under the assumption that they remember her and I'll find a character sheet to show you.))

"Yeah . . ." Joey stood up a little straighter, trying to counteract the reflex to shy away from everyone else in the room. He looked around the room, trying to spot an empty table without meeting the eyes of anyone who looked their way. It was a bit difficult. The sooner they managed to blend in and stop attracting attention, the better.

At first he thought he saw a clear table in the back of the room. He started toward it, only to realize that someone did indeed occupy a seat there. A tall woman with long red hair that obscured most of her face and a traveling cloak pulled around her shoulders sat there, picking halfheartedly at a plate of food. She was the only one who wasn't staring at the newcomers. Joey eyed the young woman for a moment before realizing who she was.

"Hey," he said with a gesture toward her, "I think that's Delinae!" Certainly she would be able to help, or at least aid them a bit in some way. In any case, a familiar face was welcome.

((Lol, that's fine. I was going to bring in a character too. Although, they won't have known him from before..so, I guess it could kind of balance out. I dunno when though..so, we'll see. lol))

Veronica looked over at Joey's mention of a familiar face, and she smiled as soon as she saw her too. See, she knew this was the place to come. Immediately, she starting walking toward her, pushing her hair out of her face. It was so good to see a familiar face, it made the whole thing less intimidating. Like this really was what they were supposed to be doing. Any bit of information or direction would help them out greatly.

"Delinae?" Veronica asked, stopping just behind the woman cautiously in case it wasn't her. She glanced over at Joey once, already wanting to reassure herself by grasping his shoulder, but she didn't of course. "Hi..its..us." She said, kind of stupidly really, because how would she know who 'us' was? She hoped she remembered them, they could seriously use some help.

The woman glanced up at the newcomers as they approached her table. Up close, it became more apparent why she let her hair hide her face--a patch covered her right eye. She pulled her hair away so she could look at the two. A look of confusion was replaced quickly by one of recognition, and she stood up to embrace them both without any warning.

Joey made a strangled "ack" noise but didn't otherwise protest. Delinae hardly spoke; physical gestures were how she normally communicated and he had to assume that she was simply happy to see them back.

She let them go and held them out at arm's length, smiling widely. Joey couldn't help but laugh a little bit as he straightened a bit of hair.

"Glad to see you too," he said. "It's really nice to find someone familiar. Thought we'd be wandering for ages."

She looked confused then. "Why return?" she asked in a soft, melodic voice.

Joey shrugged. "We don't know," he said. "We were hoping to find someone who knew. We weren't so lucky as to be greeted by a bunch of people with answers this time."

Delinae frowned thoughtfully. She wasn't certain, either, but she would try to help if she could.

Veronica was immediately overjoyed to be hugged by Delinae, glad that it was definitely a friend they had stumbled into here. She thought for sure that they could get some answers from the woman, surely she had to know what in the world was going on. Ronnie seriously doubted that the rift would just open up again for no reason whatsoever. No, it had been calling her and Joey for days now, there was no way it was just a random circumstance.

Therefore, she frowned when Delinae responded that she was unsure why they had returned. Her face expression told her everything, that Delinea wasn't certain what had brought them back either, which meant that they were not as close as they had hoped to getting any answers. And something was pressing on Veronica's mind, surely it was whatever she and Joey were meant to do here. But it gave her no answers, and therefore, it was a worthless feeling.

"You have no idea?" She asked, a little crestfallen. For a moment, she looked around, as though expecting another figure that they had known from before to come popping up and yelling 'surprise!' Of course, no such thing happened...but still. Maybe she could get answers by invading someone's mind. They would never know, and it would be simple enough. Or it had been anyway, once she had gotten the hang of it. But then again, her skills probably weren't strong enough to do that yet since they had just returned. And it was usually frowned upon, but it would have been so much simpler.

Oh well. At least they had Delinea now, and if nothing else, hopefully she could accompany them, or at least point them in the direction they were supposed to go it.

Joey sighed and shook his head a bit. Even with somebody they knew, they were still back at square one. Why were they here and where should they go? They could stay in town for awhile, but that wouldn't get them anywhere, especially with nothing.

Delinae glanced up and around the room, her eyes settling on someone who was still staring at Joey and Veronica. She looked back to the two with a concerned face and gave a gentle tug on the hood of Joey's coat, questioning. Hadn't they any other clothing?

"What--oh. Yeah, we kinda stick out a little bit," Joey said, his gaze drawn to his attire again. "I'm gonna try to find some work so we can actually get some clothing while we're here, but . . ."

Delinae shook her head and reached for a pouch hanging from her hip. She untied the leather string and held the purse out--it was half-full of various coins.

Joey shook his head again. "You don't have to do that," he said, looking up to Delinae. At nearly six feet in height, the young woman towered over either of them despite being scarcely older. "We'll manage."

She frowned and pushed the coins forward, bent on doing what she could. She didn't have any information, so she felt this was the least she could do.

Veronica hesitated the same as Joey when Delinae offered her coin to them. She frowned, shaking her head, ready to protest as well. But Joey had beaten her to it, and Delinae had already declined. Ronnie hesitated, looking between the two of them, and giving a little sigh. She didn't want to take money either, but she knew that if it was being offered to them, it would be ruder to decline than to just accept. She reached out her hand slowly and took it from Delinae, giving the young woman a grateful smile.

"We'll repay you..promise." She said, stepping up and giving her another hug. As soon as they found out what was going on, she was sure they could come up with enough money to pay Delinae back, and then some. Ronnie took the coins and pocketed them, glancing at Joey. Well, at least coming in here hadn't been a complete waste. They had found someone they knew, and had gotten a bit of money. So far so good she supposed.

"I'm going to go see if there's a room available or something." She told Joey and Delinae, figuring that they would have to camp here for the night after all. Ronnie left their side and approached the bar slowly, leaning against it and waiting for the attention of the bartender and owner. She was so preoccupied she didn't even notice the pair of eyes that were boring into her from across the bar, much less the figure they belonged to. Nor did she notice the small, black feline that was sitting on a stool next to her until it had stood up and lept onto the bar in front of her. Ronnie jumped a little before she realized what the creature even was, and then she smiled. Just a little cat after all. Except that it was staring at her with a kind of serious intent and intelligence that she had never seen a cat do before. Weird.

Delinae just smiled and returned Veronica's hug without a word. She was happy to help when possible. It wasn't as if she needed much money to get by--staying in town as she did today was a rare occurrence. She could spare a bit of coin to help friends whom she hadn't seen in ages.

Joey sighed a bit and pulled up a chair to sit. At least they were getting somewhere; even if they still didn't know what they were here for, they wouldn't be starving out on the streets tonight. He crossed his legs and silently scanned the tavern. He didn't like places like this. Some establishments were better than others, but this didn't seem to be one of the most high-end, and he'd seen the way drunken men could act with women in the vicinity. He didn't expect much to happen, but it still made him wary.

Joey couldn't help a wry smirk. They'd been in Ferelan again for hardly more than an hour and he was already lapsing back into his old habits and ways of thinking. He hardly needed to worry about such matters at home.

He watched as a small cat leaped onto the bar by Veronica. Who would let cats into a tavern? It made him wonder, but it didn't seem too important, so he let the thought leave his mind and began thinking of their next course of action.

"Help you miss?" A gruff voice snapped at Veronica, making her jump again and pulling her out of her reverie with the little cat. Likewise, the animal jumped off the table and resumed sitting on a stool next to her, wrapping its tail neatly around its feet.

"Looking for a room." Veronica said, jerking her head back towards Joey. "Need a place to stay." She said. The old man glanced between her and Joey, seeming to size them up, and gave her a distrustful look for a few seconds, but then nodded. For a few minutes, she worked out the details, and then slid over a few of the new coins they had just received from Delinae across the bar to him. As she was getting up, she finally caught the eye of the man who was staring at her, and she bit her lip nervously before she turned to rejoin Joey and Delinae. His eyes followed her as she walked, and when she sat down across from Joey, she could feel them lingering on him too.

"I think...is he..?" She asked him slightly nervously. If she had learned anything, it was that it was never good to be the object of such staring. Ronnie jumped again when the cat reappeared at her feet, and then jumped up onto their table, taking a seat in the middle. It was amazing how no one seemed to notice that there was a cat in the tavern, as though they were all used to him.

The cat stretched, and then lay down on the table, curling his tail up easily and resumed its too-smart, unblinking stare at both Joey and Veronica, who could only giver her two companions a confused look.

Joey followed Veronica's gaze to the man across the room. He gave the man a glare, but figured it would go unnoticed and shook his head. It was uncomfortable, but Joey didn't want to make a scene in the tavern. Delinae looked to be more uncomfortable with it, though; she wasn't fond of people in the first place, let alone people paying her or her friends any special attention.

Joey looked instead to the cat that had leaped up onto their table. Instinct would have had him lift a hand to pet the cat, but the animal unnerved him. It seemed almost human in its mannerisms.

"Who the hell lets a cat run around here?" he wondered. Nobody seemed to outwardly claim ownership for it; maybe it was a stray?

Still, it was worrying him, as was the man across the tavern. Joey got to his feet. "C'mon. We should probably get our clothes and whatnot before evening. We can come back later," he said with a look to Veronica. "And this place is kinda creeping me out . . ."

Delinae agreed with that sentiment, giving a nod and standing up as well. Staying here was becoming unsettling.

Veronica stood up too and moved to follow Joey, but the cat rose as well. It meowed at them, in a sound that was almost insistent, and jumped off the table, moving in front of their feet. Apparently, they weren't going to get away from the animal. It seemed to know they intended on leaving it there, and wasn't going to allow it. It sat right in their way, its tail flicking back and forth as it watched the three of them.

And then before Veronica even knew it, the figure that had been watching them across the bar was up and walking toward them. He looked no older than Delinae, but moved with such intent that it set her on edge. He walked through the bar with ease, the cowl of his cloak pulled up to hide the details of his face. Before she knew it, he was behind her and she could feel the cool steel of a blade tip on her back.

"Sorry." He said, and he actually sounded like he meant it. "Come with me. We should talk." He said, and Veronica turned her head to look at his face now that it was close to hers. She was unsure what to think, her immediate reaction was that his face was non-threatening, but yet here he was with a knife pressed against her skin. This was unusual to say the least.

Joey nearly leaped at the man as soon as he saw the knife; common sense barely kept him in place. Who was to say the man wouldn't kill Veronica at the slightest bit of resistance? That would be the entire point behind taking a hostage. Yet the idea of attacking him now was so much more appealing.

"Let her go," Joey said lowly between gritted teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. He could probably summon a spell right then and end this before it began, but what would the consequences be? He wasn't even certain he could still use his powers properly. Realizing this, a bit of panic began to overwhelm the anger he felt.

Delinae was fearful, her own instinct being to flee the situation, but she stayed. Unconsciously, her hand went to the knife she kept under her cloak, but she didn't dare draw it yet. Not while Veronica was still in such a compromising position. Delinae briefly glanced around the tavern. Nobody else seemed to be moving; whether it was out of fear or simple ignorance, she couldn't be sure.

"Well, I would. But then she would be in even more trouble. You too." The figure answered, and there was no real threat in his tone. Just a plain old statement. "Trust me, this is better." He continued, shrugging a little. Veronica could feel the tip of the blade cut her skin just a little and she winced slightly, but did her best to hide it from Joey. Despite the situation she was in, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of trust ( wasn't that just ridiculous?) for this man. He was talking so rationally after all.

On the floor, the little black cat sat up, stretching out a paw to strike at Joey, as though it was trying to get him to pay attention to it. And then he dropped back down to his four legs and rubbed up against his legs, then Delinae's reassuringly.

"We should just go, Joey." Veronica said, watching the cat and then bringing her gaze to meet his. "With him," she clarified, motioning to the young man behind her.

"Promise it will be worth your while. As long as you don't do anything stupid." He said, turning his gaze on Joey in a flash of golden eyes, full of both seriousness and amusement. They were not the eyes of a killer, though that was not to say that they couldn't become that in one short second. "Even Cadoc there wants you to join us." He continued, glancing down at the cat who meowed insistently. "Now, before we make much more of a scene, huh?"

Joey stared for a long moment at the golden-eyed man. The way the man spoke, so calmly and rationally, without any real threat, set off more alarms than it would have had he been threatening. Joey didn't want to do a thing the man asked, unable to trust anyone who put a knife to his friend's back, but there didn't seem to be much choice. It was either comply or risk watching Veronica get hurt. The latter option was just slightly less enjoyable than the first.

"Fine," he said darkly. "Lead on, then." He glanced down at the cat, finding the thing to be annoying more than anything. As much as he liked cats, this one was less than appreciated.

Delinae slowly relinquished her grip on her knife, likewise forced to go with what the man asked. Perhaps he wouldn't cause any harm. It seemed like he was reluctant to actually hurt anybody here. That wasn't to say she trusted him by any means, but it was a little reassuring in a way. Veronica might be safer than it outwardly appeared. Delinae certainly hoped so.

The cat was the first to leave them, its small figure darted up a set of stairs, disappearing down a hallway. Then Veronica was pushed forward, more gently than she would have expected, and she and the figure still holding her followed the animal up the stairs. She already knew that he was taking them to a room upstairs, probably one in which he was staying in, maybe even close to where she had gotten a room for herself and Joey.

Upstairs was the same as down, run down and slightly dirty, but seemingly safe. Or it would have been if they weren't in this situation. Still though, it wasn't as bad as it could be. Finally, as they neared the very last room in the hallway, she felt the knife slip away and Veronica moved away from him just slightly. He unlocked a room, and motioned inside of it. For a moment, she stood still, and then took a breath and stepped into the dark room.

There was only one candle lit on an opposite table, and there were no windows here. She could see the cat's eyes lit up in the dark, watching them from across the room. Maybe they had made a mistake, this was more sinister than she had hoped. But it was to late, she was already inside and Joey and Delinae were behind her. Had she dragged her friends into yet another mess? Veronica hoped not, but then again, you could never tell here in Ferelan.

"I'm sorry that I had to do that." The man spoke, moving to sit beside the candle light. He lowered the hood of his cloak and shook loose his brown locks of hair. The first thing that Veronica noticed was how sharp and rich his features were, how bright his eyes looked in the dark. And the second was that he was quite handsome. "I'm Fallyn. It's good to meet you, Veronica, Joey." He said, standing once more and giving both the teens a little nod. Then he turned to Delinea, "And I'm afraid I don't know you..."

If Veronica hadn't been so suddenly taken with him, she might have wondered how he knew them, or more importantly, what he knew about them. But none of those questions came up just yet, instead she just offered him a dumb smile, glancing between him, Joey, Delinae, and the cat.

Joey looked around the room, taking note of it. A bit dirty and dark, but serviceable. It didn't seem anything else was lying in wait for them here--no obvious traps, nobody else aside from the four of them and the cat. Granted, it wouldn't be impossible for anything else to happen. Things were always unpredictable here.

"How do you know who we are?" he asked coolly, allowing himself to be a little more calm than he had been previously. He remained standing and crossed his arms. "And what, exactly, is it that you want from us?" Perhaps the man was working for somebody else who wanted them? It hardly mattered.

Delinae watched the man, still just as suspicious. She didn't bother giving her name; clearly, she wasn't the important one here. She allowed herself to relax slightly, but her muscles remained tense just in case she had to react quickly. Anything could happen. She looked between Joey and Veronica, trying to gauge their reactions as well.

((This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. Good guys, bad guys and explosions as far as the eye can see. And only one will survive, I wonder who it will be...xD))

Veronica jumped a little as Joey spoke, making her come to her senses a little more. She blushed slightly as she realized she had just been staring at this Fallyn a little too long, and turned away. "I've been waiting for you." Fallyn replied, not at all intimidated by Joey. He jumped up to sit on the small table that held the candle and crossed his legs. His gaze passed over the three of them, a small grin crossing his face. They were all so suspicious of him. Well, except for the girl, who had more of a reason to be since she was the one he had held the knife too. But she wasn't.

"I'm sorry that I had to scare you." He repeated again, "But I didn't think you would come with me." He said with a shrug. "I know that you've been confused about why you're back. And I'm here to help you with that." He said, allowing the grin to grow across his face.

Veronica pushed her hair out of her eyes, looking between everyone, and a smile flashed across her face too. She was to quick to trust, but she didn't care. "I told you someone would know." She told Joey, bringing her hands together in triumph. There was another short moment of silence, and then the cat, Cadoc, made a meowing sound that sounded something like a laugh. Except that cats didn't laugh.

((This is the ultimate showdown of ultimate destiny. C: ))

Joey glanced down at Veronica and shook his head. "That's not always a good thing," he said, before returning his attention to Fallyn. "You'll have to excuse my suspicion, then. So how do you intend to help, exactly?"

There was a certain amount of irony to this, Joey thought dully. The first time they had come to Ferelan, they had blindingly accepted help from the first people who found them with hardly a question. Now that the same opportunity had presented itself, it was surrounded with suspicion. It certainly didn't help that this time, the potential help announced itself with a knife to his friend's spine. That was probably the primary reason why the situations were so different.

Delinae relaxed a little more. Fallyn didn't seem to be interested in causing any harm, and Veronica was more at ease with him, too. She wasn't happy that Fallyn had used force for what seemed like a simple matter, but he seemed to have his reasons. Indeed, simply asking a stranger to speak alone would be nearly as questionable.

Fallyn was silent for a few moments studying Joey. He was obviously the rational one, although Fallyn already knew this. He always knew the ones he sought. "I'm sure that you remember the Lady? She sent me." Fallyn said easily, kicking up his booted feet comfortably on a wooden chair. "I didn't know where you were going to turn up though. Hell of a hunt." He said, his lips twitching.

Veronica looked back and forth between Joey and Fallyn, and then clapped her hands again. "See, I told you, Joey." She said, punching him playfully in the shoulder. Now they had two people to help them. Delinae, who they both knew and could trust, and Fallyn, who no one knew but if Ithilwen had sent him, then he had to be trustworthy too, right? She was so willing to forgive a little knife point for him.

Fallyn offered Veronica a smile, and then turned to look at Joey. "You should listen to your girlfriend. She knows what I speak." He said mischievously, because he already knew that the two were not involved in that way. There was another sound of laughter from Cadoc, who had stood up from where he was sitting and padded over to Veronica so she could pet him while she pretended to ignore Fallyn's comment.

"Anyway, they're looking for you too and this place isn't safe. We leave tomorrow morning, first light." Fallyn said, hopping up from his seat. He looked barely older than Delinae, and considering she wasn't much older than Joey and Veronica, he didn't look old at all. When he smiled, he was downright charming, but it was also clear that his golden eyes hid many secrets too. He was laid back, that was clear to see, perhaps a bit of a joker even. But clearly, he could take command. "I expect you to get a good nights rest," He said, stepping past them and toward the door to his room. "Oh, and don't talk to anyone please."

Although others might have expected the girlfriend comment to carry some weight (and since Fallyn seemed amused by it, he must have expected it to), Joey ignored it entirely. Taunts like that came often with having female friends. It wasn't new in the slightest.

If Ithilwen had sent this man, though, Joey had to admit there was little reason not to trust him. Surely very few knew of the elf, which made it difficult to lie about being asked by her to do anything. Still, Joey wasn't ready to put his full faith in the man yet. He chose for now not to argue with Fallyn, mostly because the instructions he gave were hardly poor ones.

Still . . . why wasn't it safe here? That was the real concern.

Joey shook his head. "Guess I can't argue with getting to crash," he said with a look to Veronica. "Time might be a little off here, but my sleep schedule's still running on back home."

Sensing that she would need to leave, Delinae drew her cloak tighter about her shoulders and made a movement for the door as well. She considered asking Fallyn what the danger in the town might be, then dismissed it. It appeared safe enough for now. Best not to worry.

"Neither of you have weapons, do you?" Fallyn asked, pausing as though he had just considered the question. They also still had nothing to wear, though now that he had found them, and they seemed to have gained a little bit of money, then it wasn't as big of a problem. He could fix it for them tonight. "You're so obvious, it's going to kill me." He said, shaking his head slightly as he looked the two up and down.

There was a long pause as Fallyn decided what to do, in which he looked back at Cadoc for a few minutes, as though having a silent conversation with the feline. Finally, he held out his hand. "I can fetch you something proper to wear, if you lend me your coin. Cadoc will stay with you tonight, to watch over." He said finally, and then turned to glance at Delinae. "And you? They may need more protection than a cat can give." He said, a slight joking smile returning to his face as he spoke to the shy woman. He didn't know her, but since she was a friend of theirs from times past, then he knew that she could be trusted. And she certainly looked like a force to be reckoned with when she desired.

"That sounds like a great idea." Veronica answere Fallyn a little dreamily. At this point, she probably would have agreed that jumping off a bridge was a god idea too. As long as Fallyn said it, that was. Really, she was wasting her time a little with Joey. Perhaps it was time to forget about him and move on after all.

-----------------------

A lone, cloaked figure was standing as still as a shadow in a dark alleyway, her sharp eyes ready for any movement. But there wasn't a creature that was willing to show its face to her, since they all knew who she was. She was waiting for her prey, the two meddling children, or that half-elf scum who was supposed to be finding them first. A slight movement behind her made her turn, daggers drawn so fast it almost appeared as though she had summoned them from thin air.

"He already knows we're here...we can't get anywhere near them yet..." The figure hissed, gray eyes squinted in an expression that could only be seen as pure rage.

"We wait, Snake. Be patient." She replied, giving her head a short shake, making her long golden mane blow in the wind.

"It's a waste of time Hawk-" The other girl, Snake, stopped abruptly as Hawk grabbed her throat in one powerful grip.

"I brought you because I thought you were ready for this. If you don't follow my orders..." She said, tightening her grip. "We wait. We do not strike." She said, finally releasing Snake. "Not yet. Let us see them first..." She continued, a grin stretching across her face.