Nodding to the woman he gave her a parting smile and made his way out of the door. Walking downstairs to the tavern area, Vyr remembered he had forgotten to leave the money for his meal earlier and decided to go looking for the waitress. The task wasn't hard since she stood out so obviously in any crowd but he paused for a moment when he noticed awkward movement coming from different angles in the crowd. There were three men approaching him from different angles and it was obvious to him that they must've been watching him. He quickly went over his options but decided it would be best to hold his ground instead of running. He stood there and waited for the men to surround him then in a calm voice asked, "Can I help you gentlemen?" The tallest and the one who looked he was the leader smiled at him then in a deep raspy voice said, "You have been quite difficult to track, Black Phoenix. You are worth quite the sum to our employers, dead or alive." Vyrance looked at all of the men individually no emotion showing on his face, and in a sarcastic tone he replied "So Vaellor hired bounty hunters to come and get me huh? And here I thought that no one knew my face..." It was obvious to the demon that the leader was the only one to worry about, he was completely calm, while the other two were seemingly itching to fight. Their breath's were short and a little heavier than they should've normally been, a sign of excitement and inexperience. Looking to the leader once more Vyr asked, "So is there no way that I can convince you to just let me leave? How about I pay you here and now?" The man scoffed at the effort, his left eye had a scar through the eyebrow and he was a rugged looking man almost like you would expect a seaman to look, "No can do, I have a contract to fulfill. I either go back with you all in tact or I can bring them your head... Either way, they're paying me more than you could possibly imagine. It seems you've made some powerful and wealthy enemies." Vyr shrugged and shook his head, "Comes with the line of work..." There was a brief pause and then a head gesture came from the head hunter and all the men jumped back pulling swords and in the case of the leader, a large dual sided axe. The people all around them started screaming and pouring out of the inn from all exits. Damn, this is what I wanted to avoid... lady luck just wasn't at my side today.

Vaellor

Eva waved at Vyrance, then waited a moment in the room, absorbing what had happened in the process of a day. Biting her lip, she finally rose and pocketed the pouch before heading downstairs. She was heading towards the door when she heard screaming and saw people running towards her. Someone knocked her aside, and she fell back towards the stairs. Fortunately this was away from the door so she was in no danger of being trampled. She rose shakily and surveyed the room, wondering what had happened. She found Vyrance surrounded by people wielding weapons. She stared, mouth gaping open at them. What should I do? I have to help him!" She quickly made the decision and rashly ran forward, her face set in a grim glare. She would have kicked the leader in the small of the back had the waitress not stepped in. At the waitress' words, she skidded to a halt to avoid hitting the waitress.

Feng had seen the men come and knew there would be trouble. She listened quietly to the story, and it dawned on her why the man's patch had been familiar - she had heard stories of an exceptionally good assassin when she was still living in Everreame and when she was traveling. She waited to see if the men would take it outside. Of course the didn't. "Damn bounty hunters," she muttered, moving forward as their business ran out the door. Taking the knife from her pocket, she gracefully slid behind the leader and held him to her with one arm, pressing the knife against his jugular with the other. "Gentlemen, I don't want to interrupt your business, but, please handle this matter outside," she said, her voice still as polite and reasonable as always. Only those who knew her well could hear a cool trace of annoyance at its edge.

((I guess I'm godmoding a bit, but since it's an NPC I didn't think you'd mind...tell me if I need to change it though))

(I don't care just as long as we have a good fight scene and the leader is the last to die :D)

Vyrance was a little shocked that the waitress from earlier showed her face but he didn't show any signs of it. He stood there blade in hand as Feng held the man hostage, although the man didn't show any signs of fear as if he wasn't worried at all. The other two looked on in awe that their leader had been caught out of the blue but said nothing. The hunter held his axe down at his side then all of a sudden shifted his weight and leaned forward trying to toss the white haired woman off of him, "I'd appreciate it if you stayed out of our business ma'am. It's be unfortunate to have to kill a lady because of stupidity." He smiled then gave the same head gesture from before to his henchmen signalling for them to take the woman so he could focus on Vyr. Vyr didn't bother looking at the waitress but he did notice that Eva was here, "Eva, get back... there's not much you can do for me here, so please just stay back." Refocusing on the bounty hunter, the demon smiled, "I apologize for all the inconveniences so, shall we begin?" The rough looking man smiled, "Yes, I think we've been delayed enough..." Falling into their respective stances, Vyr decided to only use one blade unless the man proved worthy of both of his. After another short pause the men charged at one another blades clashing and sparks flying. A few more swings were exchanged before they stepped back and looked at each other, both with a dangerous look in their eyes. The young demon male's eyes had narrowed showing off a true killer's intent. The older male met his gaze and there was a slight waiver in his determination as if he was slightly scared but the thought died quickly. Either way Vyrance had seen all he needed...

Looking around, he nodded in greeting to the waitress when she gazed at him. She must have recognised him. Another smile flicked over Malek's lips for a second before he glanced up, surprised to see the argument growing steadily into a fight. A soft growl sounded from him as he took a step forwards, his hands reaching down for the twin knives he used for hunting. Malek did not care for the man who smelt distinctly un-human and was clearly the reason the men were angry. However, when they became rough with the waitress, they had stepped over a boundry. Malek owed the workers of this place for giving him food and occasionally a place to stay the night. Rushing forwards again, he spun the knives, pressing them against the henchmen's backs.
"I would appreciate it if you released her, and even more so if you decided to leave" He whispered softly, baring his fangs as his eyes narrowed coldly.

Vaellor

Eva stepped back as she asked, though grudgingly. She knew it was stupid to rush in unarmed, especially when Vyrance had a sword. Glancing around, her eyes fell on a decorative staff, which she instantly grabbed. At least she would be able to jump in if she was needed, or protect herself. She couldn't deny being afraid - she had never fought with weapons other than her fists anymore.

Feng was taken off guard when the bigger man threw her. She landed neatly, however, and managed to keep hold of her knife. Unfortuantely, she was grabbed by the two henchmen. "You have the audacity to scare off our business then tell me to stay out of yours?" She asked him icily. She was about to throw the henchmen off when someone else came into the fight scene. She nodded her thanks at the customer before elbowing the second henchmen in the gut and slipping away from him. "Leave now. I don't want to clean up blood from the floors," she told him. He laughed, probably at her "sword." She glared at him icily, before she ran her hand down the blade of the knife. A trail of ice formed around it, extending and creating a new blade that was on par with the henchmen's. "One last chance. Take your 'business' outside," she warned him. She hoped that there wouldn't be any damages, or she'd definitely take it out of their hides.

Having gotten the warm-up out of the way and they had tested each other's resolve, Vyr raised his sword in hit right hand with his elbow bent and the blade pointing straight at the male. He dropped into a fighting stance, "You know we don't have to fight, I'm begging you to take your men and leave..." It was the last plea of mercy the demon had in him. The rough looking bounty hunter shook his head, "As much as I'd like to say we can let this all go, I can't. I'll take my employers your head and rid them of a nuisance while collecting a handsome pay." The golden eyed male's gaze narrowed to show that he was done talking and he lunged forward. To the experienced hunter's surprise the man was faster now than when they had tested each other out. He barely blocked the blade that came soaring in an overhead motion. He was on the defensive from that moment on. Vyrance attacked ferociously with unnatural speed and precision making it difficult for the man to find the right time to counter or even get his own attack in. Sparks flew as the katana whistled through the air and clashed with the dual headed axe. To the bounty hunter the attack seemed to go on forever but then suddenly they stopped and a hand was at his face. Vyr simply mouthed a prayer as a stream of fire burst from his palm charring the man's head. The body fell slowly to its knees then face first to the ground...

((This will be my last post until either late Monday or Tuesday. Going on vacation with no internet connection...))

As Lily exited the kitchen and came into the common room, the last thing she expected to see was a stare down. This was less than good. Thankfully it was after the dinner rush and business was slowing down. So there were only a few people remaining. She let out a relieved sigh as she noticed nothing had broken and no one was hurt...yet. She also knew that this was very likely to change. She then watched in horror as the cornered man quickly became the lion and dispatched of one of the other men. "What is going on here?! Please, would you take whatever business you have and leave? There is no reason to scare the other customers." Lily practically begged for their common sense to kick in. Kouki has appeared on her shoulder and was hissing at the entire group. Lily glanced from one to the other waiting for some kind of response...some sort of acknowledgment of her mere presence....

John had finally inched out of the doorway and was standing in a corner of the common room when a long haired man descended the stairs...followed shortly after by Eva. He was about to call out to her when the fight began... He could only watch in amazement at the reflexes of both fighters. His face quickly paled however when the long-haired man summoned a flame and burnt one man to a crisp. He didn't think he could ever stand the smell of roast meat again...

((I'll decide what to do about the mix-up over vacation and fix (or leave alone) afterwords....))

((Bye Fae-chan! Have a good trip!))

Vaellor

Eva watched the fight with horror. She was amazed both at the waitress' ice ability and Vyrance's skill with flames. However, the sight of the dead man and the stench of flesh had her running blindly outside to puke in the garden. She could still smell the cooked flesh along with the smell of vomit. Shuddering, she rose and leaned against the building, wishing once more to go home. "Or maybe I should just learn how to fight...better than just standing around and wishing..." She thought, her eyes softened somewhat by sadness as she stared down at her feet. She wished she had a piece of gum or something, but having nothing she could only wipe at her mouth with the back of her hand.

Feng looked over at Lily and felt a tinge of guilt. "Sorry, boss," she murmured. She smelled the scent of burning flesh, but didn't dare take her eyes away from the fight again. Besides, she wasn't too concerned with who won, as long as someone didn't attack her back. So, she stared down the henchmen until he finally lunged at her. "Sloppy," she thought rather disgustedly as she neatly dodged around him, striking his back sharply with the hilt of her sword. He crashed down to the ground in a heap, and she pointed the tip of the blade to the base of his skull. It was obvious that the man had little (if any) skill. "This is your last chance. You can leave and live, or die where you lay," she said coldly. The man gurgled out a, "I'll leave..." Feng retracted her sword and watched him slowly rise. She lowered her sword only slightly, obviously not trusting him to keep his word. He didn't.
Foolishly believing he was faster than she, he charged her once more. She deflected his sword hand, leaving his chest completely unguarded. Without hesitation, she stabbed him through the heart, killing him instantly. Coolly, she looked over at the remaining henchman. "Your choice. Leave or be killed by me, or the nice man holding a knife to your back," she informed him. Her gold eyes were as cold as the ice she controlled, her face expressionless and not in the least bothered by the life she had taken. It was all part of survival.

Belladonna's steps were practically silent as she made her way down the Vaellor street. She had decided to walk around looking for work since Thainne didnt need her at the moment. Her belt chimes jingled a bit as the woman continued, she had her eyes set on the Inn. Having no place to stay yet she might as well go there for a night, or two, depending. When she heard the screaming coming from insideshe sighed and stepped in. The scent of burnt flesh filled her nostrils and she made a slightly digusted face for a milisecond before shaking it off. She'd smelled worse. "Did i interrupt the party?" Bella said sarcastically, motioning to the scene infront of her. "Can i speak to the innkeeper?".

He bowed his head slightly to the lady who had nodded to him. A faint smirk flickered over his lips again as he leant closer, his nails elongating into claws to press into the man's arm, drawing a small amount of blood and serving as a warning if he tried to escape. Swiftly, Malek's gaze flicked up to watch the fight, an eyebrow raised as the two men fought. The non-human guy kept trying to stop the fight, even if he was the cause of it. Even Malek could tell this wasn't going to end well. The attacker was too enraged, he wasn't able to see with common sense. With a soft sigh, he grimaced, nose wrinkling slightly at the disgusting scent. "Not a very noble kill" He pointed out softly before returning his attention to the man he held captive, smirking slightly at the 'nice man' comment. The man looked terrified, practically shaking where Malek held him. After a few moments he turned his head to gaze at the door. "L-l-leave" He whispered and at once Malek released him. On his freedom, he ran for the door, pushing past the two people, a guy and an elf lady, who had just entered and vanishing outside. Replacing the knife quickly, he gazed coldly at the body. "Is there somewhere we can dispose of this?"

Vaellor

Feng looked over at the girl and smiled politely. "I'm sorry for the mess, ma'am. Would you mind sitting a bit while we take care of this? I'll get you a drink..." She gestured towards the bar and hastily poured a glass of the house specialty. "It's on the house, I assure you," she said, setting the drink down if the girl chose to drink it. Feng was more preoccupied by the amount of corpses and blood that was now on the floor. "I don't suppose we can just toss it into the street, can we?" She mused softly. With a quiet sigh, she froze the bodies and a path on the floor leading out the door. She rolled the bodies onto the path, and then slid them easily outside. Fortune was with her, as the neighbors were planting new trees in their front yard. She continued the path and slid the bodies into two large holes before she hastily planted the trees.
"What are you doing?" The neighbor said, coming outside.
"I had some fertilizer I thought you would like for your trees," she replied with a cool smile. The neighbor accepted this, and she returned to the inn and washed her hands and began to scrub at the blood stains on the ground.

Vyrance sighed as he looked at the charred body and shook his head, 'This could have been avoided if you would've simply listened.' He looked at Feng but she was busy running around, he would've apologized but he didn't really know what to say. He was already compromised as far as being a wanted man but he didn't care at this point. Looking around he didn't see Eva anywhere and he wondered where she went. He knew that the other men had been quickly taken care of by Feng and this other man who had walked in but he didn't recognize him. He had heard the man's question but obviously it wasn't directed at him so he turned and walked out the door past the woman who had entered. He saw Eva leaning against the building and walked over to her slowly, "I'm sorry you had to see that..." was all he could think to say to her.

Vaellor

Eva jolted slightly and saw Vyrance. Her stomach felt queasy still, so she could only shrug and glare back at her toes. Her fists clenched, she wondered what she should say that would be socially acceptable. "It's good you're not hurt might be all right...but it's not...! He just had to kill a man and he's apologizing to me about it. This...this is weird. What do you do in this situation? God, this world is messed up. I mean, I guess there were wars and stuff at home, but it was all on TV! I never, never saw a dead body before! Especially not like this. It was..." She had to block the image of the dead body from her mind as another bout of sickness threatened to overcome her. Swallowing, she glared flatly at him, trying to stand strong. Besides being pale and a touch sweaty, she looked like she was fine.

Getting no response from the woman he closed his eyes and tied his hair into a ponytail quickly before pulling the hood up on his cloak. Then he gave a slight nod then went and walked back into the tavern. Seeing Feng, he walked over to her and pulled some gold from his pouch, "This is for the food and the trouble." He expected her to snap at him which he wasn't really in the mood to listen to but he would understand.

Vaellor

Eva watched him leave and sighed. She managed a slight twitch of her hand as he left, her version of a wave good-bye. At a loss, she sat down on the front porch of the inn and wondered idly where she was going to go next.

Feng looked up to see the man that had caused all the trouble. "And once again my instinct was right," she thought, but her expression didn't change from its professional smile. "Thank you very much for you patronage," she said simply, as if he were different from no other customer. She had a feeling provoking the man would only lead to another battle, and she'd be stuck cleaning up more blood from the floor. She accepted the money gracefully before she curtseyed and went back to her work. "At least this one had the decency to pay," she thought dryly.

Nodding to Feng, Vyrance figured he had long overstayed his welcome and was ready to leave and head back to Respia to report in. It would be a few days trip to Respia by foot but it give him plenty of time to think on the events of the day and to calm his emotions. Despite not showing it on his exterior, the young assassin was pissed that he had wasted his time fighting someone who wasn't smart enough to avoid him. And something about leaving Eva here alone bothered him but he knew he would have to let it go, she had chosen this for herself so he had to live with it... Walking out of the tavern he looked over to Eva then turned and began making his way down the street.

Bella nodded and walked over to the bat. "I've seen worse.." Slowly she to a swig of the drink infront of her and sat on a stool at the bar. Her fingertip went around the rim of the glass as she stared into its contents, her nose stills twitching a bit from the burning smell. She didnt know what had happened, but it want her problem.

Vaellor

Eva bit her lip as she watched Vyrance leave. Part of her wanted to go with him, as he was the kindest person she had yet to meet. Still, reason had her staying where she was seated. He was wanted, after all, and all the movies she had ever watched taught her that it was best not to carry extra baggage when your life was on the line. She would only be a burden to him, especially considering she could barely fight. Also, what if (by some miracle) someone came to take her home? She had to stay where she was. "I don't belong here," she reminded herself. The day's events had only proved this to her. This world of magic and sword play wasn't for her. She needed to go home.

Finally Feng cleaned up the blood. She wasn't in too much of a hurry, as all the customers had ran out from the fight. Damn bounty hunters," she thought irritatedly. Then she remembered the new customer and groaned internally. Rising, she cleaned her hands and put away the bucket before she returned to the girl. "I am sorry about the wait. I didn't want the blood to settle," she said casually. "How can I help you today?"

"No apologies needed." She said with a small smile. "I fully understand. And i was wondering if i could have a room for a few days." The woman reached into her bag and pulled out a pouch which clinked within. Flipping her brown hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear she waited for the woman to answer.

Vaellor

As Lily was off working elsewhere, Feng smiled and nodded. "Of course. It will be fifty gold a night, sixty if you want the suite. She explained. "Also, there is a discount on meals to those who stay at the inn." The discount was an extra incentive to stay and buy more at the inn, though Lily's food was delicious enough that the extra incentive was probably unneeded. Still, it was good for business.

((wow...I unintentionally made Feng a little business-crazy...lol))

Running a finger through her hair she chuckled to herself, money really wasnt an issue, and the food smelt deleicious. "I'll take a suite." She said giving the woman the money for 7 nights. "If i need to leave early you can keep the change." Truely she never knew what a week would bring, if she needed to depart early she would have to. "May i have something to eat now? It doesnt matter what, im quite famished." a blush came lightly on the womans face.

"Thank you kindly, ma'am," Feng said politely. "I'll bring you a plate in just a second. I believe Lily still has a few dishes ready that are still hot." She brought out a plate of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and vegetables and set it in front of the girl. "Enjoy your meal. Would you like a refill? She asked, motioning to the glass.

((Damn. now I want a turkey dinner >.< lol))

[[mee too!!! XD ]]

"Thank you and yes, please. Water." The woman didnt want to drink that much. She liked to be alert and focused at all times. Digging into her food she smiled to herself. "This is very delicious." Bella looked up and gave the woman a warm smile. It had been a while since she had a nice home cooked meal. It felt warm in her stomach as she continued to eat it down.

Vaellor

Feng smiled once more, her expression seemingly polite but her eyes were unreadable. "I'll be sure to pass that on to the cook," she said quietly, and gave the girl a glass of water. "I should return to my work. Here's a key to your room, it's the second one on the right, room 103. If you would like help with your luggage or anything, please let me know." With that said, she returned to the other customers.

Eva was still sitting on the front porch, staring, or glaring rather, into space. She was now suddenly aware of just how alone she was now that Vyrance had gone. Absentmindedly, she moved a hand over her pocket where the gold he gave her still rested. Chewing her lip, she stared at the spot where he had once stood, until her concentration was broken by screaming. She looked down the street, wondering what was going on, when she noticed that people were running towards her. In the chaos, she manage to catch, "The Respians have invaded Vaellor! They're coming!" Eva rose, remembering what she had been told earlier. It seemed that the war had begun.

Vyrance made his way down the road and then as he exited the city he noticed a large group of men marching this direction. Pausing for a moment he caught wind of the Respian flag and he knew immediately that the time for war had begun... But he had a sudden moment of conflict hit him as he thought about Eva. He didn't want her getting caught up in all of this but she had decided to stay so it would be wrong of him to interfere with her life. Taking a few steps back instinctively almost as if his body was telling him to go back, Vyr began to run. There were people shouting in the streets now and soon the Vaellorian army would be mobilized to counter the Respian attack. He needed to get to Eva before things got troublesome.