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[h3]Zerul City, somewhere near I’onriyi’s estate[/h3]
The bustling noises of the city rousing from its night of rest filled the air as she found herself rooted to the spot, finding herself overwhelmed by the sheer number of alien impressions and allowing herself a moment to simply take it all in. Look at the people, living lives that must seem ordinary to themselves, going about to perform tasks that were so extraordinarily mundane that she could barely even imagine what they were. Listen to the voices, the clatter and rustle of the city, so full of [I]life[/I], so fragile yet so determined to persevere. Feel the breeze on her skin, cold but gentle, occasionally alleviated somewhat by a still-pale ray from the rising sun peaking through the patchy clouds above.
She closed her pale red eyes and breathed in, marveling – not for the first time – in how different a world this was compared to what she was used to. She knew that people looked at her, pointed, whispered among themselves and kept their distance, but she was far past the point of caring about their attention. Even if she resolved to behave as normally as possible, the midnight-black feathers on her head down er spine were liable to make people notice her anyway, bringing their attention to her eyes of cool flame, slight frame and to them unusually shaped ears. Behaving oddly or not, humans seemed cautious of true deigan as a matter of course. Not that she blamed them; her head was filled with memories of just how grim life in one of their subterranean cities could be, and how that life could mold or break people. The dagger by her hip, given to her by her parents on her fortieth birthday, was physical evidence of just how cruelly true deigan lived their lives; a tool to carve out her place in the world and defend herself from those who wished to take it from her.
And then... everything else, the things people around her could not see or know. Light and darkness. Above and below. It was all so... confusing. But she had decided to live, and to use her life for something greater than herself. To find adventure where the ordinary and extraordinary joined, and to hopefully understand.

She opened her eyes, a soft smile creasing her pale lips, she walked down the street in search for her destiny. Her soft shoes made little noise against the cobblestone, not because she tried to be quiet but simply due to natural grace and the lightness of her body. Her velvet, faded-red dress flowed loosely around her legs even more so now that it had gotten frayed and tattered, and felt somewhat insufficient in the face of the autumn chill. At least it had sleeves, she figured, though she would have preferred trousers.
She was getting close to the address she had been given for one I’onriyi Stonehand, a supposed adventurer in good standing with the townspeople. According to what she had heard he was a mage, a craftsman and a penin, and had just returned from his last adventure somewhere. Beyond that, however, she knew next to nothing about him... but he was her best bet at the moment. What she could do on her own felt so painfully inadequate – particularly compared to what she could once have done – that she had no doubts that she needed allies. She had done good already, helping the refugees from Nemhim, but... she had helped so few compared to how many there were. She could give all she had and most would still be hungry, and she could rip bandages from her clothes until she was naked and undressed wounds would remain. She wanted to do more. To [I]be[/I] more.

She stood before his door, raising her fist to knock.
[I]He could still be sleeping.[/I]
She froze in mid-motion; she had not even considered that. Was that an actual concern? She had not slept, herself, but I’onriyi might be sleeping this moment. Was it unacceptable to disturb him if that was the case? The sun was up... surely that meant that it was time to be awake. Was that not how this world worked?
[I]He might not even be home. I’m sure he has business elsewhere in the city during the day.[/I]
Blinking, she found herself stunned by a whole new kind of alien circumstance. What was she supposed to do? Should she check through the windows if he was at home, or sleeping, before knocking?
[I]No! I’m pretty sure that downright illegal, spying on people like that. Just knock.[/I]
Nodding to herself, wearing a frown of concern, she raised her fist anew and knocked.