[center][h2]Morning Rescue and Tea Talk[/h2]

[@Lucius Cypher]

Crimson, Malakaus

Day 1, Morning - Late Morning[/center]

So he was apart of the Tower already, meaning they were comrades at least. Maybe one day they`d work on a mission together. It certainly was possible. He was new so there was no doubt he was a knight unless he seriously had impressed someone up there. In her experience the tower wasn`t much one for just handing out ranks however. They took how good you are, an how you could benefit them, on a very serious level after all. He seemed serious, and his abilities certainly were skilled. There was no doubt in her mind he could climb the ranks if he tried.

[color=brown]"Ehh I`m not a knight anymore, I found that position didn`t really fit well. It can be a rather group activity. Plus you`ll find the tower is everywhere, especially in the cities and towns closest to it."[/color] Crimson commented as she watched him pick pocket all of them, she wouldn`t judge. She killed and/or hunted people for a living, there really wasn`t much room to judge. With a simple nod of her head she followed him out of the alley of meanies to somewhere he`d deem better.

Which turned out to be a quaint tea place.

The elf simply watched him as he paid for the drinks before following him to a table where she sat down and looked around the shop. Her gaze turned to look him in the eyes with her pale blue ones. The vibrant colors she had naturally certainly stuck out in this city didn`t it. This is what most likely made black all the more appealing in her line of work. In the tower she wouldn`t be in her current get up though that was for sure. Wearing black all the time, not to mention purposely using her sex appeal to her advantage in the field, wasn`t her real choice. Wearing a nice dress that wasn`t black was nice at times.

[color=brown]"So what brings you to becoming a Knight of the Tower? Not the kind of place most people find themselves wanting to be, more ending up in now a days."[/color]
[hr][color=00a651]"Guess that makes me special then. All I did was walk in the front door and ask if I could join."[/color]

Malakaus took a long sip from his can, letting out a satisfied breath as he finished half of it in one gulp. That old man made some good tea. Malakaus glanced up to the girl in front of him and sized her a bit. Just something of a habit he's formed running the gangs back at Krumpus Bay. Obvious features that stood out were her ears, eyes, and hair. She had pointed ears as sharp as knives, making her elvish heritage about as obvious as an eclipse. If the ears didn't show it than her eyes certainly did. Malakaus has seem plenty of blue eyes before, but only elves have them in such a deep yet notable gleam. They were kinda of like the sky on a sunny day: obvious and omnipresent. The eyes of a spy in plain sight. And her hair... Well it was red. Red, long, and kinda poofy. Malakaus could count the amount of redheads he's met on one hand, so this girl would certainly be on his mind.

But there was more to her than a pretty face. He didn't get to watch her fight due to his own issues at the time, but from what he saw he knew she wasn't just a street fighter. Her moves were far too graceful and flashy. A martial artist perhaps, but he's seen martial artist. Even the fancy ones had moves with plain, practical applications, just spiced up a bit. Hers was more like a dance, an art. The stuff of assassins. Malakaus didn't know what was with assassins and being so showy in a fight. He supposed he should be grateful, if more assassins were basic and straightforward they'd kill him already. A bullet in his head from a hundred yards off, and no amount of magic or muscle could stop that. Still, as odd as he found her fighting style, there was no denying that she was good at what she did. It made him wonder how he'd fare in a fight against her. Whether she was one of those "Thrill of the hunt/It's an art" type of assassin or "Complete the mission" type. Seeing her fight wasn't enough for him to judge that.

And of course she was part of the Tower. He wasn't sure if she was just shilling for the Tower or if Malakaus was that ignorant, because he only heard about the Tower of Star and it's knights in passing. Then again, much like the Goroshi Family, perhaps the Tower of Stars simply make sure they [i]don't[/i] make a reputation. Fame and the fortune is bring might be enticing for a short-minded soldier of fortune, but when you're a multi-million dollar organization playing ball with the big boys, you need to watch your every step. All it takes is a single crack to break everything apart.

So in the span of about five seconds Malakaus finished his analysis and spoke again. [color=00a651]"I figured that joining the Knights would be a nice change of pace. Put my muscles to better use than getting into brawls and stuff. I wish I could say I had a noble reason like protecting the innocent or something, but I'm mostly just looking for a better way to make use of myself. All I'm good for is fighting so I figured I'd go find someone who needs a fighter."[/color] Malakaus secretly hoped that this lady didn't know about his magical abilities. He'd like to keep the image of just being a big dumb fighter to lower people's guards. It's how he survived the mage guild after all; even after the others knew he was a student, they expected him to pick up a stick or conjure up an axe and charge at them. They never see the golems coming. [color=00a651]"So if you ain't a knight, what are you? In fact, who are you? I don't think I've gotten your name. And I know you've already gotten mine."[/color]
[hr][color=brown]"Oh! How rude of me!"[/color] Crimson said with a sheepish smile. [color=brown]"I`m Crimson Sparrow,"[/color] she reached her hand for a hand shake whether he took it or not she returned it back to the canned drink to take a sip of it. [color=brown]"As for my rank, the official title is Paladin of Sight, fancier terms for an assassin at it`s most basic elements. Paladins in the tower hold the same kind of power as a Knight Captain. We just are more specialized in our fields. For me that means I get to work solo or with only a few other people, the way I prefer it if I`m being honest."[/color]

The elf half-breed let out a bit of a laugh as her features curved into an amused smirk. [color=brown]"Ironically I think I`ve held the title about as long as you`ve been alive."[/color] This year would mark her 40th year with the tower. It seemed like only a short time ago she joined them and now she was 40 years in. It was strange how that was but a bat of her eyelashes, while to other races it was half a lifetime. Crimson held no doubt that eventually her years would start showing. She was half human after all. The only bad part of it is that she really didn`t have anyone to base her lifespan on.

He was a strong fellow, but he wanted to be known for his brute strength. Apparently he didn`t understand that she`d seen his little magic show. He wasn`t just a mass of muscle. Inside that head of his was a brain. Magic did not come to idiots. Now that being said there were magic users that lacked decent common sense, but idiots they were not. [color=brown]"I am much the same in reason to join the tower. There is no place for me to belong, so why not belong to them."[/color]

Crimson was playing off everything very witty and nonchalant, but the way she joined the tower was anything but a walk in the park. 40 years ago many people lost their lives, blood was everywhere, the only sound was that of which her body barely made. If the people of the tower had found her any later she`d probably have taken her last breath a very long time ago. One day it`d all come to light, what happened, how she survived the massacre. For now she`d keep it to herself and play it off like it was nothing. That joining the tower was something she did on a whim.

[color=brown]"I`m sorry I know so much about you but you do not about me. In your file I saw you happen to be half human. I too am apart of that strange little club."[/color]
[hr]Malakaus shrugged his shoulders about her comment about being a paladin for as long as he was alive. He's frankly gotten used to meeting people 100+ years old with the same youth and vigor as himself. He stopped trying to wrap his mind around how they could act so... Immature for their relative age. Easier on his head. Still how the long-lived could just see ten to twenty years as a breeze did still boggle his mind. While his youth was naught but a memory in his mind, Malakaus could hardly handle sitting around for an ten minutes, let along for ten years. Again though, some of these conundrums were best left to more philosophical minds. Less headaches for him.

Still, it was comforting to know that Crimson's reasons for joining the knights were not dissimilar to his own. He had actually worried for a while that his less-than-noble intentions would make him seem like a ruffian among more honorable or highborn members of this guild. But to hear that they employ assassins also made Malakaus wonder just what sort of an organization he's joined. He figured them to be a fighter's guild of sorts. Evidently there was more to them than what the brochure showed him. Finishing off his tea Malakaus smirked. 

[color=00a651]"Tis fine. I suppose I ought to be flattered that anyone would want to bother knowing who I am. Half-Orc you know, most just make their own assumptions."[/color] Malakaus was still uncertain just how much about him Crimson knew. He could understand if she knew he was a new recruit to the Knights, and possibly his time with the Mage's Guild, but he wondered if she knew anything about the Goroshi family. They were still a bit of a sore point for Malakaus, mainly since he hasn't really been keeping the best tabs on them as he should've. He's only spoken to his friends back at Krumpus Bay, none of whom are particularly involved in the Goroshi family's business. It concerned Malakaus because he didn't know how his family was doing, and more importantly, if they needed his help. [color=00a651]"But I'd say we solve that little problem about what I don't know about you. Crimson Sparrow, yes? If you don't mind me asking, where did you get your skills from? You're certainly no brawler. And I don't imagine that the knights would've trained you to be an assassin if you didn't already have the skills to show for it."[/color]
[hr]A real question, one that dug into her past, something she didn`t really like to discuss. The past was full of hardships and fighting. There would always be the happy memories that she would keep with her. They still didn`t change the bad ones she left behind her. The clan`s state was up in the air, she had yet to go back to check them out nor had she asked about them. In the back of her mind Crimson wondered who would be the next leader. She had a feeling she knew who it`d be.

[color=brown]"No, you`re right. They didn`t train me at the Tower, I was trained in the arts long before ever joining. In my earlier youth my training in the arts of combat was started in the elven clan I was raised in. We often had fights over territory and foul play wasn`t uncommon. As a child you had to learn to protect yourself or you may ended up captured in a cage somewhere. The assassination parts of my training were half self-taught and half learned by one of my instructors. That didn`t come till much later when things got a lot rougher."[/color]

The instructor that taught her assassination tactics wasn`t supposed to teach such methods, but Crimson was young and ambitious. As she grew up she loved dancing and combat is a dance in itself. Assassination tactics are a deadly dance. The thrill of combat had never ceased, but her craving to be in it had. Two hundred years is a long time to think and understand the world. She doesn`t agree that the world is a bad place. It has it`s beauties just as it has it`s flaws. The only thing bad about it truly are the situations in which bad things breed and spread.

[color=brown]"Where did you learn your art of combat? I know you`re from Krumpus Bay, but I didn`t dig too far past that as it were."[/color]
[hr][color=00a651]"I learned how to fight by fighting."[/color]

Malkai wasn't sure how privy Crimson was about his upbringing, so Malakaus will be as honest as he could. But he wouldn't tell her anything she didn't need to know. [color=00a651]"I lived in a pretty ghetto place. My folks were well off enough that we could afford a nice place to live, but unless I was a shut in I'd end up tangling with gangbangers and thugs anyways. Making friends just meant I had more guys at my back to face bigger mobs and well... Long story short I pretty much grew up fighting."[/color] Malakaus put some money on the table and the old man came out with two more cans for Malakaus and Crimson.

[color=00a651]"I left Krumpus Bay to get away from that life. Try to make something of myself. I still got friends there fighting, an I wish one day I could go back. But... it's a shame really. Krumpus Bay's got character. Got culture, and wealth. All sorts of style and people call it home. As a port, lots of trade goods coming through too. Exotic stuff you just can't get around here, exotic people you won't meet anywhere else. Everyone wants to call it home... Most don't want to share though."[/color] Sighing Malakaus popped a cold one and took a long sip, finishing his can of tea in one go.

[color=00a651]"Anyways. I think I've gabbed enough. You busy right now Crimson?"[/color]
[hr][color=brown]"Sounds like an interesting place to live, very different compared to where I grew up I must say."[/color] The crimson haired elf commented as she opened and drank a little of the second tea. [color=brown]"To be honest I was out on the town exploring, in the mornings I often do so when they aren`t using me for something. Living in the tower you can explore everything and know it like the back of your hands but living things are always interesting. Every once in awhile you`ll find a person that truly amazes you by their uniqueness."[/color]

She stretched her arms above her head as she leaned back in the chair before pushing back from the table. Standing to full height she looked down at him. [color=brown]"I actually should be on my way back to the Tower. They get a bit squirmy if you go without communication for awhile."[/color]

A sudden thought occurred to her. This man was a knight now. Had he been to the Tower and received room and board yet? Did he just arrive here? There were questions she didn`t quite get too nor realize till this moment. While she was intelligent sometimes she could be rather clueless on normal social ques. Wait, maybe that was why she was clueless on them, the long life of intelligence and learning has made her overthink her surroundings and social interactions had become overly thought out and complex! These were definitely thoughts for the middle of the night and not now. This was a strange amount of time to stand here and say absolutely nothing.

Crimson cleared her throat a bit awkwardly before leaning over the table with an easy smirk blossoming on her pale features. [color=brown]"Would you like to accompany me back Malakaus? You are apart of us now after all. We may not be your family and friends back home but I`d say the Tower is still full of colorful individuals."[/color]
[hr][color=00a651]"Sounds like a plan. Better than what I had in mind anyways. Lead the way, Crimson."[/color] Malakaus stood up and threw away their trash, leaving a tip for the old man and gesturing for Crimson to take point.