[center]His smile almost caught Isyph off-guard, and she couldn't help but offer a small smile in return before acknowledging the situation. She was even willing to let Dodger labeling her as an 'accomplice' to slide, with the promise of meeting new people in a city that had been the very image of dismissal before. [color=FFDAB9]"I haven't been in Vaald, long, Anne"[/color] she admitted, even opting for informality, letting her smile widen for the Elf, [color=FFDAB9]"but I'm getting my bearings, the longer I have to hang around..."[/color] Something tinged her mood, though she couldn't exactly place whether it was bitterness or relief; knowing, now, that she hadn't entirely failed in her quest in leaving Silverbrook and certainly wouldn't have to slink back there in complete defeat.

 The Uquii let her eyes rove over Anne, for a moment, her features settling reflexively into one of unbridled observation. It only lasted for a moment, but Isyph wouldn't dare let her stare linger unabashed for much longer. There was something hauntingly beautiful about Elves, and she found Anne to be a perfect depiction of why people so often pined for the long-lived race. Maybe it was jealousy, though she would never admit that outright, at least not openly. Maybe it was something more complicated. Regardless, the moment passed and Isyph stepped away from the two; towards the door, trying to shake off the exceedingly odd thought about how she'd just shaken hands with the woman. She steeled herself, with her back turned, to whatever bizarre humor was making its undulations through her vaguely disorganized thought process.

 [color=FFDAB9]"The temple to Gnara should be by the Serene Pools, if I remember right. We should get headed there, soon,"[/color] she was straining her gaze against the light filtering in from the streets, outside. Though it was unclear, it seemed that the sun was hanging lower in the sky than she had remembered. The Lunar Festival was set to begin within a short couple of hours, and Isyph found herself suddenly worried about what exactly that meant. While she wasn't one for idle speculation, there was a weight about the air that seemed to speak of ill-fortune; or, at least, she'd gotten that feeling a few times...just before a heavy storm. With a push, she parted the doors and made her way down the steps she had hesitated on, earlier. 


[color=7CFC00]- - - - - -[/color]

 With only the slightest of exasperated exhalations, Lucia shook her head and stared onward. Talking to K always left her feeling like she was engaging in something much akin to work, which wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy it; it was simply that she enjoyed allowing herself, or Lucia, whoever she happened to be at the time, to have the slightest air of impatience when it came to the task. For a long time, she hadn't said anything else, merely nodding or waving to those she passed on the street...occasionally darting out of the way of larger, roaming Aedrasilians. They were certainly a varied bunch, with genetic differentiation that produced a wide array of beautiful and horrible creatures; with equal measure, if she were to gauge the situation aloud. 

 [color=FF1493]"I don't know why he'd choose a place l-like this,"[/color] while Lucia's tone didn't betray Wraith's lingering excitement, she felt that K would well understand her response, [color=FF1493]"Though, you're right in questioning his motives. It may well be that the Scratch, in his delirium, is planning something malicious."[/color] She winced, noting the overlap in her own words with Lucia's, and reminded herself that they had entered a populated area; a careless mistake for someone as well-disciplined as she. 

 The deserter shook herself back into her role easily, after following K's gaze. They had approached the Serene Pools, looking for a raving Scratch. It seems they had found just that. Or, at least, she much suspected that a man lingering nearby was the source of the bizarre sharp-tooth's vague meanderings. While the Pools themselves were lavish and ever-flowing, she didn't much care for the stock of people that they attracted. The religious sorts would always gather here, offering their praises at the temples; foreign chants drifting from their undoubtedly opulent confines. She had never felt any such obligation, but had made a point to at least learn of the Aedrasilian idols; which had benefited Lucia, but left Wraith feeling more spiritually exhausted than ever.

 With a measure of caution, she skirted beside those who had congregated around the Serene Pools; heading toward what she believed to be a temple to the grotesquely curvaceous goddess of dirt and growing things, Gnara. 

 [color=D2B48C]"So, I made a mistake,"[/color] one of the huddled forms said, shrugging a lopsided shoulder, [color=D2B48C]"that does not change [i]anything[/i]."[/color] The other seemed to lean forward unevenly, though Lucia couldn't hear the response. While both were cloaked, she felt that the man given to silence was the Scratch; despite his apparent evidence of composure. [color=D2B48C]"This is to be my punishment? Silence? You wrong me, master."[/color] Bitterness as poignant as her own struck beyond the facade of Lucia and into Wraith's core; it had not been long ago that she had uttered similar words, albeit in a far different situation. She did her best to control it, taking up a position just out of the view of her targets; looking to K for a moment and holding up a single digit. The Saboteur was certainly curious as to where this conversation was going, and she was going to bide as much time as she could.

 [color=D2B48C]"So...so it will be, I will inform Lord Waraz at once."[/color]

 Lucia cocked an eyebrow, leaning more fully against the wall behind her. While the conversation was quiet, she certainly knew that name. Lloyle Waraz was the man who had taken over the Black Adder Company, after the demise of its previous master under dubious circumstances. Silence followed in the wake of the revelation, Lucia peeking around the corner to observe them more closely. What awaited around the corner did not entirely surprise her, though she distantly wished she would have had something more solid to go on. The Scratch was gone, whether he were one or the other, and that left a bad taste in her mouth. [/center]