A confidential compound. That’s what he was supposed to retrieve. What it was supposed to do, Natsume didn’t know, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get home and sleep. He may have been a demon, but he still needed rest. He was tired of taking orders for one night. If this wasn’t his last mission before the day was up he didn’t care what his punishment was, he was going to sleep until morning.
At least, that was what he thought. It all seemed so easy. Like any other job. Get a sample, transport, and that was it. But this wasn’t the same as stealing from any underground resource. Those in possession of the compound were shady, sure, but their client was involved with the crown, and he made the mistake of being too careless. He saw guards with the emblem of the throne, the blades of justice, and he still moved in. He moved in, retrieved a sample, and nearly lost his hand in the process. He had been spotted, and now he had to run.
This… compound. It looked like a tree root infected with some sort of magic. A deep purple glow surged from within small cracks along the surface of the root, and he was sure he smelled… metal. Metal and something else. Maybe a spice. Natsume was able to contain it within a small glass tube, sealed and secure, but whatever this was, he was risking his life for it. “Damn it, Kyo…”
Natsume had two things to his advantage in this fight. First he was small, but agile. Not very imposing as his height, just a few inches shy of the average for any adult human, but that made him harder to hit in the middle of the night. And then there was his eyes. Being able to see in the dark. He could lose them in the city, the nooks and crannies between buildings that looked too close to each other were difficult enough to navigate during the day. At night, they were his playground. In the shadows, he could eliminate anyone who saw his face.
He was spotted by a guard and a researcher. The researcher was definitely dead… But that guard. There were going to be more, but only one of them saw his face. That was the only one that needed to die before he could leave. To hell with the rest.
They followed, there were… five. He could smell them over the freshly rained on street. The clouds were parting, giving way to the moonlight and making it harder for him to hide, but he wasn’t about to die in some alley. His green eyes tried to betray him, reflecting what light they could swallow from under his dark hood. His ears twitched, his tail wrapped itself loosely around his waist. Perched atop a landing he was able to scale, he waited.
Splash… Splash… A voice…. Splash… Splash, splash, splash.
Some were getting closer, no… Now they were getting further away, and he lost track of the one he had to eliminate. He didn’t have the patience right now to wait it out. He wanted to leave… With the compound in his pocket, conceivably he could just make the transport, but he didn’t want to risk what peace he had in this rat’s ass of a town. Anyone to know his face and the world he worked in could not be allowed to exist.
At least, that was what he thought. It all seemed so easy. Like any other job. Get a sample, transport, and that was it. But this wasn’t the same as stealing from any underground resource. Those in possession of the compound were shady, sure, but their client was involved with the crown, and he made the mistake of being too careless. He saw guards with the emblem of the throne, the blades of justice, and he still moved in. He moved in, retrieved a sample, and nearly lost his hand in the process. He had been spotted, and now he had to run.
This… compound. It looked like a tree root infected with some sort of magic. A deep purple glow surged from within small cracks along the surface of the root, and he was sure he smelled… metal. Metal and something else. Maybe a spice. Natsume was able to contain it within a small glass tube, sealed and secure, but whatever this was, he was risking his life for it. “Damn it, Kyo…”
Natsume had two things to his advantage in this fight. First he was small, but agile. Not very imposing as his height, just a few inches shy of the average for any adult human, but that made him harder to hit in the middle of the night. And then there was his eyes. Being able to see in the dark. He could lose them in the city, the nooks and crannies between buildings that looked too close to each other were difficult enough to navigate during the day. At night, they were his playground. In the shadows, he could eliminate anyone who saw his face.
He was spotted by a guard and a researcher. The researcher was definitely dead… But that guard. There were going to be more, but only one of them saw his face. That was the only one that needed to die before he could leave. To hell with the rest.
They followed, there were… five. He could smell them over the freshly rained on street. The clouds were parting, giving way to the moonlight and making it harder for him to hide, but he wasn’t about to die in some alley. His green eyes tried to betray him, reflecting what light they could swallow from under his dark hood. His ears twitched, his tail wrapped itself loosely around his waist. Perched atop a landing he was able to scale, he waited.
Splash… Splash… A voice…. Splash… Splash, splash, splash.
Some were getting closer, no… Now they were getting further away, and he lost track of the one he had to eliminate. He didn’t have the patience right now to wait it out. He wanted to leave… With the compound in his pocket, conceivably he could just make the transport, but he didn’t want to risk what peace he had in this rat’s ass of a town. Anyone to know his face and the world he worked in could not be allowed to exist.
A guarding duty was a boring one. Even more when it had to be done for some shady guy that more likely owned something so ridiculously pricy –and illegally obtained- that they were getting paranoiac enough to request additional guards to the royalty. He was paid so he wouldn’t complain, even more with the guy giving an additional tip for them to shut their mouth about what was actually in the room. But guarding duty always was boring, you had to stay hours in position with the same men that would irremediably try to start a conversation he didn’t plan to have in the middle of night.
He hadn’t been assigned inside the room, which for him was the whole reason some cat managed to sneak in and actually cut into the thing they were supposed to guard. What was the point of a heavily secured door if it prevented you from getting in when something happened. He was pretty sure of what he saw though, a cat tail.
Of course he had to bother himself with chasing that thief, he wouldn’t get paid otherwise. It wasn’t so bad though, it was the start of the hunt, under a full moon. The air was fresh from the rain that fell earlier, the street seemed bright from the moon light and the blades his fellows guard polished so carefully were shinning totally giving their position out. Furthermore they were noisy, it was no good when hunting to be the ones making the noises.
When they lost sight of the thief he stopped the others, making them separate to explore the surrounding area. Kahan headed for the side of the closer house, his steel claws gripping easily over the uneven sculpted stone to haul himself on top. Even running on the roofs would be less noisy than those wet streets, and dark alleys were better to investigate from above, though that wasn’t the only reason he climbed there. After all the thief was a cat, cats liked high place, and if he was able to get him on his own he could get a hefty bonus.
Blades of justice what a joke. Justice only applied to the poor, and he wouldn’t be one.
He guessed it was time to go and apply that so-called justice on that thief. With a full moon the winner was the one that spotted the other first, and in the city it was the one with the best view point.
“Found ya.” He mouthed spotting the hooded silhouette, even without the tail he knew it was this one, the built matched, and who else would be laying in wait at this time. What he didn’t understand though was why the cat was staying there instead of running away with his bounty, some stuff he left behind? Oh well, not that he cared.
He was a bit sore from staying on guard duty but the run had been a good warm up, he should be able to move a little. His grey eyes scanned the area and he found what he needed, one of those beam sprouting out of a close enough façade.
He let himself fall down along the wooden roof and grabbed his whip, weighting the stip. The goal was to push him back down, he wasn’t a squirrel after all, while the roofs were nice he was still more stable on the ground. When he threw his arm the whip didn’t snap, it secured itself around the beam, and from a twist of his wrist it trapped his arm. His legs won’t like it but the money will compensate. He dropped down and the momentum rocked him toward the cat’s perch. He felt the resistance of fabric on his boots but he was already landing on the pavement. Crouched down without falling over, his legs took a toll though. He slowly got up and brought his whip back, the lead clicking on the ground. “You hold on something that is not yours, kitten.” He said.
He hadn’t been assigned inside the room, which for him was the whole reason some cat managed to sneak in and actually cut into the thing they were supposed to guard. What was the point of a heavily secured door if it prevented you from getting in when something happened. He was pretty sure of what he saw though, a cat tail.
Of course he had to bother himself with chasing that thief, he wouldn’t get paid otherwise. It wasn’t so bad though, it was the start of the hunt, under a full moon. The air was fresh from the rain that fell earlier, the street seemed bright from the moon light and the blades his fellows guard polished so carefully were shinning totally giving their position out. Furthermore they were noisy, it was no good when hunting to be the ones making the noises.
When they lost sight of the thief he stopped the others, making them separate to explore the surrounding area. Kahan headed for the side of the closer house, his steel claws gripping easily over the uneven sculpted stone to haul himself on top. Even running on the roofs would be less noisy than those wet streets, and dark alleys were better to investigate from above, though that wasn’t the only reason he climbed there. After all the thief was a cat, cats liked high place, and if he was able to get him on his own he could get a hefty bonus.
Blades of justice what a joke. Justice only applied to the poor, and he wouldn’t be one.
He guessed it was time to go and apply that so-called justice on that thief. With a full moon the winner was the one that spotted the other first, and in the city it was the one with the best view point.
“Found ya.” He mouthed spotting the hooded silhouette, even without the tail he knew it was this one, the built matched, and who else would be laying in wait at this time. What he didn’t understand though was why the cat was staying there instead of running away with his bounty, some stuff he left behind? Oh well, not that he cared.
He was a bit sore from staying on guard duty but the run had been a good warm up, he should be able to move a little. His grey eyes scanned the area and he found what he needed, one of those beam sprouting out of a close enough façade.
He let himself fall down along the wooden roof and grabbed his whip, weighting the stip. The goal was to push him back down, he wasn’t a squirrel after all, while the roofs were nice he was still more stable on the ground. When he threw his arm the whip didn’t snap, it secured itself around the beam, and from a twist of his wrist it trapped his arm. His legs won’t like it but the money will compensate. He dropped down and the momentum rocked him toward the cat’s perch. He felt the resistance of fabric on his boots but he was already landing on the pavement. Crouched down without falling over, his legs took a toll though. He slowly got up and brought his whip back, the lead clicking on the ground. “You hold on something that is not yours, kitten.” He said.
If things stayed this slow, he might just have to leave that one guard alive. They were at a distance that made it hard to make out what they were saying. Natsume may have gotten a little too far away from the bunch to effectively hunt down his target.
Considering it, this was an unnecessary risk for the mission, but Natsume had a life here. It was pretty crap and nothing special, but it was all he had that gave him solace. Taking in a deep breath, Natsume took in the scent of his surroundings. Nope. None of the guards were close enough to identify… They didn’t seem to be in a group anymore, the sound of their footsteps tracking through left over puddles giving him a good sense of that. And they were all heading further away as far as he could tell. Fine, whatever. He could just stay here a while longer until he felt refreshed and could head on his merry way or until, possibly, the guard that had the misfortune of spotting him was right under him.
They seemed stupid enough. As far as they knew, he was just another lowly human to them. Maybe a mage or something, but as long as they hadn’t identified everything. Plenty of people in this city had green eyes.
Just as he was about to change his course from laying in wait to getting the hell out of here, he could hear the sound of something… Some kind of… leather reaching around metal. The stretch of it. And… Shit.
Turning at the sound of feet touching the landing, Natsume prepared himself for a fight, pulling his hood further over his face. This wasn’t the guard that saw his face, but somehow he knew that he wasn’t human. Crap. If one saw, then the others could have too. This meant that he’d have to kill them all. Spilling unnecessary blood was such a pain! And going after them on his own, even more annoying.
Unwrapping his tail from around his waist, he hopped up tot eh roof, the rail acting as an effective springboard. From a holster at his thigh, Natsume pulled out a dagger and gave it a good toss, hoping to stab the man through his leg and buy himself a little time to get some space so he could come up with a new plan of attack. His target count went from one to five in a split second, and that meant more time wasted on this bullshit. And now on the roof, he could see that the man didn’t swing down on a rope.
Before he could track down the others, he had to deal with this one. This guy had to be human. He smelled human enough, but his weapons were different than the rest and he seemed smarter than the others. He did find a way up onto the tall roofs and used them to track him down. Was he a royal guard? Maybe a mercenary of some sort? Nothing on him identified him specifically, so Natsume didn’t have the advantage of information. This sucked… At least the royal guards were predictable.
Taking out another dagger, Natsume readied himself to strike what he could. A whip wasn’t a very easy weapon to fight. All he could do was try to predict where his attacks would come from and avoid them best he could. He needed to get close. He didn’t seem heavily armoured, but going for his torso was a death wish. The man exuded an aura of danger, every instinct in Natsume’s body warning him not to get too close. One strike to the neck. If that didn’t kill him, then Natsume may need to retreat…
Considering it, this was an unnecessary risk for the mission, but Natsume had a life here. It was pretty crap and nothing special, but it was all he had that gave him solace. Taking in a deep breath, Natsume took in the scent of his surroundings. Nope. None of the guards were close enough to identify… They didn’t seem to be in a group anymore, the sound of their footsteps tracking through left over puddles giving him a good sense of that. And they were all heading further away as far as he could tell. Fine, whatever. He could just stay here a while longer until he felt refreshed and could head on his merry way or until, possibly, the guard that had the misfortune of spotting him was right under him.
They seemed stupid enough. As far as they knew, he was just another lowly human to them. Maybe a mage or something, but as long as they hadn’t identified everything. Plenty of people in this city had green eyes.
Just as he was about to change his course from laying in wait to getting the hell out of here, he could hear the sound of something… Some kind of… leather reaching around metal. The stretch of it. And… Shit.
Turning at the sound of feet touching the landing, Natsume prepared himself for a fight, pulling his hood further over his face. This wasn’t the guard that saw his face, but somehow he knew that he wasn’t human. Crap. If one saw, then the others could have too. This meant that he’d have to kill them all. Spilling unnecessary blood was such a pain! And going after them on his own, even more annoying.
Unwrapping his tail from around his waist, he hopped up tot eh roof, the rail acting as an effective springboard. From a holster at his thigh, Natsume pulled out a dagger and gave it a good toss, hoping to stab the man through his leg and buy himself a little time to get some space so he could come up with a new plan of attack. His target count went from one to five in a split second, and that meant more time wasted on this bullshit. And now on the roof, he could see that the man didn’t swing down on a rope.
Before he could track down the others, he had to deal with this one. This guy had to be human. He smelled human enough, but his weapons were different than the rest and he seemed smarter than the others. He did find a way up onto the tall roofs and used them to track him down. Was he a royal guard? Maybe a mercenary of some sort? Nothing on him identified him specifically, so Natsume didn’t have the advantage of information. This sucked… At least the royal guards were predictable.
Taking out another dagger, Natsume readied himself to strike what he could. A whip wasn’t a very easy weapon to fight. All he could do was try to predict where his attacks would come from and avoid them best he could. He needed to get close. He didn’t seem heavily armoured, but going for his torso was a death wish. The man exuded an aura of danger, every instinct in Natsume’s body warning him not to get too close. One strike to the neck. If that didn’t kill him, then Natsume may need to retreat…
Looked like the thief didn’t plan on pronouncing a sound, maybe not to give any hint that could make him recognizable. But a cat tail was plenty already. The only reply Kahan obtained was a knife flying his way. His legs did not yet recovered fully from his landing allowing the knife to slice his left thigh before hitting the ground with a metallic sound. He barely grunted and quickly passed his finger over the gash. Not a single drop of blood dripped down from the wound, no liquid spreading over the dark pants he was wearing.
However he wasn’t going to be able to get up there again and much less make his way down in such a fancy way as he did before. So much trouble, but he wanted the money. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t reach. Kahan gathered his whip in one hand, looking up for the eluding cat. It was such an irony, fighting a cat with a whip and retractable claws, but he wouldn’t complain.
Royal guard was just a noble title allowing him to enter places and be respected by commoners, but even those noble baby boys could get that title while only being able to move their shiny expensive swords in a noble way. But when handling criminals and thieves there was little chances for the rules of duel to actually be applied, which was why he found them worthless.
He was thus pretty sure only one or two of the guards on duty with him could actually manage to do something regarding this kitten. If they actually found him before Kahan had made sure to earn from benefit from this chase, which wasn’t going to happen so easily. It wasn’t in his habit to share benefit, that was the reason why he didn’t actually call his fellow guards over.
Seeing the thief take out another dagger Kahan made his whip crack. “Once not twice. You are going to give me that thing back, my wages depend on it.” He warned. The man choose his words carefully, if that thief was clever enough to get in that room and out, he might notice his motives were not justice and noble thoughts. After all he wasn’t in the room when the thing was robbed, he would get less of a blame if the thief was not found. If he came at him with that dagger he could probably secure his whip around his ankle and avoid him getting away and finally make that cat meow.
However he wasn’t going to be able to get up there again and much less make his way down in such a fancy way as he did before. So much trouble, but he wanted the money. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t reach. Kahan gathered his whip in one hand, looking up for the eluding cat. It was such an irony, fighting a cat with a whip and retractable claws, but he wouldn’t complain.
Royal guard was just a noble title allowing him to enter places and be respected by commoners, but even those noble baby boys could get that title while only being able to move their shiny expensive swords in a noble way. But when handling criminals and thieves there was little chances for the rules of duel to actually be applied, which was why he found them worthless.
He was thus pretty sure only one or two of the guards on duty with him could actually manage to do something regarding this kitten. If they actually found him before Kahan had made sure to earn from benefit from this chase, which wasn’t going to happen so easily. It wasn’t in his habit to share benefit, that was the reason why he didn’t actually call his fellow guards over.
Seeing the thief take out another dagger Kahan made his whip crack. “Once not twice. You are going to give me that thing back, my wages depend on it.” He warned. The man choose his words carefully, if that thief was clever enough to get in that room and out, he might notice his motives were not justice and noble thoughts. After all he wasn’t in the room when the thing was robbed, he would get less of a blame if the thief was not found. If he came at him with that dagger he could probably secure his whip around his ankle and avoid him getting away and finally make that cat meow.
Breathing under control, crouched at the ready, eyes narrowed and focused on the edge of the roof. This one wasn’t in metal armour like the rest, and so was able to move more stealthily. He seemed more experienced and less procedural than the other guards, so Natsume knew that he wasn’t going to hold back for the sake of evidence. Guards of the city tended to try and capture and imprison their criminals, but seeing as who he just stole from, those rules did not apply.
As the man threw himself back onto the roof, Natsume felt his sense of caution kick itself up another notch. His instincts really didn’t want him anywhere near the guy. He made it clear that he didn’t intend on letting him go a second time and Natsume wasn’t interested in entertaining his sense of theatre.
Complete objective. Eliminate witnesses. Deliver package.
His directives were in order. Time to strike. Natsume didn’t waste time just listening. He knew that the first one to move would probably lose, but he didn’t have the time to be having a staring contest with the mock lion tamer.
With all the strength in his legs, he dashed forward. He had no information on the guy, but he knew about the whip and predicted two possibilities. The man trying to use the whip to immobilize him, or strangle him. It would have been the easiest way to attack a moving target, and so, with that in mind, Natsume prepared himself to dive under while staying above ground level.
Looks like one of his predictions hit the money. He could see the movement of the whip, pushed off the ground to avoid getting his leg caught in the weapon, and with his dagger, he aimed a blow straight to the man’s jugular. Natsume was pretty skinny. No larger than a teenager, but what he lacked in brawn, he made up for with speed, reflexes, and brains.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t infallible. He didn’t quite calculate his jump properly, and as he passed from the guard’s line of vision to the space behind him, his right ankle was caught in the leather of the whip, sending him head first into the ground. He had to be faster, attempted to kick his leg with the force of his entire body moving in order to either pull himself free or take the whip from the guard’s hands as he fell. He wasn’t going down without a fight.
As the man threw himself back onto the roof, Natsume felt his sense of caution kick itself up another notch. His instincts really didn’t want him anywhere near the guy. He made it clear that he didn’t intend on letting him go a second time and Natsume wasn’t interested in entertaining his sense of theatre.
Complete objective. Eliminate witnesses. Deliver package.
His directives were in order. Time to strike. Natsume didn’t waste time just listening. He knew that the first one to move would probably lose, but he didn’t have the time to be having a staring contest with the mock lion tamer.
With all the strength in his legs, he dashed forward. He had no information on the guy, but he knew about the whip and predicted two possibilities. The man trying to use the whip to immobilize him, or strangle him. It would have been the easiest way to attack a moving target, and so, with that in mind, Natsume prepared himself to dive under while staying above ground level.
Looks like one of his predictions hit the money. He could see the movement of the whip, pushed off the ground to avoid getting his leg caught in the weapon, and with his dagger, he aimed a blow straight to the man’s jugular. Natsume was pretty skinny. No larger than a teenager, but what he lacked in brawn, he made up for with speed, reflexes, and brains.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t infallible. He didn’t quite calculate his jump properly, and as he passed from the guard’s line of vision to the space behind him, his right ankle was caught in the leather of the whip, sending him head first into the ground. He had to be faster, attempted to kick his leg with the force of his entire body moving in order to either pull himself free or take the whip from the guard’s hands as he fell. He wasn’t going down without a fight.