He turned around. Why did he turn around? [i][color=00746b]'Because I forgot'[/color].[/i] Arcus muttered to himself. Luckily he hadn't walked far away from the city, and there was still plenty of daylight. The object of his forgetfulness was Tilli- his sister. He had fought to not think of her while he was in Russel City- he knew it'd get the better of him, ultimately- where Tilli lived, but now he was fighting almost every step with hesitation. Tilli would not ever forgive Arcus for killing mother, and she shouldn't. That all felt so long ago, though, as if it were a distant dream that Arcus struggled to remember. Almost like it was another life. The last time he had seen Tilli, she was just a child, but he heard that she's married now. Arcus had given her an opportunity to forgo Forsaken life and she took it; years later, Arcus found himself doing the same thing. If only Caden were here. Now back in town Arcus was unsure of where to go, or where to even start looking for Tilli or her alleged husband. He remembered she liked watching fights- but here in Russel City there was no arena. Maybe turning around wasn't such a good idea, after all. Not that Arcus was incredibly confident in it from the get-go, anyway. [i][color=00746b]'Well, looks like I'm here for the night. May as well wander a little- maybe I'll find Tilli.'[/color][/i] That was a stretch, but anything was possible. Arcus wandered and lingered around the bar he had been in earlier- could still hear the two men talking that he'd heard the rumor about Isolone from earlier. Heard a few other voices, too- One of them was familiar. "Look, miss, iss' not safe out 'ere in the rain. Could catch a draft and get sick." A man drunkenly said; he held a bottle and was dressed in sparse, soaked rag. "Let us take ya' in for a while." He and a similarly dressed fellow were cornering someone in an alley near the bar- a woman. "No thank you, I don't live too far away." She shyly replied, backing away and shrinking into the corner. Through the rain, Arcus caught a glimpse of her face from behind her hood and colorful rags. It was his sister. "Aw, c'mon! Lemme' be nice once an' a while!" "I said I'm alright!" Tilli yelled, lashing out with her arms. A bag fell into the mud. She yelped as the man shoved her while half-bending, half-falling over to take her bag. "Seemed to 'ave dropped this, Miss. I'll just take a finders fee..." he reached a muddy hand inside. Arcus laid the sawblade of Brute flat on the man's forearm. [color=00746b]"If I were you, I'd put the bag down. Right now."[/color] The drunk man was silent for several moments and kept glancing at his friend, as if he was expecting him to do something. His friend, in turn, kept glancing between Arcus and Tilli. The drunk man had terrible hand-eye coordination, and Arcus was willing to be it wasn't all from the alcohol. He learned this as his shoulder dug into the man's ribs as Arcus dodged his slumbering swing of his bottle. With a pleasant thud the drunkard landed in the mud and Arcus heard the bottle break behind him. The now-writhing man's friend hesitated, but also swung at Arcus, who swung back. The two blows connected at the same time; the aggressor on Arcus' shoulder, Arcus' on the man's face. Arcus shrugged it off while a second unconscious man plopped into a puddle. At least he didn't hit his wound. Retrieving the bag from the mud he took a few steps towards Tilli, who was no longer shrunk in her corner. She looked cautious but thankful. [color=00746b]"Here you go, miss."[/color] He gently slung the bag around Tilli's shoulder. [color=00746b]"No finder's fee needed."[/color] They both smiled. "Thank you, sir," she replied, "but at least let me buy you a drink." She adjusted her hood and Arcus got a better look at her face- as beautiful as ever- dark curls flowing down to her shoulders. Still kept her freckles, too, even though she must be nearing forty. He felt his heart flutter; even after all these years, Arcus could still recognize his sister among all these people. Heart of gold, too. Arcus thought about declining, but Tilli didn't seem to recognize him. He longed to talk to his sister again, see how and what she was doing in life, and now may be the only opportunity he'd get. [color=00746b]"I'll take you up on that."[/color] He said quietly, turning back towards the bar. Tilli grabbed his shoulder, chuckling. "Not in there. Let me take you to a nicer place." Arcus was nearly in tears, and he knew he wouldn't be able to look at Tilli without smiling. Averting her eyes, he replied with "Lead the way." -- "Well, sir, all I know is you're an angel sent from heaven. Still can't get over that you look familiar, though." Arcus smiled and stared down at his drink- it was certainly better than the cheap crap he had, earlier. Not that this bar was much fancier than the other, just down the street, but at least the alcohol tasted better. Who knows, maybe it was present company that made everything better. [color=00746b]"I do my best to help out, miss. Winged Guardians seem to have their plate full, nowadays."[/color] "Yeah, well, you've been more helpful than they are on a [i]good[/i] day. You'd be surprised how much of that type of stuff goes unnoticed. Names Tilli, by the way. And its [i]Mrs.[/i]" [color=00746b]"Alright, then Mi- erm, [i]Mrs.[/i] Tilli."[/color] They shot smiles at each other as Arcus took another gulp of his drink. "Don't think I ever caught your name." Arcus hesitated for a moment. [color=00746b]"Evans. Most people 'round here call me Evans."[/color] "Around here? What do they call you everywhere else?" [i]Warlord.[/i] That was Arcus' first thought; but he was a different man now. [color=00746b]"Some call me Angel, I guess."[/color] Tilli chuckled and flipped her hood back up before standing from the booth. "Well I think that's a beautiful and fitting name. But sadly, Mr. Angel, I should get going. It's almost five o'clock." She kissed Arcus on the cheek on the way out and he felt himself blush- something he's not sure he's [i]ever[/i] done. But he felt his heart swell- even though he had lied to Tilli, ultimately it was for the best, and both were leaving the bar happy. -- Arcus noticed something tense in the air as he wandered the streets looking for a place he could afford to stay for the night. People were glancing at him, some pointing. Others grimaced and muttered harsh words under their breath. They seemed focused on his eyes- the only thing explicitly identifying him as an Immortal- it was easy to discern where their mistrust was. But why the sudden change? He'd been here for a while now and he hadn't been getting any hateful glances such as this. Arcus could easily shove off glances, he'd gotten used to those, but when a man ran up to him, screaming how he'd "doomed" them, Arcus was infinitely more confused. Had the two men he defended Tilli from near the westside bar been men of importance? He doubted it, those two seemed hardly worth a bullet. No, this was coming from something else. Perhaps it had always been there and Arcus was only now catching on, but something was causing unrest and tempers to bubble, and it was about to burst. Arcus could feel it. The odd bit was that he discerned it was particularly at his Immortalis status. Crossing into the eastern side of the city was difficult as what Arcus assumed were patrols of Winged Guardians were talking among themselves and taking up a lot of space on the road as they moved east. More than once, Arcus had to shove himself past them. He was becoming more anxious- something was off. He could feel it in the air- a sense honed by his years of service in warfare. Something was about to happen, and everyone seemed to be growing more anxious by the minute. Averting the eyes of those around him Arcus tightened his grip on Brute and Sam. His eyes caught a clock next to a sign on a building- [b]5:15[/b]