[center][color=7ea7d8][h2][u]Jeanne Christina Roussin[/u][/h2][/color][/center] Crouching low in the alleyway, Ris held her drawn bow in a firm grip. Despite having experience with hunting rogue Magi for five months now, she still got overly tense whenever a fight was imminent. In the twenty-one years of her life she had hardly any experience fighting humans with an intent to kill. She had fought and killed a decent amount of animals, but that was hardly comparable to fighting another human being. If possible she preferred to deliver their targets beaten but alive… Faran would however be very unlikely caught without victims falling on either side. Her throat felt too tight and her breathing too fast, but her senses were also keener, alert to anything. Seconds passed by in an exasperating slow pace… With horror Rin realised she hadn’t checked for other exits out of the house. Faran could easily have left the house through a back entrance without her realising. But it was too late for preparations of that kind without risking exposing an unwatched front… She softly cursed herself. Relying too much on her fellow hunters was a flaw she would have to get rid of. It might be better to move in by herself instead of waiting around for Dike and Romeo, she pondered while the seconds slipped away. That door didn't look very strong. But then again, it could very possibly stop a lightweight like her and ramming the door wouldn't be a clever plan if she wanted to remain inconspicuous. Her nerves strangled her throat as she laid an arrow on her bow and tugged at the string. Realising she was holding her breath, Ris forced herself to breath out slowly. [i]Relax,[/i] she told herself. In the distance she could still hear people yelling and Ris recognised the sound of water splashing over buckets in nearby streets. Shifting her point of focus back to the house across the alleyway, she heard some muffled voices over the noise in other parts of town. A loud bang startled her so much she almost dropped her bow. What had happened? If anything the sound reminded her of the fireworks she had often seen and heard at festivals… Had Faran set off some sort of explosives? Sluggishly Ris gathered her wits. Listening intently, she could clearly hear someone shouting inside the house now. A woman. [color=004b80][i]So Faran wasn’t alone after all. The woman owning the house trapped inside? An accomplice? Another bounty hunter? Ikis may know who was shouting at the hands of the criminal.[/i][/color] Ris got up and quietly moved across the alley, up to one of the windows to see if she could loo- The sudden, unexpected crashing sound of breaking wood startled her so much it froze her to the spot. Two figures came rolling through the mess of splintered wood, pushing one another down and around. One a woman whose face was obscured by a piece of cloth. The other a dark-haired, bearded man who obviously wasn’t Faran. Both were armed and seemed intent on killing the other. It took but a moment to take in this information, but before she could even start to wonder who these two people were or what their role was in all of this, the man had pinned the woman down on the cobblestones. He restrained her with his right arm raised his left hand, clutching a hatchet- A shrill scream died on Ris’ lips as the man brought down his arm. Over and over, he raised his arm up, only to plunge it down again into her chest. It didn’t take long for the woman to stop struggling. Her blood pooled around her, spattered on the man, the walls, the splintered pieces of door... Even after her spasms had stopped, the man kept on hacking… Ris couldn’t bring herself to look away, petrified and unable to move away from the sight of this horrific murder. It seemed an eternity before he finally put down his hatched, looking as numb as Ris was feeling. When he finally looked up, he almost seemed to wake up from a trance. As he looked in her direction, fear gripped hold of her stomach. [i]You could be his next target[/i], fear screamed. [i]Run while you can[/i], instinct shouted. [i]Stay perfectly still, maybe he won’t notice you in the shadows[/i], reason pleaded. Ignoring all of those feelings, looking into the strangers’ dark brown eyes, Ris regained control over her senses. She rapidly raised and steadied her bow, noticing there were spicks of clear red marring the beautiful maple. She took a few steps back and pointed the arrow at the man’s face. [color=7ea7d8]“Drop your weapon. Now. Or I’ll put an arrow through your face. Who was she, who are you and where is Faran? Why did you kill her?”[/color] The words tumbled over her lips, she couldn’t stop them quite rightly. She cursed herself for the quiver in her voice and how her eyes kept darting between the body lying next to the man. She could still see his the blade piercing skin as she closed her eyes for but a moment … ----------------------------------------------------------------------