[h2][color=F5F5F5][b]Shidya Ustenko[/b][/color][/h2][hr][hr]

It wasn’t a good night for perimeter checks, but between wasting time drinking and wasting time re-enforcing wards that had been checked well over a hundred times, Shidya opted for the marginally more productive option. The clouds blocked out whatever natural light there was, and without the humans to keep maintenance there was no artificial street lights to lead the walk either.  The entire city was in quite a state, the Council would have a hell of a time fixing it, especially if they got their way.  There had been losses both sides, and there would be punishments dealt so Shidya’s group, how many magic users did that leave to repair and entire city, clear the wasteland they’d created, and make the humans forget the years spent?


As expected, there were no disturbances along the Lycan’s boarder. That walk alone had been a few miles long, and she’d be tired if there was an attack the next day. A shiver hit her spine; something was wrong.  She held out her book, already opened to a glowing rune of light, and looked at the wards on the ground, all appeared perfectly in place.  Of course, it could of been the night chill finally getting to her.  She grasped for the charm around her neck all the same, trying to determine the source of her unease.  A flash followed by rumbling thunder eased her. A storm was easy enough to avoid. 


She crouched down to begin tracing a return teleport rune to link with the anchoring rune two blocks from where she lived. [i]’Never put a rune where you sleep [/i]Shidya[i] anyone with a trace of magic will find you then.’[/i] A dark shape skittered across her work, knocking her inkpot over in the process.


[color=F5F5F5]“Hey!”[/color] Shidya just had time to lift her book away before the dark puddle spread to her feet.  Her shoes, already stained black leather, where of little consequence, she stepped to make a barrier between the spill over her half-finished rune and the ever-important wards that marked the barrier.  There were prints in the ink, leading away from it.  Shidya lowered the book to trace where they went.  Four feet away the small dark shape of a cat was licking a paw with a black-stained tongue.


[color=F5F5F5]“That’s going to make you sick.”[/color] As though heading her words, the cat stopped.  Then lowered its body, staring intently at her.  Shidya stood in response, retrieving what was left of her inkpot in the process.  Wards against spilling. She would have to look them up again when she returned. She wiped the bottle down with her skirt before dropping it back in her sack.  That was half of her clothing ruined, but both precious books where safe. The cat was still peering at her, she took a tentative step closer. It raised itself and turned to walk away, casually, not in flight.  Likely someone’s pet from before the war. Though, six years seemed a long time for a domestic pet to care for itself. There was I quiet mewing, just past the edge of where the light from Shidya’s glowing rune ended.  The wind picked up, and the ring of light shank smaller still as Shidya folded her arms against her chest.  Black cats could be good or bad luck depending where you were in the world. Not that that mattered for Shidya; what harm where signs or demons and witchcraft to a witch? She followed the cat, only slightly aware how foolish it was.


They walked just short of a mile before stopping again.  Shidya didn’t need prompting from the cat to stop, she’d broken into a cold sweat despite the biting air, now filled with invisibly small droplets. If her hands weren’t trained for steadiness, they’d have been shaking. There was more than a storm to worry about. Her first thought was the wards of course, no one patrolled the north barrier alone specifically because it was so difficult to maintain.  There where double the wards compared to anywhere else, and nearly a third where always in some sort of disrepair from magic on the other side. On quite days, in the sunshine, it was almost a game. Each side attempting to outwit the other in their use of runes and materials. In a moonless night, it felt a good deal more sinister. Shidya knelt down to examine the mark on a brick wall, it was paralysis, but changes she didn’t recognize where made with dark red ink. The cat came and sat directly on top of her light rune the moment she laid it down. Not a black cat after all. She went to move muddy turtle shell tabby, only to hear a voice coming from around the corner of the wall. On the other side of the wards.


The inspection was forgotten. In one quick and practiced movement, she pulled the cloak from her sack and covered herself, the book and cat with it.  Too late, she remembered the replaced empty inkbottle, it gently clinked to the pavement and rolled away. The small sounds was loud as thunder in her ears. Very slowly, she began to shift herself backwards and directly into a warm puddle. She raised a wet hand to her face, already knowing what it would be.  Blood, but no body that she had seen. The trill of fear that came with the discovery only served to focus her mind further. She pushed the cat from the book and out of the hiding of her cloak. Once the book was safely tucked into her sack, she pressed both palms wrist deep into the puddle of blood, grimacing only slightly. The fact that a disturbingly large collection of blood was on her side of the boarder and an almost jovial voice was on the other was enough to diminish whatever curiosity she had.  Barely daring to breath, she began to blindly trace a teleportation rune with an ally’s blood.