Eye of the Wolf

Eye of the Wolf
Date of Scene:	29 October 2012
Location:	Fluorgis
Synopsis:	Avira drops by the Shardseekers' HQ to find Skoll for additional lessons in hunting. She ends up with a lot more on her plate however...
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Avira

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Avira has posed:
It had actually been quite a while since Avira's caught up with Skoll. It's kind of odd, actually, since she had intended to keep an eye on him due to his semi-suspicious nature. She's quickly learning that with the way the worlds were, it's either something done with great effort or out of convenience.

But as she walks into Fluorgis in search of the werewolf, she finds herself a little surprised to realize she'd actually missed him a little. Hopefully he'd have the time today to fulfill her lesson request.

Unlike the last time she was here and in need of finding someone *coughIvocough*, Avira asks around, supplying Skoll's description in hopes of locating someone who knows where he'd be.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
When Avira asks around for Skoll, she soon finds out that Skoll hasn't been around Fluorgis too much - but that he is clearly related to the Shard Seekers. A member in fact - and generally regarded to be mysterious. There's a twosome of young girls who speak rather energetically about him - something about puppies. They're kind of too energetic to really understand. What she does get to find out is that Skoll is /currently/ at the Shard Seeker HQ. And upon further questioning, if she does so, it seems the rest is out right now.

Presuming she's certain she wishes to meet him, she'd find her way to the Shard Seeker HQ, and find him a bit further back within the building. He's holding a small hammer and tongs, and is working on some kind of mechanism. It looks like he's attaching chains to some kind of 'gun' of sorts, ending in a large spike. What's more, the chains are glowing faintly. He must be enchanting them somehow - or they came enchanted.

He's so lost in his work however, it would appear he hasn't a clue that Avira has entered.

Avira has posed:
So SKOLL was an official member of the Shard Seekers? Interesting, Avira did not know that. In fact, she hadn't been too acquainted with the Shard Seekers until quite recently when Reize explained their purpose to him. Only gradually was she learning who their members were...up to including That Scoundrel Ivo. Her trip is now doubly productive, for now she's also aware of where their official headquarters were.

It is there, thanks to the duo of puppy-loving young girls, that Avira makes her way. Right away, she's kind of jealous since this place not only is much nicer than what passes for Clan Dagda's "headquarters" in Lowtown but it reminds her that...well, VALKRYI doesn't really HAVE a headquarters. Maybe she should look into renting a place in Traverse Town.

Avira wanders around the Shard Seeker's HQ for a bit before actually finding Skoll. She greets upon seeing him, "Hello Skoll." Only subsequentially noticing that he's busy working on a mechanism or weapon of some kind. Immediately, Avira is curious, "Oooh, what's that?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The werewolf's ears perk a little in regards to the girl announcing her presence. He slowly looks up from the chain, and tilts his head. "Ivo and the rest are out." He tells her, not especially expecting her to have a need of him specifically right now. He then looks back to the mechanism, and taps the metal lazily. After all, he'd been asked about it.

Skoll pushes his chair back a little and stands up, revealing the gun-like mechanism at its base, and lifts part of the chain up. "Hookshot. Riku got me the mechanism a few days back - bought it at a place called 'Lindblum' apparently. I figured, Reize's last one got eaten... may as well make him a new one. At least /something/ to get that boy out of trouble."

The werewolf then tilts his head aside a little, like a confused dog. "Need something?"

Avira has posed:
At the mention of Ivo, Avira grimaces. "I'm not here looking for him." she's quick to supply in a bit of a defensive fashion. "In fact, I'd kind of prefer it if he didn't know I dropped by. Actually, I was hoping to catch up with you. It...has been a few weeks and all..."

With Skoll out of the way, Avira gets a better look at the contraption that he was working on. Definitely looks like a weapon. Skoll is quick to confirm her assumptions by naming it. "Haha, it did, by some sand creature according to Riku." Avira laughs. "Yes, he'll need that. Reize will need all the help he can get." She walks a little closer to look it over, still clearly quite curious about it.

"Oh, uh, I was hoping I could bug you for another lesson. Buuuuut if you're busy making things right now, we could set that up another time...er...right?" Avira looks up over her shoulder. Since that one comment about the previous lesson of his outside of Rabanastre she kind of had to wonder.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll towers slightly over Avira, staring down upon her as she gets closer to him and the contraption. He looks back to the thing and pulls on one of the buttons at its side. It begins to 'swallow up' the chain, making it disappear into the main mechanism... until he reaches about halfway - and stops it. It seems purely automatic, and there was the lightning-yellow glow of something electric powering it. "I still need to finish cleaning the rest of the chain, and making sure it's sturdy. But when it is done, one can use it to get around." He explains.

He then puts it back down, and points at the sharp end. "This is made to stick to things like rock or wood, and embed itself strongly within." He has some pride when it comes to this creation. "I am no blacksmith, but my work with chains is unrivaled in most places." He explains. "And hopefully, he will not lose this one. Otherwise, I'm cutting off his little hair that sticks out or something."

A glance travels back to the girl, and Skoll soon follows by turning about. He moves one hand onto the table, leaning on it, and shifts his balance onto it. "Oh?" He remarks. "I guess I have some time..." He then looks her up and down. "But I still don't think you are ready for 'that'." He adds onto that. "What would you like to learn?" He then asks.

Avira has posed:
"Oooh." Avira breathes, watching the chain wind up. Her real interest seems to zero in on the power source rather than the mechanisims within. "What's that in there making the thing run? Magicite?" Technology that ran by magic was always fascinating to Avira. Ivalice was rife with it, much to her delight. "Hah, figures. I've seen you fight, you are really good with those chains." She smirks for a few moments and allows him to continue explaining the hookshot.

"Well knowing Reize, you'd be lucky if there was anything left of him to cut off if he loses another one of these."

Now she turns to face him, upon making that lesson request, and carefully watches his reaction. Avira actually seems slightly tense about this. "Really? Oh, uh...'that'..." her cheeks turn a little red with embarassment and she has to remind herself that Skoll has a better idea of the extent of her 'skills' than most people. "I want to learn how to stalk prey...preferably in a forest or a city. Desert and grassland is very different."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Something called 'Materia'." Skoll answers her. "I tried to use Magicite, but it blew the mechanism. This materia stuff seems... softer somehow." The creature shrugs his shoulders. "But yes. I am good with chains - mostly because I can enchant them. It's not magic in the way most people would know of it - but it's still magic." And he's shown very little of his true power when it comes to them.

He then sits down on the table, leaving his legs to dangle slightly. "Stalking prey? Well, I would not start with a forest for you yet. Not until I have some time to see if you can do better are moving with the rhytm of a forest. A city's beat is far... more base. More thrum. It's easier to hide your failed steps within." He pauses for a moment, then grins.

"Tell you what. Here's an idea. Go out into the city, and pick a random person. I'll follow along and watch you. You just pick a random person and follow them. I am not going to give you any hints. Just follow a person without them noticing you. I'll whistle if I think they've noticed you. See if you can pick up the beat."

Avira has posed:
"Materia? What world is that from?" Avira is genuinely curious, of course. When he explains his chains, Avira seems confused for a few moments. "Now I've heard of elemental affinities but not inanimate object infinities. That must be a pretty nice skill to have."

Onto business, though. When he points out she's not ready for the forest yet, she looks a little embarassed again, "Well I have been practicing." she makes sure to note, hopefully reassuring him that she values the previous lesson.

A city would be much easier. She's actually succesfully pulled it off once already...but Avira wisely does not point this out since it was against Ivo. Best not to hint that she might use these skills against him again in the future-and it's not like she's learning just for him or anything!! This will be useful for many other purposes! "Uhhh...sounds fair enough." she agrees, turning away from Skoll. "I'll go do just that." Avira doesn't wait on the mysterious werewolf to follow. She knows he will, likely without her noticing either. "Oh wait...I meant to let you know."

Turning back towards him, there's a serious look on her face, "I saw the red-haired man. Once. I didn't get the chance to confront him, though, and haven't seen him in Costa del Sol since."

On that ominous note, she moves to leave again.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"From this world..." Skoll answers her. He wasn't from any of these worlds that now made up the World of Ruin. And while he knows that this world was not always one... it doesn't always quite register what others might mean. "It's from a shipment from a place called ShinRa." He explains. There had been 'spare' Materia within the shipment, he was now making 'use of'.

The man then hops off of the table as the girl moves a bit away. "I'll follow." He says as she comments on how she'll 'go do that'... but that happy expression changes when hers alters to a serious one. His eyes immediately turn to this wild glare when she says she saw 'the red haired man'. She said she'd seen him in Costa Del Sol. His hand moves quickly - like a shake. He grabs for her chest, her collar to be expect, and with great strength draws her towards him.

He stares into her eyes, wild, energetic... and with an emotion someone like Avira might known very well as well. Desperation.

"What did he look like! What did he do! Why was he in Costa Del Sol!? How long ago!" He shakes her a little. "Tell me!" He barks out at her.

Avira has posed:
"Uh, I don't think..." well, all the worlds did run together. But Skoll makes a clarification that helps a little bit more: ShinRa. That's the company in the city that Tifa's bar was in. "Oh, well then."

Mentally, she's now reviewing the people she's seen around town, trying to decide who to stalk. All the sudden she's blindsided by Skoll's sudden dramatic change in mood. His hand snatches her up and, due to his significant strength and her small size, Skoll easily lifts her off the ground by her breastplate's collar.

Avira looks terrified by this sudden transformation and reaches up with both of her hands, grasping his. "H-hey!" she cries out, "Hey, calm down, Skoll!"

"Dark clothing, he was wearing lots of dark clothing-" she gasps, then goes in to describe Kaze's outfit in a little bit more detail. Strange gloves. Half-sunglasses. High collar. "Oh yeah and he had a giant golden cylinder fixed to his right arm!!"

Avira's actually getting a little upset now at his wild desperation, "Look it was a few weeks ago when everyone was lookin' for the pieces of that ice cream recipe! There was a kraken! I think he fought it with us but I'm not sure because the damn thing almost killed me!!! Okay?! Okay??? N-now put me down!"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
In truth, Skoll may be far more frightened and surprised at this little outburst than Avira. But his anger remains for a while longer, even as the girl describes Kaze. An image forms in his mind, an image put in there by Orcha. An image of Kaze. He'd never seen 'him' as far as he knows, during the destruction of the world. Yet somehow, that image formed is so clear. A man like that, and the giant golden cylinder.

"It's him!" He growls, his hair seeming to rise a bit, his breath deepening into an angered growl that originates deep from within his chest. He doesn't care 'why' he was in Costa Del Sol. He certainly doesn't want to hear about how he was helping the others. "Probably summoned it there!" He growls, looking aside, before he feels her hands on his. There's a momentary blink, a moment where Avira might see a strange red flash within his eyes. Something suggesting this wolf in that moment... that reaction might not have been of his own volition. Rather, something magical. Something... else.

The wolf hesitates, his hair settles, and he softly sets her down. His expression changes to one of wide-eyed fear. "I... I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me..." He takes a step back, stumbling almost, and settles back down on that table he'd leaned against earlier. He hangs his head. "Sorry... I... I mustn't do that. To harm a lady... no honor." He moves a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry miss Avira. Please... forgive a foolish werewolf his manners."

Avira has posed:
"He fought with a gun too! A big gun!" she blurts out in addition, clearly very rattled (figuratively and literaly!) by Skoll. From where she dangles, she sees every change, every twitch and snarl and part of her fears that he's going to switch to his full werewolf form right on the spot. Would he be able to control himself then? He looked so angry right now!

Understandably so, though, if this man was the one who destroyed his world, Avira realizes. Yet due to the experiences on that beach, she wasn't all too sure about that. If the red-haired man could destroy a world, wouldn't he have been able to blow away that kraken in a single shot? "B-but the kraken..." she stutters, "...that was summoned there by Magica DeSpell, n-not him...Skoll-!" her hands tighten on his just a little. It was a bad idea to try and correct him in this state, she knew, but a blatant untruth like that shouldn't be allowed to skate by!

There's that red flash, though, deep in his eyes which she certainly does catch. That didn't seem normal at all...was that magic? Her heart yearns for this to be an explanation for seeing Skoll this enraged and this desperate. It was so unlike the Skoll she knew!

His rage fades following that flash and in stark contrast to seconds earlier, he sets her down. Avira's still shaking as she watches him, more afraid than angry. She doesn't shrink away from him, forcing herself to stand her ground. She doesn't say anything to him at first, even after the apology, spending those seconds calming down her rapidly beating heart.

"It's alright..." she says quietly, taking a step towards him, "...I can handle a little shaking. I forgive you..." Another step, now close to him, she lifts her hand so she can touch his chin and lift his head. It's mostly so she can look deeply into his eyes, "It was your world...not an easy subject to handle."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
His requirement to turn to a werewolf is far different than one might expect. And with no mirrors nearby (Skoll has removed a few of them), there's no chance of him wolfing out. Of course, there is no way for this girl to know this in the least. His species isn't something she is familiar with - only knowing the tales of monsters from books and fairytales.

The words she spoke just before he set her down break through a bit late, and the normally calm and collected werewolf just quietly shakes his head. "I don't know that name." He says. For all he knows, she's an accomplice. "A devious man who destroyed a world. Don't let him fool you." The man quiets once more, and he just continues to sit there, listless, staring at the floor. What had come over him? Normally, he would never do this kind of thing. To harm a woman!

At least she gives him a reasonable reason for his own actions. When she takes a step closer, he squints his eyes and ducks a little - he believes she is about to slap him for what he'd just done. It's the punishment that he believes he deserves. But instead, her hand touches his chin and lifts his head. Slowly, his eyelids open and his yellow eyes move up to find hers. His heart is beating fast, simply because of what he'd just done seconds ago. Adrenaline still flows strongly through his veins.

"That doesn't excuse such dishonorable behavior..." He looks away from her eyes. He can't look into the eyes of someone he just ended up harming like that! What had come over him? His mother is probably roling over in her grave! "Still... it was my world... my race... my family. That man..."

Avira has posed:
It's true, Avira has absolutely no idea of the correct requirements for Skoll's people to change. Like the bit about silver, she just assumes it's the same as the mythology from her world. As in the full moon let's him change...or he transforms when he gets super angry. Like some kind of hulking monster.

Avira doesn't explain who Magica DeSpell is, but she does have a few more 'reassuring' words to offer: "He won't get away the next time I see him. I'll get to the bottom of this." she murmurs.

She doesn't seem entirely convinced that this red-haired man was at fault, but she is determined to find the truth.

Skoll can see that Avira still looks a little scared, but it's not exactly of the 'fearing for one's own life' variety. She looks concerned. Also as if she's searching for something, perhaps another hint or flash of that magic, or for something else entirely.

Even when he can no longer look her in the eyes and averts his gaze, still she watches. "Then think of a way to make up for it, if you wish..." she says quietly. Eventually, she gives him a smile, "But I'm not holding any of it against you."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll nods his head quietly. "Just tell me when you see him next time. I've got a Ma Belle now." He holds up the little device, and puts it down on his lap for her to take if she so desires - were she possibly in possession of one - and wanted to give him her number or vice-versa. Of course, his already has nice graffiti and stylish drawings on it... the graffiti being on the back, showing a golden-furred wolf's head.

Still, the fear her sees in her. As much as it may not be fear of him, but rather concern, it is still fear. He slowly slips himself off of the table and suddenly puts his arms around Avira, and gives her a very small and momentary hug. He remembers his mother would sometimes do this, to ease his fear of monsters... when he was so very young still. "I'm sorry." He whispers. "Thank you for forgiving me."

He then lets go and steps back and to the side, managing just barely not to stumble over the table. "Come on. We should teach you some proper methods of going into a city and stalking someone. Though I do wonder who you are planning on stalking. I hope not me..."

Avira has posed:
"Oh, a cell phone? Wow, how'd they get them so tiny-errr..." Avira's almost automatically reaching out so she can scoop it up and play with it, but she quickly stops herself. Grabbing other people's stuff is pretty rude!! "I saw some adverts for these in Traverse Town but I haven't been able to buy one of my own yet. Guess I really should now." The rest of VALKRYI should definitely get them too, come to think of it, "Here, I'll just take your number for now."

Skoll must be pretty loaded if he could get him customized all fancy like that. Lucky. Unless... "Did you put those on there?" she gestures at the device.

Unexpectedly, Skoll hugs her. He can feel her tense up just slightly from surprise, but nothing like her terrified reaction to being grabbed earlier. After a moment, she hugs him back.

Once released, she grins a little. "Oh certainly. As for who I'm stalking, well, whoever I NEED to." She smirks, "Who knows what the future holds?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Not sure. Dun' care. They had more stylish ones in the place I got this shirt." He pulls the shirt that claimed 'Def M�rch' on it a little forwards after he let go of her - noting the tenseness. This girl either was still afraid he might hurt her, or not used to being touched. He can't blame her either way really.

"Welcome to look for the number." He comments, offering the phone while pressing his thumb on a few buttons to bring up said number. "Yeah." He then adds. "I have some small paintbottles and brushes in my bag. I'm no professional or anything." It looks neat though. "Put on some protective plastic on it afterwards." He shrugs his shoulders a little, and then looks to the door behind her.

"I must warn you though. When you stalk, you aren't just the hunter. You also become the prey to coincidence. If someone finds out you are chasing them, or thinks you are chasing them... even if it's not your target... your focus may have you dead before you even find out where your prey went." He pauses... and then adds, "I will show what I mean later."

He then steps out of the door, and waits for her to move into the town. "On you go."

Avira has posed:
Bit of column A, bit of column B. Father aside, Avira actually hasn't had many hugs from guys before. "-ooh!" Avira will gladly play around with the phone, taking note of the offered number before examining the ma bell. "This looks pretty good, Skoll." she flips it over to look at the golden wolf head a little closer. The phone is passed back to him.

As they leave, he imparts some stalking wisdom upon her. She actually looks a little excited about this, "So in a city, it's extra challenging then." Stepping past him, Avira is quickly out in the city. Stepping out of the main throughway of foot traffic, she waits for a moment for a mark to pick.

One of the little girls who had spoken about Skoll and puppies earlier runs by. Recognizing her, Avira starts to stroll after her. She's just a kid, should be easy enough, right?

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll takes the phone back from her and pockets it when she is done with it, his hand moving protectively over the golden wolf for a moment before it disappears. The human-wolf waits for her to move through, and then wanders off into the city.

Avira would soon find out that kids are the worst targets. Especially so when they've already seen you. They tend to look around a lot, inquisitive, desiring to learn more about the world. This may be their neighbourhood, but for kids, new things are just around the corner. It's completely by chance perhaps, but one of the girls happens to turn around randomly as she sees a moogle jumping along one of the roofs - on his way elsewhere... ands ends up looking at Avira.

"Oh! You're that old lady! Did you find the puppy-man?" She asks her, waving at her. There's a little shrill sound of a whistle... probably unneeded. Avira probably realized just how badly she failed on this first try.

Avira has posed:
This is definitely a terrible target. A casual-trying-to-blend-in stroll doesn't really keep up with the kid. Not only that, she's CONSTANTLY looking around, so it's an eternal battle to make it seem like Avira's interested in other things when the kid is looking her way. In a demoralizingly short amount of time, this girl actually spots her and, worse yet, talks to her.

But perhaps worst of all, "Old! I-I'm not old, I'm only twenty-four!" she stutters. Yeah, that whistle was unneeded indeed and her shoulders slump. "Oh yes, I found him, thanks to you and your friend." She manages a smile after that before turning away, gritting her teeth.

Time to pick a different target. This time she goes for an adult, /older than she is/ by the looks of it, and a man. He's clearly a white mage of some kind, based on his white robes with red triangular patterned trim.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Somewhere else, Skoll is sniggering about Avira's little predicament. He never quite got what it was with women and wanting to be considered young - or at least not old. In his society, the old were well respected. Those with a bit of gray on their muzzle. He continues to follow the girl on the rooftops for a while, not letting his shadow be noticed - keeping the direction of the sun in mind.

The girl does better this time. The white mage seems mostly oblivious to the girl. The issue is something that Skoll tried to warn of though - a tendency to form tunnelvision. As her concentration remains on the old man, she soon finds the man stopping near a bar, and strike up conversation with a big Seeq bouncer, who looks over her way suspiciously. The whistle goes off, just as the Seeq moves forwards a little, talking to the old man and moving towards Avira.

"Hey missy. What are you following my friend around for?" The big creature tries to get to her. Luckily, Avira is sure to be quicker on her feet than the lazy looking and sloppy Seeq.

Avira has posed:
Becoming an old maid was a terrifying thought in Avira's mind. It had kept her up at night in a past life. Though with the way the world was now, growing old might be the least of her worries.

Every now and then she does stop and look around, perhaps searching for Skoll. She even looks up too, as if fully aware that the rooftops could be used as an acceptable pathway. She never directly spots him, though, but she trusts that he's there, somewhere, watching and waiting to blow that whistle.

At least following this target seems to be going a lot better. He doesn't look around as much nor move at such an irregular pace. Avira's feeling pretty good about herself and though she doesn't follow him up to the bar, keeping her distance, she quickly begins to feel that she's messed up somewhere. That Seeq looks her way. "Following?" she says disarmingly, "I don't know what you're talking abou-"

She immediately splits. Avira is very quick on her feet, especially when being chased by something! She snakes her way through three blocks before ducking into an alleyway. Slumping, her back leans against the wall and she takes a moment to catch her breath. "...uggh, I really suck at this..." she murmurs, casually looking out the alleyway, perhaps for someone else to target. A viera walks by.

"Oh hell no." Avira stays where she is and waits for someone else.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"At least you are smart enough not to chase a Viera." She might have heard the landing of feet onto the edge of the roof above her. There, a shadow now looms above her. "But you are doing well. The target is important. Even I can't follow a child." Skoll swings his legs over the edge of the low roof and continues to look down upon Avira with a toothy grin on his face.

He then looks off into the distance. "The city has a beat. A thrum. You are concentrating on following a person without being seen. But in doing that, you expose yourself to everyone else. When you follow someone, you don't just follow that person. You follow the flow of the city. The thrum. Can't you feel the beat?" Skoll looks out onto the streets from above.

"Don't try to lead the music. Let the music lead you. Just move with the people. No need to look inconspicuous. You can move past them, you can move alongside them, you can move behind them."

He then points his foot at a passerby. A young looking teenage Gria carrying a gigantic sword. "Follow them." He says. "Careful, she's a hunter." Skoll then gets back up from his position, and jumps up onto the next roof.

Avira has posed:
"...oh hi there..." Avira looks up, actually rather unsurprised to see Skoll up there. He definitely had to be nearby, right. "Well? I wouldn't really call that /well/..." Frowning, she looks away, giving off the first sign that she's actually pretty hard on herself. "Mediocre maybe."

She looks up at him as he talks, one eyebrow raised. Beat? "I..uh...I dunno actually." she pushes away from the wall and turns towards the mouth of the alleyway, watching people walk by. Her eyes drop down to their feet, all at different intervals, all with different sounds. Secretly quite a fan of music, it's a little of a stretch for her to find it here.

Skoll points out a target and Avira looks up at him like he's crazy. A Gria's strength was legendary. "What?!" she hisses quietly-only, well, he's already gone. "Damn it." Well if this went south, Avira will just have to run even faster than last time.

Swallowing, she steps back out into the streets, only giving one glance towards the Gria before looking back down. There was a big group next to her, chattering rambunctiously, clearly friends of some kind. Another man pushes past her, nearly knocking her over. "Hey-" she snorts angrily, "-watch it."

Avira looks up at the fleeing man, then past him, sighting the Gria once more. It felt safer to just hang back as much as possible on this one and instead she falls in with the pace of the noisy group. A much larger bangaa nearly bumps into her from the opposite direction, but Avira twists herself out of the way this time, avoiding the collision.

She makes another brief check of the Gria, but this time she takes more note of the other people around her. It kind of seems to be working for her-she's at least not sticking out as badly as before.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The mere fact that she is 'moving with other people' - and even knocking into others - actually helps her out. Even on the streets, one cannot always stop oneself from ending up with some small collissions. Of course, one should probably check one's pockets after such a thing. But such is besides the point this time. The movement continues, and as she moves with the group after the Gria she might realize... she's on a stroll. She, along with the rest of these people, are just... strolling. As if they just were window-shopping. The Gria stops now and again, looking at product, and some of the people in her group happen to also be looking at products in the stalls.

None of them are following the Gria. But people move. People split off. People enter new groups. The pace continues for a while. The hunt is going well. The Gria continues moving through the town, and moves into a slimmer street with a bunch of side-alleys. There's still plenty of folk going the same way though, and some even pass the Gria by...

Avira has posed:
Avira's /true/ origins have actually made her wise to the whole bump-into-people trick. This can actually account for some of her irritation when this happens.

Less than the Gria, Avira seems to be catching on to the behavior of the nearby group. Seems like a bunch of friends window-shopping. Fair enough-Avira does the same, showing casual interest with some of the nearby shops. Occasionally, she pauses and picks up an item, looking it over before setting it back down. In fact, seems just about everyone's doing that around these parts.

This must be what Skoll meant about the "beat!"

Occasionally she slips into a group, slowing to their pace. Sometimes she even crosses the street to view a stall on that side. As the streets become narrower, she grows slightly more nervous. It was harder to make it seem like she wasn't following, so...

Picking up her pace, she actually moves past the Gria, gets ahead of her, then slips down a side-alley. In there, she waits, casually leaning against the wall, until the Gria passes again.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
When she slips into the side-alley however, she's suddenly welcomed by two yellow eyes. Within a flash, the dark figure suddenly moves behind her, grabbing one of her hands by her wrist and draws it behind her back while the other moves right before her mouth, stopping her from screaming. "Shhhh." The voice whispers, hissing. She might feel it though, the chains against her back. It's hard for someone like Skoll to hide who he is.

"That's enough." He then whispers to her. He keeps his hand in front of her mouth while turning around, pressing her against the wall and looking aside - his face close to hers - but to the side. Certainly not touching. Suddenly, a large seeq moves along the street to the side of the alley. The very same one who had caught her following the white mage earlier. He peaks with a loud grunt into the alley.

Thanks to them being shadows, he just sees Skoll leaned over 'someone' in the alley. The Seeq moves on. The girl might be able to tell how he is dragging a /ginormous/ axe behind him, and how two other Seeq soon follow after him. Dangerous... mercenaries? No... she might see an emblem suddenly. That of Khamja - if she knew of it at all.

It's only when they are past, that Skoll moves his hand from her lips and lets go of her hand. "You okay?" He quickly whispers, hoping he didn't offend her with this little moment. "That's enough for today. They'll probably have forgotten you by tomorrow."

Avira has posed:
These yellow eyes...thankfully have pupils so Avira doesn't immediately freak out by this, knowing that it ISN'T a Heartless she's looking at. When it grabs her, though, there is a moment of panic and squirming before she hears that familiar voice.

She relaxes, but tries to look back at him, as if to demand what prompted this sudden 'attack.' Seconds later, she gets to look at him as he puts her back against the wall and gets in close. She can't really help herself at this point when he's this near-she blushes. Hopefully he can't see that in the darkness. Avira's quick to notice that he's not looking at her and lets her eyes follow his.

That bouncer passes by. Skoll can feel Avira suck in a sharp breath as she clearly reocognizes the Seeq from earlier. Oh now he's armed. Oh, now he's got friends.

Avira knows that emblem too. A member of a Clan does wind up learning about other Clans! Gotta know the competition.

As they pass, she remains very still. Once freed, she looks up at him, her face still pretty red. "Y-yeah." she whispers back, "W...jeeze, I didn't even notice those guys. How long were they following me? Here I thought the Gria would give me trouble, not a white mage. Guess he was with Khamja."

This stroke of bad luck is /clearly/ the fault of Reize.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Sorry, it's my fault. I should not have let you hunt so freely, without assigning you targets." Skoll admits, letting out a sigh. No, he didn't notice the blush. His concentration had been fully on protecting her, and keeping her visage in the shadows - away from the Seeq's hunt. "They were moving with the crowd, just like you. Even I noticed them a bit late. They're Khamja... they're pros."

The werewolf moves a bit further away, and ends up sighing loudly as he leans back against the wall opposite to hers. He looks down at her for a moment, noticing how red her face is now. "Sorry, I must have startled you. Hope I didn't cut your breath off too much. You're a bit red in the face..." He must not be relating such things in the least. Or maybe he's just giving her an excuse to use to make herself feel better. He certainly doesn't 'seem' anywhere as oblivious as Reize.

Skoll looks aside, to the edge of the alley. "You should come back with me to the Shardseeker Headquarters, stay there for the night. Keep you out of sight. Stick close to me."

Avira has posed:
"Don't blame yourself." Avira murmurs, "If you had, I wouldn't have learn that lesson about children. It's better to take the risk and learn something then get stagnant and overconfident." It's a little disconcerting, and it's definitely reflected in her expression, to hear that they had even escaped Skoll's notice for a while. Frowning, she looks towards the exit of the sidestreet.

Then he speaks up again. Her face gets a little bit more red. "Oh...yeah, that really startled me. It's usually not a good thing when someone grabs you and drags you into an alley, eheh." Which, hey, is mostly the truth. Skoll is a lot older than Reize, though, so she wouldn't put it past him to be completely oblivious of her reactions.

Suddenly she's nodding a little too eagerly, "Good idea, let's split. Ivo's just gonna have to /deal/ if he's around." She edges close to Skoll, sticking by him, fortunately able to 'hide' around him since she's pretty short.