Private Tales The quiet side of town

[Aurra Brylee]

"Miss Brylee!"

She felt fear, raw and cold, crawl up her spine. It was late on the streets of Elbion. The stone soaked up heat in the day and it was warm and humid at night.

What were the odds? She thought. She was walking quickly, hood pulled up and he must have seen a lock of her hair and recognised her.

She approached him quickly. Without explanation she grabbed his arm, turned him about and pulled him along with her.

"Just keep walking!" she hissed to Nuir

It was a couple of days since their card game. She had been hoping to see him again.

But not minutes after stealing something from an Elbion crime syndicate and with two thugs tailing her.

 

[Nuir]

Nuir almost hadn't recognized her at first. When he had seen the figure stealthily and swiftly moving down the street, he had felt a strange feeling of familiarity. The sense of something half-remembered. Like a name on the tip of his tongue. It wasn't until he had seen a bit hair and an ashen pointed ear poking out that the name came to him. He had been pleasantly surprised to bump into her again. The healer only vaguely remembered the card game he chastised himself for getting so carried away enjoying a bit of drink.

Nearly as soon as he had called out to her she was pulling him along somewhere. He blinked in surprise. She seemed to be in an awful hurry. "Is now a bad time?" Nuir asked obliviously as he allowed her to pull him along. He matched her pace albeit with a confused expression.

 

[Aurra Brylee]

"Er...no."

She tried to glance over her shoulder without looking. Two shadows were still on her tail. Given who she had stolen from, she expected they were nasty individuals.

Theh hadn't attacked which meant they wanted to learn something by following her. Nuir was in danger and he didn't deserve any of this.

"Actually yes. Keep walking with me. Are you...were you having a nice evening?" she asked.

People who worked for the man she stole from could be anything from efficiently violent to deeply sadistic. She was quite fond of the silly elf and didn't want him caught up just for calling her name.

 

[Nuir]

Nuir was certainly getting mixed signals. He could tell that Aura seemed to be anxious about something and in an awful hurry. Then again she was actively pulling him along and inviting him to walk with her....so maybe she was just on a very important errand. "oh...well ok then..." He quickened his pace a little to match hers.

The corners of his mouth tugged up a little further as he proudly replied "A productive evening. I offered my services to some of the seedier types this side of the city. Mostly stab wounds or burns but there were some fairly interesting patients thrown in." He replied nonchalantly as if they were simply having an evening stroll.
"It's been a long time since someone asked me to heal....less thoroughly....some people really value scars...."
The dwarves had been like that. Though in their case a lot of their objections had been more that they felt his way of healing was unnatural. It was part of his initial motivation to learn various healing methods outside of his own innate magic.

"And how was your evening? Busy on some quest....or...?"

 

[Aurra Brylee]

"Well you've seen the shadowy side of the city then," Aurra mused.

He didn't need to see any more of it, she thought to herself. They were still being followed.

She didn't want him to find out that she dealt in the darker corners of the world. There weren't many people who saw her in a pleasant light. He was always so nice when he called her name.

"My evening was productive but I'm afraid it wasn't quite as smooth as if have liked."

She sighed and glanced over her shoulder.

"Don't look back. I'm being followed. You might have stitched them up earlier..."

 

[Nuir]

"Oh" Nuir replied as realization set in that they were in danger. His brow did furrow a little but shortly righted into a more neutral expression.
In the grand scheme of their friendship the night of gambling seemed to be an acceptation. It was the one time they had crossed paths without some lurking doom hanging over their heads. Perhaps that wasn't coincidence. Well....maybe that was fine he decided. A proper healer ought to be able to handle a little danger. It was exciting in a concerning sort of way.

He gave her a small chuckle. "I do so hate when that happens. But I won't begrudge it if you have to undo my good works." The elf followed along with the confidence that Aurra was keeping an eye on their pursuers. In any case she seemed to know this city much better than He. Nuir had no idea where they were or where they were headed really. Cities tended to leave him turned around even at the best of times.
"Any good ways to lose them? or are you waiting for the right time to give them a slice and dice?" Nuir whispered in a somewhat mischievous tone.

 

[Aurra Brylee]

She briefly raised an eyebrow at Nuir. He dealt woth danger remarkably well. Even when he was wounded he kept himself together.

"I'm hoping to avoid that," she muttered back. "Walk a little more quickly. Without looking like we are hurrying."

Aurra turned them east and down towards the dock district. The moonlight was doing a good job of catching the white of their hair. She would be followed until she reached her destination. She didn't know if they would set watch or make a move then.

There were still people down around the docks. People would be here until the small hours of the morning and then the sailors would be up before most of the city.

Aurra picked her moment. They rounded a corner and then she grabbed his hand tightly and dragged him down an alley. They passed a lady of the night.

Aurra grabbed Nuir. She pressed her back to the wall and pulled him into her with her left arm. Her right hand held a blade. Their silhouette was pressed to the shadows.

"Shhh."