The rose was delivered as soon as possible and the contract of Erick Vaughn Lastraad had been sealed. Fifteen hundred gold was indeed a high price to pay for the services of a notorious cutthroat, but there were indeed factors, disciplines of the Coven that stood above the common rabble of hired muscular thugs and contracted mercenaries to do such dirty, and often bloody work, and that was precision, finesse, and the utmost importance placed upon secrecy and the shadows. Never once minding the cost of Alena's services however, Lastraad was quite pleased upon hearing the woman's account of how she easily dispatched that loathsome cad Balford to the darkness and horror of Oblivion with just a few simple drops of Mirkwood Serpent venom, a most lethal of concoctions the Earth Mother definitely brewed within the nefarious wretches of the forest, oh how those slender black and yellow spotted snakes have served the Coven so greatly over these years, but enough rambling. The payment was collected and bloodshed was put forth. Now that Balford was out of the picture, Lastraad could continue living his life....until one day if Alena were to collect his.

Bidding farewell to the man, the assassin leaped from the third floor balcony of his prestigious abode in the Noble Quarter and took to her accustomed pathways again, vaulting from rooftop to rooftop. Upon her travels across the high passages of the city, Alena had noticed a rather peculiar sight from the corner of her eye while she was mid-sprint. He was an odd sort of chap, a courier no less Alena could deduce by the boy's leather bag. He too was quite fond of the rooftops and as such, he indeed impressed the woman as he exhibited his skill in the art of parkour, an art form the woman believed to be more akin to the assassins no less, but if it were the preferred method of delivery for these newfangled couriers and delivery boys, then Alena had no problem of the sorts with him. Although when she witnessed the lad utilize some kind of sorcery to ease his travels, that was when she got cocky. Who needed magic to smooth the flow of their strides when you've been steeped in the knowledge of parkour and free running for almost several years? Though she wasn't trying to outdo the boy, Alena quickly changed her course into a wall run across the top of a nearby archway, following that up with a swift vault over to a flagpole where she swung her way over to another, then another before somersaulting onto a rooftop slightly adjacent to where the courier landed. Alena must've been a ghost to the young lad in all her black ardor. 

She gave him a curt nod and a bit of a smile, though it was hard to deduce such since her scarf obscured her lips still. Then, she easily made her way down to the surface of the city again, this time landing smoothly in the Market Quarter. Upon setting foot on the dusty grounds, that oh so delectable hint of delicacies caught her by the nostrils and lured her to the many stands and vendors crowded about, the lovely smells of fresh imported cheeses from countries all across the globe, finely crafted wines and spirits, baked breads of so many varieties and the delicious, savory scents of smoked meats and fish hot off the iron. It was all so wonderfully scrumptious to the woman, and she hadn't had that much to eat lately today, having to neglect her breakfast because Matthias brought to her another contract. From one of the stands, she noticed a crowd carooning about. It must've been quite popular the woman assumed, and so she tarried forth looking for a place to sit. Unfortunately for her, the only seat left was next to this rather large and burly lad, skin as hard as hewn stone, in truth the man's skin was stone.

She looked to the young and adorable proprietor of the establishment, a native of Akitsushima she was, easily given away by her slipping dialect and vernacular. Not only that, but Alena could tell easily the cute girl was beastkin of the squid variety. This would usually seem as a turn-off for most that the pretty young lass could use her "hair" in such ways, however it mattered not to the older, debonair woman what she was, all women, no matter of race, were beautiful to her. "A filet of grilled haddock with lemon butter and a bottle of imported sake, if you will mademoiselle." Alena spoke softly setting her gold upon the table for the petite squid girl and slightly lowering her scarf from her mouth so that she could see the woman's inviting smile. Thanks to Lastraad's generous [i]donation[/i] from his coin purse, Alena had more than enough to feast.

Amidst the bustle and banter of the market, the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bosouX_d8Y]faintest of sounds[/url] lulled the dark woman's attention. Music, such beautiful melody, from the Dream District no less. Ah and how the woman enjoyed the lovely voice of the singer, accompanied by that graceful and elegant piece composed from the grand piano. The voice...the composition of such lovely demure....it reminded Alena...of her mother....