Open The Rain Pours Down in Sheets, but Blood Flows Thicker Than Water

Silvertongue Songfox

Navy
Junior Officer: Aide-De-Camp
Influence
2,282.00
Silvertongue had just wrapped up a performance at a local restaurant, and he bowed as the gathered beasts clapped half heartedly. "Thank you, thank you all!" He said with a smile. There was a rumble of thunder in the distance as he finished up. Dark storm clouds had been lingering in the skies all day, and the first few droplets of rain were being felt. Silvertongue frowned. He needed to get home, quickly. He collected what little gilders he had earned from his work and he quickly headed out of the restaurant. Hurrying down the street, Silvertongue slipped the gilders into his pocket.

There were a number of beasts pursuing him. Subtly, of course, but still- Silvertongue could feel their eyes on him. He slipped into an alleyway, hoping to lose them, only to see three forms block off his escape.

"Ah. You know, it's my own fault for walking myself into a dead end. What can I do for you beasts?" Silvertongue turned to face the beasts.

A stoat, a rat, and a weasel had cornered him. They said nothing in response to Silvertongue's question. The stoat and weasel stepped forward, knives gleaming in their paws.

"Perhaps, you're just upset because you missed my show? No worries, I do love my audience." Taking his lute in paw, Silvertongue began to strum the strings. Slowly at first, but quickly picking up speech. A strange blue aura started to manifest from Silvertongue's paws, with small, sharp-looking music notes starting to spin around his waist.

"Ye bleedin' idiots, don't let 'im finish dat spell!" The rat stepped forward, raising a hand crossbow and firing it at Silvertongue.

Silvertongue threw his paw out, and the music notes whistled through the air, slamming into the three beasts and sending them flying back. There was a sharp, twisting pain in his stomach, and Silvertongue looked down to see the crossbow bolt had hit it's mark, right in his gut.

Silvertongue felt as if he would faint. Looking up, it seemed he had managed to knock his attackers out. He gripped the bolt, wanting to yank it out, but he felt his strength failing him. With another crack of thunder, the rain started in earnest, now.

Silvertongue half walked, half limped out of the alley, leaving his assailants unconscious in the road. Home. He needed to get home. He kept walking, blood seeping into his gloved paw. The streets were empty, there wasn't a beast to be seen around.

Slumping down against a wall, Silvertongue yanked the arrow out with a grimace. He shakily grabbed his lute, plucking weakly at the strings. A soft green aura emanated from his paws, and smaller, softer notes tumbled forth. This did little more than dull some of the pain. He didn't have the energy to properly cast the healing magic he so desperately needed, so he sat his lute aside, grimacing and placing his paw over his wound once more.

"If the Saints are listening... I sure could use some help right now..." Silvertongue said with a grimace.
 
The rain opened up on Bully Harbor, and for a moment it seemed as if the world had decided to simply wash the grizzly scene away and be done with it. Then, someone spoke. "I'm no saint," a soft, older voice said, a mustelid paw landing on his shoulder. A white robe, its hood pulled up with the gilded pattern of the healer's guild visible along the edge, could just barely be seen through the rain. The ferret's kindly eyes began to glow white as healing magic coursed through her touch. "I hope they won't take offense if I help you first." The energy of life itself traveled through her paw, seeking out the wound to encourage the flesh to knit itself back together.
 
Silvertongue gasped sharply, moving his paw aside as he felt his injury start to stitch itself back together. A healer. He was saved, but he was still quite weak from the blood loss. His mind was racing. There was a possibility, however slim, that she might have seen him using his magic. And he sported no guild symbol anywhere on his clothing. He needed to play his cards carefully.

“You may not think yourself a Saint, but you carry yourself with the grace of one, madam.” Silvertongue tried to stand, but his legs failed him. “I just need a moment to recover.” He grunted. “I knocked those ruffians out, but who knows when they’ll recover. Or if there are more of them.”
 
Kaii and Arie were walking down the streets, discussing as per usual the intricacies of science with no care for the fact they sounded like madbeasts. They were as per usual on the prowl for a job. Not that they couldn't just work whenever. It was just boring to work somewhere they couldn't use their skills and knowledge.

Arie broke the conversation with a move of her paw, she felt a stream of energy nearby. Someone using magic was interesting so she felt inclined to check it by her curiosity. "Forgive me brother... Something magical is happening near. Should we investigate?" She asked albeit she already turned towards the source and started walking to the place. She knew in the end her brother would be as interested as she was. They two were alike enough so that one could assume what the other one was thinking.

Kaii just nodded and walked too, readying his paw on his blade. He was curious too but his duty as the head of the house was to protect first and foremost. Being level-headed was not a bad thing.
"Can you tell what was it?" He asked with a small grin.

But before Arie could answer, the two were already by the alleyway. They saw two beasts, one clearly healing another with magic. Not wanting to interrupt, they just stood there and watched, taking mental notes of the process. Kaii mostly interested in the process itself, taking notes of how flesh have mended while Arie was taking notes on the flow of magic.
 
Silvertongue stood up, grasping the ferrets paws in his own. “You are a blessed beast, and your kindness saved my life. I am indebted to you.”

There was a pattering of footsteps, and Silvertongue turned to see his three attackers from earlier. They had recovered much sooner than he had hoped. “Well, that’s what I get for going easy on them.” He thought to himself.

“What do you want?!” Silvertongue asked. “You haven’t even demanded money or any sort of valuables from me. Why are you attacking me?” He called out to them.

The rat shrugged. “I don’t got any issue wif you. It’s these two who hired me.”

The stoat stepped forward. “Nous avons besoin que vous veniez avec nous. Mort ou vif.”

“Alkamarians.” Silvertongue thought to himself. “Bastards- could they possibly know about my mother?”

He didn’t have much time to think about it, as the three beasts raised crossbows at Silvertongue and the ferret.

“Watch out!” Silvertongue grabbed the healers’ arm and pulled her behind a wall as the bolts went flying past. “Please, stay here!”

Silvertongue ran out, grabbing his lute off the ground and he played a quick tune, sending blue music notes flying through the air once more.

This time, however, the assailants were ready for that attack, ducking under them as they hurried to reload their crossbows.

Silvertongue grimaced, his fingers were numb. He was still recovering from the first attack, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to keep fighting.
 
Camellia's eyes widened at the sight of the weapons, and she started to cast before the fox dragged her behind a wall. Just as well; she wasn't even close to getting her spell off when the bolts soared through the spot she'd been standing in. As the fox ran out to confront the trio, she stepped out after him, focusing as she cast. A shimmering set of armor plate, translucent and vaguely medieval in style, formed over the fox, providing him with a degree of protection.
 
Kaii sighed and shook his head, the bolts that were used had metal tips and he felt it. He wanted to learn more about the magic used but those pesky assailants were annoying.

Arie shared the sentiment. Such beautiful magic flown with the notes but she couldn't focus on it due to all the chaos of the combat.

So the twins moved in without the word.

Kaii, in one swipe of his paw, extended the pole to form a glave. Arie froze the air itself to form a long dagger. They didn't have to coordinate with words or gestures. Twins had almost a shared mind.

Extending his paw for a spell, Kaii forced the metal of any bolts flying to stop. Enforcing a melee combat with the assassins. Arie in the meanwhile started to freeze air behind them to corner them all.

Both twins jumped the beasts that tried to kill, efficiently combining their skill with blades and their magic. Arie dazed a rat with a blast of heat before Kaii slashed down his glaive onto their skull. The other two instantly tried to counterattack but Kaii made sure to make their weapons turn to lead. A costly spell to do but one that left most without any meaningful ways to fight.

Arie didn't want to do anything that would spray blood around. She pushed her icy dagger into a weasel. While they have dodged it, their weapon was rendered useless so Arie decided to play time. The temperature around her sharply rose, making every manouver of the weasel more and more costly and difficult.

Kaii was meanwhile occupied with a stoat. Glaive gave him proper range and arc to avoid getting hit himself but in such narrow alleyway it felt difficult to fully use it. His opponent still took out their blade, despite its weight it was still somewhat useful to block. But it made them much more sluggish which allowed Kaii to simply grasp them and electrocute them with a shocking grasp.

Arie's oponent fell soon after, not able to manage the targetted heat that would boil the oil. This one was barely alive, but alive nonetheless.

"Alright you two! Come back." Kaii shouted after the running beasts, which made Arie smack him gently on the back of his head. "Let them take their time. They need to feel trust." She said, displeased with what he did. Despite standing over two corpses and one barely alive beast, the twins clearly had their priority now settled on the social encounter that was incoming.
 
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